Thankfully, the Spotted Deer Matriarch didn’t charge us immediately, despite its DEEPLY ENRAGED status. According to Opix, rather, according to his Quest log, Spotted Deer Matriarchs used this technique called Soul Split that granted them total invulnerability from damage. The catch was that it could only inflict and receive damage through summons. All we needed to do was take enough of them down and the Matriarch would follow soon after. Unfortunately, that meant we couldn't do anything to stop it from gathering aura for its summons. What that did mean was we had a slightly larger window to prepare for the battle.

“Grim Hearts, I have come to a decision!” Cerus shouted. She rummaged through her inventory, which looked to me like she was tapping and swiping at an invisible tablet. “I have weapons I will be giving you.”

“Are you doing this because you want stuff in return?” I asked. It seemed like something she would do.

“You are the return, fool. Have you not forgotten your place as my thrall? Do you know how embarrassing it would be to have a thrall that cannot protect themselves?”

“You’re just dumping stuff onto him that you don’t need,” Opix accused.

“...No,” Cerus stammered. “These weapons sell for nothing, therefore I believe their value comes from training up my thrall.”

I considered the still unsaid plan Cerus had for me. Based on the vague hints she gave me and the comments she’s made, I was fairly certain I knew what she wanted to do; make me the leader of the Galerose Alliance. If other people on the Battle Board saw that a 0-Star Reincarnator was holding onto 200 Battle Points, they’d fall over themselves trying to take them from us. From me. That meant we didn’t need to search for people to take Battle Points from, because they’d come straight to us. It was a horrifying plan, and the rational part of me couldn’t help but point out all of the holes in it. Even still, it was an opportunity for me to both be useful and get stronger.

“What happened to there being value in my low level?”

“You will not ascend to Level 99 by the end of this single Quest you fopdoodle.”

“Fopdoodle?”

“Turn around!”

Cerus shoved two new weapons into my pack. I had all five slots occupied, now. One by the stack of Spotted Deer carcasses, one by my Sabertooth Splitblade, one by the stack of healing potions, and now two more by a spear and that pair of boxing gloves from earlier. I mentally hovered over them both.

Basic Gnomish Spear

0-Star Weapon

It’s a spear! “Basic” Gnomish weapons are normally used by Seraphs as a base for their weapon crafts. Because of this, they’re incredibly rare to find outside of Sera Town. Really makes you wonder how a certain someone got her hands on it.

Cheap Boxing Gloves

0-Star Weapon

The name of the game is to hit things without being the thing that gets hit.

“Thanks, Cerus. I–”

“This is not a gift. Do not thank me!” Cerus shouted. She pointed at me. “You will inflict pain with your blade, you will dodge with the gloves, and you will kill with the spear. You will most certainly draw my ire should you not follow these directions!”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so!”

I’d planned on swapping through the weapons anyway, but Cerus had more combat experience than I did. I’d take her word, for now. If I found a style of fighting that suited me more, I’d swap to it.

The Matriarch bleated, snapping all three of us into focus once again. Wind gathered around the Boss Mob, leaves and debris orbiting her as three tiny tornadoes kicked up in front of her across from the three of us. The tornadoes darkened as they rose into the sky. They descended into the ground just as quickly, revealing three new Spotted Deer in their locations. These were different from the ones we’d been fighting up to this point. They were more muscular, with gray fur instead of light brown. Their spots were white instead of black, and they had glowing white antlers whereas the Spotted Deer had no antlers to speak of. I scanned the one across from me

Spotted Deer Initiate

0-Star Mob

*This mob has been HIGHLY OFFENDED by CERUS ROSE. All attacks to the GALEROSE ALLIANCE deal 20% more damage.*

Remember that story I was telling you about Spotted Deer being denied animal status because of some bad apples? Well, these are the bad apples! You see, Spotted Deer – unlike their Striped Deer counterparts – are a warrior species. Teams of up to one hundred are led by Matriarchs and Patriarchs who spend their whole lives fighting for their positions!

Initiates join up with the strongest Spotted Deer leaders in hopes of one day becoming a Matriarch or Patriarch of their own Spotted Deer sect. Because of that, Initiates tend to fight the hardest. They might be 0-Stars, but these guys will kill you if you let your guard down!

The Initiate I scanned dragged its hoof on the forest floor like it was preparing to charge me. The other two made similar gestures, indicating their eagerness for battle.

“I’ll take the one in the middle,” I said. It’d been staring daggers at me, though that was fair considering I was unintentionally doing the same to it.

“Oh! I call the left one!” Cerus cheered.

“Guess that leaves me with the one on the right.”

I took a deep breath, hoping it’d wash away my nerves.

…It didn’t.

“Perfect. Alright, break!” Opix shouted, clapping his hands together with the last word. He kicked off at the same time as Cerus, leaving me alone with my opponent.

***

Rather than charge at it, I let it charge at me. I equipped the Cheap Boxing Gloves and dodged the tackle with the extra mobility the gloves provided. Just like in my brief sparring match with Cerus, I felt like a boxer when I wore them. I dodged the Initiate’s charge and evaded its follow-ups with minimal effort. Unlike that battle with Cerus, though, I hadn’t felt a drop of fatigue – likely due to my increased stamina stat.

I swapped to my Sabertooth Splitblade at the same time the Initiate fixed me with a dirty look.

Eek! Scary! Y-you have been inflicted with F-FEAR! Your d-defense is lowered by t-ten perc…ent! It'll go away in five seconds.

All the more reason to attack.

I lunged at the Initiate faster than I thought I could. It reflexively turned its body, and I used that opportunity to land a hard slash on the mob. A health bar appeared over it and went down by about ten percent. I kicked it, hoping to force it to its side so I could finish it with my spear. It laid on its back and flailed its legs, keeping me at a distance. I swapped to my Spear, hoping to strike through anyway.

You have been… HYPNOTIZED? You have been stunned for three seconds? You have cast Essence of Aura? Did you mean to do that?

Shit!

The Initiate stood and tackled me to the ground as my MP bar appeared, rapidly ticking down as Essence of Aura drained my MP away. The Initiate stomped down on me, taking away a small percentage of my health. It repeated the attack, again and again until my stun period ended. When it did, I decided not to release Essence of Aura. I grabbed the Initiate’s body and wrestled it to the ground, punching it in the face to lower its health before swapping to my Sabertooth Splitblade. I slammed the blade down into its head, blood spurting up with the crunch of the impact. I stood and observed my handiwork. It was gross. Really gross, but now wasn’t the time to get caught up in that. These things would do the same to me if they could.

Your Modified Blood Amulet has received one charge. All Physical Attacks will now deal 14% more damage.

I’d forgotten about that. I had six charges from my kills before getting here, which meant I now needed three more kills before I’d have the full 20% strength buff the accessory provided.

Cerus: um i thought i told you to use your spear?

I looked around and found Cerus staring directly at me while she effortlessly wrestled with four different Initiates. Out of curiosity, I found Opix in a similar state – beating down Initiates left and right. The Matriarch was bleating, staring directly at me as she summoned more of them. Her health was at about 60%.

Grim: I didn’t have an opportunity to. I’ll use it, but if it's easier to kill with my dagger then I will. These guys fight at close range, so a spear isn’t practical.

Cerus: they all fight the exact same way pinhead

Cerus: shove a spear down their throat when they charge you

Cerus: they literally scream when they run

Cerus: or just stab them in the neck

Cerus: you do not need to have glorious battles with everything haha

Cerus: this is a 0 star quest thrall

Cerus: get kills

Three more Spotted Deer charged at me. Just like Cerus said, they bleat-screamed as they approached. I swapped to my boxing gloves and dodged to the right, exposing their sides to me. I equipped the spear and stabbed through their necks. Their health bars all zeroed out as they lay dead on my spear.

Your Modified Blood Amulet has received three charges. All Physical Attacks will now deal 20% more damage.

Cerus: see

Grim: Yeah, you were right. Sorry for doubting you.

I laughed as three more Spotted Deer approached. Just like the others, they went down quickly if you hit the right places. I’d stabbed, impaled, and skewered. I’d even started using my bladed weapons as throwing items to see if it’d work, which it did. I’d begun to work up a sweat, but it still wasn’t enough to put me out of the fight. I compared it to myself just a few hours earlier, who’d been breathing hard just from running to my house phone. This feeling of almost endless energy felt invigorating, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever.

***

It’d taken about nine more kills before my stamina began to reach its limits. I decided to check on the Matriarch while I still had time before my next fight. It looked awful. It was panting, lowering its head with each breath as it barely held itself upright.

There were no more Initiates on the battlefield now, other than the ones occupying the others, and the Matriarch’s health had lowered to about 15%. Its tongue hung from its mouth as it began to thrash around violently, ramming its towering body into the trees at either side of it. Just as suddenly, it stood stone still, blood pouring from its eyes as it stared into the sky.

It’d begun to summon a new Initiate, though the tornado it used to do so was significantly larger than the others it’d used before.

Opix: This is likely its final summon. Whatever comes out is going to be much stronger.

Cerus: oh my goodness a real fight?

Grim: Can’t wait.

Cerus: they grow up so fast

In reality, I was pretty tired. I would’ve had no problem with sitting this one out, but that obviously wasn’t an option.

The tornado did that rise-and-fall thing again, revealing not an Initiate but something far different. It was a monster unlike any I’d ever seen before. It had cartoonishly spiky white fur with red stripes around its torso. It stood on thick hind legs like a hare and had thin arms that hung like a caveman. Instead of fingers, it had three claws on either hand. I scanned it.

Ancient Sabertooth Spectre

2-Star Mob

*This mob has been HIGHLY OFFENDED by CERUS ROSE. All attacks to the GALEROSE ALLIANCE deal 20% more damage.*

This isn’t actually an Ancient Sabertooth. The real ones are quite docile! They love a good fight, though. These guys just love a good fight.

The 1-Star Mob stood still as it scanned its surroundings. It made eye contact with all three of us, Opix and Cerus to its right, and me across from it. I did my best to hide my fatigue as it observed us. I must’ve failed, though, because the mob looked into my eyes and raised a claw at me.

I equipped my boxing gloves just in the nick of time. The mob lunged at me, and while I knew how to dodge, I was too drained to do it properly. Opix and Cerus rushed towards the mob’s flanks, but not fast enough. It unleashed a flurry of slashes at my chest, and I inevitably got swiped by a few of them. My health went down considerably as I fell on my back. The monster loomed over me and smiled, revealing two long fangs. I equipped my spear and cast Essence of Aura, prepared to make the most of this opportunity when a ball of ice blasted into the creature’s back. It turned around, only to be met by a kick to the face from Cerus. It flew with the momentum, Cerus following close behind.

“Grim! Your healing potions!” Opix shouted. I followed his suggestion and drank one to replenish my health. “Cerus is going to cast a spell that gives us heals over time. I have an idea on how to beat this thing but we need it to get sloppy first.”

He gave me a hand up and I leaned on a nearby tree. “And how are we going to do that?”

“We need to get beat up a bit,” He said, giving me a sheepish smile in response to my clear confusion. “I’ve faced them before, so my Bestiary tells me how to beat them now. They’re cocky, so once they feel like they’ve won they tend to toy with their targets. Once this one gets like that, you can cast Taunt to distract it and we’ll kill it before it can adjust.” He thumbed at the panting Matriarch. “Two birds, one stone.”

“Is that the only option?”

“Unless you have a better one?”

I didn’t…

“If it makes you feel any better, it won’t kill you. Even if you don't guard for the rest of the fight.”

“That changes everything,” I smirked.

“I’m glad it does!” Opix smiled.

Cerus Rose is POLLINATING you! You will receive a 3% healing burst every ten seconds.

Cerus: i have poisoned the enemy

Cerus: we will now be sustained by his suffering!

Opix: Thanks. We’re on our way. Remember the plan.

Cerus: i am not amused by it but if it means we kill the mama bear i will endure

Grim: Thanks for the heals.

“Well,” Opix began, sinking into a battle position. “Time to get our asses beat.”

***

The Ancient Sabertooth showed us no mercy. Saying it beat our asses was an understatement. Cerus ended up learning the hard way that it had special claw strikes that lowered MP instead of HP, but thankfully she had a skill called Mana Surge that replenished it… at the cost of HP. It also had an attack where it’d chew up debris from the forest and condense it into a compact projectile. Opix got blasted with one of those and lost 30% of his health in a single hit.

I wasn’t spared any more than they were. It had this annoying, unblockable attack where it’d sweep dirt into your face and blind you for three seconds. It would constantly hit me with that whenever I’d get close, and then it’d spam that MP-stealing claw attack on me. I had less than half of my HP left, though Opix insisted that I wouldn’t need that much MP to beat the Spectre.

Regardless. we were getting beat down, and Opix insisted we play into our pain and fatigue. Cerus, naturally, didn’t enjoy playing along at first, but she changed her tune the moment Opix said she’d be great at it. Opix himself seemed to overact his fatigue, though it made no difference to the Ancient Sabertooth whose laughter and persistent smile indicated his interest in our suffering. I personally didn’t need to act out my pain and fatigue because I really was at my limit. That was both a blessing and a curse, because it meant I could more easily see the clumsiness Opix was talking about, but I was also the Sabertooth’s primary target most of the time. The others would jump in as soon as it approached, but we couldn’t keep doing this forever. Thankfully, Opix felt the same way.

Opix: It’s time to strike. Grim, equip the Cheap Boxing Gloves and Taunt him. He won’t be able to hit you. Cerus, take any mana potion you have and turn off Pollination.

Cerus: and what will you be doing?

Opix: I’m going to hit it with Wind Burst. Grim, how much MP do you have left?

Grim: About a third.

Opix: Good. Do what I say when I say so, okay? You too, Cerus.

Grim: Got it.

Cerus: i will consider listening

Opix: Great. Let’s go. Grim, cast Taunt.

I did as instructed, equipping the boxing gloves and casting Taunt on the Ancient Sabertooth Spectre. It’d been striking a guarding Opix on the ground but stopped everything to focus on me. It raced towards me on all fours as it roared, the first time it’d done that since the battle began. It brought its claw back for a strike, but I dodged it at the last second. At the same time, Opix ran for the creature’s flank with Cerus following close behind.

Opix: Cerus, Grim! Swap places!

I ran to Opix’s back while Cerus took my place in front of the Sabertooth. As we ran, Opix blasted the creature with what may as well have been a shotgun blast made of wind. The Ancient Sabertooth flew into a tree and didn’t move for several seconds.

Opix: Grim! Turn off Taunt, cast Essence of Aura then throw the spear at the Ancient Sabertooth as hard as you can!

I cast Essence of Aura and launched the spear like a javelin at the Sabertooth. It pierced flesh, skewering the monster to the thick trunk of the tree by its neck. Cerus, meanwhile, raised a palm at the skewered beast and cackled. Icy wind gathered around her just like it did the Matriarch before it condensed in front of her palm.

Opix: Hit it with your Big Ice Attack, Cerus!

She did, forming a boulder-sized ball of ice and blasting the trapped beast to smithereens. We all flew back with the explosion, all except Cerus who cackled all the while and chanted some nonsense about being a destroyer or something. When the dust settled, all that was left were a bunch of felled trees, a host of dead Initiates, a dead Matriarch, and a sea of Spotted Deer gathered around it.

***

”Opix Gale!” Cerus shouted, running over to us. “That was glorious! I crave more destruction! I demand it!”

Opix stood to his feet, bringing me up with him. “There’ll be plenty more. For now, we need to… finish the quest.”

“Ah, correct. Gathering Spotted Deer pelts.” Cerus smiled. “I would not wish to steal this opportunity to bond from you both. Enjoy yourselves while I gather the night’s meal!”

She darted off, cackling like a madwoman as she slaughtered Spotted Deer left and right. I turned to Opix, who’d been looking at me like a child hiding a report card. He didn’t say anything, though. He just… looked at me.

“What?”

He looked around. “You have Spotted Deer in your inventory, right?”

“Yeah. You said they’d spawn until the Quest ended, right?”

Opix scratched his head.

“Yeah, I did. We just need to… get the pelts.”

A pit formed in my stomach as I started to realize where this was going.

“You get more XP by being the one to finish the Quest, so… uh…” He smiled awkwardly. “You wanted to get stronger, right?”

“So that’s why you got me the Splitblade?”

“If it makes you feel any better, I have to skin the Initiates. Well, I don’t have to, but they’re worth some gold.” He turned to the nearest Initiate. “You get the ten and complete the Quest for the extra XP. I’ll turn the pelts in for the money.”

This would’ve been just a bit easier if there weren’t Spotted Deer in the vicinity, circling the Matriarch and pathetically nuzzling her or tackling her lifeless body. It didn’t help that Cerus was picking them off one by one like a lunatic.

“Can we do this somewhere else?”

“I’d… prefer that, but we can’t. They’re gonna keep spawning, remember? Might as well get it over with so the Quest can end and the forest can begin repairing itself. The last thing we need is Spotted Deer from some other sect joining the fight.”

Cerus: they look so pathetic HAHAHAHAHA

Cerus: get up mommy, get uuuuppp

“She’s such an idiot,” I chuckled under my breath. Opix agreed.

Cerus: no you are

We looked around, wondering how she could’ve heard us. She was behind us, dripping with gore as she carried Spotted Deer in her hands like grocery bags. She laughed as Opix and I both reflexively jumped.

More Spotted Deer circled us, though none of them attacked. They just… looked at us, looks of horror, sadness, and rage evident on their faces. Cerus feigned a sigh.

“It seems it is up to the group leader to instruct the children on how to skin a Spotted Deer!”

“Are you trying to provoke them?” I shout-whispered.

“Of course not!” Cerus giggled. “I just… want to teach you imbeciles.” She turned to the Spotted Deer circling us and laughed harder than I’d ever seen her laugh. “They look like Bambi!”

I actually did laugh at that, to Opix’s surprise. I adjusted myself as the Spotted Deer grimaced. “How do you know what Bambi is?”

“Reincarnators from Earth have remade that movie in Swingtail! It was not relatable. If I were her, I simply would have killed the hunters. I suppose we are two different people, though. Not everyone can be mwaaah.”

“It’s moi.” I chuckled. I was trying to be serious, but this whole situation was pretty ridiculous.

“Liar.”

“Holy fuck, can we please just get this shit over with?” Opix finally said.

“Oh my days!” Cerus shrieked. “Grim Hearts, cover your ears!” She laughed as she pulled a combat knife from her inventory and held it to one of her Fawn’s tails. “Follow my lead.”