ZZZ: A Hunter's District Zero!

Chapter 305: Forest Insect Cage Clan

Though she had been able to see it from afar all this time, standing at the foot of the Ancient Tree itself struck Hoshimi Miyabi with an awe that was entirely beyond words.

The boundless, overflowing vitality contained within that impossibly vast form — it was the kind of thing that, in the instant one laid eyes upon it, made every human being feel the smallness and inadequacy of their own existence.

And it moved her, genuinely and deeply, to quiet, contemplative wonder.

If only her own world could one day be restored to something like this — this brimming, exuberant fullness of life.

Andrew, however, had long since grown accustomed to the sight. And rather than the towering Ancient Tree looming before him, what truly commanded his attention at this particular moment was the herbivore leg sizzling and spitting fat over the campfire in front of him.

Under the licking of the flames, the enormous leg slowly browned to a perfect, gleaming gold.

With focused, meticulous care, he turned and adjusted the meat in steady, unhurried motions — and despite the campfire’s flame being wildly uneven and unstable, the surface of the leg bore not a single spot of blackened char from beginning to end.

The heat drew the fat from deep within the flesh. It dripped, hissing, onto the charcoal below — and with each drop, the air filled with an almost unbearably appetizing aroma.

Just as Andrew reached for the spice pouch at his side, Miyabi — without a word of prompting, purely on instinct — raised her hand and passed him the salt canister. He took it with the same unthinking ease, the motion of a man who had long since stopped thinking about it.

With the precision that came from perfect control of one’s own strength, salt, cumin, pepper, and more were scattered in a flawlessly even layer across the surface of the meat. The fire worked them in immediately, releasing a fresh wave of fragrance even more enticing than before.

Not a word exchanged. Not a signal given. The two of them simply moved in natural, effortless sync — taking care of everything that needed doing, without ceremony or discussion.

And then — just as the meat reached perfection.

From somewhere deep in the jungle, a sudden burst of movement cut through the air: chaotic, faint, frantic — the sound of something running in blind, headlong panic. It caught Andrew’s attention first, and a moment later drew Miyabi’s as well, even through the deliberate limits she had placed on her own hearing.

The direction the footsteps were fleeing toward was precisely where the two of them were sitting.

The soft rustle of a breeze threading through the jungle canopy. The footsteps, growing steadily, unmistakably closer. A thread of wariness wound its way through both of them without either needing to say it aloud.

After all — the Ancient Forest was home to no shortage of monsters that, despite their enormous bulk, moved through it in near-total silence. The danger of assuming the unknown was never something to dismiss here.

And within a span of only seconds, those faint, frantic footfalls were practically upon them.

What burst through the underbrush into the firelight, however — the creature that finally emerged into view beneath their alert, guarded gazes — was a slender, lightweight little thing, with two drooping ears and a pair of impressively long ones.

A rabbit?

Reflexively, Andrew bent down in one smooth motion and snatched it up with a single hand.

He looked at it — noting the flash of vivid crimson marking its ears and tail — and his eyes lit up immediately.

"A detour... no, hold on — don’t tell me this is actually a Guide Rabbit? A genuine rare subspecies?! What in the world are the odds we’d run into one of these?"

But they both knew perfectly well that Andrew was only joking.

With their combined hearing, it was impossible not to have noticed: anything fleeing this blindly and desperately had to be running from something. Something that was still very much in pursuit.

Neither of them had let their guard down for so much as a heartbeat.

And sure enough — exactly as expected.

In the very next instant after Andrew delivered that teasing quip toward Miyabi with a perfectly feigned obliviousness — a dark shape dropped from the tree trunk beside them in a single violent lunge.

"Nyaa!"

At the same moment, a spear clutched in a sleeved hand — fashioned from a twisted branch and a carefully shaped bone — came swinging down at Andrew without the slightest hesitation.

"Meow-ya!"

With a sharp, commanding yowl, the strike descended — and Andrew, who had already seen it coming, caught the blow with a raised arm, blocking it cleanly.

Though, on closer inspection, it seemed less like a slashing attack and more like... a deliberate rap?

At the same moment, the dark shape let out a low, rumbling sound uncannily like a cat’s growl — and to Andrew’s ears, the meaning layered beneath it came through with perfect clarity.

"Mrrrow— (A Hunter ought to know better than anyone that you don’t just take someone else’s prey, nyaa.)"

The voice was low and measured, carrying a strange, unmistakable seriousness in its questioning edge — strange enough that Miyabi, who understood nothing of it, reached instinctively for the hilt of Wuwei.

But unlike Miyabi, who had never encountered this creature before —

Andrew, the moment that voice reached him, felt an immediate, bone-deep sense of familiarity wash over him.

Before he had even fully processed the recognition, the speaker had already shifted completely — tone flipping in an instant, voice bursting with barely-contained surprise and delight:

"Mrrrow?! (Andrew?! Is that really you?! You actually came back, nyaa?!)"

The words were barely out before the spear’s downward pressure was released entirely, and the figure launched into an excited, bounding circuit around Andrew — spear waving in the air, the whole spectacle resembling nothing so much as a wild, exuberant victory dance.

But after completing a full lap around him — the figure stopped.

The familiar face that memory insisted should have come bounding out to join the dance the moment it began was nowhere to be found.

Confused now, the figure halted, looked up at Andrew with a tilt of the head in greeting, and asked:

"Mrrrow— mrrrow? (It’s been so long! But... where’s Meow-Da? I don’t see them anywhere.)"

Andrew, who had by now fully recognized the identity of the newcomer — the newcomer being, specifically, a cat — relaxed his stance and gently pressed down Miyabi’s alert hand at his side.

He raised his own hand in a casual wave and spoke:

"It really has been a while. Sorry about that, Kunati — this time when I came back, Meow-Da didn’t make the trip with me. They stayed behind at the base."

Kunati. A member of the Ancient Forest Bugtrapper Clan — one of the Dettell folk who made their home among the trees of the Ancient Forest.

Back in the day, it had taken Andrew and Meow-Da a considerable chase through the very branches of the Ancient Tree itself to finally catch up to Kunati — enough to earn the Bugtrapper’s genuine respect for their speed and endurance.

In the time that followed, during all those active days spent ranging through the forest — though fighting side by side with the Bugtrapper Clan had always been a matter of course, and by the time Andrew had departed they were already on the warmest, most familiar terms with every member of the tribe — Kunati held a place apart.

Among all the Dettell Andrew had come to know in the years since those early days, Kunati — as the very first Dettell beastperson Andrew had ever encountered — remained the one Andrew was closest to of all.

Hearing Andrew’s words, Kunati — who had been positively vibrating with excitement only moments ago — sagged visibly, expression falling into unmistakable gloom.

"Mrrrow... (So they didn’t come back...)"

The little figure looked at Andrew — the person who had returned without bringing Kunati’s best friend — with thinly veiled disappointment. Then something seemed to jog the memory of actual business, and Kunati shook it off with a wave of a small paw.

"Mrrrow. (What a shame. I was really looking forward to seeing both of you at once.)"

"Mrrrow mrrrow. (But since it was you who caught that rabbit, Andrew — consider it a welcome-back gift. Although...)"

Sniff. Sniff.

An intensely rich, mouthwatering aroma drifted on the breeze — and Kunati, completely helpless against it, brought their nose up and drew in a long, involuntary breath.

Watching that unguarded, thoroughly undisguised look of longing, Andrew immediately extended the invitation without a second thought:

"Perfect timing, Kunati. Have you eaten yet? If not — want to join us?"

"Mrrrow! (Don’t mind if I do!)"

The single leg of meat was swiftly and thoroughly divided among the three of them, and when the last bite had vanished, Kunati patted a round, thoroughly satisfied belly and sighed with heartfelt contentment:

"Mrrrow... mrrrow! (Even after all this time apart, Andrew, your cooking is still every bit as incredible as it ever was!)"

Over the course of the meal, Andrew learned from Kunati the full state of affairs in the New World during the time since his departure.

And what he heard was not what he had been expecting.

Ever since the hunters had made their way back to the Old World and worked together to drive off Lady Mira, the Black Dragon — the New World, which had once lurched from one disaster to the next, seemed to have stepped almost overnight into a period of genuine, settled calm.

Not only had major catastrophes of any comparable scale ceased entirely — even Elder Dragon sightings had dwindled to a sparse handful.

Whether to call it surprising or inevitable was difficult to say. After all, before Andrew had departed for the Old World, every root cause behind the New World’s chaos had already been resolved.

The only lingering anomaly was the occasional residual shockwave from the Icefields region.

With the meal finished and Kunati thoroughly, happily full, the Bugtrapper turned to go — preparing to head back out — and spoke with a farewell flick of a paw in Andrew’s direction:

"Mrrrow. (I’d love nothing more than to keep catching up, but it’s time to get back to hunting for the clan.)"

"Mrrrow mrow. (But same as always — if you ever need a hand with anything, just say the word. I’ll be there.)"

With that, Kunati slung the spear over one shoulder with effortless ease, gave a casual wave of a claw, and made to set off once more.

But the sight of Kunati already turning to leave jogged something in Andrew’s mind — a thought about the Bugtrapper Clan’s particular capabilities — and he raised a hand quickly.

"Wait, Kunati — there’s actually something I need your help with this time!"

"Mrrrow?"

The following morning, a brand-new green shape appeared beneath Andrew and Miyabi, who had until now covered every step of the journey on foot.

A Jagras.

As the one who had originally taught Meow-Da the language of the Dettell, Kunati’s ability to communicate with Jagras ran on an entirely different level. With Kunati’s assistance and negotiation, the two of them had at last succeeded in convincing one Jagras to serve as their mount — putting a definitive end to the indignity of traveling the whole way on foot.

And with a Jagras as their guide, capable of running freely through even the most complex and narrow pathways, the two of them were now cutting straight through the hidden trails of the Ancient Forest — routes that only the Bugtrapper Clan could normally navigate.

The only cost: one portion of fresh meat per meal, set aside for their mount.

To any outsider looking in, this arrangement would have seemed outrageously one-sided — the kind of deal that would make any reasonable person shake their head.

But to a Jagras that had spent its entire existence surviving on carrion and whatever scraps the Great Jagras left behind after digestion — this was, without question, the most supremely luxurious arrangement its imagination had ever managed to conceive of.

Fresh meat. Every. Single. Meal.

Out here in the wild, outside of the apex predators at the very pinnacle of the food chain — who in their right mind would ever believe they could live like this?

As far as the Jagras was concerned, this was probably something even the fearsome territorial overlords of the region couldn’t reliably guarantee for themselves.

And beyond that, Andrew had also promised that this wasn’t a one-and-done arrangement. Even after they reached their destination, he would personally ensure the Jagras found a trustworthy and reliable keeper — and the treatment? Not a single thing would change.

Thinking of that bright future stretching out ahead, the Jagras carrying the two of them pumped its limbs with noticeably, enthusiastically greater effort than before.

And fueled by that eager determination — or more precisely, by the exclusive shortcuts that the Bugtrapper Clan had provided — the three-day journey Andrew and Miyabi had originally estimated to cross the Ancient Tree was cut cleanly in half.

A mount made all the difference. Even a temporary one was still a mount.

In just a day and a half, the Jagras had carried them to a place Andrew knew by heart.

The territory designated Zone 1 on the Ancient Forest map — the primary gathering grounds of the herbivore monsters, the home where they congregated and grazed.

Or, to put it another way — this was the very first place the Sapphire Star had ever seen upon arriving in the New World: having been sent flying by Zorah Magdaros and, after a long, chaotic fall, finally managing to land on solid ground at last.

Streams wound their way along their stone beds. Countless herbivore monsters gathered in small, loose groups throughout the area, spread out across the endless green, basking peacefully with their bellies against the warm earth.

Reaching this place meant one thing.

They were already not far from their destination — Astera.

The Guide Rabbit captured the night before was now resting quietly in Miyabi’s arms, while Miyabi herself — having never once ridden a lizard-like mount before — was seated in Andrew’s lap.

It had to be said: the Guide Rabbit was small, impossibly cute, and genuinely rather difficult to resist.

Andrew’s gaze drifted to the familiar silhouette of the wooden ship, half-hidden along the cliffside ahead — and something in his chest stirred without his permission. The feeling of coming home rose in him, quiet and unbidden, impossible to suppress.

But just then —

A burst of combat sounds snapped his attention sideways in an instant.

And the roar encoded into his very DNA — the unmistakable howl of a Great Jagras — sent a visible shudder through their own Jagras mount below them, its running stride hitching as the creature went rigidly, helplessly still with fright.

Andrew turned toward the source of the sound immediately.

In the hollow below, a three-person hunter squad locked in combat with a Great Jagras caught his eye immediately.

A single glance was enough to read their composition: one Lance, one Tachi, one Light Bowgun.

Their baseline standard-issue equipment. The Defense Force armor sets they wore. The way they scrambled and stumbled whenever the Great Jagras made a move — every single detail announced their status as rookie hunters, fresh out of training and just as green as they came. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

But none of that was what had truly captured Andrew’s attention.

What did — the thing that seized his focus in a single instant — was a figure he knew without question. Silent. Unmoving. Standing at the edge of the battlefield like a grounded, immovable presence.

He was briefly puzzled, wondering why this person would be here — standing watch over what was clearly a first-lesson dispatch quest for rookies, a basic Great Jagras hunt. But the moment he actually laid eyes on that familiar silhouette, Andrew let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Because in all the New World — no matter what danger arose, no matter what crisis descended — the moment that figure appeared on the scene, the sense of safety it carried with it was something that needed no words to describe. It simply was.

And then, right on cue — the rookie squad’s hunt went slightly, entirely predictably sideways.

The Great Jagras, belly swollen and distended, reared up and launched itself forward in a full-body charge — barreling straight at the three hunters with wild, unstoppable force. The trio, clearly facing a Dragon Cart for the very first time in their lives, were caught completely flat-footed by the enormous shadow bearing down on them.

The Lance-wielding front-liner scrambled to raise his shield and block for his teammates — and realized in the exact same heartbeat that it was already far too late.

An instant later, the Great Jagras’s overwhelming momentum sent him airborne, introducing him in a very abrupt and involuntary fashion to the experience of human flight.

And as if that weren’t enough, the careening exit knocked him straight into the Tachi-user behind him — who had been in the middle of sheathing their blade in preparation for an Iai draw — as well as the Light Bowgunner who hadn’t had time to back away far enough.

Three fully armored hunters, caught completely off guard by the Dragon Cart, went tumbling across the ground in a graceless, thoroughly tangled heap.

The scene was almost too surreal to process.

Andrew, watching from his vantage point at the sideline, quietly brought a hand up and pressed it over his face — genuinely, thoroughly unable to bring himself to keep looking.

____

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