Roh pressed forward with renewed determination, his heart set on the capture of the wyvern and the retrieval of its coveted core. His quest consumed his every thought, and he pushed through the gnawing ache of hunger that gnarled at his stomach. He was driven to succeed at all costs.

Forget food right now. I need to find that wyvern so I can complete the quest. I need to power level my character!

As he looked around, he noticed a set of tracks at the edge of the riverbank. Crouching, he pressed his hand into the soil next to the tracks. His hand sunk in effortlessly. The soil practically swallowed his hand as it squelched beneath.

He noticed that the print was not very different to the one he had just made. The tracks have very sharp edges which means these tracks are fresh. The owner of these prints could not have left this area long ago. I can track them down.

As he began to follow the tracks a callout appeared.

Skill Level Up! Tracking Lv2

New Active Ability – [Identify Species Lv1]

You can use this ability to identify any species. However, this will only assess and display basic information and difficulty level. Further research, development and progression is required for higher tier info.

Main Quest Updated!

Objective: Collect Traces of a Zulgarn 1/3

+50 Behemoth Research Points

BESTIARY

Discoveries 1%

Behemoths

Unlocked! Research Level 1 - Basic Info & Difficulty Level

Roh's face lit up with a grin of satisfaction. This new ability is great! It will definitely give me an edge when hunting behemoths.

After perusing the prompts, Roh opened his Bestiary. Sweet! Now that I’ve unlocked the first research level, I can find out more info on the Zulgarn. As the pages of the bestiary tome turned, the air around Roh seemed to grow thick and heavy. Suddenly, the page on the Zulgarn appeared before him, and he found himself transfixed by the sight before him.

At first, the section below the description seemed blank, but then tiny particles of charcoal began to coalesce in the air, swirling and dancing like a swarm of bees. Slowly, the particles gathered together, forming a dense fog that hung over the page like a veil.

The details of the Behemoth were rendered in exquisite detail, every wrinkle and fold of its skin captured in stunning accuracy. Its massive jaws hung open, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, and its tail lashed out, sending the particles of charcoal scattering across the page like sparks.

As Roh gazed upon the image before him, it was as if the Behemoth had been brought to life, its very essence seeping from the page and filling the air around him.

Zulgarn - Epic - Level 10 (Difficulty Heroic)

The Zulgarn is a highly intelligent and formidable alpha beast of the wilds, known for its incredible strength, nimble nature and ferocious instincts. It is adapted to hunt in low light conditions.

Its snout is broad and strong, with powerful jaws that can crush through the toughest armor. Its eyes are piercing and intense, with a golden hue that seems to glow with an inner fire. Its ears are tall and perked, always alert for the slightest sound that might indicate danger.

The teeth of this creature are razor-sharp, perfect for tearing through the flesh of its enemies. Its body is massive and well-muscled, with legs that are both powerful and nimble, allowing it to sprint across the battlefield at incredible speeds. Its fur is thick and shaggy, providing excellent insulation against the cold, while its back and tail are covered in bony plates that protect it from attacks.

The back of this creature is broad and strong, with powerful muscles that allow it to carry heavy loads and deliver devastating blows with its spiked tail. The tail itself is long and flexible, perfect for delivering sweeping blows and knocking down enemies. Whether it is charging into battle or simply moving with grace and power, the dire Zulgarn hybrid is a truly awe-inspiring sight to behold.

Species: Beast

Element Affinity: Terra Luna

Strain: Gen 1 (Critically Endangered)

Role: Alpha of a pack - usually wanders alone.

Strengths: High Intelligence, Keen Senses, High Agility & Incredible Strength

Resistances: Psionic, Blizzard & Umbra

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

As he read through the detailed description, Roh's heart began to race with excitement. The Zulgarn was truly a marvel of nature, with its massive body and razor-sharp teeth. He could almost feel the power emanating from the pages, and he shivered with anticipation.

"Wow," he murmured to himself, tracing his fingers over the intricate illustrations that accompanied the text. "This creature is truly incredible."

The rush of the river beside him seemed to echo the power he felt emanating from the page. He closed his eyes and imagined what it would be like to come face-to-face with a Zulgarn in the wild.

Suddenly, he could see it in his mind's eye - the creature's piercing golden eyes and broad, strong snout. Its fur was thick and shaggy, and Roh could almost feel the texture under his fingers.

He opened his eyes, a wide smile spreading across his face. "I have to see this creature for myself," he said aloud. "I need to know more."

Roh continued reading, taking note of the Zulgarn's strengths and resistances, imagining how he could use this knowledge to his advantage if he ever encountered the beast.

With a newfound sense of purpose, he closed the Bestiary and stood up from the riverbank. He began to follow the trail of tracks that he had spotted earlier, pulling Noona's lead for her to follow behind him.

The earth beneath his boots was soft and muddy. He took a deep breath, trying to pick up the scent of his quarry, but all he could smell was the musty, earthy aroma of the riverbank and the less-than-pleasant smell of his new traveling companion.

Further down the trail, he caught sight of movement within the underbrush. A flicker of orange feathers. Barely visible, Roh attempted to discern what the peculiar-looking creature concealed among the bushes, entangled in branches and leaves, was. Noting its odd, spindly shape and the tiny beak protruding, Roh whispered to himself, "Is that a... bird?" If it is, it's certainly unlike any bird I have ever seen before.

With his rudimentary War axe, Roh crept closer towards the bush. Lifting the axe above his head, with both arms, he took a step forward when his foot crunched on some twigs alerting the hidden creature. Gah not again! The beast's head emerged from under the leaves, its massive and bulbous eyes fixed upon Roh. It opened its tiny beak, far too small for its large face and let out a loud, ear-piercing screech, flapping its wings wildly as it darted around in a frenzy of panic and terror. Roh stood there, wide-eyed and shaken, as he beheld the creature. Its body was covered in shimmering, iridescent feathers that seemed to shift and change color with every movement. Its pitiful, sharp beak remained open wide as it continued to screech and shriek.

Despite its bizarre and erratic behavior, the creature seemed to possess supernatural grace and agility, moving with a fluidity and speed that seemed almost unnatural and impressive. It was a truly bizarre and unsettling sight, one that left all those who witnessed it feeling a mix of confusion and fear.

How is such a loud sound coming from such a small beak?!? Roh instinctively dropped the axe and covered his ears with both his hands. Noona on the other hand just looked confused as she rotated her head slightly and stared blankly at this odd, new creature.

Usually most mounts would spook and run off easily especially aurochs, but luckily for Roh, Noona remained unaffected. Aurochs are intelligent beasts using facial recognition to identify new creatures they encounter. I remember watching it on a nature documentary on TV. Even though this is a game, I remember the developers saying on a trailer that this game would incorporate realism in everything even down to the fine details so I wonder whether she has established that it’s not a threat or maybe it’s her demeanor. Just a really chilled out auroch. Could even be that she was so well trained and domesticated that she is so used to the local fauna in these parts and desensitized to their eccentricities and quirks.

A prompt appeared.

New Skill Unlocked

Gained Skill: [Beast Bond Lv1]

New Active Ability - [Calm Emotions Lv1]: From now on you can calm any tamed creature i.e. either a mount, pet, familiar, summon or companion.

Cooldown Time: 3 hours

(Gained from bonding with any tamed creature i.e. either a mount, pet, familiar, summon or companion.)

“Gah, Well that’s not going to help me with this wild creature!”

Interrupting his perusal of the prompt, the odd looking animal burst forth out of the bushes flapping hysterically.

As he closed the prompt and backed up out of the way, the creature first dashed away from him then towards him almost knocking into him all the while still screaming. It looked as if it didn’t know which way to go.

Since he had a very slim chance of hunting this beast, now that it had been alerted, Roh decided to use his new skill [Identify Species] to find out more useful information on it.

Yawper - Common - Level 1 (Difficulty Easy)

Derived from the non-flying avian species, the Yawper is an unintelligent bird-like creature that panics whenever they are alerted to any disturbances within their close vicinity. Once panicked they will run around like a headless chicken yawping hysterically, hence their name. This tends to last… far too long.

Species: Non-flying Avian

Element Affinity: Neutral

Strain: Gen 15 (Thriving/bountiful)

Role: Shrieker - alerts others of threats

Strengths: Screeching deters most predators

Resistances: None

It seemed to Roh that there were a few new additions to a creature’s stats that were not in the beta version of the game. Seems now that the creatures in the game have different strains and rarity. Roh shrugged, not fully understanding the impact that they would have on the game.

Meanwhile the Yawper continued to run around him, dashing one direction and then back another. Its gangly neck bending backwards as it ran forth still screeching relentlessly. It eventually decided to stick to one direction and the screeching began to fade.

Then silence. The creature was gone and with it, its infernal panicked scream.

Finally I can think again. Roh stopped holding his ears not remembering what he was currently doing before encountering this monstrosity.

But not a moment too soon, Roh’s mouth dropped open slightly and his eyes narrowed as he winced. For what started off as a faint, distant buzz grew into the familiar high-pitched, annoying shriek.

“No!” shouted Roh as the Yawper returned. However, it did not return alone. It brought company.

A much larger, lizard-like beast with a sharp horn at its front followed some 30 feet behind it. The Yawper’s loud screams must have alerted this predator and yet again it was running for its life.

Great…the damn stupid bird thing is going to get me killed.