104. The Predator Rider

Rangga put the drops into his inventory, then turned his gaze back toward the forest ahead. For the first time since entering the Pioneer world, he did not feel like he was entering a dangerous area.

Instead, he felt like he was hunting. Rangga moved between the trees with low, quiet steps.

A Mechanical Hererasaurus moved along a tree branch, searching for prey below and Rangga spotted it first, then crouched behind a tree trunk.

He raised his bow.

Twack!

An EMP Arrow struck.

Tzzzt!

The Hererasaurus lost its balance and fell, and Rangga was already moving before its body even touched the ground.

He jumped.

DUAK!

The javelin slammed into its body, and white light appeared then Rangga landed and immediately picked up the drop.

"Another one."

Some time later, Rangga found another trail. He followed the mechanical sounds coming from behind the trees.

One Hererasaurus appeared, then another, and another. Rangga stopped and observed the three of them.

"Three?"

He smiled.

"Fine... Let's do this..."

Rangga drew his bow, and the first EMP Arrow flew.

Tzzzt!

One Hererasaurus was startled and fell from the tree, while the other two immediately moved.

One of them leaped from a branch and lunged from the side.

Rangga rolled underneath it, and the mechanical claws struck nothing but the ground.

Rangga rose in one smooth motion.

Twack!

He fired a second arrow. The second creature was hit by the EMP, its body convulsing.

Rangga ran toward a tree trunk, used it as a foothold, then leaped sideways then He threw his javelin.

Krak!

It struck the head dead-on, and the second Hererasaurus turned into light and Rangga did not even wait for its body to disappear.

He had already turned around then the third creature came from behind. Rangga ducked, and its mechanical claws swept over his head. He rolled backward, pulled out another javelin, then drove it into the underside of the creature's body.

DUAK!

The Hererasaurus staggered, and Rangga drew his bow.

Twack!

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An explosive arrow struck.

BOOM!

The mechanical body jerked before finally turning into light and Rangga stood in the middle of the forest. He looked at the three drops scattered across the ground, then chuckled.

"I thought this was gonna be hard."

He picked them all up and the hunt continued, and Rangga ventured deeper and deeper into the forest.

Sometimes he waited behind a tree. Sometimes he followed a Hererasaurus from a distance. Sometimes he deliberately let one of the creatures spot him, then ran between the trees and turned around to ambush it when it gave chase.

One arrow, one javelin, one explosion and white light would flare once again.

A drop.

Next, Rangga even began experimenting with different ways to make use of the environment.

He climbed a large rock to get a better angle for shooting. He slid down a slope while firing arrows. He rolled past attacks, took cover behind trees, then emerged from the other side.

The Hunter Armor made all those movements feel much more natural.

The longer he hunted, the more Rangga enjoyed it. There was none of the tension he felt when facing the Kentrosaurus.

He did not need to constantly calculate every attack but he simply moved, observed, waited, then attacked. As if the forest really was his hunting ground.

Without realizing it, sunlight began filtering through the forest canopy from a different angle.

Rangga was sitting on a large root while checking his inventory then he stopped.

"Huh?"

He looked up, and the sunlight was already much brighter. Rangga looked toward the sky, which was barely visible through the leaves.

"...Is it already noon?"

He checked the time on the system, and his eyes widened slightly.

"Damn."

Rangga stood and looked back into the forest and he hadn't realized how long he'd been hunting, and another smile appeared on his face.

"I got carried away."

He leaned his back against a large tree trunk and let out a long sigh.

After hunting since morning, his body was beginning to feel tired.

"I think I'll take a break."

He sat against the tree trunk, then opened the Garuda regional chat.

As soon as the chat window opened, messages immediately filled the screen.

Siska: Sir Rangga!

Rian: Sir Rangga!

Fajar: BANG RANGGA!

Siska: Sir Rangga, help!

Rangga frowned.

"Whoa, what's going on?"

Deri's reply appeared almost immediately.

Deri: Sir Rangga, Fajar's group is under attack.

Rangga immediately sat upright.

Rangga: Huh? Where?

Deri: They said their last known position was on the western side of the island.

Rangga fell silent for a moment. He tried to remember the position of the sun when he had first arrived on the island that morning.

At the time, the sun had been on his right as he moved into the forest. That meant—

"West..."

Rangga immediately stood up, his fingers moving quickly as he typed.

Rangga: Okay. I'm heading there.

He closed the chat and grabbed his bow and Rangga ran from his resting spot. He tore through bushes and passed between the trees, moving as fast as the Hunter Armor allowed.

But a short while later, Rangga stopped then he looked around.

This island was much larger than he had expected.

"Which way is west...?"

Rangga turned in several directions then he heard mechanical sounds coming from above the trees.

He looked up.

A Mechanical Hererasaurus was moving among the branches and Rangga wasted no time and immediately reached for an EMP Arrow.

He drew his bow.

Twack!

The arrow flew and struck the Hererasaurus's body.

TZZZT!

An electromagnetic wave spread out, and the Hererasaurus convulsed and lost its balance.

Its body fell from the tree.

Rangga immediately ran closer, then took the Hijack Device from his inventory.

"If this really works..."

Rangga pressed the center of the device and the metal disc vibrated. Its light came on, then it floated out of Rangga's hand.

Deng!

The device attached itself to the Hererasaurus's neck while it was still being shocked by the EMP.

Blue light enveloped the creature's body. Rangga waited. Blue then brighter and then—

Deng!

The light turned white, and the Hererasaurus stopped moving.

Rangga smiled.

"Yes."

A few seconds later, its mechanical systems became active again.

The Hererasaurus rose, and Rangga immediately approached and climbed onto its back.

He gripped the mechanical body to keep his balance.

"All right."

Rangga looked toward the trees ahead.

"West."

He patted the Hererasaurus's body.

"Come on, move."

The Hererasaurus moved, then leaped toward the nearest tree trunk.

DUK!

Its body shot toward another branch, carrying Rangga upward with it.

"WOI—!"

The Hererasaurus leaped again.

DUK!

From one tree to another, the mechanical creature moved faster and faster.

Rangga finally laughed as he held on tightly.

"This is how you do it!"

The Hererasaurus continued leaping between the trees toward the west, carrying Rangga rapidly toward Fajar's group.