Chapter 38 Hunting
「Atop Guru Mountain.」
After Igor shared half of his rations, his stomach started to growl again. The nibbled bread he had eaten earlier was almost gone, its energy consumed by his earlier use of the Physique Technique. If he didn’t find another way to get food, Igor would starve to death in the mountains within a few days.
Igor couldn’t predict how long he would have to stay in these mountains. When he first left the academy, he had been full of vigor, but once on the road, he realized he had no idea where to go. Now, having managed to climb the mountain, he was once again plagued by a sense of uncertainty.
As an Adventurer, I must be brave! He had not forgotten the purpose of his journey; he wanted to find courage to prove he was qualified to be an Adventurer.
But what exactly *is* courage?
This was the question that always troubled Igor. He could see that the sky was blue and the clouds were white, but he could not see the color of courage. He knew that strength allowed one to chop more trees and speed could save a lot of time, but he didn’t know what "courage" could do. He could feel the heat of summer and the chill of winter, but he couldn’t imagine what "courage" tasted like...
What exactly is courage? Igor would ask Russef every so often.
"Courage is like a mischievous calico cat, darting all over the place. No matter what you do, you can’t catch it." Russef would wink each time he answered Igor’s questions about courage.
In fact, Igor had so many answers in his mind about what courage was... so many that he eventually couldn’t discern what it truly meant.
Clarisse, who sold flowers at the Academy gate, accidentally pricked her hand on a rose thorn, and blood trickled down her finger. A child standing nearby watched with wide eyes and remarked, "The flower-selling lady is so brave! She bled so much and didn’t even cry."
In the kitchen, Chef Stephen threateningly brandished a kitchen knife at Fat Jack, the apprentice. Fat Jack stood there, dazed and expressionless. Chef Stephen said with admiration, "This kid’s pretty brave. He’s got what it takes to handle a knife."
When the Rufe Brothers returned from a hunt in the mountains behind the academy, carrying a wild boar, their apprentice Kirk would enthusiastically proclaim, "Oh, the masters are so brave! They didn’t even blink at the boar’s long tusks."