by J. J. Thorn
Regardless, Gavin’s team usually dealt with them the same way. They would scare them out by hitting the top or in one case smoking them out with a potion. Despite it all, they usually didn’t delve too deep into their homes, counting on the fact that most of them would come out to defend.
I asked Tara about this and she explained that it was for a few reasons. Firstly, monsters generally weren’t too smart. The Skink was G-Rank and would try to attack anything on sight alone. Especially if that thing was trying to attack its home.
Another reason was how most of what might be left inside were largely expected to be juvenile or older. In both cases, their glands were not worthwhile to procure, and their job was not the unnecessary killing of monsters. This also allowed them the opportunity to return to the same area again when the population increased.
While killing everything off might help the local towns temporarily, there would always be monsters capable of hiding better than us. And for all we looked, the nests never stopped appearing. We knew if we kept going for weeks on end, there would still be Skinks available. The nests would be found further, and the trips would become less worthwhile, but they would be there.
So no, they didn’t worry about killing off the entire population. With a team of five Dungeoneers, this was an unlikely prospect.
“Quinn, let’s go,” Tara yelled. “We’ve only found three nests today, we need to find one more before the end of the day. There’s no point trying to clean off right now.”
Weirdly enough, Barda still hadn’t gotten very dirty throughout the trip. Some of our night-time fire chats had been speculating about how Quinn was such a huge target, while Barda was somehow untouched. His shield would get the worst of it.
“Damn you. Why don’t you come out and kill the little bastards sometime then? See how you like being covered in Skink Ink.” Quinn finally started to follow the group.
“It’s not Skink Ink yet, silly.” Tara knew what he meant, but they had shown a banter between the two the last couple days that had been quite lively.
Tara would act innocent and fun while Quinn came across as grumpy and annoyed. It made for a comical duo. Or that’s how I took it at least. As far as I knew, this could have been their actual personalities.
“We’re going to head further into the Lake,” Gavin said, cutting off their bickering. “We’ve covered the north side of the lake and we’re bound to find something if we go a bit deeper. Expect there to be more Skinks and also might be some at F-Rank. That means you kids might have a few of them pass through again. You can handle them but try to watch out for the glands this time. Remember, you already have to tell Favian how you’ve ruined twenty-seven glands.”
Our count had only gone up since our first harvesting attempts. For all it was worth, I think we had finally reached our quota of three hundred Skinks. I wasn’t able to keep track, but roughly speaking, I could tell we had harvested at least that many.
Going into the trip, we had needed at least three hundred, but more was always better. And since this was the second last day of the trip, Gavin was having us get up earlier and head to camp a little later.
The sun was still in the sky as we ventured closer to the Lake, but the hue of night was starting to appear. The constant walking and jogging were starting to put a toll on our bodies, but Tara had been able to make us some teas to help.
Her knowledge of plant-life had been really interesting, and I only wished I had the opportunity to learn some of those Skills at Prep. Instead, the rest of us pushed Cassie to start considering some herbalism classes as well.
We knew there were medicinal applications already, and it would always be good to have someone that has some plant and wildlife knowledge on a team. Speaking of knowledge, Britta and Zane’s survival classes had definitely come in handy a few times. Their ability to make a fire, set up camp, and keep track of their surroundings was leaps and bounds ahead of my own.
And despite not having the same level of plant knowledge, they were still able to point out edible or inedible plants. The planning Zane and Jen had done before the trip had also come in handy as we never found ourselves without food or water. If the trip had gone on longer, we might have been strapped for some additional resources, but overall, that part was going well.
Gavin had also laid off once we started hunting the Skinks, making less and less remarks about our abilities. He still made the occasional remark. Just less often.
As we got closer to the Lake, I marvelled at how large it was. I couldn’t see the end of the lake, as it extended further past the treeline to the south. The lake itself was incredibly still as I saw very little wildlife.
Throughout the trip, animals had also shown up from time to time. Gavin usually left them alone, only killing a couple for food on the third night. Even now, far in the distance, I could see what appeared to be a regular moose or deer along the side of the water far in the distance. Even in a world of monsters, I appreciated how animals were able to co-exist and sometimes thrive.
We spent the next hour searching the edge of the lake before we came across what looked like a large mud hill. Tara had us all slow down and hide as we surveyed the abnormal structure. Large holes appeared around the base of the hill where we noticed some Skinks walking around.
After looking at so many nests over the last couple days, we noticed that there was a general pattern about the way the Skinks protected their home. A few Skinks would be stationed outside the house for early warnings. These Skinks would notify the rest of the nest, while also trying to delay as best as they could before reinforcements could arrive.
Once they arrived, the Skinks would usually attack the nearest thing blindly, which made Gavin’s formation so effective. To Tara’s point, low-ranking monsters were not usually very smart, unable to put in place tactics or strategies that might make them more capable.
For most monsters in the area, their sheer numbers would usually overwhelm anything that came. Otherwise, the liquid they secreted would be a deterrent to most low-Ranking monsters in the area.
“Okay, this structure is much larger than the others.” Gavin kept his voice low. “Expect either a high-Ranking variant or an Alpha. John, conceal them a bit more and stay close in case something gets past. Remember that we still need to recover their glands, but otherwise, keep them safe.”
The team dispersed as Gavin finished his explanation.
As I had seen them do countless times already, Barda started to walk towards the hill. His frame was as imposing as always, especially against the small Skinks that barely reached his knees.
Tara took a position further away as Quinn walked behind and slightly to the left of Barda.
John made the barrier to protect us. As soon as Gavin saw the barrier erected, he released a barrage of ice shards across the hill. A second barrage was set around the hill using a similar skill to what he had used to create the ice ring we fought our ‘tests’ in.
It was just an assumption, but I believed that this Skill was probably just another application of his ‘Barrage’ ability, if not a Skill on its own. I thought this because the Skills looked identical, with a similar amount of ice shards being created for each, and the only difference being how the ice shards targeted an area.
Gavin, more than anyone else, had showcased a level of control over his Affinity that I had yet to see in anyone else. Other than Professor Valk, of course.
The ice shards slammed into the hill and we heard frantic squeals from within. Since the structure was made of mud, I could only assume he had hurt at least one monster inside.
Without warning, a deluge of Skinks poured out of the structure. Where other nests usually had around thirty monsters, in the first few minutes, I could already count at least fifty. Despite this, Gavin and his team did not back away.
Barda, who was at the front, took on the brunt as he held them off. For some reason, these Skinks rarely used their liquid to attack, preferring to try and bite at or claw at him.
Gavin shot ice shards towards the monsters, choosing to use a modified version of his ice shard to cause as little damage as possible to the shards. These attacks would not always kill, but they hit with deadly accuracy.
The fight continued for a few minutes as the number of Skinks dwindled.
About ten Skinks had come from the side of our position, bypassing Gavin, Quinn, and Barda, before reaching John. Tara intercepted some of them before they reached us, allowing John to quickly dispatch of those, but four still made it to our little enclosure.
Once inside, we spread out as much as we could and spent the next few minutes fighting the Skinks.
Zane took on one Skink, while Jen took on another by herself. This left the last two to Britta, Cassie, and I, who decided to also divide and conquer.
We each made space as we fended off the Skinks. Unlike when I had fought the Monkin, the Skink was both less agile and weaker.
While I was realizing daily that the sword probably wasn’t for me, I was still able to use it to cut at the monster. In the process, I got covered in the Skink’s liquids, but otherwise received no other wounds.
Zane and Jen had also finished killing their Skinks, before one of them had gone on to help Britta and Cassie in their fight as well. Britta had held it off, while Cassie tried to stab it with her dagger.
Overall, no one was hurt, and we were glad to see it over.
We went back to our positions and found that the rest of the team was almost finished. I watched as each one took on multiple Skinks at once, capable of avoiding them before killing others.
The number was reduced to about six when we started to notice the hill crumbling. It didn’t take any augmented eyesight to see that a much larger monster was emerging from the enclosed space.
Within minutes, as the last regular Skink was taken care of, a skink that was as tall as Barda himself emerged from the hill. It was so large that the hole the others came out of had been completely destroyed to make way for the larger beast.
I looked at the creature in amazement as its full body appeared. Where the other Skinks had been cute and cuddly, this Skink’s fur was patchy and looked to be much more irritated.
Its belly protruded slightly as slithered closer to Barda and Quinn’s position. Gavin sent a spray of smaller ice shards, but found they were unable to pierce the Skink’s skin.
The Skink’s teeth were much more jagged. It reared its head and looked around. As it raised its body, I noticed how it had several enlarged teats. This made me realize that this was likely the nest’s Skink Mother. Probably a variant of the Skink itself and based on Gavin’s initial attempt, at least F-Rank.
The team mobilized again as Barda ran directly to the Skink Mother, trying to grab her attention. Gavin did not waste any more time; he sent larger ice shards to attack the beast. These were way more effective as they started to pierce its skin. Tara’s vines could not cover the beast in its entirety, but still, they kept it from changing its position.
As the beast realized it couldn’t do anything against the stronger team, it desperately tried to swipe at Barda’s shield. Like the smaller beasts, the attacks barely registered, and he took them without any effort.
Quinn hadn’t been waiting around as he used his sword to dash in and out of the monster’s range, making cuts along its side. The Skink Mother started to slow down as the attacks wore it out.
It was obvious that the fight was almost over, and once again the team had barely received any damage.
At the last moment, the Skink Mother did one last unexpected thing as it reared its head yet again in one final throe of death. As it raised its head, the swollen glands enlarged.
Gavin noticed immediately as he directed John to enlarge our barrier.
“John, make that thing taller and get behind it!” He yelled as his ice shards became larger as he tried to aim directly for the Skink Mother’s head. He still didn’t want to attack or damage the gland, but he hoped that a shot to the head would be enough.
His attempt was too late as the Skink Mother pointed its head down and expelled a viscous liquid over the team.
Even Barda was not left unmarred by the liquid, as everyone around the beast was covered in the inky solution.
After expelling the liquid, the ice shard impacted the Skink Mother’s head, driving it to the ground.
After a few moments, we looked outside the barrier to see how everyone had managed.
John had made it behind the barrier in time and was left relatively clean like the rest of us. Gavin had been able to erect some ice shards in front of himself to stave off majority of the blast. Tara had covered herself in vines, Barda had been able to use his large shield to cover most of his body.
But throughout it all, the person impacted the most was, once again, Quinn. Directly in the line of fire, with no magical means to protect himself, he was now dripping in the liquid.
I felt bad for him as he started to scream immediately. The Skink Mother’s glands were likely much more caustic and abrasive than that of the lower-Ranked beast.
He ran into the nearest body of water and tried to start washing it off.
Before reaching the lake, he fell into some mud, as he was incapable of opening his eyes.
While I felt bad for him, it was still very funny to see as he stumbled his way towards the water. He tried desperately to wash himself of the irritating liquid now stuck to his body.
The rest of the lake could hear as the fully-covered man screamed in outrage at his ill-fortune, while the rest of us started to harvest the monsters around. Gavin decided to take the Skink Mother for himself, while we dealt with the rest.
At the end of it all, we counted sixty-three Skink bodies, not including the Skink Mother herself, who likely had a large amount of liquid still available.
Tomorrow was our last Skink hunting day, and the day we intended to start making our way back to Borson.
Even though we had barely fought, I felt the trip was an absolute success. I had Ranked up, learned some valuable lessons, spent time with my friends, and been able to see how a true monster hunt would be conducted.
I could not think of any better way to end the trip than to hear Quinn’s screams from the lake as he desperately tried to clean himself off. Harvesting took even more time as we had a difficult time concentrating between laughter and jokes at Quinn’s expense. Even Gavin couldn’t resist, which was something we had not seen so far.
“Dammit! It got it my MOUTH!? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
Chapter 18 – Celebration!
The next day we spent a couple hours finding one last nest, then we raced back to the town of Borson. Even then, it still took close to two days to return. Admittedly, my body was taxed from the week we had spent sleeping outside and running, so when we eventually reached the outskirts of town I was thrilled. We made good time, so we had the evening to rest at the inn, rather than automatically jump into a wagon.
It was hard to believe that a week and a half had already passed since we left Krader. Before Britta’s dad raised the idea, the thought never crossed my mind that I would be sitting in an inn with my best friends after spending a week hunting monsters.
I knew it was a possibility after graduation, one I would try to fight for with every fibre of my being, but not before. As I looked around at my friends, they looked to be in similar states of disbelief.
“We made it back!” Cassie rubbed her sore feet and moaned. “I promise to never neglect those late-night trainings you all take part in. I won’t come every night, but you’ll see me there at least once a week.”
The rough terrain and water had done a number on all our boots. While mine were salvageable, I knew a good set would have to be one of the first things I invested some real money into.
&nb
sp; “We’ll hold you to that,” Britta remarked as she also started to strip off some of her excess equipment.
After sleeping in one tent together for a week straight, we had all gotten pretty comfortable. We regularly slept in our armor and equipment to make sure we would be ready at a moment’s notice, but that didn’t stop us from being very close together. A larger tent was an amazing idea from Zane, as it at least allowed us to have some space to sleep without kicking each other in the head.
Everyone took a few minutes to get a bit more comfortable. We had gotten back fairly late and could have gone directly to sleep, but by the look in Zane’s eye, he wasn’t thinking the same thing.
“Come on, guys, this might be our last chance to actually have some fun! Let’s head downstairs, buy some drinks, and at least have a couple laughs before we leave first thing in the morning.” He started to go around the room, rousing everyone. Getting us to stand up, shaking us, smiling at us. Anything he could think of to try and lift our spirits.
For what it was worth, I was physically tired, but not so much that I needed to sleep right away. I also didn’t want to make our situations any worse than they needed to be with Gavin and his team.
“We’ve got the wagon coming first thing in the morning. We should just head to sleep,” I said.
“Ren’s right,” Jen added. “You can’t expect Gavin to be okay with us slacking off. I can’t handle another one of his speeches right now.”
“Gavin’s probably downstairs, drinking it up with the rest of his team.” Zane gaped at us. “They barely broke a sweat and got more glands than they originally intended. I think they might have also slipped away early in the morning on one of the days to try and get another one of the postings. Not all of them, but I know I saw Barda, Tara, and Gavin returning from somewhere one morning.”