Botan and Alder had just arrived at their destination, the town of Lokkansted. So named because it once only held the Lokkan farm, the very monster ranch they had come to visit. The town had only a single stone road leading through the heart of the small town. The rest were simple but wide dirt roads. There seemed to be more people there than the building count had led Botan to assume. There wasn't as much activity as the capital and everyone seemed to have a more casual attitude.
Two things caught Botan's eye immediately upon entering the town. The first was how many people seemed to have scars. It wasn't everyone, it probably wasn't even half, but a lot of people seemed to have a scar on their arms, shoulders, etc. It made Botan wonder how often monster attacks happened in these small towns, or if these people were attacked by the monsters at the ranch.
The other thing was a monster seen throughout the village.
They were large bull-like creatures with a lot of furs. For some reason, their darker fur was made into long braids, which looked nice, but seemed unnecessary. Instead of a single set of horns, the creature sported a large pair of antlers that was much larger and more impressive than traditional oxen horns. Above all else, the amount of fur they possessed was absurd.
These monsters seemed to be pulling carts and working the land alongside the people of the village.
"What are those?" Botan asked.
Alder turned to look at the inquiry. "Ah, yoklan. They're domesticated, don't worry."
"I mean, I can kind of tell from the braids and the harnesses… why the braids?" Botan asked.
Alder laughed a moment, then noticed Botan was still waiting for an answer. "Wait, you seriously care that much?"
"Despite existing in this world for less than a week, I know the exact method for turning a Tackle Top's spike into a high-quality pin. If we are going to be traveling together, you have to understand that I eat and breathe useless trivia, especially trivia related to things that don't exist in my world." Botan said in an entirely too serious manner.
Alder started giving a long explanation for why people braid the fur of yoklan when someone approached the pair.
"Advisor Alder? I thought you'd be at the castle, given your… the king's current state." The man spoke.
The man was fairly old, into his late 40s. A plain, but clean set of robes colored yellow and green, Mosden's national colors.
"Hm, ah greetings. I can't do anything for my father, so I am traveling with the evergreen currently." Alder motioned to Botan.
The man seemed quite excited once he heard that. "The Evergreen is in Mosden? Then you've already received my letter?" The man asked.
Alder and Botan shared a look with one another, neither knowing what this man was talking about. "...No? What seems to be the problem?" Botan asked.
The man turned to address Botan. "Ah, Evergreen… Well… We are suffering a bit of a monster attack lately."
Alder immediately piped up. "Surely Mr. Lokkan could solve such an issue. He's a monster expert."
The man sighed and frowned. "If it were a collection of lesser monsters they'd have been dealt with by now. This seems to be the work of a single monster and it's very strong. Lokkan thinks it was driven out of the nine peaks recently." The man revealed.
"That's trouble. Even a loser that was kicked out of the nine peaks is a problem anywhere else." Alder said, thinking.
"What is the monster exactly?" Botan asked.
"A large insect with blades for hands. Anything more than that, Lokkan can tell you." The man answered before adding further. "We've been lucky until now. The last few days it has been trying to eat our yoklan, not really caring about us." The man revealed.
Alder and Botan both shared a look of concern. "Hunting yoklan specifically? How tough is this thing?" Alder asked.
"Hmm, maybe it's the opposite. Maybe it thinks it's weak?" Botan considered aloud.
"Come again?" Alder asked, turning to him.
Botan crossed his arms, leaned to the side slightly, and began explaining his train of thought. "Maybe after it was forced out of its home, it wants to gain levels and return to retake its spot? So it's hunting yoklan not just for the food, but the EXP? That's assuming the yoklan are a higher level on average than the people." Botan finished.
Alder stayed quiet while the man laughed lightly. "You think just like Lokkan, you two will get along greatly." The man commented while dismissing Botan's guess.
Alder didn't seem to dismiss it, though. Either way, they now had more business in this town than they initially thought.
Soon the two headed to the inn to rent a room first, given the small inn only had 4 rooms total. After which, they headed to the farm.
As they walked, Botan asked. "So, who was that old man?"
"Lokkansted, as the name suggests, was once just the Lokkan farm. The town popped up around him and the Lokkan family has traditionally served as leaders. The current head of the Lokkan family doesn't care for the responsibility and the man we were speaking to is the man hired to do just that. You could think of him as the village leader." Alder answered.
Botan lit up a bit. "I see you're adding that extra information I love." He joked.
"Informing people about all the particulars of a subject was part of my job." Alder pointed out.
"...'Was'? I thought you were just taking time off?" Botan pondered while keeping his observation to himself.
The two finished their previous conversation about yoklan not long before reaching the Lokkan ranch. The fenced area was made of extremely thick and tall fences. Botan was used to farm fences never going over 4'-5' tall, but these were 10' tall and made from entire trees stripped of their bark. It made the ranch seem less like someone's farm and more like a fort. A few people at the gate recognized Alder and allowed the two to enter.
Once inside, Botan saw why the walls were so imposing. There were dozens of monsters inside the ranch. There were monsters Botan recognized, like the jackknife rabbit, and jackknight rabbits. There was plenty of yoklan too. What caught Botan's eye were the monsters he hadn't seen before. Alder and Botan made their way toward the gathering of the oddest ones.
At the center of the gathering of monsters was a well-built man with scars adorning his body. Most prominently were three large scars on both shoulders from what appeared to be claws.
"Hmm?" Noticing the monsters' attention pulled from him, he turned and stood. "Ah, Alder! Welcome! And who might this be?" The man's voice was loud but warm.
The man's face was scarred, just like his back. Combined with his size, the man reminded Botan of the Yakuza back home. At the same time, though, he seemed oddly nice and positive.
"Greetings, Mr. Lokkan. This is Botan. We can speak about him in a moment. How are your monsters doing?" Alder tried matching Lokkan's positivity.
The man's lip quivered and looked like he was about to cry. "Oh, it's been awful. A grass reaper has been stalking the farm. It hasn't gotten any of my yoklan, but not for a lack of trying. Knob and I have caught the bastard three times in as many nights trying to enter the ranch." The man practically cried. He was far too emotionally expressive for the tough guy look he sported.
Alder flinched at that, turning to the creature that had Botan the most confused. The monster in question was… well it was basically a donut with feet. The outside was either scales or an exoskeleton, but either way, it was a hard outer shell with many ridges looking like adornments.
Alder addressed the odd creature. "Knob? You're telling me that monster evaded a gate beast?" Alder seemed surprised.
The odd creature almost looked sad at his words, slouching in place. Lokkan quickly put an arm around the creature and patted it with his other arm. "Aww, it's alright. We all know you're the best. Shh, shh." The man was consoling the creature like it was his child.
Botan had to say something. "Okay, seriously… What the fuck is that?" He was too confused.
Lokkan turned to him with a slightly angry look, but Alder mediated it. "Lokkan, this is Botan, the flower hero. Forgive him his ignorance. He isn't of our world. Many things are not common sense as he knows it."
Lokkan did not immediately react, instead, he thought for a moment and spoke. "Evergreen. What do you think when you look at this creature?" He asked, gesturing to the gate beast, Knob.
Botan didn't really think of how best to answer the question and just spoke honestly. "Well, I've never seen anything like it before and I have a ton of questions."
Lokkan perked up. "Such as?"
"How does it see, hear, and smell when it doesn't seem to have anything to do those? How does it eat? How does it even travel?" Botan let out a flood of questions.
Lokkan turned to Alder with a smile. "He sure asks a lot of questions, huh?"
"You don't know the half of it. The entire conversation in town was about yoklan." Alder said with a deadpan look.
Botan made a slightly offended look.
Lokkan saw the face he was making and spoke. "Haha. Well, I like curious folks like you." The man laughed loudly. "Knob and their kin can sense through their gate." Lokkan put his hand through Knob's center to demonstrate. Whatever passed through the center seemed to be erased, but when he pulled his hand back, all was fine.
"What the…?" This was really weird to Botan but equally cool.
"As for travel, it's a living wheel. I'm sure you can picture it, right?" Lokkan finished.
"Anyways, we can discuss this all later to your heart's content. First, the egg." Alder had to remind Botan. He was getting distracted again.
"R-Right. Hehe." Botan opened up his bag and showed the egg to Lokkan. "I found this egg and wanted to know what it was. Could you-" Before Botan could finish, the large man gently lifted the egg out of his hand and grabbed the blanket he had been previously sitting on, wrapping the egg snuggly.
"You should try harder to keep it warm." Lokkan complained. "Now… hmm. It has signs of being a reptile egg and a mammal's egg. Hmm." Lokkan inspected further.
"Mammal's egg? Do all monsters lay eggs here regardless of what they are or is it like platypuses from my world?" Botan asked.
Alder gave Botan a look, scolding him. He was already back to asking questions.
Lokkan answered as he looked at the egg. "Nearly all monsters lay eggs, though, there are exceptions, like Knob." He said as Knob made an affirming motion behind him.
Botan liked that the man's monsters didn't mind adding their two cents. Botan had been thinking about it a bit ever since he came to this world, but… monsters can often have human-like intelligence. Botan went to ask how Knob was different, but Alder's stare intensified and Botan stopped.
"This is quite the rare find… if I am right about what it is," Lokkan said as he finished looking at the egg.
"Rare by normal standards? Or rare by your standards?" Alder asked.
"Rare even by my standards. Most of my rare monsters originate near the nine peaks. This is actually from the West. Towards Ventus… A creature called a living noose." He answered.
The name gave Botan pause, but he tried to stay positive. "Ah… Well, I did get it in the wetlands west of the capital… Is it a bad monster?" He asked with concern.
"There is no such thing as a bad monster. Just a bad owner." Lokkan said those words like he'd said them countless times. Like speaking a mantra. "Those creatures are rare, usually found around the neck of a dead creature, hence the name. Never actually seen one myself. Then again, Mosden is blessed with so many incredible creatures. It's always such a joy to see a new one." The man added.
Alder was seeing the egg as not being worth the effort now. A monster that relies on strangling an enemy as a fighting style was too slow in his opinion.
"Can't wait to see what it looks like. What kind of diet do I need to prepare for?" Botan still seemed eager to have a monster ally.
Lokkan's smile brightened further as he began to laugh loudly again. "Haha, indeed. I'd say meat would be the bulk of its diet, but given the wetlands as its home and it prefers warm areas, I'd say fruit and other sweets would likely satisfy it too." Lokkan answered, now having his arm around Botan while handing him back his egg.
Alder wanted to point out how useless such a monster sounded, but they seemed so enthusiastic that he didn't want to pop their bubble.
"What does it look like?" Botan inquired further.
Lokkan crossed his arms and made a slightly sour face. "Hmm, I have very little information on that. Never seen a live one or even an illustration in the Eld libraries. I know they have a snake-like tail that is most of their body and two claws to help it eat from old bones. That's it." Lokkan answered emphasizing just how little was known about the creature.
The two spoke for some time and the three of them found themselves sitting on the grass and petting the monsters as their discussions continued. Botan noticed three of the monsters seemed to be the ones in charge.
Knob, the gate beast was one. It seemed very expressive with its body language. It probably developed that way because of this social environment and lack of face to express. Botan was told Knob made Lokkan a lot of money because he could store large amounts of things in its gate and transport it instead. That reminded him of the 'demon jar' that seemed to do something similar. Knob was odd, but matched Lokkan's expressive and light-hearted attitude.
The next was an adorable little creature called an Orf. It was essentially a grey ball with silky skin, four stubby flippers, and two big eyes that were gold on black. It also had a mouth, but it seemed so small for its large, round size. Orfs are mammals that swim at really low depths because the way they swim separates oxygen from the water to breathe via magic. It can also benefit a few nearby allies, making it the best means to dive and explore the haunting depths of the subterranean Mosden Ocean.
This particular one was super chipper and seemed to want to play with everyone. It made sure all the other monsters felt happy and included. Its name was Swella.
The last notable monster was a yoklan. The ranch had a lot of yoklan, but this one was a bit larger than the rest. The ends of her braids were decorated with bells that let the other monsters hear where she was going. She seemed like the designated mom of the bunch, with many of the younger monsters following her around and waiting for the bells on her to know when it was time to eat. Her name was Betty.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you get those?" Botan asked, pointing at Lokkan's scars.
Lokkan seemed to not mind at all. "Huh? Oh, these were just little accidents."
Botan was not having it. "Little!? What about those giant claw marks on your shoulders?" He thought the answer was a deflection and so asked more specifically.
The man rubbed his shoulder with a chuckle. "Haha, I had a monster with big claws give me a hug one time. An honest mistake." He said cheerfully.
Botan paused at that. "So you never got hurt fighting a monster?"
"I have not, nor will I ever fight another creature." The man said strongly.
"..." There was a pause.
The older man eventually clarified. "Don't give me that look. I'm not so immature that I think others should adopt my stances. Do what you like. I just find the idea of killing something very different from myself to be a bad thing."
"So you'd rather kill a person?" Botan asked.
"I'd rather kill no one. If however, I killed a person, I am capable of fully understanding their motivations and feelings and can act accordingly. If it was something else, I could never fully understand their point of view or motivations for a completely different creature. It reduces the taking of their life from a decision I made to just an act I committed… Anyways, that's why I'm only level 28 despite my age and profession. All my monsters do the hunting and such…" Lokkan trailed off, feeling he said too much.
"Huh. I respect that. I never really thought about it like that. About monsters as something with a completely different way of thinking." Botan considered aloud.
This piqued his interest. "What did you think of them?" Lokkan asked.
"Well, in the world I came from, there was no such thing as levels. The animals of our world were killed for food or materials, but there wasn't such a motivating factor like EXP to drive us to combat nature so personally… I felt bad about some monsters I killed early on, but instead of seeing them as something else, I ascribed human thoughts and feelings to their actions." Botan tried explaining.
That earned a smile from Lokkan. "I'm glad to know that even the Evergreen hesitates. You need power for all of our sakes, monsters included. Still, it's reassuring to know that you see them as more than EXP, unlike some bastards." He finished, thinking of something, or someone unpleasant.
The conversation could have gone into the night, introducing more of Lokkan's monsters that he treated like family, but it was getting late and there were a few things left to talk about.
"I guess the only other thing I need to know is what do I need to hatch this thing?" Botan asked, holding the egg with much care.
Lokkan began ushering the other monsters to go to the barn or other specialized habitats for bed. Knob left first, spinning like a wheel to the barn. Swella coaxed the smaller monsters into moving while Betty acted as the town mom, making sure they all left and to the right spots.
"Well, I guess we should get ready for tonight." Lokkan stood, throwing a bag over his back.
"We'll help." Botan immediately offered.
"I think Knob can handle it. No reason to get humans involved." Lokkan tried dismissing him.
"Is that why you intercepted the village leader's letter to the capital?" Alder chimed in with an accusation framed as a question.
The man simply sighed. "You're just like your old man. Can't get away with anything with you people around… Yes, I stopped the letters from reaching you." He admitted.
"Because you want to tame the monster?" Botan asked.
"...No. I confronted it last night. It's too angry. Nothing will get through to it. It'll have to die." Lokkan said with a firm frown.
"Then why?" Alder pressed.
"Because I'd rather a monster kill a monster than a human kill a monster. We defy nature too often. If it actually broke in, Knob would end the battle." Lokkan said strongly. He was kind, that much was evident. That did not make him weak-willed and non-confrontational, though.
"Assuming it doesn't grow frustrated at its lack of success in breaking into the ranch and attacks a villager at night." Alder said arms crossed, awaiting his rebuttal.
"...That… remains a possibility." Lokkan eventually admitted.
"...The sun's still just barely up. If we go take a short nap right now, we might be able to catch the monster tonight." Botan suggested to Alder.
Before Alder could respond, Lokkan tried to. "Well, that isn't necessary. I can-"
Botan straightened his back and spoke over Lokkan. "No. I have to kill things. If that's what has to happen, I'd want it to at least be justified and helpful when possible."
Lokkan and Alder stood there for a moment, neither having much to add or argue with.
"Botan's right. Please, cooperate." Alder said more than asked.
The man sighed deeply. "Understood…" Lokkan did not like this turn of events but had no other choice. He led the two out of the ranch and told them roughly when the monster attacked the last three nights.
They left without much resistance. On the way back to the inn, Botan seemed awfully eager. More than Alder expected.
"Why are you so into the idea of fighting this thing?"
"Huh? Because this solves so many problems at once."
"How so?"
"Well, according to Mr. Lokkan, it's a giant praying mantis with metal scythes for claws. That'll be another carapace I need and probably all the [Malmetal] Will needs too. Not to mention… I haven't actually done anything to help anyone yet… I'd like to correct that."
Alder nodded along. He agreed. Alder found it odd that Botan could be so easily distracted yet seemed so detail-oriented nonetheless. He wasn't surprised by the sentimentality, though. That was a clear trait from the moment the two met, and now it helped endear him to Lokkan.
Alder wanted and still expected to be of great help to Botan. However, Botan seemed to not need his advisory abilities that much. He needed to be told something only once to remember it and was very good at using anything he had learned in a useful way. That meant Alder's main contributions would be in the form of teaching Botan the other starting paths for magic and as an additional combatant in battle.
As long as he was useful it was fine. Otherwise, he'd have no excuse to escape his current situation.
The two went to sleep without checking local shops or doing much of anything. All they did was let the innkeeper know to wake them at around 1 AM. Luckily, they both slept easily enough.
…
1 AM, Lokkansted
…
"Knock, knock, knock."
Botan heard as the innkeeper knocked on the door of the room. He jumped out of bed and stretched while he could. They'd be running soon. He stretched so much that he nearly staggered in relief afterward. That wasn't a good sign. He quickly retrieved some water to wash his face to wake himself up more before getting dressed.
By the time he managed to put on his weathered chainmail, Alder was already waiting in front of Botan's door. That was odd. Botan was woken up first and Alder could not have had much sleep the night before, and yet, he seemed just fine.
"I wonder if he is used to this?" Botan wondered.
"Sorry, I'm ready." He called.
They both quietly left in the midst of the night. The village at night looked so different than it had hours prior. Without all the hustle and bustle of the honest labor being done by everyone earlier, the village felt smaller and eerily empty. A few lights moved, leading the pair to a few guards that seemed to be awaiting the monster's attack as well.
They seemed glad to see the two young men. "Glad they sent us someone to deal with this." One of the men said. "Sorry, it called you away at such a time." He added.
Alder didn't bother correcting them. "You think it'll show up with lights waving around?" He instead stayed on task.
"Well, we need to see." One argued.
"Put your lights out, I got this." Botan assured them.
[Illuminate] Botan pointed out his holy flower towards the forest and shot a soft white source of light that traveled about 20', slowing to a stop.
"It's an unmoving light. Less chance of-" Botan heard something like trees snapping.
"It's arrived! Northside!" Another man shouted.
Everyone ran off in the direction of the attack. Botan was hoping to shake off more of this sleepiness before facing a supposedly tough foe. In the back of his mind, he wasn't too worried though. That was because Alder was with him, and his level was 31. He was more than three times Botan's level and had much more experience. He'd need to follow his lead in these early fights… is what he thought.
They ran for a bit before finding their target, or more accurately, it found them. A cleanly cut section of the logged fence was thrown violently at their group. Alder dodged swiftly, but Botan worried for the other men with him. They'd only been running for two minutes or so, but in their armor, they seemed winded. Botan was much the same initially, but he seemed to have the stamina to spare now.
[Spin]! Botan swung his weapon as he leapt forward, splitting it in two and knocking the pieces safely away from the others.
"There it is!" The man pointed.
Botan followed the man's position to the target. Botan audibly gulped when he saw their foe.
The monster was nearly 13' tall with long thick blades that were each longer than Botan was tall. It also seemed well-armored and limber, leaving no shortcomings. Botan crushed a marble to see what they were in for.
[Grass Reaper]
[Level: 39]
The creature did not give off the vibe of an animal at all. Its bug-like mannerisms seeming almost mechanical in nature. It sent a shiver down their spines as they felt something known to all but Botan. Botan had yet to ever feel this in his previous life, nor so far in this one.
What he was feeling was bloodlust. The bloodlust of the Grass Reaper being sent at him. Botan couldn't explain it, but he could tell this creature had a profound hatred. The closest thing Botan could liken it to was the feeling you got from other people in a stressful situation. But this was so much worse. Without thinking, Botan opened up his menu, navigating to his [Leaf Flower Shield], and equipped it.
He was fully awake now, more awake than he'd been in days. He felt that any moment now this thing would-
Botan raised his arm up and blocked a strong swing of the monster's blade. He wasn't thinking, yet he moved. He wasn't sure how. Botan was only thrown back a few feet because he hit a tree. This allowed his skill to activate properly.
[C Needle Thrust]! Botan activated his skill, launching him forward while empowering the singular spike on the front of the weapon form with magic. He did this very quickly, yet the Grass Reaper caught the spike between its blades before the skill could harm the creature at all.
Not letting the monster have a moment to act, Alder appeared behind it in midair. He swung his body with his leg extended, creating a blue energy that came off as a projectile as he attacked, giving his attack deceptive range. Unfortunately, the monster proved to not just be great in stats but skill as well, as it moved its body away from the attack while lowering its body, dodging both sides of the attack. It then lashed out with one of its claws while Alder's back was turned.
"Alder! Watch out!" Botan warned.
However, Alder had already moved out of the way of the attack before Botan's words reached him. He drew a circle in the air with his other foot, creating a small platform to push off of to
"Huh?" Botan was confused. "How did he know to dodge? If he expected it to do that, then he expected to miss his own attack. Which makes no sens-"
Botan was snapped out of it when a guard pushed him to the ground, allowing an attack to miss him.
"What? It wasn't anywhere near-" Botan's question was being answered in real time as he rolled out of the way of a spell. He was able to pick up on it this time due to a repeated sound. The monster placed its blades atop one another as if crossing its arms, then swung them apart creating some sort of cutting force that traveled with an accompanied screech from the blades scratching against one another.
"Range, speed, size, strength, defense. It's not lacking anywhere. And this thing was driven off of that Nine Peaks place for being weak?" Botan tried imagining that. "Either way, I need outstanding offense to hurt this thing." He began navigating menus again to switch to another weapon form.
"Shit!" Botan had to stop and bring up his shield form to block. The Grass Reaper came down on him before he could switch forms and smashed him into the ground. The guards tried helping, but the monster simply struck them with the back of his free blade. The creature then dragged Botan on the ground and lifted him up, throwing him straight up into the air.
The monster went to impale Botan, but it mistimed its attack. Or more accurately, it would have hit him just right, but with his weapon form menu already open, Botan switched to the [Dandelion Tuft Glider]. With that, he took advantage of its special equip effect [Glide] to fall slower, evading the attack.
Of course, the creature would have simply followed up with the other arm, but Alder was now pressing the monster with a series of attacks meant to not only physically harm their opponent but cast a spell that bolstered his own speed. A spell called, [Beatdown Blitz]. Each strike caused a loud crashing sound, ending the assault with Alder giving himself some room, backpedaling as the Grass Reaper swung at him angrily.
Shifting The monster's focus gave Botan the time he needed to switch his weapon form, and he chose the strongest offensive weapon form he had for offense currently, [Fire Flower]. He prepared himself to re-engage but was discouraged. Alder had landed blows when he hadn't, and yet, the monster seemed just fine. The guards' attacks were just as useless, and they weren't fast enough to reach it most of the time.
Assessing the situation, Alder came to a conclusion. "Botan. I'm going to need to get serious." Alder warned, his eyes gravely certain of something.
Botan snapped back with almost comedic screaming. "You weren't already taking this seriously? This thing is a menace."
At his screaming, the Grass Reaper looked back over at Botan. The short stare-down was shared. "Should not have yelled." Botan said as the monster changed targets back to him.
"Shit!" [Seed Strike]! Botan panicked and fired off his skill while using a nearby tree for cover. The skill hit and even more importantly, it damaged the enemy. The monster stopped in its tracks and looked down, surveying the damage. Pausing long enough that it almost seemed like it wasn't believing it was hurt.
"SSCCEEEEEEEEK!" The creature screeched while rubbing its blades together, creating a magical shockwave that threw the guards and Botan to the ground and forced Alder to dodge away. It had used a bug-exclusive spell called [Cricket's Rebuke].
Now a bit more isolated from each other it took this moment to choose a target to finish off. It looked at Botan a moment but seemed to overlook him for one of the guards instead. Its legs stepped in an odd manner as it disappeared.
"It can use a spell called [Skitter]! It can basically instantly teleport!" Alder warned trying to get to Botan's side, wrongfully guessing he was the target.
With a creepy noise to accompany it, the monster appeared to almost instantly appear before a guard. Botan wasn't the target and that shocked everyone. The monster went to bring its claw down in one swift, decisive stroke, however, another combatant joined the fight.
"Knob, use [Vacuum Vortex]!" Lokkan called out.
Everyone collectively turned to see Lokkan and Knob, both of which just arrived. Without a single motion, a giant twister of wind appeared to drag the Grass Reaper back, making the attack come short of reaching its target. The twister drew in dirt, water, small plants, and more. The Grass Reaper had to plant both its blades deep into the ground to anchor himself fully. This continued for roughly 10 seconds before Knob abruptly stopped.
The Grass Reaper took a look behind it, confirming his opponent.
"If you used to live around the nine peaks, then you know what happens when you fight a gate beast. Knob… Use [Debris Discharge]." Lokkan said, hesitating at the end.
Knob's gate became visible, showing a bright light before violently shooting out a concentrated stream of everything it had just sucked up. The chaotic and endless attack struck the creature dead center. The Grass Reaper scrambled to get away from the attack using [Skitter]. It bought itself a moment's reprieve before the stream refocused on it again. This happened three times before Knob seemingly ran out of ammo.
The monster was now decorated in small wounds and seemed to be ready to take things more seriously than before.
[Spin]! While the monster's attention was focused on Knob, Botan wanted to contribute more. He missed the leg he intended to hit, due to the monster attempting to dodge at the last second, but he still managed a solid hit to the main body, leaving another visible injury.
"That's right, we're strong too." Alder addressed the Grass Reaper's concerns as he placed his robe neatly on a bush. He then jumped into the air, did a few rapid movements with his limbs and stomped as he landed.
[Riptide Boxing] Alder said aloud. Two fast-spinning rings of water appeared around his upper arms. They were spinning so fast that it made a humming sound. He then squared up to the monster fully prepared for a heavy exchange of blows.
Botan also shot out from behind the tree to assist. "I'm not done yet." [Boom Bloom]!
Botan leveled his weapon at his foe before firing his strongest skill. One he'd yet to even use before. Unfortunately, he ought to have used it before to know how it worked.
"...Huh?" Botan waited, but the skill didn't do anything right away. Instead, the flower closed and the bulb began to swell.
[1 minute until firing]
"Oh come on!" Botan yelled again.
Alder and the Grass Reaper came to blows again. When Alder threw a punch, the rings of water would travel down the length of his arm to hit the opponent alongside his fist. This exchange of blows was far more efficient than his earlier attempt, now knocking away and deflecting any major blow. Each time his fist and accompanying ring struck together, a light shined brightly, indicating another spell was being activated.
[Tidal Style: Impact Harmonium]!
As he struck his opponent, the fists would collide with the target the same time as the rings of water creating a third, hidden impact that surpassed both of the original two. Alder may have been dwarfed by his opponent, but he was now throwing the much larger creature around as if Alder was the one in the higher weight-class.
While Alder was now definitely on the winning side of their exchange, the Grass Reaper had great durability. Alder was worried that he'd exhaust himself without finishing his opponent. That worry only increased as the monster managed to force Alder to stop his movements halfway to dodge its blades, leaving him unable to use a much more substantial spell that might overcome its defenses more fully.
Just as Alder took a long step back to catch his breath, he received some assistance in the form of Knob.
"Give him an opening, use a [Weighted Cannon]!" Lokkan ordered.
Knob expelled a large metal sphere which seemed to be much more powerful and intentionally made ammo for Knob to absorb and fire as needed. At the sight of the attack, the monster used [Skitter] to move away from Alder. Most would be mistaken for thinking this was done to give Alder breathing room, but it was actually for Botan's sake.
"I got you." Botan said confidently.
The creature managed only the briefest of glances backward to see Botan's swollen flower pointed directly at it before it burst open.
[Boom Bloom]!
The flower bloomed violently, releasing a torrent of energy that tore through the monster easily. The results of the attack were shrouded in smoke and dust for a moment. They collectively waited with bated breath to see if that attack had done the job. After several seconds that felt much longer, they saw the left arm of the monster fall out of the smoke, clattering to the floor.
"SSCCEEEEEEEEK!" The Grass Reaper used a weaker [Cricket's Rebuke] than before, not having a second blade to grind against. It did so to clear the smoke and force away the enemies it feared were just out of reach. It was looking far more desperate now.
"With half the number of blades to throw at me, I'll take it from here." Alder said, calmly approaching the monster.
Once he came close enough, the two went to exchange blows again, but it was nothing like the last exchange. Alder was landing direct and critical hits against his enemy while dancing around the few attempts to retaliate the beast could muster. The bright lights displayed alongside his blows were a visual indication that different variants of the [Impact Harmonium] were being activated with nearly every hit. After a few fancy strikes, Alder had dampened the monster's movements with an open-palm thrust.
[Paralyzing Palm]
With that in place, he now had the leeway to perform something Botan had been looking forward to. A high-level spell.
Alder shuffled his footing as he backpedaled, creating water in his wake.
[Undertow]
Botan recognized it as being a water counterpart to the [Backdraft] and [Updraft] spells.
Then Alder calmly placed his left palm over his right fist. The spinning ring of water that surrounded his left arm traveled down and journeyed to his right arm alongside the other one, placing two separate spinning rings of water around his right arm. Suddenly Alder erupted into a sprint with water bursting beneath each step he took. The water desperately added itself to either of the rings, growing in size and speed as he traveled.
Alder leapt over a sluggish final swing of the monster's remaining blade and aimed to disarm it completely.
[Knuckle Tsunami: Impact Harmonium]!
Alder's fist and both rings of water struck the remaining arm at its uppermost joint. The three impacts caused a fourth impact to occur alongside a much brighter light than before.
Botan hadn't yet understood, but Alder's spell was considered very strong in this world. [Impact Harmonium] spells were spells that require simultaneous impacts to harmonize with one another to create a third phantom impact whose power was based on the two impacts that spawned it. Alder had just done so with three impacts at once, triggering [Impact Harmonium] three times simultaneously through each unique combination of any two of those impacts. Effectively striking the monster six times in an instant.
Again, the clattering of one of the monster's blade arms was heard. The monster now lost all effective means of fighting back. Sure, it could bite, use an even weaker [Cricket's Rebuke] or even run away using [Skitter], but the threat was now dealt with for the most part.
The monster was refusing to fall, even as so much blood spilled from its wounds. The Grass Reaper lowered itself slightly, then tried to use [Skitter]. It failed the spell somewhat, making it near its target. The beast's last chance to have gained anything from this. The creature's mouth pincers opened to impale a guard but was stopped by Lokkan.
Lokkan had been trying to think of how the monster felt, and what drove it to this exactly. He understood that humans and monsters are not interchangeable, but something Botan said stuck with him from their earlier conversation. Botan's assumptions for some of the monsters' actions were not wrong. He himself often attributed human moods to the monsters he raised. While he never gave it so much thought, humans and monsters may be different, but there also existed commonalities as well.
Given that, he reached the correct conclusion as to why the Grass Reaper was doing this, and because of that, knew what it'd do next.
Lokkan intercepted the charge with a bear hug. Holding the monster back. It began thrashing its few remaining legs at Lokkan, drawing blood. Seeing this, Botan and Alder moved to finish the monster for Lokkan's sake, but the moment they began moving-
"ENOUGH!" Lokkan said with the full bass of his voice. Everyone stopped, the Grass Reaper included.
Lokkan collected his thoughts for a moment. "...That's enough… You're strong… I imagine you would only be here because they kicked you out, right?" Lokkan asked the monster.
It responded by attacking him even harsher, adding to his scars. Lokkan stood firm, not giving an inch.
"They were wrong. You were plenty strong." Lokkan added. The scratches continued.
"Please don't see this as a loss. You were fighting several enemies that knew you were coming and ganged up on you." Lokkan continued. The attacks slowed, but did not stop.
"It must have been so frustrating to be told you were not good enough. And it was one of the Nine Sovereigns that said it too, I bet. So you started to believe it yourself. So, you came out here to feel strong again." The attacks were barely coming now. They lacked the strength to do much of anything anymore.
"But you would have beat any of us on our own. You would have given my gate beast a run for its money…So, stop. You proved it. They were wrong." Lokkan finished quietly.
The Grass Reaper's legs gave out and would have fell, if not for Lokkan continuing to hold it upright. To the guards, it appeared as if the Grass Reaper died at that moment, but Lokkan could hear its heart. Botan and Alder also knew it hadn't died for several minutes until they received their EXP notification.
Lokkan held it a moment longer, then softly lowered it to the floor.
This was not how Botan thought his first monster extermination mission would go, but he also wouldn't have wanted to change it.
Afterward, Botan and Alder returned to the inn to sleep. Lokkan promised to process the monster for them. Before he closed his eyes that night, Botan needed to do something while it was so fresh in his mind. He used his weapon as a light source and drew an image of Lokkan hugging the dying monster. It was one of the few times he was so satisfied with how his first attempt came out. He then waited for the ink to dry, then closed the book.
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[Otherworld Index]
Today is a larger entry than normal. Today we will be diving into a few notable monsters we saw recently. Those being the Yoklan, Orf, Gate Beast, and Grass Reaper. Three of those are native to Mosden alone, so we will first talk about the monster found all over the world as one of the monsters humans prefer the most at their side, Yoklan.
Yoklan are used by humans for all manner of labor assistance and sometimes as mounts. They lack the stamina to carry armored humans over long distances but are the go-to mount for war due to their overwhelming strength. Yoklan shed their antlers every three years, as opposed to the yearly shedding of most animals.
The most notable figure of Yoklan would be their enormous amount of fur. In the wild, bird monsters with sharp beaks would assist Yoklan by cutting their fur to make strong, thick nests that can survive maelstorms. Humans braid their fur as it grows to measure and trim the fur as needed. Without either humans or the sharp-beaked bird monsters, Yoklan would have no way to deal with their fur, which would become worse given their biggest issue. That being a rodent monster that lives in their fur, cutting up the Yoklan and causing it pain and infection. These monsters are the main cause of Yoklan death.
So everyone braids their Yoklan's fur, to make shearing them easier AND to make the fur uninhabitable to those unwanted rodent monsters.
Next, we will review Orfs. Orfs are very slow on land, but shockingly fast underwater. Especially when it comes to the speed at which they can ascend and descend. This is because they can alter their weight as well as the amount of oxygen in the water around them via magic as they move. Because of this, they are among the best divers in Mosden. Able to reach even the very bottom of the oceanic bodies of water throughout Mosden even though they are mammals that lack gills.
The reason they can safely reach that depth, despite needing to breathe air, is the same reason they are worthwhile human companions; They can strip the oxygen from the water to breathe via magic. Not only are the movements required for an Orf to gain oxygen underwater and also a swimming motion, but they can provide this benefit to a few allies as well. Meaning a human could safely swim to the bottom of the ocean without equipment if they come with an Orf.
They can even help humans pressurize as needed to not suffer from moving too swiftly between pressure depths. Truly, Orfs are humans' best allies in the water.
Next, we will talk about the first of the two monsters here that usually live around the nine peaks, that being the Grass Reaper. So named because they cut down trees and clear brushes that form near the nine peaks, not letting lesser monsters that require such things to live nearby. They stay only near the bottom of the nine peaks though, as there are plenty of trees and such higher up the peaks.
Grass Reapers sport impressive chitin armor and exoskeleton defenses that leave them undaunted by the attempts of lower-class monsters. Their claws, made of mid-quality [Malmetal] is as impressive in practice as it appears, being able to cleave how trees and lesser armored targets in a single heavy swing. They are also usually very sharp, as Grass Reapers sharpen their blades against each other in their idle time.
As insects, they have access to the much envied [Skitter] spell that isn't just fast movement, but true teleportation. Allowing them to escape nets, cages, and more if the movements are not halted. Besides binding their movements, the other way to stop the use of [Skitter] is by obscuring vision. This is because [Skitter] teleports them where they are looking. This is harder to deal with in the case of insect monsters like Grass Reapers that have compound eyes. As they can decide where they are going to teleport to at the end of casting [Skitter] with more options as they are looking directly at several areas in a given direction.
Grass Reapers are also known to use several weapon spells, some of which humans can use. It is said that many of the first weapon spells humans learned were discovered by mimicking monsters. Making Grass Reapers one of the monsters venerated and celebrated in some martial circles.
Lastly, we will talk about one of the oddest looking creatures in the whole world, but also considered so strong that they are in the highest tier of threat and rarity. While this world possesses no dragons, Gate Beasts are one of the monsters that'd be given equal prestige to such creatures.
Gate Beasts possess their own internal pocket dimension that acts as their stomach. A Gate Beast's gate size determines the pocket dimension's size. This dimension is lined in raw squishy flesh. Rule of thumb, the size of the pocket space is twice the diameter of the empty space in the gate itself for the length, width, and height.
Gate beasts are asexual and produce children upon reaching 30 years old, then again at 60 years old, and lastly at 90 years old. Gate Beasts usually live about 100 years, though, one of the nine sovereigns is a Gate Beast and is more than 350 years old. Gate Beasts grow from the size of a small ring to the size of a carriage over the course of their lives, but they grow faster in their first ten years. The children of a Gate Beast stay within its parent's dimension until it has grown large enough that the child might have trouble leaving their parent's dimension if they grow further. Meaning that one Gate Beast that is 9' tall could have a dozen 6'6" Gate Beasts inside it, and you'd never know.
Their ability to store and expel large amounts of materials cannot be understated. Since The only thing that limits what a Gate Beast can fit inside it safely is based on volume, they are amazing for transporting heavy and valuable goods, like gold. Of course, owning a domesticated Gate Beast is an incredible asset that less than 10 people in the world currently possess.
Gate Beasts also possess four notable forms of offense that should be prepared for. The first is [Vacuum Vortex]. A weaponized form of eating meant to violently absorb material until its internal space has been filled. This spell is oppressive and hard to counter, as ranged attacks can't stop it, as they too are absorbed.
The Second is [Debris Discharge]. This spell expels the material it has built up as ammo. This can be very dangerous, but extra caution should be given if some or most of what is being expelled is water. Due to hydrodynamics water is the least compressible thing ever, meaning that when pressurized, like it is here, forms a peerless means of cutting that can cut through even the most powerful shells and armor.
Thirdly is [Weighted Cannon]. Because their space doesn't care about weight, Gate Beasts often collect a few extremely hard and heavy objects to use as more prized ammo worth retrieving later. These can range from metal, boulders, or even gemstones. Besides having a more precise aim and heavier ammo than one might think, the real threat is that a Gate Beast could release the boulder in a manner that lets gravity be their target's executioner. Meaning a lower-level Gate Beast might still manage to kill a higher-level foe easily.
And lastly, [Realm Render]. This is a spell that bypasses defense entirely, essentially having infinite cutting power. How? The Gate Beast pushes some of their extra-dimensional space out, into the regular world. This creates a dark haze where the two realities are overlapping. Once the Gate Beast is done "shaping its attack" it withdraws its dimension pulling in only exactly what was within the overlapped space. Meaning, if half of something was outside the overlapped space and the other half was within it, the thing would be cleanly cut along that boundary, regardless of defense.
The setup for the offensive part of the skill is your only chance to flee. Luckily, it can not use multiple gate-based spells at once. So it'd have to stop using [Realm Render] to use [Vacuum Vortex] to keep enemies from escaping, canceling its most powerful skill. However, an attack that can cut anything is always a spell to be feared.
And that is a brief overview of the monsters seen thus far.
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[Author's Notes]
A bit longer than initially planned, but I don't think this chapter had much fat. Botan met a new character in Lokkan that may prove quite useful on his journey. He received information on a number of monsters including his egg.
What most of you were probably not expecting was a fight with a monster this much stronger than the Shrubblet just a bit ago. Alder and Knob had to carry the fight, given Botan's level versus their foe's, but Botan does have outstanding offensive power for his level. Thanks to the power-up methods he does know about, the good weapon form he has, and a powerful skill like [Boom Bloom] Botan was able to swing far beyond his weight class.
It makes one wonder, how strong could the flower hero really become?
