I'm The Male Lead, Not Another Love Interest (Webnovel)

The Hunting Trip (3)

Ronni broke through the tree line. A small clearing came into view with a babbling brook running through it. He looked back at them. "What about here?"

"Perfect," Remi beamed as he took in the area. 

Ronni gave a court nod. He looked over at Brendon. "Shall we scout the area while they set up camp?"

Demian's head snapped towards the two when he heard this. But before he could say anything, Brendon agreed. The two of him left with their daggers out, leaving him behind with Remi.

Rustling alerted him to Remi's movement. The beta was kneeling down on his knees, pulling things out of the rucksack. "Wow, they really just gave us two tents, four sleep pads and thin sheets, and a canteen filled with water. We really will have to hunt for our own food."

Demian peered down at the items from over Remi's shoulder. The sheets were indeed thin and the tent was small and was open on two ends. Demian felt his lips tug down onto a frown.

Remi moved about the small clearing, setting up the tents. He leaned back and looked at his work with a smile on his face. "Better hope it doesn't rain tonight."
"Yeah," Demian mumbled in agreement.

"What are you doing?" Demian asked when Remi started gathering sticks from the clearing floor.

"Kindling. We need to make a fire pit and gather kindling if we want to cook whatever animal we catch." Remi picked up a stone and held it up. "Can you find some rocks around this size?"

Demian looked down at the ground and started searching for stones. He wasn't sure why Remi had told him to gather them but figured they were needed for the fire pit or maybe some kind of homemade trap. "How many?"

"As many as you can find."

Demian gave up searching the leaf covered ground and moved over to the stream. He would have better luck fishing them out of there.

By the time Ronni and Brendon came back from scouting, they had already dug a shallow hole and lined the top with a few layers of stones. Stacked inside the pit were the sticks Remi had gathered.

"Cool!" Brendon exclaimed upon seeing the site.

"See any monsters?" Demian asked them.

Ronni held up a long eared white rabbit that was the size of a dog by the long spiraling horn in the center of its head. "We found three jackrabbits nearby. We figured one should be fine for a light snack and sent the rest back."

Brendon pulled out a handkerchief out of the pocket of his trousers. "We also found some berries. Not sure if they're edible though."

Remi stood up from where he had been sitting and made his way to Brendon. He plucked out small, yellowish-orange round berries and tossed them. "The orange ones are Bittersweet berries and are poisonous to humans but the other ones are wild black berries, which are edible."

"It's a good thing we have you on the team!" Brendon smiled, his eyes hidden in a flop of curly hair.

Demian found himself nodding along even though his chest squeezed tightly. Why was it so easy for others to talk to Remi?

Ronni set to skinning the jackrabbit while Remi lit the fire with his magic. Brendon found a thin vine and used it to tie the skinned rabbit to a long, thick stick that they laid on top of the homemade fire pit. Demian looked around, suddenly feeling useless.

Remi glanced over at him. "Bored?" His head was tilted to the side and a small smile lit up his face, making his sunset eyes shimmer a brilliant pink.

"I just feel useless," he admitted.

Remi shook his head. "Trust me, you're not."
It was an obvious lie but it made him feel better.

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"Watch it!" Dane hollered back as he moved a thick blind of vines out of the way. Shana stretched her arm out to stop the vibes from hitting her in the face, her pale skin slightly red and a thin film of sweat covered her forehead.

"Ouch!" Ophelia whined when the vines struck her.

"Are you alright?" Markus called out to her.

"Just peachy," she mumbled out through thin lips.

Dane could still hear her even though she said it quietly. This girl really was useless and boring. But maybe he was just too used to Remington's shenanigans.

The vines opened up to a small clearing. They had walked down the cliff face and were not at the bottom of the hill.

"Are we setting up camp here?" Shana asked.

"Yes." Dane looked around, feeling unsettled for some reason. They had come across several small magic beasts such as Jackrabbits, Fire Salamanders, and even a wild boar. They had stopped for a quick break to cook some of the boar meat. "You three stay here. I'm gonna make sure there's nothing nearby."

"You're just gonna leave us?" Ophelia whined.

Shana shot her a glare as she set the rucksack down. "I'm not planning on moving another inch for at least an hour so someone has to make sure it's safe."

Dane wanted to scoff at her words but the four of them had been walking for two hours with only one twenty minute break. He also couldn't argue with her snappy tone since Ophelia had been whining and complaining over every little thing the entire time. How was she not like this during classes? Dane clearly remembers her being slightly less annoying during the one class they share.

He left the three of them. The first thing he needed to do was to make sure nothing dangerous lurked by and then he needed to find a fresh stream because their canteen was dangerously low and none of them knew how to use water magic. 

And then he'll figure out how to accomplish Remington's task. Remington had warned him that Shana had something on her that attracted monsters. He wasn't sure how his liege knew this but he wasn't going to question it.

The grass rustled to his left. Dane spun in that direction with his dagger raised in front of him. A five foot long red fire salamander appeared from behind the trees. It stood up on its hind legs and flicked its tongue out when it saw him. Dane readjusted his stance and poured his magic into his dagger.

He possessed a rare component of the earth element. He was able to mold any kind of metal into whatever he wished, as long as could envision it.

Metal ores buried deep in the ground burst up the earth, pulled by his magic, and flew toward his dagger. His dagger morphed, shaping itself into a long sword.

The fire salamander was back on all four legs. Its tongue flicked out and tried to wrap itself around his wrist. Dane jumped back, barely avoiding that deadly tongue. The fire salamander gained its name through the mucus it produces, which contains the fire element.

Dane readjusted his grip on the newly formed sword before lunging forward. He struck the blade out, aiming straight for the creature's neck.

The salamander's tail flicked forward, striking Dane in the leg. He jumped back before his sword could hit its mark.

Dane backed himself up to put distance in between him and the creature. Once he was far enough away, he charged forward, running at full speed before jumping over the salamander's reaching front paw. He brought his sword down and slashed its tail cleanly off.

The salamander shrieked in pain as it writhed for a few seconds before turning to face him. Its tongue flicked out, missing Dane as he ducked at the last minute, rolling on the ground. 

He bounced back up while kicking his foot at the ground. Dry dirt was kicked up, spraying into the salamander's eyes. Dane took this chance and charged forward, slicing his sword through the creature's exposed neck.

*  *  *  *