'I can't believe I almost forgot about that disgusting strong build! … Why didn't I think of that earlier?!'
'Oh yeah, shame on me! I was only thinking about the builds that went to the boss rush rankings!.'
Without noticing, a smile appeared on my face, and the more I thought about it, the bigger the smile grew.
'Eternal Sky God, gosh, that build is sooo fucking broken!'
'It has only three real weaknesses, and I can cover one of them depending on my 4 empty slots.'
'Completely immune from thermal, 100% crit rate, 100% evasion, 100 agility, 90 perception …'
'The only real problem is the low physical attack and poor defense against poisons and illusions in general. All in all, this build is pretty much invincible, I think?… Sure, I can be trapped, tricked, or get in a stalemate, but in a direct confrontation, I don't think there's a single known god or creature in Tardia that can pose a threat to this… And the bonus point is the slot for pet/mount, belt, chest, and gloves is still open!'
'With this, I can still think of a way to cover one of the weaknesses…'
'The core items are not too difficult to get either... the wing song boots are around 20 miles from here…'
'But I should go for that after I heal my leg; trying to get it without being able to jump won't do.'
'The Crown of Eternity is in the Nuendo continent inside one of the mystical palaces; for my luck, it's the easiest to complete since it doesn't involve fighting.'
'The Way of Havens Dharma Wheel is in the sky above central plains near Dunkrar… If I have the boots and the crown, it'll be doable to locate, very boring, but not difficult.'
'The earrings of the Cosmic Child are north of Whehim … Getting the earrings isn't difficult, but dealing with the elves living in Whehim is.'
'Can't I just sneak by?…'
'Blaacch... the more I think about it, the worse it gets; I'll only be able to get it after I get the crown and the boots.'
'So I should go: spear, rings, boots, crown, earrings, wheel? Yeah, that seems right.'
After I collected my thoughts, I felt like a huge weight left my shoulders, and to my surprise, I even managed to get some sleep.
------------------------
A few hours later, where the wrecked chariot stood, three horses stopped by.
''Hey, Nyle, look here, found it!''
- step, step, step -
''Any survivors?''
''Apparently not.''
''Are you sure?''
''Almost, I don't think anyone would survive a beast attack like that… not in this scale anyways.''
''And the gold?''
'' Missing ''
''Beasts don't have lust for gold. Look out for it; if you don't find it, there's the chance of a survivor.''
''Jaden''
''Sir? Go to the village nearby and ask if there are any survivors who happens to pass by.''
''The one all the way at the foot of the mountain?''
''Where else, you idiot!''
''Hey, who's the idiot here? I told you it was a bad time to pillage around here; it's the bird season!''
''If you say one more world I'll kill you! Stop wasting my damn time and go already! If the Lomogre's guards find us out, we won't have a place to escape like last time anymore.''
Jaden fought off arguing back, but looking at Nyle's face, he knew better.
* Clipity, clipity, clopity, clopity...
''Nyle found the gold.''
''Finally some good news.''
Nyle walked to Jesse and picked up the gold pouch.
''It's torn! Where's the gold?''
''There on the ground near the banshee corpse.''
''ARE YOU SHITTING ME!''
''SHHHH! The birds.''
''*sigh. This better be worth it.''
Nyle walked to the banshee corpse and started to grab the coins on the ground. It was then
-* screach *-
''I got fucking cursed! Fuck me.''
Walking back, he picked up a flask from his horse: holy water.
He drank it. The taste made him gag, but he knew there was nothing he could do about it.
''Well, that's 1.5 gold down the drain.''
''It's better than being fucking cursed with bad luck.''
''Can't say I disagree.''
''The coins are all dirty; give me a sack of water.''
''Here it goes.''
Tanner saw Nyle's expression shift a few times before finally asking.
''What's the problem?''
''It's missing.''
''What?''
''It's missing two gold coins.''
''Did you pick up all the coins on the ground there?''
''I did.''
''Maybe the third gold coin is under the banshee corpse.''
''I don't have more holy water.''
''So… did we just lose money picking up money?''
''Yes.''
''Let's get out of here and check on Jaden before I lose my mind or the damn birds come back.''
- Neigh -
* Clipity, clipity, clopity, clopity …
--------------------------------------------------------
*sigh
'I should start to move again.'
It was very early in the morning, and I could hear a plethora of different bugs, animals, and even beasts, but I couldn't see any of them.
Be it camouflage, augmented senses, or even the size, almost every single living thing on this mountain was adapted to avoid the bird's ear and sight, and because of that, everything that didn't follow this rule would for sure be perceived.
'Lucky me, today there's no mist.'
There are two things that makes this place special, the first one is of course the ancient god's tomb, the second is what the players called the hunting grounds.
Hunting grounds is not exactly a place in specific but a general term the Tardia players used to describe locations with a high density of beasts, where you can hunt them to your heart's content. Misty Mountain Peak is one of those places, but only when the mist descends.
Normally everything is trying to hide from the apex in the sky, but what happens when the geography of the place provides everyone with natural protection? Well… Even the beasts that normally would only hunt at night, the ones too big or too noisy to try their luck during the day, dare to show their faces during the mist period.
Of course, there's no guarantee that the terror birds won't dive into the dense misty forest because of some noise… But he won't be as accurate, and for most of the beasts in the forest, that's enough.
As I walked through the dense forest, cutting my way with the bandit sword, I felt something very strange; it was like walking into a room you're not supposed to be in.
'?'
I was confused about what was happening and tried to ignore it in the beginning, but soon, without noticing my own behavior, I sped up my pace.
-Rustle-
'!? This sound… It wasn't me…'
And just like that, unconsciously, everything clicked; I've finally understood what was wrong.
'I'm being watched. NO, I'm being hunted.'