First Kill
1753 Words
“You should erase any thoughts of defeating Overlord Mamon. He is evenly matched with the Grant Marshal and his ability to disappear in the shadows is very troublesome. Know this Mr. Mask guy, every force has leaders of unfathomable levels, Overlord Mamon from Sinfall City, Grant Marshall Rapahel from our city, and the Behemoth from the Argonian side. If they are on the battlefield and their respective counterparts are not, RUN!!”
Sly listened to the words of caution spoken by Ariel but his steps were still light as a feather.
“Sigh… Let me show you the best place in the city by far and then you are on your own”
The team moved towards the trading district that was buzzing with energy, the natives knew that it was the day of arrival of the Champions and that meant that they were able to enjoy not only a boost in their financial system by selling to the newcomers their wares but also buy incredible items from the outside. It was like they were hosting the world cup and everyone was on a paid vacation.
The district was a small city within itself, the place was enclosed by tall walls and there were 3 different parks where people could sit, talk and enjoy a brew. The store fronts were all in that luxurious style that the city of Astoria displayed throughout but the inside of the shops was another thing altogether.
Some of the shops were very high tech with displays that carried the latest technology. Hoverbikes, Mecha suits upgrades, High Energy Sabers, Plasma Grenades, Guidance Systems and right beside it were engineer shops to expand space folders.
On the other side of the square, there were taverns and high class restaurants where all the delicacies available on their side of the planet could be enjoyed and there were also back sides that went down underground to places where even stuff from the other side of the planet could be bought.
“There is an exchange building to your left if you want to change E.C into rupees but it is brutal for you guys”
1 Rupee = 4 E.C
1 Battle Points = 10 E.C
“With 100 rupees you can live modestly for a month but I wouldn’t recommend it, there are no homeless people allowed on the streets. If you don’t have any money, you will be thrown out to the outside world, so I suggest you go out and level up to 10 as fast as possible. There are request panels at the terminal, you can take a look and pick missions that will earn you cash. If you want to take a little rest, my personal recommendation is the Lazy Monkey. They have good prices on rooms and the food is delicious. Good Luck”
“b***h!” said Nova, making sure Ariel heard her.
“Let’s go find a place to stay and take in the sites, We can decide what to do after”
“A little more information from the locals wouldn’t hurt either” said Max while looking around.
There were already a few groups going around looking at all kinds of shops and filling the taverns, while some others were already boarding the transportation ships and leaving towards the different locations.
Unlike Planet Alpha, the 5th moon of planet-Mir 33 also had their native fauna and the Champions could even buy themselves some land mounts that could reach places that the hover bikes couldn't.
“Man! Ariel was right, the food here is delicious and room and board is only 3 Rupees a night”
The waitress looked at the group sitting around merrily and approached with confidence, “would you like anything else?”
“Actually we want to know where the best place to hunt for game is. We were told that the Ice lake was the usual spot to get to level 10 but we want something that is not going to be too crowded. Can you help us out?” said Max
“No problem! There are 3 known areas that are great for Champions to earn points and unlock their levels, The Ice Lake forest home to the Slinks and Ice Plumas, The Black Claw Valley home to the Karnifs and Rock Rabbits, and the Crystal hills that are the home the crystal spiders. Out of the three, I would suggest the Black Claw hills. The transportation fair is a lot more expensive and the crystal spider's silk is in high demand. Champions find it annoying to go there because there is a high chance of getting overwhelmed by their groups but if you are confident in your skill, it is perfect ''.
“Thank you!” Max gave her 2 rupees and then turned to the team, “What do you guys think?
“Ice Lake is out of the question. We will have a very hard time hunting and fighting other teams for prey, I think we should try the valley since it would be better for our group in terms of strategy. Maxes’ mecha suit will have no problem maneuvering in the open field and Sami and Nova can attack from a distance. We might run into some people though, but if the valley is big enough then we’ll be fine”. Said Broxa making a very compelling argument.
“Sly, what do you think?”
“I had Karnif before but Rock Rabbits are going to be the first”.
“I was talking about the arrangement?”
“I'll take the heads”
"The fighting arrangement"
"That is fine"
“It is settle then, we will travel there first thing in the morning”
Sly was a beast when it came to food, he could really put it down. In one setting he went through 20 rupees in braised meats and bought a barrel of ale for the road. He asked Nova if she could keep it cold and almost started a brawl when she attacked him with a weapon made out of ice.
It was a very fun evening but the next day the group was on time and ready to go. Max picked up a couple of quests in which Karnif meat was the desired product while the horns of the rabbits were what the high end tailoring shops needed.
The spacecraft ticket was only 4 rupees for the round trip. There was no need to schedule a trip back as they would always be people coming and going from the zone. It was a waste to return to the city without passengers so the spacecraft would always have to wait to have enough people ready to go back to cover the cost.
The spacecraft had 20 seats available and before they knew it, it was full. The competition had already started so everyone kept to themselves and even Sly told K.C that he wanted to enjoy his time in the game so he was going to play by the rules and that meant letting the neck suppress his level, like it was supposed to.
The valley opened up in all it's glory and herds of Karnif were seen running in the open fields while humongous rabbits were digging holes to get inside the green mountains. The contrast of seeing small size feline beast and giant ass rodents was amusing to some.
The teams traveling in the same vehicle as Sly did not see any of the beast as a threat. Even the weakest of the bunch was an experienced mercenary with multiple life and death experiences under his/her belt. The only concern they had was the sudden level of suppression the necklaces brought to the game, it made their movements extremely sluggish. It was going to take a while before they got used to the feeling.
The craft descended and as if it had been previously agreed upon all the teams picked a direction and left without even saying goodbye.
The zone was fairly big and the team was ready to see how much experience each kill was to bring them.
Sly and the team pick the east side.
On the way there Max was able to determine that it was an area that was good on Karnifs and rock rabbits alike.
Max got on the Mecha suit and the team followed in a diamond formation with Nova and Sami to the sides, Broxa traveled in the middle ready to cast his shields and Sly brought up the rear ready to help either side.
The first group of Karnifs came into view and they looked like bobcats that had sharp bone-like protrusions sticking out of their joins.
Max pressed a button inside his Mecha suit while gliding towards a small group that were sleeping and a Gatling gun started spinning as a salvo of bullets came out.
Ratatatata…
The Karnifs lifted their heads and some started running away while others started running towards them and were picking up speed. The zig-zag pattern made it difficult for Max to hit them but the moment they jumped to attack a giant shield appeared in front of all the members of the team that made the felines bounce off.
Nova made an Ice Lance and tossed it towards the enemy pushing it back from the impact but the lance couldn’t penetrate the skin. In terms of power, ability users were weaker at the beginning to technology users, however, later on they would grow stronger and instead, some of the weapons effectiveness would stop working on Argonians passing a certain level of prowess.
Sami didn’t lose her chance and used her tri-canon that had started as a single cannon to hit the same Karnif and burn off a chunk of flesh.
RAWR
The Cannon wounded the beast but it was not enough to finish it. The other 6 beasts that were knocked back stood in their 4 legs and started circling their group looking for an opportunity to attack.
Thud…
Before everyone knew it, the wounded beast head rolled on the floor and Sly appeared beside it wielding a double headed Scythe.
Experience Gained +60
The group unconsciously took a look at their experience at the same time and determined that the first kill had given them about 6%.
There were 14 more to go and the day had just started!
- Writer
