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Half A Hero 37
The day was getting longer and still there was no sign of the horned rabbits. Ghwyr has been hiding on the bush for more than a few hours and it was getting frustrating. It didn’t help that the previously beautiful forest he praised just a few minutes ago was now slowly turning against him.The humidity of the forest was making him sweat constantly and the constant buzzing of the bugs around him was getting into his nerves. Despite all that, he tried his best to remain as calm as he possibly could. He took some sips of water from his waterskin to cool him down as he waited.His stomach was already complaining to him as the hours passed, but he remained completely still. He didn’t want to miss his first encounter with the famed rabbit. But as he sweated profusely, it was becoming clearer that the Jackalope wasn’t there to be found.Annoyed at the possible wrong information the man had gave him, he slowly crept away from the bush and made his way back to the stream where quenched his th
Half A Hero 38
“Make sure you slash the head cleanly.” Ghwyr reminded himself as he went through the attacking jackalopes. “One… two… three… oh damn it.” He clicked his tongue as he slices one in half.He knew he wouldn’t get paid if he presented the jackalope hide and horns as damaged. He needed to be quick and precise about it. But these jackalopes proved to be too difficult for him to kill properly. The horned and furious rabbits were too quick for him aside from the fact that its horns proved to be very sharp. He learned that when a jackalope grazed his face with it.If he made the wrong footing it would’ve took out his eye luckily, he was quick enough to dodge it at the last second. The herd was beginning to thin out. Many of the jackalopes had already been taken down by him. However, the more their numbers decreased, they became more aggressive and insanely fast.Ghwyr was able to shield himself from another potential vital wound. The jackalope bounced off his shield. Just before it could land
Half A Hero 39
Ghwyr woke up early the following morning and immediately went to the Guild Hall to ask about the request from the King’s Reserve. After confirming with the administrator, he immediately went to the place just as the sun rose from the horizon.Tuttel was already awake when he came to his tent. The man had been fixing some traps and was happy to see him comeback. He gave him a new location to hunt and told him that the population was twice as much as the last. However, he only needed to hunt 15 of it.“Your yesterday’s catch was good, but I couldn’t risk you ending a whole species because of me.” The lanky man said while scowling again. “Do fifteen today… and fifteen only. The guards might fine us we go beyond that.” He explained.Ghwyr nodded and apologized to him. However, Tuttel simply brushed it off and told him to move forward from the mistake. Before he left to hunt, the lanky man gave him a fresh pair of knives for the hunt.“One is for legs, and this hooked one is for the horns
Half A Hero 40
Tuttel was carried out of the reserve still yelling about some monsters coming to get him. The remaining soldiers just shook their heads and gossiped about how the man might’ve smoked too much dream moss that caused the entire incident.“I heard you could get delusions if you smoke too much of that thing.” The younger guard said while carrying one of the dogs’ carcasses into the sack. “Poor hound, this is! You collaterals of your masters insanity.” He added.Ghwyr was left there standing by the tent. Still not sure what to do at that point. Should he leave? It was clearly obvious he wasn’t going to get paid that day, especially after what happened. Annoyed, he took a deep breath and was about to go inside the tent when the older guard blocked him with his spear.“And where do you think you’re going?” The older guard asked.“I’m just going to put this bounty inside.” Ghwyr explained.“Seems like so.” The guard said. “Unfortunately, I can’t let you do that. Besides you’re not even paid
Half A Hero 41
Few months have passed after that incident with the mysterious monster and still Ghwyr was the talk of the guild, although for the wrong reasons. Most of it stems from the gossip that the monster was a sort of forest spirit that he angered while hunting the jackalopes. While most of the knowledgeable people on Jackalopes would find it ridiculous and something to scoff about, the rest of the adventurers weren’t as well-read or as forgiving compared to some.Ghwyr had since moved on from that incident. He even got a bonus from the guild for fighting the monster, but unfortunately no one could tell what it truly was. Jackalope bucks weren’t supposed to look like that! They might be gigantic in size, but they were never humanoid in appearance. This gave the throne a reason to investigate on the matter and close the King’s Reserve for the public’s safety as well.During the short amount of time, Ghwyr had already garnered a lot of experience and coins from taking some other jobs. Most of w
Half A Hero 42
The Bracken Delta was a town located at the mouth of the Bracken River, a major river that met the fresh water from the mountain springs with the saltwater from the Torren Sea. It was supposed to be a thriving fishing village before the first lords of the town developed it into a powerful port for Evalom.In a way, it had some similarities with Bottom-trodden, mainly because of the huge body of water located in the town. However, the comparison ended there. Unlike the filthy and poverty-ridden Bottom-trodden, the town of Bracken Delta was thriving with its massive port where most of the travelling merchants and fishing ships were.It also held one of the strongest weapons of the Evalom kingdom, the Evalom Navy which was located at the other side of town, a massive military port that could subdue any threats coming from the sea, whether it was of human or supernatural causes.He got there as early as he could. Ghwyr wanted to finish the bounty request as early as he could, so he could
Half A Hero 43
“Where are the rats?!” Ghwyr looked around and saw a massively empty room.Ghwyr and the rat exterminator was standing on a wooden floor elevated from the ground where the rats had supposedly nested. They descended into the creaking stairs while carefully looking around in case a giant rat might pop out of nowhere.Their flickering torch wasn’t enough to light up the massive room. It only illuminated a few feet from them, so it was possible that something might be lurking in the dark somewhere. However, the boy seemed to be unfazed by the darkness. He navigated the huge space well unafraid of the giant critters that might’ve been hiding below.“M-m-must be… hiding… s-s-somewhere.” The boy replied hesitantly.Ghwyr turned to the boy, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you’re a rat catch—well, an expert on this matter?!” He asked.“I-I-I- am so s-s-s-orry! S-s-sorry…” The boy profusely apologized. “I…I… had me map here… we could locate them… also had me bait and poisons…” He took it out of
Half A Hero 44
Ghwyr immediately stood up and pushed the boy away from another huge clump of soil hurled towards them.“Get away, now!” Ghwyr shouted as he activated his shield. “I will take care of this!” He said as he unsheathed his sword.The boy ran out of the stock house and left him there against the abomination at the bottom floor.The monster refused to show its true self, preferring to hide inside the hole it created. Its red raging eyes stared at Ghwyr, unblinking and following his every movement. Its eyes faded in the darkness once again then, a huge chunk of rock flew from the hole and almost hit him, if it weren’t for his trusty shield.The rock shattered into pieces as it hit his shield. Ghwyr gritted his teeth, feeling the wave of impact that coursed throughout his body. The monster was one mean brute and Ghwyr fears that it might do the same attack over and over again if he didn’t find a way out of it.“You’re one nasty rat.” Ghwyr picked up a piece of the shattered stone in his han