Deer Hunting
Deer Hunt
I was currently walking along a forest path.
As I had resolved yesterday, I was on my way to the spot for Deer Hunt.
Since there were no cell phones in this world, going to bed early had become a habit,
and naturally, I woke up early in the morning.
I woke up early in the morning and headed towards the deer habitat that Arisa's Husband, Ben, had told me about.
It seemed that sensitive animals like deer or Wild Boars didn't even come close to villages where people lived.
That's why the place I was going to was where the Village Hunters occasionally went to hunt.
Occasionally, Wild Boars would appear, but mostly deer lived around there, so he told me to go there if I wanted to catch deer.
And so, last night, I was walking through the forest wearing a skirt that had been refashioned to reach my knees.
"It's definitely comfortable."
After wearing a long skirt that reached my ankles, wearing a knee-length skirt was much more comfortable, at least when walking.
Moreover, since this was a rugged mountain path, my satisfaction with the refashioned skirt was at its peak.
However, if there was just one drawback, it was the wind.
Even when wearing a long skirt, the feeling of bare skin contact whenever the wind blew never felt right, but wearing a shorter knee-length skirt made it feel even more intense.
It was as if, if I didn't constantly remind myself that I was wearing a skirt, I would mistake myself for being naked from the waist down.
"Ugh."
Truly, it was utterly unpleasant.
As I walked, I eventually found the marker Ben had mentioned.
A Red Cloth hung on the largest and thickest tree in the vicinity.
Reaching this point meant that it would be difficult to get help from the villagers unless I returned to the village.
Conversely, it also meant that this was a place where deer frequently appeared.
I immediately lowered my body and started walking while looking at the ground.
Honestly, I didn't have a hunting rifle, nor did I have a way to quickly chase after a deer.
Therefore, rather than actively searching for deer, hiding my presence and waiting at a path they frequently used would increase my chances of a successful hunt.
So, what I needed to find right now were deer tracks, deer droppings, deer hair, and signs of grazed grass.
It would be best to hide in a place where at least three of these traces were present.
I diligently wandered through the forest like that.
I didn't forget to break off branches here and there to mark my way so I wouldn't get lost.
And after diligently searching, I finally found traces.
Among the traces I mentioned earlier, there was grass indiscriminately torn in the middle, and abundant deer tracks.
Although there were only two traces instead of three, it seemed to be a place where deer roughly grazed.
Moreover, the best thing was that there was a place to hide myself among the bushes.
Fearing that my scent and presence might leak out, I quickly hid myself among the bushes.
From now on, it was a battle of patience.
I waited without even breathing much until the deer arrived.
##
-sabak-sabak
A deer, unaware of anything, wandered around and came to graze on grass.
-hoodeudeuk, hoodeudeuk
As it moved its head this way and that to tear off tough-stemmed grass, beginning to eat in earnest, and with all its attention focused on chewing the grass,
'Water Ball Magic!'
I raised my Magic Staff and conjured a Magic Circle.
Then, a small sphere formed above the Staff, and immediately flew towards the deer.
The deer, sensing my presence belatedly, tried to run away,
-Peok!
but the deer, already hit in the head by the sphere, immediately fainted.
"Yes!"
Having only caught rabbits or mice, I was happy to finally hunt a proper animal.
My joy was short-lived, however, as the fainted deer began to twitch, trying to regain consciousness.
"This isn't the time for that."
I immediately approached the deer, taking out a small knife from my Inventory and holding it in my hand.
"Ugh... I'm sorry...!"
-Puuk!
I stabbed its spine in the neck in one swift motion.
Even though its nerves were severed, its whole body thrashed due to rigor mortis, and only after a short while did it completely stop breathing.
"Phew..., I really can't get used to this disgusting business."
I had to move quickly before the smell of blood permeated the ground and my body.
Deer with a good sense of smell would immediately run away just by catching the scent of blood nearby.
I immediately put the deer carcass into my Inventory.
The space where my Magic Staff used to be was now filled.
I put the knife back into my Inventory, then quickly turned over and covered the soil, completely erasing the bloodstains.
Of course, even if I erased the traces like this, wild animals would surely notice.
Erasing the traces quickly like this was merely a measure to prevent the smell of blood from clinging to my body.
Now, deer wouldn't even come close to this area.
In that case, I would have to find a new location again.
Hoping to find a place with flowing water this time, I started moving again.
##
"Ah, damn it..."
Was it true that beginner's luck was just dog's luck?
When I suddenly tried to find deer traces again, I couldn't find any.
Clearly, at first, I had found a good spot and succeeded in the Deer Hunt on my first try without failure.
"Has the smell of blood already spread...?"
I wasn't even hoping for deer cries or their presence.
I tried to find even just traces of them passing by or having eaten, but I couldn't find any.
It wouldn't matter if I had simply missed them, but I couldn't see any even after searching for several hours.
If that were the case, it would mean the animals smelled the blood and ran away.
But thinking about it, the smell of blood couldn't have spread that quickly.
When I researched the Inventory last time, I found that unless living creatures other than plants entered the Inventory,
animal carcasses or objects with temperature wouldn't decay as if time had stopped, and hot or cold items would remain as they were.
I, too, had put the deer into my Inventory as soon as I killed it, so there was only a little blood spilled on the ground, making it suspicious to think that wild animals had already noticed.
The traces disappeared as if someone had taken them all away.
".....Let's search a little more."
Because it might really be that I just haven't found them.
##
"How annoying..."
The forest was already humid, and the path was rugged, making it unbearable.
But after wandering for about an hour and still finding no traces, I couldn't help but get annoyed.
But how could they really be gone as if they had suddenly vanished?
"Wait, as if vanished...?"
Something, something felt suspicious...
How should I put it, it felt like they had fled to avoid a predator.
I didn't know what kind of predator it might be.
Wolves or wild dogs.
It could be that kind of predator, or perhaps an even more dangerous one like a bear.
The rational thing to do would be to be satisfied with one and return to the village.
"Honestly, I can't just go back after catching only one like this..."
I've received so much from Mrs. Arisa so far; if I went back like this, I think I'd be too ashamed to bear it.
If such a dangerous situation were to arise, my only option would be to cast Water Ball Magic and run away as fast as I could.
The Mana I used for my first hunt earlier had long since recovered.
Let's try to catch just one more deer as safely as possible and then return.
...................If I get the chance, maybe two more?
##
I had come deep into the forest, but I still hadn't found a stream with flowing water.
Fortunately, however, I was able to find deer tracks.
But these were clearly tracks of something having run, suggesting the presence of a predator deep within the forest.
It seemed unlikely that they would come back to the path they had fled from, so I decided to go a little deeper and then hide my presence.
Perhaps because I had spent quite a lot of time searching for deer traces, the sun seemed to be setting.
After possessing this body, I no longer had the clock I always used to see, so I started guessing the time by feel,
and by my estimation, it seemed to be around 4 o'clock right now.
At the very least, I didn't want to go back when it was almost everyone's bedtime, so I hid my presence, hoping just one would fall into my trap.
Actually, I had planned to return to the village around 1 or 2 PM today and then leave after being seen off.
But since it was already around 4 PM, even if I caught a deer right now, it would be at least 5 PM by the time I returned.
However, there was no sign of a deer appearing right now.
At this rate, I might have to stay one more day and depart the next.
Honestly, I had only found deer tracks, not the deer themselves.
So, departing tomorrow was just a fantasy.
If my luck was bad, there was a possibility that no deer would appear until dawn.
Of course, that would be the worst of the worst situations, so worrying about it now would only make me more anxious.
Therefore, I tried my best to dismiss such thoughts.
Had I waited for about 30 minutes?
To my keenly perked ears, a sound I hadn't heard before began to reach me.
-sabak-sabak
I immediately turned my head towards where the sound came from.
It was a deer.
And it was a much larger and plumper one than the deer I had caught earlier.
-sabak-sabak
It was so cautious, walking very slowly while looking around.
Fearing that even my breathing might be heard, I held my breath silently.
About 5 minutes passed like that.
The deer, still highly cautious, entered my range.
I immediately drew a Magic Circle in my mind.