Jake blinked as he opened his eyes, looking around the forest in wonder.
It was a beautiful sight, light trickling down between the leaves, leaving dappled patterns on the ground as bird song sounded in the air. It was like night and day from how the forest had been the last time he was here, only a night ago, though Jake supposed it had been three days in the game. Grinning to himself, he quickly checked his Character Screen, seeing that nothing had changed, before sprinting off into the woods, eager to complete his last Quest from Gaia.
He pulled the Quest screen up as he ran, checking his progress.
Quest: Lay of the Land
Gaia, Primal of the Wilds, has tasked you with fully exploring the Dark Woods.
Objectives:
Progress: 87%
Rewards:
Magic Map
He was almost done, just having to cover the last few stretches along the outer edge of the forest. Jake smiled as he ran, slowing only to grab the now familiar mushrooms and a few new herbs that he hadn’t seen before, wondering when they’d grown. He would have to ask Gaia about the drastic change to the woods, getting the feeling that she had some hand in it. A soft snorting made Jake pause, ducking behind a tree as he peered around, his eyes going wide at what he saw.
A small group of boars were snuffling about between the trees, obviously looking for roots and other morsels, Jake quickly using [Observe] on them.
Shadow Boar
Beast
Level: ??
Jake felt his stomach grumble, thankfully not making a noise as he imagined what the boar’s meat may taste like, licking his lips in anticipation. As silently as he could, Jake scaled the tree he was hiding behind, perching easily on one of the lower branches as he drew his bow and one of his last remaining Fang Arrows. He activated [Aim], going for the closest of the boars, the large circle slowly shrinking until it was nothing but a dot, before starting to grow again.
Jake fired the arrow, activating the Ability of his Hunting Bow of the Wilds at the same time, the arrow pulsing with green energy as it flew through the air. The boar squealed as the arrow struck it in its thick neck, the green energy pulsing, before transforming into a stream of lightning that passed through the beast, sending it collapsing to the floor. The other boars all scattered at their comrade’s squeal, disappearing into the woods as Jake quickly dropped down from his perch and ran over to the downed boar, checking it with [Observe] again.
Shadow Boar
Beast
Level: ??
Paralyzed (0:04)
Jake just nodded as he pulled out Alpha’s Fang, plunging the short sword into the injured and paralyzed boar’s throat, before pulling it down, the bone blade slicing through the fatty meat and thick skin with ease. It took barely a few seconds for the boar to twitch its last as it died, Jake bowing his head as he thanked the beast, before drawing his Ritual Dagger and starting to cut it apart.
Skill [Skinning] has levelled up.
Skill [Butcher] has levelled up.
Jake nodded as he finished taking the boar apart, storing its hide, meat, and bones in his inventory. His stomach gurgled again, this time out loud, making him blush slightly, before turning back in the direction of his camp, sprinting between the trees with ease as he rushed off to make himself some breakfast.
------
“I’m being serious,” Andy laughed as the others looked at him incredulously, “I’m busy sitting in a Pod in City Twelve’s Pod Hub right now!”
“And you managed that how, exactly?” Shadow asked.
“Oh, I signed a subordinate contract under Jakey,” Andy smiled.
“Again with this Jakey guy!” Sophie huffed, “Are we ever going to meet him, or are you just trying to string us along?”
“You’ll meet him,” Andy said, “Eventually. He has to find a Teleport pad first, though he did mention that there was a town right near where he spawned in.”
“Like that’ll help,” Shadow laughed, “He’d have to have visited and attuned to Dusk Keep’s Teleporter first, and then it’s kind of pointless.”
“Are you sure this Jakey guy even exists?” Sophie sighed, Andy blinking as he looked offended.
“Of course! He’s my roommate! Well, was my roommate, before we moved out to the Pod Hub,” Andy said, “Not that that matters, I still have him as a friend, so we can chat.”
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“Right,” Shadow drew the word out, the sarcasm in his voice obvious, “So, are we just going to stand about gossiping about Goldy’s imaginary friend all day, or are we going to go get a Quest?”
“Jakey isn’t imaginary,” Andy huffed as the other two walked off, Holi patting him on the shoulder.
“I believe you, Goldy,” she said softly, like a mother comforting a child, “I’m sure he’ll be able to get here soon enough.”
“Yeah,” Andy muttered, looking after the other two as they turned and waved at them to follow, “So do I.”
------
The Dark Woods teemed with life, a stark contrast to what Jake had experienced previously, and while not unwelcome, it was proving to be at least slightly annoying.
Hungry Trap Flower
Plant
Level: 21
Jake glared at the plant monster as it pulled him in, the first monster he’d actually been able to see the level of, but not the first of its type to try grabbing him. He had been moving through the forest for almost two hours now, trying to make it back to his camp, except these damn plants seemed to take offense to that. This was the third one he’d passed, and the third to immediately attack him, lashing out with barbed vines and trying to pull him into its massive jug like body.
Letting himself be pulled in close, Jake drew his short sword, waiting until the last moment to slash through the vines wrapped around his legs before jumping to his feet and plunging the blade into the base of the plant monster. He jumped back as the creature let out a strange squealing noise, acidic liquid pouring from the wound as it lashed its vines at him again, before quickly shrivelling up and falling still. Jake quickly placed a hand against it, looting the monster for what it was worth.
Items gained:
Hungry Trap Flower Leaf x2
Hungry Trap Flower Vine
Jake sighed as he watched the monster burst into light and vanish into his bag, before carrying on through the woods. He was close now, he knew it, and before long he spotted the tell-tale shimmer of the Safe Zone’s barrier, bursting out into it with a cry of triumph. Luna just looked up at him in confusion as he appeared, the pups yipping and crowding around him as he walked towards his fire pit.
“Morning Luna,” he said, looking down at the pups in surprise.
They already looked weeks old, each standing at around a foot tall, except for Alpha, who was a good half a foot taller, and Eta, who was smaller than the rest. He smiled at the excited pups as they played around his feet, wading through them to get to his objective. It didn’t take long for Jake to have a pot of Boar and Mushroom Stew boiling on the fire, the smell filling the clearing as the pups looked hungrily at it.
“Oi, this is mine,” Jake laughed as the pups tried to get at the pot, Jake having to chase them away from the fire to avoid them hurting themselves, “Go ask your mom for food.”
Luna just huffed, looking over to the far side of the clearing, Jake following her gaze as he saw two large boar carcasses, mostly picked clean.
“You hunted those?” Jake asked, the adult wolf nodding her head proudly, “Nice. I managed to get one myself.”
Luna just gave a motion that looked suspiciously like a shrug as she settled back onto the grass to watch her pups. Jake just laughed as he lifted the pot from the fire, his [Cooking] Skill jumping up a level as he finished making his meal. It was watery and gamey, but to Jake, it was just as delicious as any other meal he’d ever had. He quickly tore through the food, pausing when he felt a small paw rest on his thigh.
“What’s up, Eta?” Jake asked the smallest of the pups, laughing when he looked between Jake and the pot, sitting quietly beside him, “You trying to beg? Well, if you do it properly, maybe I’ll give you some.”
The wolf just cocked his head to the side, looking at Jake in mild confusion.
“Lift both your front paws and sit of your haunches,” Jake explained, shaking his head as he realised how silly it sounded to explain begging to a wolf before he looked back at Eta and saw him doing just that, “Huh. Well, I guess that deserves a reward.”
Jake fished out a large piece of meat from the stew, tossing it to the wolf as he happily snapped it up, his siblings quickly charging over as soon as he ate it. Jake sighed as he was once again inundated with cold noses trying to get at his pot of food, having to hold it above his head to avoid the greedy pups from getting to it. A soft woof from their mother saw all the pups freeze, before slinking off, except Eta who waited patiently by Jake’s side, watching him as he finished eating.
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you Eta?” Jake chuckled as he petted the pup, “Better behaved than your brothers and sisters at least.”
Eta just gave a small nod, noticing the Jake’s pot was now empty and walking off.
“He’s a smart one,” Jake shook his head as he watched the small pup walk over to his siblings, who had quickly started play fighting, Eta just sitting and watching, occasionally copying their moves.
Turning away, Jake pulled out a bundle of purple arrows and a pile of teeth, quickly setting about making himself some more Fang Arrows.
------
Pereion Machie scowled as he read over the report. As much as he hated it, it was a necessary task if he wanted to keep his position as Mayor of this pathetic little frontier town.
He glanced out the window of his ornately decorated study, looking down at the people below. They were all dressed in little more than rags, a far sight from his luxurious doublet and silk pants, most going barefoot while he wore soft and sturdy shoes. Shaking his head at the rabble below, he turned back to the hunting report in his hand, grinning as he read it.
It seemed that the nearby forest was once again teeming with life, boar and deer a plenty, all waiting to be killed by his hunters and brought to his kitchens. Of course, he would allow the people of his town to eat some of what came of the hunt, but only the scraps and gristle. He couldn’t risk letting them get too strong, not that it mattered for the half-giant, as he was plenty strong himself. He sat back, thinking about how he’d ended up in this pathetic town, the political maneuvering that he’d spent years on wasted in a single moment when the local lord had all but ordered him out here.
Out of the way, more like.
Machie wasn’t sure if the man had caught on to or even been told about his plans, but the swine had declared that only the best and most trusted of his men could rule this little piece of the Wilds in his name. Of course, that had been Pereion, at least at the time, so off he was carted, along with most of his men, all the way into the Wilds. The perfect place to keep him out of the way without actually killing a Priest Class.
Shaking the memories from his head, Pereion looked back at the report, frowning slightly as he read a small detail at the end, before tossing the paper aside and picking up the next.
“Not a chance,” he rumbled, “Not a chance there’s someone in my woods running around like a maniac. And if there is…well, they’ll come to regret it soon enough.”