Being the peculiar couple's guinea pig came with some perks, such as sometimes being stronger or faster depending on if the potion worked well, if it didn't the worst side effects I'd experienced was regurgitating that morning's meal onto the bear hide I slept on , mind splitting headaches and explosive diarrhea.
I don't feel too bad for myself as being around two shamans has allowed me to learn part of their craft, as during my free time I watch them make potions, salves and whatever else the clan needs.
That same craft is the reason I'm here in the northeast part of the kgale forest on my ceremony day instead of hanging around the den is to look for materials for the old man's strength potion, which uses drag root and athlete's foot which are only found in the south area in the mad monkey's territory.
Because I'm not stupid, I'm currently scouring the edges for herbs instead of going to meet my maker in the centre of the hill, because the monkeys are highly territorial and will turn me into community dinner before I even glimpse their herb stash.
I hopped down the not so steep hill side and thought "Mm, four stalks of each are acceptable, as long as I don't screw up I'll be able to create a decent strength potion."
A quick sniff of the dragroot brought a moue to my face and firmly convinced me of their potency. '' Smells like dung, rotten tomatoes and even more dung."
A beautiful clear night sky, hopefully a good sign that what I make will be decent enough for me to perform at least average tomorrow.
....
In the north of kgale forest where the shrubs dominate the ground floor and light barely reaches the ground, caterpillars munched on shrub leaves and deer ran way as a trio of humans trudged through the undergrowth.
With each wearing their own distinct equipment like a tattered grey cloak, worn out leather boots, a grey vest and a tight pair of brown pants. One hulking figure wearing full leather armour with a circular shield on their back and the last was ridiculously overdressed in a glimmering, freshly polished set of iron Armor with their chainmail clinking after their every step, warning every animal in their vicinity of their presence.
Luckily enough, what they're hunting is way too big to be scared off by this as the ground around them seemed to rumble as they saw a burling brown bear-presumably the owner of the massive tracks the were following, hurtle towards them.Aas it barrelled towards them, its putrid breath began to fill the air around them
"Tsk, it's sad to think a mere tier 0 beast would dare rush at I, it seems that concealing powder of yours is doing wonders. "The brown haired youth said as he unsheathed his greatsword.
"Of course, I produced that myself." Said the small, cloaked figure with a smirk.
"Stop with the chit-chat, we have a mission to do, Sir Alex I trust you'll take care of it since your blade's already out." The meat mountain said as he moved towards a tree.
"You're correct, I, Alex of the prestigious Coleman family shall go and slay that beast myself!" said Alex
He took a step forward and
Clang
A claw was waiting for him, it seems the beast had the same idea as him. Unfortunately for him, the beast had momentum on its side and flung him a good meter away. He rolled to minimize the force and was caught on the shoulder by a swipe as his equipment saved his life again.
"When do you think that pampered noble is going to get serious cap?" Said the cloaked figure
"Don't insult him Greg, you'll provoke him into doing this again, and I think he's just playing around, nobody would enter the den of wolves without being able to at least take on a brown bear." The so-called cap said as he lifted his visor, exposing his green eyes.
"Plus, he's a noble so he has to have a decent art."
They were soon proved right
Alex got up with a smile on his face while blood stream his face. He swung his gleaming greatsword sword and screamed '' Coleman heritage, blood of the giants."
His body began to take on a reader hue as veins along the only visible part of his boy,his face slithered,popping out in a out as if trying to escape his skinm
A sound of bones breaking began to resound as Alex's strikes became much heftier and swifter. despite his obvious lack of fighting experience, he still began pushing the bear back strike after strike.
As these strikes continued Alex only seemed to get fater and faster,allowing him to start cutting the bear,first with shallow slashes barely piercing the then cutting deeper,drawing blood and marring the poor creatures.
As a last hoorah it suddenly roared and launched itself at the brown-haired youth, who recognising the danger this time dodged, this was a mistake as the bear's charge turned into a desperate escape.
It was a feeble attempt because as it's blood,it's life itself doused the grass beneath it,it was forced to slow down.
Recognising it's demise,the bear turned around,stood at it's full height and swung an overhead paw towards Alex who stepped into range,spun and disemboweled the bear.
Mr fancy pants then immediately faceplanted into the pool of organs and blood he'd created. Nothing but a worthy fate for both of them ,unfortunately for the hungry beasts that prowl this forest, this little inexperienced human had companions.
'That imbecile does realize you don't need to hit a special move to activate an art right!" said greg with a look of bewilderment.
Captain hefted the knocked out youth onto his shoulder "He obviously knows that, I guess the excitement of his first death battle got to him. we'll deal with the werewolves tomorrow. The sun's starting to descend, and we don't to face the thing prowl here.''
"I'll carry him till we return camp, by the way how close are we to the den?"
"We're about 2 km off cap but I recommend we wait till tomorrow as you'll be able to see much better." Greg's slit eyes glowed in the dark.