The hunters continued bushwalking their way through the defense gate forest. More vigilance to threats from above. When the next troop of monkeys descended upon them, they were far more prepared. They immediately got into the same circle formation. Clio darted behind a thick tree truck, placing it between her and the impending battle.
This time around the monkeys weren't able to gain any major advantage. The archers sent arrows into the monkey who used range attacks. Sending their limp red-orange bodies to the forest floor.
The leader had significantly less trouble defeating the troop leader. Dodging attacks he honed in on the monster's weaknesses. All and all the fight probably lasted 20-30 minutes.
When there were no more monkeys in sight the hunters again gathered the bodies. Clio got to work harvesting materials. By the time the group of hunters had defeated their fourth troop of monkeys Clio had filled 6 baskets with materials. As the last monkey troop leader fell, a bellowing yell defined the forest. Tremors shook the ground as a giant ape stood, dwarfing the forest.
“Shit.” The B-rank muttered under his breath. “Stay back!” He yelled to the group of hunters under his command. “The beast is at the absolute peak of C rank. Mages and Archers aim for its eyes. Melee cleans up any loose monkeys.” His orders given he braced his back legs and leaped into the tree branches towards the ape. The branches bounded under his weight. As he floated across the forest canopy, became a blur in the distance.
The archers pulled the string of their bow ready to release arrows into the monster’s beasts’ eyes The mages prepared spells the glow of mana growing around them. Clio did what she had been doing, hid behind a tree, clutched her hairpiece, and watched the hunters. No loose monkeys appeared, but the melee guard stayed vigilant.
The B-rank leader was flitting around the ape’s head, using vines and branches to effortlessly evade attacks. He seemed to be going for the death-by-a-thousand-cuts method of fighting. Getting close to scoring a small cut before jumping back. He used the distraction of the archers and mages to land slightly more deadly blows. As the fight dragged on, both parties grew slower.
The ape's orange fist rose, swatting the hunter clean out of the air. He tumbled towards the ground. Clio couldn’t make out what was wrong, but his movements were awkward as he found purchase on a low-hanging branch.
The archers around her, while low on arrows, redoubled the efforts sensing the battle was about to end one way or another. The ape's footsteps fell heavily, its body swaying drunkenly, as lack of blood seemed to catch up with it. The B-rank took that moment to strike. Pulling a heavier sword from his inventory he impaled the creature’s eye, riding its now dead body to the ground as it fell backward.
A cheer erupted from the gathered hunters. Clio’s system pinged.
Congratulations! Your party has defeated a [C-rank Gate]. Rewards have been calculated based on need and impact and will be given upon your party’s exit.
Time till Gate Closer: [059 Minutes]
The hunters around her space, a sign that they had received the same message. Their jubilant attitude lessened as their leader stumbled out of the warzone. He was coated in green blood. His arm hung limply at his side.
“Get ready to depart.” Called the victorious B-rank. “Clio you remain and gather until the timer runs out.”
“Yes Sir,” Clio replied as she produced another basket. The rest of the group trekked back to the gate. Leaving her alone in an eerily quiet forest. She entered a meditative state, collecting anything that caught her attention. The biodiversity of the forest far surpassed any forest she had read about. Every time she took a step she found a new plant, fungi, or mineral. Most of them would be useless, but something had to be useful.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when the system chimed again.
Time till Gate Closer: [005 Minutes]
She took off towards the gate, mindful of the protruding roots that threatened to trip her.
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Time till Gate Closer: [001 Minutes]
She sprinted through the gate as it started to close behind her. Her hands rested on her knees as she panted. God, she hated running. “It would be more useful if you notified me earlier” She muttered. Quickly dawning her winter equipment, before she froze to death in the arctic chill.
Preference Noted. The guide will take time to take into consideration when setting reminders.
USER UPDATE:
User’s party has cleared a [C-Rank Gate].
Rewards
+1 Strength
+ 1 Unused Stat Points
[New Skill Unlocked]
Go to [Status Screen] for more information
[Status Screen]
Rank: D
Unused Stat Points: 0
Mean Stat: 15
Agility: 9
Charisma: 20
Constitution: 10
Strength: 8
Intelligence: 37
Perception: 10
Ability to use mana: Locked🔒
Skills:
[Gather’s Passion: Level 1] User has stayed in the gate until its closing time expired to gather the gate's natural resources. Ability to Identify basic plants, fungi, and minerals is granted. Slightly increased ability to find useful materials is granted
Clio’s face alighted with a smile. While being a gathering wasn’t ideal, it was far preferable to fighting beasts. She shuddered as the wolf’s mouth flashed before her. No one from her party had bothered waiting for her, so she was left to make the walk to the admin building on her own.
A member of the Passive Division tersely told her to keep the gathered supplies with her until they could give her a room to sort it out. While the BHB wanted useful supplies they didn’t want to deal with figuring out what was useful.
Grabbing a mug of stew and a warm roll on her way back to her rooms, she shed her winter layers. Her muscles ached as she stretched out on her bed. Digging out her phone Clio was inundated with missed call notifications from her family and texts from Cali.
You better call me back as soon as you can! I have something to tell you!!
Dread built in her stomach. What if something had happened. She almost called immediately before remembering the time difference. It would be 2 in the morning back home. Her hours of distracting herself from what could be going back at home were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Hello, I am Oikodomos, but just call me Oik. I’m a B-rank mage in charge of building stuff in this frozen hell.” Oik didn’t wait for Clio to respond before walking into her sitting room. He closed his eyes and began channeling mana. “Looks like there's space here.” He said to himself as the wall he was staring at started to break and shift. In moments a large room had been created. “Workspace for sorting what you gather.” He answered her unasked question. “I was also told to give you this.” He handed her a notebook, pencil, and a laptop before leaving as quickly as he entered.
Clio set a tentative foot into the room, which didn’t collapse on her. Always a good sign. With nothing else to distract her racing mind, she asked her guide to tell her when it was 11pm before dragging a table and chair in from the sitting room. She placed the first basket of materials next to her, tied her hair back in a messy bun, and got to work.
[Identified: Banisteriopsis caapi]
This vine has vision aspects and is a potion ingredient.
With each item she identified she carefully recorded and classified its aspect and use. While it wasn’t historical research it was nice to stretch her mind in a way where a wrong choice won’t be fatal. By the time the system notified her that it was 11pm, she had gone through 3 baskets and the room was looking significantly less empty with sample bags scattered around the room sorted by use, aspect, and finally alphabetically.
Clio called Cali as she walked into the sitting room.
“Clio, guess what I got my hunter awakening test results!” Cali answered on the first ring.