Bzzzzing...
"Ugh..."
The old man groaned at the feeling of something stabbing through his head like an awl.
He'd definitely been at life's end where he couldn't even feel pain anymore, but the sensation he felt now was surprisingly vivid. Plus, the groan that came from his mouth wasn't that of an old man, but the voice of a young child.
"Woof woof!!!"
Suddenly, loud dog barking echoed from below his feet.
It was so noisy he wanted to yell at it, but before that, the old man could only groan helplessly at the tsunami of various sensations flooding over him.
It was bone-chillingly cold. Noisy. Painful.
The pain wasn't limited to just his head. His right arm, left leg, and back were throbbing and aching like crazy, but especially his eyes hurt so much he couldn't open them at all.
'What the hell happened? Did I fall into hell or something?'
He'd definitely stopped breathing. That much was certain.
His countless experiences of forced near-death situations throughout his life proved it.
But after losing consciousness and coming to again, he was in this state.
'Where is this... huh...?!!'
He tried to open his eyes somehow to look around, but suddenly a headache incomparably worse than what he'd felt before hit his brain.
"Ah... AHHH!!"
It felt like someone was poking his brain with a red-hot skewer. And an enormous amount of memories came flooding in. They weren't his memories, but those of some mountain village boy.
'Zen... Zen...'
His name was Zen. He was 13 years old...
He had a mom and dad and a very young little sister. His dad worked as a hunter in Eldarwin Forest, and he was out patrolling the forest with his dad. The dark forest path, rabbit pelts stained with blood, his dad's rough hands... and the pack of wolves that had been chasing them!
"Woof woof!!! Woof woof woof!!!"
"Zen! Zen!! Son!"
The wolves' howling along with his dad's shouts brought his mind back to reality.
"Ugh... damn it..."
Zen shook his head roughly. To hold onto his sanity, somehow.
He wanted to organize even a little bit of the countless memory fragments floating around in his head, but his current situation wasn't exactly cooperative.
"Snap out of it!"
Zen opened his eyes and looked toward the source of the voice. Blue eyes, red beard. A face that was both strange and familiar. Zen recognized him as 'Dad.' He looked to be around 30. His face was a mess of dirt stains and sweat, with a trickle of blood flowing down his forehead.
"Hold tight to the tree!"
"Y-yes!"
At his shout, Zen grabbed tight onto the tree trunk in front of him. So tight his fingertips went numb...
The rough texture he felt through the bark made it clear once again that all of this was reality.
'What is this? Reincarnation? Possession?'
He had no idea what was going on. The only thing for certain was that this was reality.
'Let's focus for now'
Zen pulled himself together and looked down at the base of the tree where the wolf howls were coming from.
"Woof woof!! Woof woof woof!!"
There were two gray-furred wolves slowly circling the tree with their heads raised, eyes glinting as they drooled and stared at him with greedy looks. Two wolves they'd run into while patrolling the mountain with his dad... If it had just been dad alone, he would've somehow fought them off, but with his still-clumsy young son tagging along... Yeah. He was the problem.
The hunted rabbits, dad's bow, and several arrows were scattered carelessly on the ground below the tree.
"Just hold on and those things will back off!! So don't get scared and stay put!"
"Yes!"
He wasn't really scared, but Zen nodded and took a deep breath.
His confused mind calmed down a bit. His life had been too rough to panic over something like this.
'First, I need to assess the situation.'
Zen quickly scanned his surroundings. What mattered in situations like this was staying calm, along with cold situational awareness and figuring out what resources you had.
Even though he'd retired ages ago, he'd been the hunter with the greatest achievements and longest survival record despite being non-awakened, so his situation analysis was instantaneous.
'The tree's pretty high... what I've got is... a pocket knife. Dad has a short sword, rope, and a quiver with five arrows... the enemy is two sturdy wolves that look like a couple... Good. Situation assessment complete'
No matter how fierce wolves might be, canines basically can't climb trees.
They'd get tired and back off, so all they had to do was hold out up in the tree like this. That didn't mean there were no problems though. The biggest issue right now was being hungry. And the rabbits that were supposed to be their meal had become the wolves' dinner.
Of course, they wouldn't starve right away without that rabbit meat, but he couldn't give up the food.
He wanted to kill those wolves right now.
"Well, it's not impossible."
The old man's decades of experience surviving through hell quickly came up with a plan to break through this situation. The skills of a non-awakened hunter who'd survived nearly 70 years relying on just a bow were truly terrifying.
"Let's give it a shot."
After reviewing the completed plan in his head once more, Zen looked up at his dad, who was sitting on a thick branch above him, glaring down at the wolves.
"Fath... um..."
Earlier he'd unconsciously called him dad in his confusion, but now that he was trying to say it again, the words didn't come easily. His real parents had passed away so long ago that their faces were barely a blur now. But he felt a strange familiarity with this stranger in front of him. Like someone he'd known from the beginning...
"D-dad, can I have the rope?"
"Why?"
He asked back, but Zen couldn't explain right now. If this was the dad that the body's original owner remembered, he wouldn't hand over the rope willingly after hearing the reason. But as they say, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
"I want to tie it around my waist."
"Mm, alright."
Dad looked skeptical but untied the rope from his belt and handed it to Zen. It was sturdy rope made from twisted hemp.
"Catch it well."
"Yes."
Zen caught the rope dad lowered to him, estimated its length, and nodded.
'This should work.'
If dad knew what was in his head right now, he'd never allow it, but Zen didn't hesitate. Since one hand had to hold onto the tree, he only had his other hand available for now... But Zen grabbed one end of the rope and started spinning it in his hand.
Whip... whip...
He hooked one end of the rope between his fingers and moved it skillfully with just his wrist and fingers. The rope slipped smoothly across his palm as he made a loop by wrapping it once around with his index finger and thumb. He pulled the loop up toward the back of his hand and threaded the short end through.
When that short end brushed through the loop again, a single finger movement tightened the loop. He carefully pressed the knot with his thumb to secure it, then flicked his wrist slightly to flip the remaining length behind.
"Done."
A basic noose was complete. With just one finger movement, the loop would quietly tighten.
Dad couldn't figure out what his son was doing, but when he saw what had been made in the boy's hands, his eyes widened.
"Son?"
After checking the knot he'd made, Zen tied the other end of the rope firmly to a thick branch and looked down at the wolves pacing below.
"Let's see if I can hook one."
***
Rustle... rustle...
Climbing trees takes considerable strength. Especially going down while holding rope in one hand. But Zen descended surprisingly easily.
'Not bad stamina.'
Whether this was possession or reincarnation, he still didn't know, but it was pretty good news that the body he'd have to work with from now on was reasonably sturdy.
"Zen! What are you doing!"
"Just wait and see."
Dad yelled from above, but he cleanly ignored him. The original body owner might not have been able to go against dad's words, but the original him had the kind of personality that ignored minor things for the sake of his goals.
When Zen reached his target position, he dangled one leg down, and then... one wolf leaped up against the tree as if it had been waiting. Its target was Zen's foot... but the savage teeth barely grazed below Zen.
"Good."
"Grrrrr!!!"
The wolf let out an ominous growl like it was frustrated.
Zen positioned himself properly and dangled the noose while lowering his leg again.
But instead of the one that had just failed, a bigger wolf kicked off the tree and jumped up.
And that was the moment Zen had been waiting for!
"Now!"
Pop!
Zen threw the noose at the leaping wolf, and the flying noose caught right around the wolf's neck.
This one jumped higher than the previous one, making it a bit more dangerous, but Zen avoided it without trouble. And...
Snap!! Thud!!
"Yelp!!"
The noose mercilessly tightened around the neck of the wolf falling due to gravity.
"Crack!! Crack!! Gak gak!"
The wolf, suddenly strung up in midair with rope around its neck, struggled desperately to break free from its restraints.
Thump! Thump thump!!!
Such violent resistance that even the tree it was hanging from shook!
But the more it struggled, the deeper the rope dug into the wolf's throat, and after a moment it went limp.
"Got it."
"Howwwwl!!"
The remaining wolf went berserk at its mate's death, but having learned how the other one got taken out, it just glared at Zen with vicious eyes while keeping its distance. But Zen didn't have time to worry about the wolf's hostility. Because of the blue text that appeared right in front of his eyes...
[You have awakened.]
'Awakened?!'
He was so shocked that Zen almost fell from the tree.
If he hadn't quickly come to his senses and hugged the tree tight, it really could have been dangerous.
'Me? I awakened...?!'