Biter

Eruka Valley Dungeon.

First floor (North) - Strawman Golem, Giga-rat, Iron-Shelled Locust. Monster Evolution has been noted to take the form of Claymen Golem, Broodmother Gigarat, Gigarat King, Steel-Shelled Locust, Nimble Locust. Each has a selective [Skill] pool allotted.

Notable instances and featured [Skills].

Strawman Golem, Clayman Golem:

[ LV1 - LV10 ]

Known Skills: [Fear] [Punch]

Gigarat

[ LV4 - LV6 ]

Known Skills: [Bite] [Slash] [Flee] [Tail Attack]

Gigarat Broodmother:

[ LV8 - LV10 ]

Known Skills: [Assemble] [Mother’s Embrace]

Gigarat King:

[ LV7 ]

Known Skills: [Tangled Frenzy] [Bite] [Slash]

Iron-Shelled Locust:

[ LV3 - LV5 ]

Known Skills: [Iron Bulwark] [Taunt]

Steel-Shelled Locust:

[ LV4 - LV6 ]

Known Skills: [Steel Bulwark] [Taunt] [Steel Slash]

-“Eruka Valley Dungeon Floor 1, Eruka Village Guild Records”, Cont.

The giant dungeon sun appears to be a massive clump of rocks, curiously, it seems that it doesn’t cycle off to recoup, perhaps the mana of the dungeon is in charge of infusing power into it. It makes for a derelict sleep schedule, and a horrible nap if you can’t get the light out of your eyes.

Sebas lays on the ground distracting himself, while Cyran picks at what leftover meat the horned rabbit has on the torso. Sebas places a single bone upright on the ground, letting the strange dungeon phenomenon burn the bone upright, earning an awestruck “Ooh” from the elf.

“How neat, I have seen it thousands of times, but it seems a fresh mind could bring new things to many places. I’ve never thought about letting the mana dissipate from below.”

Sebas looks over at the elf, and with a deadpan stare asks “you makin’ fun of me?”

He smiles and shakes his head, “Not atall, in fact I implore you to test out whatever hypothesis you come up with during your stay in the dungeon, within the reins of immoral studies, like black magic or necromancy.”

“I don’t have any elemental affinities, I couldn’t do magic if I wanted.”

“Young adventu- young Sebas-“

“Just Sebas”

“Sebas, affinity is just a gate towards performing magic.” Cyran takes a long piece of wood that sticks out from the fire, drawing a circle with 5 separate sections. Drawing strange symbols on the ground that catch Sebas’ attention.

“Flames are a state of mana, while one can use each mana mote individually, flames can be used to infect the surroundings, allowing each of them to simply tap each-other and heat up.”

He draws a triplet of strange curly lines, where a somewhat skull shaped symbol sits below in the top of the circular dirt pie shape.

“While water is just mana that is led to a location, a single piece is dragged along, brought where it needs to go, and sometimes it has friends join on its journey.”

A lasagna of curl-ended strings? He must be a shoddy artist.

“Wind, itself, has no mana, but it can be held together with the help of a caster, or a beast, it’s free and powerful.”

He draws a cross with s’s on the ends.

“Nature, in itself comes from the ground, and uses the power of the world, and from most of the other sides of the world, the air, the water, the fire.”

“Then why can’t nature use fire water or air?” Sebas queries his strange mentor.

“Why it is because of the balance of life, everyone has the same rights to the world, some are just not able to use all of the world.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Well, when I grow something, that’s nature being sped up, hastened with the additional help of the dungeon’s mana, and water playing into hydrating the rapidly depleting soil.”

“So… if someone were to make a volcano that would use the world’s fire magic?”

“Sure! Just like making an ocean would use the world’s water magic.”

Cyran draws a Trident with two prongs on the pommel for the.. nature(?) symbol.

“The final space is for metal, the inorganic and a-typical. Mana that has a solid structure is able to be manipulated and changed without destroying or creating.”

He just draws a circle with a square in it, how boring.

[You have learned minor information about ]

Sebas’ face hardens, before a voice says, “the first time you heard about the ?”

Sebas nods, and looks to the elf. “It’s part of the story, but not the entire book.”

“Huh?”

“Sebas, it’s just a little story about the world, told to us elves as children. Supposedly it was told to the first by the mother tree.”

[You have learned minor information about ]

“Quit doing that.”

“Oh? Don’t know that either huh? You’re not as smart as you pretend to be, young apprentice.”

“You people are going to be the end of me.”

Cyran gives Sebas a concerned smile and shakes his head at his strange pupil, he ruffles the redhead copperplate and receives a [Bite] to the hand immediately afterwards.

Sebas and Cyran are found in the midst of the trees to the southeast of the guild’s fort, Cyran sits atop a curious wooden stump that contrasts the grove. He holds a wooden staff which props his hands up for a place to rest his head on.

“Sebas what do you know about fighting?”

“Swing your sword downward, it’s easier than swinging it sideways. Don’t kill people in a fight, it dishonors a noble’s name. If you’re challenged, never bac-”

“I mean an actual fight? What do you do when you hunt animals?”

“… I hunted for the first time yesterday, so far I will sneak up on or use my arm to block an attack so I can get a solid hit on a rabbit, if it doesn’t [Run Away.]”

“Yzdite… you’re a strange pupil.”

“I heard that.”

“Well, strange pupil, hear this.”

Sebas rubs his nose and scratches his side while listening, “You’re a horrible hunter, you can’t dress a kill, you fight like a beast, and you’re horrible at cooking.”

“Hey!-“

“But, you have a chance to learn, if you’d like.”

“… I already told you I don’t have money.”

“I ate a meal, and saw something interesting, let’s call it a …horned rabbit horn?”

“Oh, I can actually afford that”

Sebas pulls a horn out of his side satchel. A swift lob sees the hand sized spike on the elf’s side of the forest, where he doesn’t move, and smiles softly.

“Are you willing to go through horrible torment and anguish to get what you want?”

“Uh… No? Maybe.”

“Think before accepting Sebas, I will work you out and make you a bonafide elven hunter.”

Sebas holds his pointer finger to his lip and paces a bit, before nodding solemnly at his newly discovered master.

“Wonderful;I assume you don’t normally use a dagger?”

“What gave it away?”

“You hold it backwards like a thug, you’ll want that to protect you if possible, holding like so is fine, but you’ll either cut yourself or someone around you.”

Sebas collects his knife? And holds it in his right hand. A few practice slashes are used with [Lowest Rank Swordsmanship.]

“Now!” Cyran pulls a small red berry out of his backpack, and squishes it in his palm. A stir in the brush releases 3 horned rabbits,1 being bi-horned. They all charge at the elf, who immediately plucks them from the air with a def hand, before holding onto a single horned rabbit just by its horn, much to its chagrin.

Both horned rabbit B and bi-horned rabbit are swiftly killed as “master” breaks their necks, his stats must be insane at his level. Both dead rabbits are placed with care in the same bag Cyran uses.

“Here’s your sparring partner!” The elf says while giving the crazy horned rabbit whatever insane berry or fruit attracted the hare. “You’ll work on striking blades with each other, and if you die I suppose I could also let this one here become my new pupil.” A sadistic chuckle comes from the once soft and caring master.

The rabbit is set down carefully, stabbing the elf’s feet with its horn, making a shrill warcry, before it halts when an additional berry it goes nuts for is pulled out.

Why am I holding a berry, Sebas thinks, while his master smiles and picks up the rabbit showing up hat the berry is gone, and points it to the human across from him, who is equally as confused, before placing down the crazed beast which charges Sebas.

Several angry slashes are blocked by his master, who tsks and says “Sebas it is sword practice, not kill your partner practice.” While the rodent knocks his pupil down, stealing the berry from the boy’s hand.

“What the fuck is your problem!!”

“You must strike the enemy’s blade, disarm, repel, parry, that is the only way you are allowed to defend!” Evil master says.

The equally evil horned rabbit stares at Sebas, hatred forms in his heart, the eyes of judgment leering down from a fuzzy brown rat with large teeth and long ass lame ears.

He sighs and stands up, somehow, an additional berry has been placed into his hand, and the rabbit demands retribution for the addictive snack. Sebas flees for the hills, leaving his master and the raging hare. A familiar looking elf shows up at the forest’s edge, “Young Sebas, you may only fight within the battleground of the forest, I will only train an elf hunter properly.”

Looking backwards, above the raging rabbit, stupid master is nowhere to be seen, the stump is vacant of elves, only a magic pack lay in its place.

Turning a heel, Sebas faces the rabbit, squishing the berry inside his palm, blade held within both. [Lowest Rank Swordsmanship LV 3] activates for Sebas, his body is corrected by the skill and an illusory gray color shines around his blade.

An ear piercing scraping noise is heard as the beast's horn and the tip of the blade contest one another. The beast bounds for the forest, away from conflict out of … instinct? A large elf circles in the beast, which decides it would be better to go through such an obstacle, only for a loud thump, and a visual effect of the hard shin appears to have affected the swaying critter.

With a light nudge of the elf’s foot, the beast is turned around and slowly begins to ramp up in speed towards Sebas, who once again deflects the concussed creature’s horn.

[Tutelage in effect. Experience Gained. UP: LV 3 -> LV 4]

Taken aback, such a strange feeling is in his palms, as the glow of the blade solidifies into a less misty shape, and a more collective sword blade.

The rabbit rampages, and squeaks are heard as the parade of rabbit stomps bound for the boy. Once more, the rabbit stabs forward to gain his fruity treat. Only, for a second, a white wire forms in Sebas’ sight, and his blade manages to slash through the beast’s horn, and cave into the head of the animal.

[Notice: Kill confirmed, Level 2 Horned Rabbit]

[Experience Points have been collected]

[Congratulations]

[Level 4 Human -> Level 5 Human]

[5 Stat Points are available to be allocated.]

“Well done, I must say that was very well done for a beast-like fighter like yourself.”

Sebas quietly picks up his dead horned rabbit, and cleans the knife off the grass floor.

“- of course, it is only because of such a good tutor like myself, that one can learn the ways of the elven hunter.”

Sebas dresses the rabbit, tossing the body and the ruined horn on the ground, placing the skin in his satchel, a vein bubbles up on his forehead.

“And if I could get you a bow, we could do so much, also I wish you wouldn’t throw the body away, I could show you what’s worth keeping, and what-“

“Rat Master.”

“What?”

“YOU RAT BASTARD MASTER.”

Sebas begins to chase Cyran down with his blade, Cyran begins leaping around trees, seemingly able to jump between locations, as his crazed pupil chases him down in the forest.

“HAHA! Yes!! My pupil; keep it up, One day you’ll surely be able to do something with those weak little arms and that horrible speed!!!”

“I’M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!” Sebas screams, causing an echo to reach the guild fort.