Red clenched his fist tightly at the sight of the beast that just come into his sight. It was similar to dire lupus, but much bigger.
If he had to make a guess, this beast reached his neck tall and was more than four meters long. It had gray fur, similar to dire lupus but darker.
The singular horn on its forehead made it look scarier. But that was not the most terrifying part about this beast. The curved black blade behind each of its heels was more terrifying. As if it were not enough, its tail was covered with thorn-like fur. He could tell it with a single glance because of how stiff the fur on its tail was.
It was sniffing the ground, the blood where he killed the dire lupus. He didn't know if it was normal for its species, but it kept releasing hot steam as it was breathing.
Red tried to recall if the warrior ever told a story about this beast. It was scary for something like this to live near the tribe. He was unsure whether the warrior could fight this beast. Maybe the Chief might be able to defeat it with the help of the warrior, but the Chief was not in the tribe right now.
It was not alone, as it was followed by more similar beasts. They had a similar appearance to the dire lupus, a bigger version of dire lupus. They didn't have the horn, the blade, and the thorny tail of the big beast. Looked exactly the same as dire lupus, but bigger. There were twelve of them, standing around the big beast.
He held his breath and hid, making sure not to move. He was not going to take his chance against this group of beasts.
The beast stayed for a while, sniffing around the blood on the ground. Then it looked around, looking like it was trying to find something.
Red was at the edge, afraid that the beast might be able to smell him. The beast might have a sharp nose and might be able to smell him. He was not surprised and was prepared for the worst.
His eyes looked around, starting to create an escape path if the beast found him. He was not going to fight them. Not just that he was being outnumbered, that beast alone was enough to kill him. This time, his instinct and rational thought were in sync, telling him to run if the beast ever found him.
Fortunately, the beast left after some time, but Red remained in his hiding spot, trying to ensure the beast truly left the area. The moment the beast disappeared from his line of sight, he could hear his own heartbeat.
He finally was able to breathe again without worrying about the beast; his chest heaved up and down, taking in as much air as he could. That was when he realized the branch below was wet from his sweat.
It took a while for him to calm down. Before coming down from his hiding spot, he made sure to check his surroundings once more. Once he confirmed the beast was no longer around, he climbed down and left the dire lupus area.
Even after experiencing the nerve-racking situation, Red still didn't make a quick trip to the rabbon area and went back to the marget area.
He had brought a lot of marget, but it seemed never enough. He always observed the Matron's reaction every time he handed the marget, and the Matron in charge received the marget with joy. That was why he always made an extra trip to bring back the marget for the matron.
Even when the sun was down, Red was not afraid of the jungle anymore. This was not his first time returning at night like this, and he never encountered something dangerous at night, even though the warrior warned him not to wander around at night because most of the dangerous beasts hunt at night.
He returned to the tribe after hunting three marget and exchanged one marget. It was no longer a challenge to hunt the marget. They died in one shot from his slingshot.
Red waved his hand at the warrior in guard duty, and they returned his wave. The warrior seemed to have accepted him as one of them. They told him it was just a matter of time until he was appointed to be a warrior.
They mentioned that he would become a warrior once the chief returned because he needed the Chief's approval to be a warrior. The Matron could not appoint him as a warrior, just like they appointed him as a hunter.
From afar, he noticed the Matron in charge looked quite anxious. He wondered why, but he got the answer when he came closer.
The Matron's anxiousness disappeared the moment she spotted him. Her eyes moved to the three marget in his hand. That told him that the marget was still a hot item among the Matrons.
The Matron in charge was pleased with his haul, but her expression returned to normal when he got closer. She tried to hide it from him, but that was enough of a clue for him to keep bringing back marget just to please the Matrons.
Red said nothing as he handed the marget. He noticed the Matron's skirt was made of the marget's leather. However, her upper clothes were made of rough leather. He could see why the Matron was quite anxious. She almost completed her set.
He left without saying anything and headed to the main kitchen. The children of his generation were decreasing. No kids were starving anymore because those who failed to hunt either died or gave up on hunting, becoming a worker.
A worker was the lowest status in the tribe. They were in charge of building and repairing the lodging and fence, tanning the leather, butchering the meat, and all kinds of labor work.
The kids who failed in hunting for three days in a row gave up long ago. Those who kept trying were killed in action. Another reason more of them died was that they tried to follow his footsteps, hunting the marget to please the Matron. It was not a little person who died trying to hunt marget.
The small kitchen was empty as he passed it. He entered the main kitchen and received greetings from most of the people who dined at this time. Of course, the kids from his generation still hated him.
Red ignored them and went to the counter. For some reason, the same chair on the counter had become his permanent spot. The warrior let him have that specific chair since he always ate in the same spot.
As for the kids of his generation, they didn't want to mess with him. After the talk about him killing the six goblins cold-bloodedly, they didn't dare to mess with him anymore.
Added with the favor from the Matrons, they were smart enough not to bother him. On top of that, the warrior looked at him positively as well. No one dared to mess with him anymore.
The same female human served him a bowl of meat gruel and a sweet potato. The good news in the last week was the fact that he could communicate with a female human.
Red learned a simple greeting and could exchange with the female human. He even knew her name now, Darla.
He nodded at Darla as he took the bowl and finished the gruel in one gulp. Darla told him to chew the food properly, but he never listened to her.
Another thing he noticed after getting to know the female human closer was that he got more meat in his gruel. He thought Darla put the same portion as the warrior, but he noticed that she put more meat even for the warrior. A benefit of getting closer to Darla.
As he ate the potato, his encounter with the beast came into his mind. He wondered whether he should tell the warrior or Matron about that terrifying beast.
It didn't take long for Red to decide not to tell anyone. He would expose himself if he told the Matrons that he had been hunting in dire lupus' territory. He finished the meal quietly and headed to his favorite creek. It became his habit to clean himself before going to sleep.