"Welcome to Dinantara Village. We are a hunter village, and I suppose you already know it if you receive the quest."
The man in the main seat welcomed Tang Shaoyang with a smile. He did not have the leather armor as his guide, just a humble outfit similar to the other villagers, but he wore the bone-teeth necklace. Two necklaces, one was full of the tooth of different sizes, and the second necklace was half-full.
Tang Shaoyang responded with a nod, "I have received the quest."
"We can't trust him, Chief Moussa!" The hunter with the seven-tooth necklace immediately said, "We can't trust him word by word! He might be a filthy sinner!"
The words attracted the attention of the hunters who sat on their bone chairs. Some of them were having discussions among themselves as if they agreed with the accusation.
Tang Shaoyang glanced at the hunter who accused him, confused. He did not know why the hunter would have such hate toward him. This was their first meeting, and he could not help but it might be true that he was a magnet of trouble. Wherever he was, trouble would follow him.
"Do you have proof that this man is a prisoner, Sango?" Chief Moussa asked the accuser with a flat tone. His smile disappeared when the accusation was thrown at Tang Shaoyang.
"I don't have proof, but this unknown man still needs to prove that he is not a prisoner either for our safety," Sango did not want to drop his accusation.
"How do I prove it to you? Can I share the quest screen?" Tang Shaoyang did not mind proving that he was a player. He thought of sharing the quest he received with them. That should be enough proof that he was not a prisoner thrown by The System.
"We can't see the quest. We are not allowed to see the quest, but you can prove it by showing your status screen!" Sango replied loudly.
"Why will showing my status screen prove my identity as a player? Don't you also have a status screen?" Tang Shaoyang furrowed his brow. It was a genuine question as he thought these people maybe had a way to use the status screen to identify other people. It might be worth learning the trick if they could do such a thing.
Unless the natives of the tower did not have access to their status, he recalled from his previous dimensional tower that the natives also had access to their status screen. Showing his status screen would do nothing.
"I am not going to show you my status screen," Tang Shaoyang ignored Sango and looked toward the Chief. He was looking at the Chief because the one who made the decision was the man on the bone chair, not this Sango guy.
"Why? Are you afraid? If you have nothing to hide, there's nothing to worry about showing your status screen?" Sango grinned ear to ear, thinking he might catch something of Tang Shaoyang.
Again, Tang Shaoyang ignored Sango and locked on Chief Moussa. He was waiting for the Chief's decision. However, Chief Moussa gave no reaction, as if he was waiting for Tang Shaoyang's reaction as well.
Sango took his Chief's silence as approval, thinking The Chief would let him take care of the rest. He started to approach Tang Shaoyang from the entrance, behind Tang Shaoyang.
Tang Shaoyang did not show any emotion, but he sensed the advance. He would avoid the bloodshed if it was possible, but he would not shy from the fight if it was what they looked for from him.
He used Detection on all people in this room, and they had two God Ranks. One of them was The Chief, and the second God Ranks was someone sitting to the right of the Chief with his own bone chair. The remaining hunters were Demi-God Ranks, and he had a picture in his mind that he was going to kill them all with his Chaos Blades, wiping them out within a few seconds. The impulse was there, but he did not act on his impulse and waited for The Chief to make the decision.
"Stop, Sango!" Chief Moussa opened his mouth as Sango was just three steps away from Tang Shaoyang, "Leave the hall right now!"
Sango had a disbelieving look on his face, but he immediately looked down when he met with Chief Moussa's glare. The younger hunter turned around and left the hall.
"I have a question," Tang Shaoyang opened his mouth once Sango was out of the hall.
"What do you want to know?" Chief Moussa responded.
"The quest says to help the natives hunt a few hundred beasts, but I am curious about something. What happens to the quest if I kill all the natives instead?"
All the people present in the room immediately stood up. Some of them drew their bows and aimed at Tang Shaoyang, and some of them unsheathed their swords, ready to fight. Chief Moussa was the only one who stayed in his seat.
"I don't know," Chief Moussa calmly answered.
"Unfortunately you made the right decision, or I am going to find out what will happen," Tang Shaoyang shook his head in regret and turned around, leaving the hall.
"Please be a guide for our guest, Akumbo. Show him around and help him where he can hunt," Chief Moussa remained calm despite the obvious threat.
Akumbo was reluctant to follow the order, but he followed the order. He did not have any resentment toward the player, but he could not take the player as a guest anymore after the man threatened his village openly. The more confusing thing was, that he did not understand why Chief Moussa did not say anything to the threat. They had the numbers, and Chief Moussa and Elder Konate were God Ranks. Even if the player was a God Rank, they had two God Ranks.
Silence ensued as Tang Shaoyang and Akumbo left the hall. The hunters returned to their seats, putting their hunting tools away. However, the tension remained and the people exchanged glances. The Demi-God Rank had full trust and respect for Chief Moussa. While they were dubious and confused as to why Chief Moussa did not act on the threat, they were waiting. There must be a reason why Chief Moussa did not react to the threat.
"What do you think, Konate? Can you beat him in a fight?"
Everyone in the room was surprised and turned toward Elder Konate. The second most respected and strongest in the village.
"I don't know. I can't sense anything from him, but if I have to guess, the answer should be no. I sensed his Detection skill, he knew my rank and also yours, and yet, he calmly faced us with no fear. He didn't waver, and I think he would kill Sango if you don't stop him," Elder Konate replied, shaking his head, "What do you think, Chief?"
"He is stronger than he looks, and it's not a bluff when he said he would kill all of us. It's just my instinct that keeps warning me that I would die if I fight the man," Chief Moussa gave his assessment of Tang Shaoyang.
Instinct, something that was built and nurtured overtime as a hunter. His instinct saved his life and also the village from a lot of beasts. He believed his instinct, and so did the people inside the hall.
"Tell everyone not to provoke the player!"
Akumbo followed the player's steps, and he was surprised that the man had a change of mood so quickly.
"So, what do I need to know before I hunt the beasts? Do I have to hunt the beast just like you do, or can I use any method to kill the beast?"
The player asked him with a smile. He could not see the somber and threatening attitude inside the village hall from the man.
"We are told by the System to teach you how to use the bow and hunt like us, but that's optional. You can hunt your own way if you would like to," Akumbo replied.
"How are you teaching me to use the bow?" The man looked interested.
"Follow me!" Akumbo took the lead, heading toward the east of the village, "We have an archery range…" He had not finished his words as Sango and his two friends blocked them.
"What are you doing, Sango?"
"That should be my question. What are you doing, Akumbo? Why are you helping this filthy sinner?" Sango had not finished his business with Tang Shaoyang, and he brought two more pawns with him.
"Chief Moussa ordered me to guide the player. Unless you want to go against Chief Moussa," Akumbo knew how to handle the situation. When he brought up Chief Moussa's name, Sango flinched.
Sango gritted his teeth and stopped blocking Akumbo.
Tang Shaoyang did not even glance at the seven-tooth necklace man, not interested in fighting a Demi-God Rank for sure. He followed Akumbo to the Archery Range. He thought they would teach him a new skill related to the bow, but he quickly found out that they only taught him the basics of using the bow, something he had learned through his skill.
"Let's skip the lesson," Tang Shaoyang refused to take the bow when Akumbo motioned his hand to pick a training bow, "Do you have a map instead? Is there a detailed map where I can find the beasts? Or do I enter the forest blind and hunt the beast on my list?"