At the camp 39 individual, a group of youths stood, each armed with various weapons. At the front of one group was a petite girl with brown skin and short hair—Lucy, their leader. Behind her stood twelve youths, a mix of boys and girls, each ready for the hunt.
“Good luck to you, Lucy,” Daisy said with a smirk.
“Good luck to you too,” Lucy replied with a nod.
Daisy then turned to another group standing nearby. “And you too, Henry. Don’t lose against us.”
Henry crossed his arms and scoffed. “Girls, don’t worry. This will be easy.”
Daisy and Lucy rolled their eyes at his overbearing attitude.
“I’ll go first,” Lucy declared. Without another word, she dashed forward, her group following close behind as they disappeared into the forest.
Daisy nodded at Henry, then turned and sprinted in the opposite direction with her team.
Henry watched them leave before turning to his own group. His sharp gaze swept over each member. “Listen, if we work together, we can defeat Lucy and Daisy’s group,” he said firmly. “Do you all understand?”
“Yes!” the twelve youths responded in unison.
“I know you're nervous since this is your first hunt,” Henry continued, scanning their faces. “But just follow my lead, and we’ll win this.”
Their destination was the swamp. Henry raised his voice and howled, “Let’s go!”
Without hesitation, the group dashed forward, weaving through the forest like squirrels. Among them was Marlon, a trainee. This was his first time hunting prey, and he felt a mix of nervousness and excitement coursing through his veins.
“Psst, Marlon!” someone called out in a hushed tone.
Marlon turned his head and saw a gray-haired youth—his friend, Elimnar.
“Psst, Marlon, this is your first time, right?” Elimnar asked while keeping pace with the group.
“Yeah. Is it your first time too?” Marlon replied.
“No,” Elimnar said with a smirk. “I’ve done this before.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. This will be easy, so there's no need to be nervous,” Elimnar assured him confidently. “They’re just ordinary frogs with minor abilities.”
"Really?"
“He’s right,” another voice chimed in. Marlon and Elimnar turned to see a red-haired youth running alongside them.
"You really think too chatter-mouth"
“These frogs are nothing special,” the red-haired youth continued. “But did you know that the three-eyed toads didn’t always exist? They were originally just normal frogs until a failed experiment by a caster changed them. The story goes that the caster discarded his failed creations into the wild, not realizing the massive impact it would have on nature. These creatures adapted and reproduced at an alarming rate—.”Natan said
“Natan, thanks for the info, but we didn’t ask,” Elimnar said, rolling his eyes.
Marlon shook his head at Natan, who was known among their friends as a chatter-mouth Sometimes we called him spouting boy. Even when no one asked, he would always provide unnecessary information in great detail.
After a few minutes of running, they finally reached the swamp.
“Wait,” Henry ordered, raising a hand. The group immediately stopped in their tracks. Then, using his mouth, he let out a sharp whistle.
A moment later, a dark shadow streaked across the sky with unbelievable speed. Before anyone could react, it perched on Henry’s shoulder.
The youths stared in shock. They hadn't even seen it clearly before it had already landed. It was a bird—a fierce-looking hawk with sharp red talons, a yellow beak, and sleek brown feathers covering its body.
“I-It’s a Mugger Hawk…” Natan, also known as "Chatter-mouth," muttered in awe.
“A Mugger Hawk?” Marlon asked, eyes widening.
“It’s Henry’s pet,” Elimnar explained, his voice tinged with envy and admiration. “They say taming a Mugger Hawk is incredibly difficult.”
Henry smirked and gently stroked the hawk’s head. “Good girl,” he murmured. The bird affectionately rubbed its head against his forehead in response.
Reaching into his pocket, Henry pulled out a small leather pouch. As he opened it, the scent of raw meat filled the air. Inside was a severed limb of a beast a limb of Three eye toad. He picked up the piece of flesh and held it out to the hawk.
“Bekkkk!” the hawk cried out before eagerly snatching the meat and tearing into it.
Henry watched it for a moment before giving a sharp command. “Go.”
With a powerful beat of its wings, the Mugger Hawk soared into the sky, vanishing into the clouds.
“Now, all we have to do is wait,” Henry said, crossing his arms.
Some of the group members exchanged confused glances. If they waited too long, wouldn't the other groups get ahead of them?
“Henry, why are we waiting?” one of the members finally asked.
“Just wait. I’ll explain later,” Henry replied cryptically.
An awkward silence settled over the group. The only sounds were the distant chirping of birds, the buzzing of insects, and the soft whisper of the wind rustling through the trees.
A few minutes later, the Mugger Hawk returned, once again landing on Henry’s shoulder with lightning speed.
“Get ready,” Henry commanded.
The group, who had been sitting and resting, immediately snapped to attention. The hawk didn’t linger—it took off again, leading them forward.
"Follow her," Henry ordered, and the group quickly moved, keeping their eyes on the bird as it soared through the sky. The mugger hawk circled high above them, its sharp eyes scanning the area below. After a moment, it began to fly in tight circles over a specific location.
“Stop,” Henry suddenly said.
The group came to an abrupt halt, huddling together as they scurried closer to Henry.
“Did you see it?” he whispered, pointed his finger.
The group nodded in unison.
Not far from the swamp, nestled between the roots of a large tree, was a massive frog—about the size of a human head. Its skin was dark green, its body covered in rough bumps, and it had three red eyes glaring faintly even while it seemed to bask in the golden light of the setting sun. A small, sharp horn protruded from its nose.
It was asleep.
"This is your chance to prove yourselves," Henry whispered, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Henry, didn’t Elder Vetron say no pets or any kind of outside help are allowed?" one of the youths asked, frowning.
"Are you a fool?" Henry scoffed. "Didn’t you see? My baby didn't attack that beast. She just helping us find the targets more easily."
The group exchanged puzzled glances. "What’s the difference?" they thought among themselves. They sighed, not wanting to argue further with Henry.
"Who goes first?" Henry asked, breaking the silence.
"Me first," said the youth with brown eyes. His weapon was a bow and arrow. He drew the bowstring, squinting as he lined up his shot, then released the arrow with a sharp whoosh.
The arrow hit the target before the three-eyed toad could even react. It pierced the beast’s side, and green blood splattered onto the ground. The toad shuddered, writhing as the arrow remained lodged in its body.
"Nice shot," Henry said with approval.
The youth smiled smugly, clearly pleased with himself.
"What the heck! If it’s that easy to kill with a bow, I should’ve practiced with one," another youth lamented, his weapon a saber.
"That should’ve been my weapon instead of a sword," another youth added, regret creeping into his voice.
Henry dashed toward the beast. It was still alive, but only for a little longer. He quickly picked it up and stuffed it into a sack before handing it to the youth with the bow.
"Now, we’ll split up to accumulate points faster. If you want to come with me, follow me. If not, you can go ahead on your own," Henry announced. Some of the youths exchanged glances, silently making their decisions." Just be careful" He added
"
"I’ll go first," said the youth with the sword.
"Me too," another added.
"Alright, good luck to you all," Henry said.
After a few moments, from the original twelve, only three remained—Marlon, Elimnar, and Natan.
"The three of you—are you coming with me?" Henry asked.
"No, I’ll go on my own," Elimnar replied.
"Take care," Marlon said. Elimnar nodded at him before dashing away into the forest.
"Marlon and... chatterbox?" Henry smirked.
"I’m going with you, Henry," Marlon said.
"Me too," Natan added.
Marlon scoffed. "I thought catching these beasts would be easy. That's what you told me. So why do you need help?"
"Heh... well, of course, to make things faster, I needed a little help," Natan said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
Henry chuckled before shifting his gaze to the sky. "Alright. Next target," he said, his tone serious. He glanced at the Mugger Hawk circling not far from them. The bird of prey soared gracefully, scanning the land below.