by Phoenix Grey
Difficulty: Easy
Success: Kill 10 Shade Beetles
Kill 10 Gray Beetles
Loot and return 4 Shade Beetle Carapaces to Hawking's School of Land Magic
Failure: Cancel quest
Will you accept this quest: Yes or No?
“This is quite a bit,” he admitted, surprised.
“Yes, but it will allow you to use all of the skills you’ve learned here.”
Azure pulled up his map to see where Chelmsmont Hole was. It was a full day’s walk away, seemingly out in the middle of nowhere. He groaned internally, hating to spend the night in the unknown without companions. Maybe Janine would want to go with him. It might be worth returning to town to fetch her. Besides, without her bestiary, he was clueless as to what part of gray beetles was valuable. Maybe it was their carapace, too?
“When you return, make an appointment to turn your quest in with me. Then you’ll be all done with this semester of land magic. You won’t be able to take any more classes from the school until you turn this quest in,” she said, standing to walk him out.
Azure was still mulling over whether or not he wanted to return to Squall’s End for Janine when they reached the door. Before Elise had a chance to disappear back inside, he turned to her. “The gnome foreman in Oxbell told me to give you his regards, but I didn’t catch his name.”
“Oh, well that was nice of him.” She seemed pleasantly surprised. “It’s Kritlergozz, by the way. But we all call him Kritler here. It’s easier.”
“People don’t seem too keen about giving out their names around here.” He knitted his brow slightly.
“Names are usually on a need-to-know basis. If you’re not likely to interact with that person frequently, then what’s the point of giving them your name?” Elise looked at him as if he was odd for being bothered by it.
“It’s polite,” Azure told her pointedly.
“Most people think it’s a waste of time.” She shrugged. “Anyway, good luck on your quest.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
THE REALM – Day 79
While Azure had all the time in the world to complete the quest, the thought of adding additional hours to his journey just for the sake of companionship seemed like a gigantic waste of time. If he didn't know how to get the shade beetles' carapaces off, he could always just stuff the whole body into his Bag of Holding like he had done with the giant crayfish that he had taken to Garion because he didn't know what part of it was valuable. Besides, Azure also had his Loot Automizer Pendant that he had yet to use. And the sooner he finished this quest, the sooner he could start learning another class of spells.
Sucking up his loneliness and discontent, Azure headed toward the location marked on his map. Knowing that he wouldn't reach Chelmsmont Hole before nightfall, he took his time, foraging along the way. As he walked, he wondered what type of alchemy components he'd find at the quest location. Since there would likely be no one around to rush him or chase him off, Azure decided he'd invest some time in exploring the area and gathering what he could. Who knew when the alchemy ingredients would come in handy?
One interesting thing he discovered was that as soon as his Blue Mushroom supply hit 99, the remaining Blue Mushrooms funneled into a new slot in his Bag of Holding. Of course, there was no good reason for Azure to have so many Blue Mushrooms. As soon as he returned to Squall's End, he would sell off the rest. But it was nice to know that each slot held a capacity of 99 for stacked items.
The first time his stomach growled, Azure became painfully aware that he didn't have any source of protein left on him since he'd eaten his last sardine in the dungeon. He tried to pull through by nibbling on his supply of Blue Mushrooms. When the sun began to set, Azure went off to hunt before making camp for the night.
He was lucky enough to spot a wild hare nosing around in some foliage. Now was the time to put his new archery subskill to practice.
Azure nocked an arrow and drew back his bowstring, aiming for the hare's head. Overcompensating, he zoomed in too far, magnifying not only every hair on the animal's head but also the mites clinging to it. It made the hare seem much less appetizing, but he'd be skinning the animal anyway, so what did the bugs really matter.
Sensing a predator nearby, the hare turned. Azure's vision blurred, causing a wave of nausea akin to vertigo. He quickly released the zoom to regain his bearings. Though spooked, the hare only hopped a few paces away.
Azure tried zooming in again, magnifying the hare's head in his vision without drilling in so deep that he saw it on a cellular level. This time, the effect was less dizzying. It was as if the hare was a mere few feet in front of him. Taking a breath to steady himself, Azure released the arrow.
Critical hit! Defeated Level 3 Wild Hare. 15XP rewarded.
Satisfied with his kill, he made camp for the night, then skinned the hare and set its body over the fire he'd created with some of his torch supplies. Luckily, he didn't burn the meat to a crisp thanks to his low Cooking skill.
Sleep didn't come easily. It never did in a strange part of The Realm. The sounds of unfamiliar nighttime creatures forced him to stay on guard, even though none of them would approach the fire. Fire seemed to be monster repellant in The Realm. At least, it worked well on the non-humanoid beasts.
In the morning, Azure ate five Blue Mushrooms for breakfast and then went on his way.
The topography of the forest looked much the same as the rest of Patheana. Trees gave way to more trees. Azure mostly followed game trails toward his destination, branching off to push his way through the foliage whenever they deviated too much from the linear path he was trying to maintain.
Finally, the forest opened into a small clearing. Chelmsmont Hole was just that, a hole about ten feet in diameter. Apprehensively, Azure approached the perimeter, noticing how dark it was inside. The ground seemed to slope deeply inward with rocks for footing, his sight only extending a few yards in before the lip of the hole cut the rest from view. This was going to require a torch, Azure realized before taking the time to search the area for a suitable piece of wood to make one from.
Once his torch was crafted and lit, Azure took a deep breath and descended into the hole. Almost immediately, he heard the skittering of six-legged creatures, and a beetle about the size of his foot appeared from the darkness. Azure quickly activated Analyze to assess the threat.
Level 6 Shade Beetle.
Looking like a mix between a crab and an insect, the shade beetle had a round carapace and clawed pincers. The body shape and rusty red color reminded Azure of some type of ladybug, though it didn't have spots. Its eyes were completely white, set behind two short mandibles.
Azure expected to have to scramble to defend himself as it attacked, but the beetle simple remained in place, staring at him curiously.
Am I even going to need to use any of my spells? He thought, clearing his mind to cast Woodflesh anyway.
Azure held his torch with one hand, then made a sign in the air with his other. There was a strange cracking sound like the splitting of wood, and the smell of cedar filled his nostrils as his body began to harden. Glancing down at his arm, he felt no different, but he knew that the spell had worked. The image of the man-tree hybrid appeared in green in his peripheral vision to show him that the status was in effect.
Unable to manage his Bergen's Glaive with only one hand, Azure decided to try his luck with the Black Barbed Whip. There was no one he could hurt here, so he might as well get some in practice.
Feeling a bit guilty for attacking a creature that clearly had no interest in fighting him, Azure let out the whip and drew it back, trying to remember how he'd seen Garion wield it. For all of his One-Handed Weapons experience, Azure sucked. His first strike hit the wall, causing dirt and rock fragments to go flying everywhere and the shade beetle to retreat back into the safety of the darkness.
Azure cursed as he rolled the whip back up. The space was far too small for him to be
swinging it about. It reminded him of the first episode of an anime he had watched where the guy brought a longsword into a tight cave and ended up getting murdered by a horde of goblins when the blade got lodged in the ceiling. The lesson was that no matter where you were, it was always important to have the right weapon for the job.
With a sigh, Azure switched to his Bronze Sword. It was an inferior weapon to everything else he currently owned, but it was the best-suited for the small space. Proceeding onward, he quickly caught up with the shade beetle. Another one came into the light a few feet away, seeming equally disinterested in attacking him.
Briefly, Azure considered using one of his other spells on them, but what was the point. It took two quick hacks of his sword to kill them both, his foes showing no resistance.
Defeated Level 6 Shade Beetle. 36XP rewarded.
Defeated Level 5 Shade Beetle. 30XP rewarded.
Once the two were slain, Azure stood over their corpses. He'd cracked the carapace on both of them, so he hoped they were still salvageable. Peeling them off seemed like the best way to remove them. They looked like wings, so they should come off one piece at a time.
Maybe because he had cracked the carapaces, using his Loot Automizer Pendant would be a smarter idea this time around. Azure lifted the pendant and pointed it at the first shade beetle. The body began to glitter a soft shade of pink, and it particles of it rose into the air and disintegrated into nothing. There was a small pinkish sphere the size of Azure's palm left behind. He bent to pick it up. As soon as he did, it began to transform into something else.
You have received the following item:
Shade Beetle Mandible
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.1 kg
Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.
“Well, that’s not what I’d wanted.” Azure gazed down at the decapitated mouth of the beetle.
Though using the pendant now felt like a waste, he debated on trying it again. Surely, he’d get the carapace of the next one. But first...
Azure knelt and broke the mandible off of the second beetle. Maybe he could double-tap the kill for items if he looted it and then used the pendant on it afterward. And hey, maybe using the pendant hadn’t been such a waste after all. At least now he knew that the mandible was of value. Removing it wasn’t rocket science either.
You have received the following item:
Shade Beetle Mandible
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.1 kg
Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.
Once he'd stuffed the mandible in his Bag of Holding, Azure pointed the pendant at the rest of the beetle. Instead of it starting to glitter, a notification popped up.
You have already looted this kill.
Wait. What? What about the carapace? Had he really destroyed it when he'd crushed the beetle beneath his sword? If so, he'd need to find a new plan of attack for killing them.
A bit disappointed, Azure cast Woodflesh again and continued further into the cave. Only a few steps in, another beetle waited for him. This one was about twice the size of the first, and instead of red, its carapace was gray. Azure quickly Analyzed it.
Level 8 Gray Beetle.
It skittered toward him a few inches, then backed away. As soon as Azure held his sword up and presented himself as a threat though, the beetle charged, snapping its pincers. With the level difference between them, it was no match for the hostile human. Azure smashed through its carapace as easily as someone cracking a boiled egg on a counter. The gray beetle's body sunk to the ground with one blow, its legs flailing to its sides once and then stilling.
Defeated Level 8 Gray Beetle. 56XP rewarded.
Damn, this is going to be easy. Azure wasn't sure why it surprised him. None of the quests Hawking's had given him had been difficult. It was a school, after all. Not The Adventurers Guild. Hell, he was paying them to go on these quests, not the other way around. Whatever the case, a break from dungeon crawling and working his ass off was kind of nice. He'd enjoy it for what it was, a time waster to help him gain more experience with land magic.
Not wanting to use his pendant on an enemy whose parts weren't related to his quest, Azure took a shot in the dark and bent over to rip one of the gray beetle's mandibles off. He was rewarded with a notification.
You have received the following item:
Gray Beetle Mandible
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.1 kg
Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.
“Score!” Maybe I don't need Janine's bestiary after all. Thinking that reminded him that he'd forgotten to ask about it when he was back at Hawking's.
There seemed to be an enemy every foot or so inside the cave, which made hunting easy. The very next one that Azure encountered was another shade beetle. This time, he dispatched of it with a quick stab to the face, though bending over to do so was a bit awkward. Blessedly, the carapace remained intact. Maybe he'd get lucky this time.
Defeated Level 7 Shade Beetle. 42XP rewarded.
Azure pointed the Loot Automizer Pendant at the body.
You have received the following item:
Shade Beetle Mandible
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.1 kg
Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He stared down at the item.
His next foe was a gray beetle. He killed it quickly and took the mandible, ready to move on, hoping he’d get a shade beetle carapace soon.
Defeated Level 9 Gray Beetle. 63XP rewarded.
You have received the following item:
Gray Beetle Mandible
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.1 kg
Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.
Azure cast Woodflesh again and moved on, feeling like he was starting to fall into a rhythm. Shade beetles seemed to be more prominent in the cave than the gray beetles. It made him wonder if completing the quest would take a while. By the way that fighting was draining his Stamina, Azure might not wrap this up before the end of the day. Hopefully, he'd stumble upon some alchemy component that restored Stamina. It was long overdue.
Defeated Level 6 Shade Beetle. 36XP rewarded.
“One more time.” Azure pointed his Loot Automizer Pendant at the downed beetle.
The item that formed in his hand this time was both larger and heavier than the mandible.
You have received the following item:
Shade Beetle Carapace
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 1.0 kg
Uses: Alchemy Component, Crafting Component
“Fucking finally!” Azure whooped, looking the carapace over. It appeared to be in perfect condition. Round and smooth, yet fragile at the same time. After examining it for a few moments, he figured that he could probably remove the next one on his own without having to use the pendant.
A gray beetle emerged from the shadows. This time, Azure used the same face stabbing technique to down it.
Defeated Level 10 Gray Beetle. 70XP rewarded.
After defeating his enemy, Azure knelt next to it and tried to gently lift its carapace, but the shell-like structure was firmly affixed to the beetle’s body. Taking out his black dagger, Azure slipped the blade beneath the carapace. The body made a sickly crunching sound as he pierced it. Using the edge to work his way around the carapace, Azure tried to open the bug up like a tin can. Goo clung to his blade when he pulled the dagger out, and he screwed his face at it before wiping it on his leg.
Using his fingers this time, Azure attempted to carefully pry the carapace away from the body. It clung to the creature’s flesh like magnets trying to pull it back together. One good tug—an accidental show
of too much force—and the carapace broke.
“Bloody hell.” He scowled.
All of that work for nothing.
Submitting to defeat, Azure settled for taking the monster's mandible instead. Perhaps he wasn't meant to take the carapace on this kind of beetle.
You have received the following item:
Gray Beetle Mandible
Item Class: Common
Quality: Average
Weight: 0.1 kg
Uses: Loot. Sell for coin.
With a resigned sigh, Azure stood and put his dagger away before picking back up his torch to continue deeper into the cave. Before taking on the next shadow beetle he encountered, he quickly cast Woodflesh again, even though it wasn't needed. Not a single one of the beetles had managed to land a hit on him yet. Still, his efforts were rewarded with a notification.
Congratulations! The skill: Land Magic has reached Level 3. This skill allows you to harness the power of rocks, dirt, and the native flora and trees to aid you in battle. Continuing to level up this skill will unlock the ability to learn more spells of the same magic type.
Woo-hoo! Only 22 more levels to go before I can learn more land magic, Azure thought sarcastically.