At 8:00 am, the same day:
“This is taking forever,” Markus sighed, his hands dipping into the river’s frigid waters. After a few seconds, he pulled out the metal bead from the current. It is an anchor bead for a fishing line, one of many that he accidentally dumped out when fighting off the buzzing menaces near his face. As he put the cleaned bead into its compartment, the same flies still irritate his ears with persistence, taunting him of his misfortune. “Just you wait. I’ll get a zap cantrip only for you guys.”
After making his declaration, Markus looks over the tackle box he dropped unceremoniously. All of its items have been cleaned to the best of his ability. He didn’t need to clean them as most of them go into the water anyway, but he borrowed the box from Old Alphas. Markus would not feel altruistic about it if he gave back the container in less of a condition than when Alphas gave it to him. So he took time to rinse off the trail dirt by the river. He picks up the organized tackle box and paces toward his destination. “This lake better have good catches. Round trip is going to take a while to finish.” Markus thought to himself, looking at the weathered map of the area he picked up from the archive. While trying to read the old forest trails, he thinks about his current mission while listening to the warblers in the distance.
This expedition started as any typical day in the town of Ultamanus. You might think a village with a weird name would have anything unique to trade, exciting events to take place, or even any grand quest to get any adventurer flocking in droves. But as reality shows, normal in Ultamanus is just that. Normal. Everywhere else has what Ultamanus has and more. Want to fish? Then go to Covebay town for rare catches of fluorescent squid and shimmer-scale cod. Need to see a good quality weapon? Head over to Stonegrit to find a bladesmith that can make steel razor-sharp and a hammersmith that can shape Wolfrum with their bare hands, so they say. Want good food and drink? The only thing good around here is home-cooked meals. Not even a restaurant is set up unless you count The Inn as quality service. And don’t get any passing adventurer started on how bad the ale is in town. It’s better to go past Ultamanus towards the village of Milewind down the uneven road for good alcohol.
There can be so many times you can listen to the latest rumors about the new Inn maiden that you just give up and find excitement for youths like Markus. That current excitement is taking “sidequests.” Most are errands by adults who are too busy with essential work, mainly fetch and delivery “sidequests,” to make any kid feel like they are taking part in helping the community. At least, that is what any adult assumes. Kids just don’t work for others for free. That is just fact. The two main reasons young kids and teens tolerate this system is to run around without supervision and receive compensation for their menial labor. When the quest is complete, a kid will get about 6-20 copper coins, which most children would spend instantly on daily treats. Markus is not in that demographic.
Markus wanted to see beyond the town streets and the ‘occasional occurrence’ and go out into the great unknown. He wanted to be an adventurer. At a young age, he always heard stories from passing merchants to cloaked mercenaries about enchanted swords, scary monsters, and grand journeys. And, of course, the great wealth that comes with it. What kid wouldn’t want to get rich for more awesome equipment? From those stories, Markus decided to save up on any coin he got from his quests just to get enough supplies to take the Adventurer’s Exam.
He just about saved enough for 25 silver and 34 copper. It took about four years of small jobs and monthly allowances to get the total amount he has currently. For a 13-year-old kid, it’s a sizable sum for someone who doesn’t have a {Job Class} or a career. But Markus was unsatisfied. 25 silver is not even close to his goal amount of 1 gold coin. If he wants to catch up to the wealthy children already on their way to the exam, he still needs four times his current amount for basic armor, weaponry, and medicine. Especially the armor, which must be custom made, with the lowest price of 30 silver for basic leather half-armor. That might sound underwhelming for armor, but taking an extra hit might decide between passing and failure.
Many adventurers say that it’s an investment of time and money. What a joke. A person must be well off or go into dept before taking the first step before the 1-year window at the golden age of fourteen. Many experts believe that at 14 years, a kid becomes more adaptable and can quickly grow into their {Class} with the least resistance. How this age gets this boon is not known. Some say it’s correlated to the 12 gods, the great dragon, and ancient primordial, giving a year to each before the growth. Others may theorize that the Hero could have been 14 when he appeared in our world, so the System decided this so another hero could take their place at that age. More exotic explanations as 14 could be a sign for a calamity to appear, as the previous Dark King left thirteen curses on the land before his demise. Or maybe the System really, really appreciates the number 14, not like Markus will question the divine messenger of the gods.
Regardless of the deadline, Markus started getting desperate for his needed amount. The young teen started taking more demanding quests, such as gathering and hunting. Both seem very simple on the surface but are hell for the inexperienced adolescent. Any gathering job requires an eye for quality and a careful touch for finding wild herbs and mushrooms. The more basic regrants require a year to see these tiny differences under an expert. The hunting jobs are easier to learn but need more intuition, patience, endurance, and starting tools. Making the traps, baiting them, and waiting… is a long process. Not to mention that whatever the trap catches is up to chance, and he needs more money now than ever. But there is a third method, Fishing Quests.
On his way home, Markus was called by the local temperamental fisherman, Old Alphas, for a proposition. The Peppered-haired {Fisherman} that hasn’t bathed in days told that he needs someone to take a pole to find some verdant trout in Hopfin, as he needs to run some errands for the day and can’t get his daily catch. Markus found this mission odd but took it instantly when the old coot said he would pay three silver for ten trout and a bonus for any extra for the day. After hearing that, Markus had a plan to capitalize on the job for more profit.
“The old man thought I would go to Hopfin lake to find the minimum Verdant Trout before sundown. But he will get his fish alright if I follow upstream, then he can have more fish than I can carry.” He thought to himself, grinning at the prospect. The boy knows that Hopfin, a vast lake that feeds a few towns, including Ultamanus, is a highway for many fish species, but other villages have taken the more trafficked fishing spots. This does not deter him, as Ultamanus is closest to Verdant Forest. Verdant Forest has a river leading to Eastern Hopfin, where the aptly named Verdant Trout goes downstream to the lake and into the western sea. He continues walking up the trail while being vigilant. The teen learned of a hidden lake that could be the home of the trout in question, but it is in an unestablished forest with some monsters stalking around.
To the average villager, that might sound worrying when you have a chance to get spotted by a creature that could throw a fireball at your face if you accidentally cough in their direction. To Markus, he doesn’t have to worry (fire-aligned monsters are rare in forests, he double-checked) since most monsters near the river and the forest line are {Tier 1} so he can outrun them or fend off one of them at a time if they get too close.
After his self-assurance, he hears a rustle in a nearby bush. He nearly trips as he jumps back with a hand on his knife sheath. He stares at the shaking bush as his right hand trembles a bit, with the other gripping the map to his side and waiting for the noise’s cause to show itself. In five seconds, the creature jumps out. It was a ground squirrel foraging for tree nuts. It scampers off to the underbrush after one look at its adversary, wishing to survive for at least another hibernation.
Markus soon looked down at his feet, embarrassed. Not only due to the fact he was scared because of an overly curious squirrel, but it’s also the fact he might have looked stupid with both arms tightly to his sides with one sandwiching a map to his body. If any local hunters were to be watching, they would have lost all hope for the current generation if they saw his amateur reaction and form. After wiping a bit of sweat off his brow, he continued walking more cautiously, not letting his humiliation get the better of him as he flattened the map. He looks forward at the current path past the rushing banks and trees with dark green foliage.
Markus then thought back to his younger self, trekking with his father, learning the ins and outs of survival and exploration. His father taught him many lessons in trap-making and listening to the call to adventure. Any cave that his father knew, he showed to Markus to teach the dos and don’ts of cave diving. That is when Markus found his first treasure. A small, black glass-like rock that is sharp to the touch. The boy soon developed a habit of picking up fascinating objects along his trips and putting them in a half-liter glass bottle for safe keeping, his ‘treasure bottle,’ his father called it. Markus still has it strapped to his pack every time he’ adventures,’ collecting anything that might catch his attention.
Markus smiles, knowing that what he is essentially doing is repeating the ‘adventuring’ days when he was with his father. Soon the smile became an excited yet determined grin when he thought of not only the reward that came of it but the sights and objects he might see during the journey he was embarking on. Not only would he gain a profit in coins, but also in some experience to prepare more for the exam. “They won’t know I’m gone, just a trip through the woods, catch a lot of dumb fish, find a cave or two, then head back for coinage. Easy.”
A few hours later, the sun finally reached its apex, shining down the reflective turning waters of the river. As a Barkwing Owl perched at the canopy resting after a fruitful catch of an opossum minding its own business, under that canopy was someone not as lucky. Markus is still walking but with less enthusiasm than before as he walks deeper to find the elusive lake, the boy worries about hitting the forest’s inner territory. He knew that maps are not that accurate with distance, but this is ridiculous. Markus knew he was near the deeper forest if the hue of the area got a darker green and the foliage became overwhelming to the point that the trail became indistinguishable from the rest of the treeline. But it hasn’t come to that point, even if his anxiety steadily increases.
As he worries about every tree that could hide a predator behind it, he feels something urgent: nature’s call. Markus looks around for a proper place to do business that is not out in the open. He finds the perfect spot, a circle of bushes that can hide him from prying eyes. As the young traveler makes his way there, one of the bushes rustles violently. The inhabited brush surprised him, and he tripped on a stone while hurriedly backing up. Markus is now squirming to get up, hoping whatever is in the underbrush won’t take advantage of his position. He looks at the bush and spots something moving. It’s not a squirrel this time. The creature is larger and canine, probably a forest wolf with large claws and teeth.
As he reached for his knife for protection, he heard a diminutive “Voiii..” And the occupant exited from its leaf-covered enclosure. A small, brown fox. A rabbit? Or is it a dog? Maybe a cat? Thing. It leaves the shrubbery calmly, not paying attention to Markus’ presence. As it takes its hind legs to kick dirt into the bush it exited, the prone traveler looks at the creature with trepidation. It is a beast with a brown coat with a tan mane and tan at the end of the tail. Besides its long ears and big hazelnut eyes, It would be indistinguishable from other small predators.
It looks back at the fallen Markus, and both freeze up. It surprised Markus how complex and expressive the small beast was by its posture and eyes alone. He could tell that when it saw him, it showed surprise, embarrassment, and then caution. After this five-second staring contest, it jumped with a loud “VEE!!” With a panicked burst of speed, the creature used the opportunity to flee into the bushes and passed several trees. Markus was startled by its sudden outburst, and it left without a trace before he could move or say anything.
The boy exclaims, “What was that?” as he gets up and dusts off his bag. He notices that some of his supplies fell to the ground again when he tripped. “Well, that’s just great.” He looks around to spot that creature again. When he knew it had left, he picked up all the dropped objects to sort them. After placing his tackle box, fishing pole, and travel pack in a pile off the side of the road, he heads into the bushes.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
…
Meanwhile, as Markus entered the bushes, a single strange vulpine was in the foliage at the other side of the path, looking despondent and embarrassed of the uninvited interaction. The Eevee could have sworn she was alone to do her business without prying eyes. She even scared off any birds that might be too close for comfort, the last thing she needs is for them to start calling about her, and the tortoise overhears. The vulpine at first thought she might just die of embarrassment if it comes to that, but now though? She thought what happened a minute ago was worse than that.
When she re-entered the vibrant forest, she expected to meet her quarry immediately but realized that the forest was a lot bigger than she expected. Not only that, the old tortoise never told her specifically where her quarry was and what they looked like. She scrunched her face in irritation but soon focused on the green foliage around her. Complaining won’t get this job done faster, so the brown vulpine perked up and charged through the welcoming bushes on the side of a path.
This was the first time she ever saw a natural (unnatural?) formation of trampled dirt next to a running river. Even the trees were adverse to planting offspring on the trodden land. This was a relief because she might get lost trying to find the target she should watch over. Not that even matters, since she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of who she was looking for. Unless you count the trees, they have become indifferent ever since they stopped waving. She sighed and moved on. After about an hour of following downstream, she felt an unfamiliar feeling. The feeling makes her antsy and panicky as she looks at the ever-expanding groves. She needs to use The Eevee’s Room.
She didn’t need to eat, sleep, or use the restroom when she was home. Eating for taste? Sure. Sleeping for relaxation or recharging? Her favorite pastime. But nobody, person or pokemon, would willingly choose to keep the last thing on the list if given an alternative. Because of situations like what happened a few minutes ago. There is one thing any being will agree with, that there should be a secure place to sleep, eat, and relieve themselves, for that is when a creature is the most vulnerable to an ambush.
Even so, she did not notice that the quarry, the person she is supposed to watch over discreetly while they are in this forest, was standing near her and just staring right at her. Of course, she would freak out! Father told her that interacting with sapi.. sapei… humans are only safe when she knows they’re trustworthy. So she used [Run Away] to escape that awkward situation. Out of any time she runs into the target, why in Arceus’ name is it right now!? “Eeeeeevoiii…” the indignant Vixen said in exasperation.
Not to look a gifted ponyta in the snout. The Eevee looked at the trail again from the obscuring foliage and found a pile of objects but no human. She knew this was the target the old tortoise was talking about with a glance. This was the first human she saw in the forest, although she didn’t know what gramps was thinking, it is safe to assume that this was her target because they don’t look very experienced in their current surroundings. Her [Anticipation] didn’t warn her of anything life-threatening about them, and she is a level one pokemon! She could understand watching over a child, but should they have a pokemon companion by now? Why are they alone? Do they know that it is dangerous for humans without a Mon’ by their side while traveling? If this human poses no threat to her, then any creature may threaten her quarry!
“E’val.” the Vixin harshly whimpered to herself knowing that this job became harder than she thought, but soon bit down the comment to make sure nothing spots her in the barely manageable leaf cover. Not that she doesn’t want to protect the human, but she doesn’t want to be caught by a trainer right now. Father needs her to collect information, but can’t do that while she is stuck in a Pokeball. It doesn’t help the fact they JUST SEEN HER! If the Eevee hadn’t left a second more, who knew what would happen! It would make her day much easier if she’d knock the human out and drag them to the grandpa tortoise, but that would upset Father since the human never attacked her first.
As she considered kidnapping as a solution, the human soon stepped out of the bushes. The Eevee finally got a good look at him. It was a young teen with messy brown hair and green eyes, most likely male with a body built for stamina. He is wearing simple traveling attire with many pockets and containers. Seems very convenient to hold many trinkets. She often wishes to have pockets on her to hold many treasures. It would make her mission easier.
The vulpine gazes at all of the pouches and finds something glinting in the sunlight. It was a bag. No, it was something strapped to the bag with string. Something transparent and third her size, and what the human filled it with made her eyes shine with excitement. Rocks. Of various sizes, textures, colors, shapes, and polish. One of the pebbles looked so eye-catching, and she could have sworn it glowed in the shade!
Huzzah! A human of quality! She decides to follow him. She has no bias in her decision, only assurance. It’s okay to assume that the boy holding the gleaming treasure trove is also trustworthy, kind, and generous. Pokemon don’t have bias. She made up her mind! Follow the treasure human! No harm will come to them in the woods!
…
It happened again. The feeling of being watched washed over him as Markus continued down the trail. It only has been an hour since the run-in with the small rabbit-dog, and that unnerving feeling appeared four times during his travel afterward. Is he being observed by the animals? Or is it a monster gauging him? On his travels, he met a few monsters. A couple of slimes on the forest trails jumping from the tall grass. He can handle a few slimes. Even a child with a slingshot can bully the humble slime. But he knows when to back off when there’s more than three.
Markus was not foolish to think he was invulnerable to any small monster. There has been a misconception as old as time about monsters being dumb brutes that charge and attack anything they see. Anyone who lives in a town with a sanctioned Dungeon may logically come to that conclusion. Monsters in Low Tier Dungeons will most likely just charge with reckless abandonment towards any explorer due to the low difficulty. But any intrepid adventure or tradesman will say otherwise about the intellect and ingenuity of wild monsters.
Wild monsters, unlike their Dungeon cousins, go by the law of survival of the fittest. With no dungeon to respawn back to, a monster will do anything to get ahead of its competition. Be it cunning, stealth, deception, teamwork, or other means. Any wildlands with a low-level cap are generally more hazardous than a dungeon with floors of the same level because of the adaptability and unpredictability of wild monsters.
Markus has heard too many stories of newbie adventures underestimating a monster forest. Then a slime fell on their head from the branches because they didn’t think to look up, and then panicked as they dawn the surprise slime helmet. Many lived to get mocked by their colleagues. Few weren’t so lucky to get that luxury.
Before he gets into the cringing thought of death by ‘slime suffocation’ Markus reaches an opening in the trees. What he saw made him pause, in front of him is a reflective pond, with almost no wind and few rivers giving it the illusion of a solid mirror-like surface. “The fish must be here, I’m sure of it!” Markus thought confidently to himself as he prepared his fishing pole, as there was no time to lose at this point. Markus is always used to long treks, but he didn’t expect to get here by noon as he might need that fish delivered, or he will have to explain to the grumpy fisherman with a harpoon collection why he couldn’t make it on time.
He puts on bait and then casts out his line with a rough arc, unsatisfied with the cast, but it would have to do. Right now, the true battle is about to begin. Markus waits with a smirk, mentally patting himself on the back for the extra work he put in to get here. “Now, I just sit and reap the rewards.” He snickered about the assumed easiness of the job. He waits, and he waits, and more waiting. His focus never left the line. He rocks his feet in boredom, taking his attention off the lake for a second. The boy felt the pole tug, and he pulled as soon he felt a bite, finding nothing but an iron hook at the end of the line with no bait or trout.
After failing multiple times, Markus felt like tossing the pole into the lake. “Ragh! Fifal ig magt!” Markus cursed in Elvish because he thought the Goddess of Nature was mocking him at this point. In half an hour, he managed to catch zero Verdant Trout. “What am I doing wrong?” he asked, putting his hand on his chin. Markus thought back to Old Alphas’ teachings. Despite his glowering demeanor, he was patient enough to teach him the basics. ‘Aye, fish are more reactive than one thinks,’ said the old fisherman, ‘when they seem serene, they are a picky bunch to bait into a catch. One must have tranquility of the waters and the willpower to-Blah blah blah.’ Markus half-listened to Alphus’s philosophical speech on fishing and condensed it to: ‘sit down, shut up, and stay still.’
He sat and waited, not moving a muscle. After a few minutes, he felt another tug on the pole. Markus did not move yet. The line tugged bit by bit as if whatever was on the other side was testing his fortitude. Then, the fishing line became taught, and the teen sprung into action. He pulled and reeled in tandem, his movements reacting to his catch. And with one last pull, something clicked in his mind. His arms lift with sudden force, and the trout jumps from the water, green scales shimmering in the afternoon light. “Yes! One down!”
When he caught his first fish, the rest became less arduous. With his reactions a bit more focused on the reflective pool and his senses picking up small movements near the hook, Markus knew the inevitable happened. He acquired a skill. Skills like what Markus got are {Classless} and require only a little exertion to gain. Still, Markus has to put in some effort to obtain these skills, and they are not as powerful as the Class counterpart, but any skills before a Class Change are helpful. If accurate, he got [Fisher’s Intuition], a classless skill essential for the {Fisherman} class change. But Markus can’t be sure. He could only confirm with an Adventurer’s Appraisal Tool, which can be found in an Adventurer’s Guild Hall.
After three more catches with his skill, Markus had to stop and take a break, feeling his (Stamina) drain to a discomfiting level. He searches through his bag to find a snack to rest and replenish. Unwrapping his lunch, he hears the bushes at the forest edge shake, and the young adventurer looks up from his bag. The bushes suddenly stop moving, and the feeling of uneasiness appears again. His senses tell him that nothing is there, and he returns to what he’s doing.
As he looks through his items again, that sense of uneasiness grows. Markus’s subconscious tells him to look back at the treeline, or something horrible will happen. He gazes at the northern treeline again, and his heart drops into his stomach. A shadow slinks between the trees and then stops at the edge, staring back at the boy. His body locked up under its gaze. It’s big and not friendly. As if the shadowed creature sensed the boy’s fear, it weaved between trees, shrubs, and bushes. It’s heading to Markus’s location while keeping its obscurity at the edge of the forest.
Markus draws his knife, not sure his survival tool would keep the shadow at bay. His hand shakes as he stands up to keep his front in its general direction. If he turns and runs, it will give chase and attack him from behind. The traveler stands his ground when there is no other choice. He hopes that his posture and gaze will deter its advance. Markus didn’t let up his vigilance when the movement halted in the undergrowth 10 meters away. He stared at where the supposed creature was as he held his breath, not looking away for even a microsecond.
As if to punish his tunnel vision for the last time, a bush to the right of him gave and a large form bolted from its real hiding place and leaping with frightening agility. Markus had been careless. The creature knew that it got spotted. So it made apparent movement at where the boy was staring, then subtly moved to a location toward his blindspot without making a sound. It then darted out from stealth when Markus was too focused on where he thought it was skulking.
It was a hideous beast. It had the head of a molerat with sharp teeth, attached to the head is a naked panther-like body that is grey as a dark cavern, a rat’s tail and limbs that is covered with black hairs. Its paws end in serrated black claws. Darkened leather covers most of the monster’s form, stitched poorly as if not meant to be dawned by the snarling terror. Its eyes were covered by a rag, blinding it to the surroundings but not hindering its heightened senses. And it knows where its enemy is, and it never stops sprinting.
“Damn, can’t make it!” time slowed down for Markus, and his body can’t keep up with his mind. He is too slow to turn to block the incoming leap, claws homing in at his neck. “Dad. I’m sorry, I won’t be heading home anymore.” Markus was about to accept his fate until the form jolted, and its claw only scratched his arm. It went sprawling on the ground, kicking up gravel. It scrambled in a panic to right itself up as if something struck it during its leap.
A familiar brown shape planted itself between him and the horrifying monstrosity and growled threateningly at it. It’s the small creature again, not running away but instead staring down something over five times its size. The tiny vulpine gets into a readied position, and its adversary stands back up, seeking who dared to interrupt its kill. Both stared each other down, then made a call to challenge.
“EVA'L!”
“SCrEAAaAAAAaAAaLLL!!!”