Hunter's Choice Read online

  Hunter’s Choice

  C.E. Keene

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Thanks for Reading!

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2019 by C.E. Keene

  Illustration by Linggar Bramanty

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This series is heavily and lovingly inspired by the Monster Hunter franchise. While no copyrighted names or gameplay terminology is used, the author acknowledges that all associated properties belong to Capcom and no infringement is intended.

  Created with Vellum

  1

  It’d been two weeks since Arheis and his companions had slain the Nepondus Queen—a massive beast, half plant, half cat—that had terrorized the small jungle town of Lacerda, and he already felt restless.

  When he’d set Galen to the task of finding more information about the crystals that had caused the Queen to reproduce at an alarming rate, he’d assumed the elven Naturalist might take a few days before coming up with something. But a few days had passed, and he’d only seen the barest glimpse of the harried elf when he surfaced from his room at the Hackleback.

  For the first week there’d been the matter of cleanup to take care of, at least. While the Nepondus Queen was dead and none of her brood were old enough to take her place, they were still numerous. Accompanied by his friends Amira and Zindar, Arheis had taken care of the problem, leaving enough cubs alive that they would be able to repopulate at a level that wouldn’t completely decimate the surrounding wilderness.

  By that point the cubs were barely a challenge. With the crystal gone, they seemed weaker and slower, and they rewarded a lot less XP. All told, he’d only ended up with 232 XP—just barely enough to push him into level 4.

  Now that the cubs were under control, though, there was barely any action in Lacerda. He’d guessed when he ended up in the middle of the jungle that this was the tutorial zone, and it seemed his gamer’s instinct was right. The quests had dried up. It was time for him to move on.

  But there were… extenuating factors that kept him in Lacerda. Not just Galen’s research, either. He didn’t know how to approach the matter with his companions, for one. He wasn’t sure he could say they were NPCs anymore, but they didn’t have the same game knowledge he did. For all Arheis knew, they might consider Lacerda their home.

  Then there was the matter of Higrem. Mayor of Lacerda and the local Guild’s golden boy, he’d been a thorn in Arheis’ side throughout the whole ordeal. To find out he wasn’t an NPC, but a player like Arheis… he was still wrapping his head around that bit of information, along with Higrem’s cryptic remark about some “choice” he’d have to make.

  For now, though, he checked in on his companions. There was a chance Mira or Zindar had something they needed done, and at this point Arheis was willing to collect rat whiskers if it meant having a task, some forward momentum.

  He walked through the center of the village, side-stepping the construction that was still taking place after the Nepondus Queen’s attack. Galen’s powers had done a lot to help the rebuilding effort, but there was still more to be done. As restless as Arheis was, he knew nothing about construction and none of his abilities seemed useful, so he’d just assumed he would be in the way.

  The annoyed sound one of the carpenters made when he accidentally knocked over a bucket full of nails—which he promptly picked up—told him everything he needed to know. He was a Hunter. That was his place in this world. And if he didn’t find something to hunt soon, his normal life—such as it was—was going to seem a lot more appealing.

  He made his way to what had once been a large tarp hastily suspended over a number of cots. The tarp was still there, but walls were slowly being built in an effort to provide an actual place of healing for residents and travelers alike.

  Amira Alvaro stood amongst the mostly-empty cots. Her brown skin glistened with a slight sheen of sweat—because there wasn’t a moment in the day when Lacerda wasn’t stiflingly hot and humid—and her wavy black hair was pulled back in a loose braid. She hadn’t worn her armor since the fight against the Nepondus Queen, instead opting for the garb he’d first seen her in—a belted tunic, fitted trousers, and suede boots that reached just past her ankles.

  The closer he came to her, the more his heart sped. It was ridiculous. Not just because she was a collection of pixels in a game world. He was pretty sure she—and everyone else populating Estalia—was a lot more than that now. But because the last time he’d exchanged more than a few words with her, she’d been kissing him.

  Not like he’d been against the idea. He was all for it. He wouldn’t have minded more kissing happening in the intervening weeks, but Mira had kept herself busy. He had no idea if she was purposefully avoiding him or not—a shitty thing to do, since she’d been the one to kiss him—but she always seemed flustered when he talked to her.

  Now being the exception, of course. When he approached, she was talking to a young man with sandy blond hair. He couldn’t have been more than eighteen, and still hadn’t filled out beyond that gangly teenage stage Arheis remembered with no fondness.

  “Oh, Arheis,” Mira greeted, her words touched by a slight accent he might have placed as Spanish, were he still dealing in Earth’s absolutes, “perfect timing. You can be our patient.”

  He arched a brow at that, looking between Mira and the young man. Whoever the boy was, he blanched at the idea.

  “A r-real person? Can’t we keep practicing on pigs?”

  Mira’s gaze betrayed irritation for the briefest of moments, but soon settled into the gentle patience that made her such a good healer.

  “Pigs are no substitute for the real thing, Vellis.” She put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed. “We’ve been working together for weeks now. You can do this.”

  “Do I get any say in this?” Arheis interjected.

  If he was going to be treated like a human pin-cushion, he wanted to at least voice some kind of dissent, weak as it was.

  “Of course,” Mira said, her lips curving into a smile that seemed perfectly tailored to distract him, “but I would be grateful for your help.”

  Brown eyes looked up at him pleadingly, and Arheis felt his heart speed even more. There was every chance she could get him to do just about anything with the right persuasion, but he made sure to let her know he was mildly perturbed by it.

  “I don’t think the purpose of our bond is so that you can convince me to be your guinea pig,” he grumbled half-heartedly.

  “Isn’t it? Funny, it seems to have worked out that way.” Her eyes glittered with amusement, and she added, “Besides,
you and I both know you don’t have anything better to do.”

  She was right about that. He’d come to the encampment to see if she needed help, and if this was the only way he could help, he was going to do it. The alternative was depressingly bleak and involved just wandering around the village until something bad happened, so Arheis would accept this as a step up.

  She motioned to the nearest cot and he sat on the edge of it, giving the young man she was obviously training a reassuring smile. Of course, as soon as he saw the boy’s trembling hands, he was reminded of the time he’d gotten some dental work done at a teaching hospital. The dentist-in-training had been so nervous he’d dropped the little scraper tool inside Arheis’ mouth. It’d taken every ounce of willpower he’d had to remain calm and not freak out about the fact that a dentist’s tool was way too close to his throat for comfort.

  Not a good day, and not something he needed to remember right now. As if sensing his unease, Mira leaned down and whispered, “He’s not as green as he looks, and I won’t let him hurt you.”

  That did give him some level of comfort, and he sat still and awaited the poking and prodding that was most likely going to commence.

  “This is Arheis, and he’s just made it to Lacerda. He says he’s having trouble breathing; his throat feels like it’s closing and it’s hard to swallow. His lips are turning blue, as are the tips of his fingers.” The young man opened his mouth, confusion written on his features, but Mira cut him off, “I know, there’s nothing wrong with him. We’re pretending, Vellis. Now tell me how you would treat this patient.”

  “Well, I…” The boy looked at Arheis, drew in a breath, and continued, “I’d start by examining him?”

  “Would you?” Mira asked. “Don’t look to me for help. I’m not always going to be here, and you need to be firm and decisive. This could be a matter of life or death.”

  Vellis nodded, flexing his fingers as though he were trying to get feeling back into them. “Um, I’m just going to examine your throat. Tilt your head back, please.”

  Arheis did so, letting Vellis prod around his throat. As Mira narrated what he’d find in this scenario, Arheis found himself fixating on what she’d said. She wouldn’t always be here, which meant she planned on leaving. Either that or she was dying of some incurable disease and hadn’t bothered to tell anyone about it, but Arheis chose to believe it was the former.

  The very fact that she was training someone to replace her should have tipped him off, but he didn’t dwell on his lack of perception. Instead he focused on the fact that convincing her to leave Lacerda with him might be easier than he thought.

  In fact, he decided to press his luck while Vellis continued his exam. “Are you going somewhere?”

  “Your throat is nearly swollen shut,” she chided him, “you aren’t supposed to talk.” After a beat, she added, “You still want to destroy those crystals, don’t you?”

  The crystal he and Zindar found in a cave was only one deposit—Arheis was sure of it. If he had to guess, there were probably hundreds of them throughout Estalia, which meant there were countless beasts threatening civilization. While he wasn’t sure where the real world ended and Estalia began, he knew he was here to do something about the crystals. He felt it in his gut.

  “I do.”

  “Then you have your answer. I’m certainly not going to let you go alone,” she said.

  Despite her words, there was a fondness in her voice and her features that said it was more than duty holding her to it. Maybe he was reading too much into things. Maybe the bond they shared had something to do with it. Even if Estalia was a “real” place, it was still governed by game logic. He couldn’t underestimate how much that might contribute.

  But deep down, he hoped it was more than that. Deep down, he hoped that beneath her tough exterior and her teasing barbs she actually did care about his wellbeing, the same way he cared about hers.

  It took over an hour for Vellis to diagnose him. Apparently he’d been bitten by a Faucidi. He’d faced them in a previous game, though the effects of their bite had been negligible since he’d carried antidotes with him. The way Mira described it now—with the Faucidi’s saliva wreaking havoc on the blood vessels that traveled to and from the lungs, filling the air he breathed with a toxin that would make his throat swell—Arheis wasn’t exactly in a hurry to encounter them again.

  Once the diagnosis was made, he’d then had to sit through treatment, adding another fifteen minutes to his sentence of being a supportive friend and guinea pig. When Vellis had learned everything he was going to learn, Mira dismissed him. The boy’s relief was palpable, and he let out the breath he’d been holding for an inordinate amount of time.

  “I’m never going to be able to leave this village,” Mira muttered once he was out of earshot.

  “He’ll learn. Some people just need to be thrown into the fire before they really get it.”

  That’s the way his mom had been, and why she’d held out hope that he’d end up following in her footsteps by becoming a nurse. But there was a difference between not being prepared for the pressure of it all, and not being able to stomach the whole process.

  “And how many people are going to have to pay with their lives while he’s still learning?” she asked, her tone sharp. Immediately her features softened, though, and she shook her head. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve that.”

  “And you don’t deserve to be tethered to this place for the rest of your life.”

  Instinct took over, and Arheis wasn’t considering the confusing, indeterminate place they’d been in for the last two weeks. He just saw someone in pain and felt the desire to comfort them, so he stepped forward and rested his hands on her shoulders. It wasn’t a full embrace, but it was enough contact to be noticeable, both in the way he’d intended, and in other ways.

  Those other ways took hold as Mira looked up at him, her dark eyes searching his. While he’d never been the most confident person around girls, he’d at least been bold enough to initiate a kiss back in the real world. That was with girlfriends, though, and Mira wasn’t his girlfriend. At least… as far as he knew.

  He had no idea what to call this woman he had a bond with; the woman who’d kissed him two weeks ago. And while he was waffling over it, he could feel the spell fading. She averted her gaze, placed her hands over top his in gentle recognition, then stepped back.

  “I should… finish up here,” she said, gesturing to the rows of empty cots around her.

  Arheis didn’t question it. There was having a backbone and going after what he wanted, and then there was crossing a line his friend didn’t want to cross. If she gave any indication she wanted more from him, he’d gladly give it. Until then, he needed to find something to do. Otherwise he was going to sit in his inn room and spend hours analyzing this not-relationship until the word “relationship” ceased to have any meaning.

  As it turned out, that “something to do” sent him predictably to the Guild Hall, but not for predictable reasons. The innkeeper at the Hackleback told him Zindar had headed that way, and he knew for a fact the Pruvari was growing as restless as he was. If anyone had found a task, it was likely him.

  Making his way to Lacerda’s Guild Hall—one of the nicer buildings in the village, and virtually untouched by the Nepondus Queen’s attack—Arheis felt a healthy dose of… awareness. That was the best way he could explain it. In past games, he’d reported to the Guild Hall to record his kills and turn in bounties. It’d been such a big part of the gameplay loop that he hadn’t thought about it. It was just part of an endless cycle. Identify beast, track beast, kill beast, skin beast, then report back to the Guild to do it all over again.

  Now his steps leading up to the Hall had weight and purpose behind them. His mind was focused and filled with skepticism, and as eager as he was to take on some kind of bounty, he was willing to be pickier than he might have been in the past. There wasn’t one thing in particular he could point to as sowing the seeds of dis
trust when it came to the Guild, but rather a number of small things. Mira had a poor opinion of them, since they’d been partially responsible for the death of her lover Eva. But beyond that, Arheis himself had seen the virtues they seemed to count as crucial to the success of their Hunters. Strength and bravery, to the exclusion of intelligence and tactics. Bravado with no real basis behind it. And an “every Hunter for himself” attitude that rewarded those who were willing to essentially kill steal to get ahead.

  No one person embodied that more than…

  Higrem. As soon as Arheis stepped into the Hall, he saw the man. The mayor of Lacerda—elected by a popularity contest, he was sure of it now—Higrem was a tall, broad-shouldered man who could have posed as the generic grizzled male hero of any action game or movie released in the past four decades or so.

  He was also an arrogant ass who’d nearly gotten everyone Arheis cared about killed, and had caused the deaths of several of the Guild’s younger Hunters. Maybe that was why the crowd gathered around him at the main hall’s feasting table was a lot smaller than it’d been before.

  “Arheis!” he called, his booming voice carrying across the large room. “I was just telling these initiates about the Queen. Care to add your own account?”

  “Maybe next time,” he said, biting back what he really wanted to say.

  He needed to be civil to Higrem. Not just because of the fact that calling him out now would only make him look bad, but also because Higrem wasn’t just a showboating waste of space. He was also a Predator Class Hunter—a player, just like Arheis.

  Or he had been at one point. The cryptic message he’d imparted when they last spoke for any length of time left Arheis confused on that point. If he ever wanted to find out the rest of the man’s story, though—like how he had a grown son in a game that was just released—he’d have to play nice.

  Besides, he had better ways to spend his time right now.

  “Have you seen Zindar?”