Time seemed to slow down for the adventurers.
Or perhaps it had simply sped up for him.
He couldn't tell sometimes, an issue with magic and philosophy sometimes. They just didn't mix.
Or they did, just too well.
Nonetheless, this gave him more time to set up.
From his divine realm a rippling silver sword made its appearance once more.
Grata Minn.
The silver sword hummed, eagerness present in the blade as it readily shifted into Grant's desired weapon.
Separating into a larger and smaller sphere of silver, the silver morphed into a tiny pointed shape as well as a thin long tool, all the while Grant was molding a rock into a sphere-like shape.
The tiny pointed silver gets put down, upon which the ball gets placed while Grant holds his weapon.
He gets into position.
1,2...
"FORE!" He hollered.
Bang
With a simple swing, the ball goes flying, right through one adventurer's head.
The man falters for a moment.
He tumbles, and then he falls.
A silence enters the adventurers for a second, as they look at the first amongst them, face first in a pool of his blood.
Grant hadn't stopped yet though, as he began creating another ball, whistling all the while.
"FORE!" he gleefully calls once more, and another head disappears.
This manages to knock them out of stupor, as some ran, while others fell back into formation.
Those who fell back into formation began gathering around him, earning themselves a chuckle.
The same technique they had planned to use on the minotaur.
Laughable.
The ones on the outside shoot their shot as a rain of arrows come falling down, only for the arrows to be easily deflected by a golden chain lashing out of nowhere.
"Wonderful!" He commented sarcastically, as his blade shifted once more, before taking the shape of a giant orb, with three appropriately finger sized hole at the top, as Grant quickly jumped over the group of people, using the trees as jumping points, before landing outside of the group, getting into position, holding the ball up to his chin.
"I LOVE when pins set themselves up!"
Wham
He swung the ball, as the bowling ball bowled straight through them, clearing out a good ten of them.
He cackled as he fist bumped the air.
"STRIKE!" He exclaimed.
[Actually, that wouldn't be accurate considering-"
"Hush, don't ruin this for me!" he whispered loudly, and began arguing furiously with the air, earning increased fear from the adventurers.
"H-He's insane!" whispered one, as a few more began dispersing, turning tail and fleeing. They wouldn't escape of course.
Grant tutted at that.
"Hey! Bowling pins aren't supposed to run away! That's cheating!"
The ground rumbled, and those who ran found themselves bound by giant vines emerging out of the ground.
"Dammit! He's a druid!" cursed one.
"Quickly! Those with fire aligned weapons and magic to the vines called another."
As they rushed to aid their comrades with fire in an attempt to burn the vines off while the vanguard defense rushed forward to intercept him he had to hum appreciatively at the cooperation amongst the group.
And the fact that they had put themselves in just the right position was also greatly appreciated.
From bowling ball to basketball, Grant brushed past the vanguard with no problem, dodging and weaving, bouncing all the way.
It was against the rules to not dribble after all.
boing!
boing!
boing!
Past them, the ball shifted once more, taking the form of a bowling ball, as he this time threw a trick shot, managing to sweep 9 in one go.
"Nine ringer!" he exclaimed.
All the while Granite just stood there, watching as Grant played.
He'd already taken out the other ten, including the three or four who had tried to flee.
Granite didn't really consider that his credit though, considering they had been bound by vines unable to leave.
That was just taking credit, something Granite was averse to.
He wasn't sure what part of this was nostalgic though, as it just seemed like an exasperating form of playing with prey.
And Grant would agree, but this made him extremely nostalgic of when he screwed with people.
He loved doing that.
Looking around and sighing in disappointment seeing there were no more left, Grant got ready.
Alright, these brats are dead.
'Where did Reginald run off to?'
Reginald was found as he fled through the forest, clearly aiming to head to the outpost.
With a flick of Grant's hand, the golden chain came rattling out, quickly binding the man before he could escape.
Reginald struggled to escape, and upon failing to do so, decided to take it out on someone.
"Let me go! You!" He singled out Granite. "Monster! If you kill me here you will be-"
"-Hush!" whispered Grant as he grabbed Reginald by the mouth. "You ran, leaving all your partners to die. I sincerely doubt you're on to speak. Now,"
Grant pulled out his golf club.
"One last game, hmm?"
Reginald's eyes widened as he struggled harder, staring into the emotionless face of the raven.
Tap tap
"You shouldn't kill him." stated Granite, who had followed him in the chase after Reginald.
The minotaur had kept quiet up to this point, clearly having no reason to protect the attackers. But now...
"It would be better to keep him alive, to find out who was behind this attack?"
Grant cocked his head. "You think someone was behind this?" he asked curiously.
The minotaur nodded. "I think so." he nodded definitively.
Grant nodded. "As do I."
Turning around faster than Granite react, he quickly slits Reginald's throat, without question, and the man died faster than he could think.
Specifically because he then stuck the man's own knife in his forehead.
"Doesn't mean he'll get to live."
Granite's nostrils flared, as he grew quiet for a second, as his hands clenched repeatedly.
"You shouldn't have done that. We needed to know who was behind this trap. This won't be over with just this." He said, clearly trying to be reasonable.
Grant cackled. "We? Granite, child, I already know who was behind this."
Granite paused, as he went over this nugget of knowledge. "Perhaps," he asked as contemplation raced through the minotaur's mind. "When you and that man blacked out, that was a mental attack?"
Grant, made a hand sign. "Bingo" he said. "I already know."
The minotaur rubbed his scalp tiredly. "I know you're strong, but even if you did know, it means nothing if we cannot prove it, and you have just killed our only witness." he explained tiredly, like he was explaining to a child.
Grant corrected the child. "Actually, even if we have a witness, nothing will have been proven. Because the man behind this is not one easily touched."
The minotaur looked unsure. "And who could it be that they cannot be touched? That is a high claim for a small random outpost in the middle of nowhere, to have someone that high up."
He wasn't wrong. There weren't that many people out in this outpost who could be considered that high up to avoid judgement if evidence was brought up. To be that high there was at best a handful of people who could be pinpointed for this crime. In fact, the minotaur already had a guess, but the very thought felt uneasy.
"The paladin Lupin of the church of Isis is the one behind the attack."
Granite tensed up as he heard that, and his suspicions were confirmed.
A man reputed to have brought down multiple wyverns down, and to have even fought a dragon on equal ground, he was believed to be S-class by the adventurer system standards.
Grant was right.
This man couldn't easily be touched.
Even if they were to bring witnesses no one would simply believe a minotaur and a D-rank's words over one of the greatest heroes of the church of Isis, a church known for its purity.
Evidence would fall before the power of reputation. He'd likely counter their claims with his own claims.
"We should dispose of the bodies then." Granite said resolutely.
He wasn't sure what the reason for attacking him was, but he was sure it was nothing good. And bringing the bodies back might rile up more tension between the humans and the nonhumans, which Granite already suspected was the backup plan should they choose to try to bring back people to interrogate.
A monster killing people? The story practically wrote itself.
Grant nodded. "Already done." he noted as he unraveled the chain. The body was already gone, sent to his divine realm to fertilize his trees, as were the rest of the bodies, dragged away by the vines into his realm.
He did use his own sword to cut off the head though, earning the raven-masked man a weird look from the minotaur.
"We cannot attack him now, but we can send a message."
Placing the head, knife still in, on a tee, Grant aimed his club.
Granite looked on incredulously, skeptically, but didn't stop him.
There's no way...
boom!
A piercing sound was made as the head flew, leaving behind a sonic boom as it flew in an upward parabola.
Grant put his hand above his hand as he looked off into the distance.
"And that should be a hole in one."
[That's not how that works]
"Quiet voice in my head, a goal is a goal, and that should fulfill mine."
The paladin paused, stopping what he was doing as he looked towards his window.
He sensed something, just barely managing to dodge before something flew through his window.
Crash!
Before bouncing against the side of the wall and bouncing around a bit before landing in front of the paladin who had just narrowly escaped being killed by head, courtesy of Grant's enchantment of the head.
The head of Reginald stared off into the distance, as the blood bled over the paladin's floor and carpet, staining the clean carpet.
The psychedelics mind frog certainly is... a monster.
Frankly they're low level monsters that seemingly exist in areas with decent concentrations of mana.
Their body strength is that of a feral goblin, maybe a hobgoblin if they're older. But ultimately they're not physically strong.
However, most creatures are inclined to avoid them, including predators.
You can thank their intense effect from being consumed.
Even a small lick can be the equivalent of eating a good bag full of psychedelics. It is one hell of a trip. Even dragons have to admit it's quite fun.
If you actually eat one though, the effect worsens thanks to the intense concentration of mind blast that's delivered, able of putting predators like drakes and wyverns out for weeks at a time, leaving them absolutely exposed.
Not kill, funny enough. The psychedelics never kill, but being left belly up in this world is as good as being dead. It just takes one opportunistic monster and the intended predator has become carrion.
As a result, most monsters avoid mind frogs, even the ones that can eat them, usually being saved as a last resort.
Humans though? Humans love them.
As noted, the psychedelics don't kill, the frog does. And these frogs aren't against familiar contracts, actually being quite willing.
As long as you don't approach with violent intent the frog will make no moves.
So they're easy to catch, highly effective in incapacitating, and are essentially an infinite drug supply.
In the secret parties that rich people who are aware of magic hold far from the average person's eye its not uncommon for giant evolved psychedelic frogs to just be in the middle of the party for someone to take a good lick of and promptly fall into an acid trip.
Yup, they are highly valued on the market, but thankfully common enough in the wild that they're often decently priced on the market, worth the price
And all of their evolutions still produce psychedelic slime that is harmless, but since the frog itself bulks up in power and speed, they do make for decent familiars.
I'd say its a decent first familiar, though if you're not using or selling its psychedelics, then you're wasting money.
-Grant, who had fifteen for his own personal parties
Time seemed to slow down for the adventurers.
Or perhaps it had simply sped up for him.
He couldn't tell sometimes, an issue with magic and philosophy sometimes. They just didn't mix.
Or they did, just too well.
Nonetheless, this gave him more time to set up.
From his divine realm a rippling silver sword made its appearance once more.
Grata Minn.
The silver sword hummed, eagerness present in the blade as it readily shifted into Grant's desired weapon.
Separating into a larger and smaller sphere of silver, the silver morphed into a tiny pointed shape as well as a thin long tool, all the while Grant was molding a rock into a sphere-like shape.
The tiny pointed silver gets put down, upon which the ball gets placed while Grant holds his weapon.
He gets into position.
1,2...
"FORE!" He hollered.
Bang
With a simple swing, the ball goes flying, right through one adventurer's head.
The man falters for a moment.
He tumbles, and then he falls.
A silence enters the adventurers for a second, as they look at the first amongst them, face first in a pool of his blood.
Grant hadn't stopped yet though, as he began creating another ball, whistling all the while.
"FORE!" he gleefully calls once more, and another head disappears.
This manages to knock them out of stupor, as some ran, while others fell back into formation.
Those who fell back into formation began gathering around him, earning themselves a chuckle.
The same technique they had planned to use on the minotaur.
Laughable.
The ones on the outside shoot their shot as a rain of arrows come falling down, only for the arrows to be easily deflected by a golden chain lashing out of nowhere.
"Wonderful!" He commented sarcastically, as his blade shifted once more, before taking the shape of a giant orb, with three appropriately finger sized hole at the top, as Grant quickly jumped over the group of people, using the trees as jumping points, before landing outside of the group, getting into position, holding the ball up to his chin.
"I LOVE when pins set themselves up!"
Wham
He swung the ball, as the bowling ball bowled straight through them, clearing out a good ten of them.
He cackled as he fist bumped the air.
"STRIKE!" He exclaimed.
[Actually, that wouldn't be accurate considering-"
"Hush, don't ruin this for me!" he whispered loudly, and began arguing furiously with the air, earning increased fear from the adventurers.
"H-He's insane!" whispered one, as a few more began dispersing, turning tail and fleeing. They wouldn't escape of course.
Grant tutted at that.
"Hey! Bowling pins aren't supposed to run away! That's cheating!"
The ground rumbled, and those who ran found themselves bound by giant vines emerging out of the ground.
"Dammit! He's a druid!" cursed one.
"Quickly! Those with fire aligned weapons and magic to the vines called another."
As they rushed to aid their comrades with fire in an attempt to burn the vines off while the vanguard defense rushed forward to intercept him he had to hum appreciatively at the cooperation amongst the group.
And the fact that they had put themselves in just the right position was also greatly appreciated.
From bowling ball to basketball, Grant brushed past the vanguard with no problem, dodging and weaving, bouncing all the way.
It was against the rules to not dribble after all.
boing!
boing!
boing!
Past them, the ball shifted once more, taking the form of a bowling ball, as he this time threw a trick shot, managing to sweep 9 in one go.
"Nine ringer!" he exclaimed.
All the while Granite just stood there, watching as Grant played.
He'd already taken out the other ten, including the three or four who had tried to flee.
Granite didn't really consider that his credit though, considering they had been bound by vines unable to leave.
That was just taking credit, something Granite was averse to.
He wasn't sure what part of this was nostalgic though, as it just seemed like an exasperating form of playing with prey.
And Grant would agree, but this made him extremely nostalgic of when he screwed with people.
He loved doing that.
Looking around and sighing in disappointment seeing there were no more left, Grant got ready.
Alright, these brats are dead.
'Where did Reginald run off to?'
Reginald was found as he fled through the forest, clearly aiming to head to the outpost.
With a flick of Grant's hand, the golden chain came rattling out, quickly binding the man before he could escape.
Reginald struggled to escape, and upon failing to do so, decided to take it out on someone.
"Let me go! You!" He singled out Granite. "Monster! If you kill me here you will be-"
"-Hush!" whispered Grant as he grabbed Reginald by the mouth. "You ran, leaving all your partners to die. I sincerely doubt you're on to speak. Now,"
Grant pulled out his golf club.
"One last game, hmm?"
Reginald's eyes widened as he struggled harder, staring into the emotionless face of the raven.
Tap tap
"You shouldn't kill him." stated Granite, who had followed him in the chase after Reginald.
The minotaur had kept quiet up to this point, clearly having no reason to protect the attackers. But now...
"It would be better to keep him alive, to find out who was behind this attack?"
Grant cocked his head. "You think someone was behind this?" he asked curiously.
The minotaur nodded. "I think so." he nodded definitively.
Grant nodded. "As do I."
Turning around faster than Granite react, he quickly slits Reginald's throat, without question, and the man died faster than he could think.
Specifically because he then stuck the man's own knife in his forehead.
"Doesn't mean he'll get to live."
Granite's nostrils flared, as he grew quiet for a second, as his hands clenched repeatedly.
"You shouldn't have done that. We needed to know who was behind this trap. This won't be over with just this." He said, clearly trying to be reasonable.
Grant cackled. "We? Granite, child, I already know who was behind this."
Granite paused, as he went over this nugget of knowledge. "Perhaps," he asked as contemplation raced through the minotaur's mind. "When you and that man blacked out, that was a mental attack?"
Grant, made a hand sign. "Bingo" he said. "I already know."
The minotaur rubbed his scalp tiredly. "I know you're strong, but even if you did know, it means nothing if we cannot prove it, and you have just killed our only witness." he explained tiredly, like he was explaining to a child.
Grant corrected the child. "Actually, even if we have a witness, nothing will have been proven. Because the man behind this is not one easily touched."
The minotaur looked unsure. "And who could it be that they cannot be touched? That is a high claim for a small random outpost in the middle of nowhere, to have someone that high up."
He wasn't wrong. There weren't that many people out in this outpost who could be considered that high up to avoid judgement if evidence was brought up. To be that high there was at best a handful of people who could be pinpointed for this crime. In fact, the minotaur already had a guess, but the very thought felt uneasy.
"The paladin Lupin of the church of Isis is the one behind the attack."
Granite tensed up as he heard that, and his suspicions were confirmed.
A man reputed to have brought down multiple wyverns down, and to have even fought a dragon on equal ground, he was believed to be S-class by the adventurer system standards.
Grant was right.
This man couldn't easily be touched.
Even if they were to bring witnesses no one would simply believe a minotaur and a D-rank's words over one of the greatest heroes of the church of Isis, a church known for its purity.
Evidence would fall before the power of reputation. He'd likely counter their claims with his own claims.
"We should dispose of the bodies then." Granite said resolutely.
He wasn't sure what the reason for attacking him was, but he was sure it was nothing good. And bringing the bodies back might rile up more tension between the humans and the nonhumans, which Granite already suspected was the backup plan should they choose to try to bring back people to interrogate.
A monster killing people? The story practically wrote itself.
Grant nodded. "Already done." he noted as he unraveled the chain. The body was already gone, sent to his divine realm to fertilize his trees, as were the rest of the bodies, dragged away by the vines into his realm.
He did use his own sword to cut off the head though, earning the raven-masked man a weird look from the minotaur.
"We cannot attack him now, but we can send a message."
Placing the head, knife still in, on a tee, Grant aimed his club.
Granite looked on incredulously, skeptically, but didn't stop him.
There's no way...
boom!
A piercing sound was made as the head flew, leaving behind a sonic boom as it flew in an upward parabola.
Grant put his hand above his hand as he looked off into the distance.
"And that should be a hole in one."
[That's not how that works]
"Quiet voice in my head, a goal is a goal, and that should fulfill mine."
The paladin paused, stopping what he was doing as he looked towards his window.
He sensed something, just barely managing to dodge before something flew through his window.
Crash!
Before bouncing against the side of the wall and bouncing around a bit before landing in front of the paladin who had just narrowly escaped being killed by head, courtesy of Grant's enchantment of the head.
The head of Reginald stared off into the distance, as the blood bled over the paladin's floor and carpet, staining the clean carpet.
The psychedelics mind frog certainly is... a monster.
Frankly they're low level monsters that seemingly exist in areas with decent concentrations of mana.
Their body strength is that of a feral goblin, maybe a hobgoblin if they're older. But ultimately they're not physically strong.
However, most creatures are inclined to avoid them, including predators.
You can thank their intense effect from being consumed.
Even a small lick can be the equivalent of eating a good bag full of psychedelics. It is one hell of a trip. Even dragons have to admit it's quite fun.
If you actually eat one though, the effect worsens thanks to the intense concentration of mind blast that's delivered, able of putting predators like drakes and wyverns out for weeks at a time, leaving them absolutely exposed.
Not kill, funny enough. The psychedelics never kill, but being left belly up in this world is as good as being dead. It just takes one opportunistic monster and the intended predator has become carrion.
As a result, most monsters avoid mind frogs, even the ones that can eat them, usually being saved as a last resort.
Humans though? Humans love them.
As noted, the psychedelics don't kill, the frog does. And these frogs aren't against familiar contracts, actually being quite willing.
As long as you don't approach with violent intent the frog will make no moves.
So they're easy to catch, highly effective in incapacitating, and are essentially an infinite drug supply.
In the secret parties that rich people who are aware of magic hold far from the average person's eye its not uncommon for giant evolved psychedelic frogs to just be in the middle of the party for someone to take a good lick of and promptly fall into an acid trip.
Yup, they are highly valued on the market, but thankfully common enough in the wild that they're often decently priced on the market, worth the price
And all of their evolutions still produce psychedelic slime that is harmless, but since the frog itself bulks up in power and speed, they do make for decent familiars.
I'd say its a decent first familiar, though if you're not using or selling its psychedelics, then you're wasting money.
-Grant, who had fifteen for his own personal parties
