Liam and Cindy walked down the dirt path they had chosen. They took a few minutes at the front of the sea of trees to see which paths had more people walking in and out from. According to Cindy by doing this they would be able to determine which of the several paths would have more monsters within them. Many people coming in and out of a path meant more monsters were killed and less to fight.
After Cindy had watched and studied each path, she determined the one on the far right was the best one they could get. She had explained that after observing, majority of the people were heading to and from the left side.
The path they were walking down had trees lining down both sides of the dirt road. The trees weren’t cluttered but spaced out with enough room for two to four people to be able to stand side by side. Bushes and other plant like obstacles were scattered about, but there wasn’t enough to really stop them from entering the forest if they wanted to.
There was space between branches and leaves hanging above them to allow the light from the sun hanging above them to brighten up the area around them. Liam noticed dimmed Yooperlite stones on wooden stands every twenty yards. This made Liam believe that maybe it wasn’t always this bright in the dungeon.
As they walked down the path, Liam was curious about how this Free Roam dungeon was so different from the other dungeons. He didn’t really see much of a difference, but was still curious.
“There are a few differences besides the obvious ones,” Cindy started to explain. “Some of the obvious ones being there aren’t a floors to conquer, no floor boss, and you can run into other parties. Unlike Tower Dungeons, there isn’t a set end goal. You can fight and kill whatever fits the requirements. You don’t need to fight the same monsters each time.”
“You can fight different monsters each time you’re in one of these types of dungeons so you can mix it up? Is that what you’re saying?” Liam asked.
“To simplify it yes,” Cindy stated with a nod. “Also since there is no set determined Dungeon Boss, the Elite monsters roaming about are kind of considered the Dungeon Bosses. Do not mix them up with the Elite Floor Monsters from the Tower Dungeons though. We call them Elite Monsters because that’s what they are. They are Elite versions of the regular monsters here in this dungeon. They are as strong as a Floor and Dungeon Boss monster, so keep that in mind when going up against one.”
Liam nodded, understanding what she was saying.
“Another difference is there are no set paths to finding monsters. Monsters will roam about and don’t stay in set areas,” Cindy continued as she looked around.
“What do you mean there are no set paths? If that is true then why is there dirt pathways into here?” Liam asked.
“The dirt pathways are there to help us enter deeper into this forest. However, they aren’t the only ways to get in,” Cindy stated. “While there are monsters that appear on these paths and sometimes a dirt path can lead to an area where an Elite Monster is, that isn’t the case for all monsters. The monsters and Elite Monsters you come across on these paths are usually the weakest, but like I said, the monsters roam about. They aren’t confined to a single area.”
“Are you saying that the stronger monsters are off the path and hidden in the forest?” Liam asked. The question reminded him of when he and his old teammates took on the second floor of the Black Tutorial Dungeon.
He remembered how he saw something in the fog and how it led him to a Withered Treant and all the trouble that came after that. He narrowed his eyes at Cindy and thought about if she was telling the truth or not.
Cindy nodded. “In the forest, in a river, in a random cave. They can be anywhere in this dungeon. The paths you saw that led us in here are just that. Paths that lead us. This entire forest and then some is the dungeon. Sure, there are barriers that prevent us from going past a certain point.” She raised her hand up to stop Liam. “Before you ask, no I don’t know how or why there is one.”
Liam took in what she said. It didn’t seem like she was lying to him, but after that incident on the second floor he was a bit wary. Thinking about that floor brought up something he really didn’t think about before as he was starting to learn more about dungeons and monsters.
In the last dungeon Cindy had told him about the different types of Boss monsters. He had also learned that the Tutorial Dungeon had the different types of Boss monsters. However, now that he was thinking, that wasn’t the only thing that dungeon was teaching.
The Tutorial Dungeons were essentially a Jumbled Dungeon in the form of a Tower Dungeon. Not counting the first floor, the second floor was an example of a Free Roam dungeon. The fourth floor was a Puzzle Type Dungeon, and the sixth floor was a Raid type Dungeon. The only types that it didn’t give as an example were Wave and Captured. Sure, he could argue that the second floor was a mixture of both a Free Roam and Wave type dungeon, but that was stretching it.
Liam was brought out of his thoughts as Cindy suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at him. He noticed the serious expression on her face as he stared at her.
“There is also one more important thing you need to be wary of in a Free Roam Dungeon,” Cindy started.
Liam gave her his full attention as he waited to hear what she had to say.
“This also ties into dungeons that do not have party size restrictions,” Cindy continued. “What you need to remember when going into these types of dungeons is there are other parties in here.”
Confused, Liam asked, “What does that mean?”
“There are unspoken rules when it comes to dungeons that have no party size restrictions,” Cindy said. “One is when you come across a party fighting monsters, you do not fight the monsters they are up against unless the party that is already locked in battle requests for help. That way the party that was already fighting the monsters don’t accuse you of kill steals and that you were trying to take any loot they were after.”
Liam nodded. That sounded like a logical reason. It was a rule, albeit a very loose rule, in video games. It would make sense it would be a rule here.
“The other is…,” Cindy continued with a very dark expression. “Do not trust any random parties unless they prove they do not have any malicious intent.”
Liam’s brows scrunched at that. He understood what she was saying. She didn’t need to spell it out for him since he had experienced it on the sixth floor of the Black Tutorial Dungeon. People will kill you in the dungeon if they wanted to try to.
Liam didn’t realize he grew a scowl until he noticed the look on Cindy’s face.
“I’m not sure if you have come across someone who has tried, but I’ll take that scowl as you know exactly what I’m talking about,” Cindy stated.
Liam nodded without saying anything.
“Good, then I don’t need to explain that if someone is killed by another then no one would bat an eye unless there are party members still alive to bring it to the authorities,” Cindy said before looking around.
Liam looked around, thinking that the reason why she had brought it up was because there might have been people with some malicious intent around.
As he looked around, Liam focused his hearing as best as he could while peering pass the outline of the trees. Liam pulled out his crude bow and grabbed an arrow with his free hand. As he scouted the area, he placed the arrow in a ready position, in case he needed to fire it.
At first he didn’t hear anything. No noise of low whispers, crunching boots, or anything. He couldn’t see any shadows or silhouettes hiding behind the trees or ducked behind any bushes.
After a few seconds had passed by without anything making itself known, Liam started to relax. However, the moment he did a couple of bushes to the right behind them started to shake and three forms rushed out of them yelling out a high pitch Warcry.
Liam spun around and pulled the arrow back against the bow string. He aimed for the nearest creature that was rushing straight at him and got a good look at it.
All three of these creatures stood about four feet tall and on two legs wearing nothing but a fur loincloth around their waist. They had dirty green skin and long sharp toenails and finger nails. They were bald and had black eyes. Their noses were crooked and with open mouths Liam was able to see razor sharp teeth. In each of their hands were small chipped wooden clubs.
He assessed the one he was aiming at.
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 250/250 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 5.”
Liam released the arrow and watched it fly. The arrow flew fast directly at the creature’s face. He was about to smile until he saw the arrow suddenly move to the right, missing the Goblin’s head by a few inches.
A familiar yet annoying notification appeared, almost like it was mocking him.
“Missed.”
“Thanks captain obvious,” Liam muttered in annoyance as he readied another arrow. He took in a deep breath, aimed once more, and released it.
Since the Feeble Forest Goblin hadn’t stopped running, it was almost within point blank range. The arrow, not having much room for error, sunk right into the goblin’s forehead.
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 192/250 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 5.”
The arrow had caused some damage, but thanks to the Debuff that was still afflicting Liam coupled with the low level he had in the Weapon Skill – Bow, the amount wasn’t as much as it would have been normally.
Liam jumped out of the way as the Feeble Forest Goblin with the arrow in its head swung its crude club vertically down. He quickly switched the bow for his crude Bone Blade, planted his feet down, took a step forward and swung his sword down in a forty-five degree angle.
After slicing down, Liam kicked the creature’s stomach as it turn to face him, making it fly backwards into one of the other Feeble Forest Goblins that was rushing towards Liam. Both creatures stumbled and fell down.
Liam turned to find the other goblin was rushing at Cindy who was waiting patiently for it to come. Liam turned his attention back to the two who were arguing with each other as they tried to get back up. As Liam stared at the two, he decided on what he wanted to do.
Liam channeled his Gravity Mana, allowing it to coat up to his mid forearms. After he channeled the mana he redirected it and chanted, “O Gravity, powerful and dangerous. Bring the Force down upon my enemy slowing its movements. Gravitational Force Increase!”
Liam watched as the familiar color of gravity washed over the two Feeble Forest Goblins. He noticed their shoulder shag as their arms drooped to the ground. Their makeshift weapons fell to the ground, too heavy for them to pick up.
Without waiting, Liam swung his sword down and then back up. He then swung it left and then right. He kept swinging and swinging, fully knowing his form was horrible. He kept going switching from one to the other until finally he received the notifications he was waiting for.
“You have killed Feeble Forest Goblin.”
“You have killed Feeble Forest Goblin.”
“Congratulations! Weapon Skill – Bow has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 26%!”
“Congratulations! Weapon Skill – Sword has reached level 4! Progression to level 5: 2%!”
Liam panted a bit as he stared at the notifications. He noticed his stamina had dropped down to fifty points which explained why he felt so tired.
“I know I said it looked like you weren’t using all that you had…,” Cindy started to say, bringing Liam’s attention onto her. The Feeble Forest Goblin that had ran straight for her now laid face first into the ground, dead. “But please tell me your sword and Bow skills weren’t apart of the fighting style you have.”
“That obvious huh?” Liam asked as he took in a gulp of air. He then pulled out a Weak Orange Stamina Potion and drank it.
“Obvious?” Cindy let out a short chuckle. “You looked like a child waving around a stick pretending to be a swordsman. And your accuracy with the bow…let’s not even start there.”
After Liam finished drinking his potion, he placed the empty vial into his inventory and said with a slight chuckle of his own, “Yeah, I guess those two Weapon skills are pathetic compared to my dagger weapon skill.”
Cindy raised a brow as she stared at him. “If your dagger skills are better than those two then why are you using those weapons?”
“I wanted to try my hand with those weapons. You know try to expand on my choices of weaponry,” Liam replied as he felt the potion ease his pounding heart and relax his tired arms.
Cindy gave him an approving nod before saying, “Commendable. It’s good to widen your weapon skills so you have back up weapons for different situations, but stupid to do it while it is still so low inside a dungeon.”
Liam stared at her.
“If you want to up your weapon skills while in a dungeon then I’d suggest you do it once they are at level ten or higher,” Cindy started. “If you try to do it while under level ten then you’ll just leave yourself wide open and could die. Especially if you come across an enemy that’s smarter, faster, and stronger.”
Liam sighed. He knew she was right. He was no longer in the Tutorial Area. This was the real world now. These dungeons didn’t have any sort of protection like those ones did. Not that the dungeon he was in had any like the others.
“I will give you one thing though,” Cindy stated. “It was smart to use your Gravity Magic to hinder their movements. That is what helped you take down those Goblins without any worries. For now though…just use your daggers. I can help train you in bows and swords when we’re not in the dungeon if you’d like. I’m no mentor, but I can at least help you get better form in them and help you raise their levels to ten.”
Liam gave her a smile. “I’d appreciate that.”
Cindy nodded. “Good, now loot their bodies while I try to search for more monsters for you to fight.”
“Okay,” Liam said as he looted the two Feeble Forest Goblins by his feet.
“You have received Bone x 2!”
“You have received Crude Rabbit Pelt Loincloth. Item Rarity – Common. Item Quality – Crude. +5 defense.”
“You have received Bone x 3!”
Liam frowned as he looked at the second item he had received.
Cindy looked back at him and noticed the frown on his face and asked, “What did you get?”
Liam looked down at the two creatures before looking at her and saying, “I got one of their loincloths.”
Cindy let out a long laugh.
“What?” Liam questioned. “What’s so funny?”
“Everyone makes that face when they receive that from these guys,” Cindy replied after getting her laughter under control. “You can think of it as a rite of passage. Also, I highly advise you don’t touch it with your bare hands when you pull it out. I highly advise even more that you hold your breath too. The smell that reeks off their cloths is so bad you’d wish it was only the impurities from the smithy.”
Liam blanched at the thought. “Are you serious?”
“Deadly,” Cindy said with a straight face.
Liam felt a shiver wash over him as he thought about it.
Cindy forced herself not to laugh as she watched Liam. “Alright, enough about that. I found a couple more enemies for us to kill.”
“Where at?” Liam asked as he looked at her.
Cindy pointed to her right into the trees off the dirt path. “Not too far, about North to Northwest. Looks like a couple of Swift Foot Horned Rabbits.”
“What kind of monsters are they?” Liam asked as he looked in the direction she had pointed.
“They’re small furry little rabbits that have large back feet to help with their jumping. They also have a small horn on their heads they like to use when ramming into their targets,” Cindy explained. “The lower leveled ones aren’t very accurate when they jump around trying to spear their heads so you shouldn’t have any issues dodging. Just know that if they hit you it will hurt like a bitch.”
Liam shook his head. “Anything we need from them?”
Cindy thought about it. After thinking she nodded and answered, “Yeah, their horns can be grounded and used in Medicinal Creation items just like their bones. The fur can be used for multiple items and the meat is good if you find a decent enough chef. Other than that, nothing that I can think of.”
Liam nodded as he listened. “Are they small enough to put away in my inventory or do I need to skin and butcher them while we’re here?”
“Probably best to stash them and work on them later. They are small enough to fit inside the inventory, but don’t try to stash too many. Your inventory has a limit to what you can put in it and they do not stack,” Cindy explained.
“Good to know,” Liam said. “Looks like Rabbit season has started.”
Liam and Cindy walked down the dirt path they had chosen. They took a few minutes at the front of the sea of trees to see which paths had more people walking in and out from. According to Cindy by doing this they would be able to determine which of the several paths would have more monsters within them. Many people coming in and out of a path meant more monsters were killed and less to fight.
After Cindy had watched and studied each path, she determined the one on the far right was the best one they could get. She had explained that after observing, majority of the people were heading to and from the left side.
The path they were walking down had trees lining down both sides of the dirt road. The trees weren’t cluttered but spaced out with enough room for two to four people to be able to stand side by side. Bushes and other plant like obstacles were scattered about, but there wasn’t enough to really stop them from entering the forest if they wanted to.
There was space between branches and leaves hanging above them to allow the light from the sun hanging above them to brighten up the area around them. Liam noticed dimmed Yooperlite stones on wooden stands every twenty yards. This made Liam believe that maybe it wasn’t always this bright in the dungeon.
As they walked down the path, Liam was curious about how this Free Roam dungeon was so different from the other dungeons. He didn’t really see much of a difference, but was still curious.
“There are a few differences besides the obvious ones,” Cindy started to explain. “Some of the obvious ones being there aren’t a floors to conquer, no floor boss, and you can run into other parties. Unlike Tower Dungeons, there isn’t a set end goal. You can fight and kill whatever fits the requirements. You don’t need to fight the same monsters each time.”
“You can fight different monsters each time you’re in one of these types of dungeons so you can mix it up? Is that what you’re saying?” Liam asked.
“To simplify it yes,” Cindy stated with a nod. “Also since there is no set determined Dungeon Boss, the Elite monsters roaming about are kind of considered the Dungeon Bosses. Do not mix them up with the Elite Floor Monsters from the Tower Dungeons though. We call them Elite Monsters because that’s what they are. They are Elite versions of the regular monsters here in this dungeon. They are as strong as a Floor and Dungeon Boss monster, so keep that in mind when going up against one.”
Liam nodded, understanding what she was saying.
“Another difference is there are no set paths to finding monsters. Monsters will roam about and don’t stay in set areas,” Cindy continued as she looked around.
“What do you mean there are no set paths? If that is true then why is there dirt pathways into here?” Liam asked.
“The dirt pathways are there to help us enter deeper into this forest. However, they aren’t the only ways to get in,” Cindy stated. “While there are monsters that appear on these paths and sometimes a dirt path can lead to an area where an Elite Monster is, that isn’t the case for all monsters. The monsters and Elite Monsters you come across on these paths are usually the weakest, but like I said, the monsters roam about. They aren’t confined to a single area.”
“Are you saying that the stronger monsters are off the path and hidden in the forest?” Liam asked. The question reminded him of when he and his old teammates took on the second floor of the Black Tutorial Dungeon.
He remembered how he saw something in the fog and how it led him to a Withered Treant and all the trouble that came after that. He narrowed his eyes at Cindy and thought about if she was telling the truth or not.
Cindy nodded. “In the forest, in a river, in a random cave. They can be anywhere in this dungeon. The paths you saw that led us in here are just that. Paths that lead us. This entire forest and then some is the dungeon. Sure, there are barriers that prevent us from going past a certain point.” She raised her hand up to stop Liam. “Before you ask, no I don’t know how or why there is one.”
Liam took in what she said. It didn’t seem like she was lying to him, but after that incident on the second floor he was a bit wary. Thinking about that floor brought up something he really didn’t think about before as he was starting to learn more about dungeons and monsters.
In the last dungeon Cindy had told him about the different types of Boss monsters. He had also learned that the Tutorial Dungeon had the different types of Boss monsters. However, now that he was thinking, that wasn’t the only thing that dungeon was teaching.
The Tutorial Dungeons were essentially a Jumbled Dungeon in the form of a Tower Dungeon. Not counting the first floor, the second floor was an example of a Free Roam dungeon. The fourth floor was a Puzzle Type Dungeon, and the sixth floor was a Raid type Dungeon. The only types that it didn’t give as an example were Wave and Captured. Sure, he could argue that the second floor was a mixture of both a Free Roam and Wave type dungeon, but that was stretching it.
Liam was brought out of his thoughts as Cindy suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at him. He noticed the serious expression on her face as he stared at her.
“There is also one more important thing you need to be wary of in a Free Roam Dungeon,” Cindy started.
Liam gave her his full attention as he waited to hear what she had to say.
“This also ties into dungeons that do not have party size restrictions,” Cindy continued. “What you need to remember when going into these types of dungeons is there are other parties in here.”
Confused, Liam asked, “What does that mean?”
“There are unspoken rules when it comes to dungeons that have no party size restrictions,” Cindy said. “One is when you come across a party fighting monsters, you do not fight the monsters they are up against unless the party that is already locked in battle requests for help. That way the party that was already fighting the monsters don’t accuse you of kill steals and that you were trying to take any loot they were after.”
Liam nodded. That sounded like a logical reason. It was a rule, albeit a very loose rule, in video games. It would make sense it would be a rule here.
“The other is…,” Cindy continued with a very dark expression. “Do not trust any random parties unless they prove they do not have any malicious intent.”
Liam’s brows scrunched at that. He understood what she was saying. She didn’t need to spell it out for him since he had experienced it on the sixth floor of the Black Tutorial Dungeon. People will kill you in the dungeon if they wanted to try to.
Liam didn’t realize he grew a scowl until he noticed the look on Cindy’s face.
“I’m not sure if you have come across someone who has tried, but I’ll take that scowl as you know exactly what I’m talking about,” Cindy stated.
Liam nodded without saying anything.
“Good, then I don’t need to explain that if someone is killed by another then no one would bat an eye unless there are party members still alive to bring it to the authorities,” Cindy said before looking around.
Liam looked around, thinking that the reason why she had brought it up was because there might have been people with some malicious intent around.
As he looked around, Liam focused his hearing as best as he could while peering pass the outline of the trees. Liam pulled out his crude bow and grabbed an arrow with his free hand. As he scouted the area, he placed the arrow in a ready position, in case he needed to fire it.
At first he didn’t hear anything. No noise of low whispers, crunching boots, or anything. He couldn’t see any shadows or silhouettes hiding behind the trees or ducked behind any bushes.
After a few seconds had passed by without anything making itself known, Liam started to relax. However, the moment he did a couple of bushes to the right behind them started to shake and three forms rushed out of them yelling out a high pitch Warcry.
Liam spun around and pulled the arrow back against the bow string. He aimed for the nearest creature that was rushing straight at him and got a good look at it.
All three of these creatures stood about four feet tall and on two legs wearing nothing but a fur loincloth around their waist. They had dirty green skin and long sharp toenails and finger nails. They were bald and had black eyes. Their noses were crooked and with open mouths Liam was able to see razor sharp teeth. In each of their hands were small chipped wooden clubs.
He assessed the one he was aiming at.
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 250/250 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 5.”
Liam released the arrow and watched it fly. The arrow flew fast directly at the creature’s face. He was about to smile until he saw the arrow suddenly move to the right, missing the Goblin’s head by a few inches.
A familiar yet annoying notification appeared, almost like it was mocking him.
“Missed.”
“Thanks captain obvious,” Liam muttered in annoyance as he readied another arrow. He took in a deep breath, aimed once more, and released it.
Since the Feeble Forest Goblin hadn’t stopped running, it was almost within point blank range. The arrow, not having much room for error, sunk right into the goblin’s forehead.
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 192/250 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 5.”
The arrow had caused some damage, but thanks to the Debuff that was still afflicting Liam coupled with the low level he had in the Weapon Skill – Bow, the amount wasn’t as much as it would have been normally.
Liam jumped out of the way as the Feeble Forest Goblin with the arrow in its head swung its crude club vertically down. He quickly switched the bow for his crude Bone Blade, planted his feet down, took a step forward and swung his sword down in a forty-five degree angle.
After slicing down, Liam kicked the creature’s stomach as it turn to face him, making it fly backwards into one of the other Feeble Forest Goblins that was rushing towards Liam. Both creatures stumbled and fell down.
Liam turned to find the other goblin was rushing at Cindy who was waiting patiently for it to come. Liam turned his attention back to the two who were arguing with each other as they tried to get back up. As Liam stared at the two, he decided on what he wanted to do.
Liam channeled his Gravity Mana, allowing it to coat up to his mid forearms. After he channeled the mana he redirected it and chanted, “O Gravity, powerful and dangerous. Bring the Force down upon my enemy slowing its movements. Gravitational Force Increase!”
Liam watched as the familiar color of gravity washed over the two Feeble Forest Goblins. He noticed their shoulder shag as their arms drooped to the ground. Their makeshift weapons fell to the ground, too heavy for them to pick up.
Without waiting, Liam swung his sword down and then back up. He then swung it left and then right. He kept swinging and swinging, fully knowing his form was horrible. He kept going switching from one to the other until finally he received the notifications he was waiting for.
“You have killed Feeble Forest Goblin.”
“You have killed Feeble Forest Goblin.”
“Congratulations! Weapon Skill – Bow has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 26%!”
“Congratulations! Weapon Skill – Sword has reached level 4! Progression to level 5: 2%!”
Liam panted a bit as he stared at the notifications. He noticed his stamina had dropped down to fifty points which explained why he felt so tired.
“I know I said it looked like you weren’t using all that you had…,” Cindy started to say, bringing Liam’s attention onto her. The Feeble Forest Goblin that had ran straight for her now laid face first into the ground, dead. “But please tell me your sword and Bow skills weren’t apart of the fighting style you have.”
“That obvious huh?” Liam asked as he took in a gulp of air. He then pulled out a Weak Orange Stamina Potion and drank it.
“Obvious?” Cindy let out a short chuckle. “You looked like a child waving around a stick pretending to be a swordsman. And your accuracy with the bow…let’s not even start there.”
After Liam finished drinking his potion, he placed the empty vial into his inventory and said with a slight chuckle of his own, “Yeah, I guess those two Weapon skills are pathetic compared to my dagger weapon skill.”
Cindy raised a brow as she stared at him. “If your dagger skills are better than those two then why are you using those weapons?”
“I wanted to try my hand with those weapons. You know try to expand on my choices of weaponry,” Liam replied as he felt the potion ease his pounding heart and relax his tired arms.
Cindy gave him an approving nod before saying, “Commendable. It’s good to widen your weapon skills so you have back up weapons for different situations, but stupid to do it while it is still so low inside a dungeon.”
Liam stared at her.
“If you want to up your weapon skills while in a dungeon then I’d suggest you do it once they are at level ten or higher,” Cindy started. “If you try to do it while under level ten then you’ll just leave yourself wide open and could die. Especially if you come across an enemy that’s smarter, faster, and stronger.”
Liam sighed. He knew she was right. He was no longer in the Tutorial Area. This was the real world now. These dungeons didn’t have any sort of protection like those ones did. Not that the dungeon he was in had any like the others.
“I will give you one thing though,” Cindy stated. “It was smart to use your Gravity Magic to hinder their movements. That is what helped you take down those Goblins without any worries. For now though…just use your daggers. I can help train you in bows and swords when we’re not in the dungeon if you’d like. I’m no mentor, but I can at least help you get better form in them and help you raise their levels to ten.”
Liam gave her a smile. “I’d appreciate that.”
Cindy nodded. “Good, now loot their bodies while I try to search for more monsters for you to fight.”
“Okay,” Liam said as he looted the two Feeble Forest Goblins by his feet.
“You have received Bone x 2!”
“You have received Crude Rabbit Pelt Loincloth. Item Rarity – Common. Item Quality – Crude. +5 defense.”
“You have received Bone x 3!”
Liam frowned as he looked at the second item he had received.
Cindy looked back at him and noticed the frown on his face and asked, “What did you get?”
Liam looked down at the two creatures before looking at her and saying, “I got one of their loincloths.”
Cindy let out a long laugh.
“What?” Liam questioned. “What’s so funny?”
“Everyone makes that face when they receive that from these guys,” Cindy replied after getting her laughter under control. “You can think of it as a rite of passage. Also, I highly advise you don’t touch it with your bare hands when you pull it out. I highly advise even more that you hold your breath too. The smell that reeks off their cloths is so bad you’d wish it was only the impurities from the smithy.”
Liam blanched at the thought. “Are you serious?”
“Deadly,” Cindy said with a straight face.
Liam felt a shiver wash over him as he thought about it.
Cindy forced herself not to laugh as she watched Liam. “Alright, enough about that. I found a couple more enemies for us to kill.”
“Where at?” Liam asked as he looked at her.
Cindy pointed to her right into the trees off the dirt path. “Not too far, about North to Northwest. Looks like a couple of Swift Foot Horned Rabbits.”
“What kind of monsters are they?” Liam asked as he looked in the direction she had pointed.
“They’re small furry little rabbits that have large back feet to help with their jumping. They also have a small horn on their heads they like to use when ramming into their targets,” Cindy explained. “The lower leveled ones aren’t very accurate when they jump around trying to spear their heads so you shouldn’t have any issues dodging. Just know that if they hit you it will hurt like a bitch.”
Liam shook his head. “Anything we need from them?”
Cindy thought about it. After thinking she nodded and answered, “Yeah, their horns can be grounded and used in Medicinal Creation items just like their bones. The fur can be used for multiple items and the meat is good if you find a decent enough chef. Other than that, nothing that I can think of.”
Liam nodded as he listened. “Are they small enough to put away in my inventory or do I need to skin and butcher them while we’re here?”
“Probably best to stash them and work on them later. They are small enough to fit inside the inventory, but don’t try to stash too many. Your inventory has a limit to what you can put in it and they do not stack,” Cindy explained.
“Good to know,” Liam said. “Looks like Rabbit season has started.”
