A girl sat in front of a campfire, eating meat in the middle of the forest. She took her last bite, satisfied.
"Ah, finally! I managed to eat properly, for once!"
She relaxed for a moment, then glanced at her bow, lost in thought.
[Two Days Earlier]
"Yes... but don't do anything reckless." Dana said, worried.
"I know what I'm doing. Move away from the cave entrance!" she ordered Dana, walking slowly toward the exit.
Dana stepped aside, and the newcomer pushed Dalai toward her before suddenly breaking into a run.
[Back to the Present]
Her face lit up with excitement.
"I'm still getting chills, this is fantastic!"
But then her expression returned to seriousness.
"Anyway, I was lucky that day... There were three of them. I wouldn't have stood a chance against them. I need alliances."
"Alliances? What about me?"
A boy suddenly emerged from the trees.
He was tall, with dark hair and eyes that immediately caught your eye. Even beneath his ragged clothes, his build was evident: broad shoulders, defined muscles, a body that exuded strength and agility. He wore a black tank top under an open sweatshirt and black sweatpants, both marked by days of survival: rips and scratches along the sleeves and legs suggested he'd been fighting. Despite his ragged clothes, his face and posture exuded natural beauty and calm confidence.
"W-What!?" The girl jumped back.
"Don't come any closer!"
He threatened the stranger with the stick he'd used to roast the meat, which only amused the boy.
"Or what? Are you going to skewer me and turn me into one of your skewers?"
She blushed slightly with embarrassment, then saw the bow and arrows and tried to grab them, but he was faster, reaching them first.
"Stop. Calm down for a moment!"
The boy put the bow back on the ground, then sat down by the fire. Seeing this, the girl hesitated, but finally sat down too.
"What do you want?"
"The same thing you want. An ally."
The girl tried to determine if he had any ill intentions, looking him up and down. He noticed.
"Hey, you can trust me."
"I think you're making this look too easy. You sneak up on me, take my weapon, and instead of explaining yourself, you tell me to trust you. Try telling me why I should."
"The reason, huh..."
The boy took out his divine weapon and showed it to her.
"With this, as you can imagine, hunting is... difficult."
The girl looked at the weapon carefully.
His weapon was a long, flexible, gleaming chain, with a spear-like blade at one end and a more curved blade at the other.
"It doesn't look like a very comfortable weapon, actually..."
"You, on the other hand, have a bow. And judging by your food supplies, you know how to use it, too."
"I understand... but are you telling me to trust you just because of that? Just because you want to use me to get food?"
The boy scratched his head, visibly uncomfortable.
"Well... you see, I haven't eaten in three days! I'd treat you like a goddess if you fed me regularly!"
The girl looked at him, shocked, then fought back a laugh.
"What's so funny!?"
"Now that's a reason to trust someone!"
The boy blushed with embarrassment.
"So... you accept?"
"Why not? We're both desperate, it seems. But I'll always keep an eye on you!"
"I'll do the same for you!"
The two shook hands, then returned to sit across from each other in front of the fire.
"So, what's on the menu?"
She grabbed a stick and skewered some meat.
"Boar meat."
The boy picked up the skewer as if he were picking up a precious stone.
"Finally!"
He placed the meat on the fire, then looked at his new ally.
"May I ask your name?"
"My name is Amina."
"I'm Ethan."
Ethan smiled at Amina, then returned his attention to the meat, while the girl carefully studied his every move.
I won't let my guard down based on first impressions, but... he seems like a sociable and polite boy.
"Sorry—"
"I can finally eat!" Ethan abruptly interrupted Amina, making her feel a little uncomfortable.
Never mind...
Ethan was about to take a bite of his piece of meat when two boys appeared behind him.
"Don't move!"
"What!?"
Amina tried to step back, but a third boy approached her from behind.
"Go back to your seat!"
"No!"
"Amina, do as they say..."
Amina met Ethan's gaze and sensed the seriousness in his eyes. So she did as he said and sat down again.
"Go get their weapons." the dark-haired boy ordered one of his companions.
A blond-haired boy went to get the weapons and handed them to the first. The latter noticed the meat.
"What kind of meat is that?"
"Wild boar..." Amina replied hesitantly.
The three attackers smiled.
"Good, guys! We hit the jackpot!"
"Nice!"
[Some time later]
The three had eaten most of the supplies, while Amina and Ethan watched from the side.
What can we do? — Amina looked worried.
She glanced at Ethan, who had remained in the same position since the attackers arrived.
"Hey, do you know what they might do to us next?" he asked Ethan quietly.
"I don't know... but if I had to guess, it's nothing good. They have no reason to keep us alive."
"What can we do?"
"For now, nothing. But stay ready."
"You're just giving up?"
Ethan slowly turned to Amina.
"I said, for now... stay ready."
"Stay ready for what?"
The three finished their meal.
"Ahh... what a feast!"
"There's some left. What should we do with it?"
"Of course, we'll take it with us."
The guy with the tied hair glanced at Amina and Ethan.
"And what about them?"
"We kill them! We have the chance, so why not?"
The blond boy grabbed his weapon: a flanged mace.
"Sounds fair!"
He approached Amina and Ethan.
"Which one of you should I kill first?"
"Do as you wish!"
The boy smiled mischievously.
"Then you're the first to die!" he said, raising his mace toward Ethan.
"Wait!"
Amina closed her eyes, not wanting to see what would happen.
"I have something to show you!"
Ethan's words made the boy freeze mid-swing.
"Huh?"
"I have something to show you... Do you want to see it?"
The three of them exchanged a look.
"Show us what you've got."
From his hoodie pocket, Ethan pulled out something completely black. Everyone tried to figure out what it was.
"What's that?" asked the dark-haired boy.
"I don't know." replied the one with the mace.
"It's a piece of horn!"
"A horn of what?"
"Of a creature that attacked me three days ago!"
At those words, Amina's eyes widened, as if a realization struck her.
He said... three days ago.
[A few minutes earlier]
"Well... you see, I haven't eaten in three days! I'd treat you like a goddess if you fed me regularly!"
—
"I said, for now... stay ready."
[Return to the present]
It can't be! — Amina realized what was happening and looked at Ethan fearfully.
"As I already told my ally, I haven't eaten in three days. But just as I was about to eat... you showed up!"
"What the hell are you babbling about?!" shouted the guy with the flanged mace.
Ethan looked him in the eyes, and his look alone made the boy flinch and take a step back.
"The creature this horn belonged to... after I ripped it off, it got really pissed off. And honestly? I can't even blame it."
Everyone began to hear noises coming from deep in the forest.
"I became its target. From then on, it chased me, never stopping! But somehow, I managed to put some distance between us."
The noises grew louder. The sound of trees crashing to the ground followed. Everyone was terrified.
"Then I realized something... That bastard has an incredible sense of smell. He never loses me."
"What the hell kind of creature attacked you?!" the dark-haired boy shouted.
"They're pretty famous... but I don't remember their name right now."
The blond-haired boy leaned toward his friend.
"We have to get out of here!"
Ethan scanned the faces of all three attackers and smiled evilly.
"Right! They're called minotaurs."
"Lucas, watch out!"
Lucas heard the scream but didn't understand, until, in an instant, a minotaur charged at him at full speed, crushing his skull with its hoof and splattering blood on the dark-haired boy's clothes. Everyone froze in shock.
A huge minotaur, its muscular body covered in dark fur, stood before them. Its bovine muzzle was scarred, and its right horn was broken, accentuating its savage appearance.
Moments later, the man with the flanged mace turned toward Ethan in panic.
"Die, you bastard!"
He tried to strike, but Ethan calmly dodged.
"I told you: I'm his target. If you want to kill me, you'll have to walk over his corpse first."
The boy realized his mistake, but it was too late: the minotaur's mighty fist struck him in the face, sending him flying into a tree. The impact instantly snapped his neck.
The minotaur tried to stab Ethan with its horn, but he dodged, wedging it in the trunk of a tree.
Ethan moved toward his weapon, but Amina beat him to it, aiming her bow at him.
"What, you don't trust me anymore?"
"How could I? You hid this from me, and now look at the situation I'm in... because of you!"
The last surviving attacker began to aggressively approach Ethan. Ethan watched him.
"You're making the same mistake as your friends! Try to kill me and you'll be dead in seconds!"
"He's stuck in that tree. I'll kill you and then I'll leave—"
Suddenly, a tree crushed him.
"Looks like you're the one stuck now..."
Ethan stopped looking at the dead boy under the tree and turned to Amina, who was still aiming at him.
"I thought you'd be a little smarter."
The minotaur began charging, and Ethan noticed.
"Look, I know I was wrong. But I need that weapon now!"
"Give me a reason to trust you!"
"You don't have one."
The minotaur lunged at Ethan.
"But you have a chance: if I die, I doubt you'll survive on your own!"
Amina hesitated, but handed him the weapon.
It hasn't been long since I met him... but I've already learned one thing about Ethan...
Ethan grabbed the weapon.
"Good choice!"
He's the kind of person who can tell you exactly how he feels, without saying a word...
Ethan smiled at Amina.
And right now, he's screaming at me to trust him!
The sound of the minotaur behind him made Ethan turn. With a swift movement, he flung part of the chain, its spearhead sinking deep into the creature's neck.
"Dodge, Amina!"
Amina leaped aside. Ethan took advantage of the minotaur's momentary pause to climb onto its back, wrapping the rest of the chain tightly around its neck. The beast thrashed wildly, trying to unseat him.
It works!
After a while, the minotaur began to weaken, but in its frenzy, it managed to strike Ethan with its left arm, striking him with enough force to stun him.
"Ethan!" Amina shouted in concern as she ran toward them.
Ethan recovered from his daze and pulled even harder.
"Do you want to die!?"
Another punch was about to hit Ethan, he couldn't dodge it...
But suddenly, an arrow pierced the minotaur's right eye, stopping its attack. Ethan looked at Amina in amazement.
"Good work!"
Amina continued to fire, unleashing a relentless rain of arrows at the minotaur, each one piercing deeply. Finally, the creature's enormous body collapsed to the ground, nearly unconscious.
Seeing this, Ethan grabbed the other end of the chain, the one with the curved tip, and plunged it into the minotaur's neck.
"Die!"
The blow killed the beast instantly. Exhausted, Ethan slipped off the back and fell to the ground.
Unbelievable... he actually did it!
Still stunned by what she had just witnessed, Amina approached Ethan, only to see him suddenly stand up, startling her.
"Amina, are you okay—"
Ethan collapsed to the ground.
[Some time later]
Where... am I?
Ethan smelled a pleasant aroma. Opening his eyes, he saw Amina roasting meat over a campfire. He noticed he was awake.
"Welcome back!" he said with a smile.
"What happened after I passed out?"
"I decided to move somewhere else, considering the mess we made..."
Ethan looked away from Amina.
"So... what will you do now?"
"I think I'll trust you a little longer. After what you did to kill that minotaur, it's the least I can do... hoping you don't have any more surprises up your sleeve."
After Amina's words, Ethan looked at her again, noticing that she was handing him a skewer of meat. Seeing this, he seemed on the verge of tears.
"Thank you..."
Amina seemed happy with his reaction.
"Eat before someone else comes!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
Ethan took a bite of the meat and seemed reborn. Amina took some for herself.
"Thank you..."
Amina looked at him, confused.
"You already thanked me for the food."
"Yes, but I meant for the trust you showed me back then. It made me happy!"
Ethan smiled at Amina, who blushed and looked away.
"You're welcome..."
Ethan took another bite of the meat.
"Is this still the boar meat from before?"
"No, this is minotaur meat."
Ethan stopped, incredulous.
"What?"
He looked at Amina's serious face and was concerned. But after a moment, she started laughing, leaving Ethan even more confused.
"It's a joke!"
"A joke..." Ethan forced a laugh.
There was a brief silence.
"Amina."
"Yes?"
"Has anyone ever told you you have a strange sense of humor?"
"No."
"I see..."