The sun shines brightly above the cloudless sky; it is already noon. Yet most of the light are stopped by the leaves and branches of the trees below. Only a few rays reach the ground through tiny openings from the thick shield of leaves. The ground is a litter of rock, dirt and bugs which give off an unnerving odor. Like piss and dung of countless monsters mixed together in one place.
"Damn," I cover my entire nose with my mouth as I slowly traverse the murky ground, "This place smells like you every morning."
"Haha, very funny, " Katria gives me an apathetic face.
"I'm not lying! It really is."
"That doesn't make it any better."
"I know right?" I smile sarcastically.
The white felyne looks away from me as if to hide something. I then notice that she giggled.
My parents were right at me after all. I really do have a good sense of humor!
"I can scout ahead if you want," she asks.
It's not really a request. I know Katria. She would still try to argue with me even if I refuse. Her asking for my permission is just for formality's sake. Might as well just say yes.
"Sure," I nod at her, "Just don't get too far that I can't see you. And if you spot the Nadder, signal me."
My companion nods before traversing the murky forest with ease; hopping from dry area to dry area without much effort. Not a minute passes and she is already barely visible within my sight.
"Hurry up master!" I could faintly hear her voice.
"Give me a break!" I shout back, "I'm not a fish loving cat like you!"
After three full minutes I am finally nearing her. She gives me a signal that she spotted the target and my pace significantly increases.
"Where?" I whisper as I crouch beside her.
She points to a huge clearing in front of us. There is a medium sized river passing through the center where large fishes are swimming. Near it is my target, the Deadly Nadder, feasting on a pile of dead fishes.
It likes fish? I could bait it with that.
I then start to analyze the monster's features.
Just as the village elder said, its scales are blue and spines frame the back part of its head. Luckily, it's still lowered. Its head is oddly bigger than it should be; making it easier to hit.
Between its eyes is a small curved horn but is too curved to be used for ramming at me. However, its teeth are rather sharp.
That's very fatal! I should avoid that.
Its wings are that of a wyvern but no claw is evident.
So the only way it can trouble me is giving the monster the ability of flight.
Its feet are rather bulky but I notice that the area near its joints are thin.
I should consider cutting that whenever possible.
What's most intriguing and at the same time, frightening is its tail. It is very thorny.
So it could be very fatal if ever the Deadly Nadder slams it at me.
After studying the monster I then look at Katria, "As usual, we will try to piss it off first then try running around. We'll-"
"Study its attacks then formulate a plan," she says without looking at me, "Got it."
The white felyne adjusts her acorn helmet and firmly grips her bone pick.
"Let's go!" she rushes outside our hiding spot.
That's my line!
I quickly rush outside the hiding spot as well. The wet and dirty ground is now replaced by hard but clean sand.
Finally! The stench is gone.
The dragon takes notice at us immediately; proving that it's good at hearing. It stops its lunch and faces towards us; giving us mocking roars as its back spines straighten.
"She knows we're here!" I shout to Katria who is slightly ahead of me, "Be careful."
"I can see that," she says without looking at me.
Then the Deadly Nadder raises its head; trying to inhale.
I know what you're gonna do. Idiot, it won't be able to reach this far.
Fire erupts from its mouth as it fully opens it. My eyes widens in shock as the fire breath reaches us. Katria quickly leaps to the right as I roll to the left and quickly give a defensive stance.
How in the hell could it reach this far? And that was some accurate shot.
The Deadly Nadder roars at us again before charging towards us. I stand on my feet and slighty slouch; preparing to roll to the left. Katria does the same. It didn't take long for the monster to reach us. As I am about one meter from it, I roll to the side as it slams its head to where I was seconds ago.
But the Nadder doesn't give me a chance to rest, its tail spikes suddenly stand straight as it swipes it at me. A barrage of knife-sized projectiles of spikes, coming from the tail, head towards me.
It can shoot spikes?
Out of instinct, I raise my arms to shield my face. My effort is in vain.
The hit sends me flying a few meters away. I feel a sharp pain in my back as I hit the hard sandy surface; dust and sand scattering everwhere.
"Mark!" Katria gives a concerned cry.
"I'm still alive!" I stand up and wipe dust off my armor. Small grazes are now visible on it.
Damn, that thing sure hit me hard.
I gather my thoughts and reach for my pockets. I pull out a bottle with a strange green drink inside. I drink the liquid and I feel all my aches and pain dissapear.
This mega potion sure is handy.
I then search for my felyne companion. Over there is the Deadly Nadder standing in front of Katria.
It's not attacking? What's going on?
The Nadder would constantly tilt its head or turn it left to right but Katria would walk just right in front; aligning with the huge horn between its eyes.
"Master!" Katria shouts at me, "It has a blind spot. Right between its eyes."
But as soon as Katria shouts the Deadly Nadder suddenly roars and shoots a fireball directly at the felyne. She side steps to the left and runs toward me.
"But it can still hear you," I say as she reaches me.
"Apparently, yes."
The dragon turns toward us and gives a mocking roar once again.
"Okay, here's the plan," I take a breath breath before continuing, " Get into its blindspot. It'll ignore everything around it and focus on finding you. I'll take that chance to cut its tail."
"Seems solid," Katria nods, " Le-"
"Let's go!" I shout out loudly.
Katria looks at me with one eyebrow raised and I grin back.
I'm proud of myself!
But the Deadly Nadder doesn't give me time to celebrate my joyous victory. It once again, shoots a fireball at us. We dodge to the sides and proceed to run towards our target. Before we could reach the Nadder, it flaps its wings hard; sending a strong gush of wind to us. The force makes us stagger and halt as the dragon flies to the sky.
Oh no you don't!
I hurriedly reach for my pockets and pull out a yellow colored bomb, a flash bomb. I take a step back before using all my might to throw the bomb towards the dragon; now four meters above ground. I cover my eyes and Katria does the same as the bomb emits a brief white light; covering the entire vicinity of the dragon.
It gives a loud roar as it loses balance and falls directly at us.
"Get out!" I shout as I run and dive towards safety. Katria does the same.
I stand up and look back to see the Deadly Nadder squirming in confusion, "Now's our chance!"
Katria runs in front of the Nadder's head and repeatedly bashes its eyes. I proceed to repeatedly slice with my Bone Katana the thinnest part of its tail in hopes of cutting it off. The tail's scales and armor slowly crumbles as I repeatedly strike it.
Only one more strike-
The dragon regains composure and attempts to bite Kartia but she was able to step back at the last moment. It also swipes its tails at me but I wasn't able to dodge it. I am sent flying a short distance back and hit the hard sand once again.
The Deadly Nadder faces me and gives me another mocking roar but Katria hacks its hard feet. Making it turn towards her direction; mildly agitated. Good news though, since its tail is now directly in front of me.
I dash directly at its tail; longsword at the ready.
Here I go!
With all my might I slice directly at the now cracking tail. With this final slice it would finally be cut off from its owner. As soon as my blade striked its skin, it sparked and bounced back.
What? HOW!?
The Deadly Nadder suddenly flaps its wings hard enough to blow me and Katria off our feet. The dragon leaps out of the ground and proceeds to fly higher.
"Wait, no no no!" I hurriedly grab a flash bomb and aim at the dragon.
My aim was forced and in a hurry. I watch as the flash bomb blows up and emit a bright white light as the Deadly Nadder, my target, is now very high and far away; its tail still intact.
"What the hell happened?" I drop my sword and kneel down then I repeatedly slam my fist on the hard sand; a mixture of frustration and confusion enter my mind.
"Master, master," Katria walks in front of me and grabs my cheeks; shaking it vigorously.
"Shut the-"
"Mark!" she glares at me, "Snap out of it."
The frustration in my face suddenly stops as she continues to glare at me.
"You forgot to check how sharp your blade was. Look how bad its condition is," she points at my Bone Katana "Wolf" lying on the sand beside me.
My sword is badly out of shape. Its edge is terribly rough.
She's right. How did I miss this?
"It's your fault," her unnerving glare is still present, "You let our target get away. You wasted a flash bomb and now you're here kneeling like a baby in a tantrum."
"So what?" her glare suddenly shifts to something slightly relaxing, "There's nothing you can do about it. You let it happen and you can't change it. Now get up and stop punching the sand like an idiot!"
She slaps me hard.
"Ouch!" I quickly stand up; gripping my cheek in pain, "You got your point. That was so unnecessary!"
"I just want to slap you. That's all."
"Okay," I pick up my sword and sheathe it on my scabbard, "We're gonna have to find that Nadder again."
"Any ideas?"
"It likes fish. So we're gonna have to find a huge lake or river nearby," I grab a map from my back pocket, "Let's see."
The map is old. Its paper is brown with age and on its edges are various tears or crumpled parts. However, it still gives an accurate view of the jungle.
"There's a big freshwater lake nearby ,"I point to the peast, "Its probably there."
"Okay, we got our clue," Katria nods, "It won't be going anywhere for now. We should restock ourselves."
"Yeah, let's return to our base camp."
