C21 Chapter 20 – The Hunter and the Hunted
A cold wind swept through the island before sunrise.
Aiden woke instantly.
Something felt wrong.
He quietly stepped outside his hut.
The campfire had burned down to glowing embers.
His wheat field stood peacefully under the morning mist.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Yet...
The Forest Hopper wasn't waiting near the field like it usually did.
The birds were silent.
Even the insects had disappeared.
Aiden slowly tightened his grip on his Stone Axe.
"The forest is too quiet..."
Silence in nature often meant only one thing.
A predator was nearby.
---
He carefully inspected the area around his camp.
Near the storage box...
He found a set of enormous footprints.
Each print was almost twice the size of his hand.
Fresh.
Very fresh.
They circled the camp once before disappearing toward the eastern forest.
Aiden crouched beside them.
The soil was still loose.
"It came here last night."
A chill ran down his spine.
His camp had already been discovered.
---
Instead of panicking, Aiden forced himself to stay calm.
"Think."
"If a predator knows where I live..."
"I need better defenses."
He opened the Blueprint Menu.
Nothing appeared.
No traps.
No walls.
No watchtower.
"So I'll have to make them myself."
Using sharpened branches, he crafted several wooden stakes.
Then he dug shallow holes around the outer edge of his camp.
Each hole was hidden beneath leaves and grass.
The traps wouldn't kill a large beast.
But they might slow it down.
As he finished the final pit...
The System responded.
New Blueprint Created
Wooden Spike Trap
Rank: F
Creator: Player Aiden
Effect:
Deals minor damage and briefly slows small or medium creatures.
Builder Profession EXP increased.
Aiden smiled.
"So creating useful designs unlocks new blueprints."
That discovery was almost as valuable as the trap itself.
---
The rest of the morning was spent reinforcing the camp.
He sharpened both Bone Spears.
Repaired the Stone Axe.
Added extra wood to the furnace.
Finally, he climbed onto the roof of his hut.
From there, he could see much farther across the island.
The beach.
The pond.
The rocky hill.
The edge of the eastern forest.
Everything looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
---
Around noon...
A familiar chirping sound echoed nearby.
"Chi! Chi!"
The Forest Hopper suddenly burst from the bushes.
Its ears were pressed tightly against its head.
Instead of stopping beside Aiden, it ran straight past him.
Seconds later...
A loud roar shook the forest.
ROOOAARRR!
Trees trembled.
Birds exploded into the sky.
Aiden immediately jumped down from the roof.
His heartbeat accelerated.
The roar came from less than two hundred meters away.
Then...
Branches snapped.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the trees.
Boom...
Boom...
Boom...
Whatever it was...
It was enormous.
Aiden quickly extinguished the campfire.
Smoke could reveal his location.
He hid behind a stack of logs and slowed his breathing.
The footsteps came closer.
Closer.
Then...
They stopped.
Complete silence filled the island.
One minute passed.
Then another.
Finally...
The footsteps slowly moved away.
Only after several more minutes did Aiden dare to move.
He carefully followed the tracks until he reached the edge of the forest.
There...
He found the remains of a broken tree.
Deep claw marks covered the trunk.
Nearby lay the body of a Wild Horn Goat.
It had been torn apart.
Very little meat remained.
The predator hadn't hunted for food alone.
It had hunted with overwhelming strength.
Aiden quietly backed away.
"That thing..."
"...is far stronger than me."
---
As he returned to camp, the System suddenly appeared.
Emergency Side Mission
Predator in the Forest
Objective:
Survive until the predator's territory is identified.
Reward:
- Survival Points ×150
- Random Trap Blueprint
Failure:
Death.
Time Limit:
None.
Aiden read the mission twice.
It didn't tell him to defeat the beast.
Only to survive.
"Even the System thinks fighting is impossible."
That confirmed his own judgment.
---
The afternoon was spent preparing.
He crafted another spike trap.
Collected extra firewood.
Filled every clay bowl with fresh water.
Cooked enough meat for several days.
If the predator attacked...
He wanted to be ready.
As the sun slowly disappeared below the horizon, he climbed onto a large rock overlooking his camp.
The island glowed beneath the orange sky.
It looked peaceful.
Beautiful.
But Aiden now understood its true nature.
This wasn't paradise.
It was a testing ground.
Only those who adapted would survive.
---
That night...
The moon shone brightly over the forest.
Aiden sat quietly beside the dying fire, his ears alert for every sound.
Hours passed.
Nothing happened.
Then...
Just after midnight...
A long shadow silently appeared at the edge of the trees.
Two golden eyes opened in the darkness.
Watching.
Waiting.
The creature didn't step into the camp.
It simply observed.
As if studying its prey.
Aiden slowly reached for his Bone Spear.
Neither human nor beast moved.
For nearly a full minute...
They stared at one another across the darkness.
Then the shadow turned and vanished into the forest.
Only after it disappeared did Aiden realize...
His hands were shaking.
Far away, deep within the Ancient Echo Valley...
The mysterious blue light flickered once again.
This time...
A low, ancient voice echoed through the darkness.
"...The Trial... has begun..."
