Deep in the Eastern Forest, war was raging in a small grove. The midday sun littered into the clearing through the cracks between the leaves. Mighty oaks and pines turned the grassy place into a forested arena. On one side was the intrepid adventurers Noah and Teague, blasting off spells and swings with their weapons against their opponents, the vile feral moles.
While the moles weren't as frightening to Noah as the goblins and kobolds had been, they were even more irritating to deal with. The fuzzy little creatures when they stood on their hind legs were the same height as the goblin (roughly the size of a human child). The fact they in no way resembled a human at all made it all the easier for Noah to mercilessly cut them down and turn them to dust. Their thick bodies were covered in short, light gray fur. Their claws were long, but only occasionally sharp as Teague realized after one managed to swipe at him. They made soft, warbling cries as they attacked and fell, their cylindrical snouts opening to reveal sickly green teeth. Their eyes were shrouded completely by the fur on their face, and that too made it a bit easier for Noah to endlessly slaughter them.
Endless, however was a good way to describe them. Each time they would take out one of the moles, another three would come out to face them. Some would come from past the shadows behind the trees, but a surprising amount emerged from holes in the ground dispersed around the arena. Their claws were not the only way they attacked the adventurers either. Teague was the first to get hit by a hail of pebbles being tossed by a pair of moles off to the side. He returned fire with his own Ice Thorns, but his fury encouraged the moles to continue attacking from a distance.
"There might be too many of them," Noah commented as he slashed at a mole that was attempting to flee from him. A glance down at his belt told him that one of his HP Vials was getting low and his MP Vial was almost empty, only a few spots of the thick blue substance resting at the bottom.
"Don't fall back yet!" Teague barked. A group of five moles charged at him, and Teague dispatched them all with a mixture of whacks atop their heads and elbows courtesy of Cheap Shot.
Noah groaned as he dodged a larger rock being thrown by a mole to his left. As he launched an Ice Thorn and turned the critter to dust, another of the monsters leaped out the ground beneath him. The mole jabbed its blunt claws into Noah's thigh, not piercing skin but causing noticeable discomfort. The creature made a strange noise, baffled that its assault was ineffective. Noah assumed whatever eyes the mole had were staring up at him in fear as he drove his blade through its face. The mole whimpered softly before turning to dust.
"They're slowing down," Teague said as he bonked two more moles with his staff. Noah split his focus from solely killing the moles to looking around their arena. Teague's observation seemed correct. More moles weren't popping out as their comrades perished. Some that were about to throw rocks had even started dropping them and retreating into their holes and back to the shadows of the trees. Noah and Teague together shot their magic at the last of the moles in the clearing, spearing it to the ground.
"Do we chase them?" Noah asked, looking out into the trees to see if he could spot anymore of the stragglers.
"No need," Teague said. He jabbed his staff into the ground, leaving it pointing up to the sky. He sat down cross legged and leaned against the tool, letting out a long sigh as he looked upward.
"You sure?" Noah said as he sheathed his sword. Teague may have been relaxed, but Noah was still a bit wary about the bizarre looking creatures returning at some point.
"Yeah. We're good." Teague looked over at Noah and patted the ground in front of him. "Come chill for a bit man."
Noah nodded and finally sat down near his friend. The weariness of their excursion was starting to catch up to him now that the adrenaline had worn away. The moles caused almost no damage to him, just blunt jabs and a scratch here and there. Apparently, his MP reserves were doing relatively well considering how much magic he had used. The tiny headache barely even got his attention.
"So why was this a job?" Noah asked, crossing his own legs and looking up to see what Teague may have found so interesting. There was nothing above them but shady branches with sunlight creeping through the spaces between leaves.
"Villagers can't fight monsters," Teague answered. "And these things may not have been pretty scary to us, but they can hurt some people. Mainly it's the crops they would be after, though from what I hear they'll occasionally cut up a farmer or a kid pretty bad."
"So, does just killing a bunch of them really do anything if we don't take them all?"
"Sort of." Teague idly scratched his chin as he tried to think of the best explanation of how monster hunts worked. "It teaches them to be scared around people usually. The smaller ones anyway. They'll talk to each other and tell each other to stay away from all people. But what really helps out is if we kill the leader."
Teague shifted his glance from upward to the forest itself. Noah copied his glance, but since neither of them spotted anything they just returned to looking up to the branches and leaves.
"You mean that boss thing you were talking about?" Noah asked, remembering the specific note they had read on their job paper.
"Mhm," Teague answered. "You take out the leader, it really sends the little creeps scattered about. They can't get reorganized for a long time, and they really don't leave their homes at that point."
"Is that what we were trying to do with the goblin tunnel?"
"Pretty much. Though that has the added benefit of the occasional treasure trove lying around."
Noah could catch Teague's smirk even as he continued gazing upward. The warm little feeling Noah got as he thought of helping people through his journeys was a good one. It was definitely a feeling he could get used to having all the time. Even though Teague did tend to bring up gold and riches, Noah figured his heart probably was in the right place as well.
Teague finally looked down from the sky to fiddle with one of the pockets on his fest. He pulled out two mysterious items from the top left pocket he reached into. One was a white paper box that filled the palm of one had. Teague popped flipped the upper portion up to reveal the contents, several white tubes of paper filled with something that Noah couldn't see. He took a pair of them out before putting the box back into his vest pocket. The other thing that Teague had retrieved was a much tinier object. It was a squished plastic tube painted blue. At the very top was a strange metal contraption, with a small wheel sitting next to a little hole.
"Catch," Teague said, tossing one of his paper tubes to Noah. The fae caught it, being gentle so as not to crush whatever it was. Noah watched Teague put one end of the tube in his mouth and hold the other strange object up to it. His fingers spun the metal wheel, and with a little click a small flame came from the hole beside the wheel. The tip of Teague's paper tube was lit, and the Brawler started puffing out smoke from his barely open lips.
After Teague finished with his lighting, he tossed the strange object over to Noah. Noah looked hesitantly at the lighter but mimicked his buddy's actions nonetheless. After all, Teague had yet to lead him wrong. He put the tube in his mouth, noting the very strong smell that exuded from whatever was inside it. He copied Teague's actions with the odd device. The paper tube was lit, and Noah started to breath in slowly. The sweet tasting smoke poured into his mouth, but soon it was too much for him to take. Once it started to tickle a little spot at the back of his mouth, Noah found himself coughing harshly, puffs of the gray smoke leaking past his lips. While Noah was attempting to eject everything from his body through his mouth, Teague was sitting there and laughing his ass off.
"Damn, Noah," Teague said as his laughter and Noah's coughing started to die down. "I knew you couldn't handle too much booze, but I never knew you were such a sensitive soul all around."
"Kiss my ass," Noah said, chucking the lighter back to Teague. The Brawler snatched it out the air and returned it to the pocket with his cigarettes.
"These are Cherry Bombs," Teague said, taking another deep inhale of the cigarette. Smoke billowed forth as he spoke. "Less nicotine, but the taste is a lot more enjoyable. And they're grown in Hope Fields too."
Noah nodded in pretend understanding. He took another, smaller drag of his own cigarette. This one was more manageable, and it was easier for him to let the sweet taste of the Cherry Bomb wash over his mouth. He let his own smoke leak much slower than Teague did, but the Slate's action nonetheless made his friend smirk.
"That's it, baby," Teague said. "You seem to like em. I'll show you where I picked these up when we get back to Remnant."
"I'd like that," Noah said as he took his next drag. This time he let in more smoke, and a little of it even went down his throat. There was a soft burn from the smoke that was immediately soothed by the berry taste of it. At the end of his deep breath, Noah felt much calmer than he had when he first sat down. It seemed unnatural at first to be that relaxed all of a sudden, but it was easily a feeling that Noah could get used to.
"They can be a nice mood setter, too." Teague was already half done with his cigarette, whereas Noah had barely burned past a quarter on his. "Might help with Raelynn."
A blush burned through Noah's cheeks, turning his normally pale cheeks a nice hue of pink. There had been a brief thought in his head about sharing a cherry bomb or two with Raelynn. He even added it to the list of things they could do on their picnic date. However, Noah's thoughts for the most part had remained innocent. That was until Teague's words put a image into his mind. An image of him and Raelynn, passing the cigarette back and forth, the room smelling with the sweet-scented smoke as he finally took her for his own.
"I figured that'd get your attention," Teague noted.
"I thought we had finally... y'know," Noah replied nervously. He held the cigarette up in front of him, watching the tiny wisp of smoke snake its way through the air in front of him.
"Fucked?"
"Yeah. I thought we fucked."
"But you didn't?"
So Noah explained his morning to Teague. There looked to be a strong impulse that the Brawler was fighting against. Occasionally Noah had spotted him biting his lip to stave off the desire to laugh. Noah maintained his own serious gaze as best he could, trying not to get frustrated with the thought that at any moment Teague would burst out in a giggle fit. His friend remained polite all the way to the end of Noah's tale. However, the urge to poke fun at the fae was too much to continue fighting against.
"The pussy was literally right there," Teague said, holding his hands out to demonstrate the exact spatial logistics of Noah's missed opportunity. "Right. Fucking. There. And you fucking pass out."
"From what she told me, that's how it happened," Noah replied. There was an urge of his own starting to build within Noah. It was the urge to flick his cigarette right at Teague's goofy grin, then run over to give him a swift hook to the jaw.
"Why didn't you fuck this morning?"
"I freaked out man. What the fuck would you have done?"
"I would've fucked. This training shit be damned."
"Well, I'm not you." Noah did flick the cigarette away, but not at Teague. Instead he threw it out to the grove, the wisp of smoke now rising eerily from under the long blades of grass.
"Don't pout on me."
Noah just looked over at Teague. He wasn't pouting. At least, he didn't feel like he was pouting.
"Move at your own speed," Teague said, looking up to the sky again. His face had changed to one of recollection, recalling whatever memories he still had from long ago. Noah wasn't sure how many he might've had, but it seemed to be an important one. "We goof around and joke about fucking because that's just what guys do when we all get together." Noah was taking careful mental notes of everything Teague was saying. It was what he would come to call "Rare Moments," which were conversations where Teague would drop all forms of his jokey nature and speak with pure seriousness.
"It's a special thing in my eyes," Teague said. "Making love I mean. Fucking is just what one of the guys will call it. But it's really called making love. And that's exactly what it is. It's one of the closest moments you can ever share with another person. You need to make sure that it's a person you can really see yourself caring about."
"Raelynn," Noah found himself almost reflexively mumbling. He wasn't sure of the meaning of the word love itself. He would describe how he felt about Raelynn as caring for her, though. He never wanted to see her hurt or see her cry. Raelynn's smile was a sight that could instantly clear up his days. The fact she was beautiful and touched him and kissed him were only secondary thoughts. In Noah's case, he hadn't felt that way about anyone else he had run across so far.
"For you, that's Raelynn. Anyone can see that." Teague let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes as he thought his deep thoughts. "I got someone I care about more than anything else in the world. More than my own life even."
"Lola?"
That brought Teague out of his dreamlike state with a quick snap. The Brawler's eyes shot open and glared at Noah. It was a look that Noah thought was reserved solely for true enemies, but now Teague was giving it to him. A close friend.
"Who told you that?" Teague asked, his voice colder than it was only a moment before.
"No one, dude," Noah replied. "I just kinda guessed. Calm down."
Teague's face relaxed a bit. His eyes closed, and he may have leaned his head back towards the sky, but any traces of the smiles he just had were gone. Noah felt a tinge of guilt, like he had done something wrong by making what turned out to be a correct guess. He just figured that it was the case. He would always look Lola's way when she walked past. If any opportunity had arisen to talk to her, Teague would immediately seize it. When they were plastered the night before and talking about their ideal partner, Teague's description fit Lola perfectly.
In other words, if someone as ignorant to the ways of people as Noah was had figured it out, it couldn't have been that big a secret.
"I'd rather she not hear about it from anyone else," Teague said in a low grumble. He may have accused Noah of doing so before, but Teague was definitely pouting as he propped himself against his staff. "Just a thing of mine. I want to tell her myself."
"No problem, Teague," Noah replied, not really seeing the purpose in keeping such an obvious secret. "It's safe with-,"
The assurances of Noah had been cut off. The rumblings were low and quiet at first. They began growing closer. Louder. More violent. A real tremor was starting to rip through the ground of the grassy clearing.
"Looks like the big one is here," Teague said, leaping to his feet and freeing the staff from the ground.
"He sounds tough," Noah replied as he got up, drawing his sword and taking his very rudimentary ready stance. Teague simply grinned in response as he twirled his staff in one hand.
The ground on the opposite end of the clearing started pushing upwards slowly. The dirt and grass rose and split at the peak. The first thing to pop out was the large snout of the boss mole. While the little ones had tiny pink snouts, this creature's mouth was a darker red. It ended in a fleshy flower bloom with a pair of nostrils resting in the middle. The head of the mole poked out, showing off a coat of fur that was a solid black as compared to its minions' gray coats. A set of long, tree trunk thick arms popped out at the side of the new hole in the ground, and the creature let out a low grumble as it pulled itself out of the ground with comical difficulty. On each hand and foot were long, sharp claws stained brown by the dirt it had been burrowing through. The boss mole was exponentially bigger. While the standard feral mole was no bigger than a small child, their leader was the size of an adult bear. It was equally as round, too. The monster let out its battle cry, a hissing roar that echoed throughout the entire forest.
The boss mole wasted no time in charging forward at the two adventurers. Noah was so caught up in the fact that the conic barrier of white energy he had only seen appear around Lola and Roy before was forming around the front of the beast, he didn't manage to dodge properly as the monster drew closer. The lack of proper evasion caused the edge of the barrier to scrape against Noah's arm as the boss mole barreled past them. A harsh burning sensation emanated from the wound, but Noah had no time to nurse his wound. The mole had already started to turn around slowly, roaring again as it started to rush at them again, the same Charge skill surrounding its front.
"Aim at the hind legs!" Teague yelled over the thunderous footsteps of the creature. Noah nodded in agreement as the beast drew closer. He twirled his body as he sidestepped the attack completely this time. The mole dashed past them, and Teague jabbed his staff at the thick back leg on his side. Noah's own strike was a stab with his sword at the leg on his own side. The edge of the blade didn't pierce through the skin of the monster. The recoil of the stab bouncing off the hide of the boss mole knocked Noah back, the fae barely managing to stay on his feet. The mole continued charging forward, reaching the end of the grove before it managed to turn around. Noah could hear the low growls it was emanating, strings of putrid saliva hanging out the side of its snarling mouth.
"I think we just made it mad," Noah said, finally pressing on one of his HP Vials to heal the wound on his arm.
"Is your other common anything that could help?" Teague asked. Noah gave him a quizzical look, and Teague just shook his head. "Never mind. We'll figure it out later. Let's work with what we know."
The mole ran towards them again, but this time it wasn't using Charge. It came to a halt near the two adventurers, and they watched in shock as the thing leaned back on its hind legs. The mole towered over them, its head brushing against the branches above them as it exposed a fleshy, soft looking underbelly. With another hissing roar that sent the spit from its snout flying forth, the monster swung down with one of its thick paws at Teague. The Brawler barely dodged the surprisingly fast blow and moved towards the thing. Noah followed up on Teague's charge and the two of them let loose on the soft underbelly. An Autumn Shower and Double Stroke hit home on the beast. The boss mole let out another hissing roar, though this one was clearly made in pain.
One of the two managed to get out a brief mutter of "Shit," as the creature retaliated. The same hand that swiped at Teague earlier swung along the ground at the two adventurers. The thick appendage caught both warriors and sent them flying. Noah was laid on his back many feet away, the air sufficiently knocked out of him but thankfully leaving nothing broken. Teague's face seethed in pain, yet he had already gotten back up into a crouching position.
"Don't think that was worth it," Noah muttered as he leaned up, still clutching tightly to his sword.
"No need to be so down, Noah," Teague mentioned, pointing at the mole they had just struck. It had returned to its proper position on all fours. The soft grumbles and growls of the beast could barely reach Noah's ears, but the beast itself wasn't what Teague was pointing at. It was the slow trickle of scarlet blood flowing from the monster's new wounds staining the grass below it.
"It won't show that weakness to us again," Teague pointed out. Noah wouldn't protest that observation. After all, what enemy would continue to let itself be bled dry.
A series of circumstances led to Noah devising his brilliant plan. First was the fact that he realized that while he was so low to the ground that his body would easily be fit underneath the mole (and likely be crushed by it). The second fact was that he had instinctively lifted his sword off the ground, leaving it pointing upwards with its sharp edge gleaming in the limited sunlight. Lastly was his memory of what he had done to Utuk on his very first day in this bizarre world.
"Teague, you think you can keep him occupied?" Noah asked as he stood back up, unceremoniously dusting off his clothes.
"Of course," Teague answered with a big grin. "I'm great at being a nuisance. But do you have a plan?"
"If he's planning to hide that stomach of his, then I'll just get down there with it."
Teague burst out laughing as he started twirling his staff again. "This idea is completely nuts. I'm game!"
The two nodded at each other and started dashing to their positions. Noah began to run out and circle the monster from a distance, looking for his perfect opportunity to slide beneath the monster. Meanwhile Teague, letting out a primal roar of his own variety, charged directly at the boss mole, his staff twirling above him like a whirlwind.
With a hissing roar the giant mole turned to face Teague before dashing forward to meet him. The mole was the first one to strike, taking a swipe at the approaching Brawler. The attack was slower than before though, likely from the wound on its stomach and the fact that it was so low to the ground. Teague easily dodged it, finally stopping the twirling of his staff and launching an Autumn Shower at the monster's face. The creature hissed again as the staff pummeled it, but Teague wasn't stopping with such a simple skill. After the last thrust, he reached back and pressed the only vial on his belt, containing a purple and gold concoction. Teague's staff then moved in a single fluid motion following his strikes. The tail end of the weapon swept along the ground and effortlessly dug up the dirt and grass beneath. The debris kicked up, splashing across the mole's face and causing it to whimper. Teague wasn't done, however. The instant the staff was freed from the ground, he let another Autumn Shower fly forth.
Sand Attack. A skill that kicks up dirt and debris beneath the user, causing some light damage and impairing a foe's senses.
Canceller. Easterman race skill. Can chain together skills in any order for as long as possible, provided they have the MP.
Even though Teague seemed to be making progress, Noah knew that no real damage was being done. That, and Teague was starting to get tired. Noah could spot the speed of Teague's breathing rising quickly. The mole on the other hand was just snarling and growling as it was pummeled. If Noah didn't act quickly, Teague was going to end up exhausted in front of the monster. Then those sharp claws could easily take a chunk out of the Brawler.
There was no more time to try and find a perfect angle to strike. Whatever was allowing Teague to use his skills with impunity was apparently starting to wear off, as his usage of skills stopped, and he was resorting to jabs and swings with his staff. The space underneath the boss mole wasn't going to get any wider. The list of possibilities for things to go wrong was starting to flood Noah's mind as he charged forward at the battle. This wasn't the moment to think of the negative, though. Noah had to land his attack, and it absolutely had to work.
Otherwise they were screwed.
Noah dashed closer and closer to the mole. Teague's strikes were slowing down drastically, and the mole was getting ready to raise its paw and deal a devastating blow. With only a few steps between him and the monster, Noah dropped to the ground and started sliding. The slide took him to the underside of the mole, which smelled just as bad as the rest of the damn thing. There was almost no room to move underneath the thing. Only almost, though. With the limited space he had below the beast, Noah drew back his blade before stabbing it hard into the mole. It had stuck in the belly halfway down the blade and refused to remove itself. Noah's slide continued forward, the harsh jerk from his momentum and still gripping the handle of the blade forcing him to release his weapon. Noah ended up on the other side of the boss mole, his arm sore and blood on his clothes, but otherwise unharmed.
The mole let out a sharp cry as it reared back on its hind legs. One of its paws was drawn to the wound, crimson blood oozing out alongside the blade. The soft whimpers as it started to stumble back put a smirk on Noah's face. His blow struck true, and it put a hurting on the monster.
"Good job Noah," Teague said, reaching down to press repeatedly on his own MP Vial. He stabbed his staff into the ground and started approaching the wounded boss mole. "Now check this shit out."
When Teague was within his own arm's reach of the monster, Noah watched in awe as the Brawler leaped up into the air. He realized that Teague was staying up there, perhaps by some magic. Teague remained floating above the ground, even height with Noah's sword that was still jammed in the monster's gut. He turned his torso slightly, the front arm hanging limply in front of him as the arm to his back was bent at the elbow. White energy started surrounding the back hand, and it was beginning to grow thicker.
"Bunker Buster!" Teague shouted, followed by another single syllable bark, as he thrusted his charged-up palm forward. The hand hit the pommel of Noah's blade, driving the blade hilt deep into the mole. The mole cried in pain even louder, and slowly the creature turned to dust starting from the head and going down. As the dust floated quickly into the sky, Teague dropped immediately to the ground. Noah watched as the boss mole finished turning to dust and his blade dropped to the floor of the grove with a soft thud.
Palm of Master Kiai. A skill that charges ki energy into the palm of the hand to be released in one powerful blow. Lord High Jeanne would like to ensure that this skill is one hundred percent an original idea.
"How was that?" Teague asked as he turned to Noah.
"Badass," Noah complimented, walking over to Teague. The Brawler may have just taken out the monster in one shot, but that didn't keep him from looking terrible. He was doing his best to keep up a tough front, but Noah could see the harsh effects of what likely drastic MP loss was taking place. Teague was constantly stopping himself from reaching up to rub his head, hoping that it would sooth the splitting headache that he was suffering from.
"Of course it was badass," Teague replied. Finally, he reached back and pressed on one of his other MP Vials. The headache looked like it was relieved for the most part, though Teague still had to squint a bit for Noah to remain in focus. "It's the strongest skill that I have, so it better be badass."
With only a tinge of disappointment as he realized how lame his own skills were in comparison, Noah just smiled at his friend. It was while they were just standing there, the adrenaline leaving them post-battle, that the next unusual thing happened to them. Popping into existence at eye level for the two adventures were two glass orbs suspended in the air. The orb in front of Teague let out a soft white glow and was filled with white smoke that swirled and twirled within. Noah's orb was letting out a vibrant yellow light, and the smoke continuously moved in a slow circle counterclockwise. Noah recognized these orbs from somewhere, though he couldn't quite place it.
"What are these?" Noah asked, reaching out to the yellow ball in front of him. Despite the warm looking and inviting glow of the object, it radiated no heat at all.
"Treasure Orbs," Teague explained. Without an ounce of hesitation, he grabbed hold of his own white orb and squeezed it in his hand. "Everyone in the party gets one for killing a boss monster. The color dictates the quality of what's inside. Yours is yellow, so you probably got something that's alright. Mine is white, so I'm probably just getting-,"
Teague's squeezing finally yielded results. The orb let out a shattering sound, but it hadn't broken into pieces like Noah had expected. Instead it slowly began to soften from glass into an almost clay like substance. The weird stuff pulsed and turned until eventually it had changed its shape entirely. It had gone from a glass orb into a tiny white cloth pouch that jingled as Teague moved it.
"Damn. Just some pocket change," Teague said, looking a bit upset with his reward.
Noah reached out and started squeezing his own orb. Just like Teague's, the orb in Noah's hand made a shattering noise before turning into a clay substance, except Noah's matched the yellow color from before. Instead of turning into a cloth pouch of coins, the clay started to form a thin circle before pulsing and wiggling again. Noah blinked and when he opened his eyes again, the clay had transformed into a necklace. Hanging from the end of the thin black string was a small, dull edged claw. It looked like it had been plucked right out of the paw of one of the feral moles.
"Lucky bastard," Teague grumbled.
"Is it any good?" Noah asked, his eyes alight with wonder as he dangled the necklace and claw in front of him.
"I'm not sure. But getting gear is usually a better deal than just getting some gold."
Noah's smile didn't fade. He should've felt bad that what he got was apparently a good reward while Teague had gotten something so meager. However, he just couldn't resist the urge to be overjoyed that he was rewarded with something so neat looking. The claw had been cleaned entirely, with any roots or traces that it once was on the hand of something completely gone. The string was made of something that Noah couldn't identify with his limited knowledge, but it was sleek and cool to the touch. After examining it long enough, Noah finally slipped the necklace over his head, letting it fall down his neck. Just like when he had put on the brass ring he wore, a warm feeling like a breeze fell on him. This one was stronger though, and Noah felt a longing for it as it left him yet again.
"How's it feel?" Teague asked, a little pout still on his lips.
"I really like it," Noah answered.
Something broke their peace then. Something that tore through the previously quiet forest. Something that echoed all around them. Something that easily would wake anything that wasn't in deep slumber.
The shrill scream of terror and pain.
"What the hell was that?" Noah asked, finally dashing for his sword and picking it up as he looked all around him for the source of the scream.
"Someone's in trouble," Teague said.
There was another scream. This one was deeper, but it was easily filled with the same tones of fright as the previous.
"Multiple someones are in trouble," Teague corrected himself.
"Do we help them?" Noah asked. He felt like it was the right thing to do. But the fight with the moles had taken its toll on the fae's body. His arms and legs were sore, and any supply of adrenaline that had kept him going so far was completely drained.
"We'll go and check it out," Teague said as his face turned serious at last.
The two adventurers left the grove and entered the thicket of the trees. The scream had come from deeper in the Eastern Forest. Past the point where novice adventurers were not supposed to go. Teague and Noah weren't aware of that, however. The distracted Carol Anne had forgotten to share that information with the two of them, too occupied with flirting with the cute fae boy.
The two of them were headed right for Dalton's Copse.
Noah's equipment changed.
Mole Claw Necklace equipped. STR+7, DEF+4. Damage to woodland creatures increased by 5%.
Flare Burst skill added.
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From the Adventurer's Guide
Section on Stats
Dexterity, and why you should appreciate it more than Strength
My name is Artemis, adventurer. And you would do well to keep it in your mind. Today I'm going to teach you about a stat of refinement and honor. Strength is too crass a stat to bother investing into. Instead, you should take your time and hone your Dexterity.
DEX at its most fundamental level simply effects the damage you will do with weapons at a range, be they the honorable bow or the throwing knives of crafty fighters. But it is much more than just that. With enough investment in DEX (every 30 points) you'll find yourself attacking faster. Even greater devotion to the greatness of DEX will allow you to dart across the battlefields with even greater speed (every 60 points).
I shall tell you of Grace briefly (more on pg. 87). Grace is a buff that will allow your DEX to affect your power with those lowly melee weapons.
I hope to see you one day, my lovely champion.
Artemis <3