The Discarded Son's Skill Market
Chapter 3: First Hunt

Chapter 3: First Hunt

Zaid tensed and clenched his fists, which indirectly caused him chest pain.

He knew that fighting a beast was impossible for him right now, but he couldn’t run away. The guards hadn’t even reached the family home yet; he’d be caught if he fled.

’Is it coming from behind those trees?’ he thought, and, hesitantly, limping and with his heart in his throat, he walked toward the trees.

Then he peeked out...

’!’ His eyes suddenly lit up.

On the other side were a few Ironfang Rats lying on the ground with no signs of life, while one last beast, still alive, was trying to crawl toward the tree to rest.

Even though many were dead, they were brimming with a strange vitality.

The vitality before his eyes had a bluish hue like the sky—clearly a distinctive color. He had never seen anything like it, but he had heard of it.

’It’s the Monster Essence available to collect from my Scavenger!’

Excited, he grabbed a rock lying nearby and waited patiently for the Ironfang Rat to approach him.

Ironfang Rats are Rank F beasts; they usually fight in packs, so they aren’t very strong. Since they’re of little use, those who hunt them sometimes do so simply to get rid of them so they won’t get in the way during important moments.

This was one of those cases.

The rat finally crawled over to the tree, where it wanted to rest.

Zaid leaped out from the side and drove the sharp rock he’d grabbed into the rat’s head.

The rat had no idea what was coming until it felt the blow.

CHIII!

After a muffled scream, all the wounds on its tiny body and the weight of Zaid’s body led to its death.

[You have killed an Ironfang Rat]

[Rank C Scavenger has been activated...]

[The beast’s life force is turning into Primordial Essence...]

[The beast’s power is turning into Monster Essence...]

[You gain 10 Primordial Essence Points.]

[Level 1: 10/200 Primordial Essence (PE)]

[You gain 10 Monster Essence Points.]

[Monster Essence (ME): 20.]

Despite the good news, Zaid let out a groan of discomfort. As he fell, part of his left ribcage struck one of the large tree roots, causing him great pain, since that was exactly where he had broken ribs.

’What a stupid way to hurt myself... Ugh.’ He tried to get up, but it was no use. The pain was excruciating. It felt as if one of his ribs had pierced something dangerous.

’I’m only 80 ME short of being able to buy something decent...’

He looked at the dead beasts before him. All that Monster Essence was right there, within his reach. He wasn’t going to give up.

’If I can’t get up, I’ll crawl!’ He gritted his teeth and began to move across the ground.

It didn’t take him long to reach the first beast...

Gaining ME and PE from killing beasts is standard procedure. That’s how you farm.

However, is it possible to gain ME and PE from beasts that others have killed?

That should be impossible... in fact, Scavenger doesn’t mention anything about PE. However, it did mention ME.

He touched the beast’s corpse and soon felt a current flowing into his body.

[Scavenger has been activated...]

...

[You gain 10 Monster Essence Points from a corpse you found.]

Zaid swallowed eagerly and looked behind him.

He had managed to crawl over to each of the rats—there were five of them.

’With this, I only have 30 left...’

Although it seemed impossible to get PE from these beasts, he could farm ME, and that was the most important thing for an Awakened One.

There were no more beasts around him, but in this region there are always many dead low-rank beasts, since it is the first area the Awakened pass through when they go hunting in the Wastelands on the Outskirts of the City.

If he moved strategically and avoided the beasts, he would surely be able to find a few more. Of course, he wouldn’t go too far in, because that would be dangerous.

He struggled to get to his feet after resting for about 30 minutes, and with great difficulty began to walk.

After a few steps, he stumbled into one of the trees as he clung to it. His head was grazed by some strange claws, and the pained roar of something reached his ears.

Zaid took a few steps back in fear and grabbed the rock he’d used to kill the previous rat to defend himself. He didn’t know what had attacked him, but it was fast.

He looked ahead...

A small Shadow Wolf cub stood before him.

The system lit up with a reddish alert signaling danger.

E-Rank Beast!

"Grrr..."

Zaid clenched the rock and trembled.

’With my current stats... it’s impossible. I don’t even have F-Rank stats...’ He took a step back...

The wounds on Cub’s body looked fatal. Its life was clearly hanging by a thread. It had wounds on its neck, chest, and back.

It was bleeding continuously, and even its legs were unsteady.

Before he could finish stepping backward, Zaid moved his leg forward. His teeth were chattering, and his instincts told him to run away.

However... a strange glimmer of hope sprang up in his heart.

’What if I can?’

’An E-Rank Beast... I’m barely at Level 1 of F-Rank. It’s at least 10 levels above me!’

Everything was stacked against him... but he still took another step forward, albeit very cautiously.

The Cub growled. "Grrr." Trying to warn him.

’A cub never wanders alone. If he comes here looking this badly injured, it means there’s another body around here—wounded or dead... His wounds look fresh; they can’t be more than an hour old!’

’If I manage to kill him... if I can just kill him, I should get enough to buy something better.’ He swallowed hard and somehow laughed at his own audacity.

Before, his life had been miserable.

He had never been able to hold his head high in front of his family or friends. It was inevitable that he would be the butt of everyone’s jokes, even among civilians.

He never had the guts to do anything... but now he was trying to face a beast much stronger than himself.

’I’ve gone mad.’ His mind immediately roared forward, and he took a firmer step.

The Wolf Cub realized that this was already a provocation. Even though he was wounded, he was still a cub of a Shadow Wolf!

He roared forward and lunged at Zaid’s unsteady body.

Perhaps because of the Wolf Cub’s own instability, or because of Zaid’s luck or his cunning, the Wolf Cub’s first attack was thwarted.

Zaid’s turned body came to face the Wolf Cub’s, in a position where the little cub could not defend itself.

Without thinking, he attacked the its stomach, where one of its wounds was.

"GROAR!"

The blow sent the little puppy crashing into a nearby tree, and it fell onto the tree’s thick roots, giving Zaid a chance to attack.

However, when he steadied himself and managed to take two steps forward, he moved so abruptly that his broken ribs shifted out of place, causing him intense pain and slowing him down.

"Ughh..." The pain was so intense that he couldn’t see the puppy’s claws; he could only feel the excruciating pain.

His body tumbled and crashed among the tree roots.