The Beast
Chapter 2: Destruction and Despair
A Royal Road Fan Fiction… of sorts
By Halosty
The Beast, although he was not properly called that yet, did not appear very intimidating. This was mostly because he was a rabbit. He was not, in fact, any less dangerous for his appearance. He had gained a decent amount of levels and other abilities to make up for the fact that his basic form was… sub-par. Enough, in fact, that foxes were no match for him. At least during the night.
During the day, he rested, and prepared to escape at the first sign of players. One mistake and he could quite easily be dead. Sure, the average noob who hunted rabbits would not put up too much of a fight, assuming he brought no friends. This also assumed, of course, that he was at the level where he could only fight one rabbit- which was unlikely.
Still, foxes… foxes were prey. The Beast had enough natural agility, plus increases from his practiced dodging, that he could run circles around the foxes. Literally, if he wanted to, but that didn’t kill foxes. He’d learned that the best way, if they didn’t leave themselves open for a bite at their neck, was to jump on their forehead and kick down with his powerful legs. Because of this, he gained a skill.
Hop
Your powerful legs allow you to leap onto the enemy, and then back off, disorienting it and possibly causing stun.
Damage, stun chance, and jumping height increase with level, stamina cost increases with height and power of jump, but decreases with level.
This skill was useful for both offense and defense, and allowed for reach of critical points he would otherwise be too small to attack.
--------------------------
Although few people knew it, not everyone feared The Beast. In fact, a few aligned themselves with his vile purposes, and thus contributed to the slaughter of many innocent beings. Though they may have gained strength from their evil compact with The Beast, it came at the cost of their very souls.
--------------------------
Three elves trekked through the forest. It was a peaceful forest, filled with a large number of rabbits who were easy to hunt. As one progressed further from the elven city of Heartwood, there were gradually stronger monsters. Of course, there were also some dungeons as well. All in all, it was a good place for starting adventurers.
This particular group was composed of a ranger, a warrior, and a druid. Normally a group would consist of more than three people, but they were good friends who had played together for a long time before Royal Road came out, and felt they worked best without others.
In the front was Cael’van, the ranger. His job was as the scout, and thus he took the fore and found enemies to hunt or avoided ones that were too dangerous. In this area, it was just a formality, since there were nothing but rabbits.
Behind him, but not too far, was Aeltas the warrior. He was the tank of the group. He had a sword and a shield, but light enough armor that he could dodge blows instead of just taking hits. He couldn’t afford to take too much damage, since they were without a dedicated healer.
At the rear was Lailam. She was a member of the druid class, which meant she was capable of some healing and some buffing, as well as some elemental spells. This diversity meant that she was not as strong in any one area. This was fine with her, because she had really chosen the class for another reason. Druids were capable of getting an animal companion. This was a powerful fighting helper, almost as capable as having another player. However, Lailam didn’t even care about that. What she wanted was something cute. Her friends tried to convince her to get something practical.
“Look, foxes and wolves can be cute. They are also capable in combat. I think either of them would be an excellent choice,” said Cael’van.
“You could also get a bear. You’ve seen videos of cute little bear cubs right?” said Aeltas. He wanted something else that could get hit besides him. Backup would be helpful.
“Well~~~, if we can find any cute ones, I’ll be glad to have them. Still, look at all these cute rabbits hopping around. Wouldn’t you rather have one of them come with us, so that we can snuggle with it?”
Her two friends knew they wouldn’t be able to convince her to pick a pet that wasn’t cute, so they settled for a good compromise. “Well, just wait till we find a nice cute fox or wolf, or maybe a nice jungle cat of some kind. You don’t want to rush into this decision.”
“Okay, I promise to pick carefully and find the cutest pet ever!”
They rolled their eyes. That was the best they were going to get.
As they walked along, they passed quite a variety of rabbits, all cute, but none extraordinarily so. Then, they saw one nibbling at the top of a carrot. It had droopy ears, and dark brown spots around its eyes and on its face. After it ate, it lay down on the ground and yawned, then closed its tired eyes and laid its head on its paws.
Cael’van and Aeltas turned their heads and looked at Lailam. When they saw her sparkling eyes, they put their faces in their hands.
--------------------------
The beast dined on a tasty treat he had found. He was tired from a night of hunting foxes, and one stray wolf. The wolf had been quite a challenge, but it was too slow to land any real hits, and had no practical combat practice. Still, even the grazes had taken a large chunk of his hit points away from him, and it was a frightening battle.
It was time for him to rest from his strenuous activities. This was especially true since he was now at his weakened state because of the daytime.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Then he heard a high pitched cry. Could it be the scream of a hawk? No, it was too low to the ground. It must be the battle cry of one of those elves. He knew he was in over his head because he had gotten careless. His only chance to survive was to run and hide. He instantly sprang into action and ran away from the source of the noise, but unfortunately, his top speed was much lower during the day. He could hear it gaining on him. For the first time, he wondered what his own death would be like, and pondered the oblivion he would be experiencing. This fear gave him a small boost of speed, but it was not enough. The elf tackled him from behind. Soon, it would kill him.
“Bunny bunny bunny! Cute bunny! Be my friend!”
Lailam has sent you a friend request.
The beast was shocked at this revelation. Apparently his fate was not to be death, but capture and enslavement. Still, it was preferable to death. He nodded.
You have accepted a friend request.
At this point, the elf was spinning him around in circles. Had he not been humiliated enough in defeat? If only he had his true strength that he could only draw out at night, he could escape from this thing. No, he could easily defeat it. Alas, he had chosen poorly and was now stuck with but a quarter of his potential strength.
“Alright, now… How do I make you my animal companion? Ah, there it is.”
Do you wish to convert to the Animal Companion class? This will enforce a permanent bond between you and the druid Lailam. In exchange for increased abilities, 20% of the experience you earn will be transferred to your Human Companion.
Another choice that would decide his fate. Frankly, he didn’t know what to do. He feared death if he refused, but a drain on his experience would be troubling. On the other hand, he had little choice, and the draw of increased abilities was tempting. Still, he couldn’t decide.
“Did it work? It hasn’t said whether the ability succeeded or failed.” Lailam gently shoot the rabbit she was holding. “Hey, did you fall asleep? Or do you not want to be my animal companion?”
He sighed, or as close as a rabbit could come. He might as well accept his fate.
You have converted to the Animal Companion Class!
All abilites +20%
20% of experience earned on your own will be transferred to your Human Companion.
You are automatically a party member of your Human Companion.
If you are not near your Human Companion, or working at their direction, the bonus abilities will be negated until you fulfill the conditions again.
Special:You maintain the bonus when your Human Companion is offline and can act as you please, but will still transfer 20% of your experience to them.
Special:Because of your Night Hunter ability, you will have a 20% increase to your adjusted statistics. The totals are: 240% at night, 60% during the day.
The rabbit was rather confused at what an “offline” was, but he knew it had sounded too good to be true. He would have to stay with this elf to gain the bonuses. On the other hand, he would be much stronger- even during the day he would be decent, if only because of his levels.
Then he saw two more elves approaching behind Lailam. He struggled out of her hands and stood between her and them. If he was going to be this “Animal Companion” thing, he was going to do it right, even if he was weak right now. He had to protect her from these dangerous people.
“Aww, it is pretty cute. However, didn’t you say you were going to take your time?”
“I couldn’t help it, he’s so cute~~~,” she said, as she picked him up beneath his front paws and dangled his hind legs beneath him. “Look, look! See what I mean?”
“Yes yes, it’s cute. I don’t suppose it has good stats?”
“Hmm, I dunno. Animal Companion stat window!”
“Well?”
“It’s not working. It says the stats are secret? I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work.”
“Great. So we have a rabbit with unknown stats. Based on average rabbits… it should have 5 strength, twenty dexterity, and something like 50 hit points. It’s sort of like level one half.”
“I don’t care, he’s super cute! Oh yeah, I should give him a name. How about Fluffy?”
Do you wish to be called Fluffy?
“No!” cried out three voices. One of them was silent, but the rabbit struggled violently at the suggestion. Something about the name scared him.
“Aww fine. How about Roger then?”
Do you wish to be called Roger?
“Well… at least it’s a name,” said Aeltas.
The rabbit felt that the name was appropriate somehow. Not particularly fearsome, but it would do.
“Alright! Come with us Roger, we’re gonna go hunt some foxes and wolves. Just stay in the back where it’s safe, okay?”
Roger, who would later become The Beast, accepted this. At least while it was daylight, he would have to be careful.
End Chapter 2: Destruction and Despair