Cindy wasn’t lying about the Swift Foot Horned Rabbits when she said the creature’s accuracy when trying to spear their horns into people was bad. She also wasn’t lying about the fact their horns would hurt if they did hit you. On all fours the creatures were about two and a half feet tall maybe less. Liam couldn’t get an accurate measurement since the creatures wouldn’t stop moving.
The two Swift Foot Horned Rabbits Cindy was able to find were low leveled and were horrible at trying to jump right at him from a certain distance. Liam didn’t need to move to be able to dodge some of their strikes, however, the couple of times Liam was within point blank of their striking zone was another story.
Their horns had knocked the wind out of him a couple of times when their horns struck against his chest, knocking his health down fifteen points with each strike. Luckily for him, their horns weren’t sharp enough to pierce through his armor. It just felt like being hit on bare skin really hard with a full hacky sack being thrown super-fast.
After five minutes of being struck and striking back, learning their movements, and planning his next steps, Liam caught a break and lured them into headbutting into a tree where their horns had implanted into. After he got them to do that, he wasted no time in killing them.
“That was…an interesting way to take care of them,” Cindy stated as she watched Liam try to pull the creatures off of the tree they were stuck to.
“Was it that bad?” Liam questioned after he finally got the second one free.
“No. Using the terrain to your advantage is a good call,” Cindy stated. “Its just…I have never heard anyone get so frustrated when fighting these creatures that they resort to curses and taunts.” Cindy let out a snicker. “The fact that you yelled out that you were going to kill them and use their feet as lucky charms…I just have never heard anyone say that before.”
Liam’s face flushed in embarrassment as he looted the creatures.
“You have received 10 Copper Coins!
“You have received 9 Copper Coins!”
You get coins from these creatures instead of anything else? Liam thought as he looked confused at his notifications. He then looked at Cindy and said, “I was just venting out my frustrations after getting hit by them so many times. You weren’t joking about it hurting. Also, why do they drop coins? The Feeble Forest Goblins didn’t drop coins.”
Cindy shook her head while giving a short chuckle at the first thing Liam said. After reigning in her laughter she answered, “The loot you get from creatures whether they are beast or humanoid is randomized. Again, I don’t know why that is, but it is what it is.”
“That’s not helpful at all,” Liam muttered as he placed the two rabbits in his inventory.
“Oh, don’t I know it,” Cindy agreed before looking around.
Liam suddenly felt the air around them start to shift. He was about to ask what was going on until he saw the concentrated look on Cindy’s face. He activated Mana Sight and saw a whitish green start to coat her arms. As he watched this he noticed something else start to mix with the color of Air mana. The whitish green had turned into a silverish-green.
What is that? Liam thought to himself as he watched the color run up her arms to her shoulders.
After the mana had finished being channeled, Cindy closed her eyes and quietly muttered to herself in a chant, “Sound all around, search and return. Bring back the information I so desire. Locate any and all nearby creatures. Echolocation.”
Liam’s eyes widened. This was a Sound Magic spell? So that Silverish Green is Sound Mana? Why didn’t I notice this earlier? Was it because I was too focused on something?
Before Liam could continue thinking, Cindy opened her eyes and looked at Liam. “Looks like there’s a mixture of Feeble Forest Goblins and Swift Foot Horned Rabbits in that direction.”
Liam watched as she pointed a finger towards the west of their location.
“It looks like they are fighting each other in a small clearing,” Cindy stated before adding, “I think there might be a cave there, but I don’t know if there are any monsters within it since the inside goes farther than my spell’s radius. Do you want to take them on?”
“Hm,” Liam started as he thought about it.
He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to fight those creatures without any information about that cave. From what he was told by Cindy, monsters could be lurking within the cave since they don’t have a set area they stay in. However, if there were any monsters then they should have heard the fighting between the Feeble Forest Goblins and the Swift Foot Horned Rabbits.
If no monsters have come out to their fighting then it could mean that the cave belonged to one of the two types of monsters and they are fighting for territory. Also, if there weren’t any monsters coming out then maybe that’s all there was there. However, there also might be some variables he wasn’t aware of yet. After all, this type of dungeon was still new to him.
He looked back at Cindy and asked, “How many of each are fighting?”
“Three of each,” Cindy stated.
“Hm. If that is the case then let’s go check it out and see how the fight is progressing,” Liam suggested. “I don’t want to jump in if both sides are at full health and they decide that we are worth them teaming up to take us down.”
Cindy nodded, “Good plan. Let’s go.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liam and Cindy stood behind a tree each, peaking their heads out to get a good look into the small clearing before them. The area wasn’t big, but it could fit at least twenty people within it. The grassy dirt area where the edge of the clearing was sloped downwards at a forty-five degree angle until it reached the bottom which wasn’t that far down. A small river trickled down into it and towards the cave that sat on the other side of where Liam and Cindy were. A few bushes were planted around in the clearing, but no trees grew within it.
Inside this clearing, three Feeble Forest Goblins fought with three Swift Foot Horned Rabbits. The Goblins grunted and yelled at the rabbits as they splashed around trying to chase after them. The Swift Foot Horned Rabbits for their part were bouncing around and using their horns to strike at their foes.
Liam assessed each creature to see where their health was at.
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 72/275 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 6.”
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 80/275 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 6.”
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 54/250 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 5.”
“Swift Foot Horned Rabbit. 81/230 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 5.”
“Swift Foot Horned Rabbit. 97/210 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 4.”
“Swift Foot Horned Rabbit. 72/210 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 4.”
As Liam took in each of their health he noticed how low they were. He guessed they had to have been fighting for a while since their health was so low.
He looked at Cindy and guessed she had looked at their health as well since she asked as quietly as she could, “What do you think? Since they are so low we can take them on, but it might be six on two if we went in. Want to wait till a couple get killed and finish the rest?”
Liam thought about it as he looked back at the creatures. It would be smart for them to wait till a couple had died, but he wasn’t sure if they would be able to collect the loot on their bodies nor be able to collect the rabbits’ bodies for harvesting if they died to the goblins’ hands instead of theirs.
As he watched he noticed the goblins had turned and moved a bit closer to where they were hiding as the rabbits tried to spear head them and missed. Liam, instinctively moved behind the tree he was hiding behind so they wouldn’t notice him. As he did he ended up staring at the tree.
As he stared at the tree something popped up in his vison that hadn’t popped up before.
“Would you like to activate skill Lumber Jack efficiency on Thick Forest Tree? Information provided on target: Perfect condition. Time to chop down – 5 to 7 minutes. Activate? Yes No?”
Confused, Liam placed a hand on the tree and thought about why it had appeared. As he rummaged through his brain for an explanation a thought appeared. This was a skill he had received when he opened his Focus Point Gathering Craft in the Field of the Craft.
This skill was tied to the Lumber Jack Gathering Craft. He hadn’t worked on this craft yet which is why he was so confused about it. However, now it gave him an idea.
He looked at the tree Cindy was behind and waited for the notification to appear.
“Would you like to activate skill Lumber Jack Efficiency on Thick Forest Tree? Information provided on target: Near Perfect condition. Time to chop down – 4 to 6 minutes. Activate? Yes No?”
Liam looked at the tree to his left and stared at it.
“Would you like to activate skill Lumber Jack Efficiency on Normal Forest Tree? Information provided on target: Okay condition. Time to chop down – 3 to 5 minutes. Activate? Yes No?”
He then quietly moved over to Cindy who was staring at him with confusion. “What’s wrong?”
Liam held a finger up to ask for a moment as he looked at the tree nearest to Cindy’s right.
“Would you like to activate skill Lumber Jack Efficiency on Thick Forest Tree? Information provided on target: Poor condition. Time to chop down – 45 seconds to 1 minute and 30 seconds. Activate? Yes No?”
That one will do. Liam thought as a plan started to formulate in his mind.
In order for this plan to work he would need two things. One would be for them to gather in one spot. The other would be for them to be stuck in that spot. He didn’t need to think hard about how to do both because he had just the spell for the task.
Liam channeled as much Gravity Mana as he quickly could. He knew he didn’t need a lot of it so once it coated his hands he stopped. He then focused on pushing all the Gravity Mana he had channeled into the spell he started chanting. “O Gravity, powerful and dangerous. Condense into a single spot. Pull to you and Keep any and everything that tries to escape. Gravity Well.”
After he pushed all the Gravity Mana into the dark purplish orb, he stepped out from where he was standing, aimed for a spot that was close to him while still having all six creatures within radius and tossed it.
Both Cindy and Liam watched the ball land, rise up and start pulling everything towards it. They both then watched as the three Feeble Forest Goblins and three Swift Foot Horned Rabbits suddenly turn to look at the foreign object. In a panic they tried to move away as they felt their bodies start to be pulled towards it, but failed as the spell had trapped them.
After their bodies were jerked and pulled to the orb, Cindy said, “Okay. That’s one way to round them up. Now what do you plan on doin…” Her words trailed off as she watched Liam walk around the tree he was standing next to and pull out a Crude Axe. “Um…what are you doing?”
Liam replied while not taking his eyes off the tree, “Putting a skill of mine to use.”
Before Cindy could ask anything else, Liam started hacking the axe into the tree. She watched as his trajectory with the crude tool struck in different spots with each swing. After a few seconds had passed his aim with it had corrected itself and dug in deeper and deeper with each swing.
After fifty seconds had passed, Cindy heard a loud snap. She then watched as Liam stopped swinging at the tree. As she looked at it she noticed it looked to be barely holding on as it swayed a bit.
She was about to open her mouth again, but then watched as Liam walked behind the tree. He poked his head out from behind it and looked to be focusing on something. She turned to see what he was looking at and found it. He’s not about to do what I think he’s about to do…is he? Cindy thought as a slight chuckle started to form in her throat.
Without needing to wait for answer, she heard Liam shout out timber as he pushed his arms against the tree and watched as it started to fall down right on top of the gathered enemies.
A loud crash and squish echoed in the clearing as the tree fell right on top of the three Feeble Forest Goblins and three Swift Foot Horned Rabbits.
Cindy’s mouth dropped as she stared at the area where the monsters were gathered. Blood was splattered out from both sides. The lower torso of a Feeble Forest Goblin and a Swift Foot Horned Rabbit stuck out from one side of the fallen tree while a goblin arm and rabbit foot poked out with an upper torso of a goblin with blood pooling out from its mouth laid next to the tree.
Six notifications suddenly appeared in front of Liam and Cindy as they stared at the scene.
“That went better than expected,” Liam slowly said as he too stared wide eyed.
Cindy let out a snort. “I’d say. I must hand it to you. You’re really using some unorthodox strategies to kill monsters. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone really use the terrain this effectively. Good job.”
Liam’s cheeks blushed a bit as he looked away from her. Using the terrain wasn’t something he had taken into account when fighting, but with some of crafting skills it was required.
A smile formed on his face as he thought about that last part. This fight had proven that he could use his craft skills regardless of whether it was Production, Gathering, or Construction. This one fight had given him the boost he needed to gain confidence that his starting class wasn’t as weak as everyone had been telling him.
“Thank you,” Liam said as he made his way to the creatures.
After he reached the area where the creatures were crushed, he looked at the bodies and had a horrible thought. He then looked at Cindy and asked, “I didn’t think this through before doing this, but…can I still loot and used their bodies to harvest?”
Liam wasn’t entirely sure if he understood the look on Cindy’s face as soon as he asked it, but her words clarified his earlier thought. “The ones under tree are probably not salvageable. You might be able to get loot from the upper torsos that you can see…” She then looked at the severed rabbit legs and added with a slight grimace, “Except from the severed Swift Foot Horned Rabbits. The upper body can be harvested, but you wouldn’t get as much if you had the entire body.”
Liam grimaced as he listened to her. “What I’m hearing is, if I want to harvest the entire body don’t squish them like this again…got it.”
Cindy shook her head as she let out a small chuckle. She then said, “Go ahead and loot what you can. I’m going to search for more enemies.”
Liam nodded as he went to the goblin that had its upper body sticking out from the fallen tree.
“You have received Bone x 1.”
Looks like the loot is reduced like this as well. Liam thought as he sighed.
He then went over to the Swift Foot Horned Rabbit that had its upper torso still intact and tried loot it as well.
“You have received 5 Copper coins.”
After he looted the body he grabbed the creature and tried to pull it. He felt little resistance as he pulled as well as heard a tearing squishing noise. As he pulled it free from the tree, he saw some blood start to pool out from the severed area and fought back the bile that threatened to shoot out from his stomach.
He quickly placed it into his inventory before he could see anymore and let out a sigh. He then went to one of the random rabbit legs that was sticking out and tried to loot it. Instead of seeing a notification letting him know he had received anything he received a different one in red letters.
“Body can not be looted!”
Yup. Going to have to be a lot more careful when using a strategy like this. Liam thought as he stood back up. He was about to ask if Cindy was able to find anything nearby, but stopped and was suddenly on alert as he noticed Cindy’s body tense.
“Liam,” Cindy suddenly stated in a quiet and cautious tone.
“Yes?” Liam asked in the same type of manner. “What’s wrong?”
“I think something or someone powerful is trailing us,” Cindy said as she looked around.
Liam pulled out his Boned Curved Daggers and scanned the area as well. He focused his hearing and sight all around as he asked, “What do you mean?”
Cindy slowly got up and walked cautiously over to Liam. She didn’t take her sight off the surrounding trees as she answered, “When I used my Echolocation I didn’t find anything. However, after I used it again a group of unknowns suddenly appeared nearby.”
Liam’s brows scrunched as he listened to her. “What do you mean a group of unknowns suddenly appeared? Did they appear around the edge of your echolocation’s radius?”
“No…,” Cindy stated. “They appeared close to the edge of the trees. I don’t see them, nor do I hear them. I’m not sure how they are doing it.”
Illusion magic. Eri suddenly stated in Liam’s mind.
What? Liam asked.
It is a group of people. They are using Illusion magic to hide their presence. She was able to catch them in a moment after one of them made a weird motion. Eri explained.
How do you know this? Can you see them? Are they hostile? Where are they? Liam questioned.
I believe they are. But I’m not entirely sure. Eri informed. They are behind the trees in the direction the girl is looking at. They are strong so be careful.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Liam muttered under his breath as he slowly turned around and looked at the direction Eri had stated. He then whispered to Cindy, “It’s a group of powerful people using Illusion Magic. They are hiding behind those trees right there.”
Surprised, Cindy looked at Liam and asked, “How do you know that?”
Before Liam could say anything a voice called out, “That’s what I would like to know.”
Cindy wasn’t lying about the Swift Foot Horned Rabbits when she said the creature’s accuracy when trying to spear their horns into people was bad. She also wasn’t lying about the fact their horns would hurt if they did hit you. On all fours the creatures were about two and a half feet tall maybe less. Liam couldn’t get an accurate measurement since the creatures wouldn’t stop moving.
The two Swift Foot Horned Rabbits Cindy was able to find were low leveled and were horrible at trying to jump right at him from a certain distance. Liam didn’t need to move to be able to dodge some of their strikes, however, the couple of times Liam was within point blank of their striking zone was another story.
Their horns had knocked the wind out of him a couple of times when their horns struck against his chest, knocking his health down fifteen points with each strike. Luckily for him, their horns weren’t sharp enough to pierce through his armor. It just felt like being hit on bare skin really hard with a full hacky sack being thrown super-fast.
After five minutes of being struck and striking back, learning their movements, and planning his next steps, Liam caught a break and lured them into headbutting into a tree where their horns had implanted into. After he got them to do that, he wasted no time in killing them.
“That was…an interesting way to take care of them,” Cindy stated as she watched Liam try to pull the creatures off of the tree they were stuck to.
“Was it that bad?” Liam questioned after he finally got the second one free.
“No. Using the terrain to your advantage is a good call,” Cindy stated. “Its just…I have never heard anyone get so frustrated when fighting these creatures that they resort to curses and taunts.” Cindy let out a snicker. “The fact that you yelled out that you were going to kill them and use their feet as lucky charms…I just have never heard anyone say that before.”
Liam’s face flushed in embarrassment as he looted the creatures.
“You have received 10 Copper Coins!
“You have received 9 Copper Coins!”
You get coins from these creatures instead of anything else? Liam thought as he looked confused at his notifications. He then looked at Cindy and said, “I was just venting out my frustrations after getting hit by them so many times. You weren’t joking about it hurting. Also, why do they drop coins? The Feeble Forest Goblins didn’t drop coins.”
Cindy shook her head while giving a short chuckle at the first thing Liam said. After reigning in her laughter she answered, “The loot you get from creatures whether they are beast or humanoid is randomized. Again, I don’t know why that is, but it is what it is.”
“That’s not helpful at all,” Liam muttered as he placed the two rabbits in his inventory.
“Oh, don’t I know it,” Cindy agreed before looking around.
Liam suddenly felt the air around them start to shift. He was about to ask what was going on until he saw the concentrated look on Cindy’s face. He activated Mana Sight and saw a whitish green start to coat her arms. As he watched this he noticed something else start to mix with the color of Air mana. The whitish green had turned into a silverish-green.
What is that? Liam thought to himself as he watched the color run up her arms to her shoulders.
After the mana had finished being channeled, Cindy closed her eyes and quietly muttered to herself in a chant, “Sound all around, search and return. Bring back the information I so desire. Locate any and all nearby creatures. Echolocation.”
Liam’s eyes widened. This was a Sound Magic spell? So that Silverish Green is Sound Mana? Why didn’t I notice this earlier? Was it because I was too focused on something?
Before Liam could continue thinking, Cindy opened her eyes and looked at Liam. “Looks like there’s a mixture of Feeble Forest Goblins and Swift Foot Horned Rabbits in that direction.”
Liam watched as she pointed a finger towards the west of their location.
“It looks like they are fighting each other in a small clearing,” Cindy stated before adding, “I think there might be a cave there, but I don’t know if there are any monsters within it since the inside goes farther than my spell’s radius. Do you want to take them on?”
“Hm,” Liam started as he thought about it.
He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to fight those creatures without any information about that cave. From what he was told by Cindy, monsters could be lurking within the cave since they don’t have a set area they stay in. However, if there were any monsters then they should have heard the fighting between the Feeble Forest Goblins and the Swift Foot Horned Rabbits.
If no monsters have come out to their fighting then it could mean that the cave belonged to one of the two types of monsters and they are fighting for territory. Also, if there weren’t any monsters coming out then maybe that’s all there was there. However, there also might be some variables he wasn’t aware of yet. After all, this type of dungeon was still new to him.
He looked back at Cindy and asked, “How many of each are fighting?”
“Three of each,” Cindy stated.
“Hm. If that is the case then let’s go check it out and see how the fight is progressing,” Liam suggested. “I don’t want to jump in if both sides are at full health and they decide that we are worth them teaming up to take us down.”
Cindy nodded, “Good plan. Let’s go.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liam and Cindy stood behind a tree each, peaking their heads out to get a good look into the small clearing before them. The area wasn’t big, but it could fit at least twenty people within it. The grassy dirt area where the edge of the clearing was sloped downwards at a forty-five degree angle until it reached the bottom which wasn’t that far down. A small river trickled down into it and towards the cave that sat on the other side of where Liam and Cindy were. A few bushes were planted around in the clearing, but no trees grew within it.
Inside this clearing, three Feeble Forest Goblins fought with three Swift Foot Horned Rabbits. The Goblins grunted and yelled at the rabbits as they splashed around trying to chase after them. The Swift Foot Horned Rabbits for their part were bouncing around and using their horns to strike at their foes.
Liam assessed each creature to see where their health was at.
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 72/275 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 6.”
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 80/275 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 6.”
“Feeble Forest Goblin. 54/250 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 5.”
“Swift Foot Horned Rabbit. 81/230 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 5.”
“Swift Foot Horned Rabbit. 97/210 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 4.”
“Swift Foot Horned Rabbit. 72/210 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 4.”
As Liam took in each of their health he noticed how low they were. He guessed they had to have been fighting for a while since their health was so low.
He looked at Cindy and guessed she had looked at their health as well since she asked as quietly as she could, “What do you think? Since they are so low we can take them on, but it might be six on two if we went in. Want to wait till a couple get killed and finish the rest?”
Liam thought about it as he looked back at the creatures. It would be smart for them to wait till a couple had died, but he wasn’t sure if they would be able to collect the loot on their bodies nor be able to collect the rabbits’ bodies for harvesting if they died to the goblins’ hands instead of theirs.
As he watched he noticed the goblins had turned and moved a bit closer to where they were hiding as the rabbits tried to spear head them and missed. Liam, instinctively moved behind the tree he was hiding behind so they wouldn’t notice him. As he did he ended up staring at the tree.
As he stared at the tree something popped up in his vison that hadn’t popped up before.
“Would you like to activate skill Lumber Jack efficiency on Thick Forest Tree? Information provided on target: Perfect condition. Time to chop down – 5 to 7 minutes. Activate? Yes No?”
Confused, Liam placed a hand on the tree and thought about why it had appeared. As he rummaged through his brain for an explanation a thought appeared. This was a skill he had received when he opened his Focus Point Gathering Craft in the Field of the Craft.
This skill was tied to the Lumber Jack Gathering Craft. He hadn’t worked on this craft yet which is why he was so confused about it. However, now it gave him an idea.
He looked at the tree Cindy was behind and waited for the notification to appear.
“Would you like to activate skill Lumber Jack Efficiency on Thick Forest Tree? Information provided on target: Near Perfect condition. Time to chop down – 4 to 6 minutes. Activate? Yes No?”
Liam looked at the tree to his left and stared at it.
“Would you like to activate skill Lumber Jack Efficiency on Normal Forest Tree? Information provided on target: Okay condition. Time to chop down – 3 to 5 minutes. Activate? Yes No?”
He then quietly moved over to Cindy who was staring at him with confusion. “What’s wrong?”
Liam held a finger up to ask for a moment as he looked at the tree nearest to Cindy’s right.
“Would you like to activate skill Lumber Jack Efficiency on Thick Forest Tree? Information provided on target: Poor condition. Time to chop down – 45 seconds to 1 minute and 30 seconds. Activate? Yes No?”
That one will do. Liam thought as a plan started to formulate in his mind.
In order for this plan to work he would need two things. One would be for them to gather in one spot. The other would be for them to be stuck in that spot. He didn’t need to think hard about how to do both because he had just the spell for the task.
Liam channeled as much Gravity Mana as he quickly could. He knew he didn’t need a lot of it so once it coated his hands he stopped. He then focused on pushing all the Gravity Mana he had channeled into the spell he started chanting. “O Gravity, powerful and dangerous. Condense into a single spot. Pull to you and Keep any and everything that tries to escape. Gravity Well.”
After he pushed all the Gravity Mana into the dark purplish orb, he stepped out from where he was standing, aimed for a spot that was close to him while still having all six creatures within radius and tossed it.
Both Cindy and Liam watched the ball land, rise up and start pulling everything towards it. They both then watched as the three Feeble Forest Goblins and three Swift Foot Horned Rabbits suddenly turn to look at the foreign object. In a panic they tried to move away as they felt their bodies start to be pulled towards it, but failed as the spell had trapped them.
After their bodies were jerked and pulled to the orb, Cindy said, “Okay. That’s one way to round them up. Now what do you plan on doin…” Her words trailed off as she watched Liam walk around the tree he was standing next to and pull out a Crude Axe. “Um…what are you doing?”
Liam replied while not taking his eyes off the tree, “Putting a skill of mine to use.”
Before Cindy could ask anything else, Liam started hacking the axe into the tree. She watched as his trajectory with the crude tool struck in different spots with each swing. After a few seconds had passed his aim with it had corrected itself and dug in deeper and deeper with each swing.
After fifty seconds had passed, Cindy heard a loud snap. She then watched as Liam stopped swinging at the tree. As she looked at it she noticed it looked to be barely holding on as it swayed a bit.
She was about to open her mouth again, but then watched as Liam walked behind the tree. He poked his head out from behind it and looked to be focusing on something. She turned to see what he was looking at and found it. He’s not about to do what I think he’s about to do…is he? Cindy thought as a slight chuckle started to form in her throat.
Without needing to wait for answer, she heard Liam shout out timber as he pushed his arms against the tree and watched as it started to fall down right on top of the gathered enemies.
A loud crash and squish echoed in the clearing as the tree fell right on top of the three Feeble Forest Goblins and three Swift Foot Horned Rabbits.
Cindy’s mouth dropped as she stared at the area where the monsters were gathered. Blood was splattered out from both sides. The lower torso of a Feeble Forest Goblin and a Swift Foot Horned Rabbit stuck out from one side of the fallen tree while a goblin arm and rabbit foot poked out with an upper torso of a goblin with blood pooling out from its mouth laid next to the tree.
Six notifications suddenly appeared in front of Liam and Cindy as they stared at the scene.
“That went better than expected,” Liam slowly said as he too stared wide eyed.
Cindy let out a snort. “I’d say. I must hand it to you. You’re really using some unorthodox strategies to kill monsters. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone really use the terrain this effectively. Good job.”
Liam’s cheeks blushed a bit as he looked away from her. Using the terrain wasn’t something he had taken into account when fighting, but with some of crafting skills it was required.
A smile formed on his face as he thought about that last part. This fight had proven that he could use his craft skills regardless of whether it was Production, Gathering, or Construction. This one fight had given him the boost he needed to gain confidence that his starting class wasn’t as weak as everyone had been telling him.
“Thank you,” Liam said as he made his way to the creatures.
After he reached the area where the creatures were crushed, he looked at the bodies and had a horrible thought. He then looked at Cindy and asked, “I didn’t think this through before doing this, but…can I still loot and used their bodies to harvest?”
Liam wasn’t entirely sure if he understood the look on Cindy’s face as soon as he asked it, but her words clarified his earlier thought. “The ones under tree are probably not salvageable. You might be able to get loot from the upper torsos that you can see…” She then looked at the severed rabbit legs and added with a slight grimace, “Except from the severed Swift Foot Horned Rabbits. The upper body can be harvested, but you wouldn’t get as much if you had the entire body.”
Liam grimaced as he listened to her. “What I’m hearing is, if I want to harvest the entire body don’t squish them like this again…got it.”
Cindy shook her head as she let out a small chuckle. She then said, “Go ahead and loot what you can. I’m going to search for more enemies.”
Liam nodded as he went to the goblin that had its upper body sticking out from the fallen tree.
“You have received Bone x 1.”
Looks like the loot is reduced like this as well. Liam thought as he sighed.
He then went over to the Swift Foot Horned Rabbit that had its upper torso still intact and tried loot it as well.
“You have received 5 Copper coins.”
After he looted the body he grabbed the creature and tried to pull it. He felt little resistance as he pulled as well as heard a tearing squishing noise. As he pulled it free from the tree, he saw some blood start to pool out from the severed area and fought back the bile that threatened to shoot out from his stomach.
He quickly placed it into his inventory before he could see anymore and let out a sigh. He then went to one of the random rabbit legs that was sticking out and tried to loot it. Instead of seeing a notification letting him know he had received anything he received a different one in red letters.
“Body can not be looted!”
Yup. Going to have to be a lot more careful when using a strategy like this. Liam thought as he stood back up. He was about to ask if Cindy was able to find anything nearby, but stopped and was suddenly on alert as he noticed Cindy’s body tense.
“Liam,” Cindy suddenly stated in a quiet and cautious tone.
“Yes?” Liam asked in the same type of manner. “What’s wrong?”
“I think something or someone powerful is trailing us,” Cindy said as she looked around.
Liam pulled out his Boned Curved Daggers and scanned the area as well. He focused his hearing and sight all around as he asked, “What do you mean?”
Cindy slowly got up and walked cautiously over to Liam. She didn’t take her sight off the surrounding trees as she answered, “When I used my Echolocation I didn’t find anything. However, after I used it again a group of unknowns suddenly appeared nearby.”
Liam’s brows scrunched as he listened to her. “What do you mean a group of unknowns suddenly appeared? Did they appear around the edge of your echolocation’s radius?”
“No…,” Cindy stated. “They appeared close to the edge of the trees. I don’t see them, nor do I hear them. I’m not sure how they are doing it.”
Illusion magic. Eri suddenly stated in Liam’s mind.
What? Liam asked.
It is a group of people. They are using Illusion magic to hide their presence. She was able to catch them in a moment after one of them made a weird motion. Eri explained.
How do you know this? Can you see them? Are they hostile? Where are they? Liam questioned.
I believe they are. But I’m not entirely sure. Eri informed. They are behind the trees in the direction the girl is looking at. They are strong so be careful.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Liam muttered under his breath as he slowly turned around and looked at the direction Eri had stated. He then whispered to Cindy, “It’s a group of powerful people using Illusion Magic. They are hiding behind those trees right there.”
Surprised, Cindy looked at Liam and asked, “How do you know that?”
Before Liam could say anything a voice called out, “That’s what I would like to know.”
