NOVEL WEB Chapter 8: Hunt A Roc
The next day was easy but uneventful. Cultivating here felt like using a cup to try and fill a bathtub. It would work but I would need a lot of time to get anywhere. Which didn't bode well for the future, I made a mental note to try and get an upgraded manual in the future. I sat in my chamber until it was time for bed. I wasn't sure if it was my attributes or the cultivation itself but I only needed a few hours of sleep. Honestly, it was a bit weird my mind felt like I should be asleep but my body just refused. The next day I was up and in the main plaza well before the hum started. I watched people pour into the plaza and less than ten minutes later the worker spoke up.
"Today is the last of the three beginner assignments. Once you have completed your quest you all will gain access to difficulty selection. Naturally the higher the level of difficulty the better the rewards. Be aware that the danger ratings will be serious do not bite off more than you can chew or you will likely die. For today's quest, you will be sent to a location and tasked with hunting a single creature. The creature will be different for each group so it is recommended that you cooperate."
Just like the last time as soon as he finished the teleportation began. I took a deep breath just before I was pulled away. When I could see again I was in the middle of a tropical forest. I let out a low groan when the humidity hit me. I looked around and made note of the nine other people who joined me. I didn't recognize any of them which wasn't great but was expected. I only had to wait a moment for the System's voice to fill my head.
Hunt and kill the Roc. Reward: Spatial Treasure
What the hell is a spatial treasure? I wondered to myself before I scanned the sky. I wasn't sure if it was the same but the Earth version of the Roc was a big bird from Middle Eastern mythology. After a moment or two, I relaxed a bit and turned my attention to others only to find them huddling together. The sight was a bit disturbing if I was honest. It was clear that the group had little interest in fighting the beast.
"Um, what are you doing? We can't go back until we complete the quest." I asked them after a minute or two of them trying to look smaller.
"I—I am not doing it. I refuse to play the games of whatever the hell is going on." A man who looked to be in his early thirties spoke up. A slight tremble in his voice. I considered arguing with him but quickly shook my head. I didn't think he had a high level nor did I think any of the others did so it wasn't worth it. I shrugged picked a direction with fewer trees and started to walk. It took me another ten minutes before I found something of interest. A large python shot toward me from one of the overhanging branches. The python barely had enough time to reach me before I unleashed Psychic Blast. It collapsed to the ground a second later, the energy I got from the kill was disappointing, to say the least. For a second I thought the System had decided to take it easy on us but I didn't think that was likely. I did a bit of mental calculation and realized the problem. My official level was nine but if you went by attributes alone I was around level 66.
It wasn't that the enemies were weak I was just strong as fuck. I chuckled to myself at the absurdity of the situation. I had essentially out-leveled the quest. I was pretty sure that would change when I could pick my difficulty but that didn't help me right now. After what felt like an hour I let out a groan of irritation. I had no way to find the got damn bird. I was about to turn around when something dawned on me. Could the bird hide from me? I mean if my assumption is correct and I have out-leveled this spot why would the bird come near me at all? Wouldn't it be better for it to attack the weaker prey? That assumed the creatures were living beings and not machines but it was the best idea I had at the moment. I turned and began to head back to the starter clearing.
The sound of battle reached me as soon as I approached. I broke out into a dead sprint as I mentally chastised myself for leaving them behind. I was forced to kill a panther-like creature when it leaped at me from a tree before I was able to see what the hell was going on. The nine people had been attacked by a group of feline creatures. They looked a bit like cougars with three eyes and vines instead of their tails. One of the nine had already died, her throat ripped out while another of the cougars dragged her body into the forest. The other eight had formed a loose circle with a pair of swordsmen holding the front while the back-liners unleashed a variety of attacks. I didn't understand what the issue was until one of the mages hit a cougar with a wind blade. The cougar was forced back a step but the spell did barely any damage.
I gritted my teeth and stepped into the clearing. The closest cougar let out a sound that was a cross between a howl and a screech. The sound made my vision swim for a second. The effect on the other nine was much worse. One of the swordsmen completely froze for a second which opened him to one of the cougar's vines. By the time I could process what had happened the cougar's teeth were already around his neck. I unleashed Psychic Blast in a beam that passed through the cougar that targeted me and then through the ones closest to my fellow tutorial participants. "Get under the canopy of the trees. Make sure there are no snakes."
A calmness passed over me as the remaining cougars turned toward me. Only one of them had survived my initial attack which left two for me to deal with. The cougars hesitated for a moment before launching themselves at me. I was going to blast them but I decided against it. I stepped forward and then shifted to the right. The first cougar sailed over my head while the second narrowly missed my ankle. They both turned and let out another howl before continuing the attack. I grinned as I ducked and dodged them, I was pretty sure my agility was equal to or higher than theirs but they were both stupid. They couldn't coordinate their attacks at all and got in each other's way as often as they attacked me. I drew my dagger and spun to the right. The first cougar sailed by me which opened its ally up to my blade. I tried to slam it through the cougar's head but I either wasn't strong enough or the blade was too dull. Despite that, the cougar was slammed into the ground and I finished it off with Psychic Blast.
I turned to face the last one when a scream broke me out of my rhythm. I turned around just in time to see a massive bird descend from the sky. The bird had to be as big as a plane and was beyond fast. I was about to unleash Psychic Blast when the final cougar sank its jaws into my arm. The vines wrapped around my shoulder and my neck. My eyes went wide as I tried to rip the cougar off of me just as the roc grabbed two people in its talons. The pair were an older man and a young woman. Both of them were spell casters and tried to attack the bird. A fireball and spear of ice shot out of their hands before crashing harmlessly against the bird's feathers. "Fuck" I blasted the cougar and took off at a dead sprint for the bird. I knew I couldn't blast it as long as it was in the air. I wasn't sure I would survive a fall from that height let alone those two.
I tried to come up with a plan to both deal with the bird and save the pair but there was nothing I could do. Neither of my spells were able to catch them nor could I make the bird land. I was about to give up and hope that the System would teleport them away as soon as the quest was completed when a scream of danger forced me to dive to the side. I narrowly avoided a blade of wind the size of a tree as it slammed into the ground. The blade left a foot-long slash in the earth that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I pushed energy into Psychic Aegis. Just in case before I chased after the bird. The roc started to pick up speed and I was forced to act. I pushed off from the ground and flew through the air and into the branches of the tree. A leap that would have made Michael Jordan proud. As soon as I landed I unleashed a beam of concentrated mental energy at the massive bird.
The bird faltered in the air for a moment. Its two prisoners unleashed their spells at the bird's face which finally caused the bird to start to fall. The roc beat its wings in a desperate attempt to control its descent but there was no way in hell I was about to let that happen. I unleashed another Psychic Blast this tone hit the roc in its right eye. It let out a shriek of pain before it resumed its free fall. I unleashed another attack just as the other two spell casters did. All three spells slammed into the roc and a surge of spiritual energy filled me. The bird seemed to fall in slow motion as I leaped from tree to tree. I knew I wouldn't get there in time to help them with the fall but I could protect them from any other monsters.
The bird's corpse crashed into the ground less than a minute later. I pushed myself harder as I made a silent wish for their safety. I arrived at the crash sight a few minutes later and found the forest demolished. Trees were either completely crushed or broken in every direction. I leaped down and circulated my spiritual energy. I didn't think any beasts would come here so soon after the impact but it was better safe than sorry. It took me less than a minute to find the pair. One of them had either pulled free of the talon or the bird released him in its death throes. Either way, he didn't survive. His body crashed into a tree and his body was broken. The woman was still alive but just barely. Her legs were broken and she was knocked out.
"What do I do about this?" I spoke aloud to no one in particular. A twig snapped behind me and I spun around ready to blast anything that made its way toward me. Instead of a hungry animal, I found two of the other survivors. They were both men and looked to be in their forties.
"If you don't mind I would like to check on her. I am uh was a doctor." The Asian man stammered out as he approached. I gave him a nod and turned my attention to the other one. He slowly raised his hands in surrender.
"I just agreed to help get him here." I raised an eyebrow as the man visibly shook like a leaf in a storm.
"It is alright you can come over here as well. I will keep watch for anything in the forest." The man then inched around the edges of the clearing until he got around behind me. He never took his eyes off me, it was odd almost as if he was afraid. Realization hit me a second later. I turned around and both of them bolted up like children who had just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. They both looked terrified. I wasn't sure what to do about this. It was clear they were more afraid of me than they were of a hypothetical monster. I sighed and just ignored them. The familiar voice of the System interrupted the rest of my thoughts.
Quest 3 Complete. Calculating Personal Contribution. Contribution 100%. Quest Grade: S. Reward Distribution has begun. Tutorial Title has been improved.
Tutorial- Quest 3: Survive The Tutorial Reward: All Attributes +5
My excitement dimmed a bit as I checked my new attributes. The title upgrade wasn't as good as it seemed. It was more accurate to say that I got a plus 5 for the other attributes, not a new plus five. I chuckled when I realized just how greedy I had become. I found the second part of my reward in a box at my feet. "How is it doing that? I don't see, hear or feel anything. It just appears near me." I chalked it up to one of the many unanswered questions I had. I opened the box and paused. There were two items inside, one was an information stone while the other was an over-the-shoulder bag. The bag was made out of white leather that was covered in beautiful sigils. The bag was about the size of a laptop bag and was beautiful to look at. Part of me wanted to pull it out of the box but I decided against it. I didn't think the System was giving me a cursed item but the information stone was right there.
I sent a bit of energy through it and waited for the information stream to end. It turned out the bag was the spatial item and it was a DnD Bag of Holding. Bags like this came in a variety of designs but largely ranged between Low and Peak quality. To use the bag I had to bind it to me which required blood for some reason. I wouldn't know the quality of my bag until I bound it to myself but based on its appearance it had to be pretty good. I reached into my robe for what remained of my dagger and pricked my thumb. I smeared a bit of blood on the flap and chuckled. My mind filled with a twenty by twenty grid. The bag was empty now which was a bit disappointing. I pulled my focus out of the bag and then tried to put the broken dagger inside. Once it went in I tried to pull it out and was pleased to see it worked without issue.
I slung the bag over my shoulder and laughed. I could hold my entire life in a single bag. I played with it for a few more minutes before the System's voice returned.
Tutorial Quest has concluded. Commencing teleportation.
I looked back at the trio as I felt the familiar pull of teleportation. I hoped that the woman would be fine once she got a healing pill but once the world turned black I pushed her out of my mind. I needed to focus on myself. I arrived back in the plaza after a second and waited to see if anyone had anything to say. Sure enough, after a few moments, the woman descended from the sky like a goddess.
"Hello tutorial takers. I am happy to inform you that you have succeeded in the initial challenges. Now that you have a better understanding of your skills, abilities, and willpower you are free to pursue progress at your leisure. Starting three days from now you will be free to make your own choices about how you develop. Be sure to remember your goals and that the fate of humanity is in your hands. You can of course choose to do nothing with the rest of your time here as well. I wish you all the best of luck." Once she finished speaking she disappeared in a gust of wind. I stared at the spot where she had been for several more seconds. I couldn't believe it. Could people just sit it out from now on?
It wasn't hard to realize that it was a trick though. In a way the tutorial was a safe space, the threats were real but it was designed to make us stronger. Once we went back that would no longer be the case. We would need to do everything possible to survive. That didn't even include the human factor. Would there be a central authority on earth after this? I looked around and what I saw made me shake my head. Everyone looked like they had just received a stay of execution. I couldn't tell if this declaration was designed to get people killed or if it was just in difference. Either way, there was nothing I could do about it now. I took another glance around before I decided to leave. I made my way back to my room. This time I decided to devote a few extra hours to my cultivation chamber.