For a clumsy looking fella, that imp sure could run. Although it was slower than Alban, it made up for it with its series of bizarre movements. A scamper here, a jump there, and whenever it felt pressured by Alban's speed, it would crawl on all fours. It was certainly...desperate.
Alban kept an eye out, as he was wary that the imp may lead him into other monsters. He was getting frustrated at the chase, not for a lack of patience but at more of an admiration for its mobility. He wondered if he could move like that, and so he did. He would slow down and speed up in intervals to see all the movements the imp made. As he was further, it would run on two legs, hopping around and attempting to fool him into thinking the imp would change directions. When he got closer, it was back to all fours, its whole body a unified effort to get as far away from Alban as it could. He watched. He observed. And he learned.
Almost like a monkey, he would hop around when it went on all fours. He crouched down and kicked his feet first and pushed forward using his hands later when it went on started running and hopping. As he was immersed in the bobbing and weaving— no, immersed in the hunt, a prompt appeared in the corner of his eye. He quickly skimmed it and was pleased, already feeling the skill in effect.
{Scurry} (Passive)
When running, the body becomes more flexible, boosting speed a slight amount. +2 Agility.
The hunt was soon coming to an end. He could feel it, the terrain passing quickly under his hands and feet. The sand felt a bit harder, however...it was a texture similar to the sidewalks from his past. As he let his gaze wander from the imp a bit, he spotted a cave.
The imp frantically ran into the cave the second it got near it. Alban clicked his tongue in annoyance, the prey clearly escaped. Well, maybe escape was a strong word for it. He was quite near the cave after all, he could just walk in and take a look. Focusing his senses, he felt his Wild Childe skill become a bit more in tune with his body.
{Wild Childe has leveled up to level 2.}
As his senses extended towards the cave, Alban roughly sized up the danger he felt from it. It felt like a den full of rabbits, which was to say, a slaughterhouse. He even felt a bit embarrassed about being so cautious for such a lackluster risk, until he remembered about a hole being pierced in his lung a bit earlier in the day. Yeah, maybe it was right to never let your guard down.
"User has recognized an aspect of independence. Awarded 10 L.P."
'Ah, lone points. What was I even supposed to do with those again? I don't remember anything like a shop feature...oh. Maybe a quest will unlock it. I'll draw one later.' Alban took a brief moment to organize his thoughts again and stood directly in the entrance of the cave, peering in.
It was pitch black in there. But he heard something. No, he smelled something, a scent similar to the imp that escaped from him. It was a smell resembling cinders from a lit fireplace, ash from a cremated body. Which, when put that way, seemed a bit morbid considering all the blood on him.
Alban flicked his fingers and conjured a flame atop his thumb. Noticing it didn't do much for his visibility, he spread out his hand and lit a fireball. As he walked into the cave, he didn't have to proceed very far. There were three red imps huddling in a corner, all hugging each other while staring at him. Their teeth were chattering. Wanting to make sure that they really were imps, he used Inspect on the one he remembered chasing. It was the only one with one horn, so it was quite easy to spot.
It looks a bit cold.
Estimated Defense: 3~4
It was nothing to write home about after all. Alban wished he could see a bit more stats but honestly, he felt that the estimated defense was enough to tell what he was dealing with. Something that wouldn't and couldn't be a threat to him, and they seemed to not be able to retaliate against him.
"Hey. I chased you allll the way down here. While I'm curious as to why you ran away without so much as a shriek, I'll ask a simple question first. If you're scared of me, will you harm me?" Admittedly, it was a pretty dumb was to phrase an attempt at peace...but if he learned anything, it was that death awaited those who moved without knowing anything. He learned that lesson from the very monsters he killed after all. They knew nothing about him and had to suffer multiple times before reaching their final rest.
"You too scary. When feel mad, me only shiver when you here." It was a different face, seeming a bit more feminine than the imp he chased. She, or at least Alban thought her gender was, had a lighter tone as well. Much different from the guttural yet childish growls that came from the previous one's mouth. He could work with this.
"Alright. Next question. What do you know about me? That one to the left of you called me a wildman. How come?"
She opened her mouth again, looking a bit less afraid and more confused. "You not wild? But your clothes are dead. Me know where dead clothes come from. They from predators, but you stronger. You wilder."
Ah, that was it. Wildman seemed more of a term than anything. Alban thought he could get more of a clue than what he had just received. Maybe there was someone in a similar position to him...oh well, it's not like he could be bothered to look for them. He had enough dealing with himself. As he got up and started to leave, the imp in the middle spoke again.
"Wait. You strong. Can't you lead...? We weak."
"Teta! Have more pride! You leader..." That voice came from the imp on the left. This imp looked the most battered, with scratches all over his loincloth and a scar across half of his face. It held the deepest voice among all three of them, sounding like an assortment of cat yawns. Alban turned around at this, and looked at the imp named Teta inquisitively.
"What's in it for me?"
"Me know where all the scary monsters are! Me seen lots of sand, me know their hiding spots. You like killing, me can help."
"Interesting. You seem pretty smart...I have a better idea though. While I'm here, I'll have you show me how you hunt. You can't just stay in here and be starving all the time after all, can you?" Alban made this query for a reason: he saw bones scattered a bit in their cave. He also wanted to try and imitate their actions, see if he could learn anything from it. He already felt like that Scamper skill would come in handy later down the line.
"That mean all go. You protect us?"
"Yeah. We got a deal?"
Teta nodded his head slowly, then laid down and started snoring. Seeing this, the two other imps curled up and slept right by him. Seems Alban's little hunting trip would be postponed for a while. He considered waking them up, but realized that forcing an already tired person to move would make things less efficient. He didn't even notice that he recognized the imps as people and not prey. Maybe it was because they could be reasoned with? Alban decided to open up his inventory and see if he could craft something that would be of more use tomorrow, now that he was in a relatively safe place. He could clearly see all that came towards the cave now that he was in it.