Of Markets and Monstrous Emus

2 month later~

The three of us—Ren, Arya, and myself—left the Gurukul. There was no denying the smugness, satisfaction, and happiness on our faces. We had secured the hunting job, and our destination was the city below, teeming with activity. It took some time and training to be finally allowed outside the premises of the Gurukul. Two months may seem like a long time but considering what we saw last month I think it was pretty much justified.

Though I suppose there wasn't much point to being the first to implore to be tasked for hunting and supplies duty given the fact the rest still held hesitation towards taking a life. Due to some reason perhaps because of our upbringing we just never cared all that much about hunting. All three of us were the last to join the Gurukul as we had joined during our late teenage years while the rest had been a part of the Gurukul since a very young age. Shaun was raised as a baby and others joined at a very young age too like 4-9 years of age.

Though they might have not gone after the hunting duty they might still have gone for the supply one. So we were glad regardless of this minor victory. After all, there were not many occasions where we got to get ahead of them.

The journey down the mountain was accompanied by our usual banter. Ren said with a playful jab. "So, how's it feel to leave our zen-like paradise behind and join the common folk?"

Arya, ever the voice of reason, chimed in with her trademark smirk. "Just a reminder, folks, we're not here for the scenic tour. Supplies and odd jobs, that's the plan."

Ren said next. "You know, if we run into any monsters and defeat them, I call dibs on regaling our heroic conquest!"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, absolutely, Ren. And I'll add a touch of dramatic flair to make sure it's a legendary story for the ages."

Arya, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation, interjected. "Let's not lose sight of our goal, guys. Lemme state it again, we're in it for a steady income, some good food, and sightseeing, definitely not aiming to become local legends."

'Oh, I like the sound of being local legends. Maybe we could be the mysterious guardians of the forest. Now to come up with a cool name and a catchphrase..'

Ren, undeterred, snorted. "Come on, Arya, don't you want us to be remembered as the trio of fearless monster hunters? Any room for adventure in that practical heart of yours?"

Arya, smirking in response, replied, "I'd rather we're recalled as the ones who restocked the pantry and paid the upkeep on time. And I'd prefer not to return empty-handed thanks to your 'adventures.' Remember the 'friendly advice' we got from our gurukul pals before we left?"

'Man, that statement is dripping with sarcasm. Cause I remember no friendly advice coming our way.'

'I do vaguely remember being shaken like a leaf on a twig on a windy day after being held up by the scruff of my collar. Ah, I also remember the faces of my dear pals in the gurukul with whom I set out on this journey to find our inner selves. Oddly enough instead of a 'friendly monk' vibe, they gave off this intense 'yakuza asking for protection fees' vibes.'

Ren replied with a scoff, "Hmmph, 'friendly advice,' if we don't bring back something delicious for everyone, I can't even imagine what would happen to us."

"Yeah, we gotta earn money first though for that. Arya and I will buy the supplies and Ren you go ahead and look for some opportunities to earn money. We will haul the supplies back today and on the way back catch some game to bring back as well. We will come back again tomorrow to earn some money."

"Yeah, that way if there are any gathering or monster extermination quests we could do that on the way to the city tomorrow. It would save us quite a bit of time and give us more time for sightseeing," remarked Ren.

After some more back and forth, we finally reached the city. The city I first saw when I came out of the rehabilitation room. The sprawling city that looked like jigsaw pieces scattered in the forest. That city is now before us and that city is named Taxila. The learning hub of the East.

The city we now saw presented a contrasting blend of old and new, where tradition and modernity coexisted without much fanfare. Its streets, while intriguing, were a mix of history and progress. The city's layout hinted at its heritage, with narrow, meandering alleys leading to bustling marketplaces, offering glimpses of its culture. Ancient temples stood beside contemporary skyscrapers, creating a unique urban landscape.

The traditional buildings featured oriental architecture, complete with intricate carvings and dragon motifs. However, the city had adapted to modern times with an efficient public transportation system, seamlessly connecting different eras. The houses had a certain charm, with wooden lattice windows and sloping roofs that added an air of grace.

Close up:

Colorful lanterns hung in the streets, casting a welcoming glow, although our limited budget meant we couldn't indulge in the tempting street food. With our meager funds reserved for supplies, we had to regretfully avert our eyes from the tantalizing food vendors and inviting restaurants. Our stomachs grumbled in protest, but duty called.

As intermediate-tier disciples, we were supposed to pitch in and help with the expenses at the Gurukul. So finding a steady income was vital and a priority as Arya had said. While we had split to collect the supplies, Ren went to look for some hunting quests or other odd jobs which did not take a lot of time.

'Leave it to the extroverts to mingle with the people I say.'

Ren had headed to the guild to look for some jobs. The guild was the place that had the most probability of finding work. The guild itself was a megastructure capable of hosting several tens of thousands at a given time with no difficulty. It also had several branches within the city itself.

The guild was an intercontinental organization that combined both the magi-tech of the West and the thought communication, knowledge transfer, and spirit arts of the East. There were many terminals in the guild where one could search for information like surfing the internet.

This spoke true for all the cities and towns in the world. The main goal of the guild was to provide work, all work issued through the guild had its legitimacy and payment guaranteed. And if paid the right price, any and all your requests that fall within the terms and regulations will be fulfilled.

Amidst the guild's vibrant bustle, Ren's keen eye caught a glimpse of a bounty notice. It was a bounty notice that was displayed on one of the holographic screens. These screens were primarily how the general populace interacted, posted jobs, retrieved verified information, and uploaded them. There was a sector dedicated to each of these activities where people could gather and do so. The process itself was very similar and inexpensive.

Ren couldn't contain his excitement as he ran out of the guild to find us and called us over. Not a hard thing to accomplish as each branch within the city was not separate but one. That is only the entrances were scattered across the city. Each entrance within the city led to a single megastructure that was the guild itself. Some application of space warping magic only the guild was privy to or so they say.

This was handy as this also meant the travel time for moving within the city was cut short by several orders of time. This benefit surprisingly did not cost anything at all as anyone could avail of this benefit at any time. However, this method of travel only extended to within the city and not between cities themselves. For that people still relied on conventional methods of transportation.

Ren had no trouble finding us due to our already premade schedule by Arya who insisted on using our time efficiently and decided when and which place we would go to.

"Hey, you won't believe what I just found!" Ren exclaimed, his eyes shining with anticipation as he handed us a flier that had the information related to the bounty.

Arya and I exchanged curious glances and then took a careful look at the bounty. The bounty flier depicted a menacing creature that resembled an overgrown emu, its feathers bristling with danger.

Arya raised an eyebrow when she saw the bounty attached to the monster. "That's quite the sum isn't it?"

'Is it?, I have no idea of the prices here. Even now, I was just barely holding up the facade because of my earlier investigations of market prices of the stuff we were supposed to buy from the senior disciple who assigned our duties. Just play it cool Kaito. Be the lake.'

Ren grinned. "It's a monstrous emu, guys! And the reward for taking it down is huge."

Arya gave a side look to Ren "It's a Viruda, and quiet down. Do you have to make a fool of yourself in public like this?"

"Yeah, let's look at the pros and cons.", I said trying to sound wise.

"Hunting a monster might be too much for us with all the supplies we will be carrying, plus the Viruda was said to have a moderate danger rating and we are not sure just where exactly we stand in this world in terms of power scaling."

Ren stroked his chin, "Well the Gurukul is supposed to take care of the monsters in the region and the last seen location of the Viruda was pretty close to the Illusenwoods which is near the Gurukul. There are plenty enough chances that someone is already dispatched to deal with it."

"Hmm, so it may not be worth the time and the effort huh? With this much amount offered, I am sure a lot of people will be after it. If we are careless the bounty hunt could spiral into a fight between the other hunters as well," analyzed Arya after a brief moment of pause.

Deciding it's not worth the effort, we accepted a few other mundane hunting quests and decided to go back to deliver the supplies and return tomorrow.

With supplies in tow, we regrouped at the entrance of the village. Now all that was left was to hunt some game on the way back. As we embarked on our return journey to the gurukul, Ren's words buzzed in a portion of my mind.

'Are we playing it too safe, from both of their looks, the bounty seemed rather large. Should we accept it and see how it goes? Success would mean a fat sum of moolah but failure would mean..'

The path during our return seemed just as tranquil as it was when we went to the city. However, our path was about to take an unexpected turn. As we traversed the terrain, there was a turn, the road ahead was hidden by the surrounding trees and boulders, and the setting sun coupled with the tall trees cast long shadows. Just as were about to take the turn, a rather large flightless bird with two menacing legs, its plumage a fierce array of grey and black, suddenly crossed our path, its beady eyes looking straight at us.

'Crap, to think we missed this huge thing, even if it was somewhat hidden due to the looming shadows of the trees, we were too careless. It was the perfect ambush spot.....It could have ambushed us but it did not. It's still...... staring at us. Why?'

Ren's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "It's the same as the bounty I saw in town!" we quickly dropped the supplies we were carrying and now we had to come up with a decision. Fight or Flight.

The Viruda, its feathers bristling with fury, squared off against us. 'Fight it is, also it might be too fast to run away from'. Its beady eyes fixed on me as I stood there, I took it upon myself to act as the bait. Ren and Arya positioned themselves strategically, poised for action. I cloaked myself in Chi, my arm reaching for the sword to prepare for its attacks. I would not have time to retrieve my bow and knock an arrow at this range.

The monster suddenly lunged forward with extreme speed, its strong menacing leg aimed at me, I darted to the side, narrowly avoiding its attack. At that moment I snapped my fingers with both hands to produce a chi-amplified sound wave. At this range, it was sure to leave it stunned for a few seconds.

As the dazed Viruda with its legs outstretched shot past me and continued forward, the boulder behind me crumbled under the weight of its kick, launching dust and rock pieces into the air. The snap left me momentarily stunned as well and I could only helplessly spectate Arya dashing towards the Viruda.

Cloaked in chi, Arya seized the opportunity and sprang forward with impressive agility as she slashed at the creature's leg with her short swords while the monster was reeling from the impact and dust still covered its eyes. The short swords were reinforced and covered with Chi, extending their reach. Smooth cuts were formed on the monster's legs as it began faltering. Attacking its legs would leave it absolutely helpless as its only saving grace was its speed which was provided by its strong and agile legs.

Soon both me and the Viruda came back to our senses.

The Viruda let out a deafening squawk of pain, sharp feathers flying in all directions, we had to immediately roll away and parry those feathers away. It turned its attention toward Arya, its beak snapping angrily. It could no longer run at us with binding speed as it had done before. Half the battle was won already. Even if we do nothing now it would soon bleed out and die due to the various cuts on its body and also its ruptured eardrum. Monsters have much better senses compared to us. By several orders at least. The earlier sound attack must have dealt significant damage to it.

Ren who had positioned himself to the rear of the Viruda, saw his chance and signaled us. He had earlier grabbed a nearby branch and sent Chi through it to transform it into a spear and after reinforcing it with Chi he used it to sweep the monster's legs out from under it. Ren was strong, incredibly so as he effortlessly toppled the bird to make it fall. I did not want to be a mere spectator so I had to take some kind of action as well. Some way to utilize the environment around us to our benefit as my own physical strength was not much to account for.

As the creature tumbled to the ground, its massive body again momentarily stunned as its head struck one of the remaining pieces of the boulder that I had kicked anticipating where its head would land. It was once again our chance to strike. Arya delivered a series of precise blows to the Viruda's neck, while Ren and I joined in, striking its head and heart with swift movements. We fought with calculated precision, each of us covering the other's blind spots.

It squirmed and flailed, its final death throes, but we held our ground, using our training to anticipate its movements. The Viruda's resistance gradually weakened, and with one final kick to the ground, it succumbed.

The monster on the ground right now was strong and agile, the only reason we won with nary a scratch was the fact that it underestimated us, or rather me, seeing my frail body. Its lack of caution was its hubris. We simply capitalized on it for a seamless victory.

We stood there, panting and victorious, our bodies covered in a mix of sweat and the monster's feathers. It was a battle won through strategy, teamwork, and the skills we had honed during our training. As we looked at the defeated monster, we couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment flooding us. We had faced the challenge head-on and emerged triumphant, stronger, and more united than ever. At that moment, I couldn't help but recall the teachings we received. The guru had imparted upon us the invaluable lesson that in this intricate tapestry of existence, the preservation of one life often necessitated the sacrifice of another. Hesitation amidst a battle for survival would lead to our downfall.

It was then when the adrenaline had worn off, we looked ahead and saw tiny chicks huddled together and sleeping blissfully at a distance. Regret immediately threatened to well up and consume us.

'Shit.'