DREAMWEAVER; SUCCESSOR OF THE NIGHTMARE KING SPECIAL 3: KNOW THINE MONSTER BESTIARY; THE PATH OF THE SCORPION HORSE SHEEP LION GOAT, HYBRID MONSTERS ARE A DEATH SENTENCE; THE ESSENCE OF NATIVITY
SIX YEARS AGO…
Keiran and I sat in the Hall Of our Residence playing a recently released game 'Den Of Monsters'. To be specific, we had just reached a particular stage in the game where we had to complete a mission titled 'Scheme Of The Viper'. Regardless of how many times we tried to complete that particular level, we couldn't. It almost seemed as though that level was designed to be impossible to beat. That was when we began to notice an anomaly in the game. While in battle, our party was beginning to take serious damage even when our foe did not attack or use a debuff. We tried investigating the matter but to no avail. That was until one fateful day when our Dad returned home from a Dream Knight Mission.
THAT FATEFUL DAY…
Our Dad walked in.
"Oh! So San, Keiran, you're playing 'Den Of Monsters'? I remember that game. The Old School Versions were really classic!" my Dad said.
"Yeah but there is this one level we just can't seem to beat. It's called 'Scheme Of The Viper'. Our party keeps taking serious damage even when our foe isn't attacking or using stat debuffs" I explained.
"Mm, I see…very interesting. Have you checked your Monster Bestiary for info?" my Dad asked.
"Dad, you know the Monster Bestiary only contains info on the list of Monsters you have defeated in battle besides…who seriously actually looks through their Monster Bestiary?" I said.
My Dad whacked both Keiran and I on the head.
"Naïve! Even if the Monster wreaking havoc on your party is currently invisible to you and isn't included in your Monster Bestiary as a result of your repeated failure to defeat it, there is such a thing as 'Nativity'!" my Dad said.
"Oh…the Christmas scene where the Saviour Of The World is laid in a…" Keiran was saying when I cut him off.
"…Manger et Ecouter, French for 'Listen To Your Food!'" he said.
"Now listen carefully to me my boys. If you fail to comprehend the essence of 'Nativity', you'll just end up a puppet of any slime on the World Map. Every Monster has what you call a 'Native Field' on the Game's World Map that it is assigned to. That…is Nativity. Once you exit that Field, the Rate Of Appearance Of Specific Monsters may either increase or decrease depending on whether the Field you are moving to suits the Monster or not. Mayhaps you have not yet noticed that Boss Monsters are often bigger badder versions of the Monsters on the Field Map you've already beaten while roaming the Map?" my Dad asked.
"Nativity huh? Manger et Ecouter" I reflected on my Dad's words.
"Aside from that, have you checked your Party List? Have you made sure your Birthday Party List have affinities that are antithetical to that of the Predominant Monsters on the Field?" my Dad asked.
We blinked in bewilderment.
"Of course not. If you haven't even checked your Bestiary, there's no way you've checked your Party List" my Dad said.
Keiran opened our Bestiary and scanned for the current Field we were on.
'Oh, we're on the Field Of The Scorpion Horse Sheep Lion Goat but what's with this?! All the monsters on this Field are Bears and Moles!" I exclaimed in horror.
"What's the data on the Monsters and suggested strategy for dealing with them?" my Dad asked.
"For Bears, it says attacking the Cubs puts the Mother Bear into a Frenzied Berserker State strengthening her Physical and Elemental Attacks as well as increasing her rate of attack tenfold" Keiran read.
"Mm hmm…a path you definitely want to avoid" my Dad said.
"Yeah, we came to that realization on our own, so we focused on downing the Mother Bear first before downing the Cubs. According to the info, downing the Mother Bear makes the Cubs vulnerable to Physical and Elemental Damage" I read.
"Now that's just cruel but unfortunately for you, the Bear is not the source of your troubles. What's the data on Moles?" my Dad asked.
"Mole Type Monsters possess great Sensory Capabilities and can sense vibrations or tremors in the Earth and in so doing can navigate the Earth…I already hate this Monster Type" I growled angrily.
"Keep reading…" my Dad said.
"Killing a Mole isn't necessarily the same as defeating a Mole. Killing one Mole triggers the 'Whack-a-Mole' effect increasing the Rate Of Encounter with Mole Type Monsters" the info read.
"Hail Hydra!" my Dad called. "But still, that isn't the Punchline. Read the final bit" my Dad advised.
"The Worst Part Of Dealing with Mole Monster Types is that they can actually join your Party" the info concluded.
"WHAT?!" we screamed in horrific shock.
"Glory to Maleficent! That…is the Punchline. You haven't been paying attention to your Party List or monitoring your Monster Bestiary making you the puppet of every slime on the World Map" my Dad said with an evil laugh.
We opened our party list.
"Keiran has three monsters on the field, I have two but…what with the counter…it's displaying the number 'Six!' The Counter displays that we have Six monsters in our party!" I screamed in horror.
"To defeat this sort of Monster, you need a Support Type Feline Monster with an affinity for Time" my Dad said.
Keiran and I immediately went to the Monster Shop and found a Time Affinity Lion in the List Of Monsters for sale. It was quite expensive. We roamed the World Map hunting for days till we earned a stupendous amount of gold, then we spent it all at once in acquiring the Time Lion Monster.
"Now it's time to teach that Mole the meaning of 'Nativity'" we said and hunted on the Field that was the Source Of Our Problems.
When we began to notice the HP of our monsters decreasing even when the adversary wasn't attacking or using debuffs, we brought out our Time Lion Monster and opened its Skills List. We found one skill named 'Closed Loop System; Izanami!' We read its data.
"Closed Loop System; Izanami! Shuts off all Loopholes in your Party that grants adversaries 'Access Points!'"
"Perfect!" we chuckled evilly and activated the skill.
Immediately, a Molebear appeared on our side of the Field.
"A Molebear huh? Whacking the Cubs by exploiting the Naivety Of The Parents huh? Now we will teach you the true terror of the concept that is 'Nativity'" we said and activated our most powerful offensive spell that was particularly debilitating to Molebears, 'Ten Plagues Of Egypt!'
Suddenly, we received a Message.
"Congratulations! You have just completed the mission 'Scheme Of The Viper!'
"Integrated Signs Ver. Scorpion Horse Sheep Lion Goat! Special Mode; Nativity Of A God! Like Shang Tsung once said…Flawless Victory!" Keiran and I said as we clapped our hands as though ridding them of dirt.
"K.O!" my Dad's voice sounded.