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nDay 8 (In-game)

nStill somewhere in the draculkar highlands.

nStill somewhere in the southern end of the Urla Mountains.

nStatus: still looking for civilization.

n*

nThe Lesser Orb of Air dropped into Krow's gloved palm.

nHe rolled the item to his fingers, held it up. It gleamed an opaque crystalline yellow, the sphere only the size of the larger glass marbles he used to play with as a child – barely an inch in diameter.

nIt was the third lesser orb he'd taken from butchering a whole warren of shotbark rabbits.

nEven that much was surprising.

nLesser elemental orbs were Uncommon items but they were on the rarer side of Uncommon.

nOrbs in general were used to imbue materials with elemental properties. In rarity and strength, Lesser Orbs were the least, followed by Greater Orbs, then Unflawed, Exquisite, and finally Ethereal.

nKrow flicked it into his inventory.

nHe eyed the massive rabbit on the flat boulder he was using as a butcher's block.

nAnother that was less than 1.5 meters from crown to tail.

nShotbark rabbits were one of the more common monsters in the foothills of the Hallagons. They were fairly numerous, hunted often for meat and fur.

nThe larger rabbits had mostly inedible flesh, mirrored in Redlands by the meat being ungraded, not even a 'Common' designation.

nIt was unnecessary to check the fur for mange or excessive brittleness, but he ruffled up the fur down the beast's body just the same. It was habit at this point.

nLike all the rabbits prior, the fur was perfect.

nDressing a rabbit for meat alone was easier than when wanting to preserve the fur. Thankfully, rabbit skin was easy to separate from flesh. It peeled off like a wetsuit peeled off a body.

nYou've butchered a monster to gain two (2) Ball of Airfluff!

nYou've butchered a monster to gain Shotbark Rabbit Furskin!

nKrow rolled the skin into the Inventory.

nAirfluff, despite the name, was actually an E Common material, used in high-end pillows, quilts, temperature-regulating outerwear, comfortable footwear, and such.

nHe stretched to get the kinks out of his limbs and spine from the hours of butchering, then cut off the head and paws.

nThe head he placed in the Inventory – the brains were eaten or used in tanning – and the feet he tossed into the refuse pile.

nOne of the paws slid down the pile, traversing at least a meter before settling on the ground.

nThat pile was rather large, wasn't it? There had to be over a hundred front and hind feet there.

nOnly after making sure the guts wouldn't spill all over did he slit the belly of the rabbit open.

nHe scooped the guts out, leaving the liver and kidneys.

nHe voided the intestines into the ground, before tossing them into the inventory. Krow was actually surprised that was possible in the game. Shotbark Rabbit intestines weren't good for anything but sausages.

nAs far as he knew anyway.

nAfter all, his Plague Doctor's Gauntlets were made of intestine and bone.

nHe tossed the rest of the carcass into his Inventory.

nGlancing around, he sighed with a grimace.

nShotbark rabbits grew to two meters in length. The boss was at least three meters from head to tail.

nIn a single warren, there could be hundreds of rabbits.

nThe one he found was one of the smaller ones. Much less than a hundred. But even with him taking most of the carcasses, the stone-walled hollow he was in was a site of carnage.

nKrow hadn't meant to kill his way down the mountains, he really hadn't.

nWas it his fault he kept encountering very huntable monsters at seemingly every turn?

nAfter the lichenyaks, there was the pair of bluesnow foxes, whose lush wine-colored summer pelts were E Rare.

nThe next day, when he finally came across running water, the Greater Highland Sylphlizard was just lurking in a waterfall pool. It was a Lvl 16 with a grade B Uncommon hide, and a heart that was considered an F Rare delicacy.

nWas he not supposed to be tempted?

nAt least its presence confirmed the water wasn't toxic.

nHe thought he could finally follow a river to civilization, but the waterfall ended in a series of pretty layered pools before all that water went underground.

nTo alleviate his despair, he thought about the Sylphid Spinebone he also got from the monster.

nAnd that of the mass of meat, 157 kg was edible. Lizard meat sold well to high-end butchers.

nWith the Spinebone, scouting with the Ghostcaller subclass went faster.

nIt was how he'd come across one of the hidden warrens of the shotbark rabbits, actually.

nBut that was today.

nYesterday, he caught sight of a Goldenrachis Macaque, and spent most of the day tracking it as it bounced around the highlands.

nFive hours of chasing the agile and perceptive monkey, then another four hours of herding it without seeming to herd it, it was finally caught in a rope trap he'd further trapped with Minor Paralyzing Mist Vials and Minor Monster Bait.

nThat was after the annoyingly tricksy thing led him through a grove of hoverhives and the many many angry buzzing inhabitants there.

nHonestly, he just grabbed a few hives as he ran swiftly past. They were just floating there anyway.

nIt just took 25% of his HP before he could resume chasing instead of being chased.

nWorth the honey.

nBonus, the blasted monkey stopped to watch and laugh instead of disappearing into the wild highlands.

nKrow was dignity-bound to never stop until he bagged it after that.

nThe macaque was his biggest haul yet, or he wouldn't have spent a whole day hunting it.

nAlmost all the parts of the goldenrachis macaque were sellable. The moneymaker though, were the musk glands which were used to make both perfume and incense.

nAt the right apothecary, the two glands would each fetch at least 50 drax.

nThe fur could be used to add durability to armor, the organs had varying value to varying sects. If he could find a rogue Temple of Telanweth, they'd pay prime price (at least 20 serpens a kilo) for the meat, which was cooked on holy days.

nHe got nothing from the skeleton, but the monster was a Lvl 19 and that had meant a 130% bonus on the standard XP gain.

nIn any case, the skeleton was also in his Inventory. He wasn't leaving it behind when part of the spine was actual gold metal.

nThe macaque's habit of chewing on metallic ethermica-rich soils had that effect, according to one of the zoological treatises written in Zushkenar.

nHe started washing up.

nThat was the last rabbit. Somewhere in the mess, his Butcher subclass rank rose to Third Wright, learning the skill Meat-carving.

nThat advancement was good and bad.

nGood in that it took Krow less time to butcher the rabbits than usual, and he was getting higher grade materials – the rabbit furs had started to drop more C and even some B quality instead of the mostly D quality before the rank-up.

nBad in that he now couldn't learn Apprentice butcher skills in Redlands, even if he apprenticed to a master butcher.

nHe should still apprentice to gain Wright skills, but he'd been planning on doing things properly because Butcher wasn't one of his Tinkerer subclasses.

nOh well.

nHe re-equipped his armor, eyeing the tunnels that went deeper into the warren.

nHe left the vid-eye owl to follow on its own. It did its thing without him needing to worry anyway.

nShotbark rabbits laired in tunnels scratched into stone formations and cliffs, until the whole area was as holey as Swiss cheese.

nKrow had never entered a warren before.

nAnother point to exploring was, elemental orbs appeared in monsters living in areas rich with power.

nThere might be other interesting monsters around. Or monster plants. Like the area in a dandelion tree grove.

nKrow hadn't ventured too deep inside this one, waiting mostly for the rabbits to attack. They were ranged attackers, like him, with sound-based air attacks.

nIt had been a pain to deal with.

nMultiple attacks and it sounded like he was in the middle of a pack of yapping Chihuahuas.

nBut they weren't agile, like the lichenyaks.

nSo he waited in a place he'd thoroughly scouted and ambushed the ambushers.

nThey weren't too smart, preferring mass-rush tactics even when losing. Their numbers made that effective for any number of predators.

nBut Krow had shieldburst and a whole crate of Paralyzing Mist vials.

nThe Mist didn't knock them out, but the rabbits were disoriented enough that they couldn't attack effectively.

nTsk.

nKrow needed better crowd control against massed attacks. The Mist vials worked well enough against windrats, which had similar mass tactics, but those were one-serpens monsters.

nAgainst two-serpens monsters, the Mist vials only half-worked.

nWhat about higher level monsters then?

nAt the very least, he'd like the chance to be able to run away.

nHe was successful now because of his armor and prepared items. It won't work on every monster.

nShadowbind was still unmastered.

nHe should practice.

nStopping multiple opponents in their tracks would be massively useful.

nUnfortunately, it took 10 minutes, 51 seconds for his MP to recharge enough for Shadowbind, assuming a start from zero.

nHe huffed as the tunnels he cautiously entered into remained empty. He stopped peering around corners like a paranoiac and started walking normally, with ears alert.

nA number of the tunnels and caverns had been deliberately opened to as much sunlight as possible to grow the different colored grass the rabbits needed.

nAs he went deeper into the maze, it wasn't sunlight that lightened the darkness but patches of tubular coral-like growths on the floor and walls. The tube structures emitted a warm orange glow, like a distant bonfire in the night.

nHe didn't know what they were.

nThat didn't stop him from prying some of them off the stone and into his Inventory. If they weren't anything, all he'd lose was a bit of his own time and labor.

nHe reached the first cavern that wasn't touched by sunlight. There was a small stream trickling through and dried grass here and there.

nIt looked like this was the end.

nHe peered into the shadows, looking for another tunnel.

nA squeak sounded. Krow snapped a darkspear toward the clump of boulders it came from.

nA puppy bark sounded, and three figures bounded toward him.

nShotbark Leveret Lvl 9(11)

nHP: 400(500)

nMP: 10(12)

nShotbark Leveret Lvl 13(16)

nHP: 600(750)

nMP: 20(25)

nShotbark Leveret Lvl 10(13)

nHP: 450(600)

nMP: 14(18)

nTheir airshot attacks weren't strong enough to do any significant damage.

nYou've gained one (1) serpens from a monster!

nYou've gained two (2) serpens from a monster!

nYou've gained two (2) serpens from a monster!

nYou have gained one (1) level to achieve Lvl 8!

nOh?

nOh, most of the monsters he'd come across the last few days were above his level. He got XP bonuses.

nBut when did he level-up to 7?

nBaffled, he opened his notifications, absently shooting at the other leverets coming out of hiding.

nAh, there it was, between a slew of minor poison notifications and monster kills.

nHe swapped an empty cylinder for full, dodged a leaping leveret, continued firing.

nSo yesterday, with the bee monsters?

nRight, he'd really been running away then. His shieldbursts must have squashed more than a few of them.

nHe glanced at the Inventory. There were forty-one rabbit heads there.

nKrow's shooting stopped.

nThe cavern was silent.

nEleven Leverets lay strewn across the ground, large as German shepherds.

nTheatrically, he blew on his revolver.

nTwo levels in two days.

nThat was almost as fast as battlers were leveling now.

nAnd people said monster hunting was useless.

nHis next goal, Lvl 20 by the end of the realtime month!

nMaybe that was optimistic, but he felt great right now! He couldn't sustain such a leveling speed for very long without spending scads of gold to upgrade his gear but right now, he was confident.

nHe twirled his gun into its holster.

nThere was work to be done.

nButchering the leverets got Krow, to his surprise, a Lucky Rabbit Foot.

nIt gave 20% Fortune for puzzle luck-rolls and was graded C Rare.

nHaha.

nHis luck was good, right?

nNope!

nAs if.

nKrow smirked, looking down at the item.

nNorge, you think you can trick me?

nLuck item drops were a Redlands feature only. Zushkenar didn't even believe in luck-granting items.

nIf Krow had the luck drop made into an accessory, he'd be cursed with seven in-game months of bad luck in minigames.

nHe shook his head, took out the Tradebook and immediately placed it on the Bourse for 3 drax.

nHe was about to close the book when it was bought.

nThe bargain hunters were out in force.

nHe sighed.

nFor whoever bought the Foot, it would actually work, specifically for the numerous minigames and puzzles scattered over various parts of the world.

nThe little caveat was, they didn't work for the one who killed the rabbit.

nOr rather, they worked against.

nThey were also worth more than 3 drax.

nHow could Krow forget Redlands luck items, with the many loud and constant wailing about them on the forums of Before?

nThe guidelines for the person who got the bad luck of a luck-item drop:

n#1. Don't use it.

n#2. Really don't use it.

n#3. Don't sell it for more than 3 gold.

n#4. Don't equip it until it's been owned and used by at least 7 people successfully.

nAs the guidelines implied, for the person who got the drop, say goodbye to any chance of using the item. If you inadvertently buy it off the market while #4 wasn't seen to, say goodbye to your minigame luck for the next seven months.

nKrow mentally crossed rabbit-paw-based accessories off his future purchases list.

nLeveret meat was a rarity grade higher than the common rabbit meat of the adults. He tossed the last carcass whole into storage before washing grime off the Plague Doctor's Gauntlets and replacing them with his usual.

nOne last round of the cavern, harvesting the glowing tube coral plants, and he was ready to leave.

nHe reached to chip off one of the plants, and a tube fell off. He stepped back, slipped and kicked the coral into the corner.

nHe raised his brow at a patch of shadows that didn't lighten with the glow.

nWas that a crack in the wall?

nIt was another tunnel.

nIt was too narrow for most of the rabbits, and even Krow had to slide sideways for most of it.

nHe took out a lamp, as the glowing tubes lessened as he went further in.

nThe cavern at the end was smaller than the leveret cavern, but the pale stalactite pillars standing as vanguards at the sides, gleaming with crystals, gave the whole thing a sense of…majesty, maybe?

nHe'd seen pictures of the Magmigant race's underground halls.

nThose gave a somewhat similar feel, but without the wildness inherent in a cavern that hadn't been ordered by builders. And magmigant halls had lava pits or rivers to warm the space, instead of water flowing through.

nHe lifted the lamp higher.

nWhat caught Krow's attention was the rectangular stone slab at the far end, right up against a dark wall.

nAn altar.

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