LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 3 - Metamorphosis 2
Chapter 3: Metamorphosis 2
“Where’s the soap?”
“Next to the water jar.”
I poured vinegar-diluted water over my head, splashed some on my face, and picked up the soap that still had suds on it, washing my hair thoroughly.
It felt refreshing.
Though it’d be greasy again soon enough.
I roughly shook my hair and wiped off the moisture with the towel my father used earlier, then washed it again and hung it on the clothesline.
Using the same towel again was a bit dirty, but here, it was just the norm.
After that, I went back inside, took coarse salt from the salt jar, and brushed my teeth.
Normally, I would still be sleeping, but after talking with my father yesterday, I decided to learn hunting.
‘I need to learn skills quickly and become independent.’
Since hunting was the family trade, my father readily agreed.
It’s every father’s dream to work alongside his child and pass on his skills.
As a result, my father seemed more excited than usual.
He was smiling more and talking a lot.
“I’ll be heading out first. Be careful today.”
“You be careful too.”
“Mother, I’ll be back.”
“Dad, come back safe~.”
“Lian, Damien, you both stay safe too, alright?”
“You too, Mom.”
After a light farewell, my mother left the house first.
It took me quite a while to get ready for my outing.
Since it was my first real mountain hike, preparing for it was a bit chaotic.
I had climbed the mountain several times, but only on the well-trodden paths.
Today was my first real hike.
When I finally finished getting ready and stepped outside, my father was sitting on the steps, fixing some squashed arrow fletchings.
“I’m ready.”
“Alright. Let’s get going.”
“Dad! I want to go too!”
Damien whined, but my father shook his head.
“No, you can’t. Stella would be alone.”
“For just a day─!”
“No.”
My father placed the arrows he had been sorting into my quiver.
“I promise, after your birthday passes, I’ll take you along too.”
“…Okay.”
I teased him.
“Hey! I’ll catch something delicious for you instead!”
“Sure, whatever.”
Damien sulked and went back into the cabin.
—
“Lian, do you know why hunters don’t walk on paths people usually use?”
“Because animals avoid people.”
My father nodded.
“That’s correct. But there’s another reason.”
“…To get used to hiking?”
“The by-products.”
He was likely referring to herbs or edible mushrooms.
It explained why our table often had greens or root vegetables.
“Some by-products are much more valuable than meat. Take honey, for example. Even the herbs we eat are rare and expensive outside.”
“If it’s valuable, shouldn’t we sell it?”
“Health is more important than money. Thanks to that, you two are much healthier than your peers.”
‘I’d need to have seen my peers to know that.’
He was right.
This was a place without hospitals.
And thinking of the two children who had already passed on, those familiar words carried a different weight.
I knew well how frightening illness could be.
I slung the basket my father handed me over my shoulder.
Due to the rain from a few days ago, the mountain was still humid.
‘A mountain soaked in the early morning mist.’
How picturesque.
Just as I took a step forward.
Splat─!
I slipped on the wet leaves and fell.
“Wah─?!”
Picturesque my ass!
“Pfft…! Are you okay…?!”
“…Yes.”
The hike that had begun was pure torment.
‘Damien would’ve given up halfway.’
Boys grow slower than girls.
They start a growth spurt around age twelve, and it’s common to start learning skills from fourteen.
Still, it was hard.
How often does a modern person climb an unmarked mountain?
Plus, some areas were so steep that, with my short strides, I had to climb like an animal, using my hands.
Sometimes when I grabbed at leaves, I’d catch worms, spiders, or centipedes instead, which was creepy.
“Pwahaha!”
My father was too busy laughing to care.
While brushing off the bugs, I fell backward twice.
It was chilling to think what if I’d grabbed a venomous centipede or snake.
‘So that’s why he made me gloves.’
In a daze, I grabbed a rotten log and clambered up a mound, struggling half-asleep.
My father, who was leading, extended a hand to me.
While I climbed the small mound holding my father’s hand, he leaned in.
“Climb up quietly and stay low.”
His voice was small and low.
We hadn’t climbed much, but something had already appeared?
Not caring about getting dirty, I pressed myself flat on the ground.
“There’s a feather rabbit ahead.”
Feather rabbits were strange rabbits my father sometimes caught.
Though they ran on four legs like regular rabbits, they had feathers on their tails and front legs.
Of course, they couldn’t fly.
However, their feathers were long and elastic, making them useful for arrow fletching or quill pens. But… I couldn’t see it.
“Where is it?”
“Do you see that tree darker than the others?”
It was a tree my mother had taught me about half a year ago.
The resin from that tree was particularly flammable, used for making torches.
“Isn’t that a Black Knot Tree?”
“Yes. Look closely at the base.”
There was nothing at the base.
“…I don’t see anything?”
Just as I said that, the outline of the feather rabbit came into view.
It moved slightly, catching my peripheral vision.
Its camouflage was almost perfect, like a snake.
If you looked away, you’d lose sight of it.
I focused on the rabbit.
It was washing its feathers with its paws—pretty cute.
“…I see it now.”
“Those things are hard to spot.”
My father quietly took the bow slung across his chest and nocked an arrow.
“Usually, you aim for the body when hunting, but since their feathers are valuable, you have to aim for the head.”
Thwack!
At the loud noise, the rabbit convulsed.
Since it’s a cold weapon, the sound comes first, followed by the arrow. Because of this, aiming for the head would be nearly impossible.
Crack!
As the rabbit bolted in surprise, the arrow shattered its head as if my father had predicted the movement and escape route.
‘This makes no sense, but he did it!’
My father had anticipated the rabbit’s movement and escape route!
The rabbit was twitching.
It was my first time witnessing the killing of an animal in person.
This natural order of the wild was grotesque and unfamiliar, and the impossible skill with the bow sent shivers down my spine.
It felt so surreal, as if it wasn’t reality.
At the same time, I was glad because I knew how delicious rabbits were.
The meat was tender, especially loved by Stella.
“Bring it here. Don’t put it in the basket.”
Sliding down the slope, I grabbed the rabbit by its ears. Its head was blown apart.
I thought it must have died instantly and painlessly, but at that moment—
Shake, shake!
The rabbit, its head gone, started thrashing with all its might.
“───────?!!!”
Startled by the terrifying sight, I threw the rabbit away.
‘If your head’s blown off, you should just die quietly!’
“Pwahahaha!!!”
My father laughed uproariously, clearly finding it amusing.
He must’ve expected me to be startled.
Calming my nerves, I picked the rabbit back up.
‘So this is what they call post-mortem twitching.’
I’d seen post-mortem twitching in mosquitoes and cockroaches many times, but this was my first time seeing it in a furry animal.
Up close, I could see its brain was shattered and dangling.
I clambered back up the slope using both feet and one hand with the rabbit in tow.
When I handed the rabbit to my father, he pulled the arrow out of its head and wrapped the wound with cloth.
“Why cover the rabbit’s head with cloth? Isn’t that a waste?”
“If the smell of blood spreads, predators will come. Keep this in mind: the brain is the quickest organ to spoil, and the stench is really foul when it does.”
Oh, predators.
We weren’t alone in this mountain.
“Are there a lot of predators here?”
“Of course! I’ve seen more than ten bears and tigers in this mountain while hunting. There were even packs of kobolds. Since the mountain lord is here, there are no wolves, but…”
His tone was meant to scare.
‘With ten bears and tigers, what’s left in this mountain anyway?’
Even with ten, they wouldn’t have enough prey, and they’d be eating each other.
Noticing my expression, my father continued.
“…But I’ve definitely seen kobolds.”
─Kobolds.
Though smaller than my father, they’ll eat anything weaker than them, like voracious frogs.
As beastfolk, they have intelligence and live in small family units or large tribes.
This is why hunters, despite the money, don’t often choose this line of work.
Humans aren’t the top predators.
There’s a limit to the profitability, and if you’re not careful, you’ll get eaten.
They might even steal your prey.
Competing against cannibalistic creatures with human intellect and animal senses in a forest is daunting.
Realizing we weren’t even the top of the food chain, just somewhere in the middle, made the mountain suddenly feel unfamiliar.
‘At least this is within the mountain lord’s territory.’
The mountain lord drives out all predators and beastfolk within his domain.
“By the way, that mountain lord, Terup, right? I asked Mom, and she said you offer food to Terup. Does he actually eat it?”
My father’s face, gazing sleepily down at me, broke into a smile.
“He just picks out the meat, like someone I know.”
I swatted his swinging backside as he walked ahead.
Slap──!!!
At the sound of the smack, a bird took off from a nearby tree.
The sensation was perfect.
It felt so good I wanted to hit it again.
I guarantee my mother can’t resist smacking his butt either.
My father, still smiling, continued forward.
Education systems were underdeveloped here.
I’d secretly thought everyone would be a bit slow.
Somehow carrying bad stereotypes or lacking basic knowledge.
But it wasn’t like that.
I was learning about the world.
My father and mother knew almost everything necessary for life here and the current civilization.
The fungi growing inside rotten trees and their uses, antidotes, herbs that heal wounds, and complementary medicines.
I thought I had some special advantage.
But I was the most ignorant, viewing the world with modern biases.
Even though I’d been learning little by little, there was still so much left, and just learning made the time pass quickly.
At the same time, the basket gradually grew heavier.
“How do you find by-products or animal tracks, Dad? I can’t see anything, no matter how much I look.”
“Once you spend enough time in the mountains, you start to see them. You will too.”
I see. I thought it was some kind of technique.
So this is what they mean by a seasoned expert’s eye.
“Look over there!”
‘I have no idea what he’s pointing at.’
Camouflage and invisibility were useless in front of my father’s eyes.
He could identify what were bear and tiger tracks and even tell how long ago they were made.
That way ahead could have a bear smelling us and approaching.
The area up front was a tiger’s territory, so we could be attacked.
He told me that if you shoot within 24 cubits* of range, you can hit the target before it reacts to the sound.
[1 cubit* = 50cm]
I remembered everything meticulously.
Sometimes, my father seemed like something beyond a hunter.
“When did you start hunting?”
My father glanced at me.
After a brief pause, he spoke.
“I started right after my coming-of-age ceremony.”
In this world, coming-of-age is at sixteen.
That means my father has spent nearly half his life in the mountains.
“Who taught you?”
“I learned from my grandfather. He was a famous hunter in this town.”
Since I’d never been to the village, I’d never seen anyone other than my parents. There were no other houses around the cabin.
I’d never seen relatives or neighbors.
I hadn’t even seen a passerby.
It felt like a cut-off world, but maybe that wasn’t entirely true.
“Was Grandpa as good at hunting as you?”
“Of course! He was an exceptional hunter. But he was overly confident. One day, while climbing the mountain with his bare hands, he was bitten by a Widow Viper and died a year before you were born.”
…Maybe I should just run off to the city?
“That’s a scary name.”
“They’re aggressive and will chase you down. It’s the deadliest snake for hunters. You must stay alert in the mountains.”
“Yes.”
He meant not to let my guard down like now.
My father was right.
There wouldn’t be specialized hospitals in such a place, and even if there were, I doubted they’d have antidotes for every venomous creature.
Even if it was my first time in the mountains, the predators and snakes wouldn’t avoid me.
Death was a familiar part of this world.
“There are a lot of Widow Vipers in this mountain.”
“Widow Vipers?”
“They’re the deadliest snakes for hunters. Can you see it under the rock by the stream?”
Near the stream, a long black figure was swimming.
It was about 30 meters away.
Even with the elevated view, it was incredible eyesight.
“That’s a Widow Viper?”
“Yes. They change their body color to blend with their surroundings, making them difficult to deal with.”
From his description, it wasn’t much different from a chameleon.
But perhaps it couldn’t turn blue because the water’s color wasn’t right.
Or maybe since snakes see heat, and water was cold, it looked black.
“Remember the story from yesterday? The Reptilians fighting a war against the wolves. They used the venom of these snakes on their weapons and arrows. Even adults die within 30 minutes if bitten, so never get bitten.”
Thirty minutes. It would take at least thirty minutes to get back home from here.
‘What if I get bitten?’
Lying down and accepting my fate would be the wise choice.
Thinking, ‘What should I come back as in my next life?’
“Can’t you catch and sell them?”
My father shook his head, looking at me as if I shouldn’t even dream of it.
“The venom is too strong, so you can’t eat them, and their skins are too thin to have any value. Don’t worry too much. Widow Vipers usually have small fangs, so as long as you’re wearing proper boots or gloves, you’ll be fine.”
My father descended the slope toward the stream.
He carefully approached the viper and pulled his bowstring.
Thwack!
He shot the viper right through its midsection, pinning it to the ground.
The viper, which had barely escaped the stream and was heading into the forest, writhed like a pinned worm, skewered by the arrow.
His thick boots stomped on it, and a rock came crashing down on its head.
Crunch!
“Come down and take a look.”
My father retrieved the arrow and gestured for me to join him.
“Oh… yes.”
I carefully descended the slope to the stream, and my father walked toward me, holding the dead snake.
“See this spot? Even if their color changes, the black dot between their eyes doesn’t, so remember it. Vipers are slow, so just kill them as soon as you see them, like I did.”
…Is he seriously showing me a snake with its head smashed in to teach me about it?
It reminded me of past times.
In the army, I’d killed snakes several times.
A junior had his ring finger amputated after being bitten by a pit viper while working.
He’d foolishly caught it to release it far away, and it bit him.
He was a kind, diligent junior.
One of those people who should never have lost a finger.
After that, I started killing all the snakes around the base.
If I felt that way, how must my father, who lost his parents to a snake, feel?
The snake in my father’s hand slowly changed from black to brown. He threw it back on the ground.
‘No matter what, it’s kind of pitiful.’
We continued walking a bit downstream.
The sound of the water and the cool river breeze were refreshing.
I noticed a rope tied to a tree from afar.
‘He set up a fish trap.’
I’d wondered where he got the fish from.
My father pulled on a long rope tied to a tree near the river.
As he pulled up a large fish trap, the size of a human torso from the deep water upstream, the fish inside thrashed wildly, shaking the trap violently. My father grinned.
“Looks like we’ve caught some salmon.”
Soon, the fish trap, weighed down with stones, emerged.
Inside were a few small fish and two large salmon, each about the length of my torso, thrashing as if trying to break the trap.
Splash! Splash─!
Ignoring the smaller fish, my father released them back into the water and took the salmon out of the trap, quickly gutting them.
He tossed the salmon heads and put the guts back into the trap.
The way he handled the rabbit was unique.
He split it open with a knife, but after that, he carefully peeled the fur off by hand, piece by piece.
If I took this fur home, my mother would remove the remaining fat stuck to the skin.
After scaling the fish with a knife, my father untied the female feather rabbit from his belt and handed it to me.
“I’ll show you how to skin it, so give it a try.”
…It’s time.