–Event Quest: Rising Peril complete!–

–6/6 Beasts Defeated!–

–CalculatingParticipation…–

–2/6 Enemies Disabled - 1 Killing Blow.–

–Performance: Acceptable–

–SysAutoGen_EQReward…–

–Received: Minor Fusion Token–

–SysAutoGen_BonusLoot…–

–Received: Random Mutagen Token F–

–Gained 150xp!–

–Level up!–

–Gained 2pts!–

David carefully went over the list of notifications again to distract himself as Dallas carefully sliced the tentacle into chunks with his armored mandibles. The insect was methodical, cutting each section at exact lengths, and ensuring that he had completely severed each portion before he moved on. David especially disliked the sections where several of the barbs had caught the membrane of his wing, and he dug his claws into the soft dirt below them with every snip and bite. Kai watched from nearby, both keeping an eye out despite the relative safety of the overgrown gas station parking lot they had descended to, and to avoid having to look at the way the hooks pulled at David’s flesh.

“You should invest in an exoskeleton if you have the chance, I highly recommend it.” Dallas quipped as he worked, “That or a lot more fur, there’s big parts in your mane that didn’t make it all the way through.”

“Har har, ow! Shit…” David snarked as the final piece was cut, “Sorry man, I just know this next part is gonna suck. At least we finished the quest right?”

“Yep, I got a Selective Skill Token at C and a bunch of Points on the bonus.” The wasp replied as he fanned his wings amicably, “Kai, your turn. Don’t give me that look, I’m not built for the next bit and you know it. What’d you get, David?”

“Something called a Minor Fusion Token, and an F Mutagen Token…I didn't even know you could get them as tokens.” David replied anxiously while Kai grimly strode closer.

David scrunched his eyes shut as Kai delicately plucked at one of the sections, carefully getting a grip with the tip of his heavily hooked beak. He hesitated only for a second before ripping the section free with a sound not unlike Velcro separating and David snarled in pain, desperately wishing any of them had thumbs to work a pair of pliers. He repeated this three more times before David had to ask for a short break, his skin strangely hot as he felt blood seeping from the edges of his wounds left by the cruel barbed hooks.

–You have taken 1 Piercing Damage–

–You have taken 1 Piercing Damage–

–You have taken 1 Piercing Damage–

–You have taken 2 Piercing Damage–

“Shit, hold up, that last one hurt. There were a lot of hooks in that time, just give me a second.” David panted as he forced his ears to stand back up and keep swiveling in search of potential threats.

Kai chirped sympathetically, “I lost a fight with a cactus as a kid, jumping cactus specifically. I can relate, this is giving me flashbacks. Sorry dude, I know it hurts.”

David nodded and focused on his breathing for a moment as he called up his Status, interested to see what leveling up looked like after an evolution. It was a lame excuse, but his back felt like it was on fire and he knew that his Regeneration would begin to take the edge off it shortly if he waited.

User: David Fisher

Species: Twilight Seeker Ω

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Rank: E

Health: 87/105

Stam: 194/250 (++)

Level: 6

Exp: 112/175

Special: Echolocation E

Traits: 4/4

Nocturnal F: +8% Damage, Stam Regen, Exp Gain at night.

[4/10]

Echolocation E: Manipulate high-frequency sound waves to see with more than just your eyes. Multi-stage ability: Repeated uses against the same enemy builds Combat Expertise.

[7/10]

Flight E: Allows for flight and gliding. Moderate Stamina drain. (stam+)

[5/10]

Small: Your form is small, weighing no more thana 115lbs. (stam+)

[n/a]

Abilities: 4/4

Screech E: You emit a loud screech damaging enemies around you, or in a wide cone. Low Stam consumption.

[0/10]

Glare F: You fix your target with a baleful gaze, inflicting Fear. Moderate Stam consumption.

[6/10]

Gloom D: Your wingbeats spread Dusk powder with every flap. Enemies under the effect of Gloom are inflicted with visual hallucinations. Stacks up to 7 times.

[4/10]

Nocturnal Strike D (4pts): A quick, lunging attack that steals a small percentage of the target's Stamina. Mild Stam consumption.

[7/10]

Mutagens: 4/5

Unnerving Mutagen B: Your appearance is unnerving. May cause enemies to reconsider aggressing you.

Atavistic Mutagen D: Form becomes primal, strengthening your body.

Soporific Mutagen E: Your claws produce a natural soporific. May cause enemies to fall unconscious.

Secretive Mutagen E: You become more elusive, making you harder to track and detect.

Empty:

Nice, 15 Health and 35 Stamina. That’s pretty good, more than another Screech or two anyway. Actually, that ranked up too! …in a wide cone huh? Thank god, at least it’s not useless half the time anymore. Gonna have to figure out what they consider a ‘wide cone’ though, I’m betting it means, ‘in front of you’. I guess we’ll see, now what the fuck is a Fusion Token?

|Minor Fusion Token: Permanently combines two Abilities or two Mutagens into a single hybrid effect. The resulting fusion's grade is determined by averaging the component qualities. This process is irreversible.|

Oh…shit, that’s pretty cool. Are you telling me I could combine Nocturnal Strike and Glare? Freeze ‘em up when I attack? Wait, no! I could fuse something with my Unnerving Mutagen! Maybe it’d tone it down a little bit and make me less ugly…Oh god, what if it makes it worse somehow?

“Okay, you ready?”

David snapped out his musings and looked mournfully up at the giant bird before nodding. He sighed and raised his wings to give him access, closing his eyes again as he saw the huge beak closing around a particularly dense section of tentacle. Kai pulled it loose with a quick jerk of his head, doing his best to get it over with as he tossed the foul thing into the pile with the rest of them. Dallas muttered some vaguely encouraging words which David ignored out of hand, though he did appreciate the gesture a bit. The wasp had been cleaning his antennae in what looked like a nervous habit as he watched, cringing as much as an insect could with every tearing sound.

–You have taken 3 Piercing Damage–

–You have taken 1 Piercing Damage–

–You have taken 2 Piercing Damage–

“You know what, fuck things with tentacles.” David spat as he slowly worked his shoulders and chest after the last piece was removed. He could feel the solid ring of punctures begin to heal slightly as his Health regenerated and was incredibly grateful for it.

Dallas buzzed with amusement, “That’s what sh-”

“No, don’t you dare. That should have died a long time ago, and I won't allow you to bring that evil here.” Kai hissed, snapping his head onto the insect as Dallas flicked his wings a few times mischievously.

“Ugh, it was my fault. I just didn't expect them to be sticky and stabby. Kai, you get anything good?”

“I got a Minor Trait Improvement thingy and a buttload of xp on the bonus. Leveled up, and it got me almost to level nine as well.” He replied happily, the crest on his head flaring up.

David blinked a bit in surprise, “Wait, what level are you guys?”

“Well, I was level seven when we started the Quest.” Kai said slowly, "Dallas probably hit eight as well, yeah?"

David closed his eyes and sighed as Dallas nodded his agreement, “Yeah, I thought that felt kinda challenging. I was level five, just got to six.”

“What?”

Their stunned expressions just made him sigh harder.