I glanced back at the small grass patch that had been my home for the last day. Just over 24 hours had passed since I defeated Rena, and I had quickly felt the backlash.
This 'Great Wolf King' guy hadn't taken her death lying down, as my small territory had been constantly attacked by dire wolves. It had taken hours to find the 25 needed to complete my previous quest, but in the last day, I had encounter well over a hundred.
As a result, my stat page was looking a bit different than before.
[Un-Named]
Level: 2 (155/1000)
MP: 15
STR: 175
AGI: 17
END: 179
INT: 16
CHA: 15
LUK: 15
HREG: 15
MREG: 15
Skills: [Devour LVL2], [Harden LVL2], [Global Communication LVL1], [Quick Step LVL2]
Although the constant fighting was pretty tiring, I wasn't going to complain. I had managed to level up and get a lot of stats.
Both [Devour] and [Harden] also leveled up. I could now make my skin even tougher, and Devour gave me a few more stat points for each kill.
I had also gotten a new skill from the dire wolves after completing the evolution quest - [Quick Step].
It was a pretty mid-skill, as it just let me essentially shuffle in place quickly and dodge an attack without having to fully lunge out of the way.
The level-up had been a bit underwhelming - all I got for it was 10 stat points in each category. Granted, considering I hadn't figured out how to get anything but STR and END yet, it was actually pretty nice.
My lack of AGI didn't matter too much at the moment, as the dire wolves weren't fast enough to cause me any problems, but it was still a glaring issue. If I could figure out how to get more AGI, then I would be able to defeat even entire packs of dire wolves easily.
And so, I left my small territory behind. I decided that the lack of AGI was too glaring of an issue and that I needed to find more prey to fix it.
I casually walked through the dark forest, my eyes peeled as I looked for any sign of movement. As I continued outward, I encountered another couple of dire wolves before finally spotting something new.
I froze in place, taking a moment to observe the creature. It had green skin, stood on two feet, and had wrinkly green skin. It had two large ears, big bready eyes, and an ugly face.
[Gremlin] - Level 5
A Gremlin.
It hadn't spotted me yet, as it was walking leisurely, so I decided to use that to my advantage. I knew that gremlins were usually pretty quick and tricky, so I needed to grab it before it saw me.
I sprinted forward and then lunged. The gremlin spun around, its big beady eyes growing even wider as it saw me appear out of nowhere.
It quickly raised its hands, making a swishing motion with one, but it was too late.
I landed on top of the small creature, smushing it into the ground. I didn't give it a chance to fight back, reaching down and gripping it with my 175 STR.
It squirmed in my hand for a second, but I made it quick as I devoured it.
[Devour] has been used on [Gremlin] - Level 5.
You have gained:
+5HP (975/975)
+5 MP
+2 AGI
+3 XP
+ [Material Change] Magic Skill!
[Material Change] - Shift any material to a different one using MP! Your knowledge of the material will make this skill more effective.
I blinked, looking at the new skill. I glanced behind me, realizing what the gremlin had tried to do. The once-grassy floor behind me was now slick with mud.
If I had been a second slower, that mud would've sent me slipping to the floor, and the gremlin would've escaped. It was a good thing that I got the jump on him.
More importantly - I got two new stats from devouring the gremlin. MP and AGI.
Considering what I had learned about the Familiar Forest - that it seemed to be divided into territories that contained certain types of monsters - that meant that this area would be a way for me to gain more AGI and MP.
I pushed myself off the ground, stretching my arms as I got ready to get to work.
I continued walking through the forest, looking for more gremlins. However, my theory was proven wrong just minutes later as I spotted a different beast.
It looked pretty much the same as a regular bird, except it had red feathers and huge black eyes. Its beak was also long and sharp, looking more like a spike than a beak.
[Demon Bird] - Level 7
Apparently, the forest wasn't divided into different categories of monsters. I just happened to spawn in Dire Wolf Paradise.
I looked up at the demon bird as it casually sat on a branch roughly 20 feet above me, the corpse of a gremlin in its mouth. It spotted me but didn't move, clearly feeling safe in its position far above me.
Luckily, I had just gotten a new skill. I looked at the branch it was sitting on, thinking of the best way to push the bird off.
I could make it mud? The bird would slip off, or if I could manage to turn the entire branch to mud then it would fall down. If I caught it off guard, it might not be able to fly until it was close enough for me to strike.
That was my best plan at the moment, but I wasn't confident in it. The skill was useful, but I was no scientific genius. I didn't know a lot about many materials.
Wait, what if I try this? I reached down, quickly grabbing a small stick on the ground. If I chucked it at the bird as it was, it wouldn't budge it even if it managed to go that far. But…
I stared down at the stick, wrapping my fingers around it. When I unwrapped them, the small wooden stick was a bit heavier.
I didn't manage to change the whole thing, but part of it was stone now. It would be easier to throw accurately, and it could actually cause some damage.
I cocked my arm back and chucked the stone-wood stick. It soared up into the air, and… continued soaring through the air. The demon bird simply took a step to the side, letting it blast past him.
As it looked down at me, I swear I saw a smug look on its face. Alright, I can't give up on this now!
I blinked as an idea came to me.
Isn't air technically a material? I looked up at the branch the bird was sitting on. I couldn't put into words how the skill worked - I just kind of willed the branch to become air.
A second later, most of it did. I didn't manage to change the entire branch, but it actually worked out better that I didn't.
The front of the branch completely disappeared, catching the bird by surprise. It lost its balance, falling forward and flipping over completely.
It plummeted downward, flipping over and stabilizing itself mid-air, but it was too late. It was now only a couple of feet over my head, and I leaped upward.
My hand wrapped around its talons, pulling it downward. Its wings flapped in vain, but it didn't last long as my fist hardened. The level 7 bird stood no chance.
[Devour] has been used on [Demon Bird] - Level 7.
You have gained:
+7HP (1,005/1,005)
+7 AGI
+4 MP
+5 XP
+ [Demonic Resistance] Skill!
[Demonic Resistance] - [Demonic] attacks will do less damage to you!
That should be very helpful, considering that I'm in the underworld and all.
And, I also got a lot of AGI from that. That's good since that's really the only thing holding me back at the moment.
I continued deeper into the forest, looking for more prey. As I did, I became even more confused about how the forest worked, as all I encountered were gremlins and demon birds.
Did different sections spawn different mobs, like in a video game?
It seemed like that was the most likely line of thought.
After hunting for hours, and ending up likely miles from where my old sleeping spot had been, I decided it was time to find a new one.
This was a much better place to set up a base anyway, as there was no 'Great Wolf King' to send legions of dire wolves after me.
I'd eventually have to go and deal with that guy to complete the tutorial, but it was a later priority for now. I'm a cautious guy - I'd rather stack up on stats before I go after someone like that.
Granted, I had no idea how strong the 'Great Wolf King' was, so I didn't know if I was being overly cautious or not. He could end up being level 100, or he could just be an easy level 10 snack.
Considering he had Rena, a level 10, working under him, I was leaning toward the former.
As I continued through the forest, I finally came upon another small open area. I was glad because my legs were starting to feel heavy.
[You have claimed a plot of land!]
[You will be alerted if anyone enters your land!]
I laid down on the grass, letting sleep consume me, my mind satisfied from the AGI and MP grinding I had done today.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ALERT!] [Demonic Chipmunk - Level 1] has entered your land!]
I shot up at the alert, my body tensing. However, I quickly relaxed as I saw the level.
A level 1? Invading my land? Come on!
I blinked as I looked over, quickly spotting the chipmunk. It was huge and fat, with fat cheeks and red fur. It also had a huge, fluffy tail that was even taller than its roughly 2-foot-tall body.
If I had to give a comparison, I'd say it looked like an evil version of the Pokemon Greedent. Its slanted eyes and sharp teeth made him look a bit less friendly.
I stared at the small chipmunk, waiting for it to make a move. It stared back, unmoving.
"Hey?" I finally said, not sure why the chipmunk was just staring at me.
Then, the chipmunk reached up its hand, bringing it to his mouth. He reached inside, digging into one of his big cheeks, and pulling out a nearly foot-tall acorn. He held it forward toward me.
[Quest Alert!]
Aquire a [Subordinate]
Rewards:
[Ruler Newbie] Title
A new subordinate!
Failure:
You will never become The Beast King!
"For me?" I asked blankly, staring at the chipmunk in confusion. Its little head bobbed up and down, nodding at my words. I reached forward, taking the acorn.
[Quest Complete!]
Aquire a [Subordinate]
Rewards:
[Ruler Newbie] Title
A new subordinate!
Subordinates: [Demon Chipmunk LVL1]
Huh? I didn't even do anything! Was the acorn meant to be a peace offering?
[Subordinates] - Subordinates are troops under your command! You will be able to see their HP at all times, and level them up! You can also communicate telepathically if they are a [Named] subordinate!
The chipmunk suddenly looked very happy, his cheeks squishing upwards as he smiled at me. Then, he walked forward, his fat body tumbling side to side as it did.
It looked a bit clumsy, but also cute if I ignored his evil-looking eyes. It turned around and flopped over, its head resting against my leg as it promptly fell asleep.
Well, not what I expected to happen today, but I won't complain. I had the first member of my kingdom!
"As the first member, you'll need a strong name," I hummed, looking down at the sleeping chipmunk.
I needed something intimidating. Something that would strike fear into the hearts of our opponents. Something that would send them fleeing in the opposite direction. I shall name him…
"Chippy!" I nodded, satisfied. Ok, maybe I suck at coming up with names.
[ERROR] [Only beings over level 10 can become named!]
[You must be over level 25 to name a subordinate!]
"Unofficially Chippy," I nodded, flopping back down on my back. I had only been asleep for a couple of hours, and the dark sky overhead was telling me I should sleep more.
And so, me and my first subordinate, Chippy, had a good night's rest.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Thank you for reading!
If you enjoy my work and would like to support me, you can at Patreon.com/Koyon ! I'll be posting chapters for this story there early in the near future!