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—-----------
/Two days later…/
/Step step…/
"My back is killing me..." Testros complained as he tried to stretch...
/CRACK!/
"!!!"
Dale could only silently pray to the old man......
After walking nonstop for close to three days, the Raid team looked as ragged as one can imagine.
Their clothes had dirt spots in many places, being torn in some corners.
Their hair was disheveled, their eyes had dark spots around them, and their overall condition just wasn't good.
They had been walking with no rest in between, so it made sense.
Their only respite was that once they arrived at the lake, by following one of the river's shores, they managed to arrive at their destination faster without meeting any dangerous creatures.
Even if they found one, it would usually just escape into the river or run away, as they were more preoccupied with living their lives rather than clashing with other living beings.
However, Dale could tell that things were getting out of proportion.
After three days, things had changed greatly.
With the Vitality Outburst modifier, Normal monsters' challenge Level increased by five every day, while Elite monsters' challenge Level increased by three every day.
While their Mutation rates increased by 30% and 8% respectively.
And Dale had the chance to witness what that meant.
If a creature meets the requirement for a Mutation, it'll go under a great change that will result in it transforming into a stronger version of itself, most of the time not being a simple direct improvement.
Within these three days, over 90% of all Normal monsters had Mutated at least once, and their levels had increased by 15.
They wouldn't become a threat since Normal monsters were few and far between, but once they became Elites...
Even smaller critters were starting to become a bother.
Either way, that was only an incentive for them to walk faster.
... <subtxt> . </subtxt>
Out of the four members of the party, Dale and Muddan were the ones that looked the best, and for good reason.
While Muddan was used to living in such a rough environment, being his home and all, Dale had high stats to support his body.
Even if Tina and Testros knew how to employ their powers and make more of what they had, there was a moment when simple raw Stats were more effective than anything else.
And this would be such a moment.
While they sweated and their eyes wobbled from time to time, Dale just had to worry about the inconvenience of the dirt on his body.
Suppressing his urge to sleep wasn't hard as after a few hours, his body would just accept that he wouldn't be able to sleep and move on.
However, he could tell that based on the "Tired" debuff on his character screen that he was slowly reaching his limit.
It was the weakest of all but it still represented what was to come.
Either way, Dale was mostly unbothered as he continued to collect materials, insects, and plants alike.
Most of the time things went smoothly, like grabbing a simple mushroom, other times… Not as much.
Due to bad luck, Dale managed to dig out a unique type of bee that nests on the ground, causing quite the trouble for them four!
But thanks to Muddan's knowledge, they easily dealt with the bees by smoking them to death with a few key items… Albeit the bees still annoyed them for a few minutes.
Dale got their honey though… A material that may or may not come in handy.
Another bad luck on Dale's part was when he tried to dig out a mushroom… Only to be prickled by it…
And yes, he was wearing leather gloves, but he was still prickled by it, quite the sharp mushroom...
The problem was that… It was extremely poisonous.
Thankfully, he had his Status resistance Skill and high Constitution… But even then, he felt pain in his hands for half a day and his vision blurred from time to time for several hours after he got prickled.
The only reason why he didn't panic was because he had many emergency potions and he could also see the debuff duration on his character screen.
He wanted to endure the poison for as long as he could, but that proved to be difficult…
And it wasn't like he succeed in hiding it from the others as Muddan was quick to realize Dale's condition, only to have Tina lightly scold him.
Either way, she admired his energy but condemned his methods, though, in the end, he successfully recovered from it by enduring the discomfort.
Though the experience made him twitch a little in frustration...
If the mushroom caused so much damage just from him touching it wrong, imagine if he ate it… He didn't want to think about it.
And as if mocking him, he soon received a notification…
[Anomalous Status Resistance 1-Star has Leveled up to 2-Star]
An entire one level from one mushroom that just casually prickled him… Perhaps he had found a way to level this Skill up?
Okay… Dale was indeed a bit weird, but in his defense, if he suffered in his bed for a few days, it would be much better than doing so on the battlefield.
Albeit now wasn't the time for him to play around with it again...
Like this, due to the fact Tina didn't force Dale to fight other beasts, his level did not increase at all, which he was glad for.
A happy consequence for such a painful ordeal.
His last enemy would be a good one! He had to make it meaningful.
A strong and unique enemy whose drops would certainly be interesting, he hadn't spent any of his Loot Coins in expectation of its rewards.
The problem was finding one...
…
/FLAP!/
"Oh no…" Dale mumbled as he looked at the sky
/FLAP!/
The sound of wing flapping soon echoed in his ears, a sound he knew very well.
'Just when I thought I would be able to hold myself a little…'
A massive bird appeared in the sky…
/CAW!/
'It was an Opicus bird, but this one was a little different…' Dale thought as he looked up
'It seemed more... Stable, than the other he saw a few days ago.'
"&!@#0@ Rak Ahasa!" Muddan uttered as he raised his right hand, telling them to stop
"Heh…"
"Is something wrong?" Dale asked as he turned to Tina, seeing her chuckle a little
"We've arrived, the sight of a Scout means we're nearby." She said with a thin smile
Close enough for them to want to protect the area.
/Land!/
"CAW!"
'The massive bird landed with a mighty caw, and a creature about two meters tall jumped from its back before giving it a treat to pacify the beast.'
'A being almost as muscular as a Muddan, it looked like a miniature version of him.'
"A Karkavan." Dale said as he looked at the newcomer
"A child Karkavan." Tina added as she looked at Dale
"..."
'This guy is bigger than me…'
'This race...'
Children were the only ones that could ride these birds, as the Karkavan would eventually become... Just like Muddan.
It was a story already told.
However, not everything was happy and dandy.
"..."
From Muddan's serious and grave expression, it was clear to see he wasn't pleased with seeing this child here.
And that wasn't due to a hidden reason like he recognizing it but more due to a simple truth…
If the Karkavan were relying on children to scout the surroundings of the Village, then things were much more serious than when he left.
Karkavan were masters of moving around the forest, especially the older Karkavan.
As they grow older and their muscles appropriate, Karkavan warriors will let go of their blades and turn to the art of hunting with bows and patience.
By making use of their environment and elderly knowledge, they can hunt beasts that even the strongest of Warriors cannot face.
This was the last stage of the Karkavan's life cycle, and it wouldn't be unusual to be welcomed by at least two or three Elders as one comes back to the Village from a day outside.
But this time, they were welcomed by a child, one too young to even grow its protective chest 'coat'...
If a child was being used to scot... If they didn't have enough people to protect their own home…
Muddan's expression became grim.
/CAW!/
After exchanging a few words with the 'child', it took off with its bird, vanishing into the clouds.
The child was a bit curious about their presence, but it didn't say much, knowing it had other more important things to do first.
"..."
Muddan stood a few seconds pondering something before he turned to the them, giving them a nod.
They were expecting him to say something, but he only pointed forward, pushing a few bushes as he dived into the forest again.
Without any other choice, they followed, and soon…
A Village appeared within the woods.
…
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