Chances to Another Life

6. Military Commander

Believe it or not, I seem to be destined to be a hunter in this life. I hang my sword from my back without worrying that I will stumble and the sword will jump out of its sheath and cut me in half.

The bow feels comfortable in my grip, and I didn't even tremble when I practiced archery in the cottage last night, which resulted its interior being adorned with arrows scattered on the wooden walls.

This fact makes me a little happy because I can finally excel at something. In my previous life, I had no skills at all. I couldn't even walk five meters without tripping over my own feet.

I warm up before leaving the cottage, and only then do I realize that my body feels energetic, as if I had just showered in an incredibly cool stream. My mind still wanders a lot, though, thinking about Adellia's problems. But apart from that, I am grateful for my new muscular body.

I can feel the thickness of my upper arms like a real fitness trainer.

Confidently praising myself, I open the door of the cabin. It's still dark outside because it's only five in the morning; the sun hasn't risen from its hiding place yet. Birds fly by, occasionally chirping as they taste their breakfast, and here I am, alone, staring at the neatly trimmed fields of tall grass.

So excited about my new body, I forgot to ask, where exactly is the hunting ground? What does Cedric look like? Could it be that King has sent me out into the forest to face hungry lions?

I grabbed the same leather vest I wore yesterday. Unfortunately, I only have three sets of clothes in this world. Two of them are the same outfit that hunters usually wear, and the other is a black suit that I suspect was given to me by the palace, because the quality of the fabric is so expensive that it's impossible for a poor hunter like me to get it. 

Not long after that, I heard the sound of horses' hooves approaching. A man was riding a horse while pulling another horse by the reins.

The man stopped in front of me and I had to look up to see his face. My first impression was one of coldness. The reflection in his eyes seemed to scrutinize me carefully until it felt like he was going to skin me alive.

His features were sharp, with thick eyebrows and black hair; I'm sure he could charm any woman if his gaze wasn't like that.

He wore a long gray shirt with strings around the chest. The bottom of his pants were tucked into knee-high boots. A rifle hung from his back. He looked too relaxed for someone about to go hunting.

Then he stepped forward, making me feel instantly dwarfed. He was incredibly tall, probably over two meters. In my world, he would certainly be a world record holder.

"Mr. Joe? I am Cedric," he said as he held out his hand.

Still stunned (not scared), I awkwardly shook his hand. My confidence sank deep into my stomach, just as it had when I first met Elliott. In Swinggelir, ugly people must not be accepted as part of the community.

"Commander Cedric," I said, mentioning his title.

Cedric shook my hand firmly and confidently. His palm could probably make someone's brain shake if he slapped or punched them.

"Don't call me Commander, I'm off duty for now," he replied humbly.

It seemed that my perception of him had changed, because after speaking directly, Cedric seemed friendlier. He smiled slightly, which I took as a form of politeness. No wonder the King insisted on having him as Adellia's partner. 

"Fine, then don't call me sir. I'm just a hunter," I replied.

"Your profession is not just 'common'. The King even allows you to be around the palace, you are an important person," Cedric said.

I think what the king meant by 'important' is that I am important to help match his daughter with a noble man so that he can die peacefully, and being a hunter is just a disguise because I am really a matchmaker.

After some small talk, we went straight to the forest outside the palace. This was the first time I saw a village settlement. The houses here were mostly made of wood and resembled my own home. Although they were made of wood, I felt that they lived more prosperously than I did in my brick apartment before.

Some villagers were already busy tidying up their yards or watering plants, even though it was early in the morning. I also saw several stalls set up and their owners busy arranging their wares. Ah, this is the ordinary life I often feel.

The further we got from downtown, the less human activity there was. Fortunately, I was able to keep up with the speed of a military commander on horseback in order not to get lost in this wilderness.

I'd never been in a forest before because I wasn't interested in outdoor activities, let alone having to fight through dense vegetation that seemed capable of trapping us.

Cedric slowed at the edge of the forest. "Let's park our horses here and go in."

I followed him and tied our reins to a tree trunk. I didn't know what to expect; would I meet real wild animals? Or would Cedric be burdened by bringing an amateur like me?

I tried not to think about it. Cedric prepared his dagger, which hung from his belt, and grabbed an old-fashioned hunting rifle. Although old-fashioned, a rifle was still better than arrows for playing catch with wild animals. Suddenly, I felt like I was the old-fashioned one.

"Yesterday afternoon I set a trap in the usual place where the mountain deer usually come. Let's see if my trap worked," Cedric invited as he walked into the forest.

Mountain deer sounded good. I had never eaten deer meat before, and I was curious to see how it would taste.

Cedric maneuvered deftly and silently through the narrow, rocky path blocked by a dense thicket of elephant-sized leaves. I regulated my breathing, grateful that my body kept me from slipping into the terrifying abyss below.

Perhaps because of his military background, Cedric was adept at choosing a path that was not too treacherous, but still hidden. I guessed he was familiar with the layout of the surrounding forests.

So far, I hadn't seen or felt the presence of any animals; perhaps that meant we hadn't ventured deep enough into the wilderness.

After thinking this over, Cedric quickly turned to me and signaled for silence. He loaded his rifle with a bullet. I followed suit and aimed my arrow in the direction he was looking.

His trap had successfully caught a mountain deer; I didn't know if it was naturally large or just looked that way compared to a full-grown cow. Even if we managed to capture it, I wondered how we would transport it back to the palace.

The deer moved restlessly, occasionally making sounds of distress. My hunting instincts seemed to have completely dissolved as I felt no compassion for it. Maybe I would be criticized for this, but hey, you all eat chicken a lot, right? What's the difference?

I didn't get a chance to witness Cedric silently firing his rifle; all I knew next was that an incredibly large animal, resembling a tiger, suddenly passed within his shooting range.

The bullet pierced its black fur, but it seemed to be too thick-skinned to feel anything. Anxiously, I peered out from behind the foliage and watched cautiously.

"Damn it!" Cedric cursed.

We really were out of luck today. The beast had devoured our prey, and after getting bored with the feast - where one bite could swallow an entire deer's head - it turned towards us as if it had just realized that someone had been throwing bullets at it, causing an unpleasant sensation.

"Joe, run! Now, run!" Cedric said quickly, running towards the path we had just taken.

I was still processing the situation a bit slowly and missed my chance to follow his instructions.

From this close distance, the animal is different from a tiger.

Its body length is four to five meters, its fur is the color of the night sky, its mane shines with a bright black color, its vertical iris is wild yellowish, not to mention its tail! Huge thorns protrude from it as he swings it enthusiastically toward me.

My mind is busy searching for information, and finally I found a name, the world's version of a Black Panther equipped with a spiked tail!

In this world, black panther have practically evolved into supernatural creatures due to the drastic species differences compared to my previous world. Ordinary black panthers will never grow this huge, let alone have spikes on their tails.

I feel like I'm being awakened from reality.

No dragons, no unicorns, but there is black panther!

How lucky I am.

In such a desperate situation, I can still aim my arrow. When the arrow shoots and hits its eye, I immediately limp away with the mighty roar of the black panther.