Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 256

Within the residence which was at the centre of the village, the residence assigned to the Village Head, two people were having a conversation.

“How is he,” a middle aged man with a few strands of gray in his hair, asked the only other person sharing the room with him?

“He is fine – generally. Right now he is asleep, but he is definitely in pain” The person who replied the middle aged man was an old man with a hump. The old man was clad in several strange chains and amulets, and even his ankles weren’t spared from the binding of these ornaments. His eyes were completely white, and his hair was fully gray. There was a huge ring hanging on his nose, and his lower lip had been pierced with a small rod. In simple terms, he was a queer looking old man.

The middle aged man looked perturbed by the reply the old man gave him. Unlike the old man who embodied the word ‘eccentric’, the middle aged man was quite the looker. He was clearly in his middle ages, as evidenced by the few wrinkles on his forehead, but he was handsome and could very well steal the heart of any young maiden. He was tall, almost as tall as Dan, and his fair skin was slightly tan, proof that he was someone used to the harsh life under the sun. He was well-built, and his clothes screamed under the pressure of his bulging muscles. This man was the head of the village – Village Head Samoa.

“How long would he have to suffer like this, Chief Doctor Kaka? When do you think he would be healed?” the Village Head gripped the arms of the chair in front of him strongly. The sturdy furniture creaked under the pressure wrought on it by the heavily calloused hands of Village Head Samoa. This alone was enough to show that Village Head Samoa was a very strong man.

“Very long,” Chief Doctor Kaka vaguely replied, not at all scared by Village Head Samoa’s display. He walked to a tattered bag that had been discarded at the corner of the room and began to pack his things.

“What do you want, Chief Doctor Kaka,” finally, Village Head Samoa sighed helplessly and asked? He knew the Chief Doctor well, so his intention was never to scare him. Although the Chief Doctor didn’t possess the strength to go against Village Head Samoa, he was the most influential and skilled doctor in the village. In fact, his skill with herbs vastly outstripped the skills of all the other doctors in this village. Frankly speaking, Village Head Samoa was an experienced man who had travelled many parts of the world before finally choosing to settle in this village. He had been to several towns, and even the biggest of cities, and he could testify that Chief Doctor Kaka’s skills placed him at the forefront of doctors even in the big towns. The man was skilled enough to be a qualified and respected doctor in a city, so the village was nothing to him. Although he often wondered why such a skilled doctor remained in this small village, he never questioned the man’s intentions. Mostly because he wasn’t qualified enough to do so. And when he finally became the Village Head, he found out that he still wasn’t qualified to know anything about the doctor. In Kaka’s eyes, Samoa was just a temporary replacement, and his high position would soon be taken from him and given to the one who earned it by virtue of birth. So whenever the two interacted with each other, and Samoa needed help, he would have to offer something to the doctor in return. Because of the doctor’s excellent skills, his requests were non-negotiable.

This position allowed him to act impudently with anyone, as no one could do anything to him. Well they could, but only a fool would destroy the village’s best doctor, because of the small offense of disrespect. And Village Head Samoa wasn’t a fool.

“I need the blood of a Red-Faced Mosquito,” Kaka was still packing his things. He didn’t even pause when he was making the request. It was almost as if he would leave without getting the answer he wanted.

“I have just given you the heart of a Jungle Cat. Isn’t it a bit unfair to ask for something as rare as that as well?” Village Head Samoa’s lips twitched when he heard the request of Chief Doctor Kaka. The Red-Faced Mosquito was an extremely rare Magical Beast. Unlike most mosquitoes that relished the blood of others, the Red-Faced Mosquito didn’t drink blood. It was an insect that feasted on honey and wine. It was swift and dangerous, for it had an extremely deadly bite that could kill even the strongest of men in seconds. This Magical Beast was tiny, but because of its rarity, speed, and deadly venom, it was ranked as a High Class Magical Beast. Not only was it difficult to find, it was even more difficult to capture. Yet that was what Chief Doctor Kaka was asking for.

“The Jungle Cat’s heart was for an assessment. It was never agreed upon that it would also be the payment for revealing the results of the assessment, was it? It is unreasonable for you to expect extra service from me without paying me”

Towards the shameless words of Chief Doctor Kaka, Village Head Samoa was momentarily speechless. How could someone be so shameless so as to brand him/herself as the one being cheated, when that person was clearly doing the cheating? Even more unreasonable was that the Jungle Cat was a rare Middle Class Magical Beast, and was extremely difficult to kill. Yet that price wasn’t good enough for Kaka.

He sighed and said, “I would get it for you in less than a month”

“Good,” Chief Doctor Kaka nodded his head and stopped packing his things. He walked to the only table in the room and picked up the jug that was on it. He took a brief sniff to ascertain its contents and began to down the liquid inside.

Village Head Samoa wanted to strangle the man, but held the impulse in. The jug was filled with the carefully treated honey of a century old Platinum Bee – a High Class Magical Beast. It was a treasure that he had saved for a long time, and whenever he took it out, he only took a sip and placed it back in its hiding spot. Even then, his heart ached from wasting the precious mead. Yet this man had nonchalantly started drinking it like it was his own. There was no way someone with Kaka’s skills and experience didn’t know what that was.

“Good wine. Is there more?” Kaka questioned after downing the contents of the jug. Village Head Samoa took deep breaths to calm himself. He felt that if he paid the Chief Doctor any mind, he would kill the man right here and now. Even as he was trying to calm himself, he heard Kaka ask once again if there was more and almost lost his mind.

“Just tell me what you found out,” Village Head Samoa finally snapped. His tolerance was unexpectedly high to resist the urge to strangle the man after repeated provocations.

“Geez. You don’t have to become so emotional just because of this.” Chief Doctor Kaka complained like he was the victim, and sat down comfortably on Village Head Samoa’s chair, leaving the Village Head standing. Naturally, Village Head Samoa ignored him.

“Your son has several fractured ribs, and all his limbs are fractured. His forearms, arms, shoulders, thighs, legs, h.i.p.s; all of those bones are fractured. So it should take him at least a year, to be fully recovered if he has my help.” Chief Doctor Kaka nonchalantly stated.

*Boom*

The wall had a hole in it, and the fist that caused the damage was still embedded in it. Village Head Samoa’s breathing was rough. His eyes were red with rage, and his countenance was grim. His fury was exuded from every fiber of his being, so much so that even the birds that were perched on the roof of his home, flew away in fright when they felt his anger. However, the one who gave him the bad news wasn’t perturbed. He even had the guts to comment,

“This person was truly skilled,” while shaking the jug to see if he missed a drop of the delicious wine he just enjoyed.

“B*st*rd,” the angry Samoa jumped in front of Kaka and lifted him by the neck. In his fury, he did something he had never done before, and if he was sane would never do. That was how much he loved his son.

“Since I got to enjoy Platinum Honey Wine at your house, I would forgive your blunder. But you best place me down quickly, for your own good” Although he was being held by the neck and was being strangled, Kaka spoke normally like nothing had happened. Village Head Samoa, quickly regained his composure from Kaka’s words and hurriedly let go of the man. Chills went down his spine when he remembered that this man’s skill with poisons was a notch above his already magnificent medical skill.

“I’m sorry for my lack of tact,” Village Head Samoa quickly apologized. Chief Doctor Kaka waved him off and replied saying it was fine. Then he went back to topic.

“The person was skilled. That is the truth. Although young Tito has several fractured bones, none of them experienced a break. In other words, his bones were not completely broken. And miraculously, all the fractures are simple fractures. Otherwise even with my help, it would have taken at least three years for a full recovery.”

“Are you saying the perpetrator was a ‘New Type’,” Village Head Samoa felt a chill down his spine hearing Chief Doctor Kaka’s words. He asked what he thought was the most logical question.

“Who knows,” Kaka nonchalantly replied? “But what is important is to enlist my help. That would cost you ten Jungle Cat hearts, and 5 Rage Bulls.”

“Okay. But you have to start the treatment immediately,” Village Head Samoa quickly agreed since it had to do with his only son.

“Fine,” Chief Doctor Kaka mumbled and walked into Tito’s room with his medicine bag, leaving the Village Head all on his own.

“To do this to my son,” Samoa uttered through gritted teeth. His rage fully exploded now that Kaka wasn’t here. The grinding of his teeth was loud, like a saw mill grinding bones to dust. His tightly balled fists shook at his sides, and his eyes were filled with cold anger.

“Whether you are a ‘New Type’ or not,” Village Head Samoa squeezed through his gritted teeth,

“I WILL KILL YOU!”