Author’s Note: And the next chapter arrives. A bit later than normal for my update times but I had a doctor's appointment this morning. Normal checkup and things so no worries. Please enjoy.
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Chapter 11
I was very, very unhappy right now. It’s been over an hour since I packed up and left the cave, and I’ve another hour or two more to go before the first hints of daylight arrive. It’s way too damn cold right now! I was bundling my cloak as tight around my small body as I could. I might have underestimated this aspect of crossing the mountains. I really wish that damn cat would have just let me sleep peacefully in my nice warm tent.
Thinking about it now, I wonder if the thing was drawn to my presence like the wolves seemed to be. The wolves basically submitted to me but the cat could only see me as a threat. Well at least I can understand now why these mountains aren’t considered safe to cross. I wonder what’s going to happen with that note about beasts vying to fill its role?
It didn’t take me very long to find out. In a thicket along the path I was on, I came across a large group of goblins being led by one that was about twice the size that my scan told me was a level 32 hobgoblin. The group was fighting with a number of things that looked like a weird cross between a praying mantis and a scorpion. The mantids were individually much higher level but were getting swarmed by the goblins. Neither of the groups noticed me, so I snuck by them and left them to their fighting.
That was only the first battle I stumbled upon. By the time daylight came, I had passed by four such fights. I managed to sneak by all but one of them. That one I had been unlucky because the path was too narrow there to allow me room to do so. The two large beasts, that kind of resembled bears walking on their hind legs, had apparently decided that I was a lot more interesting prey than each other. Of course, two quick shots from Whisperwind delivered the message that they had been fatally wrong about that.
All this wanton fighting confused me, though. All these beasts, or now that I’ve seen a larger variety the beasts here are really more like monsters, are totally destroying their entire ecosystem, all for becoming the strongest in the area. I can assume there is some kind of benefit in doing so, becoming a Boss would make them stronger but what would they do afterwards? Wouldn’t they be completely screwed from the now huge lack of prey? It was also interesting to me that none of the monsters I had seen so far fighting had a level above 50. That made the tiger a huge outlier, though admittedly I hadn’t seen any of its own species yet. It’s possible they were one of the higher level creatures around here.
On the bright side at least, this should hopefully mean the mountains will be more peaceful when I come back through in a few months!
Taking a hard look at my current surroundings, I think I’m probably about halfway through the mountains or maybe a bit more than that. This current path I was on was starting to head north and back west, so I needed a new one. I gaze over the cliff ledge I’m currently on and see a somewhat secluded ledge down below. Seems like only a single path winds up to it and that path looks like it goes east. That ledge might be a good spot for a break too. I want a quiet spot I can use to make breakfast because I’m starving. I decided to take the plunge and step off the cliff, and used my psi to glide down the slope, and steered myself toward the ledge. I was never sure why it was so hard to use my telekinesis to lift myself when one would think it would be easy compared to other tasks I’ve done with it. The most I could do was simple gliding, and even then that took a lot more concentration to the point that it was mostly useless for more than twenty seconds at a time.
Upon arriving on the ledge, I carefully checked all around to be certain I was safe. Without Ranger bonuses, my detection was so much worse that for all intents and purposes I might as well not even have it. The ledge turned out to be larger than I had expected, but I guess that’s understandable, I did glide down quite a distance to get here. The most dangerous thing about the ledge though, is that there’s a large cave mouth here. I hadn’t noticed it from above but it’s quite an intimidating cave opening, almost looks like a mouth with jagged teeth. I decided that my hunger needs were important enough that I’d take the risk, so I pulled out my cooker and some ingredients and got to work fixing myself a basic breakfast. All the time, keeping one eye on the cave.
As I was finishing eating, Lynn spoke up, “Mistress, I was waiting for you to get to a quiet spot to ask this, but why didn’t you try taming the tiger?”
“In the heat of the moment after being woken up, it completely slipped my mind.” I replied honestly. “I don’t think I could have tamed it anyway though. It was a Boss and also such a high level compared to my low Beastmaster level. I really only lucked out with the wolves because they had already submitted to me before.”
Lynn was quiet before responding, “I suppose that makes sense. With all the fighting going on now, I don’t think Mistress will be able to find a pet to tame anymore. At least not in these mountains.”
“I’m okay with that. I haven’t seen a single creature here that was worth taming anyway. Right now, I am more curious about this cave ahead of me though. I think It looks a bit too ominous just to be a normal cave. Now that I’m refreshed, I’m going to give it a look see.” I stood up and cleaned up my goods. After I was once again packed, I walked toward the cave mouth.
“It really is ominous isn’t it? It looks unnaturally dark inside as well. The sunlight isn’t penetrating at all.” Lynn spoke in a worried voice.
When I was right at the edge of the cave mouth, a window popped up.
*You have discovered the Dungeon
Well, that’s something brand new. M:SP never had dungeons in this kind of sense. This really does seem like a fantasy game world. “Hey Lynn, I’m going to check out this dungeon. It should be interesting.”
Right before I stepped into the darkness, “Wait! Mistress! Don’t go in there!”
I stopped with my foot still in the air. “Why not Lynn? I’m just going to check out the starting area and see how it is.”
Lynn spoke hurriedly, “I just have a bad feeling about it. What if Mistress enters and isn’t able to come back out? What if the dungeon is longer and more complex and you run out of supplies while inside? I think Mistress should come back and check this dungeon out later rather than right now.”
I could understand her reasoning, but still I really want to explore it. It’s right there in front of me after all. Do I explore it or do I not? Well let’s just leave it up to luck. I reached into my bag and pulled out the bag of coins I got back in Westmoor. I pulled out one of the silver coins. “Lynn I’m going to flip a coin. The plain side will be tails while the side with the design will be heads. Heads I check it out and tails I don’t and continue my trek.”
After saying that. I flipped the coin up into the air and observed it closely. As I watched, Lynn said, “Mistress, no cheating with your psi.”
“I wasn’t going to. I swear.” I replied back.
As the coin fell, a freak gust of wind picked up and knocked the coin off course. The coin went off the ledge and down the sloping path. I ran to look but couldn’t see where it had ended up. I sighed and pulled out a second coin. I flipped it again, but this time less powerfully so it didn’t go as high into the air. It tumbled down, bounced a few times and finally stopped.
On tails. Damn.
“Alright, I guess I don’t get to see the dungeon this time.” I begrudgingly said. “Lynn, you’ve been keeping track of my general location though right? Can you mark this spot on the map. I’m definitely going to check it out at some point later.”
“I’ve actually already marked this location, Mistress. I also marked the location where you fought the tiger and left its carcass.”
“Well, I guess that might be useful later, though there’s nothing I can do with that now and it’s just as likely the scavengers will pick it clean and possibly take the bones long before I get a chance to. Oh well, if there’s no more reason to be here, I might as well get going. I want to get out of these mountains before night falls again.”
Making my way down the trail, I looked a bit for the coin as I went but couldn’t find it so I had to accept the loss. This narrow path looked like it zig zags all the way down into another forested valley. I hope I don’t run into anymore fighting.
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Luckily, the next six hours went by smoothly and I hadn’t seen a single beast except for a small flock of birds that looked like large hawks that were flying above in the same direction as me. I was starting to get a bit bothered by the fact that I hadn’t seen anything else when they had been so prolific before. I don’t think they all could have wiped each other out this quickly. Maybe they already established the new area Boss? I really wish I knew more about how this world worked.
Oh, those birds that had been content just flying in one direction have all started circling something. I watched as one bird then another dove, but from my current location I couldn’t see what they were diving at. I was curious, so I hurried along the path to a spot that was out in the open. <((If you have paid money and bought this story on Amazon or some other store, please file a report and request a refund as it has been stolen and is being sold illegally.This story is only hosted for free on royalroad.com. If you are reading this series on any website other than royalroad.com, then you are doing so without the permission of the author, Xacual.))>
They were diving at something that was up on a small ledge it seems like. I watched as one of the birds dove down and picked up what appeared to be a snake in its talons and carry it off. I saw another of the birds dive down but a larger snake lashed out at it and sent it flying back into the air to escape. I can’t see what’s going on up there. Should I climb up and see?
As I observed the birds kept diving and occasionally the large snake would fend them off while at times the birds were carrying off smaller ones. If I had to guess the large snake is the parent of the little ones and its nest is up there. I thought snakes didn’t care about their young. The snake looked similar to a cobra too. It has what appears to be a large head. Eventually, enough of the birds diving and attacking finished off the large snake. I saw from my vantage point as the large snake lashed out and then three of the birds dove and hit it at the same time and attacked with their talons and beaks. A few moments later one of the larger birds picked the big snake up and was flying around with it while making odd cries.
It was at this moment that I saw another bird dive down, so I guess there were still young snakes up there. Poor things. I couldn’t see what was happening on the ledge but the bird fluttered up and then dove again and repeated and it kept getting closer to the edge when all of a sudden a small violet snake fell off. Without thinking about it, I reached out with my psi before it hit the ground and caught the small snake and brought it toward my left hand. The little snake was only about twenty centimeters long. As I held it on my hand, it tried biting me but it couldn’t pierce through my shield. It flinched when it heard the birds, and then it wrapped itself as tightly as it could around my wrist.
The fact that I was now holding one of the snakes didn’t go unnoticed by the birds and they began circling around me now. With my left hand a bit occupied I couldn’t use Whisperwind as easily so I elected to just use my psi. As the birds dove, I smashed each one with a psychic fist knocking them in the ground. Once they were on the ground I finished it with a knife strike. The largest bird that was still holding the parent snake dropped it and then dove at me like its brethren but it too was easily finished off.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
The little snake was still cutely trembling as it held on to my wrist. I put my knife back away and tapped it carefully. The snake flinched and tried to wrap even tighter, but of course my shield wouldn’t let it. I touched it again and surprisingly it was quite soft and warm compared to what I was expecting. It seemed to be covered in a layer of feathers that ran down its back. Its skin was also surprisingly soft and not very snakelike at all. I stroked the little thing and eventually it stopped trembling and lifted itself up. Oh, it’s head looks more like that of a lizard with an elongated nose. It has two small hard nubs on its head that look a bit like the start of horns. As I continued to coax it to unwrap, it started to rub against my hand. Then I got a big surprise.
What I had thought was just a large hood like a cobra was actually two small wings the snake had folded and holding up against its head. Now the snake had unfurled those wings and was flapping them. They were quite small. I don’t think it could fly with them, at least not at their current size. Actually it seems less like a snake now, what with the head and wings.
While I held it, I used my psi to help me climb up to the ledge that it fell off. There were a few other small snakes that looked like they too had been killed. I looked around but didn’t find any other survivors. Poor thing, it looks like it lost all it’s family in one go. I felt a surge of heartache at the reminder of being cut off from my own family. It would have died too if it hadn’t managed to escape that one bird by falling off.
My thoughts were interrupted by a crooning sound. I turned my head to look at the small snake and it was looking back at me with its head tilted to one side. I took my fingers and rubbed along its head again. The little thing started what sounded like purring.
“It looks like you’re just like me and lost your family too. Both of us are alone now.” I spoke in a quiet voice.
Lynn interjected, “Mistress, you still have me! You’re not alone!”
I ignored her for the moment. I wanted to tame it but I’m not sure how I go about doing that. I still can’t switch my Class yet either. Not for another few hours at least. Maybe offering it some food would work? If it’s a reptile, meat I suppose? I think reptiles can eat plants too, though. Not like I really know if the rules I know of are fair to judge a creature from this world by. I’m not going to feed it pieces of its family though. Luckily, I have all those birds that have volunteered for the job.
I hopped down from the ledge and walked to the closest bird. I cut a number of small pieces out of it and then held the pieces to the snake. The little one brought its head close to them before sniffing them. Afterwards it looked towards me and chirped. “That’s right, it’s food for you. Go ahead and eat it.” I kept the food right there and eventually it grabbed a piece. It chewed a bit before swallowing it. Definitely not snake like at all. In no time at all, it had eaten all the pieces. Then, it gave a little sigh and wrapped itself back around my wrist again and fell asleep. Which is when the screen popped up.
*Beastmaster Has Leveled Up x 2* -For taming a rare creature, Beastmaster has increased in level to 30.
-Penalty: Experience Gained -70% for Class not being equipped.
-Warning: Beastmaster must now be set to gain further experience.
A rare creature is it? I looked at the small creature currently happily sleeping. I guess I’ll scan it and see what it is. The results were quite surprising.
*Title Unlocked* -For taming a dragon you have earned the Dragon Tamer title.
Dragon!? There are dragons on this world and I just tamed one!? I guess I should have expected it with this world being like a fantasy world, but I’m still shocked. Also the title unlock came after I identified it as a dragon rather than when I tamed it?
“Was the taming a success Mistress?” Lynn enquired.
“Oh, yeah. It went well.” I replied.
Lynn spoke up again with a serious voice, “Mistress. Don’t think of yourself as being alone.”
I sighed, “I know, Lynn. I know I have you and now this tiny one, and even the wolves if I want to count them. It’s just, everything that has happened is still really hard for me to accept. I can’t just hide in the ship forever though, I’ll just go crazy again if I do that.”
“That’s fine. I know it’s difficult for you. Take as long as you need, Mistress.” Lynn comforted me before changing topics with a more cheerful tone. “Mistress, you’re taking up too much time here. You might end up stuck in the mountains for another night!”
I appreciated the change of topic. “Ahh, right. I better hurry then.” I started moving, though with some care to not disturb my new pet’s rest.
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My new little dragon woke up after a few hours and begged for attention, which it got. For a creature that’s supposedly a loner type, it sure does love the affection. I transferred it from my wrist to letting it wrap around my neck so I could have my left arm free again. Now that I had placed it up against my skin, I had basically slipped it under my shield so it should be protected a bit. I had been a bit worried that something might harm it when it was on my arm as unlikely as it was.
Earlier, I had taken the time to examine the adult dragon and it had been a bit over a meter long. My pet has a lot of growing to do I guess, from its current size. It probably won’t fit as nicely around my neck once it reaches its full size either.
On the bright side, I could definitely tell I was close to getting out of these blasted mountains. I was finally seeing scenery beyond just more jagged cliffs and small valleys. The other good news was that I could finally switch my Classes again so I swapped Beastmaster into the main Class slot and Ranger into the Subclass. That should let me level it more, though I’m not sure what other ways there are to level it outside of taming creatures like I had been doing. I would guess that having my tamed beasts fight would be another method, but I didn’t have any intention of letting my young dragon fight. At least for now.
“Mistress, have you thought yet of what you’re going to name it?” Lynn enquired, interrupting my petting the purring dragon.
“I’m bad with names, so I can’t really think of anything. For that matter, I don’t even know if it is a boy or a girl.” I replied.
“Have you tried checking its status? It might give Mistress more information.”
I suppose that’s likely. I never even bothered looking at the wolves’ status beyond identifying them by level from the list. I checked but I didn’t detect any presences nearby so it should be safe enough to stop where I am for a moment. I opened up my status and then the tamed beast list. I went down to the bottom of the list to find the feathered serpent dragon. After doing so, I tried to see if the option would open to give me more information. I played around with it a bit and eventually a new status screen appeared.
Name: No Name Level: 11 Species: Feathered Serpent Dragon Gender Female Age: 45 Days Health: 145/145 Strength: 4(4) Agility: 7(6) Constitution: 9(8) Resistance: 6(5) Intellect: 18(16) Wisdom: 13(12) Luck: 58(53)
So this world has different names for their attributes and there’s even a luck attribute here. Most of these I can probably consider as equivalents of my own like strength is the same as physique, but I wonder what luck does? In a game it would usually be things like increased critical hit chance or chance of better loot. In a real world operating by these mechanics it could affect any number of things. Could the luck value affect likelihood of events happening? That seems a bit ridiculous to me if so, but I suppose I’ll leave it open as a possibility to look into. Also the stats are quite low even considering it’s low level. The luck stat is more than all the others combined which is kind of crazy. It’s age isn’t that unbelievable since I already knew it was a child which also probably accounts for the low stats. And I guess she is a girl so I need to stop thinking of her as an it.
Now, to think of a name for a female dragon. Well since she is a feathered serpent dragon, the obvious name that comes to mind is Quetzalcoatl. I don’t think that’s a very girly name though. Not to mention how bothersome it would be to say all the time. What kind of shortening of the name would be good?
After thinking for a while and coming up with a few ideas, I decided to ask Lynn what she thought of them. “Lynn, between these choices what do you think sounds best? Quey, Zalli, or Coa?”
It took only a moment before Lynn responded. “I think Coa sounds best, Mistress. Quey sounds good too, a bit exotic maybe.”
“I guess I’ll go with Coa then.” The little dragon had just been listening to my words with a tilted head. I stroked her head again and then spoke, “From now on your name will be Coa, so be a good little dragon Coa.”
*You have named one or more of your Tamed Beasts* -Feathered Serpent Dragon has become Coa.
Coa trilled and then rubbed her head against my face before settling back down around my neck. What an affectionate, little one. She seems like she’s too young or maybe not intelligent enough yet to communicate with me like the wolves did. Well with that naming taken care of, onward to the empire!
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The adult version of Coa looks like this http://imgur.com/oU7kiId
Of course some characteristics are a bit off and she doesn’t currently look much like that but general idea is the same.