"Beat It. This Isn't a Place for a Punk Like You."
“Beat it. This isn't a place for a punk like you.”
Syrin and Yoran, who had descended into the plaza, glared at Adel.
Yoran growled.
“You just stay back and watch. Huh? You won't get your turn anyway.”
“Is Brother Yoran challenging it too?”
“...What?”
“Then if both of you succeed in taming Kargon, who wins?”
“Obviously Brother Syrin!”
Adel gave Yoran a pitiful, sympathetic look and tskted his tongue.
“Then I'll talk to Brother Syrin. Doesn't seem like there's much to say to you, brother.”
“W-what did you say?!”
Yoran scowled and yelled at Adel.
Too bad, Yoran. By talent alone, you were someone who absolutely wouldn't fall behind...
Despite being brothers, his current demeanor just made him look like Syrin's lackey.
Standing next to the moon makes the stars forget how brightly they shine.
Hien's brothers were all selected elites with exceptional talents. But even among outstanding talents, there were clear hierarchies. Surrounded by so many geniuses, Yoran seemed to have forgotten his own strengths.
“Brother, let's call it off.”
“Why? Scared I'll tame it first?”
“...As if. If you succeed, you'd be the rare back-to-back winner of Hunt's Day. If you want to go first, be my guest. I was just stopping you because it's dangerous.”
“Dangerous? From just one Kargon's?”
Syrin scoffed, mocking Adel's words.
“You lunatic. Don't know where you crawled in from, but you're just as obnoxious as Merka or you. Shut up and scram.”
Syrin glared at Adel like he wanted to devour him.
“...You okay?”
Bin Temir, who had been silently watching until now, spoke to Adel. As the sixth son, unlike his other brothers, he didn't carry the air of a hunter.
“Might sound funny in this situation, but it's best not to catch the older brothers' eyes. That's how you survive here.”
Adel looked at the frail-seeming boy with curiosity. He and Adel had something in common.
He looks endlessly weak, but like me, he was taken in.
That meant Bin had passed the ritual too. Though cowed by his brothers' presence, he undoubtedly possessed outstanding qualities.
Can't be helped. Brother's talents shine elsewhere.
And Adel knew exactly where that was.
“You telling me to give up?”
“I'm saying think of your safety.”
Adel smiled faintly at him.
“Thanks for the concern. But don't worry. And don't give up your place too soon. You brothers each have your own paths.”
“Comforting me in this mess? You're a weird kid. Or maybe I just look that pathetic to you already.”
Bin let out a low sigh.
“I mean you'll get your chance. You brothers, and me too.”
Bin tilted his head, not quite grasping his words.
Thud—
Syrin tossed aside the armor he wore.
Then he slowly approached the rampaging Kargon.
Hiiing—!!!
The Kargon, mane whipping as it bucked wildly, suddenly halted upon seeing Syrin approach.
“Ooooh...?!”
The crowd let out low exclamations at the calmed beast.
Among the brothers, three were out on border suppression missions. Syrin, one of them, had the most hunting experience. His confidence stemmed from that vast experience.
“A rare breed? Still just a Kargon in the end. If I can hunt sandworms, taming you is nothing.”
[Grrrrr...]
Sensing Syrin's aura, the Kargon growled lowly, lowering its stance and aiming the horn on its forehead at him.
Twitch—
The tendons in the Kargon's hind legs bulged. Its legs sank lower, its posture flattening like it was kneeling.
“Ooooh...”
To the non-hunters of the tribe, who rarely dealt with Kargons, it looked like a submissive kneel, and they watched Syrin with hopeful eyes.
No chance like that.
But Adel and the tamer Daven were the only ones shaking their heads with sighs. A low stance from a Kargon meant the opposite of submission—it was a sign of aggression.
Once you make it wary, taming's over.
As expected, Syrin was skilled at hunting but far from capture.
Might not end with just an arm like with Magon. Magon could be abandoned, but Syrin can't.
Beyond taming, if the Kargon rebelled, Syrin would instinctively draw his sword. But killing it by mistake would be worse, so he'd hesitate midway. That split-second gap could lead to serious injury.
...Should I help?
Adel pondered stopping Syrin.
[Kekeke, saying things you don't mean.]
Yeah, you caught me.
Adel smirked at Kalderet's response, which read his thoughts.
Syrin, don't blame me no matter what happens.
As Kalderet said, Syrin wasn't someone he needed to help.
“That's right.”
Regardless of Adel's thoughts, Syrin approached the Kargon with its head bowed low.
Extending one arm forward, he closed the distance. The Kargon flinched back but stopped.
“That's right. Good.”
Syrin kept murmuring to it like a mantra as he drew near.
Swish—
His hand reached the Kargon's head, stroking its mane slowly. The beast stayed still.
“No way...? Is he succeeding?”
“The second young master?!”
The crowd buzzed in shock.
“Hah, see that? Scared of nothing. I'll claim Father's reward relic. I'll be the only brother with two Hunt's Day prizes.”
Buoyed by success, Syrin turned to mock Adel and Merka behind him.
[Hiiing!!!]
That was when it happened.
The Kargon shook its head violently, flinging off Syrin's hand, then rammed him with the sharp horn on its forehead.
“...Guhk!!!”
Syrin let out a dying scream as a gut-wrenching impact bent his waist into a shape.
“B-brother!!!”
Yoran yelled urgently at Syrin clutching his gut and collapsing.
“Don't go.”
Adel stopped Yoran from rushing to help.
“You bastard?! Let go!!”
“I can let go, but if you go now, you'll end up the same. Kargon's horn is tough but not that sharp. One hit won't kill instantly. But a hind kick? Merka or Syrin might survive, but you'd have your guts ruptured. Go ahead if you're confident.”
“You... you little...”
Yoran resented Adel but couldn't retort. It was Adel's expression.
What the hell? Is he really from the center? That murderous glare...
Yoran had decent hunting and suppression experience, but no monster's eyes he'd seen matched Adel's.
“...”
Yoran unwittingly turned away.
Syrin aside, you're not even on my radar, Yoran. Don't make trouble.
Adel brushed past Yoran, drawing the dagger from his waist.
“Wha—?!”
“Borrowing this, brother.”
“...Huh?”
Yoran just touched his empty sheath in bewilderment, speechless.
[Hiiing—!!!]
The furious Kargon raised a foreleg toward the fallen Syrin.
“Kyaaak...!!”
“Watch out!!”
The crowd screamed.
But Nazan, Muel, and Hien watched without moving.
Flash—!!!
Instead, there was one motion.
“Taming isn't just about coaxing and soothing. You can't earn trust acting out of character.”
“...Guhk?!”
Adel had slipped in, stepped on the fallen Syrin, leaped up, grabbed the Kargon's mane, and mounted its back.
“The method changes depending on the opponent.”
Leaping off again to land behind, Adel unhesitatingly stabbed the dagger into its thigh.
“...!!”
“...!!”
[Hiiing—!!!]
Pain from its thigh made the Kargon instinctively lift its hind leg.
Crack...!!
“Kaaaak...!!!”
In that instant, the foreleg crushed Syrin's ankle.
“Y-young master!!!”
“How...?!!”
Everyone was aghast.
“You...!! On purpose...!!!”
Syrin screamed in agony at Adel.
“Better stay still. You should thank me. If I hadn't stabbed it, your ribs would've flown instead of your ankle.”
From atop the Kargon, Adel spoke lowly to him.
“Under its weight, nine out of ten would've pierced your lungs or heart. Ankle heals with rest, but you've only got one life.”
Adel smiled down from the Kargon.
“...Syrin owes him his life.”
“A guy like Syrin wouldn't die to a Kargon, but... to the tribe, it sure looks that way.”
Nazan and Muel watched with interest.
“This is getting fun somehow.”
“Muel, you didn't tip him off, did you?”
“About what?”
“Our tribe's code.”
She scoffed at Nazan's question.
“As if. Haven't had a chance to talk to Adel since the ritual.”
“Hmm.”
“He hasn't even been shown his tent yet, let alone the code.”
“Then...”
“Coincidence or luck, but seems the gods have reached out to that kid.”
Muel eyed Adel like savoring a meal.
“You're in a tough spot now, Syrin.”
A life for a life. That was the Ulan tribe's code.
Owing a life meant repaying it in kind, anytime.
“Maybe not coincidence or luck.”
“Hm?”
“He might've grabbed the god's hand and pulled it to him.”
All eyes turned to Adel.
It was the moment the Hunt's Day winner was etched in everyone's minds.