We Hunt Monsters

  Book Two

  Aaron Oster

  For my sister. Happy birthday!

  Contents

  Prologue

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  36

  37

  38

  39

  40

  41

  42

  43

  44

  45

  46

  47

  48

  49

  50

  51

  52

  53

  54

  55

  56

  57

  58

  59

  60

  61

  62

  63

  64

  65

  66

  67

  68

  69

  70

  71

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Prologue

  King Rowan, leader of the Royal Guild and king of the continent of Humania, was not happy. While some kings liked chaos and rebellion to alleviate their boredom, Rowan liked things to be just that – boring.

  He liked to wake up at eight in the morning, eat the same two eggs and grain toast covered in jiggleberry jam breakfast, and read the morning paper.

  This morning, however, he was stuck in a meeting with two very bedraggled, bloody, and badly injured members of his guild. They weren’t actually members of the Royal Guild, as they weren’t in the royal family, but they were under the employ of the guild. In other words, they were his responsibility.

  “Tell me again what happened,” Rowan sighed. “From the part where you engaged with the monster.”

  “Yes, sire,” said the least injured of the two – a human woman by the name of Bea. “We were moving through the Desert of the Barren Wasteland when we came across what we believe to be an Elder Grim-type monster…”

  “What exactly is an Elder Grimm?” Rowan interrupted.

  “The Monster Hunter Guide released by the Pest Control Guild classifies a Grimm-type monster as being prodigiously covered in spines. They’re also known to roll into balls and use said spines to crush their prey to death. They’re generally mean-spirited and will attack anything on sight,” Bea said. “Elder Grimms are like that, only three times the size, five times as mean, and can use magic.”

  “What level was it?” Rowan asked, understanding now how a party of twenty adventurers could have been wiped out.

  “Sixty-two.”

  Rowan hid a wince when he heard that. While he could have gone out there himself and likely lived as a single level sixty-five fighter, he probably wouldn’t have been able to kill this monster on his own.

  “How did the two of you manage to escape?”

  “We ran, sire,” Bea said. “We were under orders to return at all costs, and when Tailgate went down, we knew we weren’t going to win.”

  Tailgate was the leader of this party, an experienced warrior and veteran of the battlefield. Rowan couldn’t blame these two for running, even if it was a move of cowardice. Sure, they’d been ordered to return at all costs, but these two running had likely cost several more lives.

  If they’d stayed to fight, would more people have survived?

  “As you can probably see, I’ve got a bit of a conundrum on my hands,” Rowan said, sitting up straighter in his throne. “You clearly deserted your party and fled like the cowards you are. But you did return to make your report. The punishment for desertion is death, but you didn’t technically desert.”

  The man let out a grunt of annoyance as he tried to think of the best punishment. This was shaping up to be a truly horrible day. He’d originally sent this team out to battle the rising tide of monsters in the desert that were encroaching on populated areas. Little did he know it would end so disastrously.

  “You shouldn’t blame them for their failures. After all, if you want a pest destroyed, you need to send exterminators, not these untrained city-dwellers.”

  “Who are you, and how did you get in here?” Rowan demanded as the sound of steel on leather and the crackle of magic echoed throughout the throne room.

  “Who I am is of no consequence,” the woman said, stepping from the shadows of the onyx pillars flanking the room. “Who I represent, on the other hand, is far more important.”

  The woman was strikingly beautiful. Tall, lithe, and athletic, she was clad in sleek armor with small ridges raised all across her body. The hilt of a slim sword protruded from her shoulder, and the gleaming, multicolored sphere hovering off its end gave away its status as a Legendary weapon.

  In fact, everything the woman wore was of Legendary quality, as the power it radiated to Rowan’s senses was near-blinding.

  She stopped near the center of the room, ignoring the guards as they surrounded her, weapons poised to attack. She placed a hand on one of her hips, then cocked her head to the side. Flawless silver-white skin moved upward ever so slightly as the full-blooded nebula elf raised an eyebrow.

  “You’re from the Pest Control Guild,” Rowan said, seeing the tag displayed in her status. “But I know all the strongest members on the continent, and I’ve never seen you.”

  “I’ve recently come to visit an old acquaintance,” the elf said. “But I couldn’t help overhearing your predicament on my way through the city and figured I’d come and offer my services.”

  Rowan couldn’t read her level, which was a terrifying prospect given his unique skill, Royal Eye. With this skill, he could read anyone’s full and true status so long as they were a citizen of Humania. However, if they were not, he’d be able to read anyone’s level up to his own 65.

  “What’s your price for this service?” Rowan asked, motioning his guards back.

  There was no point in them being there as she could slip free just as easily as she’d gotten in. And, if she were insulted, she might just decide to take a few of their heads along with her when she left. He figured it best to move the guards as far as possible to make it inconvenient.

  “I’ll give you my price once I’ve returned with the monster’s head,” the elf said. “I only take payment once a job is complete.”

  Rowan knew that he wouldn’t be able to say no, especially after his own team had failed so miserably.

  “Very well,” Rowan said. “We have a deal. Find the monster responsible for killing all of my men and return its head to me.”

  The elf’s eyes unfocused for a split second – she was likely reading the quest – then turned her sparkling eyes back on him.

  “We have an agreement. I will return shortly.”

  With that, she vanished from the center of the throne room.

  Rowan let out an internal sigh of relief, though he didn’t allow his composure to slip before his subjects. It wouldn’t be proper for someone of his station.

  He turned his eyes back on the cowering figures before him. They were still bleeding, small droplets of red collecting on the white marble floor.

  “Take them to the healers,” he commanded. “When they are fit and recovered, bring them to me again for judgment.”

  “Thank you, sire,” Bea said, bowing her head.

  The fact that he had them healed meant that he wasn’t going to kill them. After all, why waste a healing on a corpse?

  Only once the two of them were gone and his guards had stepped from the room, did Rowan allow himself to slump. He sunk deep into the plush throne, allowing a long sigh to escape from his lips. There were days he wished his father hadn’t died and left him in charge, despite the old man’s cruel nature.

  Rowan was only in his early thirties, but already, his dark chestnut hair was beginning to gray at the temples. In just a few years, he suspected he wouldn’t have a speck of brown left. From experience, he knew he’d be dealing with this woman again, and while he was on good terms with the guild masters here in Humania, he had no idea how a foreigner would act.

  When the terrifying monster hunter returned, he would make sure to have the other members of the Royal Guild present. None of them matched his level, but a few were pretty close. If it came to it, they might need to fight, and he would much rather have his family by his side than a few guards.

  Rowan was just sitting down to dinner when the report came. A line of dust was spotted near the border of the desert, stretching quickly into the sky. Although the food on the table smelled enticing, he left it without a second thought, moving swiftly to the throne room, the members of his family in tow.

  A tarp had been spread out across the floor to protect it, as members of the Pest Control Guild were prone to dropping corpses wherever they wished. Rowan had only just managed to take his seat when the elf-woman appeared, standing before the tarp.

  “I’m impressed you made it here in time,” she said, looking mildly amused.
>
  If Rowan had been expecting her fight with the monster to leave any visible marks, he’d have been extremely disappointed. Not so much as a single strand of her perfect ash-blonde hair was out of place. She looked like she did this morning – flawless.

  “I take it you completed the quest?” Rowan said, getting straight to business.

  The woman looked down at the tarp before her, shook her head in exasperation, then proceeded to summon the head of the monster. Rowan had to resist the urge to groan as metallic-yellow blood splattered all over the floor, eating into the expensive tile. It was going to cost him hundreds of large gold bars to get it all fixed. The people who’d set the tarp up were going to get an earful later – not for not setting it up correctly, but for underestimating the sheer size of the monster’s head.

  A needle-covered head towered above them. It was well over eighteen feet tall, black as night, and covered in scars. Long gashes lined its face, and the stumps of broken spines showed jagged edges.

  It was a brutal-looking creature with deep-sunken eyes that were open wide, revealing amber globes bigger than his head. Blocky teeth lined its craggy mouth – teeth that were stained red, Rowan noticed.

  “It would seem we are in your debt,” Rowan said, looking past the gruesome head to the woman standing before it.

  “You are,” the woman confirmed.

  “What would you like as payment?” Rowan asked.

  “Your assistance,” she replied.

  A mutter went through the other members of the guild, but Rowan kept his eyes on the elf.

  “Assistance with what?”

  “I’m sure you’re aware that our guild has had a recent run-in with the Necro-Beast.”

  Rowan hid a grimace. The Necro-Beast Guild members were a detestable lot that dealt in the illegal transportation and sale of dangerous monsters, among other things. They were a constant thorn in his side, as well as an obvious enemy of the Pest Control Guild, who existed to kill such monsters.

  “That’s hardly surprising,” Rowan said. “The two are constantly at odds.”

  “Well, this time, they threw a Raid Boss at us,” the elf said bluntly. “With that, they all but declared war on our guild. What I’m asking for is assistance in stamping them out on your continent.”

  “We can’t get involved with Necro-Beast. They’re far too influential and dangerous in the underworld.”

  Rowan glared at his younger sister as she spoke up.

  “I agree. We can’t be involved with them,” his cousin said.

  “Are you saying that the Royal Guild endorses the actions of an underworld guild?” the elf asked.

  “No,” Rowan said quickly, before anyone else could protest. “We’re not.”

  He glared around at the members of his guild for speaking out of line, silencing any opposition. They might have been members of his family, but he was the king.

  “Then what are you saying?” the woman asked. “Will you refuse my reward?”

  “No,” Rowan said again.

  The last thing he needed now was to pull an Inquisitor down on their heads. He took a moment to think, then changed tactics.

  “Before I give my answer, I want to know who you are, where you’ve come from, and why you’re really here.”

  The woman seemed to think for a moment, appraising him with her unnerving, color-shifting eyes, before giving her reply.

  “I can’t give you my real name, but my codename is Roamer. I’ve come from the Fourliance to answer the request of an old friend. You might know him as the guild master of our branch in Oster’s Keep, Marj the Legendary Butcher. He is quite put out that Necro-Beast tried to wipe them out, and I tend to agree.

  “They started this war, but we intend to end it. The only question is which side the Royal Guild will be on when it’s all over.”

  Rowan could see the threat, clear as day. If the Pest Control Guild was victorious and he refused to help, they would make sure that everyone knew, which would weaken their position significantly. They still had Barren Wasteland and could use that as leverage, but he held no doubts that the Pest Control Guild held several world items, and while his guild was exclusive to this continent, theirs spanned throughout all of them.

  “I don’t appreciate what you’re implying,” Rowan finally said. “But I do intend to honor our agreement. If help in destroying the Necro-Beast Guild is what you desire, then we’ll do all we can to end them. But I want assurance that we won’t be facing reprisals from branches of that accursed guild from a different continent.”

  The Necro-Beast Guild wasn’t just powerful; it was big. He didn’t know how many continents they were on, but his sources told him that there was a presence on both the Beastland and Fourliance continents.

  “You have my word,” the elf said. “So, do we have a deal?”

  Rowan could feel the members of his guild silently screaming at him to say no, but he ignored them, feeling a smile curling his lips. The Necro-Beast members had been a thorn in his side for too long. It was about time to be rid of them.

  “We have a deal,” Rowan said.

  With the two guilds now officially working together, the Necro-Beasts’ days were numbered.

  1

  Keith stretched his arms over his head, yawning widely and feeling better than he had since he’d been thrown into the world of Raiah. A message floating before his eyes confirmed his current mood.

  You are perfectly rested: +20% to max HP & STA for 3 hours

  “Now that’s what I call a buff,” Keith said, startling the small monkey sprawled out on his pillow.

  “Don’t eat me! I’m all skin and bones! Eat Keith instead. He’s…” Bob trailed off as he realized they weren’t in imminent danger.

  “Eat Keith instead?”

  “Just a figure of speech,” Bob said, chuckling nervously. “I wasn’t serious about that.”

  “Sure you weren’t,” Keith muttered, getting out of bed and stretching once more.

  He felt amazing. If this was the sort of sleep he got as a steel-level guild member, he could hardly wait to see what he could get at gold, platinum, or higher. Padding across the soft carpet of his bedroom living room, Keith poked his head into the second room of his quarters and felt a smile stretch his lips.

  It wasn’t a large room, nor was it covered in plush carpet. It was about the size of a large closet, containing a simple wooden tub fitted with two faucets. A couple of towels sat on a nearby shelf, and a chamber pot – not an actual toilet – sat next to it.

  He didn’t much like the idea of cleaning out his own waste, but a hot bathtub in his room was too good to pass up. It didn’t take long for Keith to fill the tub with steaming water, the man sinking in with a long, satisfied sigh.

  Oster’s Keep, where the guildhall was located, was constantly cold, and although the actual hall managed to be warm, the room he’d been given as a copper chain was barely adequate for basic survival. Keith had slept in worse, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t enjoy luxury when it was dropped in his lap.

  As he sat soaking in the tub, Keith pulled up his active quests to see where he’d likely be heading next.

  Active Quests

  A World to Conquer

  Being a conqueror isn’t easy. Too bad you have no choice. There are five continents on Raiah. You must challenge and defeat the World Monster on each continent.

  Difficulty: World

  Current Objective: Defeat Orne Skull-stomper, Elder Troll of Humania

  Current Reward: 100,000 XP, 1 World item, 5 Legendary monster pieces, 3 Large Gold bars

  Progress: 0/5 Defeated

  Weapons Master

  You have Mastery Skills in all three weapons disciplines. Seems like you should consolidate, right?

  Difficulty: A

  Current Objective: Raise Bladed, Ranged, and Blunt Weapons Mastery to Master level

  Current Rewards: 5,000 XP

  Undead Alliance

  Looks like you’ve landed yourself in yet another mess, and this time, it’s smack in the middle of a full-blown guild war! However, there’s more than one player involved. Let’s see if your detective skills are up to the challenge.

  Difficulty: SS

  Current Objective: Investigate Cane

  Current Rewards: 7,000 XP, 1 legendary item, 5 large gold bars

  Bonus Objective: Steal Cane’s Life-Gem

  Time Remaining: 35 days, 2 hours

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43