When Adric made it to the trees, one of the giant beavers had already been downed by a lucky shot in its leg from Hex. But her pistol was out of charge by the time Adric arrived. The lead beaver was only thirty feet away and closing fast. Its short legs moved it much quicker than Hex thought should be possible. Pulling up her interface, Hex quickly used Examine on the closest creature, having unlocked her Examine and small arms skills while they were preparing to leave.
Giant Beaver Juvenile level 3 (Common)
Type: Mutated Monster
Attacks: Unknown
Loot: Unknown
Information: Upgrade Examine skill to Analyze or defeat this monster to unlock information.
“That wasn’t helpful,” Hex mumbled to herself. “I guess it’s time to see if my magic bolt does anything useful,” She thought as she focused on the closest enemy while selecting the spell from her interface and infusing the lightning element into it. Hex dismissed the interface when she felt the spell charging in her outstretched palm. It was annoying to select something she instinctively knew how to do, but that was the price of using the free interface.
Hex felt the energy flow from her core, down her arm, to focus on a singular point in the center of her palm. The entire process took less than a second. With a surprising amount of kickback, a fist-sized bolt of crackling electricity blasted out from her hand toward her target, covering the distance instantly and striking the lead attacker in its face less than ten feet away. Hex watched in fascination as the beaver’s snout was blown open, and an arc of electricity split off to strike the one behind it in its side with a crackle.
Both monsters stumbled and fell to their bellies, sliding within the melee range of Adric and Hex. Adric already had his bow ready and wasted no time putting an arrow in the lead monster before it stopped its slide. The chime of a kill notification rang in their heads.
The final beaver had only been stunned briefly and was back up to close the distance between them in a heartbeat. Adric tried to get another arrow off, but the creature shimmered a faint orange for an instant before whipping around in a full circle at an impossible speed to deflect the arrow with its tail and slap the bow from Adric's hand, knocking him to the side in the process. Adric stumbled and tripped over a root as the beaver pounced on him, scratching his armor with its long claws. Adric firmly held its head away from his face so it couldn't bite him. Hex, not wanting to engage such a fast creature in melee, retrieved her tactical bow from its tether and, as fast as her untrained skill allowed, shot the beaver in its back as it loomed over Adric, trying to bite him with its enormous teeth.
The arrow struck true, and the beaver's attention was drawn to Hex. It turned its head to snarl at her. Adric took advantage of the monster's distraction to pull his knife and stab it in the thick muscles of its throat, shouting, "Don't shoot. You may hit me! Use your sword!"
The monster turned back to Adric when he stabbed it, and Hex, cursing herself for being so foolish, dropped her bow. Drawing her sword, she lunged forward and stabbed it into the writhing monster's side, her blade luckily sliding between its ribs.
Before she could pull her sword free, the creature's heavy tail slapped her thigh, causing her to stumble away a few steps as the searing pain of the slap coursed up and down her leg. He sword must have hit something vital though because a second later the giant beaver finally went limp on top of Adric, and the chime of a kill sounded a moment later.
Adric rolled the dead beaver off his chest and stood on slightly shaky legs. Looking around franticly, he found his recurve in the detritus of the forest floor, and picking it up, he inspected it carefully for damage, sighing when he found none. Knocking an arrow, he slipped to the edge of the tree line and loosed it toward the last beaver, which had only been downed by a shot to its leg and not killed outright. The monster was running toward them quickly on its three good legs. Two arrows from Adric killed it a few yards from their position.
Breathing heavily and limping slightly, Hex walked up to Adric, replacing the spent energy crystal in her pistol with one he had given her. She wanted to apologize, but he held a finger to his lips as she approached. He pointed toward the lake when he had her attention. One look at the lake and Hex's breath caught in her throat. The water around his dock bubbled and roiled as something thrashed beneath the surface.
They watched the water for nearly a minute when the frothy liquid suddenly turned pink and red with blood. Another minute passed as the chaos beneath the surface seemed to get even more violent, spreading a large pool of blood nearly ten feet in all directions. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the water settled and became calm. The only evidence that anything had occurred was the ever-expanding circle of red on the lake's surface.
Adric went to the beaver that had tried to maul him and, with a little effort, pulled the sword free from its side with a hissing squelch. After wiping the blade on its wet fur, he handed it back to Hex and motioned for her to follow him. Then, he cautiously slipped through the forest in the general direction of her bunker entrance. Hex sheathed her sword and retrieved her bow before following quietly behind.
After walking about a hundred feet, Adric stopped to survey their surroundings. Listening intently and checking for any motion. Satisfied they weren’t being watched or stalked by some monster, he motioned Hex closer to whisper, "Are those ears for show, or do you have exceptional hearing?”
Hex knew he was referring to her tall fox ears. "Yes, I can hear about two times better than a human," she replied honestly, adding, "I'm sorry for shooting an arrow at you."
Adric smiled faintly; he considered rebuking her for the arrow but searching her face, he could tell she was genuinely upset with herself about it, so he only said, “The important thing is you know not to do it now. I understand you have no formal combat training, so it will be a learning experience for both of us." Then he pointed to the top of his head and said, "I want you to take the lead and use your ears to listen for any out-of-place sounds. Remember, slow is safe, and safe is fast. We still have a few hours of daylight left, so there is no sense in rushing. I know you're worried and impatient, but we must consider our safety first." Looking back to where they had left the dead beavers, he added, "We'll harvest those oversized varmints on the way back, assuming nothing else gets them first."
Hex knew he was right. She had mainly given up on her bunker not being a dungeon. She mulled it over for a second before finally admitting. "I don't think we should keep going. Seeing the beavers so big already makes me think it's too late." She was ready to turn back, but Adric's response surprised her.
"We're out here, so we may as well try," he shrugged, "Besides, it is giving us a chance to see how we each react to high-stress situations as a team.
Hex nodded in reluctant agreement, and finding her bearings, she moved past him to continue their journey. She may have been moving slowly, but her mind was racing, “That's what he calls it? High-stress situations? Like nearly getting your face bitten off by a giant beaver on top of almost getting shot by your own companion is just a little stressful, and all we need to do is practice at dealing with it? I almost wish he had yelled at me about nearly shooting him; at least that way, I could be angry back. Now I just feel like an idiot!” Hex thought as she carefully picked her way through the trees, trying not to make too much sound. She looked down at her bow and her shaking hands. "How can he be so calm? When the fight ended, he flipped a switch and deleted all his adrenalin! How? Argh, this stupid organic body is so hard to control.”
Hex didn't realize she was steadily moving faster as she hiked, lost in her own musings, until a hand grasped her shoulder, pulling her from her thoughts. She couldn’t stop the sharp yelp of surprise from escaping her throat. Covering her mouth with a hand, she turned to stare at Adric in fright, her expressive yellow eyes wide.
Adric winced when Hex yelped but knew it was his fault for surprising her. She had been speeding up and mumbling as she walked, and he wanted to slow her down. Now, as she looked up at him in fear, he realized they would have to clear some things up immediately.
"I need you to calm down and take a few deep breaths," He whispered to her as calmly as he could, "Also, I need you to understand that I will never hurt you intentionally, no matter what you do or how mad you think I am. Do you understand?" She nodded slowly, her eyes still wide, so he continued, “You should also focus on keeping your thoughts internal," at her questioning look, he sighed, "You were mumbling as you walked. My hearing might not be as good as yours, but I heard enough.” Adric almost laughed at the dark red coloring that filled her cheeks. He did his best to remain serious, and grasping both her shoulders, he stressed, "We are a team now. Teams do not start out perfect. It takes practice to become an effective team, so that's what we will do. Also, remember that I have decades of combat under my belt, so I have learned to compartmentalize the stress. I will teach you how to do the same in time. Consider this your first lesson for now: I want you to take five deep, slow breaths focusing on me and nothing else. Start now."
Hex stared at Adric in horror, ignoring his instruction to breathe, "I was talking aloud?" She asked sheepishly. He nodded, unable to hide his smirk. "Oh, that makes me feel so…so weird."
"It's called being embarrassed, and it will pass," Adric said softly, "now about those deep breaths…"
Hex closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them to focus on Adric's relaxed features as she continued to breathe slowly and intentionally. It took more than five breaths for her to calm down, but Adric's gaze never faltered from hers as she continued her rhythmic breathing exercise. Eventually, Hex felt her body relax, and her mind cleared from their recent encounter with the monsters. Her shame over her mistake during the fight even lessened somewhat. Finally, after what seemed like a long time to Hex but was only a few minutes, she felt herself relax fully and was ready to continue.
"Thank you," she said, patting his chest.
"Anytime," he responded, stepping back.
“Help me remember to discuss something about this with you later, would you?” Hex asked as she turned and started walking again.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“I’ll try,” he said before falling into step about ten feet behind her.
***
Even at their slow pace, they made it to the bunker entrance in less than half an hour without further incident. Hex wasn't surprised, only disappointed when she checked the hidden door.
Warning! You are about to enter Hidden Dungeon, Level 85.
With a deep, resigned sigh, she turned to Adric and shook her head. Gesturing to him to approach, she said, "It's a dungeon. Let me show you how to check without alerting any creatures inside."
When he walked up next to her, Hex took his hand and showed him how to hold his palm out and gently touch the surface of the door disguised as a stone, explaining as she did so, "Most dungeons will warn you that you are entering them, but that doesn't mean they will stop you." When his fingers brushed the mossy rock surface, the warning message popped up for both of them. Hex explained further, "If we are in physical contact when one of us touches the threshold of a dungeon entrance, we will both be warned. This is because there are such things as warp dungeons that will teleport whoever enters them along with anyone in physical contact with their person." Gently pulling his hand from the stone door, Hex finished, "The reason you touch the dungeon entrance gently is if you accidentally force your way inside, it may notify and awaken nearby creatures, and nothing is stopping them from chasing you up to five hundred feet from the entrance."
Adric took a step back from what was just part of a boulder as far as he could tell. Had he not just received a notification of it being a high-level dungeon, he would have thought it another part of the mountainous terrain of his land. A thought struck him, and he had to ask, "How come your bunker is level eighty-five and my hiding place was only fifty? Just what did you have down there?"
Hex stepped away from the door reluctantly and told him, “A bunker with a year’s worth of rations, a 3D printer loaded with templates for weapons and armor, a gym, a holographic display of the surrounding forest marked with mineral locations, a stasis chamber that could double as a healing bed if needed, and a mana generator with a year of fuel…” Hex trailed off, staring morosely at the entrance, remembering all she had lost because she forgot the stupid wedge to keep the door open. Blowing a tuft of hair from her eyes, she said, "How do organic life forms remember anything?"
"Repetition and self-interest," Adric said with a chuckle. He had no idea why she asked but figured she deserved an honest answer. Then he added, "I'm sorry we didn't get here in time. That 3D printer alone would have made this integration much easier." He had counted his arrows and could only think of how convenient it would have been if he could have scanned one and printed them. Pulling one from his quiver, he stared at it, and his eyes widened!
Hex, who had been looking on, realized it at the same time he did, and simultaneously they both said, "Tinker!"
“Is there anything else you need to do out here?” Adric asked Hex quickly. He didn’t want to sacrifice an arrow while they were so far from the relative safety of his house but was excited to try to create a template using his new class skill.
"No, nothing. We should get back soon anyway if we want to harvest those beavers,” Hex said, a little giddy at the thought of Adric's tinker skill being able to eventually replace her lost 3D printer.
“Okay, let’s head back then. But we need to stay just vigilant on the way back. Maybe more so since we left dead monsters near the house." Adric cautioned.
They resumed their previous formation on their way back, with Hex in the lead and Adric following about ten feet behind her.
Even though they tried moving slowly, they wound up returning to the scene of their fight in less than twenty minutes.
Hex heard it before Adric and stopped short of where they had left their kills. Taking a knee in the loamy soil of the forest floor, she gestured for Adric to do the same. He complied but crept up next to her quietly. Straining to hear what Hex did, he finally heard the sounds of chuffing and growling with the occasional sound of tearing flesh.
"Damn, when this System takes over, it doesn't play, does it?" Adric thought, listening to the sounds of whatever it was devouring their kills.
Checking that the arrow on his bowstring was securely nocked, Adric looked at Hex to ensure she was watching and slowly scratched in the dirt. "How many?" She shrugged but then cocked her head to the side a couple of times then held up one finger.
With a nod, Adric stood and began slowly approaching the sounds, careful of every foot placement he made as he moved. Adric took another fifty paces and caught the first glimpse of what was eating one of the dead beavers.
Adric stopped in confusion, thinking, “What the hell is that thing?”
It was big, whatever it was, and covered in thick black fur. At first, Adric thought it was a black bear, but it was too low to the ground to be a bear, and what was up with that long tail, “Panther! We’re in trouble!” All of Adric's instincts told him to run. He fought back his primal urges and watched the enormous beast as it consumed the beaver carcass. The giant cat had to be ten feet long and weigh at least five hundred pounds.
Adric wanted nothing more than to turn around and backtrack until they could circle around the giant animal. Still, he knew that this area must be part of its territory since the beast had found the carcass so quickly.
Hex had walked up and stopped next to him, so he gave her a look to gauge her thoughts on their current problem of a giant predator between them and his house. Her eyes were wide, but seeing his look, she mouthed the word "Magic" and held out her hand like she had when she shot the electric bolt at the beaver. Then she reached in her belt for the wand.
Hex quietly slid the spark wand out of her belt, keeping an eye on the panther as she did. Her infuse skill told her there would be no problem using the wand now, about the same time her examine skill activated.
Cave Panther level 5 (Common)
Type: Mutated Monster
Attacks: Unknown
Loot: Unknown
Information: Upgrade Examine skill to Analyze or defeat this monster to unlock information.
Mouthing "level five" to Adric and holding up the corresponding amount of digits, Hex got his nod. Adric faced forward, readying his bow.
Realizing he was waiting on her, Hex aimed the wand at the panther and opened her interface to select the infuse skill. Choosing the skill, she started channeling magic energy into the wooden conduit, her magic flowing freely now that she had her class. Her skill told her that infusing the energy with lighting would add to the spell's strength, but she would also run the risk of damaging the wand. She decided it was worth the risk and added lighting to her magical infusion. It took much more energy to charge the wand than for her magic bolt, and Hex worried she wouldn't have enough to finish. Thankfully, a lightning bolt shot out of the wand's tip a moment later, slamming into the panther's hind quarter!
Her skill was right! The bolt of electricity was much more powerful than when the goblin mage had used the wand. The arc of energy let out a loud crack as it struck the panther, and the beast yowled in surprised fury as it collapsed, momentarily stunned from the electrocution.
Adric had already pulled up his interface and confirmed his magical energy was topped off, so the second Hex released her attack, he selected an explosive arrow, closed his screen, and charged the shot as he drew his bow. He felt the skill pouring energy into the arrow. He instantly knew it would explode on his string if he didn't release it immediately. Apparently, pre-system components weren't as accepting of magical energy as an item that would be made post-integration. Fortunately, Adric was an instinctive shooter. With a slight sway, he finished his draw and released before the arrow could be overcharged and blow up in his hands.
Adric's aim was true, and thanks to the stun effect from the lightning, the beast didn't have a chance to dodge away. The arrow struck the panther just forward of its tailbone to sink deep, sliding under its ribs. An instant later, there was a soft 'pop' followed by a spray of blood from the panther's back. It was not exactly the explosion Adric was hoping for. Still, it seemed to have done some severe damage to the animal if the blood gushing from its back was any indication.
To the surprise of both of them, the panther wasn't dead yet. With a loud roar, it shook off the effects of the lightning and bounded forward, trying and failing to turn around on its damaged hind quarter. That didn’t stop it from using its front paws to quickly turn and start crawling toward them on its stomach, leaving a bloody trail in the grass as it drug its rear legs.
Adric's heart went out to the creature, and he kicked himself for not aiming for its head to quickly end its suffering. He knocked another arrow and selected a true shot from his skill list. When he drew his bow this time, it felt like time slowed. As the skill pumped magical energy into his eyes, they became so focused that he could zoom in and count the individual whiskers on the panther's black nose. Adric knew time wasn't actually slowing, but the skill artificially increased his perception attribute. Still, the sensation was there, and he used it. Aiming for the center of the panther's forehead, he loosed his arrow, which slammed into its target at over two hundred feet per second, sinking to the fletching in the creature's brain.
You have defeated Cave Panther level 5. Experience earned.
Adric and Hex jumped when the level-up notifications chimed in their heads. Looking at each other sheepishly, they each checked their interfaces.
Ding! You have leveled up! Class, Tinker has leveled up to level 2. You have received 5 free attribute points.
Explosive Arrow has leveled up.
True shot has leveled up.
Ding! You have leveled up! Class, Assimilator, has leveled up to level 2. You have received +1 Vitality, +1 Agility, +1 Intelligence, +2 Free Points.
Infuse has leveled up.
"Let me guess," Adric said after reading his messages, "the higher the level of the enemy, the quicker the skills we use against them level?”
"Yep," Hex confirmed with a grin. Then she looked around worried, saying, "We should hurry and loot the panther and what's left of the beavers. It will be dark soon."
Adric agreed but took a moment to assign his free points, he put one point into vitality because he figured that panther could have killed him with a single swipe of its massive paw. He didn't know how much vitality it would take to keep that from happening, but he intended to find out. Next, he added a point to perception and intelligence. Perception because it simulated time slowing when it increased his perception off the charts and intelligence because he knew he would need it for his class. His last two points went into wisdom because it was the attribute that most increased his magical energy, bringing it up to one hundred nineteen.
Accepting the changes, Adric moved to help Hex, who was looting one of the beavers. He asked her, "Will selecting the components option generate things like arrows?"
She looked at him and shook her head, saying, "The items received from the loot function are based on the creature being looted. So, this beaver will probably provide a pelt, maybe its tail and teeth, if they are considered valuable. Oh, and we will probably get meat from it, too, since it isn't a spawn by the System." She tapped her chin in thought, then added, "Selecting weapons may produce arrows, though, especially if we don't remove the ones, we used to kill them with before we loot the corpses."
Looking at the sun's location, Adric figured they had less than an hour of good daylight left, so he said, "We're running out of time. We should split all these corpses with the System and select weapons for at least one beaver and components for the panther. For the other two beavers, we can do items or maybe credits. I don't know about you, but I want a better interface sooner than later.”
Hex mulled it over and only asked why he wanted to choose weapons for one of the beavers. When Adric told her about the arrow nearly exploding in his hands and that he wanted to see if the loot skill would provide better arrows to hold magic energy, she readily agreed to his suggestions. The only other thing she did before they started looting was quickly pull up her interface and put her two free points into wisdom to bring her magic energy up to one hundred and forty.
They decided to see how many credits they got from two beavers and were disappointed when it was only three credits each. It wasn't all bad, though; the beaver they chose the weapon option on provided two bundles of six arrows, there were two different size arrows; one bundle for each of them. Adric compared the lengths and found he could use Hex's arrows in a pinch. The panther provided an enormous pelt plus twenty-five kilograms of meat, which the system provided in neat little one-kilogram paper-wrapped packages.
Adric had no idea how they would store the meat and mentioned as much to Hex. She told him that as long as he had solar panels and batteries, his refrigeration equipment should continue to work post-integration. Still, it wouldn't matter for one more night. Looking at his house, he realized the lights were still on, and he remembered the rest of the world wasn’t fully integrated yet.
Their looting finished, and the bodies dissolved into mist. Adric and Hex shuffled to the house carrying their spoils as quickly as possible, worrying that something would come charging out of the lake after them. Their fears went unrealized, thankfully, and they made it inside safely without further incident.