[Rank 2: Silver-back Beast Troll learned. Progress: 20%]
[You gained 120 essences.]
A beast troll? Makes sense, looks like one.
Theron caught a whiff of clean air as he rested his arm atop the dead troll, eyes drooping once the adrenaline was filtered off his body. The battle lasted a few minutes longer than he’d like, the attrition draining both Borys and Lux, the first one collapsing on its hind, its limbs swelled from shielding itself against the punches, and the other losing all of its mana. Yeah, this one might as well be elite, with how difficult it was to bring it down.
[Rank 2: Black-chrome beetle learned. Progress 10%]
[You gained 40 essences.]
40 essences. This one must be the fodder enemies in this area, like the boars back in the tutorial zone.
With Lux’s mana drained, Theron had scant resources left to explore the area any further. Borys’ injuries needed healing, and without support from Lux’s projectile attacks, engaging the trolls—or treants, for that matter—was arduous. Of course, he wished to complete the troll’s aspect, to earn more experience points, and perhaps to conjure its aspect once he earned enough summon slots. But he had his limitations.
Withdrawing into the dark forest, his pupils dilated as he allowed the atmosphere to permeate within him. Clad under the lullabies of the moonlight, Theron pondered about his next move. Two ideas circled his mind.
One was to head back to the checkpoint and rest. A simple, nice plan to prepare himself for the day after. But he knew with how much trepidation whisking in his stomach, threatening to burst with every passing second, sleep might as well be a wild goose chase. And the other… since he couldn’t risk meeting another one of those trolls, there was merit in completing the elite aspect progresses from the tutorial zone, now higher in priority with the elite completion quest in mind.
With three elites incomplete, and the potential summon slots and loots brooding within the caves and event, there were more than a few reasons to return. Monsters there wouldn’t reward him with experience points since two of his aspects were rank-2, however… he could relieve one of his active aspects from duty, and summon new rank ones in its stead. Borys can handle all of the monsters up there alone, I’m sure of that.
To hunt here during the night with the risk of the Troll attacking without mana on Lux posed too high of a risk—especially with the lack of revives in mind. It was fortunate that the checkpoint didn’t stray far from the passage leading upward, and the lighter density of trees granted him a safer path back toward the tutorial zone.
He bit his lips as he approached the checkpoint, eyes wide open as he ogled the shaking undergrowth, then relaxed once he knew nothing else moved aside from their party. 100 shy away from purchasing an elite aspect core, Theron briefly considered using it right away, but he had no doubts in his mind that the bear elite was the strongest of the bunch, and using it on any other rank-1 elites would be a waste, considering its rarity.
The moon roared with its full glory the moment he placed his palm on the warm steel, opened the interface, then purchased a common aspect core. It materialized above him, mantled by a shrapnel of light, then dropped with a thud. Theron picked it up as Lux approached.
“Lux,” he gave his favorite wolf a pet, “-see you later, bud. Go and rest.”
With a glint of light, his wolf dissipated into thin air. He picked out one free aspect stone from his satchel, picking both the dark panther and the tiger from the list granted to him. Can’t train the rank twos over there either… so these shall do.
Two new, smaller creatures settled beside him, their eyes curious, scanning rigorously at their surroundings. The panther’s jet-black skin melded with the night so much better than the tiger’s. With a smile, Theron pierced into the night, eyes locked onto the towering structure as a guide. The other, the green forest tiger, slightly larger than the other tigers he’d encountered, meowed beside him.
Along his way, he opened both status pages of his newly found aspects.
Aspect- Metal-bladed Dark panther | Health : 8/8 | Mana : 0/0
Level: 1 | Next 100 xp
Rank - 1 | Max Level 5
Energy cost: 6 | slot cost: 1
Element: Normal | Affinity: Prowler
Class: Panther | Type: Beast
-Attributes-
Free points: - (+2/level)
Might: 6 (+2/level)
Speed: 9 (+3/level)
Magic: 0
Toughness: 3 (+1/level)
Resistance: 0
-Abilities-
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
[Affinity: Prowler, prefers to fight with stealth. Increases effectiveness of [Prowler] tagged abilities by 20%. Abilities not tagged with the Prowler affinity will cost 25% more than their base cost. This change is reflected in the ability description. Passively increases speed by 20% when not in combat.]
This one’s slightly different. Theron noted its new affinity, keeping in mind its boons and restrictions. Glancing at his panther, he noted its eyes, constantly darting into the darkness. He could taste its urge to allow itself the shroud of the trees. What’s your name? He thought as he perused the infinite blackness under the silhouette of the moonlight. “C… cat? I guess? That sounds stupid. Uh… Well, how about…” Theron looked up at its curling tail, “Tails?” That’s even dumber, “So, Tels; that’ll be your name.”
He turned to his tiger, eagerly waiting for its turn. Its green fur swayed with the gentle breeze. “You’ll be Moss.”
Aspect- Green Forest tiger | Health : 10/10 | Mana : 0/0
Level: 1 | Next 100 xp
Rank - 1 | Max Level 5
Energy cost: 6 | slot cost: 1
Element: Normal | Affinity: Melee
Class: Panther | Type: Beast
-Attributes-
Free points: - (+2/level)
Might: 6 (+2/level)
Speed: 6 (+3/level)
Magic: 0
Toughness: 4 (+1/level)
Resistance: 5
-Abilities-
The forest tiger’s stats roused no interest in his heart. He had no intention of focusing on these new arrivals, but the notion of gaining null aspect experience made him feel like he made good use of his time. Besides, having reserves in case his main fighters fell gave him a measure of security, a… plan B of some kind. Having a variety of aspects would be wise, with the rate of Borys’ continually increasing size, navigating caves and small spaces would be cumbersome once it grew a few heads taller.
In that case, what if he encountered a large body of water? None of his aspects did jack shit in that environment… Save the thought for when it actually happens, he shook his head, then shimmied his way up the cliff, landing on the familiar Tutorial zone.
###
Their night began with a quick discovery of another strange locale atop the tutorial zone, a massive swath of grassy field larger than all the caves he’d been in. Within the locale, a dozen or so boars patrolled its vicinity, and in the midst of it all, where all the boars orbited around, stood a massive boar, easily tripling the other’s size. Its massive tusks swayed as it breathed, and its snore filled the otherwise calm landscape. Stumps of fallen trees dotted the scene; each undoubtedly sundered from the boar’s unending charges, evident from the erratic spikes where the wood was torn in half. Their numbers struck no fear in his heart, Theron understood those rank 1 monsters posed no threat to him, especially with a beast such as Borys as his vanguard.
Also, the night was still young. With the hunter of the night active, confidence lathered his step as they broached the open fields, starting their hunt with the slaughter of a nearby boar. A slam from its massive paws scourged the boar’s poor windpipes, killing it instantly. It laid limp after a weak whimper.
[Aspect: Metal-bladed Dark panther gained 10 experience points!]
[Aspect: Green Forest tiger gained 10 experience points!]
The other boars roused to the chaos of the ensuing carnage. Their initial rush was met with brutal retribution by Borys, forming lines of blood roping the air wreathing the dark scene before splattering the sward beneath. Multiple boars died in the span of a few blinks, which ended once their numbers had culled by the dozen. Now, only the gargantuan figure of the boar elite stood, rearing its head and dragging the dirt beneath with its limbs, ready to strike. Its charge sent tremors reverberating all around the expanse, but its blitz met with an equally hard—no, an even stronger force—than itself. Borys crushed its tusks with its hulking might, ending the fight in an instant.
[Your aspect core - Metal-tailed Dark Panther leveled up! It gains +2 might, +3 speed, and +1 toughness. +2 free attribute points.]
[Your aspect core - Green Forest Tiger leveled up! It gains +2 might, +3 speed, and +1 toughness. +2 free attribute points.]
Silence submerged the field filled with dews of carnage. Theron navigated his way about the scene, extracting all the boars he found, then appreciating the three extra materias he acquired. Its tusks, once imperious and majestic had been sundered into pieces. Their jagged ends mirrored the broken stumps wreathing the landscape.
[You obtained a materia: R-2 Forest black boar.] x3
[Rank 1: Forest black boar(Elite) learned. Progress 50%]
His eyes scoured the dark scene for any irregularities, the lairs always granted him a reward in the end, but this one broke that rule. No strange contraptions or a bump in the ground gave him clues about a possible hidden passage, no holes nor queer surfaces anywhere at all. The stumps only returned echoes of silence when he tapped on their broken ends. Can’t do anything about it… He picked up the dispirited remains of his figure and left to search the night for more. A chill swept the forest floor as he bridged his way past a running rivulet, cupping a few gulps before he trudged past the muddy soil, eventually finding his way back to the area where he hid away from the waves of panthers. A surge of nostalgia bathed him, that event felt like such a long time ago, despite only a few days passing since.
The carcasses had been chipped bone-dry by the scavengers, remnants of Tels’ friends and kin. He allowed himself a few minutes of rest, staring at the moonlit sky, studying the array of stars and the gentle clouds rolling by. With the cloak, the chill didn’t bother him this time. He used this moment to peek at his stats, gasping when he realized how far he was to a level-up.
Theron Gray | Class: Novice | Rank: Unranked
Class: Novice| Level: 6 | Next 385 xp
Mana: 15 / 15
Summon slots : 0/4
Essence: 2705
-Attributes | Free points: - (+1/level) -
Might: 7 (+1/level)
Speed: 6 (+1/level)
Magic:10
Toughness: 7 (+1/level)
Resistance: 10
Abilities - Active
Abilities - Passive
Necrotic aura - lvl 1 | Summon Aspect
Extract Aspect | Unsummon Aspect
Necrotic touch - lvl 1
-
Closing his page, he resumed his trek in the forest, thinking of the wolf mother he met that day. Out of all encounters that he’d seen, only the wolves eluded his sight to this day. He prayed for their safety as he found another dilapidated cave, and from within, a group of tigers peered their green heads outside.
Another elite. Nice.