Weed scaled the mountain’s eastern side from one end to another and then back. From the very top there were lush green trees everywhere. The night had painted them black yet they frightfully beautiful. If Weed had more interest in the scenic beauty he might have sat and watched over the dark forest. He would slowly descend and scan each step. He was sure the moonstone had to be somewhere here. Snappy watched the Squirrel move back and forth on his fours, scanning the earth carefully. At first he thought it was a game where they might be a bone or so hidden but soon tired out and slept.
Weed was tired and took a break. Without light it was very difficult to see anything. As he sat down next to Snappy, he spotted something moving at the foot of the hill. He got up and walked closer…a raccoon; time to increase stats. It took a while but Weed finally managed to corner the frightened creature. He took out his sword and slowly circled the raccoon who was snarling.
The raccoon summoned wind affinity to sharpen its claw attack however before the raccoon could get close enough to attack, it dissipated into grey mist. Weed stabbed it straight in the body before the raccoon even noticed. The high AGI, STR and ATK began paying off. Quick movements and strong attacks; typically an elvish built up.
After moving through the forest a for a while, Weed spotted more raccoons, and after killing several more of them he got a message he was waiting for.
- You have leveled up!-
Weed sighed, raccoons were too weak and gave too little exp. He went deeper into the forest in search for new prey. He killed anything that came his way, squirrels, rabbits and raccoons. However none of them were a match for him. The monsters were strong, but they were no match for players with bonus SP. Weed finally found a fox who was chasing a rabbit. Weed hid behind a thicket and watched as the rabbit was caught and lay helpless before it was killed. Killing other monsters leveled the fox as well. Weed was happy, it was essentially killing a higher level fox which meant better drops and more EXP. He jumped out from his hiding spot and landed a fatal full swing blow to the fox.
-Critical Hit!-
- You have leveled up!-
The fox had no time to react and disappeared into thin air. Weed was still not satisfied, he needed more of a challenge. He decided to put his search for the moonstone on a temporary halt and kill a few monsters. He liked the feel of swinging a sword. Weed found it considerably more difficult to chase foxes and kill them, as it required him to tired out the fox and then corner it. But he soon got a general idea of the surrounding area and would drive the fox to his favorite massacre spot and kill it. The loot wasn’t much but fox meat and fox fur. He really wanted to collect it but he was already finding the healing potions and other items too much of a burden. The elves weight restrictions would slow him down significantly. He instead stored the loot in a bag and concealed it between two rocks. He would then resume his hunt.
Weed killed enough foxes and began looking for bigger game, Wolves hunted in packs and it would be too risky to attack them while they were in a group. To avoid the risk of fighting them all at once, Weed began to lure them, he would pick up an ordinary stone and throw it at a wolf. The wolf was more intelligent than a fox but sadly not as gifted as Snappy. They had a difficulty understanding it was a trap. Maybe even Snappy would have fallen for the trap. However, they would not chase the common foe together since only one was hurt, the angered wolf would chase into the forest from the direction of the stone throw, only to receive a massive surprise blow. The surprise element would often mean Weed would choose spots where the vulnerable parts of the Wolf were easier to hit, furthermore it increased the likelihood of a critical hit. Most wolves would lose half their HP immediately and become stunned instantly. They never even got to cry for help. Silently as the night they were slaughtered one by one. The EXP and loot from wolves was better; wolf claws, wolf fur, wolf bones, wolf meat. All of it was far more prized than the fox and rabbit items Weed had collected so far. As beginner it did not amount to much, maybe no more than a few copper per hide but Weed decided not to squander away the money given by Rodriguez.
It wasn’t long before Weed gained proficiency in Sword Mastery, the stat had been activated with his first sword skill and was already at level 3. Weed smiled, he was no longer the toothless kitten, he was slowly making progress, progress that was well overdue. After killing a few more wolves and venting out his remaining frustration, Weed returned to where he left Snappy. Snappy’s ears perked up, he sensed something unfamiliar approaching; it was a creature he had not felt before. When he opened his eyes, Snappy could not believe that Weed the squirrel no longer felt like a squirrel but more like a starving wolf.
In the morning, Weed returned Snappy back to Theodore who was happy not to have the dog keep him up all night or wake him up early next morning. Weed then went back to the central town and sold whatever loot he could carry and bought more meaty treat. He then went and bought a lantern, shovel and more carrying bags though it increased his weight burden, Weed started investing all his points in strength and stamina. He wasn’t going to be unprepared next time.
Weed decided to go back to hunt in the morning, though less rewarding, he decided to look for the moonstone at night. With Weed coming every morning to hunt the smaller preys. They noticed the trend of the vicious predator and migrated elsewhere, this drove Weed deeper into the forest. Truly there was no escape from Weed. At night Weed would pull out the lantern and place it on the ground and dig very carefully and slowly as if he were unearthing a dinosaur fossil. Progress was slow. The lantern and the shovel helped, but the mountain was huge. In only one week the mountain had hundreds of pits dug into it, some were more than 4 feet deep, others no more than a small depression in the ground.
Weed realized that the northern mountain pass wasn’t the most attractive hunting ground for players. Thus, he bought more lanterns and lantern refills with the money he got from the loot. As Weed bought so many lanterns that the storekeeper told him how different lanterns had different uses. When he heard weeds explanation for looking for dragon fossils (Deceit Beginner level 4), he provided lanterns which were saucer shaped. They would illuminate the ground rather than the surrounding. That night the entire eastern face of the fountain was lit up with a lantern every 10 meters. Weed began digging deeper and deeper. Most players might have abandoned the quest at this point, others would have even started digging elsewhere but Weed was different. He was more than certain that the treasure he was searching for was somewhere around here. Where did that confidence and faith stem from? Even Weed did not know, instinct were reckless things to go by. If Weed had been a dwarf, it would not appear so peculiar to see him digging but if one were to see an elf doing the same, the elf would surely stand out.
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The day hunts were more boring than night, all though at night monsters were stronger during the day Weed stood out more. His cloak was most effective during the night however during the day hiding served no purpose, thus Weed was restricted to hunting easy prey during the day. Weed considered going to a professional school to learn a melee profession like sword attack to help him hunt a group of foxes but then read how it would take an entire week to learn, even if you knew all the movements of the sword you could not graduate in a profession unless you completed the requisite time period. In the end Weed decided to stick to hunting foxes and anything smaller than a fox.
At times Weed wished he could return to Rodriguez to recheck if he was digging in the right places. However, he avoided going to meet Rodriguez as Rodriguez lived too far away. Time was precious to Weed, even more so as he had to manage RL and avoid being grounded. Instead of Rodriguez, Weed tried reaching out to the fairy. However the fairy refused to help Weed till he began searching for the fairy pond. Weed could only grow angrier as the fairy continuously leeched stamina from him and gave nothing in return. Furthermore, if he ordered it to appear, he would be treated with sarcastic comments and insults (and not that Alak actually appeared). It was the worst kind of parasite in the truest sense.
He even asked Theodore about the moonstone, who told him that there was only one such piece found and no other. When Weed told him that he was looking for the moonstone, Theodore didn’t even bat an eyelash. Weed was hoping to get some reaction from him in the form of a praise for solving the riddle or anger as if he solved the impossible riddle. But in the end Weed only got a “Good luck.” Weed asked Theodore all sorts of questions about the moonstone, but Theodore only told him what Rodriguez had already mentioned. If he asked Theodore what it looked like, Theodore simply replied like a fragment of the moon. This description did not help Weed at all as nothing he came across resembled the moon.
At the end of two weeks, the eastern face of the mountain pass looked nothing like it used to. There were holes everywhere, Snappy thought there was buried bone treasure and would join Weed in digging holes, his pace was a lot faster than Weeds and he would dig a lot deeper. If a soldier from the World War was to see the mountain side, he would think that there has been recent shelling or these were trenches. Weed finally threw out his shovel and climbed out of a hole; nothing, not even an ore of any kind, just stones, rocks and dirt. The only reward for digging so many holes was that he gained mining and digging skills. Weed hoped that he would never have to use it much, digging holes was boring as heck. He lamented that digging holes in a mineral depleted area did not increase its skill level as much as a mineral rich area would, otherwise he would have reached intermediate level already.
Weed sighed, he knew there only one thing left, he needed the help of a expert.
“Ok Snappy, if you find me the moonstone, I’ll give you a big bone and 100’s of meaty treats.”
“Woof” Barked Snappy and continued to stare at Weed. ‘I have no idea what a moonstone is, show me one first.’
Maybe it was the time they shared together but Weed felt he knew what Snappy was saying. He then pointed out to the moon and picked up a stone, “Moonstone.” He repeated these actions again and again till Snappy barked. With that Snappy began sniffing ferociously and then suddenly began digging away.
‘No way!’ Weed thought, ‘He had just spent two weeks and did Snappy find it in two minutes?’
Snappy then came trotting happily back with what appeared to be an ordinary stone.
“Snappy is this the moonstone?” Weed asked suspiciously, he didn’t have the identify skill that he could check its properties nor was the stone giving of a vibe that indicated it was the moonstone. Weed hurried back to Theodore cabin and woke up Theodore in the middle of the night.
“Theodore I found it!” Weed screamed into the dwarves ear.
“ARGGHH!! ELF I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!”
“Theodore see moonstone!” Weed presented the rock Snappy found.
The dwarf took the stone and threw it at Weed who had no chance to dodge (-5HP).
“You stupid elf. Does that look to you like a moonstone? Where the f**k is it glowing like the moon?” I told you the only moonstone ever found is now a jewel in the dwarven city. Disturb me again and it is going to be hammer that will hit your head next.” Saying that Theodore went back to sleep. He hated being disturbed in his sleep, he hated Weed so he was happy to vent out his anger at Weed. To Theodore nothing would please him more than to humiliate Weed, he had a feeling tonight he would get a great sleep.
Weed gave Snappy an angry glare. The dogs tail was between his legs and ears drooped. Weed picked up the stone which Theodore threw at him, “Snappy, I got a treat for you.” Weed whispered into Snappy's ear.
Snappy was a gifted dog, he understood most of human emotion and speech, he might not have understood what a moonstone is but he understood that the hungry wolf was going to do something very bad to him. Snappy ran out of the cabin. Weed chased after Snappy with the stone. He was reaching his limits of patience. However, Snappy was long gone into the wilderness before Weed could even step out of the forest clearing.
Weed knew the time had come for him to resort to his last option; Alak Okaine, the most annoying creature in all of Versailles. Whether he had to twist or break the fairy’s wings, Weed was determined to get the help he needed. He didn't like being mooched off, and he was going to get his stamina's worth of assistance.
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Authors Note:
1. Edited by Knaivvs
2. Released early as part of celebration releases.
3. Not exactly, the most awesome ending to a volume, but I was willing to risk stretching the limits of action a little longer.
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Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?YesNo
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