I checked my gear before heading out in the direction Mnex indicated. Bow, arrow, spear. Six hundred meters wasn't a problem, unless you were starving. And I was.
After a while, I was gasping for breath, my stomach growling louder with each step.
"Slow down," Mnex warned. "Move as quietly as you can."
I bent my knees and hunched down, moving with the silent steps Mnex had uploaded into my brain four years ago. I nocked an arrow onto the bow.
"Your target is in the clearing behind those bushes under that tree. Circle around, don't get any closer."
I followed the instructions precisely, creeping in a wide arc to get a better angle. And then I saw it.
"Mnex?"
"Hm?"
"I thought you said it was a rabbit."
"It was! Or... maybe you were hallucinating from hunger. Want me to stimulate the relevant visual and auditory cortex to double check?"
"You useless, smug, self important pile of… I ran six hundred meters! For what?! Huh?! HUH?! For a goddamn rock! And guess what? It doesn't even look like a rabbit!"
"Okay, calm down. This was just our first test. Use Pulse again. This time, I'm sure I'll find something alive."
"I swear, Mnex… If the next one's another useless rock, the first thing I'll do is break into Mnexland and reset everything you care about."
"Understood. Recalculating dietary based motivation protocols…"
I crouched down again and placed my palms flat on the soil.
Tapping into the mind world, I activated Pulse with a trickle of mana. The ground beneath me gave a faint tremor.
I held the position for several seconds. My mana was draining fast. But Mnex stayed silent, a good sign, surprisingly.
And then…
"Got one. This time, it's alive. And moving. Definitely a rabbit."
Where?! WHERE?!
"Not far. Head west from your current position."
I spun around immediately…
"That's east, Henry. West. True west."
"I knew that. Just… testing you."
This time, I didn't run.
I walked, slow, calm, steady.
Deep breaths in, slow exhales out.
Following Mnex's direction, I advanced for a few minutes.
"Use Pulse again. Should still be nearby."
I tried not to scream. If the rabbit heard me breaking down, it'd bolt before I even saw it.
I forced the image of the rabbit into my mind and cast Pulse again. This time, the result came quicker.
"South."
That was all I needed.
I turned toward the south…
"That's east."
"I knew that. I was just…"
"Testing me? Sure. Anyway, it's close. Move slowly."
I crept through the brush. Just before the edge of the clearing, I spotted it.
The rabbit.
Sniffing. Hopping. Distracted.
I nocked the arrow, drew the string, held my breath.
And that's when I realized…
I had never shot at a moving target before.
Mnex? What if I miss?
"Is that a real question or a… never mind. Yes, if you miss, it'll run. You won't catch it. Don't chase it."
Right.
I closed one eye.
Exhaled.
Focused.
Opened my eye again.
And let the arrow fly.
Fffffft.
Thud.
Missed.
The rabbit dashed away like a ghost on fire.
I dropped to my knees.
And cried.
I was so hungry. I couldn't take it anymore.
"Henry. Calm down. Use Pulse. If it realizes you're not chasing it, it'll probably stop after a few hundred meters."
Wait… it'll stop?
"Your neurons are abandoning ship one by one, aren't they?"
Huh?
"Pulse, Henry. Now."
Sniffling, I placed my hands on the dirt again and cast Pulse through the tears.
"Okay, I've got it. Two hundred meters ahead. This time, go north."
I stood up and started heading that way.
"North, Henry."
This isn't north?
"I was testing you."
I moved through the underbrush. And then, there it was again. Back in view.
The rabbit.
I crouched low. Closed the distance slowly.
I nocked the arrow, drew the bow, took a few careful steps forward.
I was behind it now. As long as it didn't turn around, I was fine.
I drew the bowstring as far as I could.
Straightened up just slightly, closed one eye. Took aim.
Opened my eye.
Released.
Ffft.
Thk!
"I HIT IT! I hit it! I HIT IT!"
I jumped with joy, until I tripped and fell flat on my face.
"Congratulations! You've completed your first successful hunt. Ideally, you'd aim for the neck, but… not bad for a beginner."
Now I just had to clean it.
Mnex guided me through the steps. I laid the rabbit down in front of me.
I made a clean incision from the belly to the tail.
Using my fingers, I gently peeled the skin back from the edges.
Grabbed the tail, yanked upward with a swift pull.
The hide came off in one smooth motion, all the way to the ears. Fur dropped to the side, the body revealed.
My stomach churned but at least I had food.
I held the rabbit by its ankles.
Gave it one last glance, then brought my blade just under its neck.
Sliced.
Severed the head.
Hung the rabbit upside down from a nearby branch.
Blood began to drip slowly onto the soil below.
This smell… wasn't life.
It was survival.
Mnex guided me back to our camp. When Doyle saw me return with a rabbit in hand, his eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
On the way back, I used Pulse a few more times to search for mushrooms and herbs. It took longer than expected, mostly because I kept stopping to collect more mushrooms. The rain from a few days ago had flooded the forest with them.
"Absolutely not. If you put that mushroom in the pot, you'll be foaming at the mouth reciting poetry before your first bite."
"…This one's technically edible, but you'd have to boil it in a separate pot for hours. Not ideal in your current state."
"Yes, Henry, they're mana mushrooms. Or magic mushrooms. Whatever. Feel free to offer them to Doyle. They won't kill him. But I guarantee he'll wish they did."
Eventually, we found a good batch, edible ones. Real food. Back at camp, I grabbed the pot from my travel bag, filled it with water using a simple water spell, and set it over the fire.
On a clean log, I chopped up the rabbit, mushrooms, and the edible herbs.
Some ingredients, Mnex told me to save for last. I trusted the process.
Thirty minutes in, I tossed in the final herbs.
Soon after, the scent hit me like a punch to the soul.
I started salivating like a starving dog.
Doyle appeared beside me holding a wooden bowl.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm hungry?"
"Then go hunt something. This is mine. All of it. Just mine."
"Come on, young lord. Don't be so cruel. It smells amazing."
"Right? It does smell amazing… Tell you what. If you go hunt your own, I'll share the recipe. I even have extra mushrooms. Want some?"
I pulled out the special ones I'd saved just for Doyle.
"…Finding another rabbit'll take forever. Can't we just eat together?"
"No."
I said nothing else.
Doyle kept asking.
I just kept offering him mushrooms.
As I ate, he watched like a sad puppy, and it made every bite taste better.
I smacked my lips. Scraped the bowl clean with my fingers. Then licked my fingers slowly, locking eyes with him.
"Congratulations, Henry.
You survived.
And you seasoned it with petty vengeance.
Delicious."