Two cougars were facing two small monkeys. They monkeys were different from what Jacob imagined. In fact, they were white-faced capuchin monkeys. Well, not that it spoiled his plans, Jacob even found the two little monkeys adorable. However, it wasn't time for that.
The two white-faced capuchin monkeys were desperately trying to act fierce on top of a tree while two cougars were circling below.
There were also two white-faced capuchin monkeys dead on the ground with blood oozing. Half of one of the bodies of the two white-faced capuchin monkeys was already eaten.
Looking at the two cougars, Jacob saw that they were level 14 and with a relatively low health bar, but that just made Jacob think that instead of having a great amount of health they must have had more strength and speed, which explained the rapid ascent one of the cougars exhibited when it suddenly began climbing the tree.
"Hey!" Jacob screamed loudly.
His shout alerted the two cougars. Even the two white-faced capuchin monkeys noticed his presence.
His intention was to attract the cougars' attention. Although he could have tried to ambush them, which would have been almost impossible since the senses of cougars were too high, especially with the intervention of the game, he knew something that perhaps no one else in the entire world knew. That was that every 25th of the month, all people received 'The Return'. The long term effects of that, however, could be good or bad. It all depended on what one did and if they started killing animals for the sheer pleasure of killing and gaining EXP. If they did that they might gain the negative status of being hated by animals.
The more you killed, the worse it became. There were cases where just by smell, animals had chased people who killed many innocent animals that did not harm anyone and were in turn killed by the animals.
Well, in that part, the vegans celebrated, as many butchers or breeders of chickens, oxen, etc. had that kind of attribute and became hated by animals. Many took to social media to say that this was divine retribution.
However, time proved that this was not the case. They simply lacked adaptation. If someone ate the flesh of animals, without having killed the creature themselves, they wouldn't suffer such an effect. However, there is a chance of overeating...
Of course, the negative effect could also be canceled if one were to be kind to animals. That is, if someone received 50 points of affection from animals but also had 50 points of hate from animals, the creatures would be impartial; one would cancel the other.
However, there was something that could not be undone: that would be negative titles. If someone was unfortunate enough to gain the title "Hated by Animals", even if the animals' affection was high, they wouldn't be able to nullify the title...
Okay, not completely… Titles were basically equipment (they could be equipped and unequipped) but until finding out that they had that option, people often died from earning such a title.
After all, gaining titles was not easy. For many, a single title earned may be the first title they had received. And, despite being a negative title in a way, much later, someone learned to use that title to their advantage by becoming a Tank class, equipping the title in dungeons that had animals, or even when exploring quests in the open world.
Anyway, Jacob got what he wanted: drawing the attention of the cougars to himself and making them want to attack him first.
He even pretended to be scared and was shaking like a frightened child. Even though they were cautious animals, one of the cougars began to approach with slow steps while baring its sharp teeth, while the other cougar kept watching over the two white-faced capuchin monkeys.
Of course, this result was even better for Jacob. Facing one at a time, it was now a situation without much risk, especially with both cougars being level 14.
When the cougar was only a few steps away, it roared fiercely.
*Guraou!*
With a cat-like leap, the cougar leaped towards Jacob.
[Moonwalker]
Sliding back, Jacob smiled coldly.
[Cold Breath]
When the icy breath came out of his mouth, the cougar that just fell to the ground couldn't dodge in time and froze. Jacob approached very quickly and without wasting time, he threw three punches at the cougar.
[- 91]
[- 84]
[- 88]
[Experience gained: 14]
[Bonus experience gained: 7]
"Fantastic!"
It was an addition of just one magic skill, however, it already made all the difference when cast at the right time.
The other cougar gave up watching over the white-faced capuchin monkeys, and roared in rage when he saw his partner turn into energy particles and disappear, dropping two silver coins.
Seeing the cougar run towards him, Jacob braced himself. The cooldown for his icy breath had not finished; he would have to win without relying on it.
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Jacob ran towards the cougar. When he was very close, he used [Moonwalker]. After seeing that the cougar tried to attack laterally with his right claw and missed his target, Jacob stepped forward and punched the cougar's right side.
[- 86]
*ROAR!*
This made the cougar angrier. Roaring, the cougar tries to bite Jacob.
[Moonwalker]
Jacob backed away from the bite and advanced once again. Soon he got close, and this time he kicked from the bottom up, catching the cougar's jaw.
[- 94]
The cougar became dizzy. It was staggering and Jacob took advantage of this and attacked again with a side whip kick.
[- 91]
[Experience gained: 14]
[Bonus experience gained: 7]
"Cheep, cheep!" The two white-faced capuchin monkeys at the top of the tree were happy to see the two evil cougars die. With bird-like sounds, they chirped in celebration.
Jacob looked at the two little monkeys and gave his best gentle smile. The animals were sensitive, and Jacob didn't emit any negative energy toward them. And the fact that he had killed the two cougars made the two little monkeys look at him favorably.
Only after hesitating a bit did the two little monkeys start to climb down from the tree. However, when descending, the little monkeys went to the two half-eaten bodies of what could be their parents. From their eyes, Jacob saw that tears were flowing.
Now that the danger had passed, the little monkeys' sadness made them cry at the death of their parents. At the same time, raindrops began to fall. The two little monkeys didn't move away from the half-eaten bodies.
Jacob sighed and said without knowing if they understood or not, "Longing immortalizes the presence of those who have passed away. With time, the pain subsides and turns into a silence that awaits through the arms of life, one day to meet again."
The two little monkeys looked at him.
"Their fighting days are over, their glory days are here, and now they are going to a better place."
"Cheep..."
The sound emitted by the monkey was not as cheerful as it was before. It was sad, but somehow Jacob thought it was able to understand what he meant.
Thinking a little, Jacob approached a little, seeing that they didn't move away. Jacob started digging a hole in the ground after approaching, and the two little monkeys looked at Jacob's actions thoughtfully. Then they started to help him dig with their little hands.
The rain continued as a man and two monkeys dug a hole in the earth. When it got big and deep enough, Jacob signaled and the little monkeys understood, as they helped him pick up the remains that were left of their parents and placed them carefully inside the hole.
Jacob looked at the two, who, not knowing if it was because of the rain or why they were still crying, the two little monkeys took handfuls of earth and threw it into the hole slowly.
In this part, Jacob only helped a little by letting them do it, saying goodbye to their parents.
[Congratulations, you have won the affection of an intelligent animal. A special quest has been triggered: (Animal Tamer). Would you like to accept it?]
"Yes," Jacob muttered, making a nasal sound.
Opening the quests page, he clicked on the special quests section.
__
Quest Objective: Help 10 more animals (0/10)
Although you've already gained the affection of an animal, you still need to prove yourself worthy of being an animal tamer.
__
Rewards:
Experience: 250
Gold: 110
Skill: Animal Tamer (Low Grade Quality)
__
*
A man with one white-faced capuchin monkeys on each shoulder was walking through the forest. Jacob already knew the mission, and it was very simple in reality. When the quest told him to help animals, that was literally it. Jacob just needed to help some animals in different situations, like saving them from a predator or even putting a bird that fell out of the nest back.
Quickly, he already managed to complete such actions 9 times. Now there is only 1 left.
Of course, it was fast also because he was in a forest where there were many animals. In the city, it would have been difficult to find an animal that needed help. Even stray dogs wouldn't necessarily need help. Giving food did not always count as help, as only if it was very hungry would it count as help.
In the forest it was different. They had no influence from people and the food chain worked perfectly. As long as he saved an animal from a predator, that was enough to count as help.
Holding a rock in his hand, Jacob suddenly threw it toward a hawk that was about to attack a bird's nest.
*Woosh!*
The stone was swift, creating a slicing sound through the wind. It didn't hit the hawk, but it was enough to startle it badly. The hawk looked in Jacob's direction and fled into the sky.
__
[Gain: 240 Experience – 110 Gold – Skill - Animal Tamer (Low Grade Quality)]
__
Not a second later, the next holographic page that appeared had Jacob almost jumping up and down with excitement.
'Ten points...' It was as if he had suddenly gone up 10 levels. That was a lot!
Although he expected that he would gain something good, since he knew that he had completed a special quest and since he had not seen any news of anyone completing such a quest, he was more than happy thinking that he would be the first, but he had not expected such a reward.
__
[Congratulations to the player [Achilles] for being first to complete a special quest. This achievement is engraved on the leaderboards for all eternity!]
__
'I became famous again...' Well, it couldn't be helped. He wouldn't miss out on getting a nice reward just because it would draw attention, plus he wasn't using his real name.
For the time being, he didn't intend to tell anyone what name he was using. He didn't even need to go online to know he had made the news. After all, people must have already benefited a little from the system. Although only he and one other person had achieved any achievements, people could only let their thoughts run wild as they wondered what reward they would gain for achieving such a feat.
Obviously, it would not be Jacob who would satisfy these people's curiosity.
[Do you wish to learn (Animal Tamer)? Yes or No?]
"Yes." Jacob clicked yes.
Soon the skill information was passed to him. Opening the skills tab, he scrolled through the page.
[Animal Tamer (Low Grade Quality): When using this skill, there is a certain percentage chance of taming an animal. The chance percentage increases if the target animal is favorable towards the user (Note: If the target animal is higher level than you, the chances drop drastically).]
Jacob had kind of expected this. If it didn't even show the percentage it had when using it, it indicated that it was low level. But, he still had Contract Space, besides that other ability. Although it wouldn't help if it's a wild animal that didn't see him favorably, if he could make an animal see him favorably, this skill could become quite useful.
At first, Jacob thought about trying to tame one of the little monkeys, however, thinking that it would increase the chances if he increased their favoritism, he decided to postpone it a bit. After all, he wanted a pet to help him in battle, but now that he got a stat boost, Jacob changed his initial plans.
For the next few hours, Jacob wandered through the forest. Most of the animals ran away when they felt his presence. What he was most interested in doing was not killing animals, but rather, making the two little monkeys become more attached to him since he noticed that when he saved animals, they applauded, celebrating.
At the same time, Jacob fished out some of the chestnuts from his pocket and handed them to the two little monkeys. Upon receiving them, the two little monkeys showed their affection by rubbing their faces against his.
Edited by: Azurtha