We Hunt Monsters, page 3
3
“How did I know I’d be right?” Keith muttered to himself as he pressed his back flat against the boulder.
He was currently trying his very best not to be noticed by the mouth of fur and claws just a few feet away. He’d really been hoping that he could avoid running into this monster. He had debated turning back, but he’d already traveled over two hours in this direction, and with no other way down the mountain, he would most assuredly fail his first quest.
Keith peered around the side of the boulder, looking down the small slope between him and the hairy creature. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, as he had never seen anything like it. It stood on four thick and muscular legs, and its body was covered in shaggy brown fur. It must have been around five feet at the shoulder, with a pair of small black eyes and snout poking from a squished-looking face.
However, the long black talons and gleaming teeth as the creature snuffled gave him more than enough reason to stay away. Thankfully, this creature seemed to be busy with something stuck up in one of the few trees near the bottom of the hill, meaning that Keith had a pretty good chance of sneaking by.
The monster let out a snuffling roar, then rose up on two legs and clawed at the bark. Keith took a deep breath, then leaped from cover, dashing behind another boulder.
“Hey, watch it!”
Keith froze upon hearing that voice. It was loud, shrill, and filled with terror. He quickly peered around the boulder, wondering if a person had gotten trapped up there. A small creature with colorful fur and a ringed tail leaped from one of the branches, waving small arms and staring right at him.
“Help! Yes, you, the guy peeking out from behind that boulder. Help me! I don’t wanna die.”
Keith slid behind the boulder again, shaking his head and wondering if he’d lost his mind. That monkey was very obviously talking to him, but monkeys weren’t supposed to talk, right?
A small ping sounded in his mind, and a moment later, a message scrolled across his vision.
Quest available: Save the day
A monkey has been trapped in a tree. Why don’t you go rescue it?
Difficulty: C
Rewards: 300 XP, World guide
…This quest had been automatically accepted
“Oh, that low-down, devious piece of…,” Keith growled as he realized that The Trickster had managed to screw him over yet again.
The creature had agreed to give him a world guide, but he had never specified where the guide would be. Leave it to that thing to make him have to fight for his life to get it.
“That guide better be worth it,” Keith muttered as he cast about for something to use.
He currently knew nothing about this creature, so he didn’t want to risk charging in blindly, especially with those claws and teeth. Not to mention the fact that the monster had to outweigh him by at least a factor of four.
His gaze finally landed on a small rock with jagged edges. He stooped, lifting it and bouncing it in his palm. Turning, he peered around the boulder once more, wondering what level this creature was. Although he didn’t know much about games, he was smart enough to put two and two together.
A higher level meant a stronger opponent.
As though answering his question, the creature was suddenly outlined in purple, and text appeared floating over its head.
Snout-Nosed Ripper
Level: 2
HP: 140/140
Several spots of darker purple appeared at the same time, behind its skull, at its throat, in the joints of the knees, and a spot on its shoulders.
For a moment, Keith was confused, up until he remembered his Tactician and Discerning Eye skills. With those two helping him, this battle should – in theory – be far easier to complete. Despite this monster being level two, this quest was still rated with a C difficulty, which meant that the system believed he could easily beat it.
The ripper let out a roar, then reared up on its hind legs and raked the tree with its claws, eliciting another scream from the monkey.
“You don’t want to eat me,” the monkey yelled. “I’m all fur and bones!”
Letting out a breath, Keith spun out from behind the boulder, then threw the stone, aiming for one of the patches of darker purple on the ripper’s hide.
The stone whizzed through the air and struck the exact spot he’d been aiming for – the back of its exposed left knee. It seemed his Ranged Mastery skill actually did help, even if it was something as simple as a thrown rock.
The ripper let out a small yelp, and a message popped up in the corner of Keith’s vision.
-12, Critical
The ripper’s HP bar dipped a bit, removing any doubt about what that message had just told him. It seemed his hunch had been correct. The darker spots on the monster’s body were weak points, and seeing as he had bonuses when striking critical areas, he’d been able to do a fair amount of damage.
However, throwing the rock had the unfortunate side effect of getting the monster’s attention.
The ripper shoved itself off the tree, whirling to face the now-exposed Keith. The small, beady red eyes bore into his own, and a pair of gleaming fangs, dripping with saliva, poked from its bottom lip.
The monster opened its mouth and let out a roar, then charged right at him. Keith, having faced down many an opponent on the battlefield, did what any sensible man would do.
He turned and ran.
His stamina began falling as soon as he did, and Keith paid careful attention to it. He knew the monster would be faster than him, so there was really no point in running, but with as much health as it had, he needed to whittle it down before fighting it head-on.
The ripper came skidding around the boulder, its talon-like claws skittering over the loose stones underfoot, and Keith winged another stone at its face. This one struck it straight in the eye, causing the monster to stumble back.
-15, Critical
Snout-Nosed Ripper is blinded in one eye.
Now that’s interesting, Keith thought as the monster shook its head. Dark blood streamed from the eye he’d struck, giving him a huge advantage. So, he did what any sensible person would do in this situation. He charged right at the monster, stooping to scoop up another stone as he did. He wanted to approach from its blind side, but a boulder was in his way.
The ripper, seeing him coming, reared up, its hooked talons swiping at his chest. Keith hurled the stone, nailing the monster’s exposed sensitive area.
-30, Massive Critical
Snout-Nosed Ripper is stunned for 5 seconds.
Snout-Nosed Ripper will never have children again. I think we all know who the real monster here is.
The ripper let out a horrific squeal, then toppled backward, its body frozen in place. Keith, still running, reached the monster just as it fell and leaped in the air, bringing his leg down in a powerful ax-kick right on its skull.
In his many lifetimes, he’d practiced all forms of martial arts – it was likely why his Martial Arts skill was as high as it was – and the result was quite spectacular. The kick landed with all the force and momentum of his run. A loud crack echoed over the mountainside as blood sprayed from the point of impact.
-40, Massive Critical
Keith pulled his leg back, and in a single, smooth motion, he dropped to one knee, driving his fist into the same spot. Warm blood coated his fist as he drove it part-way into the monster’s skull, earning him another whimper of pain from the creature.
-38, Massive Critical
With this last attack, Keith saw the monster’s health plummet to the point where there was just a tiny sliver of red remaining in the HP bar floating above its head. He quickly pulled his arm up to finish the monster and made the mistake of trying to end the battle without first checking on the condition of his enemy.
With a roar, the ripper leaped to its feet, its talon-like claws slashing out and tearing a long series of bloody gashes across Keith’s chest. His vision flashed red for a moment, then a message flashed in the corner of his left eye.
-42 damage, you are bleeding
-5 HP per second for the next 5 seconds.
The most shocking part about that strike wasn’t the burning pain in his chest, nor the blood gushing down his torso, nor was it the fact that his HP started quickly ticking down. No, the most shocking part about that attack was that the system hadn’t identified it as a ‘critical’ one.
This meant that even with his skills – skills that reduced all taken damage – this monster had shaved away over half his health with a single attack.
The ripper lunged with its mouth open wide, and Keith twisted to one side, just barely managing to avoid taking an attack head-on.
-2 damage
Keith’s eyes flicked to his own health bar, which was now dangerously low, even as it ticked down again, thanks to his bleeding status. He was too off-balance to strike back. Thankfully, the ripper needed to recover after missing its attack, turning its head to appraise him with its still-working eye.
Keith took a step back as the monster turned, snout bunched up and growling. While it had taken several critical attacks to bring the monster to this point, a single attack had nearly done him in.
His health ticked down once more, and the bleeding finally stopped. In total, he had lost a whopping 67 HP from that one attack, and including the grazing attack the ripper had managed to land, he had 11 health left.
I am not going to die just a couple of hours after coming to this world! Keith thought, squaring his shoulders and preparing for the monster’s next attack.
The ripper lunged, but the instant before it did, Keith saw its muscles tense, giving away the coming attack. Even as the ripper threw itself forward, claws raking out to end him, Keith dove as well, tucking into a roll and coming up under the monster.
He was in too close to punch as the monster came down, so he tucked his arm in and drove his elbow up and into the creature’s ribs. A jarring sensation ran up through his shoulder, and a small -4 flashed before him.
Oh, no! Keith thought as he was driven to the ground, the monster having lived on a single point of health.
The wind was knocked from his lungs, while another damage notification flashed in his vision.
-6 damage
The monster writhed around on top of him, trying to get off so that it could attack him again. From his prone position on his back, Keith didn’t exactly have a great angle and knew he wouldn’t be dealing much damage.
His hand scrabbled around for a few frantic moments as the monster backed off. A pair of gleaming eyes appeared, just inches from his own, and he felt his short hair being ruffled by a blast of steaming breath so foul it made his eyes water.
The ripper opened its mouth wide and roared in his face. Keith took the opening and proceeded to jam the rock he’d found right down its throat.
-9, Critical
Snout-Nosed Ripper dies.
+75 XP
The monster let out a gurgling sound, then collapsed sideways, its single good eye rolling up in its bloodied skull and its body going limp. Keith simply laid there, his chest heaving as he tried to calm down from his latest near-death experience.
4
Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Save the Day.
+300 XP
Level Up!
Congratulations! You have reached level 2. You have 5 Stat Points to allocate.
Level Up!
Congratulations! You have reached level 3. You have 5 Stat Points to allocate.
Keith blinked past the numerous messages that assaulted him and found a small creature sitting on his chest. It was the monkey that had been crying for help; that much was obvious, though this had to be the strangest looking monkey Keith had ever seen.
Small black rings surrounded its eyes, making the yellow irises stand out even more than they already did. It was around a foot tall, with rounded ears, a small mouth, and fur flecked blue, gold, and black, as though someone had splattered paint all over its otherwise white fur. Its tail was ringed black and white, like a lemur’s, which was the only part about it that looked normal.
“Heya,” the monkey said, extending a paw. “Thanks for saving my life, pal. Name’s Bob, but you can call me Robert. Wait, no, I meant that the other way around.”
“Uh, sure,” Keith said, extending a hand. “Name’s Keith.”
Bob grasped his finger and shook it a couple of times, seeming pleased.
“Well, seeing as you’re the only sentient being in the immediate area, I take it that you’re the one I’m supposed to guide. As far as first impressions go, I’d say you did a heck of a job there, pal.”
Bob nodded a few times, as though confirming what he’d just said, before leaping off his chest and landing on a nearby boulder.
“So, you gonna get up? Or are you just going to keep laying there?”
Truthfully, Keith just wanted to stay where he was. His wounds still ached, and although his HP was slowly ticking up, it was still quite low.
“Why was that monster chasing you?” Keith asked, deciding to stay on the ground for the time being.
“Why do monsters do anything?” Bob asked, rolling his eyes. “It was hungry.”
The monkey then looked up to the sky and shook his little fist.
“If someone had done their job right and spawned me in the correct spot, this wouldn’t have happened!”
“Spawned?” Keith asked, unfamiliar with the term.
“The system creates things all the time,” Bob said with a shrug. “I was created for the sole purpose of guiding you through this world. Spawning is the term used to describe the creation of any creature on Raiah.”
“Are outsiders common in this world?” Keith asked.
From what the messages had been implying, that seemed to be the case.
“Oh, yeah,” Bob replied. “People are showing up here all the time. It’s so common, in fact, that nearly a quarter of the residents here once lived on a different world.”
“The system says you’re a guide,” Keith said. “What exactly can you do?”
“I can do a lot,” Bob said, puffing out his chest. “I can answer any question about the world, and in far greater detail than the boring system. I can recommend certain quests or items and even tell you where they might be located. I can give you information on which classes would be best based on your skills, as well as how to grow. In other words, I’m awesome.”
“But you can’t fight,” Keith said, pushing himself into a sitting position.
“I am what you might call a ‘non-combat entity,’” Bob said, making quotes in the air. “In other words, while I can help you, I myself am helpless when it comes to fighting. Would you give me permission to view your status?”
The sudden change in topic might have been a bit jarring to a normal person, but having dealt with all types of strange people over his many lifetimes, Keith was barely fazed.
“You need permission?” Keith asked.
“I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t,” Bob replied.
“Okay then,” Keith said. “I give you permission to view my status.”
If Bob was going to guide him through this world, it could only be to his benefit if the odd creature could see what he was working with.
Speaking of which.
Keith concentrated on the monkey and tried to see his information, just as he had with the monster he’d battled.
Bob (Robert): World Guide
Level: 3
HP: 68/80
“Is your level and health the same as mine?” Keith asked, noting the similarity straight away.
“Uh-huh,” Bob said, sounding distracted. “If you die, I die. So, try not to. I’ve only been alive for a few hours, and I quite like it. Holy cannoli! What the hell kind of monster are you?”
Keith stared at the monkey, feeling a bit worried.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Is something wrong?” the monkey asked, looking to him with wide eyes. “I’ve never seen someone at your level with such high skills.”
“To be fair,” Keith said. “I’m technically the only person you’ve ever met.”
“You know what I mean,” Bob said, waving him off – the monkey seemed quite pleased. “I was afraid I’d get a complete weakling noob! However, it seems that ARK has had mercy after all. Sure, you almost died in your first fight, but that was because you had no armor or active skills. Speaking of, you should have some active skills available to you after that fight. You should check.”
“Okay,” Keith said, not having understood even half of what the monkey had just said. “How do I do that?”
“Here,” Bob said. “Since you gave me permissions, I can pull it up for you.”
As soon as the monkey finished talking, a new series of messages appeared before him, this time, contained in a neat, white box.
New active skills available: Stonestance, Brutal Rain
Stonestance
Your body becomes as tough as stone
Cost: 20 STA
Damage: 6-10
Armor: +15%
Duration: 10 Seconds
Brutal Rain
Inflict a punishing series of blows
Cost: 40 STA
Damage: 12-16
After reading the two over, Keith looked to his guide.
“I can understand how the first would be a skill, but how would the second differ from a normal series of attacks? Also, it seems to me that my ordinary attacks would do more damage without me having to pay to use them.”
