Some plans seem good on paper, but are very challenging to execute. And currently, Harry was facing a similar situation.
His original plan was to increase the number of active Vita pores in his skin, so that his Vita recovery rate could improve. But he seriously underestimated the amount of work that he would have to put in to unclog the rest of the opening.
Like the cleansing process, he had theorized that he could just use his Vita in order to unclog the pores. But what he truly underestimated was his ability to manipulate his vita inside his body.
To unclog the pores, he would have to create very thin tendrils of his Vita inside his Vita Nerves and then unclog the opening. But he miserably failed at creating the tendrils part. He had a certain amount of control over his Vita, but not to an extent where he could create such fine tendrils.
It took him 10 days to further refine his control over Vita so that he could create one tendril. But the resulting tendril was very thick, not at all suitable for the delicate task that he had taken on. But they were sufficient for some bigger pores in his body. Because of which he was able to bring the active number of pores in his body by four.
Now he had 162 active pores. But the worst part was, all of this took him 10 days…
On the first morning of his Atonement Hunt, Harry dragged his feet to the tribal grounds. He had been living in the small clearing made for his cleansing. He started living there as a part of precaution as well. In case he is not able to catch a prey, or he has to run away from the tribe in a hurry, he had stolen some supplies and had buried them under his tent. He just hoped that he wouldn't have to use those supplies soon.
When he got to the tribe, he saw that everyone had gathered around Groga's hut. As he moved through the crowd, he could hear whispers about him. Most were cursing him, while some of them were curious about why he did what he did. Yet, no one stopped him.
In front of Groga's hut, the man himself, with Joron and his parents, was standing with somber looks. His father Imka had dark circles around his eyes, he looked like shit. While Gremla's eyes were swollen from crying, with clear traces of tears around her cheeks, making him curious about what happened to Imka and Gremla.
Oh yeah, Harry realized. This body belongs to their son. Of course, they would be worried about him.
"Sit there," Groga gestured towards a square box made from ashes. The ashes had long cooled down, making Harry sit with ease on them.
Joron came forward, "We are gathered here to judge the crime of Adui, son of Imka. A Vita Wielder and Hunter of Vulcans,"
And then Groga took over, "As the chief of the clan, I was very disgruntled and disappointed when the boy knowingly or unknowingly hid the fact that he got our Lord's Scriptures. With no initiation ceremony, we provided no sacrifice for Lord Leh. Which in turn had angered our divine god,"
Harry mentally rolled his eyes at the statement. And then Groga added further, "To atone for the crime, Adui would go on an Atonement Hunting. He would bring his game every day for the tribe's chief and elder, who is me and my father."
Interesting.. Harry thought.
Joron then took over, "The boy's goal is simple. He would bring the game that could feed me and my son till we are full. And he fails to do so, according to the law of our ancestors, he would be beheaded the upcoming morning,"
It is then Imka came forward, "I.. Imka, son of Bounka, will be the judge of my son's trial. And I would make sure that he stays true to his word, and doesn't offend the Great Leh, again. While doing so, I will not help him in any way or form, that would offend Lord Leh any further."
The whole tribe started whispering, nodding with acknowledgement. While Harry was a little bit concerned, no one mentioned to him that he would have to feed Chief and Joron. He had thought he would need a hunt a beast or animal a day, which was easy enough. Feeding Vita Wielders was the tougher part. He had seen firsthand how much Vita Wielders eat, and now he had to feed two people of his tribe.
Another thing that bugged him was Imka coming with him. That meant that his plans of sneaking away from the tribe were in jeopardy.
Then a ceremony took place. Horns were blown, and a ritual involving Harry being made to wear a rather large teeth necklace took place. And with that, they were ready.
A rack full of standard weapons and gear of hunters was brought forward. And Harry was asked to choose the things that he would be taking to hunt. And this was a very hard part of the overall hunt.
As far as special remedies of his tribes were concerned, he knew exactly which to take and which to ignore. But weapons, they were a little hard to pick. There were great battle axes, spears, slings, archery bows, and not to mention blow darts. And till now, Harry had only mastered archery.
The real problem was, his analytical brain could think of several situations where one weapon or the other would be just useless. He was tempted to choose everything. But he could not do that.
I cannot carry everything with me, on person. That would be counterproductive, He thought. But it was then that he remembered that his father was also coming with him.
He got an idea and started picking up weapon after weapon, but not before making sure that they were sturdy enough. And slowly he started handing them to his father, who was so lost in his thoughts that he took everything being handed to him without even a second thought.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Seeing his antics, Groga asked.
Harry shrugged, "He is going to be keeping an eye on me the whole day. If he could not help, he could at least carry some weapons with him."
"That is absurd!" One of the women from the tribe exclaimed, "This boy is now even making fun of the Atonement Hunt."
"Yeah, he is!" Someone else yelled as well.
"Behead the boy!" A man from the crowd yelled.
And soon everyone who had gathered in the crowd started chanting, "BEHEAD HIM! BEHEAD HIM! BEHEAD HIM!"
It was at that moment did Imka came to his senses, "SILENCE!" And a wave of Vita came coursing out of his father's body, making everyone step back. Some even fell down, fainted when they came into contact with the wave. "The boy is not breaking any rules. I assure you of that. He is just acting smart," Imka said, and strangely, the people took his word for it and didnt say anything.
It seems my father is feared in the clan, Harry thought. While a part of him kept thinking about another application of Vita…