It was official, she hated Dappleback deer. When they finally found the herd, her first arrow struck true, but the rest of the herd bolted out of sight. And fast they were—gone within minutes, like ghosts. Luckily, though her perception couldn't point them out, the trampled grass could.
She didn't look for the deer. She looked for the small flattened divots in the earth and grass. She aimed her arrows roughly six feet above those divots hoping for the best. And thanks to her luck stat the first arrow flew true, right into the eye of the beast. Of course then they were off again.
Another chase, but this time her arrow only nicked it's shoulder, but thankfully though she was able to follow the blood trail and got the last set of antlers she needed. Hopefully, the quest wanted three pairs of antlers, not just three singles. Either way, the added hide, meat, and other parts would still come in handy.
The chase had taken her further into the forest than she liked. Now she was well off her original route, but little could be done. At least they were a better level, netting her another 1,100 XP.
As they made their way back to the edge of the forest, she thought the ordeal was over. Apparently, the forest disagreed. With all her traveling the sun was beginning its descent in the sky. The forest floor was unusually frosted with an early evening chill. Sunblaze's hooves crunched on fallen leaves, and Sam's eyes scanned the shadows for the cause. It was not exactly the right time of year for frost. That's when Jarvis spoke up.
{"Little early in the year for frost. My best educated guess is a beast with an ice affinity."}
"Thank you captain obvious." Sam swore she heard him grumble at her remark.
She glanced at her map and saw the red dot just in front of her and a little to the left–right where an old mossy hollow log lay. She got off Sunblaze and told her to back up out of range. Then she pulled her dagger and sword out.
What came out of the log was a very angry badger. Its usual coloring was gone, replaced with a shimmering dark blue body and an icy white face. It was snarling like Sam had insulted its mother as it lashed out with a claw slash. Its claws raked her thigh.
{You've received -15HP}
Another swipe.
{You've received -20HP}
"Fuck that stings."
The third strike met her sword with a quick parry, the Tempest Blade Enchantment knocked it back doing significant damage.
{-92HP double damage}
With a quick command to Syn, the wolf ensnared the badger's legs.
{-14HP}
While immobilized, she sent in Tempy with her chain dash, zipping through the roots and landing a couple of light electric strikes. Another -18HP gone. Then it was Iggy's turn. She darted in and set fire to the dry leaves under the trapped badger, disorienting it.
{-8HP}
Sam took the opportunity to make a strike with her dagger delivering a low amount of damage but the bleed enchantment of eight seconds added up nicely, so did the double damage.
{-8HP/second for 6 seconds, double damage bonus raised to -16/6 seconds}
"Nice!" Sam said, backing up with Iggy.
While the clock ran out on the bleed enchantment the badger, shook off the disorientation and finally broke free from the roots.
{Bleed enchantment ended: total damage -96HP}
"Almost over girls, just a few more hits" Sam mentally sent to them.
{Territorial Rage triggered. Maplefrost Badger's Damage boosted 50%, defenses lowered 25%.}
Being the closest in range the badger took a swipe at Tempy. Syn quickly jumped in front of her and blocked it summoning a barrier of leaves and light-infused bark with Photosynth Shield.
{-Attack Blocked successfully – reflected HP loss 10HP}
Furious at the attempt to harm one of her teammates, Syn unleashed Thornfang Pounce. Her fangs and paws wrapped in brambles. The badger dodged to the right, just missing her claws, but her fangs struck hard into its back end.
{-13HP, -3HP bleed/5 seconds}
With another 28HP gone the badger had definitely seen the error of its ways, But his unwavering stubbornness would be its undoing. Making another attacking dash towards Sam only ended in another shock from Tempy's lightning.
{-18HP, 1 second stun}
Taking advantage of the stun, Sam brought out her Blightbane Spear. Its tip glowed an eerie green. The badger's last thought was simply, that can't be good as Sam struck for the final time.
{Blightbane Poison damage, -10HP/second for 6 seconds. Double damage boosted to -20HP}
Ok, so that last hit MAY have been a little overkill.
{Blightbane Poison enchantment effect ended: total damage -120HP}
{Ding! Congratulations! You've killed a Level 13, Uncommon, Blue Maplefrost Badger.}
{+360xp}
{Beast Bank Balance: 4220/6400xp}
"Well done girls!" Sam said cleaning off her blade. "I'd say this calls for a level up and a snack!"
Pulling out an air core for Sunblaze and Tempy, a light core for Iggy, and an earth core for Syn, she handed them out and proceeded to level everyone up. Once they got closer to her level, the fights would get much easier, as their damage increase each level was a whopping 20%—most likely an effect of her Double Double skill. Plus, she wouldn't feel so bad pitting them against higher-level beasts. If the double damage applied to her tames, it might not be so nerve-racking
While Syn used her Verdant Howl skill to heal everyone up and Iggy snuggled in Sam's lap as she rested against a tree, she started leveling everyone up.
{Ding! Your tame Sunblaze is now level 7}
{Sunblaze has gained +2 STP and +3 SKP}
{Ding! Your tame Tempy is now level 7}
{Tempy has gained +2 STP and +3 SKP}
{Ding! Your tame Iggy is now level 7}
{Iggy has gained +2 STP and +3 SKP}
{Ding! Your tame Syn is now level 7}
{Syn has gained +2 STP and +3 SKP}
Now that everyone had leveled up, she raised their stats accordingly. With the stockpile, everyone got a vitality boost, while Syn and Tempy got a wisdom boost to help their attack skills. Sunblaze and Iggy got boosts to their instinct for agility and perception. She then leveled up as many skills as she could before doing her own.
{You're Skill Beast Command has leveled up to LVL 2}
{You're tame Iggy's Campfire Spark skill has leveled two times to LVL 4}
{You're tame Tempy's Chain Dash and Static Pounce skills have leveled to LVL 4}
{You're tame Syn's Verdant Howl, Root Snare, and Photosynth Shield skills have leveled up to lvls 2, 3, and 2 respectively.)
"Looks like I won't be able to upgrade your Thornfang Pounce until your next level up," Sam said, walking back to Sunblaze. "Once these eggs hatch, I'll let you join in more—if you want." She said to her horse. Sunblaze responded by rubbing her head against Sam in a gesture that said I trust you.
Back on their way to the grasslands—yet again—they hoped they could be done with random attacks and hopefully move on to ones they had at least planned for.
With the sun setting, they found a clearing near the edge of the woods with no lingering red dots on Sam's map and started setting up camp. Night had fallen, the air alive with tiny lights as Willowwisp Fireflies danced through the clearing. Sam was setting up camp, yawning, when suddenly—
A firefly zipped straight toward her face. Instinct took over.
Backhand snap!
{-10HP}
The first firefly collided with another mid-flight.
{-8HP}
Iggy, perched nearby, flicked her tail in reflex, Campfire Spark igniting the stunned firefly.
{-8HP}
The swarm panicked instantly. Flashes of Synchronized Flash lit the night, but the fireflies were disoriented, buzzing chaotically. Some collided with others, creating tiny, comical midair crashes.
Tempy, sensing chaos, used Static Pounce to zip into the fray, giving a few more fireflies a minor shock.
{-15HP total spread across 3 fireflies}
Syn, from her chosen sleeping spot, just looked up wondering what the hell was going on.
Sam swung Tempest Blade, instinctively knocking a cluster of the remaining swarm into the underbrush.
By the end, fireflies lay scattered or lightly charred. Sam stared at her hands, blinking.
"Uh…oops?" she muttered.
Iggy curled up proudly, tail flicking embers from her spark. Tempy zipped through, eyes glowing faintly, clearly impressed.
{Ding! You've killed a Willowwisp Firefly swarm, Level 17. +50% XP due to level discrepancy}
"Wait, so I get 175% XP for that…uh… mishap?" Sam asked.
{"Correct,"} Jarvis said, clearly holding back his laughter. {"It's like the squirrels all over again!"}
"Hey! If you had a face, you'd instinctively swat things flying toward it too!" Sam said, watching the little firefly bodies disappear, their mana particles going straight to her bag rather than turning into loot.
{Quest: Natural Selection, component complete. Grasslands (Done), Forest (Done)}
{Achievement! Unintended Consequences - Start and win a fight you didn't mean to.
Bonus: +2 Wisdom (for thinking on your feet)}
"Well, that's certainly a surprise," Sam said as she got back to setting up camp. She took the tent from her inventory and placed it on the ground, then activated the enchantment and stood back. After a brief glow, the tent pieces arranged themselves and locked into place. In seconds, it was done.
She set up the campfire, and with Iggy's help it was roaring in no time. She got to work making food for her tames, pulling out some of the cores and mixing them into meals according to their affinities. When she was done, she brought out Sunblaze's oats and hay and a large bucket for water.Placing the water barrel near her tent she filled their bowls and then sat down to enjoy one of Red's meals. As she ate a notification popped up.
{Your tame Tempy has advanced to stage three of her beast species. She is now a Tempestail. She has gained the following skills as well as +2 to all stats.
Active Skill:
Tempest Coil – Unleashes a whirling storm slash in an arc, dealing AoE damage and pushing lighter enemies back.
Mana cost: 20MP | Cooldown: 5 seconds
Duration: 5 seconds | Range: 5 meters
Passive Skill:
Storm Dancer – Immune to movement slow effects, reduced fall damage, gains speed in rain.}
Looking over at Tempy, she was wrapped in the telltale glow of advancement. When the glow does down, a now panther sized Tempy stood up looking at herself.
'Look how much bigger I am!' she said with pride to Sam.
"That is quite the difference. Let's check out your info" opening the Tames Beast window of her S.I.S.T.E.M. she brought up Tempy's new profile.
{Name: Tempest 'Tempy'
Age: 3 Months
Species: Stormclaw (Stage: Tempestail)
Level: 7
Rarity: Rare
Tier: Purple
Experience Level: 1142
Health: 130/130
Mana: 130/130
Mana Control: 12
Mana Regen: 13mp/sec.
Stats:
Vitality: 13
Strength: 11
Wisdom: 13
Instinct: 12
Skills:
Active skills:
Static Pounce LVL 4 – It dashes at a target, dealing damage and briefly shocking them (1s stun on crit)
Mana Cost: 10MP | Cooldown: 6 seconds
Duration: instant | Range: N/A
Chain Dash LVL 4 - Hit one enemy, then bounces to a second if within range. Dealing lightning damage.
Mana Cost: 15MP | Cooldown: 4 seconds
Duration: Varied | Range: 2 Meters
Tempest Coil LVL 1 - Unleashes a whirling storm slash in an arc, dealing AoE damage and pushing lighter enemies back.
Mana cost: 20MP | Cooldown: 5 seconds
Duration: 5 seconds | Range: 5 meters
(Remaining Skills Locked Until Evolution)
Passive skills:
Electrified Whiskers LVL 2 – Slightly increases dodge rate due to static-boosted reflexes
Static Speed LVL 2 - gains a five second burst of movement speed after landing a hit.
Storm Dancer LVL 1 - Immune to movement slow effects, reduced fall damage, gains speed in rain.
(Remaining Skills Locked Until Evolution)}
"Awesome, and you even got a stat boost!" Sam said excitedly. She then looked at her other tames. Iggy seemed to be the only other one glowing. When she was done she too was bigger, about twice the size as before.
{Your tame Iggy has advanced to stage three of her species. She is now a Hearthlynx. She has gained the following skills as well as +2 to all stats.
Active Skill
Flicker Dodge LVL 1 - Momentarily transforms into a burst of fire to evade an attack. Has a short cooldown and leaves a puff of ash behind.
Mana Cost: 10MP | Cooldown: 2 seconds
Duration: N/A | Range: N/A
Passive Skill
Flameproof Fur LVL 1 - Can walk through low to medium intensity fire and embers unharmed at current level. Can now warm multiple people at once.}
"Look at you!" Sam says petting Iggy who's laying in her lap. Her new bulk is impressive for a three month old kitten. She still looked basically the same, only a little more fluffy with wisps of hair on the top of her ears. You'd think a fire ability cat would be sleeker, but since she's literally fireproof Sam figured the added fur was no problem. Looking at her tame profile, it had the same +2 to all her stats. The added health made her feel better about joining in a fight, but with her and Syn's healing skills there was no need to worry too much.
After her meal she went into her tent and set the cot up. She quickly changed into her normal clothes and after a quick chat with her tames, set up a lookout schedule. Tempy full of energy took the first shift, then Syn would take the next. They were all in perfect shape so four hours sleep was plenty for them. Sunblaze opted for her beast space, so Sam moved the incubator into the tent and stored her saddle.
Just before dawn Sam woke feeling Sunblaze exit the beast space. Concerned they my be under attack she woke quickly and donned her armor. Coming out of the tent all she saw was Syn pacing the camp and Sunblaze standing in the morning sun. She was practically glowing. No, on closer inspection she was literally glowing. That's when she realized. She was charging Dawnflare Pulse. It required sunlight exposure. Hard to find under the canopy of the trees in the forest.
'Sorry to alarm you Sam, thought I'd use the time to charge up my skill.' Sunblaze said looking over her shoulder.
"No worries Sunny, just making sure everyone was ok." Sam said.
After breakfast and a little morning training, with her tames this time. She had finished her daily quests and it was time to move on. It would take another few days to get to Thrasien city but that wasn't really their destination. The caravan was two days east of the city, so it should be close by, and the plains stalkers were scattered around the area so it was just a matter of time before running into one of them.
The western mountain range wasn't too far off, or out of their way, so they detoured there to see if she could knock off another beast for her quest. Not as big as the northern mountains near her home, they were still impressive. As were the grasslands. Miles of knee high golden grass covered the land. The sun glinting off the various lakes and rivers that ran through it.
Well aware that beasts of any biome didn't necessarily stick to their own around the edges, it wasn't long before Sam caught the sight of a particularly exciting beast.
Phantom Rams
Known for their highly sought after wool, both the rams and ewes grew wool that when processed in to fabric would allow their wearer to phase through…well just about anything. They were however, highly difficult to hit unless you caught them unawares. Stopping well down wind of the sizeable herd, who had come down to the grasslands from the mountains to graze, Sam and the others came up with a plan.
While Iggy would make use of her smallish size to hide in the grass, she'd set small fires that would herd the wild sheep towards Syn. The wolf in response to the moving herd would activate Overgrowth Surge slowing them down while her passive Floral Camouflage would assist her in not being detected. Then Tempy, would be Tempy, and 'zap 'em good'. In her words. With them shocked, stunned and slowed Sam would pick them off with her arrows.
Everything went perfectly, well until Iggy miss calculated how much fire it would take to scare them off. When you can phase through something apparently it took alot. The resulting fire took a little too quickly to the dry grass.
Thankfully though she got it under control before she burned the whole place down. Though it did seem to scare the sheep at last. Running into their trap. Sym used her Thornfang Pounce to take out some of the closer ones