Oliver watched him leave through the door with his mind still racing from the overwhelming amount of information he just learned. Then he snapped out of his thoughts and hurried over to follow after his instructor.
Once they walked out of the room, he found himself standing outside of what looked like an abandoned cabin surrounded by a dense forest filled with trees and plants growing everywhere.
There wasn't anything else other than this place except for trees and bushes stretching out around him as far as the eye could see.
He took in a deep breath of the crisp air and immediately felt the cleanliness filling up his lungs, a welcome change from all the pollution back home in the city. The forest smelled refreshing and lively, unlike any city smell that was either filled with chemicals or smog from vehicles passing by every minute.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness surrounding the cabin, he realized that the sun was almost rising.
A new day was about to begin soon. And Oliver hoped it wouldn't be the last one for him.
"Take this." Oliver was taken away from his thoughts when a sharp object was suddenly handed to him.
He looked down at his hands and saw that they were now holding a dagger made of what looked like black metal. It had a long blade that curved at the end, giving it a unique appearance.
"Your first task is to kill one of the wild animals living in these woods for food," the masked man said. "Failure to complete this task means that you will have to go without eating."
Oliver couldn't stop staring at the dagger, still processing the words just spoken to him.
Kill one of the wild animals living in these woods? That couldn't be too difficult, could it? He was sure there were plenty of animals around to hunt down, and besides, it wasn't like he didn't know how to wield this weapon properly since Elle taught him enough for self-defense.
But there was something about this whole situation that made him uneasy.
He wasn't sure why, but he felt like it wouldn't be that easy to accomplish such a task. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he had never killed anything before, or perhaps it was because this whole place felt unreal, like a dream. Whatever it was, he was going to have to find out soon enough.
"Remember, boy. No matter what you choose to do from here on out, there'll always be consequences for your actions. Always remember that you alone decide your own fate." The man explained with a serious voice, then turned to leave while gesturing towards a direction. "You'll find your prey there. Kill it and bring its body back here to be cooked. Don't forget to hide your presence, or else you'll end up as someone's food instead of the other way around."
He walked off without looking back once more, leaving Oliver standing there alone with only one goal: to hunt and kill a wild animal before sundown.
As soon as the masked man disappeared into the dense foliage of the forest, Oliver took a few steps forward, still holding the dagger tightly in his hands. His gaze wandered towards where the masked man had pointed out, and he started heading in that direction.
The air was filled with the chirping of birds and insects as the forest awakened for another day of existence. Oliver moved carefully, keeping his senses alert while trying his best not to attract any unwanted attention.
Every sound made him tense up and freeze on the spot, expecting some kind of predator lurking nearby, ready to pounce at him any second now.
The forest seemed alive all around him, making his senses hyper-aware of everything going on. And that also meant he was also getting paranoid about each rustle of the leaves and snap of twigs.
He kept walking slowly and cautiously while his eyes darted around for any possible prey that might show up soon.
After what felt like forever, Oliver spotted a wild boar a few yards away from him. It was snorting and grunting while rooting around in the ground.
The boar was quite big, and it appeared to be very aggressive as it kept snorting loudly in irritation. Oliver held his breath, unsure of what to do next. Should he rush towards it and attack right away? Or should he wait until it was closer so he wouldn't have to worry about startling it?
He decided on the latter and crouched down behind a bush nearby. He watched as the boar kept digging through the soil without realizing someone was stalking him.
Time passed by slowly as Oliver continued waiting anxiously. He knew that if he made a mistake here, there would be dire consequences, so he did everything possible to stay calm and avoid messing up his first-ever attempt at hunting.
However, the longer he waited, the more anxious he became. It was difficult not to act when you knew you could succeed and benefit from it but had to hold back for various reasons.
It was frustrating in a way, especially considering how much pressure he felt on himself at the moment. And although he did his best not to think about it, it was still there.
The urge to go forward and end this whole ordeal as soon as possible kept nagging at him deep within his mind. Every second that ticked by without any sign of change made him grow more frustrated than before.
But finally, after another few minutes, something happened; the boar raised its head and looked around, then started walking towards Oliver's direction.
A sense of relief washed over him as he watched it draw closer and closer while staying hidden behind a tree trunk.
'I can do this...' Oliver thought to himself.