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/Hustle…/
The bush shook as something slowly made its way out, one paw at a time.
It was a dark creature with extremely dense and dark fur, gazing at them with two pairs of eyes, one that shone in the dark, and another one hidden in their fur.
It had an elongated body, like a Ferret, but it moved close to the ground, like a Cat.
Atop its head, a pair of long whiskers that bent above its body, running alongside its body like those of an insect for lack of comparison.
It was a gorgeous creature, although its expression wasn't that pleasant...[Velvet Darine
Challenge Level: 50-60
*Elite*
*Unique*
Affected by:
#Vitality Outburst
]
If Dale was given a single word to describe this creature, it would be that it looked like a panther.
A sleek body and calm demeanor...
Looking at its simple Status, Dale didn't really see anything impressive.
Elite monsters would previously be uncommon, but with the Vitality Outburst modifier, Normal monsters were now rarer than Elite ones.
The chances of Unique monsters appearing were 25%, so it was to be expected one would appear eventually.
What he found odd was how… Normal this one looked.
Since Variant monsters now had a 60% chance of appearing...
However, Dale was unsure how that correlated to a 'real-life' situation.
Percentages and statistics were applicable to normal players, so out of 10 monsters that fought, 6 would be variants, that's how it is.
But would that be the case for him? How did so many Variants suddenly appear?
He wondered about the explanation for this situation under this world's rules.
Either way, this creature looked at them silently from the bush, unmoving.
/Growl…/
It made a weird rhythmic noise like the croaking of a frog as it looked at them, was it trying to scare them away?
/Hustle…/
It was at that movement that something else fell from the bush, three very small… Furry balls?
Dale immediately understood what they were, it was likely its pups.
And if animal channels taught him anything is that mothers hate everything that approaches their young, in some cases even its mate.
Would they be forced with dealing with this family for the sake of moving in a straight line?
/Growl.../
"…"
Despite the threatening growls of the mother Darine, Muddan did not feel intimidated at all.
He raised one of his hands, moving them towards the beast.
"GROWL!"
The moment he got too close, the feline-looking creature opened its jaws, displaying a row of sharp teeth in pristine condition, it shone quite a bit in the dark, making Dale wonder if it was some sort of unique adaptation.
/FWOOSH!/
But Muddan did not stop, forcing the beast to jump forward to defend its pups…
Yet, even as its claws swiped his hands, nothing really happened as he easily grabbed it by its neck.
He was uninjured by its attack, using one hand to grab its paws, and one hand to fetch its neck.
"GROWL!"
Muddan lifted the three Meter long Derine with one hand as if it was a house cat, putting it on the side together with its pups, essentially removing them from their way.
And once the Derine was shoved inside a dark bush, it remained motionless as if it had been commanded to.
It was likely an instinctual reaction, to remain still when inside a dark enclosure.
Like that, in one swing, Muddan solved the problem, and with one final look, he turned forward as he continued to walk.
/Step step…/
Dale also took no time to continue marching, though he gave the strange creature he saw for the first time another look since he thought it looked rather cute.
A shame, he wanted to grab its pups and see how their fur felt… He'll likely have to wait for another opportunity.
But this meeting already said a lot to him.
Even a normal animal is already Level 50.
And with the Elite Modifier, it's around 10 more Levels. <subtxt> . </subtxt>
If it's Unique, it would be stronger with more hidden Abilities/Skills.
And if you add the Variant, it would possess other abilities either beyond or similar to what is commonly seen, not to say its different appearance and the consequences of that change.
Then… With that in mind… What if you were to make it a Boss monster?... A Field Boss?
Dale had been given a lot of information on monsters thanks to what he read and his Quest, so he knew a few things most players were unaware of, such as Apex Monsters, Superior Species, and Extraordinary Rank monsters.
How strong would be the combination of an Extraordinary Field Boss that is also an Elite Variant?
Could those even stack?
Thinking about it made Dale's head hurt…
But at the very least, the chances of that were likely non-existent, since the chance of an Apex monster appearing was one in ten thousand, while Superior Species couldn't appear under normal circumstances, giving Dale the idea that there were certain conditions for them to appear.
While Extraordinary Ranks were deemed unknown...
Dale was very curious about it all, how strong were those respective Ranks?
Either way, they continued on their way without any problems.
…
/Chirp chirp!/
/Tweet!/
As the sun rose from the horizon, many creatures rose with it, indicating the birth of a new day.
From small critters to big mammals, they left their burrows and nest and took to the skies and land in search of food and water.
One of them, a green lizard, had been unfortunately grabbed by Dale as he found it interesting.
It tried to bite his fingers, but in the end, the poor sod was only laughed at before being put in the tree again.
"Haa, finally."
Testros smiled as he could finally give up on those darned potions while Dale yawned a little, feeling a bit tired mentally.
"Are you tired already Dale?" Testros asked as they crossed over a small river just a few feet across
"Hm? Not quite, it would be better to say I'm a bit bored." He replied with a light smile
"Well, things are a bit more colorful now so I won't get bored as quickly."
"That's good, we should be making a stop sometime soon anyway."
"^$&^(^#@"
As they spoke, Muddan said something in a low tone to them.
And since they didn't understand him, Dale and Testros turned to Tina.
"... He said we're getting near the first Major Waypoint, once we get it, we should've crossed about a tenth of the way." She replied as she left a small mark on a tree
Tina had been leaving marks on the trees as they walked, not really necessary but it was a habit of hers she couldn't easily forget.
"Oh, really? That was a bit faster than I expected." Testros replied with a slight smile as he took out a leaf from his beard
'At this pace, we may reach our destination the day after tomorrow if we don't stop walking.'
"It's too soon to rejoice, from here on out things will only get harder." Tina interjected
"We were lucky we met few creatures, Muddan did a great job guiding us, but he told me he had to fight at least a handful of beasts on his way here, things are likely to have gotten even worse since the Wave of Vitality happened."
"Keep your guard up."
"Sure thing." Dale replied as he cracked his neck
'Since I abandoned the thought of keeping a low level, might as well farm as much as possible.'
'Even if the Experience gets shared between everyone, I would likely level up once or twice per day...' He thought as a smile formed on his face
"You don't have to remember me." Testros replied as he held his blade with one hand, ready to draw it
"Hm?... Enemy…" Muddan said in a low tone as he crouched on the ground, a rare gesture from the giant
This made everyone follow suit… But it was already too late.
/CAWW!/
Standing atop a very tall tree, the sole one atop a small hill, their Waypoint, stood a massive bird with a wingspan of about nine meters, bigger than even prehistoric birds from Earth.
It opened its wings to show its humongous size in an attempt at intimidating them.
[Sky Opicus
Challenge Level: 85-95
*Elite Variant*
*Boss*
*Unique*
Affected by:
#Vitality Outburst
]
/CAWW!/
Its talons were about as big as Dale's arms and its beak was bigger than his entire body, a true monster of the skies.
It looked like an eagle as it possessed a more bulky body fit for hunting and fighting, but it didn't seem eager to fight them.
/CAWW/!
Instead, it remained in its nest, looking at them angrily as it cawed no-stop, likely trying to have them leave its territory.
From the looks of it, the bird was nesting, meaning…
"We need to leave, its mate should be nearby... There it is." Testros said as he looked at the distance
In the sky, a black dot seemed to be approaching…
…
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Notes
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