We Hunt Monsters 3, page 39
“Oh, thank you!” she said, peering into the sack and all but salivating.
A payday like this was uncommon, to say the least.
“I’ll give you two more just like it if you can lead us there personally,” Fendor tried.
“No, thank you,” the gnome said, though he could see she was tempted.
There was only one reason why she would refuse.
“How many of the others know?” Fendor asked, his mood immediately darkening.
“All of them,” the gnome replied. “But it wasn’t me, I swear,” she was quick to add. “As I said, there are other brokers, and there’s more than one copy of this map to have survived.”
Fendor grimaced, feeling anger beginning to boil in his chest. The others she was referring to were the other clan leaders of Beastland. Unlike in Humania, where a single Guild had taken charge by holding a World item, in Beastland, the continent had been split into six separate factions, each claiming a chunk of the continent for themselves.
There was a constant rivalry between them all, and one was always looking for a way to overthrow the others. The Greathammer was a powerful enough item that it could give its wielder the control they’d been desperately searching for.
“We’re leaving,” Fendor said, rising and walking toward the exit of the tavern as the human finally emerged with a dusty bottle of water.
“Where are we headed, chief?” asked Ponko, his right-hand clansman.
“To recruit,” Fendor said. “If we are to succeed where those other flea-bitten scumbags will not, we will need the greatest dungeon-divers and monster hunters money can buy.”
He had around four months until the Nemesis dungeon would be revealed, and Fendor could already taste victory as he imagined wielding the Greathammer and claiming ultimate rule of the continent of Beastland.
***
Keith sat on his bed inside the new quarters assigned to him as the second-in-command of the We Hunt Monsters Guild. He hadn’t wanted the title, but Jelly had insisted.
It had taken him a few days to get to Umber City, where he’d met with Chuck and Zacharias to hammer out the details of his new guild. Zacharias, like Chuck, said he would have been annoyed if not for the fact that the world boss had been put down and the threat neutralized.
He’d also carried a personal commendation from the leader of the Royal Guild himself. The We Hunt Monsters Guild was officially formed – with a tax-exempt status so long as they did their job – and an honored status with the Royal Guild was bestowed upon them. By the time Keith headed out of Umber City, the first people to leave Oster’s Keep were beginning to arrive with whisperings of the downfall of the Pest Control Guild.
Keith already knew they wouldn’t completely fall apart. There were several branches across the continent and individual roamers on the others, but they would never return to the level of prominence they once had.
It took him a couple of weeks to make it over to Trapper’s Keep after his arrival to Umber City, where he’d been greeted by Lord Trapper himself and shown to the new guildhall that had been allotted to them. It was in the perfect location, right at the center of the keep. They also had claim to the four buildings surrounding it, though Lord Trapper said it would cost them if they wanted them.
The man had happily informed him that people were starting to return to the keep as news spread of the monster’s defeat. Additional news of a new monster hunting guild with approval from the Royals also didn’t hurt their decision-making.
Several of his friends were already there, setting up, building and constructing what would soon be the new main hall. It was going to have a different layout than the Pest Control Guild, but Keith didn’t mind. He didn’t need a constant reminder of the guild that had betrayed him.
His new room was ready just a couple of days after his arrival and had been presented to him by Jelly, along with the position of vice-guild master, though he’d made her promise to keep his position vague from everyone – including those he considered friends. He would be vice-commander in name only until the time when he was strong enough to claim the name openly.
“What’s the real reason you decided not to become guild master?” Bob asked as Keith looked around the room.
His new living quarters were arranged like a small suite. There was the main bedroom, with a single bed, dresser, and mirror. There were a couple of comfortable chairs, as well as an empty bookshelf. Two doors led off the bedroom. One led to his bathroom, complete with a wooden tub, while the other opened to his kitchen and dining room.
The actual suite was nothing fancy, but for the first time since coming here, Keith finally had a place he could call home.
“In case you’ve forgotten, there are still people who are after us,” Keith said. “Specifically, Guzzlarian the Glutton and the Empress of the Necro-Beast Guild. We’d be idiots to think they couldn’t find me here, especially if I had announced myself as the guild master.”
“So, you’re planning on purposely failing the Glutton quest?” Bob asked. “That’s a bit risky, don’t you think?”
“The quest will still be active if I understand correctly,” Keith said. “The only difference is that the Glutton himself will know of my existence. When I could be tracked, that might have been a problem. Now, though, him knowing about me can’t hurt me. They’ll never know where I might strike next. Besides, the Glutton isn’t really my goal. My goal is to defeat all of the world monsters, which means going to Beastland to hunt the next one.”
“Well, you’re definitely strong enough to go to Beastland,” Bob said. “Though things are going to be a lot less civilized than here on Humania.”
“Are you telling me that it’s all jungles and wilderness?” Keith asked.
“No,” Bob replied. “Just that there’s no unified rule of the continent. Unlike Humania, where free travel is permitted, you might be restricted, depending on whose territory you would want access to.”
“You’ll have to fill me in more once we’re on the way,” Keith said. “How do we get there, by the way?”
“We’ll have to take a ship from Soarharbor City,” Bob said, “on the far west side of the continent.”
“How long will that take?” Keith asked.
“With your current skill level and speed of your carriage, it’ll take around a month,” Bob said. “Actual travel to Beastland depends on the ship we take. It can be anywhere from a week to two months, depending on how much money you’re willing to shell out.”
“Well, we’re not exactly poor now,” Keith said.
Aside from the value of the actual materials he owned, he had gotten a serious amount of both large and small gold bars, a pile of silver, and more bronze coins than he knew what to do with. In short, he could now afford to spend a bit more if it would make his journey easier.
“Does this mean you’re going to get us a new living space?” Bob asked.
“Yes,” Keith replied. “That, and a new carriage – one that can get us across the continent as quickly as possible.”
“I’m excited about the new living space, not so much about the faster carriage,” the monkey said, going a bit green. “Have you ever heard the term ‘slow and steady?’”
“If I had, I wouldn’t be as strong as I am right now, would I?” Keith returned.
“I would caution you to be careful when we go to Beastland,” Bob said. “While the average level in Humania is quite low, the same cannot be said of Beastland. Constant wars between the six clans have forged the residents in – sometimes literal – fire. You’ll find the average on Beastland to be around level thirty-two, but that’s only the average.”
That didn’t really bother Keith, as he had already met some pretty strong fighters here in the forms of avatars, guild masters, literal monsters, as well as a powerful elf from the Fourliance.
“That’s fine with me,” Keith said, rolling his neck from side to side. “I could always use a challenge.”
The two of them chatted a bit more about the mundane before heading to the kitchen for dinner. They had placed their order nearly an hour ago, and now the small dumbwaiter built into the wall of the kitchen rang, letting them know their food was ready.
After a delicious meal and a hot bath, Keith was just about ready for bed. However, before he went to sleep, he had a few stat points to assign. He’d been holding onto them since he’d left Oster’s Keep, promising Bob that he’d assign them if they ran into any danger while on the road. Luckily, though, they hadn’t.
Now that they finally had a moment to think, Keith pulled up his status and assigned all five of his points to Strength on Bob’s insistence that he would need to get it higher. Once that was done, he did a full scan of his status and skills, as the list was getting lengthy and he wanted a refresher.
Status
Name: Keith, Humania’s Champion
Race: Sortie
Class: Warmaster
Level: 42
XP: 27,154/53,700
HP: 2,220/2,220
STA: 2,810/2,810
Strength - 283 (Base 151)(144 + 5 + 2 Class)
Vitality - 222 (Base 57)(55 + 2 Racial)
Endurance - 281 (Base 121)(119 + 2 Class)
Agility - 178 (Base 95)(94 + 1 Class)
Wisdom - 52 (Base 17)
Luck - 65 (Base 23)
Skills
Passive
Warmaster: Grandmaster – II
Peak Health: Grandmaster – II
Tactician: Sage – II
Quick Learner: Grandmaster – I
Ranger: Grandmaster – I
Punisher: Grandmaster – I
Discerning Eye: Grandmaster – II
Legendary Monster Hunter: Master – VIII
Rough Wagoner: Advanced – V
Judgment: Advanced – II
Prodigy: Advanced – VI
Active
Heatstance: Advanced - II
Static Rush: Intermediate - III
Heat Flash: Beginner - VI
Golden Hammer: Beginner - IV
Hammerrang: Intermediate - IV
Cleaving Earth: Novice - VIII
Chronosphere: Novice - I
Equipped Items
Armor
Kinetika Helm
Terra Pauldrons
Terra Kinetika Breastplate
Terra Bracers
Kinetic Gauntlets
Kinetic Greaves
Kinetika Pants
Kinetika Boots
Terra Cape
Total Armor Rating: 230
Weapons
1) Terracotta’s Obliterator
2) Apex Shear
3) Whiplash
Other
Sola’s Second Wind
Sola’s Mighty Choker
Sola’s Ring of Regeneration
Sola’s Ring of Endurance
Gregamore’s Ring of Brutality
Ring of Vitality
Umbral Ring of Endless Shade
Trickster’s Ring of the Blood-ridden Apostate
Terracotta’s Mithril Life Ring
Slinker’s Mithril Stamina Ring
Mithril Ring of the Conqueror
Sola’s Band of Vitality
Lucky Hoof
Active Skills
Heatstance
Level: Advanced - II
Your body becomes as tough as steel and is infused with the power of the sun
Cost: 20 STA
Damage: 45-54
Armor: +40%
Additional Effects: 20% chance to use Sunstance instead, boosting all effects by 25%
Duration: 20 seconds
Static Rush
Level: Intermediate - III
Inflict a punishing series of blows using any weapon
Cost: 40 STA
Damage: 40-50
Additional Effects: 18% chance to paralyze, 10% chance to double agility for 10 seconds
Heat Flash
Level: Beginner - VI
Project your inner heat outward
Cost: 50 STA
Damage: 28-36
Additional Effects: 25% chance to burn
Golden Hammer
Level: Beginner - IV
You’re never unarmed. Create hammers using your inner power
Cost: 100 STA
Damage: 18-30
Hammerrang
Level: Intermediate - IV
Throw your hammer, and it will return
Cost: 125 STA
Damage: 75-91
Additional Effects: 35% chance to stun, 10% chance to cripple
Cleaving Earth
Level: Novice - VIII
Create blades of earth with which to cleave
Cost: 100 STA
Damage: 70-82
Additional Effects: 30% chance of landing a critical hit, 15% chance of causing bleed
Chronosphere
Level: Novice - I
Command time within your sphere of control
Cost: 350 STA
AOE: 8 feet
Additional Effects: +10 agility
Duration: 10 seconds
Passive Skills
Warmaster
Level: Grandmaster - II
All weapons up to legendary rarity can be wielded regardless of restriction or condition. You are a master of unarmed combat. You may select up to three weapons and equip them to gain the properties of all three while fighting with any one of them. While you do not need weapons to fight, the bonuses of the equipped weapons will still factor into any damage inflicted while fighting unarmed. As a grandmaster in this skill, active skills may become available to you.
All attacks using bladed, ranged, or blunt weapons will do 10% more damage. All attacks struck barehanded will do 15% more damage.
*You may teach Bladed, Ranged or Blunt Mastery to others. You may teach Martial Arts to others. You may teach Warmaster to others. All skills will be taught at a beginner level.
Peak Health
Level: Grandmaster - II
You are at peak physical health. Stamina and health will regenerate at a much faster pace. You will recover from wounds faster and will take less damage while in battle. Your stamina will deplete at a slower rate.
Once per day, if your HP would hit zero, it will instead stay at one point.
+90% Increased HP & STA regen, +215% recovery speed, -50% damage, -30% stamina depletion speed
*You may teach this skill to others at a beginner level.
Tactician
Level: Sage - II
You have reached the peak of skill in tactics. You can plan battles, spot deception, lead raids, draw blueprints, and cannot be fooled by anyone. Enemies will have a hard time predicting your movements, and their failures will cost them more.
Combat information will be streamlined during battle. The best attack patterns will be made available and adjusted along with enemy movements, as well as your own. You may command troops telepathically, and just being in the same party as you will grant a 5% bonus to damage.
While the skill itself will no longer improve, reaching the peak of sage has its advantages.
*You may teach this skill to others at the intermediate level.
Quick Learner
Level: Grandmaster - I
You have a keen mind for learning and understanding the way of the world.
+90% chance to learn new skills, +70% growth to all skills, +20% chance to learn higher-tier skills, +1% chance for a skill to skip to the next tier upon upgrade
*You may teach this skill to others at the beginner level.
Ranger
Level: Grandmaster - I
You have ranged far and wide. You can track, hunt, climb, and swing. Any rough terrain is no match for you.
+500% chance to find hidden trails, +80% movement speed in rough terrain, +25% climbing speed on vertical surfaces, Fall damage is cut in half
*You may teach this skill to others at the beginner level.
Punisher
Level: Grandmaster - I
You were never one to allow your enemies to escape. You punish all with brutal efficiency. All of your blows strike twice as hard.
+200% critical, +200% damage if struck first, +1% chance to insta-kill, regardless of level
*You may teach this skill to others at the beginner level.
Discerning Eye
Level: Grandmaster - II
You can analyze your surroundings, identifying anything below level 95 at a glance. You can spot hidden treasures that others might miss. You can identify the value of items. You can always get the best price available at shops. You can now see personal information about someone. You probably don’t want this to get out, though.
*You may teach this skill to others at the beginner level.
Legendary Monster Hunter
Level: Master - VIII
You’re a monster hunter of legendary proportions. All other monster hunters pale in comparison to your might. They can only look on in envy as you murder your way to a full species extinction.
+150% damage, +75% armor piercing, +450% critical, 1% chance to insta-kill anything below your level
Twice per day, cast the skill: Monster’s Bane to inflict level x100 damage over the course of 60 seconds.
Once per day, cast the skill: Lock to freeze a monster in place for 100 seconds.
*You may teach this skill to others.
Rough Wagoner
Level: Advanced - V
You can drive any self-powered vehicle with four wheels, regardless of terrain or condition.
+45% increased comfort, +22% stability, +25% endurance to vehicle, +20% speed on rough terrain, +65% vision at night, +70% vision in poor weather
Judgment
Level: Advanced - II
Your judgment is impeccable in all things, whether in battle, on the road, or in social situations.
