Skill Hunter: A LitRPG Adventure, page 37
The man grinned and tossed a wink in his direction, taking another bite of his apple. “Flirting with the princess, hmm…?”
“He wasn’t flirting!” Tana said, blushing more fiercely than before.
“Yeah, we were just having a conversation,” Ike said, rolling his eyes.
Loup trotted over to Ike’s side and looked up at him.
Reaching into his pocket, Ket tossed Ike an apple. “And if you hunt any big monsters, bring some home for us. I’ll match the quality of your meat with my herbs.”
He caught the apple out of the air. Remembering the delicious stew, Ike nodded. “That’s a deal.”
He set off into the backyard, Loup at his side. For a second, Ket and Tana stood framed in the doorway, Ket looming tall over Tana, and then the door shut and they left. Each to their own tasks. Each to their own battles.
67
BACK INTO THE FOREST
The back garden of Ket’s manor had a gate at its far rear that let out into the back streets. Ike headed out, traveling light for the day. He’d left the majority of his gear behind. Today was a scouting run to find out how dangerous the monsters were around Abyssal. Maybe make a few kills if he could. Maybe go find out how inactive the puppet army really was. Tomorrow, he’d decide whether to head out for the long term or not. He carried a day bag, big enough to carry back some monster parts and Rosamund’s head.
He didn’t feel safe leaving Rosamund’s head back for various reasons. First, it was his lifeline. Without it, he had no method of acquiring mana aside from hunting monsters, and at that point, he was stuck in a losing game. He needed to spend mana to kill monsters, and not all monsters gave as much mana as the rooster. If he hadn’t had Loup and a tried-and-true technique to hunt the chickens without using much mana, he would have needed to supplement with Rosamund to replenish his mana after hunting them. And the chickens were, well, chickens. Relatively easy to kill. It’s easy to see why most people who fall into the Abyss either turn to lunam or give up entirely.
Second, he had no idea how anyone would react to him carrying around a disembodied talking head. That, and given how little Rosamund liked him, she’d surely try to talk them into injuring him somehow. All told, it was safer to bring Rosamund along than leave her back.
He walked quietly through the streets. Keeping his head down, he surveyed the auras of everyone around him.
Most of the people he passed had weakened auras. Their mana had strength, but it was the remnant of strength. For the most part, few of them had stronger auras than Ike, in the weaker half of Rank 1. Those people had normal, but hollow, eyes. There was an emptiness to their motions, as if they were conserving their energy and waiting to die.
No wonder they couldn’t continue to absorb mana in the Abyss. If I was at the lower end of Rank 1, I would’ve struggled to kill the chickens, too.
Come to think of it, the hunters who fell into the Abyss organically would be weak hunters who didn’t know where the Abyss was—people even newer to hunting than I was when I jumped down. As for people banished here, with the city lord desperate for strong fighters, I have to suspect that he’s not going to banish many people like Ket. Not unless they really cross some line. So regardless of how you end up down here, you’re probably weak when you enter the Abyss.
I wonder if that’s why the Abyss has such a deadly reputation? If only weak people tend to fall into it, then naturally they’d have a high fatality rate.
Hmm. I didn’t think to consider people’s biases before.
A few of those walking around had stronger auras. Auras at least as strong as Ike’s, if not strong enough to be Rank 2, or even borderline Rank 3. All of those people had inverted eyes like Tana’s or Ket’s. Likewise, their auras possessed the same strange chill that Ket’s and Tana’s did. It was easy to guess how they were able to continue to grow in the Abyss: these people had learned to cultivate lunam.
But they’re stuck in the Abyss. No longer able to grow as mages without lunam.
Ike did his best to mimic the hollow eyes of the failed mages. He reached out to the mana around him and pulled it close, manually restraining his aura. He wasn’t sure he’d succeeded at blending in, but he at least looked more like the other mages at first glance. After all, the last thing he wanted to do in a new city was stand out. People who stood out got targeted.
And on that note… He pulled his old oilskin out of his pack and threw it over his new clothes. He didn’t know how much Ket’s old clothes were worth, but he was willing to bet a Rank 3-on-the-verge-of-4 could afford a little more than most mages stuck at Rank 1 could.
Not many people headed outside the village. Most of them focused their attention inside, on the shops and market there. Ike wandered over, his rooster feathers tucked under his arm. Ket warned me that I won’t get the best price here, but I’m stuck in the Abyss for the foreseeable future. I might as well get some gold out of my efforts. It’s better than carrying around rooster feathers forever. Especially as delicate as the feathers are. I bet their price goes way down if they’re damaged at all.
Cold wind blew from a building near him. A large fang with a hollow center hung over the door. Ike pushed the door open and peered inside. A burly man wearing a red collar sat at the back of the room. Just like back in the outpost.
He walked inside. “Common setup?”
The man grunted. “Hot-cold exchange enchantment’s pretty easy to set up, and it keeps the meat fresh. What do you have to sell?”
Ike put the feathers on the counter. “How much?”
The man picked them up. He examined them, then shrugged. “Rooster feathers. They’re pretty, but that’s about it. Five gold.”
Right. Sure. Ket did say the prices would be low, but I think that’s a bit too low. Ike scooped up the feathers and went to walk out.
“Wait, wait, wait. Ten gold,” the man said.
Ike kept walking for the door.
“All right, fine. Twenty gold, final offer.”
That’s probably still low, but it’s at least within reason. Ike turned back around with a smile. He put the feathers on the counter and looked the man in the eye. “Twenty-five.”
“You’re bleeding me dry, kid. Twenty-one.”
“Twenty-five.” As much as you tried to undercut me? Twenty-five or nothing.
The man sighed. He reached to his hip.
Ike raised his brows. Was that still an undercut? Damn. How much is this rooster actually worth?
He shrugged to himself and took the gold. Twenty-five gold is twenty-five gold. I’m not a genius salesman. This is close enough to a success to make me happy.
The man glanced at his face. “You new in town?”
Ike shrugged.
“Better watch your back,” the man grumbled.
He paused. In the middle of the room, he turned back. At his hip, Loup growled. He tilted his head, looking directly at the man. “I’ll watch my back. Will you watch yours?”
The man narrowed his eyes. He harrumphed and turned away.
Ike walked out, shrugging internally. No idea if that’ll keep him from siccing his friends on me, but it was worth a try.
Loup at his side, he headed out of the city and into the forest.
68
HUNTING AROUND
Back out in the forest, Ike couldn’t help but feel safer than he had in the city. He ran a hand over the back of his neck. The air of defeat and self-destruction in there… I’m surprised Tana managed to grow up so normal. In the forest, everything wanted to kill him, but they were all beasts. Straightforward about it. Back in the city, who even knew what kind of plots people would cook up to entrap him.
Yeah, I’d rather be out here. Hunting monsters.
He drew out Orin’s book as he walked through the forest. This part of the Abyss would correspond to the far reaches of the forest from the city, and there were fewer notes on this part of the forest. Ike scanned it, just to get an idea of what was in the area, then put it back away. Fulgur-Loups, giant snakes, and big spiders.
Spiders, huh? Ike looked around, searching the treetops for white thread. Mercifully, the trees near him were clear of any signs of large spiders. A shiver crawled over his skin, and he rubbed his hands over his arms. If I see webs, I’m going the other way. There’s nothing spiders have that I want.
He’d seen his fair share of spiders in the slums. Been bitten by his fair share, too. The spindly little things snuck around and hid in the most unexpected places. They hid in the shadows to leap out and deliver their vicious venom into his flesh. Bulbous bodies and long, delicate legs, dozens of tiny eyes, and hairy backs. Everything about spiders awakened his desires to run, or kill.
Plus, they don’t have any meat, and there’s no part of their body I can harvest for money. The only thing I can think of that might be worthwhile is the silk, and that’s not easy to harvest.
Large snakes, though. Some people paid good money for snakeskin goods, and the fangs could doubtlessly be used for weapons. Ike nodded to himself. Giant snakes. That’s my kind of hunt.
The Fulgur-Loups obviously qualified as a hunt, though he wasn’t sure what Loup’s opinion of hunting them would be. He glanced at her. Noticing his gaze, she tilted her head back at him. Ike shrugged and walked on. I guess we’ll play it by ear.
He turned his feet toward the cliff where Ket had shown him the puppets. But first, puppets. He’d hunt after he tested the puppets. After all, testing the puppets required none of his strength. If they activated the second he got close, he’d simply leave. If they didn’t… then he’d have to investigate a little more closely. Either way, compared to a hunt, it required very little energy on his part.
Ike paused and looked over his shoulder for a moment, activating his Sensory Enhancement to its limit. Nothing but the silence and sway of the trees. The man in the monster-parts shop must not have sent his friends after him yet.
Or they’re like Ket. Able to move so silently that even Sensory Enhancement can’t hear them.
He looked to his side. Loup looked back up at him, wagging her tail. That’s what Loup is for. Patting her on the head, he walked on.
There was no path to the puppet army. It took Ike some time to pick his way through the forest back to the army. Once she figured out where he was going, Loup helped, darting back and forth to show Ike the route back to his destination. It was still before noon when he pushed aside a thick, leafy bush and found himself at the top of the cliff that looked down over the army.
Ike looked around, searching for a route down. A thick tangle of roots and vines descended over the earthen cliff to the army’s feet. The cliff surrounded the army on three sides, and on the fourth, a thick swamp reached out to the horizon. Ike hesitated, then shrugged and grabbed the vines. I’m a good climber, and it’s easier to climb up than down. I’ll climb back up if they go nuts.
“You stay up here, girl,” Ike said, lowering his legs over the cliff.
Loup whined and licked his face.
“Girl—Hey…” Ike squeezed his mouth and eyes shut and quickly climbed down over the edge of the cliff, out of licking range. As he left her reach, Loup sat down, then lowered to a lay. She rested her head on her paws with a huff.
“I’ll be right back,” Ike assured her. He climbed down slowly, hand over hand. The vines and roots twined so tightly that he didn’t have to plan out his descent. He reached his foot downward until he found a foothold, moved his hands down, then repeated. His hands grew raw from the vines, and dirt covered his boots and palms. As he descended, he checked on the army over his shoulder. It remained deactivated. The puppets’ shoulders slumped, and their eyes closed.
It's strange how they already look doll-like, Ike noted as he continued toward them. Rosamund had appeared human at first, but these puppets clearly had ball joints and hinges. Their eyes were surrounded by dark edges, like a doll baby’s eyes, and their chins had deep lines on either side of the mouth. Even beheaded, Rosamund’s head still appeared human, as long as he didn’t tip it upside down to get the gunk out.
Are they lower-quality? Or does the human skin get applied when they get activated? Pondering the questions, Ike came to the bottom of the cliff. He hopped off and faced the puppets, holding his breath.
Come on. Don’t wake up. You’re deactivated. Don’t move!
69
DOLLS
Ike held his breath. Staring at a hundred dolls, all lined up and perfectly still, he waited, watching them for any sign of movement.
Nothing. Not a twitch. Not so much as a blink or a breath. They stood, facing him, absolutely motionless.
He released his breath. Good. Just standing here won’t trigger them. Now to find out if there’s anything that will trigger them.
Because if not…
He crept toward the doll at the far right corner. Over his shoulder, he checked his escape route. The vines and roots were just as thick here. If he needed to make a quick escape, he could.
I’m not just hoping that the dolls can’t climb or that they won’t chase me far. In the worst case, I’ll be able to scurry back up to the height advantage, and then… He glanced over his shoulder and grinned. In any case, I have an escape route all ready to go.
Ike bent and picked up a stick. He stood as far back as he could, close to the vines. Gingerly, he poked the corner doll.
It stood there, unresponsive.
Lowering the stick, he approached a little closer. Ike inched toward the doll, waiting between each step for a reaction. Still the doll stood there, no more than the inanimate object it appeared to be.
Ever so slowly, he drew up to the doll, until he was within arm’s reach of the thing. He lifted his hand toward the doll. It shook, and Ike snorted under his breath. The tension was palpable. He couldn’t deny it.
His hand touched fabric.
Instantly, Ike withdrew his hand, as if he’d been burned. The next instant, he chuckled at himself. He glanced at the doll. Still no motion or reaction. Lifting his hand again, he touched it again, grabbing its forearm this time. He felt the joint under the fabric, the hard, shiny doll body slipping against the uniform.
Still nothing. Completely inanimate, the doll stood as if sleeping.
Ike raised his eyebrows. He gave the shoulder a little shake. Moved the doll’s head around. Tugged it a little out of line. Nothing happened. The doll didn’t react at all.
He stepped back and put a hand on his chin. His brows raised. Well, well, well. If these dolls are like Rosamund, then they’re full of rich lunam-converting goop. And why wouldn’t they be? Rosamund was, and they appear to be the same build. In fact, I’m willing to bet they have the same constructor. If they really aren’t going to react at all, why don’t I borrow one and get all the goop out of it?
It's hard to break them open, but I’m sure I can figure something out with enough time. I think I can categorically reject smashing them open like I did Rosamund. If these belong to the city lord—and they almost certainly belong to someone at least as powerful as the city lord—then he’d hunt me down and destroy me if I openly destroyed them. After all, he put them here for a reason. City domination, or something.
I honestly don’t give a fuck about the city lord’s plan. Inter-city politics is far over my pay grade. Let the city lord attack his fellow cities. Whatever. I don’t particularly like Brightbriar City. It’s never done anything for me. My uncle can die. Silver will escape on his own, and I’m sure Cara and Orin can get out safe from any battle.
What these dolls are to me is a giant lump of resources! I’d be a fool if I simply let them stand around and waste away, full of delicious lunam-to-mana goo. Ha! If all those failed mages in the city knew about this, they’d be green with envy. As for me, I’ll take advantage of it while I can and rank up quickly with this goo!
Ike sobered up. He looked over the dolls again, a calculating gleam in his eye. In any case, the point is, I can’t simply crack these dolls open willy-nilly and spill their insides all over the floor. That’s a guaranteed way to get a very angry city lord on my ass. No. My play here is to extract the goo without anyone realizing it’s gone. Tap these dolls so I can remove their delicious insides, leaving just enough of the goo that they can still move when they’re ordered to. Besides, the goo regenerates! No harm, no foul. In fact, I’m doing the city lord a favor! He wouldn’t want his precious dolls to crack from the internal pressure of the goo, right?
Actually, if I could get a cutter that could slice into their porcelain, I could cut open their backs and extract that goo with no one the wiser. but what would cut through their bodies? Diamond?
Ike raised his brows. He grinned deviously. Or maybe… some kind of monster part?
He retreated back up the cliff and settled in the overgrowth to pull out Orin’s book. Skimming it, he searched for monsters with super-hard claws, fangs, or scales. Anything hard that I could sharpen into a porcelain-cutting tool.
His eyes widened. He ran his finger down a page.
…sharp beaks that even shatter steel. They nest…
He caught his breath. Where? Where did they nest?
…near the east side of the city, so they might not last much longer.
Ike wrinkled his nose. Far away from the Abyss. What else?
…these cats can bite through trees.
Far to the north of the city. Useless.
…sharp, vicious fangs…
North, again.
Ike wrinkled his nose. He flipped through faster, searching for creatures in the Abyss with sharp, sturdy body parts.
…hard fangs that slice through my shield with ease. Plate armor cannot hold against their vicious bite…
Ike’s eyes widened. He checked the location. Near the Abyss! Jackpot! What kind of creature is it? He flipped back to the page.
A bulbous, harry, eight-legged creature stared back at him. Black eyes gazed out over two enormous fangs. Disgust crawled over Ike’s skin, and he made a face. Ugh. Not spiders!
