The young man froze looking at those red eyes, this was the 3rd time he had come to the Ordeal and he had already faced several of the monsters that lived here, and heard stories that there could be many others hidden in the forests, one story was even quite common . It was said that there was a huge monster roaming the forests, which had a body of shadows and iron, and eyes of flaming embers that could inflict fear even on a middle-class knight as well as its equivalents in other orders. The young man never believed these stories, believing them to be drunken nonsense meant to impress and scare anyone who wanted to listen, after all, how could this supposed creature inflict fear on middle-class knights if none of them had already come to the ordeal, the ones who came closest were about 2 low rank mages on a failed expedition a few weeks ago.
But right in front of him now, was that same creature, and he was sure of one thing. The stories that the drunks told were certainly lies, the eyes of that creature, did not inflict fear on middle-class knights, they inflicted fear on an upper-class knight, they would bewilder the middle-class ones and paralyze the lower-class ones, and would show them like that creature he could finish them off quickly, after all he was seeing it not the creature's eyes and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't look away from it.
—Hey Cristoff, have you finished getting your fishing gear ready? — Asked Bernam, the "leader" of this group, a tall, somewhat burly middle-aged man with a thin red beard and half of an ear missing.
Being called by the leader of the group, young Cristoff was able to take his eyes off the monster and regain control of his body, then he turned to warn the leader and the others of the possible threat. But as soon as he turned his head he forgot what I was going to do, and just looked at the leader and the others with a scared face without knowing why.
—Cris?, What's the problem, it looks like I'm a ghost? — asked one of those responsible for the watch.
-There is? Haamm... I can't remember.... I think I had seen something there in the trees but I don't remember what it was. — Cristoff replied hesitantly.
—Hãm, in the trees, probably one of those damn furry things. You guys, be careful with your vigil, and if those animals really appear, remember to wake me up. I make a point of putting an end to each one of these wretches hu hu hu hum. — The "leader", said with a cruel smile, which became even more frightening thanks to his appearance, like that of a homicidal maniac.
—Um, sure boss, you can leave it. — One of those responsible for the watch said as the "leader prepared to rest.
—Hey, because the leader hates these animals, of course they are very annoying but... this level seems a little too personal. — Another who had recently joined the group, like Cristoff, asked.
—Aaaahhhh, better not to know, it's a long, complicated and embarrassing story. — The other replied.
—..... We have plenty of time. — Cristoff, who was listening to their conversation, said.
—.... Okay, but then don't say that I didn't warn you, and if the boss wants to end the two of you later, it's your responsibility, you heard me — he said.
—"In loud and clear voice" — the other 3 responded at the same time, even though one already knew the story, it was fun to hear someone else telling it.
While this group was preparing for their vigil and fishing activities, a few meters away, the monster that Cristoff had seen was wandering through the trees looking for haste. This monster was obviously not one of the "normal" monsters nor one of the "rare" (fused) ones that most other challengers encountered, this could be considered both a unique monster and a mid-boss of the floor. Who under the right circumstances could even be stronger than the hobgoblin boss Grumpy, who serves as the first floor boss.
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Kaio POV
'Pufff, haha hahahahah, damn, I can't laugh much, but puuuffff hahahahah. Ah man what this guy did when I look at him ahahahahah, raaahh wow if I had the stomach, I think he would make it hurt from laughing so hard... Hahaha.'
[Exactly what would have been funny, the defiant Cristoff's reaction, was quite befitting as was his facial response.]
'Exactly what would a "befitting facial response" look like in any situation?"
[My opinion is based on your prior knowledge as well as that available through the system. Emotional responses as well as matching facial expressions are found in both.]
'Aaff, gone business mode huh. But that doesn't matter, the fact is that although I loved seeing the scared faces they make when Poh comes, I still want the teddy bear to have some kind of action but no one is yet at the appropriate level or close to it.'
I said, reviewing the reactions of several people who have already encountered the mid-boss Poh, the Giant Bear of Iron Shadows, a great name for the species, huh, and as he already says, Poh is a giant bear with a body made of shadows and iron. More precisely, he is a "normal" black bear but with hair as hard as iron and with a magical layer of shadows that give him extra protection and more attack options. Including "low level" mental attacks when anyone faces him, individuals below his level the mental attack causes suppression, illusion and obviously paralyzing fear, in those of the same level it causes only suppression and a little less fear and in those of levels higher than his, causes only an easily overcome fear and a minimum of suppression.
It is one of the few minutes that I have that has an automatic active species characteristic, meaning that even if I wanted to I couldn't stop the mental attacks, although I shouldn't, they are very useful even when you are not in combat as you could see now a little with young Cristoff.
In addition to the attacks, he can also induce a strong suggestion in those of lower levels than him, suggestion is not brainwashing or hypnosis but it is almost that. Even when he "suggests" that those who saw him forget about him, when their mental state is altered by external sources (alcohol or drugs) they may remember glimpses of the encounter they had with him, which ends up like bar stories. of babies who don't even know if they're still awake or if they've already passed out and are talking to their own dreams.
'Hmm, that was quite poetic, wasn't it?'
[Indeed, however, what's the point of highlighting something you already know?.]
'My time or mine, I still don't know which or if you have sex, Sis, have you never heard that repetition makes perfect?'
[I'm sure the bandstand would be, practice makes perfect.]
'The meaning is still the same, by repeating what I already know about my monsters, it becomes more engraved in my memory and I become less dependent on you, that wouldn't be beneficial for you either, so we can focus on how to advance and improve the dungeon of a more efficient feat.'
[Certainly, though on the efficiency front, you're doing surprisingly well considering you don't factor in the near-total elimination of challengers.]
'Of course that would be foolish, if I did that, they would be afraid and unlikely to come even if I placed a chest full of gold, weapon and skill tomes as bait at the temple's entrance gate.'
Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but the main point is true.
'Ah while we're at it, can Sis show me what Poh's status is like, I haven't seen it in a few days.'
[They would hardly change significantly in just a few days. However, checking the status of one of the special monsters is not a bad thing.]
That said, Sis showed me Poh's statuses, oh yes, unique monsters, mid-boss, Bosses and even special boss monsters, need special permission from the system to be able to check their statuses, Sis shortens this work for me.
[Name: Poh
Type: Mid-Boss/Single
Level: 17
HP: 200/200
MP: 165/165
Damage: 110
Defense: 150
Agility: 68
Wisdom: 8
Abilities: Heavy Charge (5 MP), Crush (7 MP), Shadow Claw (3 MP), Roar (3 MP), Iron Bite (2 MP), Iron Embrace (4 MP), Iron Claws (3 MP), Shadow Iron Shot (10 MP), Shadow Bind (5 MP), Iron Body (passive), Shadow Body (passive), Gaze of Shadow Iron Will (passive-active 4 MP), Shadow Move ( 5MP)]
Nothing has really changed since last time, it's no wonder it's been a month since he was "created", and the only real battle he's participated in so far was the expedition in which a handful of people died, several of them his account.
[Kaio, it looks like things are going to start to speed up a bit now]
'Um... What?, sorry I was distracted'. I said coming out of the brief memory of Poh crushing a bunch of people.
[Yes I know, but look here, it looks like that Cali girl is better than expected at languages.]
'But what do you want— HOLY S***, THIS S*** IS SERIOUS!!!!!'
I couldn't help but scream, after all, that girl deciphered the language that two gray-haired wizards could barely understand in a week (regardless of how weak they were in combat), studying a crystal, a tablet, a book and a skill "tome" , this in just over 1 hour!!!!!!.