Chương 35: Chapter 34 The First Hunt

Karath soon arrived before the largest earthen house in the settlement. It belonged to Grild Bloodclaw, chief of the Bloodclaw Tribe.

"Welcome, Karath." Age had left Grild somewhat thinner than before. Of course, by human standards, he had merely gone from resembling Ronnie Coleman to resembling Dwayne Johnson. The chief smiled with what orcs considered gentleness.

"Today, Karath Bloodclaw will prove himself as a warrior of the tribe!" Karath's voice thundered across the settlement.

"As chief, I command it! Today, Karath Bloodclaw shall prove himself as a warrior!" Grild answered with a roar equally powerful and held out a stone axe. Karath grinned.

"I will return." He accepted the weapon and walked toward the settlement's main gate. The second and final stage of a Bloodclaw coming-of-age ceremony was simple. Karath had to hunt prey with his own hands and bring it back. The creature he returned with would prove his worth as an adult warrior. Grild watched Karath walk through the main gate set into the stone wall he had designed and helped construct. A peculiar expression appeared on the chief's face.

"You seem worried, Chief. Keh heh heh." Jark, now visibly aged, laughed beside him.

"Karath's strength is beyond question, but hunting is different, Elder." Grild admitted his concern honestly. More precisely, he was not worried about Karath's safety. He was worried about the result of the hunt. Karath had proven his combat ability long before reaching adulthood. From childhood onward, he had been the strongest fighter among the underage orcs. He had never been satisfied with that. Around the age of ten, Karath suddenly began training alone in various unfamiliar ways.

Before long, he started challenging adult orcs to fights. A vast difference existed between children who had spent their lives brawling inside the settlement and adults who regularly fought monsters in the forest. Naturally, Karath lost repeatedly. Even so, he never stopped training or challenging them. Eventually, he began defeating adult orcs. By the age of thirteen, once his physical growth had progressed far enough, no one in the settlement remained capable of defeating him.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. That was one reason Grild Bloodclaw still held the position of chief. The strongest orc in the settlement traditionally became the tribe's leader. Grild had reached an age when others would soon begin calling him an elder, and even without considering Karath, he was no longer the tribe's strongest warrior. Yet no one challenged him. Once Karath became an adult, the position of chief would belong to him anyway.

There was little reason for another orc to claim a seat whose next owner had already been decided. Karath would simply take it from them after completing his coming-of-age ceremony. His combat ability at the age of fifteen was beyond dispute. Even so, hunting and fighting were separate skills.

"No matter how exceptional Karath may be, this is still his first hunt," Grild said.

"Keh heh heh. Many orcs return from their first hunt with little to show for it."

"Yes. It would be troubling if the future chief returned empty-handed."

"Galon accompanied him, so everything should be fine." During an orc's coming-of-age ceremony, one adult warrior always accompanied the newly matured hunter. The reason was simple. They needed to prevent the young orc from becoming lost and failing to return to the settlement. Finding one's way through a wild forest was extremely difficult. For an orc leaving the village for the first time, returning without guidance was nearly impossible. Orcs already struggled to survive long enough to reach adulthood.

Losing one to the forest on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony would have been an unacceptable waste. Tradition required the young orc to complete the hunt alone whenever possible. However, if something went wrong, the accompanying adult could secretly catch a rabbit or another small animal and offer it to the child.

"Still, everyone in the village is expecting something impressive," Grild said.

"Returning with a rabbit would be disappointing."

"Keh heh heh. Karath will surely manage on his own." Jark had watched Karath closely since the hide-and-seek incident years earlier. His voice contained absolute confidence in the young orc.

"Chief, how about making a wager?"

"A wager on what Karath will bring back?"

"Exactly."

"That sounds entertaining. Krahahaha!" Jark's confidence allowed Grild to forget his worries and laugh.

"I will wager the necklace around my neck that Karath returns with a Black Cobra." Jark pointed toward the necklace he wore. It had been made from the fang of a Black Cobra he hunted during his prime. Unless it was still a juvenile, an adult Black Cobra measured at least three meters in length. The one Jark had killed had been an enormous creature nearly five meters long. By choosing it, Jark compared Karath to himself at the height of his strength.

He was also expressing his hope that Karath would surpass his prime by a great distance.

"Krahahaha! That is a bold wager, Elder. In that case, I will wager that he returns with a Horn Boar."

"Chief, Karath already killed one when he was eight!"

"He only trapped it behind an obstacle. He did not defeat it with his own hands. Finishing a Horn Boar personally would still be valuable experience."

"Are you not being rather stingy, Chief?"

"Krahahaha! I will simply offer a larger prize. If Karath returns with a Horn Boar, I will wager my position as chief!" Jark stared at him.

"What use is wagering a position that will belong to Karath soon anyway?"

"What did you say, Elder?"

"Ahem. Nothing." Grild still remained chief, even if he intended to step down soon. Jark quietly turned away from his stare and addressed the tribespeople.

"You all heard us! We are wagering on what Karath will bring back from his first hunt! The chief has offered his position as the prize, so everyone should join with a worthy wager!" He had shouted mostly to redirect Grild's attention.

"Oooooh!"

"Then I wager on a rabbit!"

"You lunatic! Do you think Karath will return with nothing more than a rabbit?"

"Krahahaha! Even Karath must fail occasionally. If he does, we will have something to mock him about!"

"Keh heh heh. I will choose a gorilla! Karath should be able to kill one without difficulty!"

"Hmph. This is still his first hunt. Returning with a deer would already be impressive. I wager on a deer!" The most promising young warrior in the settlement. The child destined to become a great chief. The boy who had transformed the village since the age of eight. What creature would Karath return with after his first hunt? Naturally, every member of the tribe was interested. One after another, they joined the wager and began naming different animals and monsters.

Some chose weak creatures such as rabbits and deer as a joke, or because they believed even Karath might struggle during his first hunt. Others trusted him enough to choose dangerous creatures such as Horn Boars and gorillas.

"Ogre!" The absurd shout drew every orc's attention toward one place. Delina stood there, gazing at the others with unmistakable pride.

"I wager the skull and hide of the ogre my husband killed that Karath will return with an ogre!" The moment she spoke, every adult orc remembered the same warrior. Garthon, Karath's father. The hero who died protecting the settlement fifteen years earlier.

"Krahahaha! Karath might truly be capable of killing an ogre!"

"Of course! Consider whose son he is!" Every gaze returned to the gate through which Karath had departed. What would he bring back as the first prey of his adult life? A ceremony that should have been a small family occasion had somehow become a greater source of excitement than either the Prophecy Festival or the Harvest Festival.