Amos's concerns

When Gordon returned to Amos after finishing off the fallen enemies and carving them, his bloodstained Great Sword slung over his shoulder, Amos's expression looked a little stiff.

It wasn't that Gordon had performed so brilliantly that Amos was stunned. His increasingly savage fighting style had simply posed a serious challenge to Amos's "precise and elegant" combat aesthetics.

Conflict flickered in his eyes as he opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing.

Personal styles weren't right or wrong. The Great Sword and Long Sword were fundamentally different weapons, and forcing the boy to copy his style would only produce an awkward mishmash.

Amos gave Hayata, whose little face had gone deathly pale again, a reassuring pat, smiling wryly to himself.

Gordon clearly still hadn't grasped the true essence of "inertia."

Still, if those Great Sword users at the gathering hall, whose muscles seemed to have grown into their brains, saw this wild fighting style, perhaps they would laugh and applaud.

After putting away his Great Sword, Gordon returned to his usual, slightly bashful teenage self. He scratched the tip of his nose and asked somewhat sheepishly, "Mr. Amos, is my understanding of 'controlling inertia' a little off?"

"It isn't really a matter of right or wrong."

Amos waved a hand. "I've already explained the basic principles to you. Whether you can develop a style that suits you, and how you do it, is up to you."

"I understand." Amos's words put Gordon at ease.

He glanced at the Shakalaka corpses nearby.

Counting the five Amos had hunted, they had now slain nine Shakalaka. They were almost halfway to their target of twenty.

They were making good progress.

The three rested where they were and waited for a while, but unfortunately, no more Shakalaka came to them.

They were unlike monsters such as Blue Velociprey, which were essentially wild beasts.

With intelligence approaching that of humans, Shakalaka wouldn't throw their lives away. Gordon guessed that they had hidden deeper in the dense forest.

After a moment's hesitation, Gordon suggested pushing farther into Shakalaka territory.

He wasn't particularly worried about being ambushed and surrounded by a large number of them.

Shakalaka did live in groups, but without farming techniques, their food supply couldn't support very large populations.

Porkchop, who had grown up in the mountain forests, knew plenty about this. According to him, twenty to thirty was already the limit.

With those they had already killed taken out of the equation, even if all the remaining Shakalaka rushed them at once, they couldn't cause much trouble.

After all, their party included a high-rank Long Sword user.

What Gordon hadn't expected, however, was that Amos would firmly reject the idea as soon as he heard it.

"No. We can't go much farther in. We'll search and hunt around here." Amos's stance was surprisingly firm.

Gordon paused at that, then remembered Hayata was with them.

Of course. Unlike him and Amos, Hayata had only just begun her hunter training and could barely defend herself. If a large group of Shakalaka surrounded them, any lapse in protecting her could lead to an accident.

Just then, Amos's next words caught Gordon off guard once again.

"It isn't because of Hayata."

"Huh?"

Gordon blinked and couldn't help glancing at Hayata again. She puffed out her cheeks in displeasure, but he paid it no mind and asked curiously, "Then why?"

Amos frowned and hesitated for a few seconds before finally telling him the truth.

"Gordon, have you heard of King Shakalaka?"

"King Shakalaka?" Gordon blinked. "Is he a pack leader, like a Blue Velociprey King or Bullfango King?"

"That isn't wrong."

Amos leaned back against a nearby tree trunk and continued, "But to be precise, he isn't the leader of a single tribe. He's the king of all the Shakalaka in an entire region."

"A king? Uh, does that mean King Shakalaka is really strong?"

Amos looked up at him and let out a breath. "Very strong. Monsters like Blue Velociprey Kings aren't even in the same league. Let me put it this way: any quest involving hunting King Shakalaka is rated at least five stars."

"Five stars?!"

Gordon couldn't help shouting, then remembered they were still in the hunting grounds. He quickly lowered his voice and pressed, "Really five stars? Wouldn't that make him more powerful than plenty of Flying Wyverns?

"How is that possible? That sounds like a completely different creature! Can he really count as a Shakalaka?"

Amos gave Gordon a sidelong look, tipped his chin toward Hayata, then pointed at himself. "We're both human."

Hayata: "...?"

Failing to notice the girl's increasingly puffed cheeks, Gordon continued, "So you might encounter King Shakalaka on a Shakalaka extermination quest? How can that be rated two stars?!"

Amos pressed his lips together and explained, "Unlike relatively common leader monsters such as Bullfango Kings, King Shakalakas are extremely rare. They also generally stay in the central areas deep within the forest. You normally wouldn't encounter one in low-rank hunting grounds like these on the forest's outskirts."

"That's a relief..."

Before Gordon could relax, Amos continued, "Provided you didn't accept this quest at this time of year."

"Huh? What does the season have to do with it?"

"Early summer is a special time for Shakalaka. On the 'Great Moon Night,' when the moon is at its fullest and brightest all year, Shakalaka tribes from the surrounding area gather to hold the 'Shakalaka Festival.'"

Listening to Amos's explanation, Gordon couldn't help recalling the details of the quest request.

-Shakalaka have been attacking caravans in large numbers to prepare for their festival.

"But isn't the 'Great Moon Night' in June still almost half a month away?" Feeling left out, Hayata came over too, muttering her question.

Amos looked helplessly at the two of them. "If the Shakalaka Festival were actually underway, do you think I'd let you two youngsters enter Shakalaka territory?

"On that day, the hundreds of Shakalaka alone would be enough to overwhelm you.

"Besides, this is already a relatively dangerous period. The Shakalaka tribes are busy preparing for the festival, and King Shakalaka will also roam around during this time. If you're unlucky..."

Gordon finally understood what Amos meant.

He wasn't saying that King Shakalaka was nearby, but that pushing deep into Shakalaka territory at this time of year could lead to an encounter with a King Shakalaka who happened to be roaming through the area.

"What are the odds?" Gordon asked.

"Less than ten percent. There are at least several dozen Shakalaka tribes across the Metabe Region. It isn't that easy to hit the jackpot."

"Oh, that's nothing!"

Gordon immediately felt that he had worried for nothing. Even hunting Aptonoth for raw meat could lead to an encounter with a Flying Wyvern. If hunters spent all day worrying about unlikely events like that, they might as well quit.

"Don't get careless. Far too many hunters have died because they thought they'd get lucky." Amos's tone and expression were more serious than ever, almost scolding.

"We'll stay on the outskirts of Shakalaka territory. If it takes longer, so be it. Only hunters who are cautious enough have a chance of living long enough to become strong!"

"Okay..."