"Silence! We are proud soldiers of the Delfrir Kingdom! Once we start tolerating cheating over children's contests, civilians will lose their faith in us. Our integrity and honor are much more valuable than some leatherwork. If you can't understand that, then you should join Phraan inside the tombs to reflect on our values and traditions," Folen chastised.
The complainers lowered their heads in shame.
Nindrol turned toward the judge and said, "This child will take responsibility for his supporter's criminal action and concede this match." He turned toward Luka, grabbed the boy's wrist, and raised it. "Here is the winner of the children's division of the archery competition!"
Malueve accepted Nindrol's concession and applauded.
The audience became startled but slowly clapped their hands. Although the elves were disappointed that Nindrol lost, they also felt proud of him. "Great match!" they shouted.
Chapter 28
Hunter Apprentice
Luka fell asleep as soon as he returned to his bedroom. The surprise winner of the children's division of the archery competition became extremely popular with most villagers. Everyone felt a need to shake his hand, pat his back, pinch his cheek, ruffle his hair, or otherwise touch the child in some way, hoping that Luka's miracle would rub off on them. Luka became overwhelmed by the attention and eventually escaped.
Although he broke Ellaria's rule by using spatial magic to return home, Luka saw no other way to avoid the elves' excessive attention and their well-wishes. He assumed that the foster mother would punish him by making Luka skip dinner. Thus, the teenager surrendered to the call of sleep.
The next morning, Luka quietly left the room and tiptoed down the staircase. When he entered the living room on his way to the washroom, the boy was interrupted with a "Good morning!" Luka turned to face the music. "Good morning, Ellaria!" he replied with a cheerful tone of voice.
"You went to sleep without changing your clothes and wiping your body," she pointed out in a stern tone of voice.
"I'm sorry," Luka apologized meekly.
"Go in and clean yourself. Your breakfast will be ready shortly," Ellaria replied.
The chastened boy obeyed and spent time washing his body. To his delight, Ellaria had laid down a fresh change of clothes for him. Luka used plenty of soap to wash his body. The new garments made him feel refreshed and ready to tackle a new day. After the lad took his seat at the table, Ellaria placed a bowl before him.
When Luka examined its content, he was shocked to discover meat inside! "What is this?" he asked because Luka thought he was mistaken.
"This is chicken stew. Folen gave me a chicken as an apology for his henchman's misconduct yesterday," she explained.
"Folen? Is he the old-looking elf?" Luka inquired with a quizzical expression because he wasn't familiar with most of the villagers since they stayed away from him.
"Correct," Ellaria nodded. "He's a former general, and the soldiers obey his orders."
"How did Folen get a chicken?" the teenager asked. Frankly, he didn't care about the sender's background because Luka had met high society members, including the king of Morninglory. Thus, he wasn't impressed by Folen's status as a former general.
"Honestly, I don't know either. Folen maintains an aviary to contact the outside world. I assume he bartered with another village for the chicken," she speculated.
"I see," Luka accepted with a nod. If there was another village nearby which offered chicken for barter, then he could visit the place, insert a beacon, and visit to trade his salted tofu pudding for meat. Unfortunately, her answer dashed his hope. Nonetheless, Luka appreciated Folen's gesture and happily ate the delicious food.
Suddenly, Bel appeared in his lap. The rabbit immediately extended his paws to steal the bowl!
Luka slapped the would-be thief with his spoon and grabbed the rabbit by the neck. "Nice try," the boy smirked.
Bel tightened his jaws and swiped his claws at the harasser's cheek!
"Stop fighting! I'll take away the stew if you don't!" Ellaria threatened. For emphasis, she reached out to grab the bowl on the table.
Luka dropped the rabbit on the floor. He resisted the urge to kick the rascal in the ass and send the animal flying out the window.
The foster mother pointed at a corner and said, "Stand there, Bel. I'll bring you a bowl."
The familiar sauntered over to his designated spot and waited for his food to arrive. Once Ellaria laid down the container, Bel assiduously compared the contents of his bowl with what he saw in Luka's to ensure that she didn't favor the boy over Bel. Otherwise, the familiar would demand more food from Ellaria! However, Bel became satisfied with his portion and began to eat.
Luka rolled his eyes at Bel's discourteous behavior, but Ellaria only giggled because the elf already understood Bel's gluttonous character; she thought the rabbit was cute and harmless.
"Are you full?" the foster mother asked because the child skipped last night's dinner. Thus, Ellaria saved some tofu casserole and prepared to heat it for Luka.
The lad shook his head. "The stew is quite filling," Luka replied. "Thank you for asking."
"I was worried because you've never skipped meals before," Ellaria expressed her concern.
"Ah, I was dead tired yesterday; my shoulders and back were killing me. As much as I enjoyed shaking hands with well-wishers and getting backslaps, the interactions grew more painful over time until I couldn't endure anymore," Luka shrugged.
"Well, you earned your win fair and square because you practiced hard every evening. I'm very proud of you," the elf praised and ruffled Luka's hair gently.
The boy smiled at her words. Luka noticed that Ellaria ate tofu casserole instead of chicken. "Aren't you eating the stew?" he asked.
The foster mother shook her head. "I don't like meat. I prefer to eat vegetables," Ellaria replied.
Once they finished eating, Luka waited at the porch for Ellaria to bring him down to the ground.
When the trio landed, a muscular-looking elf accosted them. The stranger wore leather armor and had a bow and quiver strapped over his back along with a pouch. Two hunting knives and a short sword hung from his belt. Luka recognized this person as a hunter.
Ellaria looked at the elf with a troubled expression. Although she lived in Langerlan for decades and recognized his face, she couldn't remember his name. After all, this person wasn't part of her social circle of friends.
The hunter noticed her discomfort and understood her problem. "My name is Haladavar Zylra, part of the hunting unit. I saw young Luka win the archery contest yesterday, and I'm very impressed by his skills. I'm inviting him to join us for a hunt," he offered.
The guardian turned toward Luka. "Do you wish to go?" she asked with a smile because Ellaria already knew the answer.
"Yes, I do!" the lad answered enthusiastically. Luka realized that the hunters with a closed-clique that rarely invited outsiders to join. Initially, he felt disappointed working in the fields rather than hunting game in the forest. So how could he pass up this rare opportunity?
Ellaria turned to face Haladavar. "I'm entrusting Luka to your care outside the village," she said. The foster mother wasn't too worried about his safety because she remembered that Luka possessed spatial magic, and the lad could quickly teleport and escape danger.
Also, Ellaria didn't believe that Haladavar would harm Luka and abandon him in the Great Forest. After all, the child's popularity with the villagers rose overnight with his win in the archery contest. Instead, she thought that Haladavar's invitation had another purpose: to show the residents that the hunters weren't uniformly hostile toward Luka and that Phraan's attitude wasn't representative of the entire faction.
Ellaria didn't mind Luka being used in this manner because the boy had previously expressed his interest in hunting; hence, she wished to accommodate him. If Ellaria forbade him from joining Haladavar due to silly politics, she would damage her relationship with Luka. The foster mother turned toward Bel and as
ked, "Do you want to stay behind or go out with Luka?"
In response, the rabbit climbed onto the boy's head.
The hunter's facial expression turned awkward. "I'm not sure it's appropriate for a pet to come along," Haladvar said.
"Bel is my familiar, and he will follow me closely," Luka replied.
"We won't be responsible if anything happens to the rabbit," the hunter cautioned.
"That's fine," the boy nodded. "If we encounter danger, Bel could enter my dimensional storage," he said.
"I'm relying on you to offer Luka another set of eyes and protect him," Ellaria said and patted the rabbit's head.
[You can count on me!] Bel puffed out his chest.
"Let's go!" Haladavar interrupted and led the two to the gatehouse where other hunters were waiting.
Luka took his bow and quiver out of storage and carried them across his back. He saw three elves standing at the exit.
"Here are my partners from left to right: Garrik Dorfiel, Kesefeon Biphyra, and Uthorim Reyvaris," Haladavar introduced the group. "Young Luka here will accompany us with his familiar, Bel," the elf added.
Luka offered a friendly smile as he examined Haladavar's companions. Garrik was the shortest elf in the group and wore a dark green cloak with the hood covering his head; throwing daggers lined his belt and two more blades strapped to his outer thighs. Kesefeon possessed a muscular physique and held a long spear with two replacements plus a shield strapped to his back; he wore elven chainmail armor on his torso, plus arm and leg bracers.
Uthorim stood the tallest and carried a longbow and two quivers. He wore a sword on his left hip and several looped cables with locks on a hook to his right. From these armaments, Luka understood the party members' roles: Kesefeon served as the tank, Garrik was a thief, Uthorium was a trapper and secondary archer, and Haladavar was also a bowman.
The guards noticed the presence of Luka and stopped the group from going out. "Luka is our esteemed guest. Where are you taking him?" the gatekeeper inquired with a blank expression.
Haladavar stepped forward to answer. "Well met, Vulluin. We are taking the boy to Twilgrave Woods to hunt game. We were impressed by his archery skills at the competition yesterday, and I decided to invite him to come along as a hunter apprentice," he explained.
Vulluin Inamys nodded in understanding. Hunting groups often invited the best bowmen among the children to join as apprentices because archery was useful for hunting regardless of age. Thus, Vullin couldn't blame Haladavar for inviting Luka to join. However, the guard needed to confirm something first. "Did you obtain permission from the child's guardian first?"
The hunter turned toward Luka to provide the answer.
"Yes, I did. Ellaria knows I'm going with Haladavar today," the lad replied.
The gatekeeper accepted this response because it confirmed that the hunting group didn't coerce Luka. "Please don't venture beyond the Twilgrave Woods with the apprentice," Vulluin warned.
"Have there been a monster overrun recently in the Great Forest?" Kesefeon interrupted the conversation with arched brows. For unknown reasons, the monsters periodically fled the woods; in those instances, the villagers had to divert their paths away from Langerlan.
"No, but some hunters reported increased harassment from the Thallian gorillas, whose hunting ground includes the Great Forest," another guard spoke up.
The experienced hunters traded glances. They often entered the deeper forests but agreed not to go in today.
"Okay, we won't leave the Twilgrave Woods," Haladavar promised.
The guards stepped aside and waved the group past the gates. "Good hunting."
When Luka exited the village for the first time, he saw a dirt road leading down the hill and through the woods. The path was wide enough for a single carriage to cross. Pedestrians had to step into the grass to make way for a vehicle. He surreptitiously set a teleportation beacon outside the gate, just in case.
The group traveled on the road for about a mile before Haladavar turned left and entered the woods. During this period, Luka asked a question. "What are Thallian gorillas?"
"They are hairy animals that travel by knuckle-walking and have similarities to humans and monkeys. Their brown-colored fur makes them difficult to spot while hanging overhead on trees, and they like to ambush unsuspecting people walking below. Thallian gorillas are known for their cunning and cruelty in toying with their victims to death even though they don't eat meat and have no reason to hunt animals. They tend to stay within the area where they were born, and we elves rarely come across them because we don't hunt in their natural habitat. So I don't understand why they expanded their hunting ground to our territory," Uthorium explained in depth.
Haladavar spoke up. "If we encounter them, the best thing to do is to make a lot of noise and scare them away. The only exception, though, is if an adult male appears within the troop. They take challenges personally and immediately turn hostile. The best thing to do if we encounter one is to remain silent and slowly back away. The leader is physically bigger than the rest, and their heads have red fur."
"Yeah, a redhead is a challenging opponent because it can weigh more than five hundred pounds. There's no way I could tank one by myself," Kesefeon pointed out.
Haladavar turned toward Luka. "You can use spatial magic and teleport, right?" the elf asked.
The lad nodded.
"How far can you teleport in terms of distance? How many people can you bring with you? How long does it take to cast the spell? Is there a danger of failure?" the leader inquired.
The apprentice was surprised by this sudden barrage of questions. Luka answered because he realized that Haladavar would incorporate the boy's magic into the leader's planning for the hunt. "I have several types of spatial magic. If I'm relying on my beacons, then there is no chance of failure. Otherwise, I need to become familiar with the destination to arrive safely. I could create a magical gate, but that takes longer to make. If I'm relying on the beacon, I could arrive instantaneously. As for how many I could bring along, we just need to maintain physical contact," Luka explained.
"Thank you for telling me," Haladavar said in appreciation. He worried that the human child harbored a grudge against his group for not backing Luka when the boy had an altercation with Phraan. The leader turned toward his companions and said, "For safety's sake, we should stick together and remain near Luka. We are responsible for protecting him in the woods, and if the danger level is too high, he will take us back to the village. This way, we're covering each other."
"Okay," the hunters said in unison. They worried about encountering the Thallian gorillas and viewed Luka as their lifelines. Thus, protecting the child was their top priority.
"Since this is Luka's first day as our apprentice, we should take the time to show him the ropes. If we end up catching less game, then that's fine," Haladavar reminded his comrades.
"Luka, I will teach you how to walk through the woods. Normally, you walk with your back straight and your eyes directed at the space ahead of your body. But it's different in the forest because there are many obstacles in your path, and your footing is unsteady. I recommend that you do a 'crouch-walk.' By this, I mean that your knees bend slightly and your hips drop; take slow steps landing on your heels first."
"Your head should sway from side to side in a sweep to constantly monitor your surroundings. Most importantly, you should make a minimal amount of noise while listening carefully for movement. Using a crouch-walk is how we try to find the game without scaring them off while we walk," the hunter lectured. Haladavar also demonstrated the crouch-walk.
Luka copied his movement and practiced a few steps. He felt uncomfortable with this movement and walked slower than usual.
The hunting group noticed his difficulty, but none raised a complaint because the hunters knew it was hard to adjust a walking stance. Moreover, Luka's ordeal reminded the elves of when they also served their apprenticeships and learned the crouch-walk for the first tim
e. Hence, the hunters were patient and allowed their apprentice to catch up.
But Bel complained because while he rode on the boy's head, the branches kept whacking his face. Finally, the animal insisted on being carried like a baby in Luka's arms.
The apprentice felt embarrassed because he couldn't contribute much to the hunt except to offer an additional set of eyes and ears.
However, the hunters didn't mind since they relied on Luka's spatial magic to bail them out if the party encountered enemies that they couldn't defeat. To emphasize his importance as their lifeline, the members used a diamond formation with the boy standing in the middle, Haladavar in the lead, Kesefeon in the rear, and Uthorium and Garrik were taking the remainder, respectively.
When Luka asked why the main tank guarded the back, Kesefoen replied that he was less mobile because of his armament. Haladavar was an excellent tracker; therefore, he should take the lead.
"But I assure you that I'll take the starring role when we encounter something hostile," Kesefeon added and slapped his chest.
Once the group reached the inner part of Twilgrave Woods, Uthorium raised his hand and motioned for the hunters to stop. He pulled the cables off his belt loop and began to set snare traps on the ground. The trapper handed a snare to Luka and taught the boy how to set the trap. Once Uthorium used up his equipment, he returned to his feet and waved with his hand for Haladavar to lead them away. The trapper turned toward the child and said, "We'll check the traps when we leave."
The hunters walked for over two hours without seeing any hint of game. While bird calls occasionally punctured the silence, the party members didn't see any living creatures within range of their projectiles.
"Tch~" Garrik sucked his teeth and jabbed a tree bark with his dagger in frustration. "This hunt is as frigid as Widow Mayla," he tossed out a crude joke. Mayla Thesatra had multiple partners but was known to be cold in bed.
"Knock it off!" Haladavar warned and glanced at Luka, who somehow didn't hear the conversation because the boy was busy cuddling with his rabbit for warmth.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 23