Nathan and Eve headed towards the north exit of Camp 221. At the north exit were the gunners as well. As long as they were there, no enemy would be able to enter the camp. North of the camp was their destination.
Quest Update: Northern Lizard
Defeat the lizard north of Camp 221 to open up the supply route from Camp 220.
Reward: Reputation with Camp 221
The map appeared showing the possible locations of the lizard. There were several spots highlighted on the map along the main road. They were all located near the entrance to caves of some kind.
"What's reputation?" Eve asked.
"It's basically a measurement of fame," said Nathan. "There are some restrictions in games and you cannot do certain things unless you get enough reputation."
"There's so many things to learn," said Eve.
"There often is for online games," said Nathan. "But it's best to just take things one at a time."
There were no monsters of any kind along the main road. It seemed safe compared to the ruins that they were in before. Yet, Nathan could not feel comfortable looking at the abandoned automobiles on the road. It really did look like the end of the world. Just then, Eve saw something move. "I think something is coming," said Eve.
"Let's hide," said Nathan. He pulled Eve by the arm to the side of the road. They hid behind one of the abandoned vehicles.
The two of them stood behind the vehicle and watched. Someone was running fast. The man ran right by them and was not paying attention to anything but the road in front of him. He never even looked to the side once.
Name: Aaron
Level: 3
There was no way to tell if it was an NPC or a player unless you interacted with them. Eve felt something as if the ground was shaking. "Did you just move?" Eve asked.
"No," said Nathan. "What's wrong?"
"I thought I felt the ground shake," said Eve.
CLANG. There was a sound getting louder. CLANG CLANG. CLANG CLANG. It was the sound of something heavy moving. It was moving closer to them. The ground was not shaking, but Nathan and Eve were. They could feel that something dangerous was approaching.
Nathan peeked over the side of the vehicle and saw it. There was a tall humanoid at least 3 meters in height in a full suit of armor armed covered from head to toe carrying a metal sword of some kind in one hand, and a handgun in the other. The helmet was an oval shaped and there was bat like ears. It was clear that whatever was inside was probably not human.
Name: Man-Bat
Level: 8
An enemy that they had no chance to defeat. Even a level 2 creature like that mole was fierce. Something that was level 8 was going to be vastly superior. It turned to look around and it immediately focused on Nathan. He immediately went back behind the car and put his index finger to his lips, signaling to Eve not to make a sound.
CLANG CLANG. The sound of the footsteps was getting louder and closer. The Man-Bat was approaching them. "We have to fight," said Eve.
"We can't win," said Nathan.
"We won't be able to run away from something like that," said Eve. "I think we have to fight."
VWOOM. There was a sound. "I'm not looking for a fight," said the voice behind Nathan and Eve.
"Wah!" Nathan and Eve screamed as Nathan fell backwards onto Eve and drew his gun.
"Hey watch what you're touching!" shouted Eve.
They saw the tall humanoid figure had grown large wings and landed on top of the vehicle. Easy now, I'm not looking for a fight," said the creature as it raised his arms up into the air. "People won't stop running away from me."
"You can talk?!?" asked Eve.
"Yes," said the creature. "I've been trying to look for help but everyone just keeps running away from me."
"What do you want?!?" shouted Nathan.
"Put down your gun and we can talk," said the creature.
Nathan slowly lowered his gun. The creature put away his sword and his gun. "I need your help," said the creature.
"Who are you?" Nathan asked.
"My name is Tim," said the creature. "Or at least that's what others call me since they cannot pronounce my real name."
"I'm Eve and this is Nathan," said Eve as she introduced herself to the creature.
Tim took off his helmet and revealed his bat like appearance. He looked humanoid, but he was not. He had sharp fangs and large ears. He was clearly a large humanoid bat. Eve had to look away at how realistic it is.
"Is something wrong?" Tim asked.
"Your appearance is unsettling," said Eve. "Please put your helmet back on."
"Alright," said Tim. He put his helmet back on before continuing. "Will you help me?"
"What do you need?" asked Nathan.
"A large lizard like creature has taken over my home," said Tim. "I need help to get rid of it."
"Aren't you strong enough to kill it yourself?" asked Eve.
"Killing it is easy," said Tim. "Making sure it stays dead is different."
"What do you mean?" asked Nathan.
"The lizard is able to heal and regrow itself," said Tim. "No matter how much I fight it, it seems to just return."
The lizard was strong because of its regenerative abilities. Even with Tim's strength, he alone could not permanently defeat it, meaning that there was a trick to it. "Can you tell us anything that you know about it?" asked Eve.
"It's a large green lizard," said Tim. "It has a tail, sharp teeth, and claws. If you remove its limbs, it can recover them almost immediately. A blow to the head does not kill it, neither does piercing its heart."
"There has to be a trick," said Nathan. "Everything has a weakness."
"How about poison?" asked Eve. "A strong enough poison can cancel out regenerative effects right?"
Nathan thought of something and opened up his skill menu. His manufacturing skill, Caster Shell. By using his mana, he can infuse a bullet with special properties to cause a status effect. Flame Bullets, Ice Bullets, Armor Piercing Bullets. These were just some of the ones he was able to manufacture. He scrolled through and finally saw a Poison Bullet. He looked at the description.
Name: Poison Bullet
Class: Ammunition
Effect: Target hit by this shell will be poisoned and gradually lose health.
"Poison is not what we're looking for," said Nathan. "That only causes a target to lose health, it does not stop it from regaining it."
"What about necrosis?" asked Tim.
New Quest: Necroshot
Create two Necroshot Bullets for use against the Northern Lizard.
Reward: Reputation with Cave People
Name: Necroshot Bullet
Class: Ammunition
Effect: Temporarily zombifies a target and prevents it from regenerating or healing.
Nathan activated the skill and created two bullets, using all of his mana in the process. "I did it," said Nathan.
Reputation Gain: Cave People+1
Nathan handed the two bullets over to Tim. "I can have this?" he asked.
"Yes," said Nathan. "Unfortunately, this is all I can make for now."
"Will you two help me fight against the lizard?" asked Tim.
"Of couse," said Eve.
Tim grabbed Eve's hands. Hers looked tiny in the hands of Tim's massive hands. "Thank you," he said. "I'll be waiting for you two outside of the cave."
With those words, Tim departed back to the camp, flying as fast as he could to get there. Nathan and Eve would have to catch up to him by foot.
Quest Update: Northern Lizard
Defeat the lizard north of Camp 221 to help both Camp 221 and Tim.
Reward: Reputation with Camp 221 and Cave People
"This quest sure has a lot of twists and turns," said Eve.
"Yeah, it's strange," said Nathan. "Games are rarely like this, quests are usually just assigned and completed."
"But if someone like Tim is helping us, it should be easy," said Eve.
"Yeah, if he's distracting the monster, it will give us a chance to actually hit the thing without getting hurt ourselves," said Nathan.
The two continued north on the road. They were about halfway there. That was when Eve spotted something. "What is that thing?!?" Eve shouted.
It looked like a bunny that stood on two legs, but its eyes were red and it had sharp teeth that bled with blood. It had white fur that had numerous spots of black on it.
Name: Mutant Bunny
Level: 2
Eve shouting had drawn its attention. It was staring them down as it faced them on all fours. "Get ready," said Nathan. "We're going to have to fight it."
Nathan pulled out his gun. Eve readied her beam sword and shield. VWOOSH. The bunny darted straight towards them at an incredible speed. BANG BANG BANG. Nathan fired three shoots, but the Mutant Bunny zigged and zagged between every bullet. BANG. Another shot fired. PING. It hit the ground and the Mutant Bunny could now reach them.
Eve raised her shield to prepare for the attack. She could see the rabbit coming from behind the shield. She raised her sword, preparing to counter. The Mutant Bunny did not leap. It did not stop. She quickly turned to see that it was not going for Nathan either.
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"AH!" Eve screamed. She felt a sharp pain on her leg and saw that the Mutant Bunny was biting straight into her ankle. She violently shook her leg trying to get it off.
Nathan could only watch. "Hold still!" Nathan shouted. He raised his arm and aimed to hit the Mutant Bunny with his fist.
BAM. Nathan's fist hit the ground. It did not come into contact with anything else. He saw that the Mutant Bunny had let go of Eve's leg and was staring them down again. The spot that the Mutant Bunny had bit was red and there were red and white fragments flowing out from it. "Are you okay?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah," said Eve. Damage stopped when the Mutant Bunny let go and her health regeneration was starting to kick in, but it was only a small 2 HP/5 seconds at the moment. It was not enough. She was also not fast enough with her sword, so she put it away.
"Why?" Nathan asked. "Did you give up already?"
"I can't hit it with my sword," said Eve. "I'm just gonna try to crash it with my shield."
This was the problem with low stats in any game. Nathan and Eve had just started yet they had already encountered a creature with higher stats and possibly even a special ability. Something that was hit by a shield was momentarily stunned. This was the chance for them to hit the Mutant Bunny.
The Mutant Bunny aimed low again. BANG BANG. Nathan fired two shots causing it to dash and rapidly change its speed. It tried to maintain a direct path as much as it could, but that was what made it predictable. Eve jumped up into the air and raised the shield in front of her.
SLAM. Eve fell directly onto the ground with her full weight behind the shield. She carefully moved the shield downwards just a little, revealing the head of the Mutant Bunny. BANG. Nathan fired a shot at the Mutant Bunny's head. Because it could not evade, it was struct in the head and died instantly.
New Achievement: Defeated a Higher Leveled Enemy
"Really?" said Eve. She was surprised that this was an achievement.
"I guess it's meant to be hard to do so," said Nathan. "I hope it means something for us like a reward of some kind."
There was no reward of any kind. No new skill, no new item. It just registered under the achievements menu, but Nathan could see that they were 50% towards the next reward. In other words, one more achievement would grant them a reward of some kind. What kind was uncertain as the reward shown was just a giant box with a question mark.
"Are we going to continue?" Eve asked.
"Yeah," said Nathan. "Let's at least try to finish this quest before we sleep."
When the two arrived at the cave, they saw Tim waiting for them there. He recognized them and was waving at them. "Over here!" Tim shouted.
"There's so few monsters around," said Eve.
"Most monsters live far away from the main roads and cities in games," said Nathan. "If we went further away, I think we would be able to find more."
"I'll have to try that some time," said Eve. "I don't want every fight to be difficult like this."
"It's only difficult when you first start off," said Nathan. "Once you get your skills up, it should be easier."
"I kind of want to know what level ups will give us," said Eve.
"Me too," said Nathan. "I think it's new skills, but I really want to see."
Nathan and Eve approached Tim. He was doing final checks on his gear. "Are you two ready?" he asked.
Nathan and Eve looked at each other. "Yes," they said together.
"Follow me," said Tim. Tim walked inside the cave. Nathan and Eve followed closely behind him. Inside, it was lit up with light bulbs chained along the ceiling.
Eve put her hand against the wall. It felt like real rocks and just as cold as a wet rock would be.
The three of them arrived in a large room. Behind them was the tunnel they just came from. In front of them was what appeared to be the gate to a small town of some kind. "We're here," said Tim.
Nathan and Eve looked around. There was nothing. "I don't see anything," said Eve.
"Give it a minute," said Tim.
The ground was rumbling. BOOM. A hole appeared in the center of the ground. A large green lizard appeared. It was taller than Tim and probably at least just as wide. It had sharp claws and a pointed tail that could probably be used as a weapon.
HISS. The lizard hissed at them.
Name: Experiment A44
Level: 5
It was a level 5 creature. They would have to be very careful, but they had the help of a powerful NPC. BANG. Tim fired a single shot that pierced through the lizard's body. "I got it!" he shouted.
The wound that was bleeding red suddenly turned black. The lizard was now affected by Necrosis and could not heal itself. Tim drew his sword and ran towards the lizard. "I'll distract it, you must kill it before the bullet wears off," he said.
Nathan fired his gun at the lizard. BANG. Each bullet he fired easily struck the lizard. The problem was that it did not break through the skin of the lizard. As strong as the lizard was, they did not possess the strength needed to break the skin. However, the lizard still felt the impact, the pain, and the damage of each and every bullet.
Nathan quickly opened up his menu and created a single Armor Piercing Bullet. BANG. He fired the shot. PING. It was the sound of the bullet hitting rock. Eve looked at the lizard and saw that it had pierced through the body of the lizard.
HISS. The lizard began to toss back and forth, swinging its tail wildly. Even Tim had to back away from it. "That was good, but not enough," said Tim. "You're going to need to strike its heart with your sword."
The lizard would only stop moving when it was struggling with Tim. It was during this time that Eve would need to stab its underbelly and reach its heart. Eve readied herself behind Tim. Nathan continued to fire at the lizard from the side, making it unable to focus on Tim.
HISS. The lizard sprayed a green liquid that burned away at Tim's suit. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Eve. Tim had taken on the brunt of that attack, but she could see that he was unphased by it. His suit seemed to have been designed to help him fight against the lizard.
Eve saw and opening and ran for it. "Wait!" Tim shouted.
The lizard swung its tail. BAM. Eve was sent flying by the impact of the tail. CRASH. She slammed against the side of the cave wall. "Eve!" Nathan shouted.
"Ugh," Eve groaned. She slowly picked herself back up. She had forgotten about the tail. It too was a weapon that can be maneuvered by the lizard. "I'm okay," she said as she readied herself once more.
Eve would need to wait for the moment when its tail was unable to be moved. The lizard's front legs were busy dealing with Tim. Nathan fired at the body and occasionally, the tail would swing to block a bullet. She had to wait until the front legs, the head, and the tail were all busy. She watched as the lizard attempted to bite Tim with its head, only be thrown off balance. It was then that it would stab its tail into the ground to balance itself. She waited and watched for Tim to do it again. The movements of Tim and the lizard were predictable and following a pattern. Nathan's attacks hastened the pattern, forcing the lizard off balance more often.
"There!" Eve thought as she dashed forward. She watched the lizard this time rather than what was just in front of her. After all, focusing on herself was just not enough. She needed to observe what the lizard was doing.
Just then, Eve saw the lizard opened its eyes widely and regained its balance. "Watch out!" Tim shouted.
Eve immediately jumped a step back. VWOOSH. The lizard's tail zoomed by in front of her. Eve had narrowly dodged it. She continued forward. The lizard took time to recover after that attack. Eve plunged her sword under the throat of the lizard and straight into its chest.
SCREECH. The lizard screamed in pain as it fell to the ground. BANG. Tim fired the remaining special bullet made by Nathan into the lizard and proceeded to remove its head with its sword. The body of the lizard was not disppearing.
Quest Complete: Northern Lizard
Defeat the lizard north of Camp 221 to help both Camp 221 and Tim.
Reward: Reputation with Camp 221 and Cave People
Reputation Gain: Camp 221+20
Reputation Gain: Cave People+50
"We did it!" Tim shouted.
"Can you teach me how to do that?" Nathan asked.
"Do what?" Tim asked.
"How to fight with a sword and a gun," said Nathan. "I want to be able to use a sword as well."
"I can," said Tim. "It's the least I can do to return the favor to you."
New Quest: Gun and Sword Training
Learn sword skill from Tim.
Reward: New Skill
New Quest: Sword and Shield Training
Learn how to use your shield offensively from Tim.
Reward: New Skill
For the first time, Nathan and Eve both had different quests.