Sky was woken by a ray of sunlight hitting his face. He squinted and turned his head to the side to avoid the light. He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He looked around and noticed that the plants around him had grown slightly overnight.
He yawned and stood up, stretching his arms above his head. He then started to walk toward the cave where he presumed Avis would be.
"Now, where do you think you're going?" A familiar voice spoke out.
"Just trying to find a weird little beast before it starts creating chaos."
"It must be quite valuable considering you're off looking for it."
"You could say that, but I would rather see it as a parent taking care of its child, if you know what I mean~."
"Hmmm, I see."
Avis was floating against the tree Sky slept on. He looked the same, acted the same, but something felt off.
"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" Sky asked.
"No, not yet." Avis sneered, "Somebody was supposed to grab me dinner but decided playing around with his plant friends was more important."
Avis pushed off the tree and started floating away. "I'll be at the cave if you need me."
Before Sky could say anything, a system message popped into existence.
"Quest: Trap a Wild Beast with Nature's Affinity.
"Reward: +1 Level to Nature Affinity
"Failure: Heavenly Judgement (Death)"
"Heavenly Judgement?" Sky muttered to himself. "That doesn't sound fun."
He took a deep breath and traversed the complex forestry to look for a suitable beast to trap. Unfortunately, he felt it wouldn't be as easy as it seemed. As Sky wandered through the forest, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and a cold sweat ran down his spine. He quickened his pace, running through the forest as fast as he could. Suddenly, he was tackled from behind and sent rolling down a hill. While tumbling down, he saw glimpses of a small, furry creature with large teeth following him.
Sky came to a stop at the bottom of the hill and quickly got to his feet. The small, furry creature with large teeth looked like a cross between a rat and a weasel. It was about the size of a house cat and had beady eyes that glowed a pale white.
"You must be the beast I'm supposed to trap," Sky said as he slowly backed away from the creature.
The creature hissed and lunged at Sky, sinking its teeth into his leg. Sky yelped in pain and tried to pull away, but the creature's mouth was clamped shut. He punched the beast, causing its teeth to dig in further. He felt warm blood running down his leg, and he knew he had to do something fast.
He reached for a small twig on the ground and shoved it in the creature's ear. The creature didn't react to the sudden discomfort and instead wriggled its head, attempting to rip Sky's skin off. Sky began pushing the ether's nature attribute around him through the stick, causing it to slowly grow and wriggle further into the creature's ear. The creature's grip loosened, and Sky was able to pull away.
He quickly made distance away from the creature and guided more nature attribute into the surrounding plant life. He simply willed the plants to bind the beast. The vines and roots obeyed his command and attempted to wrap tightly around the creature, to constrict it until it was nothing more than a furry lump. The creature hissed and masterfully avoided the roots and vines, but it was slowly being surrounded. After a few minutes of struggling, the creature was finally immobilized by the plants.
"Congratulations on completing the quest," the system message said. "You have earned +1 level to your nature affinity."
"Now, what do I do with this thing?" Sky muttered to himself. He didn't want to kill the creature, but he also didn't want to let it go. He supposed he could take it back to the cave and let Avis deal with it.
He picked up the creature and started making his way back to the cave. It was going to be a long walk, but he had a feeling that Avis would be happy to see the creature. Before reaching the cave, he looked down at the feral creature once again. Its adorable eyes stared back up at him, and he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for it.
"Fine," he said softly. "You win, but be more careful next time. I don't want to have to kill you."
He unbound the creature and watched as it scurried away into the forest. With a heavy sigh, he turned and headed back to the cave. Hopefully, Avis would be happy with the results of the quest and not the fact that he let lunch run away.
Avis was waiting for him just inside the entrance when he arrived back at the cave. "Well?" he asked eagerly. "Completed it already?"
"Yes," Sky said as he limped over to where Avis was sitting. "I managed to trap it."
"Excellent," Avis said as he floated towards the Sky. "That's one quest done off the checklist."
"You knew?"
"What kind of fool do you take me for?" Avis asked with a chuckle. "I may not be able to see the future, but I can certainly tell what the system has planned. Although I'm quite surprised you let that critter go."
"You're not mad that I let it go?" Sky asked as he sat down on the ground.
"Of course not," Avis said as he floated over to sit next to Sky. "You did what you thought was right, and that's all that matters."
"What would you have done?" Sky asked.
"In your position, I would have probably chewed it alive," Avis said, licking his lips, "I've heard the Lorrett's have very tender meat~. But I understand your decision. Not everyone is cut out for this kind of life."
"I guess not," Sky said with a heavy sigh. "So, what's next on the agenda?"
"Well, that's not for me to decide, just ask the system that same question. It'll give you your next quest."
Sky frowned before asking, "Why quests?"
"What do you mean?" Avis asked.
"I mean, why do I need to do these quests? What's the point?"
"You're asking the wrong parasite," Avis said with a chuckle. "I just do as I'm told. As for the point, who knows? Maybe it's just to keep you busy. Maybe there's something bigger at stake that we don't know about. Maybe the quests are just part of some larger game that we're all playing. Who knows?"
"I guess you're right," Sky said with a sigh.
"Be careful, Sky. I know that you've been through a lot, and you will continue to do so, but I don't want a maniac for a partner, if you know what I mean. If you need rest, tell me, and I'll give you the time you need. There has been so much going on, and the last thing I need is my host to die because he was too overwhelmed."
"I appreciate that, Avis," Sky said as he stood up. "But I think I'm going to be fine. The sooner we get these quests done, the sooner we can get out of this forest."
"If you're sure," Avis said. "Then what's next, system~."