My Last Hunt

Quest For Three Stones (24)

Zunal;

Whether to believe it or not

The monster groaned and the hunter king sighed. It was a pity that both cannot communicate soberly because of illusion. "I am not going to hunt you." He decided to straightaway surrender and explained that he wanted peace. It was first ever that a hunter king was proposing peace in the middle of the conflict. Since he was not moving even a bit; the monster did not see the hunter coming for attack. Both were standing motionless because Qiao has gone through such situation. He cannot tell about the illusion of the hunter so it was better to not worsen it. 

Normally a learned hunter can tell the level of a monster and then follow the hunt accordingly. They were currently in the middle of the phantasm and the levels of the monsters were not visible. 

It was a loss that they cannot decipher the words of each other at this point. Qiao was silent and looking at the hunter; through his eyes he could tell that the hunter was not willing to attack. 'The eyes does not speak lies' this phrase was only operable in this situation. Though the phrase was actually not beneficial in the advanced world where the people has learned perfect acting skills to mask the real intentions. The advanced world and the people were accustomed to get scammed this way or that way on regular basis so they could only rant or revenge the same way. 

For now; he could only relay on his instinct and his instinct says that he should not ruin this chance. Both stood silent without speaking anything which was clear for both that they did not bear any sharp intent against each other. As long as two of them does not move around the phantasm would not be able to ploy it which was plus point for both to at least observe and then decide. It was a chance encounter and if they misacted then they would be thrown apart. 

Qiao was thinking what to say since he was not aware the kind of illusion. He slowly bent on the ground and used his hands to draw two hands holding each other like a friendship gesture. After all what else he was supposed to do because all the illusions were gambit other way. He slowly drew the sketch for the hunter to take a look. His sketching skills were not obviously best but at least he was able to make the image clear. Qiao then moved backward for a safe conclusion and for the hunter to not get vibes of an attack. 

It picked the curiosity of the hunter and stepped ahead to clearly see what this monster was scratching on the ground; Qiao wanted him to tell that he was willing to collaborate and work together while the hunter king after much deliberation understood that behind the illusion of monster was another hunter. Though it was not what Qiao meant however not that far reaching too. The most pressing matter for them was to think a way to collaborate. The hunter stepped beck and made a gesture of two arms crossing on his chest. 

It was a sign made by a hunter when he was willing to collaborate till the end of conflict. Qiao saw this for long time to get a nonviolent meaning from this gesture. Mostly in the advance world a skull and two bones crossed in front of it were considered as threat but looking at the placid eyes; it might be bearing a different meaning to it. This was true and finally Qiao posed how a human would agree by slightly bowing his head and the hunter saw that the other hunter agreed to the collaboration. He bent his head a little to follow up. 

Now there was more difficult part to carry the collaboration. They were bound to separate as soon as they moved around. They needed something to relate to not loss each other in the meantime when another illusion struck between. Without a relatable sign; they might not be able to recognize each other. They have to create a gesture or a sign properly. 

They were again silent and thinking what to do. Hunter king was thinking made the drawing on the ground as their sign while Qiao was pointing something else. He thought that he could leave a small piece of a raw cloth and the hunter can bind it on his arm. This way if they end up in front of each other; they could recognize however both skipped the part that when they would come to face each other; their illusions might be different. The hunter also deliberated over this and shook his head; none of the possible concepts would work. 

Qiao was currently in the form of monster but when the hunter king started to believe that there was hunter behind the monster illusion; slowly his consciousness was tempering the right concepts and trying to filtrate the difference between reality and illusion. It was a slow process but worth for the hunter king to go through; it was actually necessary for him to temper the consciousness taking benefits from the current situation. It was opportunity to defy the strength of a stone which has achieved the level of infinity. Though currently the stone was deliberating over various aspects as to why it failed against a normal hunter. 

Hunter king has more experience in the hunting and facing various types of monster so at present condition he could fend off the illusion since the stone was not working nimbly at these moments. This was the normal stage of the delirium which can be defied with little effort. Qiao stepped ahead to present the raw cloth to bind on the arm while slowly hunter king breakdown the seals of the illusion. Now both could see each other in human form and the hunter king was more than happy to express his achievement. 

"You are quite wise hunter in my eyes since you do not look that experienced but you were able to discern the illusion." Though he wanted to celebrate his own achievement instead he praised Qiao for his steadiness. Of course it was impossible for him to chip some time in order to perceive. "Can you see me now?" Qiao asked slightly amazed. In his eyes; almost all the hunters were unique and they bear very distinctive natures. Some were truly unfathomable some times. This hunter was experienced or he abides patience with everything. "I think we should bind each other with a rope to not get lost again." The hunter king chuckled. 

Qiao nodded; this seemed absurd but it was only way to not amiss each other. "If it help us break the illusions then anything is acceptable." Qiao voiced. Since this hunter was experienced; there was no problem in helping each other as long as he was not thinking to dump him somewhere during the journey. The hunter king brought out a raw cloth and one of the corners handed to the young hunter. It was odd yet no other way can replace this idea at least for now. 

With this if one of them was thrown in another part then the other one would also be following the same layer. "What if I am thrown in the difficult delirium?" the hunter king thought something and asked the young hunter. He was thinking now that he was able to fend off the most basic layer the phantasm might get triggered and take vengeance. "I am sure it won't change the fact that we are looking for the same tenacity and it is impossible without persistence." Qiao answered plainly because he knew that the phantasm would not be easy on him no matter if he was alone or with someone learned. 

The hunter king nodded at his words. In point of fact he liked the answer of the young hunter. "Sure; why can also share what we learned during our stay here in this phantasm." The hunter king knew that it meant a lot when it comes to face the same enemy. Sharing the experience or observation can open up new paths for further deliberation. "Indeed." Qiao nodded in approval but he decided to not speak first. It was possible that his observation does not match with the other hunter so when he would tell his perception then he would match both to conclude better. 

If the person in front was able to learn and break free the simple layer then he was someone learned already in his eyes. There was raw cloth impasse on the right arm of Qiao and left arm of the other hunter and they were standing to decide which way they should move first. The stone was done planning the next tricks. The conclusion was simple if it cannot break the consciousness from outside them it would hammer the real intellect of the young hunter.