I awake the next morning as a slice of light finds its way through the damaged vessel’s roof and shines upon me, dragging me from my rest.
We depart swiftly, leaving the broken ship to its canyon grave as we trek towards that golden, treasure chest shaped X on my map.
An hour or so later, we finally run into the first of this new planet’s monsters!
In a departure from our experience, the Beast is far, far more alien than I expected, other world or not.
We come upon it as it crosses the stream in some sort of guard or sentry rotation, its form dripping water onto the ground in a gentle pitter patter as it turns and notices us before it lunges abruptly in our direction!
{Garden Guide, Lv.30}
Seeing that tag, I have some decent confidence we can beat it but I remain wary and warn my companions to do the same, lest the strangeness of the creature hide some sneak attack or other surprise in store for us.
The humanoid Beast stands roughly my height but is formed entirely from the multi-hued crystal that makes up this desert, its features crude and half-formed in some gross parody of humanity.
The Uncanny Valley is strong with this one, my discomfort making itself known quite swiftly.
The thing leads its charge with claw tipped hands, the long nails of which are made of sharpened crystal that glistens wickedly in the dim light.
Staying defensive, I hold my hatchet at my side and prepare to use it to deflect the attacker while Horus flies off to prepare to dive bomb it and Artemis curls herself around my back and uses her Stubborn Skill, long since leveled up, to support me and keep me in place with the full momentum of the Beast headed my way.
A twinge of sadness threads its way through my mind as I realize that Belina would be standing in my place right now while I supported her but I quickly force the melancholy down and redouble my focus as the Beast slashes at me!
I block one set of claws with my trusty hatchet and deflect the other with a well-placed forearm encased in my stylish greaves, the Beast forced off balance in surprise at my unmoving form, courtesy of Artemis’ trusty support.
With some weird shriek, the Beast attacks again as Artemis swipes her own clawed paw at it, its attention still held by me.
She slashes at the things overextended arm as I force it to miss and cuts deeply into the muscle, or the crystal equivalent anyway, as I block its other arm while Horus capitalizes on its painful distraction to come down on its head!
His talons, shining beacons of vibrant sunlight, cut deep grooves into its crystalline head and sends it careening away as it puts one crude hand to its face and seems to frantically check the damage.
“Sentient??” I think to myself in some shock, a golem or other programmed creature, as I thought this was, would not be concerned with checking if its face is scarred or any other reason really.
But, self aware or not, this thing is going down.
As Artemis leaps to strike again, the creature turns to her now and seems to discount me as a damage dealer.
Its fatal mistake….
Blurring forward with my hatchet, its blade enshrouded in a small semblance of my Style, that of a great river carving a canyon much like this one into a crystalline landscape, comes flashing down like a meteor!
With a crash of breaking stone, the Beast collapses into a half dozen small glowing crystal shards at my feet which appear with an ID tag as soon as they hit ground.
{Crystal Shards: 6/10 to Skill/Spell level up}
Congratulations, you have killed a Garden Guide, Lv.30 for 5,000,000 XP!
5,076,400/52,418,800 XP to Lv.21
My eyes widen in greed as I see how huge the benefits will be to finding more of these guys, how much quicker some of my higher leveled abilities can progress if I use these crystals. They may not be a part of the winning conditions but anything that grows my strength and capabilities is a treasure all the same.
Seeing that both of my Companions are uninjured, I grab the shards and continue our hike; only this time searching for any sign of more of these walking dispensaries of power.
We continue walking along the base of the canyon and follow the small stream throughout the day until midafternoon, tackling a neat dozen of the Garden Guides with relative ease as we move along. We even manage to have time to grab a few lower quality pieces of treasure, some herbs and a few random hunks of strange ore the System claims is of value and as such, part of the Event.
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By now, the canyon has angled upward and reached the surface once again as it begins to near the mountains that ring the edge of this area. Pulling up our total gains, I see that our rewards from all the Beasts are quite something, each of us earning enough of the shards for 5 Skill or Spell level advancements and a level up as well, as a ringing notification reveals:
Congratulations! You have killed an assortment of Garden Guides Levels 30-32 for a total of 60,000,000 XP!
You have leveled up!
You have 2 Free Attribute points and 1 Free Skill point available!
Constitution +1
“Hah, feels like an age since we’ve gotten to choose some new abilities!” I say observantly, chuckling dryly at my own sense of childlike excitement.
“Woof!’ Artemis says in agreement before expanding on that eloquent thought a bit over our bond, “I have been looking forward to it! I found a really wonderful one. Here, look!”
Eagerly, she mentally sends the image of the Skill description through our bond, letting me read:
Hoarfrost(App)(97% Comp): Release the breath of the Northern Wastes, the coldest region in the realm of Hel, where even the strongest of beings fear to tread, lest they be frozen and entombed for all time in the lands of the Damned. Range of up to 10 feet. Apprentice Bonus: Doubles range restriction to 20.
“Oooo, nice choice, Lady A! Should be a really useful ranged option for you to have.” I compliment her while giving her some well-earned pets before turning to our feathered friend, “How about you, Horus? Were you able to catch up and choose a Skill now too?”
Nodding his little beaked head, he replies mentally, “Yes, Nova! I was able to swat a few other birds from the air between our engagements with the crystal thingies for the extra XP and I just made it to 21! Here’s what Skill my mother had all picked out, I think it’s perfect!”
Twilight Shroud(App)(98% Comp.): With the light of the sun or moon, use the illumination to wrap yourself in an illusion and appear invisible. Those of higher tiers may remain unaffected. Apprentice Bonus: May now use shroud as a weak shield.
“Well done, Horus! Your mom steered you right with that one, think about all of the surprise attacks you’ll be able to launch now!” I tell the youngster encouragingly as he preens at the positive reinforcement, only momentarily saddened at the memory of his mother and her clear love for him, even from beyond this realm.
Pride in my little family fills my heart to near bursting as I turn to my own advancement with a goofy smile plastered on my face.
Skill/Spell List:
Wilderness Survival(J):29
Huntsman’s Athleticism(App): 27--28
Wild Rampage(App): 24--26
Natural Reinforcement(J): 29
Blood-Fueled(App): 24--26
Eco-Missile(App): 17--18
Environmental Clean(B): 8
Viking Defender(U): 8
Forest Fade(B): 9
Hmmm, so I am very near to a tier up on several of my abilities, now I just need to decide which would be most useful to tier up now and what can wait for either natural growth or further crystals, should I choose to save some for a time when advancements in come slower still.
One choice is a no brainer, especially considering both how high its level is and its utility in most environments: Wilderness Survival.
Wilderness Survival +1 from Completed Garden Crystal!
Tier up!
Adept Bonus: By being in contact with the natural formations of any world, be it the ground, the sea, flora or fauna, the Player may now draw a passive amount of 5 HP/second from the energy and power that the wilderness has coursing through it.
Nice!
That is a very handy upgrade to an ability I have not often used directly in recent days! Now, I can literally heal just from standing around, or even in the midst battle!
Next up is another ability that, while not directly powerful, has some pretty great benefits to any sort of movement, in battle or out, and on any surface. It is fairly high level and would likely take a while to hit the next tier, so I place 2 completed crystals into Huntsman’s Athleticism!
Huntsman’s Athleticism +1 from Completed Garden Crystal!
Tier Up!
Adept Bonus: The world around you responds to your movements just as you respond to it. Now, the world will reach out to you when in need, in the best form necessary. If you fall from a tree, the branches shall catch you. Should you need to dodge an attack, the earth shall pull you down into its safe embrace.
It appears I’m essentially favored by the world now, or so it would seem. That should help keep me alive quite nicely, especially with it apparently acting of its own accord, should I miss something.
My final choice to use a crystal with is easy for three reasons: One, it’s the ability I use most. Two, it has kept me alive and healthy in more than one tough spot. And three, it’s the highest level remaining and likely take a long to level. I place my final crystal of the day with Natural Reinforcement and await the goodies.
Natural Reinforcement +1 from Completed Garden Crystal!
Tier Up!
Adept Bonus: Your closeness with the natural world has grown to greater and greater depths with each passing breath. Now, you may become that natural world. By casting this Spell for a high amount of Mana, you may embody that material with your entire physical form.
“Hmmm, gonna need to try this one out guys. Just a heads up.” I tell my Companions, who give me some space by backing up several feet.
Using the most prevalent element in this area, I cast the improved Spell on the crystal floor of the desert.
As the Mana drains from my pool, I feel a peculiar sensation beginning in my very core and expanding outward at a rapid pace!
Under my wide eyes, I watch and feel as every part of me turns to tough, iridescent crystal, my very bones growing denser and heavier, my muscles still working through will and magic alone.
I walk a bit, feeling and enjoying the heaviness of my footfalls, the durability of my form. I slam my crystal fist into the wall of the same material and, with satisfaction, see a spiderweb of cracks spreading from the point of impact.
Seems the Spell actually improves the strength of the base material a bit too!