But alas, in the morning there were no fish.
“Hrn...” Gorgie commented, licking his lips sadly.
“Don’t worry, brother,” I reassured him. “You can have some of my chow for breakfast, and I’m sure we’ll catch something else on the way.”
We decided to walk along the river. Among the gray trees and bushes, we were harder to spot. Honestly, our biggest problem other than tracks could be the birds. Spooked by our approach, large flocks would all take off into the sky at once, revealing our location. All we could do was hope the local birdies’ behavior wouldn’t draw the attention of something more dangerous.
And speaking of danger, in the middle of the day, I bore witness to a nasty scene while hidden in some bushes with my heart fluttering. A gigantic level-thirty-five beast that looked like a centipede, was clacking its pointed feet very rapidly and flying down the opposite shore.
That big monster could hardly have been a steppe native. Obviously it was one of the specimens from Master Chi’s fearsome collection. Fortunately, it didn’t notice us. But a small group of gray antlered animals nibbling grass a hundred yards from the river weren’t so lucky. The beast smelled fresh meat and tore off toward them like a lightning bolt.
Taking advantage of the opportunity and trying not to make too much noise, we ran far away from the bloody slaughter. The shrieks of pain from the animals the monster caught followed us for a long time.
Alas, no matter how we tried to avoid unpleasant encounters, the Great System had plans of its own. Nearer evening, the harn told me there was something fast and dangerous on our trail.
My now fairly decent figures allowed me to keep up an increased pace for a while, but still I couldn’t compete with the speed and endurance of our clearly high-level pursuer.
We decided to stop and fight while my supplies still had something in them. We chose a small hill overgrown with dry shrubs for the purpose. I was hoping the elevation might give us an advantage.
I activated Lair and Muckwalker’s Defensive Aura, then took a Blot out of my backpack, my hands shivering with anxiety. All told, my magical shields could absorb three thousand five hundred points of damage.
Okay, ready for battle!
I didn’t notice the smoothly moving red silhouette right away. The dry steppe grass and bushes made excellent camouflage for the monster on our trail. I’m quite sure that if the harn weren’t at my side, I wouldn’t have known this predator was coming.
I looked closely. It was clearly a feline of some kind. Honestly, it was nearly double Gorgie’s size. Thick fur on its chest, wide paws and long saber-like fangs on its upper jaws — it looked a lot like the southern tiger that lived in my hometown menagerie.
Another few longs jumps and I could see its level — twenty-eight!
Not beating around the bush, it rushed on the attack and was immediately sent flying back with a Ram. Despite the fact I used a scroll of fury, I was unable to do any damage. Seemingly, the orange tiger’s thick fur gave it a bonus to defense.
— You have attacked Firepaw (22)!
— You have dealt 0 damage!
In a few jumps, Gorgie was on top of the beast. Based on the figures, the harn’s blows were doing at most thirty percent of its total damage. But that was plenty.
Not drawing things out, I activated eel lightning while the harn continued dealing his powerful blows. Gradually, the furry side of the immobilized beast turned into a smear of blood. I could easily make out the protruding white rib bones. And so of course I aimed my next few blows there.
Thanks to the mana crystal, which I’d filled to the brim, I could just activate ram after ram, not letting the firepaw so much as move.
— You have killed Firepaw (22).
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Experience essence (4400).
— Gold tablet of Intellect.
— Silver tablet (10).
— Attention! The Higher Powers have taken note of your accomplishment! You have defeated 5 magical beings more than 10 levels higher than you!
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Experience essence (2000).
— Silver tablet (10).
— Attention! The Higher Powers smile upon you! You have replicated the feat of Err the Cold! You defeated a magical creature more than twenty levels higher than you, dealing minimal damage and not allowing your opponent to land a single blow!
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Experience essence (2000).
— Iridescent Tablet “Firepaw” (1).
Raising both hands over my head, I jumped for joy. Another iridescent! Random the Just must have seen my suffering!
Hm... So why did it only count five victories? After all, I’d killed more magical creatures than that. Actually, I think I know what the problem is. Seemingly, the Great System doesn’t count ghostly otherworldly creatures the same way...
Gorgie, eviscerating the orange tiger’s carcass, ignored my “happy coldune” dance.
— Attention! Your pet has discovered:
— Pearl Firepaw Fang (2).
Reading the brief message, I grew intrigued and walked up to the dead animal’s hefty noggin. So, what do we have here?
Pearl Firepaw Fang.
— Type: Universal ingredient.
— Rarity: Epic.
— Requirements:
— Butchery — 22.
With a heavy sigh, I gave the requirements another look. Level twenty-two butchery! Well, what can I do about that? This isn’t exactly the red megabat eye with “common” rarity that Gorgie discovered before our battle with the thorntail. Here there were a whole two fangs labeled “epic!” These things could probably fetch a pretty penny!
Command Gorgie to snap them off? But that could ruin the valuable resource... Although, on the other hand, we were going to lose it regardless... Scratching the back of my head, I waved a hand and glanced into my ephemeral backpack. I have an iridescent tablet lying there unused, but I’m already thinking about these fangs...
— Experience essence (15000).
— Iridescent Tablet “Firepaw” (1).
— Gold tablet of Intellect. (1)
— Monster Hunter Token (535).
— Hunter’s Fury (13).
— Blot (10).
— Small Potion of Satiety (14).
— Ferocious Harn Summoning Amulet.
— Silver tablet (25).
— Stone tablet of Agility (4).
— Stone tablet of Strength (4).
— Stone tablet of Endurance (4).
— Stone tablet of Wisdom (4).
— Stone tablet of Accuracy (4).
— Stone tablet of Speed (4).
— Stone tablet “Fisher” (4).
— Stone tablet “Hunter” (4).
— Stone tablet of Mind (4).
My heart aflutter, I activated the iridescent tablet. I open the “skills and abilities” section. Alas, none of them are magical. And every single one is “anatomically incompatible.” What a shame... Oh well. There’s still my favorite section — “spells.”
— Flaming Paw.
— Level: 0. (0/20)
— Type: Spell.
— Rarity: Epic
— Description:
— Devastating magical fire enshrouds the predator’s paw.
— Effect:
— When the spell is active, damage dealt with the hands/paws is increased by 100 points.
— After successful attacks, a Weak Magical Burn is left on target’s body.
— Weak Magical Burn:
— Removes 10 life points from target every 10 minutes.
— Duration: 30 minutes.
— Requirements:
— Intellect — 9.
— Expends 100 mana points.
Rubbing my hands together in satisfaction, I close the description. One more epic spell for my arsenal!
Now I have to decide where to spend the ten points...
I looked at all the firepaw’s characteristics. Ugh! I want them all. Knowing I can’t have them stings! But still I have to make a choice. First I’ll go through my main ones.
Health... I’ll bring that up — plus one hundred life into my supply... That brings the total to two hundred ten. No more than one hit for some level-eight giant rat. One hundred or two hundred — at this stage it doesn’t make much difference. Yes, every point could be the deciding factor, but I also shouldn’t forget that I have other defenses as well.
Intellect then? My mana supply has two hundred and some points. And with the crystal on top of that I’m well over a thousand. No. I’ll leave that alone for now. But bringing up my mana regain speed would come in very handy. I make a mental note — Wisdom.
If I double my energy supply, I’ll have more endurance, but not so much that I’ll be able to keep up with high-level opponents. They’ll still have much more energy than me. I could travel for longer. No doubt about that. But for fairness’ sake I should note that the current state of affairs is working great for us. Neither Gorgie nor I are big fans of traveling long distances. Frequent breaks have always been more our speed.
Invest in Strength or Agility? Or maybe I should unlock Speed?
Or improve Mind? With the characteristics from my button, I’d be up to fifteen points. I wonder what Master Chi’s Mind score was. Or Ting’s, for that matter.
The idea of improving that characteristic caught me hook line and sinker. The longer I considered it, the more confident I became. The Mind branch was always far out of reach to mere mortals. I now had the unique chance to take a peek beyond that fifteen-point “ceiling.”
Weighing all the pros and cons one last time, I took a heavy sigh... If I don’t try, I’ll never find out.
— Would you like to increase the Mind characteristic by 10 points?
Yes.
— Mind characteristic successfully improved.
— Present value including all item bonuses: 15.
After reading that, I listened to my feelings. I wonder how much smarter I just became. I took a look around. For some reason I sniffed the air. I turned my head toward Gorgie, who was scarfing down meat. Hm... No changes... Looks like I should have unlocked Wisdom after all.
With a heavy sigh, I wanted to take a peek into my bag when suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a flickering blue spot on the firepaw’s fangs.
Intrigued by the strange occurrence, I walked up closer and again opened the saber-like tooth’s description.
Pearl Firepaw Fang.
— Type: Universal ingredient.
— Rarity: Epic.
— Requirements:
— Butchery — 22.
— Additional information:
— Being a creature that uses fire magic, the firepaw is highly sought-after by rare-ingredient hunters. Its fangs are of particular value, more specifically Black (legendary), Pearl (epic), White (rare) and Yellow (common).
— Recommendations:
— If you manage to find a firepaw fang, the first place you should take it is a knowledgeable alchemist — they’re sure to give you a good price.
Once finished reading, I gulped loudly. So then, that’s what changed... Fifteen points had an interesting effect. But what if that’s not all? I took a look around. I have to find a good place to hide the creature’s head. What if I manage to find my way back here?
When I realized what I was considering, I chuckled. Return to the depths of the Wastes for the sake of two measly fangs? No thanks. I’d need something a bit more consequential to do something that crazy. But still, I might as well hide the monster’s head just in case...
* * *
It’s been two days since the battle with the firepaw. Over that time, we were fishing and hunting for local birds with quite some success. Gradually, my ephemeral backpack was filling up with essences and tablets.
We saw two monsters from the Hive. Their distant silhouettes were easily visible on the horizon. I was afraid to even imagine their levels. Neither Gorgie nor I had any sort of desire to actually meet one of those titans face to face. Even the chance of lucking our way into iridescent tablets was not tempting. Now that I was free, I was savoring every moment of life like never before. And Gorgie, by the way, was in complete solidarity.
We set up camp in a small glade. We purposely looked for a spot where we could do some morning fishing. But alas, I was just not able to get any sleep. Gorgie told me a few enemies were coming long before their arrival. We were slowly being surrounded on three sides.
“Weak. Sluggish. Two-legged. Not like you,” the harn told me calmly.
Hm... Looks like the masters of the Wastes have come to pay us a visit.
There were five orcs. Two came from the right, two from the left and one up the center.
I asked Gorgie again whether anyone was coming up from the riverside, and was told no.
“Then let’s give them a little surprise,” I whispered into the cat’s ear in a shaky voice. “Walk around them quietly from behind. I’ll distract them.”
With a satisfied snort, Gorgie dissolved in the bushes silent as a shadow. To be honest, I was shivering pretty hard. In Orchus, tales of fearsome orcs were used to frighten disobedient children. And now a small group of them had me surrounded on nearly all sides.
I could feel my knees trembling a bit. My heart was beating frantically like a wounded bird. When the harn let me know he was in position and ready to attack, it felt like a stone fell off my shoulders.
Filling my lungs with icy night air, I made a loud appeal to the darkness, trying to put on the most authentic imitation of fear I could muster. As an aside, I did a great job. Considering my state...
“W-who’s there?! I beg you, please don’t hurt me! I’m just a peaceful traveler!”
The shivering childlike voice of terror did the trick. Out of the darkness I heard snickering from several directions. It was at once gleeful and predatory.
Then gaunt slumping figures started to appear out of the bushes. Their stubby tusked faces were easy to make out in the light of the moon.
Levels ranging from nine to eleven. Their loincloths and vests were made of dark animal fur. They were draped head to toe in bones, fangs and feathers. Two archers. The rest of them were brandishing curved scimitars.
Just when I wanted to start the attack, something happened that made me falter. The orcs started speaking in their crude barking language, and a curious message appeared before my eyes:
— Attention! Your Mind score is high enough to activate the “Language of the Orcs!”
— Would you like to activate it?
When I agreed, my vision went slightly dim... And a second later I could understand every word!
“... Doesn’t much look like a runaway slave,” the bald orc to the right barked.
The tallest and broadest-shouldered one replied. His veiny neck was adorned with the highest number of tusk-and-tooth necklaces.
“Who cares! Maybe he’s not a slave. But he will be.”
That was clearly meant to be a joke because they all started snickering shrilly. Their vile laughter sent a brigade of ants marching down my spine.
The lowest level of them, clearly the youngest, waved his scimitar rakishly and happily exclaimed:
“This is the easiest slave I’ve ever taken!”
“And the most worthless,” one of the archers barked back. “Look at his level. Even a steppe gremlin would be more use!”
Cartoonishly radiating servility, I shuddered in fear. And again that laughter that chills to the bone...
“Okay Khat, drag him back to camp!” the big guy commanded and, losing all interest, turned his back to me. And all the others did so as well, except for the young one.
He twisted up his face into a fearsome countenance and started in my direction. He obviously wanted to scare me even more. No sense waiting for a better opportunity.
The young orc’s scary ex
pression stretched out in surprise when he saw the flickers of lilac on my right hand. It was a comical sight. A ram followed by an eel lightning laid all five of them low. Then Gorgie silently broke the orcs’ spines and tore into their throats, starting from the oldest and biggest. I asked him not to kill the youngest and just keep him pinned down.
The Wastes Page 7