When a bear suddenly lunged out of the bushes, the first person to react was Terek.

Luke had noticed it as well, but he chose to let the elder hunter handle it.

The beast stood at least two meters tall and carried a tremendous amount of weight behind its frame. Yet instead of retreating, Terek met its charge head-on.

"Look at this big boy, sneaking around so quietly." Terek grinned as he caught one of its forelegs and shoved the massive creature backward.

The muscles along his arms and shoulders bulged from the effort.

The bear snarled, opening its maw wide as it snapped toward his shoulder.

Terek didn’t give it the chance.

He suddenly kicked its hind leg, throwing off its balance. The moment the beast stumbled, he released its foreleg.

The bear lurched forward.

Terek stepped in and drove his shoulder straight into its chest.

THUD

"Grrrh..."

The creature staggered back several steps, breathing heavily.

Luke raised an eyebrow.

He hadn’t expected that much force from a single shoulder strike.

’Assess him,’ he silently instructed the system.

[Assessing...]

Meanwhile, Terek rolled his shoulders and regained his stance while the bear shook its head and steadied itself.

Then he glanced at Luke.

"What part do you like to eat, son?"

Luke hummed for a moment.

"I actually don’t enjoy food that’s too fatty. It leaves too much oil, so I’d rather avoid it."

He had eaten bear meat a few times before.

To be honest, he had never been particularly fond of it.

Gustav burst out laughing.

"So all that effort is going to waste?"

Terek snickered.

"Not a chance."

The moment he finished speaking, he charged the beast.

The bear roared and swiped at him.

Instead of confronting it from the front, Terek suddenly accelerated.

His body dropped low to the ground as he slid past the creature’s flank.

"GGRRRAAH!"

The bear twisted and lashed out wildly.

Too late.

Terek was already behind it.

His thick arms locked around the beast’s chest in a crushing grip.

The bear thrashed violently, trying to break free, but Terek planted his feet firmly into the earth.

Then he bent backward.

Muscles corded across his entire body.

With a roar, he lifted the massive bear clear off the ground and flipped it over his head.

THUMP!

The creature’s head slammed into the earth with tremendous force.

For a brief moment, everything went still.

Then a sickening crack echoed through the forest.

CRUNCH.

Luke was genuinely impressed by the man’s strength.

Just then, the system notified him.

[Stats:

Str: 45

Spd: 47

Def: 60

Int: 21

Gamma: 1010]

[To assess what skills the target possesses, the host would need to witness the target using them at least once.]

’Damn... this guy is a complete beast.’

The numbers were enough to explain why Terek had tossed around a bear as if it were little more than a troublesome animal.

It made sense as well.

The man served the Head Tribe directly. Someone in that position couldn’t possibly be weak.

Still, when Luke compared those numbers to his own, his expression became thoughtful.

[Stats:

Level: 3

Str: 26 -> 28

Spd: 23.5 -> 25

Def: 30 -> 32.5

Int: 18.5 -> 20

Gamma: 2800 -> 4500/4500]

Terek surpassed him in every physical attribute by a significant margin.

Yet one statistic stood out.

Gamma.

Luke’s reserves were several times greater.

’If I ever fought him, my only real advantage would be my skills.’

The thought immediately reminded him of something.

"What magical skill do you have, Uncle?"

Luke asked curiously.

Terek hummed as he climbed back to his feet.

"Didn’t you just see it? I strengthened my muscles."

Luke frowned.

"I mean a unique skill. I’m sure you have one, don’t you?"

Terek paused for a moment before a grin spread across his face.

"Quite the sharp perspective you’ve got, brat."

He reached over and ruffled Luke’s hair.

"Warriors never reveal their weapons before a battle."

His tone remained light, but there was a hint of seriousness beneath it. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"While we aren’t enemies, it’s a lesson you should remember in the future."

Luke nodded in understanding.

It wasn’t as if he went around advertising his own abilities either.

Keeping certain cards hidden was simply common sense.

Especially in a world where a single unknown skill could decide the outcome of a fight.

"Anyway, should we start skinning it?" Gustav asked as he pulled out his knife.

Luke hummed.

"You two can get started. I’m looking for something else."

Terek exchanged a glance with his brother before turning back to Luke.

"And what exactly are you looking for, Luke?"

Luke looked over his shoulder and grinned.

"Have you ever eaten a ground hare’s leg before? It’s incredibly tender."

Gustav raised an eyebrow.

"Don’t they burrow far underground? And aren’t their tunnels usually quite a distance from where they actually stay?"

Naturally, Gustav knew about ground hares.

They were larger than ordinary hares and notoriously difficult to hunt. Most hunters only managed to catch them during mating season, when the creatures became more active above ground.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t that season.

Luke chuckled.

"You don’t need to worry about that, Father."

His grin widened slightly.

"Just be ready to skin it when I bring it back."

Gustav snorted.

Luke had always left the skinning work to him anyway.

The boy knew very well that Gustav was far more skilled at processing beasts than he was.

Terek folded his arms and watched Luke with interest.

"Sounds like you’ve already got a plan."

Luke merely smiled.

"Maybe."

With that, he turned and headed deeper into the forest.

The two men followed behind him, curious to see what he was planning.

It wasn’t long before Luke suddenly came to a stop and knelt down.

Terek narrowed his eyes.

Far in the distance, he could barely make out a small hole in the ground.

Meanwhile, Luke activated Echolocation.

Invisible sound waves spread outward and sank deep beneath the earth.

For a moment, they encountered nothing.

Then, nearly two meters underground, the waves finally found what he was looking for.

Luke grinned.

He could already sense movement.

’Just as I thought.’

The ground hare had noticed the disturbance.

The creature was becoming restless inside its burrow.

’Activate Shadow Walk.’

If the hare could detect the vibrations from his footsteps, there was no reason to risk alerting it further.

Luke quietly rose and began moving toward the entrance.

Behind him, Gustav and Terek watched attentively.

Terek’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Even when Luke stepped on dry leaves and twigs, almost no sound followed.

It wasn’t magic that Terek could identify.

It was the way the boy moved.

Each step was deliberate and precise, his weight shifting so naturally that his presence seemed to blend into the forest itself.

The silence felt almost eerie.

Soon, Luke reached the burrow entrance.

With a thought, he summoned his dagger.

The blade appeared in his hand.

Then, without warning—

A blur shot out of the hole.

The ground hare burst from the earth.

The creature was enormous, far larger than an ordinary rabbit, with powerful hind legs and a body built for explosive speed.

Luke’s eyes lit up.

"Got you!"

He lunged forward.

The hare tried to dart past him, but it was already too late.

The dagger flashed.

THUNK.

The blade sank directly into its head.

The beast let out a sharp, piercing shriek and tumbled across the ground.

Its powerful legs kicked wildly as it thrashed in panic.

For several moments, dirt and leaves flew in every direction.

Then the movements gradually weakened.

The shrieks faded.

At last, the hare went still.

Luke pulled his dagger free and stood up with a satisfied grin.

Behind him, Gustav and Terek exchanged glances.

The hunt had lasted less than what Terek needed to hunt a bear.

And somehow, this way of hunting felt much more satisfying to their eyes.

••••••••

A/N:- I hope you liked the Chapter.