Chapter 46: Preparing for the Unpredictable
Kellar watched the strips of meat sizzle over the hot coals as warm steam rose into the crisp air.
"Will dinner take much longer?" said Kellar.
"No, it’s almost ready," said Mila turning a piece over. "Just a few more minutes."
"Take your time, no rush," said Kellar. "I just wanted to train a bit while we wait."
He stepped a few yards away from the fire and began swinging the Overlord Club with firm control. He delivered several strikes to the open air, gauging the weight of the battered wood and adjusting his distance with every stroke and sweep. The memory of the giant boar’s charge was still far too fresh in his mind; the way that beast shattered trees as if they were dry twigs sent a chill through his veins. He had been lucky not to die on the spot or end up crippled in that encounter. Luck, however, was a finite resource that could run out at any moment, and he needed to improve his odds of survival at all costs.
Setting the club aside, Kellar dropped onto the packed snow and began a quick routine of sit-ups, followed by an explosive set of push-ups. When he bounced back to his feet, he raised his guard, tucked his chin, and began throwing swift combinations of punches into the air, weaving his head and shifting his footwork with agility.
Mila stared at him from the campfire, her eyes wide with total confusion.
"Kellar... what are you doing?" said Mila, pointing at him with a wooden spatula.
"Boxing," said Kellar, snapping a quick jab followed by a sharp right.
The three women exchanged glances, completely baffled. The word meant nothing to them, nor had they ever seen a hunter or tribal warrior move in such a strange, rhythmic fashion.
"It’s... a blessing from the Bear God," said Kellar, improvising on the fly without lowering his guard. "He showed me this way of fighting in a vision while I slept last night."
All three women nodded in deep reverence right away. To them, any insight or technique bestowed by the spirits or gods perfectly explained the superhuman growth Kellar had been showing.
Kellar finished his routine soaked in sweat. He wiped his forehead with the back of his arm as he walked over to the fire, where the three women had the first cuts of roasted meat ready for him.
"Eat, you must be exhausted," said Meli, handing him a generous portion in a wooden bowl.
The four of them sat together to eat. To Kellar’s surprise, the meat was incredibly good; despite having nothing more than a touch of salt, the texture was so tender it almost felt like butter melting in his mouth. The women’s vast experience in cooking game meat and mastering its exact point was clearly on display.
"Kellar..." said Mila, looking at him with curiosity as she chewed. "Could I learn that fighting style?"
"Of course," said Kellar, smiling at her. "I’ll teach you later so you can use it to defend yourself if you ever need to."
As they continued dinner, the conversation naturally drifted toward the topic of food. Aunt Maya looked at Kellar with a mix of affection and concern in her eyes.
"I’m very proud of you, boy," said Aunt Maya. "But we need to start saving food urgently."
Kellar, who was just finishing his piece of meat, looked at her in surprise.
"But there’s plenty of food in the forest," said Kellar. "I can go out again tomorrow and get more."
"Yes, but that won’t last long, Kellar," said Aunt Maya, shaking her head gently. "The animals hibernate. It won’t be long before the snows cover everything and we can’t find a thing to eat, not even berries. I understand that you want to help the village people, but you need to be careful and think of our home first."
His aunt’s words hit Kellar like a bucket of ice water. In that instant, he realized he had completely overreached. Overconfident in how easy hunting had been with the help of the white cat, he had overlooked a fundamental biological detail: animals would soon become scarce.
It was a classic issue of overhunting he remembered clearly from his own world. He recalled reading in a documentary that whenever an apex predator entered a new territory, hunting was ridiculously easy at first. However, if that apex predator killed too much, the prey would eventually perceive the area as a terrifying death zone and flee en masse to avoid it at all costs.
Factor in the impending winter and the hibernation season, and Kellar ran the numbers in his head. At best, he might be able to keep hunting for another month, maybe two, but winter in this region lasted well over six months before the first signs of spring would ever show. If he didn’t start building a reserve of preserved food right now, starvation would catch up to them sooner or later.
Meli nodded gravely at Maya’s words, looking at Kellar with deep concern.
"I agree with your aunt," said Meli, adjusting the fire. "You have to be very careful, Kellar. Winter forgives no one."
Kellar let out a long sigh and shifted his gaze toward the distance, fixing his eyes on the dark, frozen surface of the nearby lake.
"Everything would be so much easier if we could hunt them..." murmured Kellar to himself. "But it won’t be easy at all."
Noticing the direction he was looking, all three women felt a cold shudder run down their spines. The beings that inhabited those deep waters were legends of terror in the tribe, terrifying creatures no one in their right mind would ever dare disturb. Seeing the resolve in his eyes, they realized the madness brewing in Kellar’s head: he wanted to hunt the giant river monsters.
"I am sure you will be able to do it," said Mila, placing her hand gently over his. "But don’t push yourself too far... the cat won’t be able to fight in the water."