The Hunter Games: A Monster Hunting LitRPG

Determined to take me down, Gun signaled for me to come at him. He circled along our ring, and I mirrored his footwork. I understood what he was doing in round three. He wanted to study my strategy. It was shitty timing, seeing as I was doing the same thing just a few seconds ago. I guess I had to be the one to step up. This was a training exercise for me regardless, because not all monsters were going to be impatient knuckleheads that swung first and planned later.

“This isn’t a dance recital, Dragon Head, come at me,” Gun taunted, still being a good sport about our silly fight.

I charged at him, igniting both arms with a sleeve of flames. I sidestepped and unleashed a flurry of punches using my base strength, aiming each one precisely. Gun might have been slightly faster than me, because he blocked each one. Block, counter, weave—block, weave, counter, duck—the pattern was different every time, but I faked him out into countering deep this time, and I saw a nice opening for punishment.

When he leaned his body backwards to avoid my hook, I pivoted and served him a strong elbow jab behind his head. His eyes widened in surprise as I connected with him and sent him stumbling forward. I couldn’t afford to give him a breather, so I moved, launching myself in the air for a ground-shaking body slam.

Even though I tapped into a small percentage of my super strength for that attack, Gun was a hardened warrior, recovering faster than I had anticipated. He rolled quickly out of the way just as my body hit the ground. The impact created a mini shock wave that sent dust billowing around us, and by the time I saw Gun again, he was in the sky.

He pulled out a spirit eagle this time, a pair of wings materializing along his back.

“That was a cheap shot, Nero,” he said snickering. “You nearly knocked me out!”

The eagle’s head turned to look at me standing there on the ground, its big sharp eyes never leaving my sight. And then, it struck—Gun came torpedoing at me with the heel of his shoe. The closer he got, the clearer those talons of his bird spirit became. When he landed I stepped out of the way, and then Gun summoned an even bigger beast to ram into my back—a mother fucking rhino!

My face slammed into a boulder, the pressure ringing in my ears before I turned around to see Gun charging another strike. Instead of dodging this time, I stood there and took the impact. My grounded feet glided inches down when I gripped his horn, his strength trying to buckle me down. Gun held his fist controlling his spirit animal in the air as it began to shake at my resistance.

Despite the fact that I was keeping up with him, my stamina was lower than his. I had managed to get a few licks off of him, but Gun was better at conserving energy. There was no way I was going to outlast him, especially seeing as he could pull out a new animal to counter me every time.

I thought this was going to be an easy win, but since I didn’t want to roast Gun, there was no winning this fight.

Didn’t matter. I’ll blow through every ounce of stamina I had.

I used part of my super strength to hoist the bastard rhino over my head and slam it into the boulder. Gun winced and rolled back on the ground, where a series of punches were waiting for him. Landing blow after blow, I could see the surprise in his eyes as he struggled to keep up with my relentless assault.

But just when it seemed like I had the upper hand, Gun suddenly shifted tactics. He ducked under my guard and delivered a powerful strike to my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I stumbled back, gasping for breath as he seized the opportunity to land his own series of punishing blows.

If I was going to lose, I might as well go out swinging, but as I tried to recover, Gun didn’t let up. His attacks were fierce and calculated, having shifted to another type of bear again. He left me little room to counter. At some point, I could feel the bruises forming on my skin, the ache in my muscles intensifying with each hit. I didn’t get it, I thought I was invincible? Why were his physical attacks now hurting me?

With lightning speed, the massive beast lunged toward me, claws outstretched and teeth bared. I couldn’t afford a direct hit, not in this condition. So, using the last bit of energy I could muster, I rolled to the right just in time as Gun’s bear crashed against the ground.

The ground trembled beneath his weight as shards of rock shot up around him. Relentless, he was on me again faster than I could blink. Despite the pulsing pain in my body, I used the momentum from my roll to spring back onto my feet. My legs shook under the strain, but I held firm. I erected a flame wall to space us out, but Gun reached right through it, grabbed me by my collar, and body slammed me into the ground.

I swear my soul left my body just now, sirens ringing in my head. I understood now why I was feeling pain, Ash screaming at me to get up. Caught up in the fight, I stopped paying attention. Stamina and meta… they were connected. And as long as my stamina was low, my powers would run dry, too.

Gun scooped me up and held me in a chokehold. He leaned over my ear, the grip on my windpipe closing. “Looks like I win, Nero!”

I chuckled as I gripped his arm around me. “You know, I actually thought about letting you win this fight, but I guess you outlasted me.”

“You killed your shot of winning when you held back those flames,” he said with a smile. “I know you have more in you. Thanks, Nero.”

I raised my hand to surrender, Ash instantly dropping to her knees. Reina clasped her hands together delightfully, and Felix tossed Gun a proud smile.

“Wrapped it up nice and clean there, Gun,” he congratulated. “Nice work!”

Damn it… I didn’t even want to go on with this stupid fight…

++++

I had no idea why I was glad Naomi wasn’t there to witness my shame. In all realness, I thought I’d win even when pulling back my powers. It was a silly fight, but I was ready to snatch the glory. That being said, I’d clearly underestimated the pretty boy rock star. He had some neat tricks, and he’d proven to be worthy of the hunter title.

Skill came in various forms, and his was pretty sweet. I then scratched my chin and wondered what my spirit animal would be…

“Probably a wolf,” I whispered to myself as I washed up after the fight, and then I made my way to the courtyard to search for Hayashi. I had enough Fame Points for another training session, but after searching around for him for a bit, I was ready to give up and head back into the dojo.

“Lost something?” I heard Naomi say. When I pivoted around, I noticed her standing at the doorway of the shed with that same book in her hand.

I gave her a genuine smile. “Actually, I was looking for Master Hayashi.”

“He left a little while ago with the other team. They have a test to complete.”

“No worries. I’ll schedule training another time.”

“They should let squad members train each other,” she said, the statement seeming random coming out of her lips.

I chuckled. “Is that your indirect way of asking if you could train me?”

“No,” she said simply. “I don’t think I’d do as good a job as Kenji. But… once you get good enough, I’d like you to train me.”

Wait, what?

“Naomi, why would you say that? You’re the strongest in our squad. So naturally, you’d advance faster than Reina and me.”

“Sure, whatever,” she said, then looked up to me seriously. “So, did you win?”

I snorted. “I didn’t.”

“Did Gunther hurt you?”

I scratched my chin and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Did Gun hurt me?” I sang, strolling over to her as she slowly inched herself out of the shed. “Will you avenge me if I said yes?”

“I’m just curious if you burned through your stamina like a dumb ass again.”

Nice save….

“And here I thought you were genuinely worried about me,” I teased.

Naomi rolled her eyes at me. “Don’t flatter yourself. I was just making conversation.”

“Did you come all this way to ask me if I was injured?”

“If it looked like that, I sincerely apologize,” she said sarcastically, then tucked her book under her arm and started walking back toward the barracks. I fell into step beside her, noticing how the setting sun cast a warm glow on her face. As the sun dipped below the horizon, I found myself stealing glances at her profile, taking in the light illuminating her features. A warm feeling stirred in my chest, but I voted to dismiss it right away. While Naomi was easy on the eyes, I didn’t want to jump into the ocean only to drown to the bottom of it. I was never really good with rejection, and being friends with her was just safer.

In the same vein of friendship, I wanted to know more about her. It was sad that I knew more about Reina, and she was someone I avoided like the plague in Acadia. Despite both girls being my teammates, I was biased. Between Naomi and Reina, I was unashamed to say I favored Naomi more.

So I started with something light, “How are you liking hunting so far?”

“It’s all right.”

“How does your family feel about you having that career?”

“I don’t live with my parents, so their opinion doesn’t matter.”

“Oh….”

“I live alone, as I have for some time now. My decisions. My problems. My accomplishments. I don’t owe them any answers.”

I chuckled nervously. “I take it that you aren’t really close to your folks?”

“I’m… indifferent….”

“You know, Naomi, I’m not just striking small talk with you to fill in the time. Remember when I said I’d help you open up? Well, with these back to back missions, I haven’t gotten the time to really get to know you, and—”

“Then ask me something you’re genuinely interested in, not something like my parents,” she cut me off, turning her lavender eyes to me that looked like thistle under the sunlight.

“All right. Let’s start with the obvious question. What’s inside of that book?” I asked. Naomi gave me a wary side glance before answering.

“It’s a biography of some of the greatest shinobi warriors in history. I’m studying their strategies and techniques. It’s a secret, and that’s why the untrained eye can’t see the words.”

Of course she was reading something practical and educational in her spare time.

“Stealth and subterfuge require different tactics than open combat. To truly excel, you must play to your own strengths, not blindly emulate others.”

Naomi held the book out with her hands, her thumb grazing along the leather cover, and then her intense gaze met mine. “Tell me, what are your strengths?”

Clearly, it wasn’t picking up on her sarcasm….

I deadpanned her when I realized she was pulling my leg. “It’s getting harder and harder to tell when you’re serious, when it should be getting easier. That poker face of yours is rock solid.” I smiled. “Either way, sarcasm looks good on you. You don’t have to tell me about the book if you don’t want to. It’s just… I feel like there’s a wall between us. A wall that really shouldn’t be there.” I paused, Naomi trying her best not to react to what I was saying. “Sometimes I feel like you think I’d judge you or something, and I’m not that type of guy.”

“There are parts of myself I prefer to keep private,” she said after a moment. Her voice was carefully neutral. “I’m sure you can understand that.”

“I do….”

“It doesn’t sound like you do.”

“Well, to be honest with you, Naomi, I trust you. Maybe I trust you more than I should. I don’t know. You’ve made it clear that you’re looking out for what’s best for me, and I appreciate that. Either way, I’m not the one who needs convincing. Reina has been saying some things about you that made me uneasy about how she saw you. Her perception is bothering me. I get that we are squad mates, and we don’t necessarily have to like each other. But we should trust each other well enough to work as a team.”

“I don’t care what that nosy brat thinks of me,” she said, quick-tongued. “Her only interest is to pry into my affairs, and I give her no right to do that. What’s my business is my business.”

“She thinks you are an undercover rogue agent.”

Her eyes grew.

“And that your notes on us are in your book.”

“You mean a book that I had even before I came to Utoro?”

I snorted. “Yeah, same book. Look, I just don’t want her opening her mouth to the wrong people. If you can convince her that—”

“You worry too much, Nero,” she said, interjecting me. “I can take care of my own. You should focus more on yourself and our evaluations. Also, I heard whispers of a Hunter Game event in a few weeks.”

My eyes jumped. “What? A tournament already?”

“The date was a surprise, and they announced it to the public already. Games rotate once a month, or once every two or three months. It really depends. Org VII suggests that year ones keep a distance, as they typically do.”

I grinned from ear to ear. “But we aren’t your average year 1 hunters!”

“You want to enter this early? There will be another tournament shortly after. I’d consider bulking up your stats first.”

“No way! I say there’s no risk in not going after that tournament money right now, right?”

“Other than potential sponsors who notice how badly you end up ranking.”

“Exposure is exposure, whether good or bad. Besides, I’m not planning on losing! I’m using all of my Fame Points to boost my stats and firm up before the tournament!”

“You seem to be forgetting that your entire team has to agree with this decision.”

That huge smile on my face didn’t go anywhere as I reminded Naomi, “Reina jumped on that bet we made, remember? She’s going to want to join! And you, well, I remember one feisty ivory-haired girl telling me that she’d help me climb the leaderboard. So I already know that you’re down to join.”

“Such optimistic thinking….”

“We’re entering that tourney! And we’re going to make it to the top.”