Status Panel
Name: Vetril Dawnsinger
Age: 12
Level: 3
Realm: Squire
Comments: A young knight who is showing his potential.
Four years have passed quietly, the town is still surrounded by verdant mountains, and the air is filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass.Vetril has already grown from that sensitive little boy into the form of a teenager. Vetril has grown from a sensitive little boy to a teenager, with a more upright figure and a more confident demeanour.
Vetril's best friends have also changed over the years. Jack is still the confident adventure enthusiast who has been learning basic swordsmanship and dreams of becoming a great knight. Lily, on the other hand, has shown a talent for plants and magic, and she often brings marvellous herbs and tasty treats to the table. As for Tommy, while he is still timid, his timidity is not due to cowardice, but stems from a deep-seated fear of hurting others. He didn't want to confront by force and didn't want to make himself a source of danger, so he decided to focus on building up his resistance to blows. He wanted to buy time for his teammates with his tough body and be a reliable barrier in critical moments.
The town is not without its share of funny stories. Jack was once trapped in a barrel in the backyard of the bakery by stealing Mary's bread and was only rescued when Vetril found him; Lily cultivated a glowing blue flower in her garden that attracted the whole town's attention; and Tommy, after accidentally shooting a hare, was so scared that he ran home and cried, which turned out to be the townspeople's laughing stock.
Today is the day when the town regularly cleans the neighbourhood of dangerous magical creatures. Gareth, Jack's father Henry, and several other apprentice knights formed the patrol. They are respectively:
Orton: a 56 year old blacksmith, level 10 Junior Knight with incredible strength and a fiery temper. He is often outnumbered in battle, but his cantankerous nature often puts the young knights on edge. He likes to relieve the stress of the party with humour, but sometimes the jokes go too far.
Camille: a 35 year old tailor, level 8 Squire, known for his calmness and precision. He always gets to the heart of the matter in a few words, giving the team a clear sense of direction. Camille enjoys studying battle strategies in his spare time, and has been known to use clever tactics to lead his team out of danger.
Robert: A 40-year-old farmer, level 9 Squire, specialising in tracking. He can always tell the movement of the beasts through subtle clues, and is the 'living map' of the team. Although he doesn't talk much, he is always patient with the youngsters and is happy to share his experience.
Gareth brought along Vetril and Jack, hoping to show them the world. Tommy didn't participate due to fear, while Lily couldn't pull herself away due to tending to her little blue flowers.
Early in the morning, the patrol travelled along the forest path outside the town. The sunlight poured down on the leaves of the trees, dappling them like leaping sprites. The team discovered many low-level magical beasts and peculiar plants in the forest:
'Look, what's that?' Robert was the first to stop and point to a cluster of low bushes. Blue points of light loomed in it.
Jack padded over in amazement, 'Oh my God, it's glow lizards! They're so pretty, like stars.'
Orton grinned and said in a low voice, 'Pretty as they are, don't forget that they use this blue light to lure their prey. If you are careless, you can be played by them.'
Gareth nodded and added, 'They are especially active at night, but only eat insects and are no threat to us. It's an important link in the ecological chain, so don't touch it, little ones.'
Continuing on, Robert first noticed a rock covered with moss, he gently touched it with his hand to feel its faint magic fluctuation. Looking at the children's interested eyes, he explained, 'This is magic moss, these mosses can purify the air and protect magical creatures, it is really a natural purifier of the forest!' Orton then joked, 'I hope it can also purify my blacksmith shop, the air there is not very fresh.'
The people in the group laughed out loud.
Just like that the group continued to march, when Camille suddenly signalled everyone to stop and pointed towards a Misty Deer fawn in front of them. This small, slow-moving magical beast had a mist-like halo attached to its horns, and was leisurely nibbling on fruits. Jack exclaimed in a low voice, 'It looks so tame, I'd love to pet it.' Gareth warned, 'Don't be fooled by its appearance, it's a prime target for the beast, we can't startle it.' The team carefully stepped around it and continued on their way.
Along the way, the breeze whisked by, sending out crisp bells.Vetril was the first to spot a few tumbleweeds and said excitedly, 'I heard that their sound is said to be able to disperse magical beasts, truly the guardians of the forest!' Robert nods his head and adds, 'But they also often attract curious adventurers and put people in danger instead.'
Next to him, Orton found a crushed beetle next to a fallen tree trunk, he picked it up with delight and gently tapped the carapace with his rough fingertips, making a crisp sound. He laughs, 'This little guy's shell is practically natural armour, I'll have to study it later.' Jack asked curiously, 'How tough is it?' Orton raised an eyebrow, 'Enough to block your wooden sword.'
Jack wondered, 'And will it stop the iron swords of my uncles?'
Gareth, who was beside him, hastened to say, 'Don't! Everything has its own meaning of existence. Although these low-level creatures and plants may seem ordinary, they maintain the balance of the forest. If we lose them, the ecological chain will be disrupted, even leading to the rampage of powerful magical beasts.'
Vetril listened with fascination as he used his diary to record information about these magical beasts and plants.
Right after the patrol cleared some primary magical beasts (Tiner), Robert suddenly stopped and whispered, 'Something is not right here.'
He pointed at a string of messy tracks on the ground and said, 'These are traces of forest wolves, and there are quite a few of them.'
Gareth frowned, 'Forest wolves? Although they are Primary Magical Beasts (Tiner), they live in packs and are cunning. We must proceed with caution.'
Just as he was about to send Vetril and Jack back to the town, a low growl came from deep in the woods. Three forest wolves suddenly sprang out of the bushes, their sharp teeth flashing coldly as they lunged straight at one of the knights in the group. Camille reacted quickly and blocked one of them with his longsword, but the other lunged at Orton, knocking him to the ground and cutting his arm with a deep gash from its sharp claws.
After a short while five more Timber Wolves appeared. In all, eight Timberwolves edged towards the group.
Gareth shouted, 'Protect the children.Vetril, take Jack back!'
The patrol quickly formed a defensive formation and the battle unfolded. Gareth is the first to rush forward and slash at a Timberwolf with his longsword, its movement swift but forced back by the collaboration of the wolves. He cried out in a low voice, 'They are testing us! Orton, can you still fight?'
Orton clenched his teeth, rose from the ground, and swung the giant axe in his hand to smash the lunging forest wolf. After the giant axe collided with the forest wolf's body with an ear-piercing sound, the forest wolf flew out backwards.
Robert keenly observed the movements of the wolves and warned in a loud voice, 'Pay attention to the right side! They're encircling!'
Camille quickly adjusted his position and repelled the forest wolf that was trying to sneak up on him with his precise swordsmanship. His blade sliced through the wolf's body, not fatally, but successfully dispersing its attack.
Vetril tightens his grip on Jack's hand and calls out the Timberwolf's status panel:
Timber Wolf
Level: 9
Realm: Primary Magical Beast (Tiner)
Characteristics: Tears its prey with sharp teeth, usually found in packs.
Weaknesses: eyes and abdomen defences are weak.
Vetril looked at the analysed weaknesses of the Timber Wolves and hurriedly said to the adults, 'Their eyes and abdomen defences are weak! I've read about this magical beast in the 'Biography of Legendary Knight Grand Mark'.'
Gareth nodded and commanded loudly, 'Focus on their abdomen!'
With Vetril's warning, the patrol gradually gained the upper hand, but with the appearance of more forest wolves, the situation became critical once again. Gareth fought hard while shielding Vetril and Jack, his stamina was gradually running out.
Gareth thought that he couldn't go on like this, so he crossed his heart and concentrated all the remaining spiritual energy from the Core of the Source into his sword, and swung it out with great vigour, a sword qi swung out and hit the encirclement formed by the forest wolves, and instantly killed three of them, and the other wolves were a bit afraid of this, and their speed slowed down. Gareth then commanded the team to retreat.
Under Gareth's command, the team found the right time to break out. Orton then used the flames from the ignition stone to disperse the wolves that were chasing behind him, and thus the team escorted Vetril and Jack all the way back to the town. Upon returning to the town, everyone was carrying wounds of varying degrees of severity.
Gareth's shoulder was slashed and blood soaked his shirt; Orton's arm was covered in bandages; and Camille had an additional scratch on her face. Seeing this, Elena rushed to treat everyone.
Vetril is also distraught over the day's events, and Elena rushes to greet him as he heads home.
Night.
Gareth and Elena sat by the fire, and the two chatted about the day's events
'This is so unusual,' Gareth said to Elena, 'The Timberwolves shouldn't be in a place like this, they should have been in the small plains some distance away from the woods, something must have happened in the plains which caused the Timberwolves to migrate to this side of the woods.'
'Very unusual indeed, Gareth, why don't we stop patrolling for the next few days, let's contact Quicksilver City to have the Knights come and deal with it' Elena said worriedly.
'It seems like that's the only way to go' said Gareth as he nodded.
After deliberating, they decided to write a letter to the city under their jurisdiction and request the Knights to investigate. That city was called Quicksilver City and was known for its rich ore resources.
This day's adventure made Vetril deeply aware of the responsibilities and dangers of knights. He secretly resolved to cultivate harder to protect the important people around him.