Reincarnation with AI (Unemployment-Free)

Chapter 54 Hunting

Hunting is different from fighting monsters.

The difference starts from the very first step.

Humans don't usually provoke monsters; they only eliminate them when the monster enters their territory and threatens their survival.

Monsters will attack villages for food.

All you need to do is stay where the monsters appear and wait for an encounter to begin.

This can be described as a passive behavior.

Hunting begins with finding prey.

You must actively seek out the prey you want to hunt.

This behavior is primarily directed at herbivorous or omnivorous animals.

The wild animals living in the forest would then have something to say.

I have a nose and eyes, and I have four legs. If you want to kill me or eat my flesh, you have to ask them for their permission first.

Of course, these are herbivores, and in the food chain, they are the prey.

If it is a carnivore.

They are the true kings of the jungle.

They might be standing on that branch, or crouching in the bushes, watching you intently.

You won't even notice their existence until the moment the surprise attack begins.

Now it's your turn to ask yourself these questions.

With my two shoulders carrying one head, can I turn the tide and win on its home turf?

Modern people pave roads with asphalt and build their homes with steel.

This is a kind of fear.

They feared rats, ants, snakes, and insects; they feared wolves, jackals, tigers, and leopards.

Just three or five mosquitoes are enough to make modern people scream in pain from their bites.

If a modern person enters a tropical rainforest, it's hard to say whether they'll die in just one night, but they'll certainly be covered in bruises.

When living people walk into the jungle, it's like a whale fall frenzy for the insects.

If insects had human thoughts, they would surely raise their hands in gratitude to Mother Nature for her gifts!

In this cruel world where people eat raw meat and drink blood, there is such a beautiful jade!

There are such delicious meals that are so easy to obtain in this world!

Even if I arrive late, standing on the dining table that's been utterly ravaged by my companions' excrement and saliva, I'm still so happy!

Of course, this fear is not a bad thing, but a necessary form of awareness.

Even after reaching the top of the food chain, it still serves as a sober reminder of the need for human progress.

It was precisely because of their fear of snakes, insects, rats, and ants, and their fear of the unpredictability of wild beasts, that our ancestors moved from caves into villages and built cities from those villages.

This fear is precisely the oldest driving force of civilization.

What's truly frightening isn't fear itself, but that modern people have stayed in their comfort zones for too long and have forgotten why they should be afraid.

A modern person who has forgotten to fear nature no longer carries on their shoulders the intelligent brain that helps humanity stand at the top of the food chain, but rather a slowly turning gear in some steel jungle.

When a modern person, dressed in shorts and flip-flops, ventures unprepared into the depths of a forest, he will face not only bites, but a real survival crisis.

This is like a patient who needs to survive in a sterile ward walking into the human world without any warning.

A strict father will inevitably make you experience his cruelty.

but.

It is precisely because we are fearful enough that we eventually become strong enough.

When we become too powerful, we easily forget why we should have been afraid in the first place.

In my past life, I was a child whose grandfather had to keep watch in the chicken coop at night and who had to hold tightly to his parents' hands when walking at night to prevent him from being carried away by wolves.

Back then, Rudius watched Animal World every day without fail.

Rudius had a reverence and love for nature that far exceeded that of most modern people.

To explain the source of fear...

In his previous life, when Rudeus was a child, he sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and overheard his neighbor talking to his father with a sigh.

"Two children were snatched away from the fields yesterday."

"It was around dusk, before it was completely dark."

"Yes, two, the twins from the family that's not far ahead."

"Those twins were so beautiful, so handsome, and they were both boys. We were so happy back then."

"She was just short of vegetables at home, so she would pick some from the field on her way home with the kids."

"There's a big slope there, and she thought it was inconvenient, so she put the child on it and went to pick vegetables in the field. When she came back, the child was gone."

"That's right, he just grabbed a handful of vegetables, and in the blink of an eye, the child was gone."

"That's right, they were such a lovely pair of twins, and that young wife cried so much—"

Roltz walked ahead, carrying a homemade spear and a bow and arrows on his back, his eyes scanning for animal tracks.

Although polearms are considered weapons of demons, hunting is not about fighting humans.

Even wild boars won't mock you for being a descendant of the devil.

Nature is the most particular about the laws of physics.

For wild animals, size equals power.

For humans, distance is life.

Wild beasts fight with instinct, while humans fight with wisdom.

They faced a blatant threat to their lives, yet felt little moral pressure.

The choice is self-evident.

Rudius and Hilfi followed a few steps behind Rolz, with Paul close behind.

Paul donned the cloak he only wore on adventures, and his weapon, as always, was his sword.

In terms of physical strength, Paul has an overwhelming advantage.

Paul wouldn't be afraid of anything, not even the wild beasts near Buena Village, or even monsters that suddenly appeared in his face.

For Paul, who had formally studied swordsmanship and was accustomed to using a sword, there was no better choice than this familiar old companion.

Therefore, there is no need to choose the more advantageous spear.

Not everyone is a genius swordsman; Paul is already at the top level of combat power among ordinary people.

This is the fundamental reason why Roltz agreed to bring Sylphie along.

Rudius was dressed as usual.

The forests here are not tropical rainforests, but rather forests that are closer to inland forests in the mid-to-high latitudes of the Earth.

And now that winter is approaching, there's not much need to worry about mosquito bites.

However, Rudius noticed that Hilfi's ankles were also properly bound with straps, in addition to her normal clothing, presumably at Roltz's instruction.

Paul had previously taken Rudeus hunting or fighting monsters.

However, Rudius was still very young at that time, and he just stood far away, watching Paul's deliberately showing off.

Paul brought Rudius along because he wanted to make a good impression on him.

Rudius's assessment of this was, "Hmm—childish brat—"

Later, feeling that it was a waste of time, he showed little interest and declined.

Otherwise, maybe I would have a small cape myself?

Rudius lacked relevant hunting knowledge, and even though he scanned the area, he couldn't gather any useful information. His gaze wandered aimlessly like a headless fly.

"Rudy, don't be so nervous, Dad's here, everything's fine," Paul said with a hint of excitement in his voice.

"Huh? I'm not nervous at all. It was agreed that I would use magic to hunt this time. I'm just looking for prey."

"Oh, is that so?" Paul's gaze darted between Rudeus and Hilfi, as if trying to ascertain Rudeus's motives for saying that.

"Found it." Roltz said, quickening his pace and squatting down. He casually picked up a thin twig and carefully parted the pile of droppings. "This is wild boar droppings, and it's still very fresh. It should be nearby."

After saying that, Roltz stood up and raised his hand to signal the three of them not to move.

You could sense that Roltz's face seemed a bit more serious.

Then Roltz picked up a dry clod of earth, crushed it into fine powder with his fingers, and slowly and gently sprinkled it onto the ground.

Then he continued to observe the surrounding terrain.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Hilfi asked softly.

The fact that she would ask such a question suggests that this is also Silphie's first time hunting with Roltz.

"We're taking a wind reading, Rufie," Roltz replied carefully. "Animal noses are very sensitive, and that wild boar is likely nearby, so we need to take a wind reading first."

Lufi is Xilufi's nickname.

Rudius watched all of this quietly.

Actually, he was just thinking that with such a weak breeze, the method of sticking saliva to his hands wouldn't be very effective.

Then I saw Roltz's soil-twisting wind measurement.

I feel that this method is more practical and hygienic.

Compared to the limited hunter knowledge he learned from movies, Rudeus actually knew much more about animals, especially common sense about hunting, which applies to both humans and animals.

In the forest, because trees obscure the view, hunters will seek and use cover when moving, while carnivores have natural camouflage and the ability to crawl.

In the forest, smell and hearing are much more useful than sight.

However, compared to humans who use their intelligence to measure the wind, the kings of the forest are clearly much more adept at it.

Whether it's a tiger or a cheetah, the whiskers of big cats are the most sophisticated biosensors.

Compared to the kind of ability that hunters need to rely on scattering dirt and feeling through their skin, this is different.

Big cats, almost instinctively and subconsciously, know what changes have occurred in the surrounding airflow.

They possess specialized, large brain regions responsible for processing this information.

This can be described as their passive ability after automation, an ability that guides the big cats at all times.

Through repeated hunts, tigers discover that attacking from the leeward side significantly increases their success rate.

Hunger forces them to learn constantly; successful experiences are reinforced, and failed experiences are avoided, eventually forming a habit.

They may not truly understand, but they know how to do it.

To survive in the harsh natural environment and become a top predator, the tiger's body is a sophisticated machine designed for killing and survival.

The kings of the jungle are the perfect embodiment of "survival of the fittest".

As the saying goes, "Clouds follow the dragon, and wind follows the tiger."

Choosing to attack against the wind means that the reverse airflow disturbance caused by the tiger's massive body at the moment of attack is extremely unusual.

When you sense an unusual gust of wind blowing by, carrying a peculiar, fishy smell into your nostrils, and hear the clamor of birds and beasts taking flight.

The moment you turn around, the tiger's mouth is right in front of you.

The hunter tried to control the wind direction to avoid being spotted by the tiger, but the tiger may have already sensed the hunter's arrival through the changes in the wind.

Tigers resonate with the wind, and their appearance often brings bloodshed and chaos.

The words of our ancestors always contain profound wisdom for survival.

The fragments of words that have been passed down for thousands of years are likely not empty words, but rather the last words left by countless people with their last consciousness before facing the tiger's jaws.

Escaping from the jaws of death is the highest praise for a mountain king.

These four words encapsulate human wisdom and courage, and also highlight the tiger's majesty and power.

As for who is the ruler and who is the king, that depends on instinct and wisdom, and who prevails.

However, in this sparsely wooded plain forest, you probably wouldn't find the mountain king, would you?

After a brief observation, Roltz determined the direction and waved for the three to follow.

Before they arrived, Roltz had given them instructions, so the three of them remained quiet and proceeded using Professor Roltz's hunter's pace.

The so-called hunter's step involves landing on your heel first and then slowly rolling to your toes, which minimizes the risk of breaking branches and making noise.

Incidentally, although the sound of a tiger moving forward using its paw pads is already very small, in the final stages of approaching its prey, it will still turn its front paws over and use its softer fur to touch the ground, crawling forward silently.

This is the nature of nature's selection process; there is no difference between the actions of humans and tigers.

When faced with the challenge of survival, evolution will push different species toward similar answers.

Rudius saw yet another case of different paths leading to the same destination.

Following in Roltz's footsteps and observing the footprints he had discovered, the four moved forward silently.

Finally, about fifteen minutes later, the gray-black figure was spotted in the bushes.

Roltz was just observing the environment, and he was probably speculating on the areas where wild boars would go, where there was food and water.

Rudius couldn't discern the importance of familiarity with the terrain and knowledge of wild boar habits based on experience.

I just feel really lucky to have found the wild boar so quickly.

At this moment, they spotted a wild boar, and Roltz beckoned the three of them to come forward.

Rudeus looked at the wild boar, and the wild boar also looked up at Rudeus.

It was obvious that the other party had discovered them.

However, the boar merely kept an eye on Rudius and his group, neither fleeing nor launching an attack.

Rudius looked up at Rolz, then at Paul.

After receiving affirmative glances from the two men, Rudeus raised his hand and fired a rock cannonball.

The wild boar not far away also fell to the ground as expected.

It's only a short distance of a dozen meters.

Everything happened so fast that none of the three people except Rudius could react in time.

Paul and Roltz both stared with their mouths slightly agape at the wild boar that had fallen to the ground in the distance.

Only Hilfi, though surprised, acted as if it were perfectly normal after seeing the boar fall to the ground, as if she was certain that Rudeus could easily defeat him.

"Shall we go over there?" Rudius suggested.

"Ah, okay," Roltz replied after a moment's hesitation.

The four men walked into the wild boar carcass.

A wild boar carcass was found, with parts of its head and shoulders smashed.

It's clear that the rock cannonball came from the wild boar's right front, because the left half of its head had disappeared, leaving only a deformed jawbone barely connecting its neck.

The kinetic energy of the rock projectile tore a huge gash in the flesh of the shoulder, revealing the shattered scapula inside, like a piece of porcelain smashed by a hammer, its sharp edges diagonally embedded in the torn muscle.

At this moment, the wild boar's strong vitality allowed it to still have a final body twitch, and pig blood gushed out of the wound in spurts.

You can see wisps of heat rising gently in the cool autumn air.

The brutal scenes also carried a sense of freshness—fresh flesh and blood, fresh life, and fresh death.

That so-called desensitization training is exactly what it's about—it's this warm, flesh-and-blood connection that brings about a true trial.

After briefly examining the wild boar's wounds, Roltz skillfully took out his tools and began the bloodletting process.

Rudius stepped forward, crouched down, and reached his hand under the broken wound.

The last of the wild boar's blood was still gushing out, flowing into his palm with each final heartbeat, then overflowing from between his fingers and dripping onto the withered leaves.

Rudius stared at the wound in front of him, which was larger than his own head, at the layers of skin, the shattered bones, the soft fat, and the torn muscle.

Feeling the death of a large prey that had just stopped breathing, was still convulsing, was still warm, and whose body was three or four times its own size.

"Rudy?" Hilfi called out, her face pale.

Letting out a breath, Rudius shook the pig's blood off his hands, stood up and said, "Let's go over there and see what your father is doing."

1

"Rudy, do you want it washed off?"

Rudius glanced at his blood-stained hands. "No need."

The two men circled around the wild boar from its back to its belly.

Rudius saw that Rolz had already skillfully completed the bloodletting.

At that moment, he plunged the knife into the end of the wild boar's breastbone.

The rock cannonball just now killed the wild boar, but it seems the bleeding wasn't thorough enough.

Rolz looked quite busy, only glancing back at Rudius and Sylphie.

"I'll help too!" Rudius shouted.

"Oh, Rudius, let me handle this. It'll be bad if we don't deal with it quickly." Roltz said, making a cut near the boar's anus.

This cut actually requires a lot of skill; you can only cut through the skin and abdominal muscles, not the stomach and intestines inside the abdominal cavity, otherwise the stomach contents will leak out and the meat will be ruined.

However, Roltz clearly lacked the ability to explain things while working, so he had no choice but to refuse Rudius's request.

Unable to actually do it himself, Rudius could only watch Roltz's actions with a serious expression. Seeing this, Hilfi also began to watch attentively, just like him.

Watching Roltz clean out the wild boar's stomach and intestines, he simply threw them on the ground.

Then he watched as Rolz carefully took out the pig liver.

Rudius felt that the pig's blood remaining on his hands had dried out a bit.

Realizing that Roltz was about to pack up the pig liver, Rudius spoke up, "Uncle Roltz, may I take it for a moment?"

"Oh? Sure."

Rudius intended to accept the pig liver, which looked like a thick, flat tongue, with both hands.

The moment I touched it, the soft, slippery feel made me instinctively want to pull my hand away.

But Rudius still managed to grab it firmly.

However, the warm, bloody scent made Rudius simply reach out and grab it.

The pig liver was so big, and so hard to handle.

Rudius thought he would definitely lose his grip on the pig's liver, and would end up holding it in his arms, getting his clothes dirty.

Oh dear, this is terrible. He's only six years old and came here for desensitization training.

When the time came, she acted like a mother, her first concern being that her clothes would get dirty.

Is this a case of being negatively impacted by housework?

"Rudy, don't disturb Roltz's work," Paul reminded him.

Rudeus looked up at Roltz's helpless expression, stunned.

He was still holding the pig liver up, not letting go.

"Ah, oh————"

Rudius awkwardly withdrew his hands.

Paul, who was on guard duty nearby, wiped his face.

What a scene this is!

Although Roltz handed the pig liver to Rudeus, he was actually observing Sylphie's condition the whole time.

Hilfi, however, was focused on what Rudeus was doing and did not notice her father's attention.

Paul had assumed that Rudius, who had inherited his excellent bloodline, would be a womanizer.

But now that such a good opportunity is right in front of him, Rudius is only staring at the pig's heart and liver.

It's truly hopeless.

"Oh dear, I can't stand it anymore," Paul said. "Roltz, do you need me to split the pig's breast open for you?"

"Oh, is that alright? That would be very troublesome."

Roltz didn't bring his special machete, so it's fair to say that Paul's presence was a huge help.

A lone hunter would normally try to avoid encountering wild boars.

Wild boars are true ferocious beasts.

Its two upturned fangs could easily rip open a person's stomach, or disembowel a hunting dog.

They are thick-skinned, have a violent temper, and are known for their relentless, ruthless nature when provoked.

Not to mention the risks of tracking, even if you successfully take them down with a trap or shotgun, the subsequent handling will be a huge problem.

Take, for example, the machete I just mentioned.

Those heavy machetes used to cut through the breastbone of domestic pigs are too heavy and have only one function; they would never be on the equipment list of a hunter who needs to travel long distances.

A hunter who has been walking in the forest for days or even weeks must carefully calculate the weight of every gram in his backpack.

Taking it along mountain trails, I was exhausted before I even found any prey.

It was because of Paul's presence that Roltz agreed to take action against the wild boar, and it is now because of Paul's presence that they can easily break open the wild boar's chest cavity.

Otherwise, Roltz would have had to reach in and rip out the valuable pig's heart, which would obviously get his clothes dirty.

The three men pushed each other aside slightly, and Paul drew his sword, slung it over his shoulder, and with a "hey!" split the pig's chest open.

"These warriors are really unreasonable," Rudeus muttered to himself.

As Roltz took over the work again, Rudius's gaze shifted to the pig's heart that had appeared in the chest cavity.

This looked much easier to handle than the pig liver, so Rudius asked again, "Uncle Roltz, could I get this?"

Upon hearing this, Paul, who had sheathed his sword and was standing to the side, covered his forehead with his hand.