Botan and Alder were on the road, nearing Lokkan's farm. They had woken up quite late because of the previous night's fight after an entire day on the road. Even after eating and walking for a bit, they felt sore. Botan's shoulders were still aching from the attack he blocked the night before, while Alder's right arm was still damaged from using a spell he'd yet to master.
"So, what was your plan today?" Alder asked.
"After this? That'll depend." Botan gave a halfhearted answer.
"Depend on what?" Alder wanted a real answer.
"I fought a monster three times my level last night. Some of it was made up with bonuses, some by how good some of these weapon forms and skills are… Strengthening myself in these ways will be the key to moving forward. Collecting materials to 'bloom' my weapons, not to mention that all my weapon forms are stronger the more weapon forms I unlock." Botan explained.
What Botan was saying was basically that he'd want to focus on using his known power-up methods in the short term. That'd mean he'd want to hunt down monsters he'd yet to see. More importantly, he wanted to 'bloom' a few weapon forms and see how good it was. He'd yet to bloom a weapon form but Botan thought it'd be really strong.
His reason for thinking that was his first power-up method. Strengthening all forms for each one unlocked was very strong. So if these methods were somewhat equal, then a method that is more demanding and only affects one form should be drastic. Depending on how strong the Grass Reaper forms are and how easy they were to bloom, Botan might not prioritize the [Grass Blade] anymore.
Of course, if the dingus finished reading his power-up methods, he'd see he has 2 more!
They arrived at the farm to see several men gathered around. The moment they spotted the pair approaching, they greeted them warmly. "Mr. Lokkan says we have you two to thank for finally dealing with that giant monster. Thank you both…"
Botan sensed that the man had more he wanted to say more. "What is it?"
"O-Oh. It's just that… Mr. Lokkan said we could not have any of the materials because the Evergreen was supposedly here." The man said, looking at Botan's weapon.
Botan wasn't going to beat around the bush. "That's right. We took it down and I need the materials to make myself stronger for the waves." He would not give them any.
The man was not leaving it alone. "But that monster has damaged a lot of our stuff…"
"And I made sure it won't happen again. You're welcome." Botan gave them a smile that told them 'no' while making his point further. "The materials will be put to good use with me since I will be protecting, not only this town but all of Mosden and beyond in the future." Botan gave no room to debate.
They had no answer to that. A few left upset. A few seemed to not want to beg for scraps, instead just wanting a chance to thank them both personally. To that, Botan happily talked to a few of them. Of course, they could not just sit around all day chatting.
"Ah, finally here? Come take these materials so these vultures leave me be." Lokkan called out those gathered as he welcomed the pair.
What few people remained hanging around the gate left, allowing Botan and Alder to enter. They saw all the materials separated into different piles next to one another. Lokkan and two of his men did an excellent job in dissecting the parts. A far better job than Botan currently could.
Botan went to give Lokkna a greeting but was motioned to absorb the materials. Botan went up to each pile absorbing only enough materials to trigger a form being unlocked. He would not absorb materials needlessly.
.
[Grass Reaper's Scytheflower]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Skill: Sickle Throw (Weak)
Special Equip Effect: Bonus: Plantsbane (Weak)
.
[Grass Reaper Antenna Branch]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: Mag + 6
Special Equip Effect: Bonus: Skill: Spy Eye
.
[Grass Reaper Mandible Flower]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: Dissection I
.
[Malmetal Flower]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: Malmetal Quality Up I, Defense + 5
.
And many more that simply gave stats, most giving defense, attack, and speed.
[Grass Reaper Carapace Branch Unlocked]
[Grass Reaper Coxa Flower Unlocked]
[Grass Reaper Trochanter Flower Unlocked]
[Grass Reaper Femur Branch Unlocked]
[Grass Reaper Tibia Branch Unlocked]
[Grass Reaper Tarsus Branch Unlocked]
[Grass Reaper Abdomen Flower Unlocked]
[Grass Reaper Elytra Flower Unlocked]
Botan looked over the forms. Even if he mastered them all, only his speed could rival his magic potency. This further confirmed to Botan that the Flower Hero was someone focused on both magical power and speed.
"Mr. Lokkan… I've never received so many weapon forms, not even from the two best monsters I dissected so far combined… You did amazing work." He offered praise.
"Hmm, does something like that actually help?" Lokkan wondered.
"Yes! I… If I bring you more monsters, could you show me how you did this so well? …Oh, unless you'd prefer I don't." Botan realized he might offend Lokkan, with him being such a bleeding heart.
But Lokkan laughed it off. "Haha, sure kid. You bring me more and I'll show you how to make the most out of it."
Botan picked up one of the large [Malmetal] scythe blades, while Alder did so to the other. Even after unlocking a [Malmetal] specific weapon form, there were still over 200 .lbs of materials left. They'd need to find some way to carry these pieces back to the capital, but for now, they could be kept in their rented room.
Botan wanted to talk to Lokkan more, but Lokkan had been up all night processing the Grass Reaper and needed to sleep. So instead, Botan focused on his other task; blooming weapon forms.
He gave some of the Grass Reaper's carapace, six more types of grass, and the needed whetstones to the [Grass Blade] in the [Cultivation Menu].
[Cultivation Menu]
[Subject: Grass Blade]
[Necessary materials for Cultivation are as followed]
[10 different types of grass] [8 completed]
[5 whetstones] [completed]
[3 different monster carapaces] [2 completed]
He was close. He'd be able to bloom the weapon today if they were lucky.
"I just need 2 more types of grass and one more insect carapace. Are there any other kinds of insect monsters around here?" Botan asked them both.
"You could try fighting a Belfry Lancer." Mr. Lokkan offered.
Alder's head nodded at the suggestion. Botan quickly asked what they were. Alder dragged him away soon after, as Botan wanted to ask useless trivia after useless trivia about this new monster.
…
With that suggestion, it wasn't even an hour later that the pair was off further north for the day. Alder made it very clear that he wasn't keen on fighting dozens of flying monsters famous for their ability to hit a target at any range. That was something Botan could not argue with. After a brief discussion, they came up with a simple solution; they'd isolate one of them with a trap involving food. They were hunting for materials, not grinding for EXP. One was enough.
This was because Belfry Lancers were quite deadly in numbers. These monsters would best be described as large dragonflies, some as large as 5' long. Their wings worked as solar panels, collecting power from the sun. They use their long body as a rifle to fire off lasers of solar energy. What keeps them from being a threat normally was that they had to gound themselves to fire off their saved-up solar energy, combined with not having enough energy storage to fire more than three shots a day.
This made them dangerous, but easier to handle on their own. If you had to fight a group… The attacks would be coming from too many angles and each would be potentially fatal on their own. You wouldn't last long.
They had been traveling for over an hour and were just about to set up their trap. They would use gamey pieces of meat to attract their targets. They put small pieces of meat near a pond and then waited far away.
The plan seemed simple enough. Yet, failure still found them. Time and time again, other monsters would find the meat first and they'd need to step in. There were several types of monsters among them that Botan had yet to absorb and the ones he had already absorbed were quickly skinned, cut up, and sat out as more bait.
It's no exaggeration that they did this for 9 hours, having to take a break partway through. They were about to give up with the sun going down, but that was when it happened. The Belfry Lancers started flying about. There was a lot.
They both suddenly realized that if they absorb sunlight for ammo, then they likely sleep in the day in high places, only hunting when they can't collect solar energy. They facepalmed at the revelation, feeling they should have put that together. Alder had even less of an excuse, being a native to this world and a life-long Mosdenian. They tried making up for the day-long mistake by killing one of their targets quickly…
What ensued was the most bumbling half-failing shenanigans one could expect. They were practically tripping over themselves and each other trying to dodge out of the way of a storm of burning hot lasers!
Botan noticed Alder running past him. "Oi! I thought you were supposed to be protecting me!? I'm the Evergreen, right!?" Botan asked sarcastically, trying to catch up as the lights destroyed everything around him.
"Yup, you're the Evergreen. That means you will surely survive, while I might not." Alder said jokingly, dodging a laser much closer to killing him than he was comfortable with.
"That's fucking cap!" Botan yelled, slowly catching up
"I don't even know what that means!?" Alder commented.
The pair nearly started a forest fire provoking all those Belfry Lancers, but maybe that was a good thing? They made it a bit past the woodline before stopping. The monsters stopped. Their accompanying laughter made the idea of catching their breath quite the task.
After they did, Alder spoke first. "Okay, that was stupid. Any ideas?"
"I have a few thoughts." Botan said while standing, trying to switch to the [Grass Reaper's Scytheflower], however-
[Unable due to level requirement]
"...Aight, plan A was aborted before it could even disappoint me…" Botan expressed allowed.
"No, that was plan B. Plan A wasted 9 precious hours. At least plan B had the decency to suck quickly." Alder bantered.
"Okay, so what's your plan?" Botan inquired.
With hesitation, Alder began sharing his plan. "I suggest we go out there, you grab their attention, then-"
Botan refused. "Vetoed. Your plans suck." The two took a moment.
"Hmm… How many shots do they have if they need to gather solar energy all day?" Botan asked after another moment of thinking.
Botan asking about their overall resources seemed a bit out of nowhere, but ALder was getting used to Botans' way of thinking. If they have only so many resources to use, and given they shot the two of them to hell a minute ago… How many more shots do they have?
"Huh… So we bait them?" Alder continued Botan's logic, asking for confirmation.
"Yup." Botan picked up a rock.
Though the idea was a simple one the pair spent the next 15 minutes throwing rocks at the monsters, prompting them to disintegrate it out of the air. Botan had to miss on purpose. Because when he tried to throw his first rock, The holy flower actually zapped him again. Botan wanted to argue that throwing a rock is not a weapon, but the flower seemed to not care.
They realized another thing while throwing rocks and watching them. Belfry Lancers could not fire their attack while airborne. After a while, they finally had a rock land near the monsters without them attacking.
"So, they're out?" Botan asked.
"Or they learned to not waste the shot…" Alder didn't want to risk it.
"Let me try something then." Botan suggested, pointing his holy flower at a clear target.
[Spring: Seed Strike]
Botan fired off his ranged skill at one of the monsters. The skill moved fast, but given the distance and the monsters being alert, they simply flew a bit before settling on the ground again.
"Aight, I'm mad." Botan walked out from behind the woodline.
"What the hell? Get back here!" Alder whispered loudly.
"No. We are not wasting a whole day because of my decision and going back without anything to show for it." Botan was armed with something, but it wasn't wisdom.
He slowly walked toward the monsters who perked up at his approach but did not flee or fire off an attack. After he was about 30 feet away, he stopped. The monsters eyed him and seemed ready to act if he did something. He raised his weapon towards them and said the name of a skill.
[Boom Bloom]
Botan said it quietly and just stood there, waiting. The weapon form grew slightly but didn't seem to rouse the suspicions of the monsters. It swelled a bit further and began to give off a noise. It sounded like pressure slowly escaping. At this, a few monsters backed away or left, but the bulk of them stayed. That proved itself to be a mistake as the skill finished charging, blooming open and letting an explosive force be unleashed in the direction Botan had his weapon pointed. A few shot off a laser as they tried to escape, but the attack had too much force and sent them slamming into trees or one another.
Botan went to turn around to catch Alder's expression, but the young man dashed past Botan as he turned. He approached the downed monsters and finished those he could.
Botan now looked disappointed. "I get we could finish more off, but the skill got us what we needed." He argued.
"I disagree." Alder said, holding up one of the bodies. "Every little bit helps, You can't know what kind of materials you'll need to bloom another weapon form later, you need bodies to have Mr. Lokkan teach you dissection, and… I want to help too y'know." Alder finished his curt lecture kindly.
Alder was in 'advisor mode'. Botan just nodded along. "I feel you. Guess we collect and head back?"
"Sounds good."
As they began picking up their spoils, Alder filled the dead silence. "So you figured out the parameters of that skill?"
"Yeah. 1-minute charge-up time, 2-minute cooldown time. Pretty rough, but the amount of damage it can do is the best I have for now."
"You ought to test your skills before putting them into a combat scenario like you did last night." Alder advised.
Botan didn't even need to argue. "You're right. I guess on the way back, I'll find myself the time to test these skills." He offered.
Alder's face filled with worry as he looked at the smoke a seared stones around him. "Do so 10 fee-20 feet away from me." Alder requested, half seriously.
The trip back was fruitful itself. The pair ran through all of Botan's current skills and abilities. Learning a few more specifics. Botan found that [Lily-Step] gave only 5 seconds of walking on water. Normally, that'd be useless, but Botan found it to be helpful when learning to walk on water as part of his magic training.
Botan still wasn't at a high enough level to use either the [Shunning Saffron Idol] or the [Alluring Aster Fan] weapon forms. Given how useful they were, Botan assumed he'd probably need to be level 30 or more to use them. Botan did figure out [Contact Comrade] though. He tested it with Alder. While making contact with an ally, their stats are buffed a fair bit. It seemed limited in usage, but the amount buffed was good enough to consider utilizing it in the future.
For everything else, the bonuses were either straightforward enough to not need investigating or Botan still wasn't high enough level to use. On their way back, they even found two more types of grass for what came next.
When they returned to Lokkansted, it was too late to bother Lokkan. They also really needed to reset their sleep schedule. Most of the next day Botan spent his time learning how to dissect monsters with Mr. Lokkan. Using the bodies of the Belfry Lancers, Lokkan showed how to cut them apart as well as showing him how and why the different sections were considered different sections. It was a full-blown biology lesson and required enough physical work to double as shop class.
Botan tried mirroring Lokkan but made a few minor mistakes the first time. Luckily they had more bodies. After his third try, Botan was successful, but Lokkan threw a curveball.
"Dissect another one." He suddenly said after a while.
"Huh?" was all Botan could manage.
"It's been 30 minutes. Show me you can do it without me doing it right before you. You want to learn to actually do it, right? Not just imitate me." Lokkan reasoned.
With that, Botan dissected one more. He did everything correctly, though, he admittedly took longer to do so than before. With that, he absorbed some of the finely dissected materials.
.
[Belfry Lance Carina Branch]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: Mag + 7 Skill: Sunray
.
[Belfry Lance Flower]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: Mag + 6, Solar Boost
.
He also unlocked a few forms that only granted stats.
.
[Belfry Lancer Trochanter Flower Unlocked]
[Belfry Lancer Carapace Flower Unlocked]
[Belfry Lancer Tarsus Branch Unlocked]
[Belfry Lancer Abdomen Flower Unlocked]
[Belfry Lancer Wing Flower Unlocked]
[Belfry Lancer Femur Branch Unlocked]
[Belfry Lancer Tibia Branch Unlocked]
.
Quickly switching to the two forms to check them out, Botan found that [Solar Boost] gave you a modest increase in stats while in direct sunlight. Again, niche, but once mastered he'd always have it. The other weapon form gave the skill [Sunray] which worked like the lasers the Belfry Lancers used. Giving Botan a much-needed additional ranged skill, this one being even better at range given the speed of the projectile and the perfectly straight line it traveled. It just had a longer cooldown than [Spring: Seed Strike] as compensation.
After that, Botan had one more exciting thing to do. He absorbed the last two grass samples and offered some of the Belfry Lancer carapaces to the [Grass Blade].
[Cultivation Menu]
[Subject: Grass Blade]
[Necessary materials for Cultivation are as followed]
[10 different types of grass] [completed]
[5 whetstones] [completed]
[3 different monster carapaces] [completed]
[All cultivation materials offered]
[Subject: Grass Blade has bloomed into its true form]
.
[Grass Blade] (Bloomed)
Abilities Unlocked Equip Effect: Bonus: Attack + 5
Special Equip Effect: Bonus: Agility Up (small) Skill: Sprout Slash
.
Botan immediately switched to the improved weapon form with much excitement. He marveled at the weapon's own stats, now being among his best weapon forms, even though this weapon form was usable at level 5 and he had weapon forms that had a level 12 requirement available to him. The stats nearly doubled from what they were prior. If he were able to awaken a weapon with a level requirement equal to his current level, it'd remain his best weapon for quite some time.
He felt the speed boost and it was great. That didn't distract him from what he wanted to do next.
[Sprout Slash]!
[This skill cannot be used while Grass Blade is equipped]
"...Huh? How does that make sense? This skill is a special equip skill, it's supposed to require I use this form to have access to it?" Botan was more confused than ever.
Regardless, Botan tried swapping to a different form and using the skill again.
[Sprout Slash]!
The weapon immediately transformed back into the [Grass Blade] form and urged Botan to swing it, pulling his arm with it. The resulting slash was the fastest one Botan had achieved yet, even with him not being ready for it.
"So I can now instantly transform to this form with this skill? Nice!" Botan was pleased.
He went back into his menus. With this skill, Botan thought that he now knew the best way to switch weapon forms, he wanted to confirm it. After reading something, he flinched. That reaction prompted the others.
"What is it? Is the cooldown harsh?" Alder asked.
Botan stared at a tutorial he skipped.
[To switch weapon forms, one would only need to think of the weapon form they wish to change to and focus a brief moment… not select and switch the weapon form manually via the weapon form menu…]
"Yeah. It's rough…" Botan lied. "Why the fuck didn't I read the tutorials in the beginning!? Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-"
After mentally lynching himself and collecting himself, Botan made up his mind that blooming a higher-tier weapon form was the priority. Levels would always be welcome, but collecting weapon forms while actively searching out the items to bloom his best options was going to be better in the short and long term. He then looked at his better weapon forms to see which ones seemed promising and had manageable cultivation requirements.
[Cultivation Menu]
[Subject: Grass Reaper's Scytheflower]
[Necessary materials for Cultivation are as followed]
[50 lbs of Malmetal] [3 lbs completed]
[7 hearts of the cowardly] [1 completed]
[11 Branches of a Whistlewood Tree]
[5 unripe seeds of a Top Tree]
[Any materials from a monster level 50 or higher]
Botan winced at the requirements. That much malmetal would be impossible to get before the wave… Unless he gave up one of the massive blades they got from the Grass Reaper. He'd consider that. Things like "11 Branches of a Whistlewood Tree" and "5 unripe seeds of a Top Tree" seemed very doable with Alder to guide him. The cowardly hearts thing was kinda creepy but very doable.
…And that left getting any materials from a monster level 50 or higher.
"That's a tall order, but not as impossible as it sounds. Saying 'any material' gave a lot of freedom. I might even be able to buy or trade for something like that…" Botan considered.
Botan turned to Alder having decided their next course of action. "The strongest weapon form I have access to… I think it's best to bloom it before the wave. Whistlewood and top trees. Where could we find them?"
"Top trees are all around the capital, they look like the tree near them though. Whistlewood though…" Alder had bad news on that front.
"How bad?" Botan dreaded any sort of snag in this plan.
"We'll need a two-day expedition to get there from the capital." Alder replied.
"A day to return, 2 to get there, 2 to get back… It'll take 5 days and we have less than 2 weeks until the wave… No, the bonuses are too necessary." Botan only considered the logistics briefly.
"I guess we should return to the capital and grab those party members Prince Raucar is offering. With a group of 6, we'll get a lot more done leveling-wise." Botan announced.
Botan said the prince's name aloud to gauge Alder, but he seemed not to react. He'd been probing people, but he was still clueless about what the drama around him was.
They said their goodbyes to Lokkan, then Botan gave goodbyes to all his monsters, remembering their names, which seemed to make them very happy. Before noon, the pair set off back to Mosden's capital. A few villagers sent them off with a wave. They would have arrived back at the capital right before the sun went down that day, but a wonderful event soon took place.
The sound of a crack was heard by Botan, it came from right behind him.
.
[Otherworld Index]
This edition of the Otherworld index will be covering monster tamers, how they work, some of their trade secrets, as well as some of their common uses.
As the name implies, monster tamers are those that use domesticated monsters as allies. Monsters have very different bodies from humans and that means they have access to magic that humans cannot normally access. They can also have other abilities humans would find valuable, such as the pocket dimension that Gate Beasts possess. By cooperating with these monsters one can do things that otherwise is impossible.
Mosden has more monster tamers than any other country due to their lack of infrastructure and abundance of monsters. Some are used in a purely utilitarian manner, such as how those of the Lokkan family use Orfs, Gate Beasts, and Yoklan. They are not raised with the intent to use them in combat. The same as some bird monsters are used to send letters.
The first type of combat type would be monster mounts. Mercenaries, proper soldiers, and adventurers alike prefer monster mounts, especially in Mosden. The tough terrain can take more of a toll on a traveler than the monsters at times. Native monsters can traverse these lands far easier than man. Some breeds of Yoklan can serve this role, but it isn't common. There are also Sky Rays, large manta ray-like creatures that fly via motion magic. Using a monster for uninterrupted flight is quite valuable.
But there are many monsters in Mosden and beyond that are often used for combat. There is no better example than Belfry Lancers. Their signature heat ray is incredibly concentrated, burning a hole through most things. The concentration of the attack also means that the beams travel a great distance. A human having a Belfry Lancer on their arm and aiming them like a sniper is among the best options for weaponizing monsters. Several other monsters can also serve as living weapons and we will see more as time goes on.
And when we say living weapon, it is not meant to describe a monster simply fighting on someone's behalf but actually wielded in someone's hands as a weapon. The greatest advantage to this setup is that your weapon being alive means it has a level as well and can grow alongside the tamer. Add in [Malmetal] as a safe way to traditionally strengthen your living weapon and you have something special on your hands.
With the crack that just occurred, Botan is also about to follow the Mosden tradition of being a monster tamer in battle. And this monster will aid future monster tamers in ways that'll make them not just a choice due to lack of options, but a preferable option.
.
[Author's notes]
Botan has his first bloomed weapon, a much stronger weapon form he can't even use, and is on the move to bloom it the moment it is available. Will this course of action serve him well? Is this better than just focusing on leveling?
I am trying to portray that Botan and Alder are becoming more like friends as the days go by. Two dudes hanging out and making fun of each other. Not just a hero and an advisor.
Next chapter the egg hatches. As those who read Family of the Shield already know, I love monster party members and this one will be no exception!
Please leave a review or comment if you like.
