Monster Hunting 101: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure (Titan Termination)

by Freaks, LitRPG

  The woman’s screams directed towards me caused one of the Kinru to glance behind it, to see why its prey was so focused on the background. It made direct eye contact with me and began to slowly slink towards me, careful not to disturb its other two partners. If it killed me alone, it would have a meal alone without having to fight them off.

  I gritted my teeth at this sight. I didn’t know who this woman was, but I had to help her. And the only way to save her right now was to take all of the heat on me. I had the potion of speed, thank goodness, so I might as well make full use of it. I didn’t have to kill all three of them now, I just needed to give her time to escape.

  “I don’t know who you are,” I shouted as I drew my bow and aimed it at the leg of the ones that were still distracted with the closer target. “But you need to go home as fast as you can. I’m going to draw them away.”

  The woman nodded and I took a deep breath, steadying myself for what was to come. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of its chest. I had been planning to observe and prepare for a fight, to find their nest and ready for a surprise attack in my favor. Now, I was just throwing myself into dangerous waters, just to save a complete stranger. But this was one of my duties as a Venator. It wasn’t enough to just hunt monsters, I was here to protect the land and its people.

  With that thought on my mind, I released the arrow, firing it into the right haunch of the unaware Kinru. It yelped at the sudden pain and turned around, hissing loudly at the sight of me in the distance. Without hesitation, the beast rushed forward, prompting the slinking Kinru to also charge, knowing that it had to get to me first. The third Kinru refused to move from its position and instead began to try and climb atop the tree.

  “Damn it!” I hissed as I quickly nocked another arrow. I had maybe a few seconds to get this shot off before they were on me. Thank goodness I had picked the range ability yesterday. I loosed another arrow, this time aimed at the bulk of the unengaged Kinru, opting to simply get its attention than take the time to line up a shot. The arrow hit the beast and it forgot about the tree instantly, turning and roaring at me.

  That was all the time I had, I didn’t know if that was enough to get all three to chase me, but I had to go. The first Kinru was nearly ten feet from me and it was gaining speed with each step, bounding on its two legs. I turned and ran as fast as I could, barely feeling the ground beneath my feet as I ran aimless forward.

  The jungle was dense and I had no idea of where to go, other than in a direction opposite of the Kinru. I bolted for the first large tree I could find, another banyan tree that looked to be at least a few thousand years old. It was immense and round, with many easily accessible branches and vines. My legs were burning as I ran; I couldn’t keep this up forever. But the Kinru behind me were gaining and I had a few chances to glimpse behind to see that indeed, all three had opted to chase me. My attacks had given them an understanding that I was an aggressor and had to be dealt with.

  I reached the banyan tree and began to climb the thick vines that had grown on them. The tree was big, with many branches, a few so low to the ground that the Kinru would be able to climb on. I wasn’t going to be saved by this tree, but rather, I’d be at a better advantage for taking the fight to them. There was no way I’d be able to outrun three enraged Kinru, even with my speed boost. I’d have to give them a reason to leave me alone instead. Hopefully that mystery woman was safe by now and they wouldn’t return to finish her off.

  The three Kinru reached the tree and began hissing and clicking rapidly, perhaps formulating a plan. I rose higher and higher until I was on a branch nearly 40 feet above. One Kinru began to circle the base of the tree, to ensure that it could chase me if I dropped down suddenly. The other two leapt onto the thick, long hanging branches and began to run upwards, leaping from branch to branch to get to me.

  I was impressed with their alacrity and sense of balance; they had not hesitated to begin their ascent. But how skilled were they at climbing while under heavy fire?

  I grabbed an arrow from my quiver and dropped it onto the bow, aiming down at one of the Kinru as it continued searching for a way to reach me. It was almost twenty feet up now, and I had time to aim at its leg, looking for the exact section that was glowing. The knee joint lit up, glowing with a bright yellow energy, making for an easy target. I aimed, took a deep breath and released the shot.

  The arrow nailed the beast in the knee midstride, causing it to yelp as its leg buckled. That buckle was all it took for the creature to lose its footing. It slipped off the side of the branch and crashed down onto the hard jungle ground.

  I could hear a snap as the beast landed and it began to shriek out wildly, thrashing but unable to get up. The fall had broken something important, for the Kinru was completely incapable of getting upright. The other Kinru on the ground realized that its much bigger companion was now helpless and, much to my surprise, was quick to deliver a death blow to the exposed Kinru’s throat with a violent bite.

  “Cannibals…” I muttered, grimacing as I saw the opportunist begin to eat its free meal. My attention turned back to the other Kinru which was still ascending towards me. It was now thirty feet up, but after seeing the fate of its companion, this Kinru slowed its movements down considerably. It loudly hissed, snapping its jaws as it walked, slowly and carefully up the branch that would lead to me.

  “Slowing down’s not going to help you here,” I said, nocking another arrow and raising the bow high. The beast was still beneath me and I could hit either its eyes or its legs. Eyes were more vital than legs, but this high up? A leg shot was the way to go. Tightening my aim, I fired at the exposed left leg of the Kinru, aiming for its knee joint as I had with the other.

  There was a loud thwack sound as the Kinru flicked its tail in the direction of the arrow, knocking the projectile out of the air. I blinked for a second, taking in what had just happened. The monster had deflected the attack with its tail? It continued to hiss and move at me slowly, making its way up the tree while keeping its talons dug deep into the tree branch, to ensure maximum stability.

  I took another shot and the Kinru’s tail flickered up at the last second, knocking the arrow out of its way again. This Kinru had learned some tricks, it would seem. It was growing closer, but I still had time. The creature needed to focus in order to use this ability; if it were to run, I would be able to get a hit off while it was distracted.

  The best solution I could figure out was to just keep shooting. I had plenty of arrows and one of them had to hit. I fired off shot after shot, but that damned tail just kept flicking. There were a few shots that it could not deflect, but it merely used its tail as a shield in that case, absorbing the shots with the long appendage. I looked for signs of bleeding, but the tail was fairly thick and, if these creatures were anything like lizards, could probably be detached in order to escape predators.

  The lizard beast grew closer and I knew that as soon as it was within leaping range, I’d be in a world of trouble. Its eyes were narrow and focused, waiting for the opportunity to take me down. I’d have to try a feint.

  I aimed the bow at the monster’s legs once again, the area I had been targeting with all of my shots. Pulling the drawstring back, I took a deep breath and readied to fire, clearly signaling to the beast the spot I was aiming at. Then, at the last second, I changed the direction of the shot, firing at its face. Thwack went the tail as it easily flicked the arrow away from the Kinru’s snarling face. It could not resist the urge to cackle and it let out clicking laughter as it continued drawing closer to me.

  This wasn’t working. I had to bail. I glanced below. The other Kinru was still feasting on the remains, but it would certainly get greedy if it saw me on the ground. I could jump to another limb, but that would quickly turn into a stamina contest and, somehow, I didn’t see myself winning against a Kinru. Their hunting habits lent to long, exhausting chases without any sign of slowing down. My only option was to continue fighting.

  My eyes
searched the area, desperate for some idea on what to do. But before I could plan anything, the Kinru leapt into action, dashing forward. I had been waiting for it to give me an opening, but in looking elsewhere, even for a second, I had unfortunately given the beast an opportunity to make a dash at me.

  The Kinru ran forward and jumped high in the air, its entire body flying towards me, claws raised and ready to tear into my flesh. I had no armor that would stop an attack like this one; a clean hit would tear me apart. The fall below? I could survive that, thanks to my Safe Fall ability, although I would certainly still be injured by the landing. An idea popped in my head, one that I would certainly regret if it failed.

  I dropped to my stomach and hugged the thick tree limb, then rolled over so that I was hanging from the branch with my arms and legs. This prevented the Kinru from landing an attack on me as it merely fell onto the branch with a heavy thud. The banyan tree’s limbs were strong and sturdy; they didn’t even shake from the weight of the beast now atop of it.

  I was upside down and holding onto the tree for dear life, unsure if the Kinru had seen where I went. I tried to time my drop as it landed, so that it wouldn’t have its eyes on me as I rolled over. My grip wasn’t the greatest, but fortunately I was able to dig my fingers into the grooves of the limb, using them as hand and footholds while the Kinru searched for me.

  The lizard beast clicked a few times and paced back and forth. I could feel each step the creature took as it looked for me. It was sniffing about too, convinced that I was still close. This weak attempt at hiding simply wasn’t going to work for long. My hands were certainly within range if the beast leaned its head over the edge of the branch. Yet, it was a bit too confused to figure out my trick. Instead, the Kinru clicked at the other at the bottom of the tree, only to be ignored by the feasting creature.

  I took this opportunity to begin shimmying along the branch, towards the mighty trunk of the banyan tree. The trunk had many branches connected to it and I could easily escape to a more advantageous position.

  The Kinru did not notice my movement and instead became distracted with the other Kinru that had ignored its calls. Apparently, climber was the Alpha in this pack, for it began to click and hiss at the lesser Kinru below. In spite of this, the feaster continued enjoying its meal, chewing and gulping with no pause.

  I quietly dropped down onto a nearby limb and began to climb up the trunk, towards a much narrower branch that didn’t look to be as strong as the other limbs. It would support my weight, I knew, but the Kinru would be too big to even walk on this branch.

  My assailant had almost forgotten about me entirely, now that it could see its subordinate eating without its permission. The Alpha was quick to scurry down the tree and started to snap and hiss at the lesser Kinru, which was forced to back away from its feast. Knowing that it couldn’t fight the bigger Kinru and that it already had eaten quite a bit, the lesser began to turn away and walk towards the area they had been hunting before; the spot where I had seen the woman in trouble.

  I gritted my teeth and raised my bow high, aiming at the back of the Kinru’s head. It was incredibly far from me, but I couldn’t risk it going back and finding the scent of that woman. Hoping that my shot would work, I released the string and watched as the arrow sailed through the air, towards the Kinru’s skull. The shot nailed the Kinru right in the back of the neck, an area that was most likely armored.

  The damage might have been negligible, but the Kinru reacted as I hoped, spinning back around and charging in the direction of the attack. The Alpha, unaware of the arrow that had agitated the other beast, perceived this charge to be an attempt for dominance. The Alpha was quick to run forward and slash at the lesser Kinru, striking it in the face hard. The injured Kinru leapt back, to show that it wasn’t trying to challenge for domination, lowering its head out of submission.

  I rushed forward to a longer branch that would get me closer to the squabbling beasts. The bigger Kinru was still hissing, forcing the lesser to lower its head even more. I had a clean shot and, so, I raised my bow and released another arrow. This one struck the Kinru right in the eye. The lizard monster fell to the ground instantly, its body spasming for a few seconds before it went motionless.

  I let out a sigh of relief. The arrow must have struck the brain through its eyes. Either that or it was playing dead. As I grabbed yet another arrow from my quiver, carefully noting that I still had twenty left, I watched as the Alpha Kinru turned back around to face me. It knew that I controlled the arrows and that I wouldn’t stop until one of us was dead. It let out a blood-curdling roar, a raspy and whiny cry that echoed through the jungle.

  As the beast bounded towards the tree once again, I began firing arrows at it, one after the other. The Alpha’s tail could not respond in time to block any of my shots. By the time the Alpha got to the tree, it was already bloodied, covered in arrows. Now that it was closer, the tail did a fine job of blocking the rest of my attacks, but I had already done a tremendous amount of damage to the monster’s legs and torso.

  I readied the bow for the killing shot, waiting for the Kinru to leap up the tree, but that moment never came. The beast, panting and weary from its wounds, simply fell over, motionless. I squinted to see if it was still breathing, but couldn’t tell. Just in case it was playing dead, to lure me over, I fired an arrow right into the beast’s now exposed throat. Its eyes opened wide and it leapt up, surprised that I had continued to attack it.

  The damage my shot had inflicted was significant and the Kinru began to thrash about, wildly attacking the air as if I were somewhere close. Its cunning plan to lure me into a trap had failed. I fired two more arrows and put an end to this fight. I had finally won.

  Chapter 15

  I trudged along, towards the palm tree to see if the woman had managed to escape. My legs were on fire; running so far had certainly worn me down. I hadn’t taken any injuries in this fight, but my limbs were hard and heavy from all the shooting and climbing. When I got home, I would sleep for a week. But I still had to make sure that stranger was okay.

  It was funny, but in a way, I felt more nervous about seeing this woman in person than I had been while battling those Kinru. I had fought them twice before and had become accustomed to their behavior and tactics. But meeting a human from a village different than my own? I had never met anyone from the outside world before. She didn’t look any different from my people, sure, but her people might have an entirely different way of life with different ethics and values. What if they were evil people?

  I shook my head, to make these thoughts leave. I had been planning on bringing my village to that human settlement, wasn’t I? That meant, at some point, I’d have to meet other people. I would have to learn to get along with those outside of my village, whether I liked it or not.

  Emerging from the tree line, I frowned to find that the woman was still there, clinging to the top of the tree. She had long, chestnut hair that went past her shoulders. Such a hairstyle would be impractical out in the jungle, where a monster with a claw could grab a hold of it and pull you to its mouth. This wasn’t a scout. Maybe a survivor of an attack?

  “Why are you still here?” I shouted, walking up to her with my bow raised. There might be other threats around.

  “You’re…alive?” the woman replied, her voice soft and in awe. “How? I saw three Clickies chasing after you.”

  “They’re called Kinru,” I said, walking up to the tree and looking up at the woman. She had dug two knives into the tree and was standing atop them, which explained how she was able to stay up there for so long. “And I killed them.”

  “I don’t believe you,” the woman said, shaking her head. “You couldn’t possibly have done so.”

  I rubbed the back of my head, unsure of what to say. “Listen, lady, I don’t know who you are or where you came from. But I risked a lot to give you a chance to escape. Why didn’t you go?”

  “Oh…” the woman said, sighing. Her face turned bright red
and she quickly averted her gaze from me. “I fear…that I was too afraid to come down. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t climb down.”

  “It’s safe now,” I said, spreading my arms wide. “Look, no bite marks on me or anything. I killed those Kinru. You can go home.”

  The woman stared at me for a few moments, her expression a mixture of curiosity and fear. “What are you?”

  “My name is Avery,” I said. “From Hunter’s Hope.” This was the first time I addressed the town by an actual name. It had lost that title so long ago, but now I was going to bring the hope back. Maybe I could even spread the hope to others. Verna might want to bury the name, as all other elders did, but I would give her a reason to speak those words once again.

  “I’m Bernadette,” the woman said. “And I won’t tell you the name of my village. It’s against our laws.”

  I let out a small sigh of relief at the sound of that. As odd as it was, restrictions on village names were one thing we had in common. Perhaps we weren’t so different after all.

  “Come down, please,” I said. “You’ll be safe, Bernadette.”

  “Ugh, that’s too long of a name, call me Dette,” she replied as she carefully began to climb down, looking around to make sure there was nothing out to get her. She dropped down from the tree onto the ground and let out a deep sigh. “I could kiss the ground.”

  “You better be on your way,” I said as I took a few steps away from Dette. The day was passing quickly and nocturnal creatures would be out soon.

  “How did you kill them? The Clickies, I mean,” Dette asked, following me as I tried to walk back to the bodies of the fallen Kinru.

  “Bow and arrow,” I said. “Gravity helped a lot too.”

  “I owe you,” Dette said as she quickly stepped in front of me, preventing me from going on my way. “My village doesn’t have a lot but we have to repay you for this kindness. Is there anything you need?”