'{Inspect}!'
{Atar Moonate}
{Tier:??? Level ???}
'Really? This guy is at a higher level than me?'
Looking toward the pale man in a white suit, Kai was shocked. As if sensing his gaze, the pale man looked back toward Kai and smirked.
Holding his gaze for a few seconds, Kai retracted, getting a weird feeling from the pale man.
"It's time to go!"
A shout outside of the carriage caught all the passenger's attention.
After the shout, the pale man also looked away.
Inside, the carriage was like a rectangle with benches along the sides instead of rows of seats. Kai sat on the bench next to the only exit, besides climbing under the leather that hung above, acting as a ceiling. Despite being called a carriage, it was more like a wagon.
Across from Kai was the pale man in a white suit, while to his left at the back of the carriage was the family. It was only natural for the pale man's gaze to linger on Kai as he was in front of him, yet every time he looked at Kai, it was like he was looking at treasure.
The family of three only looked at Kai the moment he entered, nothing more.
His body swayed slightly as the carriage started moving; he could hear the horses' stomping and felt a slight freeze from the little gap in the sides where there wasn't any wood or leather. Pulling out his copy of 'Monsters & Beast, By Anton Welth,' Kai decided this was an excellent time to finish it.
Previously he had only read to the tier:1 monsters and has yet to get into the 'Beast' part of the book.
'Flame Cat typically evolved from a Fire Cat; Flame Cats are entirely made of flames. They are able to use any part of their body to attack. Being made of flames, Flame Cats are constantly using up mana.'
'Flame Cats are extremely weak to water.'
Kai was reading through his book when the Flame Cat caught his attention. The Flame Cat was a Tier:2 monster, he wasn't sure what level the Fire Cat was in Tuloc, but it was required to have a party of tier:1's. Kai only hoped to reach it before it evolves into this Flame Cat or possibly worse.
As he continued to read, he noticed a detail in many of the descriptions of monsters. It said it typically evolved from another monster; this meant that people had observed different monsters evolving into a variety of other monsters.
Maybe a zombie has evolved into a skeleton, or a Green King Caterpillar evolved into a Fire Cat. The only problem was why and how. Kai knew desires and actions play a part into evolution, but for example, the Green King Caterpillar wouldn't know what a Fire Cat or Zombie is. So it wouldn't have desired to become either, and Kai doubted a Green King Caterpillar could do something to make it evolve into a Fire Cat or Zombie.
'There has to be another factor in evolution.' Kai thought.
~Flip~
Turning the page, it read, 'Monster into Beast.'
'Finally!'
'Evolving from Tier:2 to Tier:3 causes many different changes in monsters. As they evolve from monsters into a beast, they gain the intelligence like that of a humanoid race, like Humans, Elves, Demi-Humans, and Dwarfs.
From Tier:2 to Tier:3 is also where the distance between beast and other races increases. On average, a beast of the same level will be stronger than any other race; this is, of course, with some exceptions.'
As he kept on reading, the sun slowly went away, and the moon began to rise. Despite being engaged in his book, Kai made sure to watch his surroundings and noticed the pale man looking at him with a glint in his eyes. He also saw a wagon following behind them since they left, most likely goods being transported.
During this time, the family of three has been quiet and only talked to each other in whispers. Occasionally they would glance between him and the pale man, but Kai thought it was only natural.
Kai's body swayed as the carriage stopped, and a yell came from outside.
"We'll be making camp here tonight!"
It was the man's voice who had sold him his seat before.
After sitting down for quite some time, Kai stood up and jumped out of the carriage, stretching. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of the cold crisp air.
"Ahhh"
Letting his breath out, Kai opened his eyes, taking in his new surroundings. He was just off a dirt path they continued through the forest he found himself in. Trees 50 feet high, with thick brown trucks and branches with green leaves, were blocking his view. Small green-blue bushes of unknown berries were scattered where he could see.
Kai could only see 30 feet in every direction besides the dirt path; looking behind him; there he saw the wagon and a few other people climbing out.
Wearing different color robes and black underclothes, the five people climbed out and sketched as Kai had done.
Looking at them, Kai never thought he'd see them so soon; just as he was in thought, a young man with a red robe, long brown hair tied into a pony, brown eyes, and pointy ears spoke to him, "Wow, I didn't expect to see you here Kai!"
It was Rathal, the leader of the party 'Dream Walkers'.
Walking over with a smile, he swung his arm around Kai's shoulder.
'He sure is friendly.' Kai thought.
Kai couldn't help but return the smile, "Rathal, what are you doing here?"
"We wanted to go to Mongla City to level up and decided why not take a job at the same time. So we're not only getting a paid ride to Mongla but also getting paid as guards!"
Kai wasn't surprised they too wanted to come to Mongla City; after all, it was an excellent place to level up, and with tier:2 dungeons, you wouldn't have to look for a different place to level up for a long time.
"Really? I didn't know they were hiring guards; if I had known, I would've tried for it."
"Haha, well, sorry, but they only wanted five guards anyway."
Kai only nodded in understanding when he noticed a glint flash in Rathal's eyes.
"Well, actually, I have a great idea, one moment!"
Rathal quickly joined his group and brought them into a huddle. A could hear whispers but not what they were saying. Before, Kai wouldn't even be able to hear the whispers; as he leveled up, his hearing improved, and soon it would be like that of a Werewolf.
After a few moments, Kai saw the part all smiled, and Rathal ran over to Kai with a big grin.
"I've got great news!"
A piece of paper appeared out of thin air in his hand, showing it to Kai. He noticed it was the Fire Cat quest, and he seemed to know what he was going to say next.
"If you want, you can join us as we exterminate the Fire Cat. Of course, with there being five of us and only one of you, the reward will be split 5 to 1." Rathal said, rather energetic.
Kai wasn't sure what to do; he could say no and attack before 'Dream Walkers,' but that might put him on bad terms with them, and he didn't want to do that as he would be traveling with them for a while. If he said yes, he would be able to see a Tier:1 party work together and maybe learn something. He would even get at least one gold coin. Making up his mind, Kai thought it was for the best to accept.
"Sure, do you really want me to join you? I mean, I only recently became tier:1."
Rathal chuckled, "Haha, of course, you've leveled up so much since we met last time; I know it'll be fun!"
'Man, is he energetic and loud. But maybe now I can see his level.'
'{Inspect}'
{Rathal Inaven}
{Tier:1 Level 40}
'Wow, he's almost a tier:2!'
Kai knew he was at least level 30, but he didn't expect Rathal to be level 40.
"Great! Hey, he said he'll join us!" Rathal shouted so his party could hear him.
They only smiled and nodded, already used to Rathal's behavior.
During his chat with Rathal, the family of three and the pale man had already exited the carriage and walked over to where the two coachmen were. Saying goodbye to Rathal, Kai walked to the side of the carriage next to the forest. There he saw the two coachmen, the small family, and the pale man. The coachman that sold Kai his ticket was starting a fire with some logs and small branches that Kai assumed he had brought with him.
The coachman had brown pants with many pockets and a loose black shirt tucked into his pants. A black belt was tied around his waist. His sleeves were rolled up, showing his scared forearms; the coachman looked young, around 30. He had short black hair that was kept nice and yellow eyes.
The other coachman that was in charge of the wagon was older, around 50, with loose blue plants, a black belt, and a black shirt that was tucked into his pants, showing his well-defined beer belly. He had a shiny bald head, bright brown eyes, and a long nose. He smiled slightly while collecting logs and for people to sit on around the fire.
Looking around, Kai also noticed the pale man was sitting on a log, with his back straight, Kai had to admit he had great posture, but he was still weirded out as the pale man was staring at him.
Noticing Kai's gaze, the pale man licked his lips, showing Kai his two sharp fangs!