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As everyone participating in the tournament was entering the forest to hunt, Noel and Orcus, who had entered alongside the others, established a base based on what they had learned from Damian.

Thanks to that experience, Orcus and Noel successfully found an area they could be satisfied with. After securing their base, Noel opened her mouth without hiding her exhilaration.

“Um! For now, let’s aim for victory!”

“Is that even possible?”

Orcus replied with a look of disbelief to Noel’s confident words. No matter how talented his younger sister was, the one participating alongside them was none other than Damian, who had taught them how to hunt.

Of course, just because one is taught doesn’t mean a disciple cannot surpass their master, but Orcus knew there was a significant gap in skill between Noel and Damian. To him, Noel was indeed a remarkable genius, but Damian was in a whole different league.

“Brother! Don’t be so negative! The place we’ve settled might be particularly teeming with animals!”

“A prime spot, huh? Well… I’m not so sure. We did apply what we learned, though.”

“I’m sure!”

Despite Orcus’s self-deprecating tone, Noel showed no signs of being deterred.

Well, Damian himself said that success in hunting didn’t solely rely on skill but also heavily on the luck of the hunter, so if they were well-positioned, perhaps, as Noel said, they might bridge the skill gap.

‘But if that’s the case, wouldn’t that guy do even better than us?’

Since it was Damian who had taught them everything about hunting, they had to assume Damian knew all the tricks they did.

Moreover, wasn’t Damian from the southern region? He had already participated in several tournaments, and it was certain he knew this forest better than they did.

Yesterday, among the members of the Black Dragon Knights, they heard word that for this year’s tournament, for some reason, Damian was quite determined.

Even the impressive display he’d shown during practice was hard to imagine in an actual competition. If he were to use magic, things might change a bit, but that was technically against the rules, and even if he did use it, Orcus doubted it would guarantee a win.

‘Still, since he’s so hopeful… Let’s at least go along with him.’

Although Orcus didn’t think they would win, he still believed they could rank well. It seemed better for both Noel and Orcus to keep quiet than to logically argue about it and crush her spirits.

Besides, he didn’t expect Noel to listen to logic anyway.

However, seeing his younger sister brimming with expectations, Orcus decided to say something to boost her morale as a brother.

“I noticed Damian didn’t seem to start with us. If we’ve settled in a better spot before he does, we may have a chance.”

“Exactly! When we were coming here, there wasn’t a place as rich in animal tracks as this one. No matter how talented Damian is, he will need time to set up, so we have the advantage!”

“Still, one never knows; the forest is vast. Well, we have established a base, so let’s prepare briefly and get hunting. If we dawdle, the advantage of our early setup will fade.”

From a certain moment, to both of them, beating Damian had become synonymous with winning the hunting tournament. However, neither Noel nor Orcus thought that was particularly far-fetched.

To Noel, who excelled in weaponry, the only person she had seen surpassing her since coming here was Arthur, the Head of Kraus. Although Orcus didn’t share the same perspective on skill as Noel, he thought similarly. Even a layman could tell that what Damian showcased was different from what he had seen from other knights.

“Hmm…”

Noel stopped her usual cheerful demeanor for a moment, scanning her surroundings seriously. Then, with a satisfied expression, she beamed at Orcus.

“It’s not just that there are many tracks; there are both carnivore and herbivore footprints mixed together. This must be a path that wild beasts mostly use. So, just waiting here will make hunting easier, and if we use some of what we catch as bait, we can lure in the predators!!”

“Oh, is that so?”

Anyone would mistake her for a child who had hunted in the forest her entire life rather than a princess.

It meant that Noel had absorbed her lessons well, though Orcus couldn’t shake a strange discomfort each time he saw her like this.

‘What if she seriously decides to become a hunter?’

Noel was quite dedicated, so it wouldn’t be surprising if one day she declared she wanted to be a hunter. But since she had already resolved to become a knight, based on her personality, she wouldn’t easily change her mind, yet a little unease lingered.

No matter how free a royal was, there were lines that had to be maintained. While being a knight was one thing, it wouldn’t do to let a princess become a huntsman. With that thought in mind, Orcus firmly grasped his innocent-looking sister, saying decisively.

“Hunting is just a hobby, you got that?”

“Excuse me? Yes.”

At Orcus’s sudden words, Noel looked puzzled but nodded, understanding that she was only seriously engaging in hunting and had no intention of becoming a huntsman; this was just Orcus’s overthinking.

Once Noel repeatedly nodded in agreement, Orcus’s expression relaxed.

“Anyway… Let’s use the bait I prepared. Considering the tournament’s goal is about the quantity, we should definitely aim for beasts.”

While the tournament values the quantity of prey, the intention is that catching one tiger will earn more points than catching a hundred rabbits.

Orcus divided the bait he had prepared in half and handed it to Noel. The bait he referred to was chunks of meat soaked in some substance, which he had concocted independently without anyone’s help.

Having found some enjoyment in hunting while being influenced by Damian, he had prepared this.

‘The tournament rules say no magical tools, but there’s no rule against using alchemical bait.’

The goals had already been set, and the plans for executing them were somewhat ready. Noel’s declaration of aiming for victory didn’t seem entirely unfounded.

As he conversed with Noel, Orcus could feel his own tension rising. Since they began to see possibilities, it seemed the negative thoughts he had been holding inside had started to ignite.

While he remained skeptical about winning, Orcus had never approached participating in this tournament with half-hearted feelings.

Looking at the dark, shadowy forest, he smiled following Noel’s gleeful face.

“Then… shall we begin?”

“Yes!”

*

The spot Orcus and Noel chose was, as Noel said, a prime location.

Even without using bait, they quickly found prey not far from their camp, and while transporting the caught game back, they were able to see various animals darting around in the forest.

The diversity of the species unintentionally resulted in a pile of different animal carcasses accumulating in their camp.

Consequently, Orcus and Noel decided against hunting from horseback but instead chose to directly circle around on foot. While riding and feeling the wind while hunting was nice, the area they had taken up was a path in the forest, making stealthily ambushing far more efficient.

Currently, Orcus was quietly holding his breath, hiding in the tall grass not far from the camp.

Minimizing his movements to avoid any noise from the leaves brushing against his body, he pulled back the bowstring. There was no sign of trembling in his hands gripping the taut bowstring. His icy gaze was fixated solely on the prey before him.

Grrr—

Where Orcus’s eyes were fixated, a tiger sniffed the air, scanning its surroundings. Perhaps it was attempting to locate the bait that Orcus had set out.

It was a formidable beast, reaching the chest height of a strong adult male.

Given its size and appearance, it exuded a sense of intimidation, but being surrounded by creatures so unlike humans rendered it ineffectual against Orcus. Though it certainly possessed great strength, to Orcus, it was merely a large target.

Without fear, he would not make the mistake of missing the right moment to release the arrow.

Thanks to his innate strength, the swiftly released arrow pierced through the tiger’s neck. However, the creature that lived in the realm called Runefraud didn’t drop dead from just that one shot.

The tiger, with an arrow stuck in its neck, staggered but quickly regained its balance and turned its gaze toward Orcus, the one who had shot it. Its enraged expression morphed into a terrifying sight upon spotting its assailant, revealing dangerous teeth.

But Orcus remained unperturbed, swiftly drawing another arrow from his quiver.

Despite having celebrated several successful hunts, Orcus’s quiver wasn’t empty; rather, it had even more arrows than before. This was not only because he collected arrows from the prey but also because Noel, who had stopped hunting with her bow, had given all her arrows to Orcus.

Regardless, seeing the tiger glare at him, Orcus smiled as if this was a good turn of events.

With the tiger now standing before him, ready to pounce, Orcus drew back his bowstring once again. Knowing exactly where to shoot to ensure it wouldn’t survive, Orcus remained still in his spot.

Slowly, the tiger advanced toward Orcus. Meanwhile, Orcus only pulled back the bowstring; it seemed he had no intention to shoot just yet.

A brief standoff.

It was a fleeting moment where there wasn’t even time to think, but when the tiger halted, Orcus suddenly knew what to do.

Without any warning, the tiger lunged at him, and the instant its paws left the ground, Orcus loosed the arrow. Immediately after shooting, he ducked, and the tiger soared over his head, crashing into the tree behind.

With a loud crash, leaves scattered from the impact.

After that, there was no sound. The tiger, having struck its head against the tree, lay still and unresponsive.

As Orcus raised his head again to inspect the tiger’s head, he saw the arrow embedded precisely between its eyes. Confirming this, he was enveloped in a euphoric thrill that made his blood surge.

“Azaaa!!!”

“Brother!!”

“Did you see that?! Did you see?! Wow! This actually works?!”

Noel, who had been watching from the tree, ran down and headed toward Orcus. Pointing at the fallen tiger with his fingers, Orcus shouted with excitement. Unable to contain his emotions, his usually composure-filled face revealed what he felt clearly.

“Noel.”

“Yes! Brother!”

“With this, we could definitely aim for… victory, don’t you think?”

“Of course!!”

Noel vigorously nodded in response to Orcus’s words.

It seemed like words that came from someone who had just said it wasn’t possible moments ago, but both of them regarded the achievement they had made as worthy of such statements. Because of their prime position, prey was drawn to them in abundance. Even discounting Noel, who was already skilled, Orcus had shown hunting capabilities beyond imagination.

The number of animals they had caught had completely filled the space in their camp, exceeding all their expectations.

Particularly, Orcus could hardly contain his joy at having caught such a tiger with just a bow instead of magic. If he had used magic, he could have effortlessly turned that tiger into a pincushion, but capturing the same beast had felt vastly different this way.

Hunting without magic had made it so that with every success, Orcus’s confidence in his abilities soared to incredible heights. In reality, his skills had visibly improved in a short time, so feeling that kind of self-esteem wasn’t wrong. Still, it prompted him to perceive situations more emotionally than usual.

The peak of this emotional experience had been when he captured the tiger with a bow just now.

Reflecting on earlier, even Orcus had to admit that his recent catch was a work of art. Just imagine how pleased Noel was to come praise him.

If he had been viewing things objectively as usual, he would have refrained from discussing his chances of winning, but having success after success in hunting had caused Orcus to fall into extreme self-absorption, completely swayed by Noel’s enthusiasm.

Though they had often matched each other’s opinions, it had been rare for either sibling to take on the other’s personality. For the first time, they had both become equally transformed.

On one hand, it reflected positively as the two siblings with opposing natures had brought themselves to one common interest, but negatively, it suggested that the one who typically played the role of a brake had completely lost his sense.

“Oh, this isn’t the time for that. Noel. Quick, let’s clean up the carcasses in camp. I still have plenty of arrows left.”

Earlier, he was worried about what he would do next if his sister seriously wanted to be a hunter, but now it seemed like she really was on the path to becoming one. Of course, this was a temporary phenomenon; Orcus had no intention of becoming a hunter instead of a knight.

“Hehehe…”

Noel burst into laughter while watching Orcus, who had a delighted expression holding the bow. After all that time of constant opposition, the siblings had finally found a shared interest, and they were simply happy about it.

However, the joyful sounds of the two soon drew to a close.

Both of them seemed to fall silent as if they had made a pact.

When they shut their mouths, the forest became oddly quiet. The sounds of animal footsteps that had always been present, the birds chirping, everything was abruptly erased, creating an uncanny silence. It was as if someone had deliberately muted the world around them.

Noel’s hand, which was trying to lift the tiger’s carcass, froze, and the excitement dancing in Orcus’s eyes was replaced by a cold, discerning gaze.

Without saying a word, Noel and Orcus stood still, scanning their surroundings. They shouldn’t be able to see anything in the dark, yet what was visible to them?

Their eyes were tracking something hidden in the shadows of the forest.

As their line of sight intertwined chaotically, in an instant, both focused on a single location.

At the same time, darkness seeped from the forest, enveloping the two of them.

 

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