The forest was peaceful as Jericho played one of his many lullabies. He was enjoying his zither that he had fixed earlier. He repeatedly received notifications that many creatures were lulled to sleep.
Ken shook his head. "Finding a way to get you guys experience is going to be a challenge." He sighed quietly to himself. "Well, it is how they want to play."
"What a nice melody." An aged voice echoed in a relaxed tone. Soon the sounds of a man snoring could be heard nearby.
The roar of a mid-sized feline cried out. (Give me your fish old man!)
Princess started laughing. "Give me your fish old man?" She questioned the voice she heard.
Ken glanced over to his friend. "You learned 'Speak with animals?' He inquired.
"Yeah, wait you have speak with animals too?"
"I have both Speak with Animals and Speak with Spirits. I figured both would be useful to my ranger build." Ken explained.
"Back off you persistent cat! I was just enjoying the music." The aged voice shouted after the roar woke him.
Roars, growls, shouting and collision sounds woke the formerly tranquil woods.
"We should hurry up." Jericho interrupted moving towards the clearing ahead.
A lynx and an old wood elf with a fishing rod were fighting around the edges of a fire. The lynx seemed set on snatching some of the fish that were being grilled by the flames.
The three stared at the two NPCs.
The elf saw the newcomers. "Help me get this blasted beast off of me!" He shouted.
[Emergency quest received: A strong cursed-lynx (level 20 Tier 2 Elite) is attacking an elf you suspect is Lillith's grandfather. Help him fight off the beast.]
Ken had just become level 20 recently and the strongest creatures in a starting area was usually level 15. He was worried about his friend's safety. "Princess, Jericho, be careful. Try not to get attacked by it." He pulled out his bow and loosed an arrow.
The beast cried out. (I just wanted to eat fish! Why are you interrupting me?) It turned towards the hunter.
Jericho, unable to hear what the beast was saying, started playing a jazzy tone with the zither despite the lack of a proper brass or other jazz instrument. He focused on enhancing the dance steps the boy had been practicing.
Ken tilted forward and habitually started stepping to the rhythm Jericho was playing while firing his bow.
The old fisherman, no longer stressed about the beast, returned to tending to the fish he was grilling. He kept a vigilant watch on the fight he was glad not to be a part of anymore.
The lynx leapt and swiped with his large fluffy paws.
The boy triple stepped out of the way, twisting to the side of the beast to fire off another shot.
The beast roared again. (You are just as mean at that old grandpa! I just wanted fish!) It lamented.
Princess's eyes widened. "Ken, stop shooting it, Brother, play a lullaby." She said as she rushed over to the old man. She picked up three of the fish near the fire.
Jericho switched songs.
"What are you doing little miss?" The fisherman shouted angrily. "Those are my grilled fish!"
"I'll pay you back!" She replied as she rushed back to the battlefield where the two hunters tangled.
With the arrows no longer firing, the cat was slowly lulled into sleep.
Princess came over to the hunter. "It wanted fish right?"
The hunter nodded before pausing. "Moira you're brilliant! Every cool ranger needs a good pet and awesome animal related skills. This lynx would look really cool by my side." He took the fish and held the first towards the nose of the sleeping beast.
Princess smiled at the complement.
The lynx's nose twitched, in its half-sleep state is started to munch on the edge of the fish. With the taste in its mouth, the cat's eyes opened excitedly in happiness. (Fish that tastes better than the ones I catch!) It purred. The beast looked over to the hand that fed it. (Mean person is giving me fish?) He hesitated.
(I have more. I was only mean before because I wanted you to stop attacking the grandpa over there. Here have this one too.) He passed over the second fish.
The Lynx ate it quickly. (You are a nice human. What are you called? Why are you being so nice?) He tilted his head in confusion.
Ken pulled out the last fish and replied to the beast. (My name is Huntsman Ken, or Ken for short. I'll give you this one too if you will become my friend and accept me as your master.)
The lynx wiggled its stub of a tail. (Deal!) It roared playfully at it snatched the fish. (Thank you, Ken! I will make sure to be a helpful friend!)
The hunter received a notification. [You have obtained a cursed-lynx combat pet. You can name it. It has its own will but will view you in the best way possible. If you mistreat your pet it may turn hostile, run away, or disobey orders. You can now pull up your pet's stats by thinking of the pet stat window. You can recall your pet into a special tattoo on your right hand. Warning: Pets can die and can refuse to enter the pet space.]
The hunter was ecstatic. While he wasn't the first to obtain a pet, he could now say he had a combat pet like he wanted for his hunter build. "I'll call you Lux."
Lux, the cursed-lynx, purred happily before being recalled into the ink colored lynx paw print tattoo that appeared on Ken's right hand. Items fell to the ground and the three received a notification.
[You have defeated the great cursed-lynx hunter of the forest. You have killed 0 forest creatures in the last hour. The forest has become cleaner because of the removal of the cursed beast. You have achieved a great accomplishment. You have gained 3000Exp and the title Animal Friend. You have leveled *2. For defeating the boss, items have dropped.]
[Animal Friend Title- Animals, not under the influence of outside forces, that would normally have a hostile attitude towards you will now have a neutral disposition and will not go out of their way to attack you. This only applies to creatures that are considered 100% animal.]
Jericho received a 3rd notification. [You are recognized as an in-game creature. For obtaining the title, you have obtained 150Mexp. How would you like to distribute it?]
Jericho thought about his skills that would be able to be upgraded with that number. He realized there were none that he really cared for below the adept rank at this point.
{If I might offer some advice, I would recommend converting it to currency. The amount you have right now is pitifully small. While they are hard to find, most intelligent monster groups have a place where you can exchange MC for things. For example, Llyn has one hidden in the heart of the lake but even simple items cost more than 20 MC.}
"Convert to MC" He muttered quietly. {Thanks Glaw}.
[You now have 170MC]
Ken waved over to the bard. "Jericho, you are the leader, go look at the items and see how we should split them."
The man nodded and walked over to look at the items.
[Lux's guide to Paw Fishing: (Consumable, monster skill book) Must have paws and be able to speak with animals to learn. Use: teaches a creature with paws how to fish. Normally lynxes do not hunt for fish, considering their aversion to being soaked, but this particular one seemed to love it.]
Jericho laughed as he looked over the items. "Ken, it looks like this one is intended for Lux." He passed the book over to the boy.
Ken laughed with the bard as he read the description of the book.
Jericho continued to look through the items.
[Unlucky rabbit's lucky foot: This poor rabbit was unlucky enough to get eaten by the cursed-lynx, Lux, but luckily its foot survived. (Trinket) Level None. *Special ability: Triples the user's luck stat's effect on item drop rates but removes the owner's luck bonuses in combat. (Effects may include reduced activation rates for items and less critical hits.) The higher the luck stat of the wearer, the more noticeable the effects become. This item must be worn during combat for the luck effect to apply to the drop rate of fallen monsters.
*Only shown because of your status as an in-game creature* If equipped by an in-game creature or monster, they gain the universal monster skill, "Flee". (Not that it helped the poor rabbit escape his fate.)]
{That would be helpful.} Glaw piped in. {Since you don't like to fight, you can run away even in your elemental form.}
Jericho thought back to the battle he was summoned to a few days before. {That is a very good point.}
Ken peeked at the item. "Wow, harsh conditions but a great effect. Most people who invest into luck going for the critical hits to help them win and this brings their combat power down a lot. The effect would be quite negligible for anyone who doesn't invest in luck. Though even someone who invested in luck won't get the best things all the time."
"Oh? How do you know that?"
"There is a forum online outlining each stat and the areas they affect. Some math genius calculated it out for people. Of course this game hasn't been out for too long so they may still have a few things wrong."
"Everyone has something they like." Jericho replied thinking about his own low math scores. "Is this something you would use?" He held the foot up to the youth.
"Not really. While increased drop rates are nice, I haven't invested in luck. If the two of you aren't going to use it, you could always auction it off. I'm sure there is someone who will buy it for a few gold pieces."
Princess came over to look at the brown foot. "Brother, you can keep it."
Jericho gave a nod and equipped it on his trinket slot. He looked over the next items.
[Lyngurium*3 and Cursed Lyngurium*2 (Rank 2): Crafting material: Application unknown. An unknown material that looks and feels like a hard yellow amber stone. It is found deep within the ground inside of a Lynx's territory. The cursed versions of these stones may have unpleasant side effects if used before being purified.]
[Lux's hidden treasure: (There is something special hidden in this dimensional box that refuses to be opened by any creature that is not a lynx): Despite the fact that no lynx has ever been able to open it, they have passed it down from one generation to the next. This item cannot be operated by a non-lynx.]
"Can I see?" Princess inquired.
Jericho showed her the items.
"Do you mind if I keep the yellow stones? I might be able to find a use for them later." She asked.
"I don't mind." Ken replied. "Well, the only one here with a lynx is me…" He pointed to the last item.
"You can take the box." The siblings replied at the same time.
Ken half smiled as he took the useless box. "Jericho, do you still have that package? We have a quest to complete don't we?"
"Right," he replied.
The three walked up to the fuming wood elf that had his fish stolen.
"I see you dealt with that blasted cat. Now how are you going to 'pay me back' for the fish you stole?" He glared.
Jericho moved forward. "How would you like us to repay you? We can try and help you catch more fish if you would like." He suggested thinking back to the skill book for Lux they just obtained.
"That is not a bad idea young man. Go; bring me six fish to compensate for my loss."
The three received a new quest. [Obtain 6 fish to give to the unhappy elf. Quest rewards: 50Exp and the old man's forgiveness.]
"We will do our best." Jericho replied, "Oh, respected sir, by chance are you Lillith's grandfather?"
The elf paused before responding. "You know Lillith? What does my pretty little granddaughter want?"
The bard pulled out the package from his inventory. "She sent us to give you this."
The old elf took the package with a smile. "Thank you for going out of your way to deliver this. However you still owe me for the fish. Come back when you have them and I will treat you to something worthwhile."
[You have completed the quest, Delivery from Lillith. You have gained 500Exp, you have leveled. You have gained Lillith's grandfather's appreciation. You will obtain the mysterious reward after completing the newly obtained quest "Go fish."]
Jericho smiled as he and his sister finally reached level 8.
© J Eranoth