Arcane Innovator

I stood still for a short moment, taking in the sights of the autumn forest. But then, I quickly broke out of my stupor and started walking since I didn't have that much time to idle, and I had other things to take care of today.

Thus, I immediately used my magic sense and spread it across the forest floor in all directions, scanning it for any signs of suitable prey.

I wanted something with enough meat on its bones to have a real feast tonight. With a single thought, my magic sense intensified, and my vision expanded. Each leaf on every tree appeared like a fine engraving in front of me; each blade of grass stood out like a line drawn in ink.

The previously quiet forest instantly came to life. I could feel the animals moving through the underbrush and insects crawling over the forest floor.

Still, not counting the few people gathering wood nearby and the several rabbits hopping around in the bushes, I didn't notice anything worth hunting yet, so with a sigh, I ventured further into the forest, quickly disappearing under its majestic trees.

I trudged through the undergrowth, pushing aside thick brush and avoiding overhanging branches as I searched for signs of wildlife. It took me almost an hour to locate a quite sizeable boar sniffing around some bushes fairly deep within the forest.

Since it was very close before the advent of winter, the local animals were hunted on a regular basis around the city, so they must have learned to retreat deep into the woods. However, it still surprised me how hard it was to track something here despite using such a cheat like the magic sense.

Now, I quite understood the beast hunter's plight from yesterday's conversation. 'Being a regular hunter, it would probably take me a very long time to track something like this...' I thought somberly as I was coming to a small clearing.

Remembering my past mistakes, I first made absolutely sure no other humans were around before I focused my essence, quickly killing the unsuspecting boar. He didn't even have time to squeal before his head was run through a long spike made out of hardened soil.

'Great... I'm getting better at this,' I thought, pleased by my performance as I approached the dead boar.

Looking at the large carcass, I sighed as I realized I would also have to disembowel the boar. I couldn't bring it back as it was, or its organs could rupture during transport, spilling their contents, which could ruin the meat.

Thus, I quickly set to work on the boar, making a precise cut along its abdomen and carefully removing its organs. I still felt slightly disgusted doing this, but I knew it was necessary. It was a messy process but one I had grown accustomed to hunting in the Forest back in the village over the years.

I finished it as fast as possible, just as Old Swen taught me, while holding my breath from the foul smell. I couldn't help but smile as I remembered all the rabbits we hunted together, although we never caught something as big as this boar.

After I buried the innards into the ground, I promptly levitated the now disemboweled boar and started heading back toward the forest's edge, where my driver waited for me.

It was somewhat challenging trying to lift something so heavy solely with magic. Still, thanks to my constant practice, it was nothing I couldn't handle.

But as soon as I made the first few tentative steps, I froze in my tracks, noticing some sort of movement before quickly looking up. My eyes widened as I saw a flock of majestic birds soaring high in the sky.

'Are those Entfliegs?' A shiver ran through my back as I suddenly got a very bad feeling. Their sharp claws glinted like knives in the sunlight, and their screeches echoed through the forest.

I involuntarily took a few steps back as I observed them circling above me, as these were no ordinary birds.

They were known as ruthless predators with prolonged necks and long claws with which they hunted their prey. The best way to describe them would be a mix between a duck and a falcon but much larger.

'What are they doing here?' I wondered as I quickly dropped the boar to the ground and readied myself for a battle.

Chances of encountering them were scarce as they nested deep within the Northern mountains. I only knew about them because I thoroughly prepared for my last year's trip and made an effort to learn about every animal and monster living in the mountains.

But then I remembered they were migratory birds. 'Ah, so they must be flying south directly over my head right at the exact moment I decided to go hunting, and when they smelled the blood from the boar, they decided to have a little snack along the way... what are the chances of that? Again that damned luck of mine...'

I had heard tales of how they occasionally descended from the mountains snatching a sheep or a goat from some poor herdsboy, tearing them limb from limb without mercy, sometimes even hunting the herdsboy himself if he had terrible luck. And now, here they were, circling over my head... ready to strike.

I could probably make a run for it if I left the boar here. I would make it just fine since they were still fairly high in the sky. But like hell if I left them the boar. This is my prey; they shall get it only over my dead body.

Right at that moment, I could see them loudly screeching and diving straight for me. 'Hmm, they seem to really want that boar.' I thought while I hurriedly circulated my essence, focusing every bit of my strength on the coming battle.

Most people wouldn't stand the slightest chance against them... but I was not most people. Still, there was a whole flock of them, and I was alone. All they needed was a single strike, and I would be done for.

Then, a cold smile formed on my lips since I also read that the Entfliegs were considered quite delicious, and their meat was seemingly very tender. 'You think you are hunting me, but you just served yourself to me on a silver platter...'

I waited until only a few meters were separating their sharp claws from my neck before I made my essence surge forth.

*Hm, Hm, HM, HMMM*

I attacked them with my [Sound wave] spell, hoping to disorient them and break their momentum before finishing them one by one with a [Stone bullet] to the head.

But my plan was quickly thwarted before it could even properly begin. As soon as the sound wave hit them, they started screeching with all their might, waving their wings frantically, convulsing in agony before they stopped flying altogether and simply started falling directly on my head.

'Oh, crap!' Was the only thing that came to my mind before I had to jump under the nearest tree to protect myself from the rain of dead birds.

'What the hell... it was such nice weather just a short while ago. Who could have thought there would be birds raining on my head...'

After the last bird had fallen from the sky, I emerged from my temporary shelter and smiled victoriously. Why was I so scared again? They literally went and died just like that. They must have been really sensitive to loud sounds.

'Hmm, so what now?' I thought hopelessly. In front of me was a clearing full of dead birds. Few of them were not quite dead, as they still flinched from time to time, so I quickly put them out of their misery.

'How am I going to transport all that meat?' I wondered, feeling lost. A short while ago, I was worried I wouldn't be able to hunt enough for us to stuff our bellies, and now this...

In the end, I simply put them all on one big pile alongside the boar and levitated them all at once. I huffed with exertion, barely able to move at all as I had never tried to lift something so heavy.

With slow, pained steps where every meter felt like an eternity, I slowly emerged from the forest. When my driver spotted the massive pile of feathers and claws emerging from the underbrush, he almost got a heart attack.

With eyes widened in utter disbelief, he blinked a few times, simply looking as I dumped my haul onto the wagon and dropped to the ground, totally exhausted.

As we were driving back to the city, the driver threw covert glances at me and the pile of Entfliegs on the wagon, gulping nervously.

I was, meanwhile, simply happy to be sitting after such an ordeal. Still, I couldn't help but show a subtle smile. 'I can already tell this will be a pretty amazing feast...'