Chapter 43: Monster hunt, part 1
As Thomas played in the corn field, Rina and Teri were out in the forest. They wanted to collect some evolutionary material for Teri's shield, and see if Rina's bow couldn't evolve as well.
"I am telling you, the watering holes are our best bet," Teri grumbled, not for the first time.
"And I am telling you, if we are to get something great, we need the caves," Rina bit back. She commanded the party now that Thomas was on a different task and couldn't come with them.
"What could we possibly find in a cave that we can't by a watering hole?" Teri asked. Rina sighed. She patted Pavos two times, so the slime could stop before the cave's entrance.
"Think of it this way. This could be a dungeon. This close to the ranch, it could cause trouble for Owen," the elf got off the slime, and the tank got off Yar. The two slimes entered the cave without prompting. Being used to taking the lead.
"We should have taken Karl," Teri murmured. Yar turned around and glared. "Not that you are not formidable, or anything."
Yar huffed, and got closer to Pavos. Teri took off his evolving shield and his short sword, and got before Rina. The elf allowed it. For it was the job of the tank to take the lead.
Soon, they were surrounded by a bunch of small bears.
"Those are no ordinary bears," Rina nocked an arrow in the bow, and prepared to fire. "I have never seen bears with wings."
"Some sort of bat variant?" Teri suggested. The bears were up in the air in an instant. Bypassing the two slimes, and going straight for the two adventurers. The first bear fell when Rina shot its wing. It did not die. Getting up, it watched on Teri's leg, and bit down.
"Ouch, shit," Teri stabbed at it with his short sword, and saw that it was like cutting through butter. "These are glass cannons."
Rina was not paying attention to what Teri was saying, for she was too busy letting loose an arrow after an arrow. One of the bears neared her, and tried to bite her neck, but Teri bashed its head with his shield, killing it instantly.
Finally, Rina noticed that the only thing these creatures had going for them was their bite. She ran past Teri, and got on Pavos. The tank followed her lead, and got on top of Yar. The bears chased after them, only to stop, when Rina began letting out a barrage after a barrage at them. Not a single bear survived. Their bodies too frail to withstand even a single arrow to a vital spot.
Teri went to the nearest bear, and took it and hovered it over the shield. It began to glow and disappeared. The dent in the shield mended itself, and he saw the crystal in the middle glow.
<Shield unlocked:
Aero bear shield.
Level 1.
Corpses needed to unlock level 2: 20;>
"Twenty?" Teri said, after reading the text that the shield had produced. "That is insane!"
"I can't seem to do what you did. Guess my bow is not evolving," Rina's head was bowed. It would have been nice if she owned an evolving weapon. Those always came in handy.
"Maybe you will need minerals or metals? I mean, my shield uses monsters, while yours could use ores," Teri suggested, as he kept stuffing his shield with Aero bears. When he placed the final and twentieth one, he got another message.
<Shield upgraded:
Aero bear shield.
Level 2.
Corpses needed to unlock level 3: 30.>
Teri looked around. There were no more bears. He looked further into the darkness of the cave.
"We must head up," he said, taking the lead.
"Oh, so now you are sold on the caves?" Rina teased him.
"I have to get the Aero bear shield to at least level 10 for it to be useful. I just hope that there are enough of these small buggers left in here," without another word, the tank marched into the darkness. They reached a fork in the road, and heard growling from the left.
"Do you think the bears might be that way?" Rina pointed at the left tunnel.
"Could be," Teri stepped back, so Yar and Pavos could run inside the tunnel. "Summon light wisps."
Soon, the tank wished he had not asked it of her. There was a giant Aero bear in the den, looking enraged.
"The mama bear," Rina gasped, and readied her bow.
"We can take her out, we just need to let the slimes do most of the fighting," Teri said, getting before Rina and getting into a protective stance.
They saw how Pavos and Yar cornered the bear, and how it got on its back legs and swiped at them in warning. Rina shot an arrow, and she managed to hit it in the eye. The bear did not die as quickly as her cubs, rather, it became enraged.
The Aero bear picked up Yar, and threw him at Pavos. The two slimes rolled for a while, then got back up and ran back to the bear. Extending around it until it was fully within them. The bear tried to struggle, but the acid ate at its claws, its teeth, its eyes.
"I think I will be sick," Teri turned around, and indeed emptied the contents of his stomach on the ground.
"You will get used to it," Rina said, patting the tank on the back. Soon, the only thing left of the bear was a brown crystal. Neither Pavos nor Yar wanted to try and digest it, so, they spat it out and separated.
Rina took out a water skin and then proceeded to clean the crystal of the slime. Then she pressed it to her bow. Much to her amazement, the crystal disappeared in the ebony.
<Core of an Aero Bear Matriarch acquired.
Aero Bear added to the bestiary.
Quick Arrow skill learned:
The owner of this skill can shoot arrows faster. The bowstrings are easier to pull.
Skill rank: D.>
"Alright, a D ranked skill," she pumped her fist high, and Teri let out a chuckle.
