Jake yelped as he jumped to the side, barely avoiding the sudden leap from the Bramble Wolf as it landed on the ground behind him, thorn-like claws digging into the ground to slow itself as it spun to face him. Jake stared at the creature in shock for a moment, before it leapt at him again, forcing him to throw himself to the floor to avoid the attack as he scrambled back to his feet.
Skill [Dodge] has levelled up.
Jake stared at the notification for a moment, his mind racing as he dismissed it, realising the purpose of Gaia’s apparent sudden attack. He was meant to be levelling his Skills, specifically his combat Skills, which he couldn’t do without an opponent. And so, Gaia had provided him with one.
Spinning to face the Bramble Wolf as it snarled at him, Jake drew his Ritual Dagger and Survival Knife from their sheaths, taking a slow breath to calm himself. Looking over the Bramble Wolf again as they slowly started to circle each other, Jake could see why Gaia had chosen this opponent for him. It was, as the name suggested, shaped like a wolf, but made of brambles, so it was safe to assume that it would attack in much the same way as a wolf would. The creature snarled again, it’s mouth full of razor-sharp spines in place of teeth, though Jake doubted it would make much of a difference if it managed to bite him. If he wanted to survive as the Quest had told him, he would have to fight, and fight well.
“Okay then,” Jake found himself chuckling, a strange excitement bubbling in his chest, “Come and get me.”
The Bramble Wolf didn’t seem to like the taunt, immediately launching itself at Jake as he rolled to the side, scooping up his quiver that he’d left on the ground and slinging it over his shoulder, the arrows inside rattling slightly as he did. Jake ducked as the wolf leapt again, sailing straight over him as he stabbed his two blades upwards, burying them in the underside of the wolf and gasping as they were almost ripped from his hands.
“Okay, maybe that’s not the best way to do this,” Jake muttered as he spun to face the Wolf again, its body shifting as the brambles rearranged themselves, effectively healing the wound in moments, “And that’s going to make things all the more difficult.”
The monster just growled, the sound similar to two pieces of wood being rubbed together, before it charged him, catching Jake off guard as he tried to dodge, the Bramble Wolf veering off to the side to crash into him, tossing him across the clearing. Jake groaned as he rolled across the ground, barely managing to stagger to his feet as the Bramble Wolf charged him again, this time Jake waiting to the last second to jump to the side, the wolf’s spine-like teeth just grazing him as he rolled away.
Skill [Dodge] has levelled up.
“Dammit,” Jake muttered as he dismissed the notification, “At this rate I’ll only be able to level [Dodge] and nothing else! I have to go on the offensive!”
The Bramble Wolf just growled again, this time leaping at Jake again, seeming to look surprised when the man charged straight at it instead of dodging. The monster barked as he ducked to the side, barely avoiding its snapping jaws as he slashed at the joint in its front leg with his Ritual Dagger, the blade slicing cleanly through it, making the wolf stumble as it landed.
Skill [Small Blades] has levelled up.
“Yes!” Jake grinned as he turned to face the wolf, its leg already regrown as it snarled at him once more, “Time to really get started!”
------
“Alright,” Andy said as the three of them stood in the town square, “We’ve only got an hour until log out, so we might as well relax.”
“So, what do we do?” the newest member of the party asked, fiddling with the wooden staff she was holding.
“Whatever we want to, Holi,” Shadow chuckled, “Well, as long as you don’t get caught by the Town Guard, I suppose.”
“What does that mean?” the Healer asked, Shadow just shaking his head as he laughed, Andy shaking his own head at the young man’s antics.
“How about we go get something to eat?” Andy hummed, checking his inventory, “We made a decent amount off the Goblin Hunting Quest, so we should be able to afford something nice.”
“That sounds great!” Shadow grinned, “Hold on, let me see if Miri wants in as well!”
“Miri?” Holi asked, looking at Andy as the shorter man seemed to zone out, waving his hands in front of him as he accessed his menus.
“Shadow’s girlfriend,” Andy explained, patting his armour, “She’s the one who made all this. Shadow’s gear as well.”
“Oh! Do you think she’d make something for me? Like a new staff? Or some robes?” Holi asked, looking down at her starter gear, “Healers are supposed to wear robes, right?”
“I’m sure she would,” Andy nodded, chuckling, “You’d just need to pay in materials. That’s pretty much all Miri seems to care about honestly.”
“Really?” the Healer asked, Andy nodding, “Then I’ll ask her!”
“Okay,” Shadow hummed as he returned to them, “Miri’s on her way, she just has to pack up her stuff.”
“Great,” Andy grinned, “Now, where should we eat?”
------
Bones cracked as the Bramble Wolf bit down on Jake’s arm, making him wince in pain as several of the long needle-like spines pierced through his armour and into his flesh. Thankfully, they hadn’t been his bones, just some of the rat bones sewn into his bracers having managed to stop most of the spines from entering his body. It didn’t stop the ones that had made it into him from hurting though, the pressure of the bite enough to make Jake gasp.
Skill [Armour] has levelled up.
Jake dismissed the notification as he stabbed his Dagger into the side of the Bramble Wolf’s head, aiming for the eye. The monster pulled back to avoid the attack, instead taking it in the muzzle, the sharp weapon hacking off a chunk of brambles. The Wolf leapt back, its body shifting again as it closed the several large cuts in it, sewing itself back together in moments.
The pair had been fighting for around twenty minutes by Jake’s estimate, and he was no closer to defeating the Elemental than he’d been when it first appeared. Not that he particularly wanted to, as it was proving to be a near perfect training partner. Risking a glance at his Quest Screen, Jake grinned.
Quest: Survive!
Gaia, Primal of the Wilds, has tasked you with increasing your Skill levels.
Objectives:
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Melee Weapon Skill: 6/10
Ranged Weapon Skill: 5/10
Armour Skill: 5/10
Dodge Skill: 6/10
Sense Skill: 5/5
Rewards:
Variable
He was already about halfway done with the Quest, but he had the feeling that it would only get harder to level up his Skills as they got higher. He had figured out that he seemed to get a level each time he tried a new tactic or changed the way he fought, but he still wasn’t entirely sure how that worked. Not for the first time did Jake wish Andy was around to help him by explaining these convoluted game systems. Shaking his head to pull himself from his thoughts, Jake sheathed his weapons, pulling his bow out of his inventory as he prepared for the next round of attacks.
The Bramble Wolf eyed him carefully, darting backwards and running around the edge of the clearing, zigzagging to make it harder to hit it as Jake took aim. He pulled back on the bow string, before suddenly jerking his aim forwards, loosing the arrow just as the wolf dodged to the side, the purple shaft sinking into the tightly wound brambles of its head, piercing straight through one of its glowing eyes.
The Wolf made a sound like a yelp as it darted back again, shaking it head in an attempt to get the arrow out, Jake cheering as it pawed at its face.
“Got you!” he shouted, blinking as something slammed into his side from the other side of the clearing, throwing him to the floor as a pair of notifications appeared before him.
Warning!
Health below 50%
Skill [Armour] has levelled up.
Jake rolled across the ground as he hugged his bow to his body, worried that it would get damaged, before grabbing a Helthi Mushroom from his inventory and stuffing it into his mouth, the wave of vital energy from the fungus washing through him and removing the pain in his side. Jumping back to his feet, Jake stared at the Bramble Wolf in confusion, his eyes going wide as he watched the monster’s tail lash behind it, retracting back into its body as it shrank down from the long, thorned whip.
“What the hell?” Jake gasped, “How is that fair?!”
------
“Five minutes,” Howard said as he checked his watch, “Five more minutes until log out, then we can contact them.”
He quickly scanned over the work contract he’d had the legal team draft for the dozenth time, having already read through it carefully several times before, but wanting to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. The contract would hopefully be enough to get their mystery player to work for Neurotech. And considering how much effort the System had had to put into keeping the game world running when they’d managed to almost break the game, Howard desperately hoped they would accept.
Honestly, though, Howard wasn’t too sure about the contract. Not because he didn’t trust the legal team, but because there just wasn’t enough information about the mystery player. All he had to go on was a contact number for a small underground living bay in City Twelve, and little else. The current occupant was one Andrew Wheeler, a journalist for the International Gaming Magazine, though his location had already been confirmed as Dusk Keep in the relevant server. If it really was him, then Howard could have a massive situation on his hands, because if the journalist could publish an article explaining the process by which he had broken the game, then hundreds, if not thousands, of people would most probably try to replicate it.
Of course, this was only if Mr Wheeler was the account holder, which Howard doubted. A quick check on his recent purchases showed that Mr. Wheeler had bought two brand new, top of the range FD Rigs just the day before, which meant that there was almost certainly a second individual involved. The main problem right now was the Privacy Clause. If this second individual was protected by something like that, then the question of their pedigree came up, as only the most influential and powerful could be protected by such a thing. So, who was this person? And how had they managed to start playing Grande New World without tripping any other alarm bells?
That would all be cleared up the moment the individual logged out, of course. They’d gotten permission to contact them directly, so they could confirm their identity in moments once the call went through. Shaking his head, Howard leaned back in his chair, trying to relax as he checked his watch again.
“Three minutes,” he muttered, letting out a tired sigh.
------
Jake grunted as he rolled out of the way of the bite, popping to his feet just beside the monster, his bow drawn, releasing an arrow at point blank range into its side. The purple shaft sank into the twisting brambles, burying itself in the side of the creature’s chest, eliciting a short growl from it as it jumped away. Jake, however, didn’t let up.
He darted after the Bramble Wolf, keeping on top of it as he shot arrow after arrow into it at close range, ducking back to avoid swipes and bites, barely dodging the wide sweeps of its whip tail. They’d been fighting for almost a full hour now, Jake having steadily raised the levels of his Skills against his seemingly immortal enemy. Except it was far from immortal.
After the third time Jake had managed to hit the plant elemental in one of its eyes, a lucky stab with his Ritual Dagger, he’d noticed that the green pulsing energy that filled the Bramble Wolf afterwards originated from somewhere in its chest. A few tests later, and Jake was certain that the source of the monster’s apparent immortality lay in a pulsing ball of energy within its body. And so, he’d been focusing on the chest, first trying to cut away the brambles and vines that made up the Wolf with as few slashes as possible, then firing arrows into the wound from close range.
The change in focus and fighting style seemed to be enough for Jake to quickly gain a slew of new Skill levels. Glancing at his Quest Screen, he smiled.
Quest: Survive!
Gaia, Primal of the Wilds, has tasked you with increasing your Skill levels.
Objectives:
Melee Weapon Skill: 9/10
Ranged Weapon Skill: 10/10
Armour Skill: 10/10
Dodge Skill: 10/10
Sense Skill: 6/5
Rewards:
Variable
He wasn’t entirely sure when he’d gained another level in his Sense Skill, or even which Skill it was to be honest, as he’d been dismissing notifications the instant they appeared so as not to get distracted, but now he had a moment to breath as the Bramble Wolf healed itself. Checking his inventory, Jake realised that he’d already used almost all of his arrows, which were now scattered around the battlefield or embedded in the wolf.
Checking his quiver, Jake groaned inwardly, finding only a single arrow left. He quickly scanned the ground for any whole arrows to salvage but could only find those that had been snapped or broken by the Bramble Wolf stomping around after him. Scowling at the nerve of the monster, he rolled his shoulders, adrenaline still coursing through his veins as he glared at the healing monster across the clearing.
The monster shuddered, pulling its vines and brambles tight again, Jake blinking as he realised that the wolf was actually a lot smaller than it had been at the start. How had he not noticed that before? Was it because he’d been slicing its vines apart? It didn’t seem to make the monster any less powerful or dangerous, so why was it doing that? Jake’s mind went back to the pulsing ball of energy in the wolf’s chest, his eyes going wide.
Notice!
You have one (1) minute of in game time remaining.
After in game time has elapsed, you will be automatically logged out.
It is advised that you log out in a safe place.
Jake dismissed the notification with a twitch of his head, ignoring the small timer that had appeared in the corner of his vision. Drawing his final arrow, Jake grinned at the Bramble Wolf, the monster seeming to smile back.
Time stood still for the two as they simply watched each other, seconds ticking by as they remained perfectly still. Then the Bramble Wolf moved, leaping forwards with its mouth wide open, the vines that made up its body surging forwards to increase the size of the head. Jake just grinned, jumping to the side easily as the massive jaw slammed into the ground, firing his final arrow into its eye at point blank range.
The wolf pulsed with light, the vines and brambles loosening as Jake dropped his bow, pulling his Ritual Dagger from its sheath and slamming it down on the rippling rib cage of the monster in one swift movement. The blade sliced through the protective vines, finally exposing the glowing source of the elemental wolf’s powers, Jake flipping the blade in his hand without a thought, darting his hand forwards to bury it into the beating heart.
Silence hung in the air as Jake and the wolf stood still, before the vines and brambles collapsed in a heap at his feet, the man falling back on his ass with a loud laugh, looking at the screens in front of him.
Skill [Small Blades] has levelled up.
Quest Complete: Survive!
Gaia, Primal of the Wilds, has tasked you with increasing your Skill levels.
Objectives:
Melee Weapon Skill: 10/10
Ranged Weapon Skill: 10/10
Armour Skill: 10/10
Dodge Skill: 10/10
Sense Skill: 6/5
Hidden Objective:
Defeat Bramble Wolf: 1/?
Rewards:
Variable
+Unknown
You have been playing for twelve (12) hours.
You will now be automatically logged out.
Have a pleasant day.