Teamwork makes the dream work...Supposedly
"Hello there, my name is Ophelia Fairgood, and I hear you're in need of a healer."
"Goddam it, Benji," I mutter. "Yeah, but we are not exactly strong or comfortable enough to protect you from all harm as we hunt, don't get me wrong, we'll try, seeing as you're our healer. But if you decide to join us you'll have to put up with a lot of inconveniences, such as Benji."
"Oi! I heard that you prick"
*Sigh* "Yes, that's understandable. How will we split the loot? By 1/3s?"
"Yes, but you'll be the harvester, seeing as we are the damage dealers. I hope you're okay with that." I could see her disgust but the rejection I expected didn't come. To be honest I found it messy and time-consuming, especially when solo hunting, which is why I hadn't bothered yesterday.
"Okay, so what, meet here in 30 minutes?" As Benji and I had to grab my other gear we agreed, and after some whinging about the still-present blood spray, we gathered, equipped and ready for a hunt.
*Ding! Party Formed*
"Say, Ophelia?" Benji asked nervously, "how effective is your heal?"
"I can heal 5 times a day, and it will heal 20 points every time I cast it." 'Impressive, for a base spell, her heal spell is effective.'
"Hey healer I need a favour," I whispered, "any beasts I kill, I need you to take their hearts out and give them to me."
"You understand how weird a request that is right? I can do it, but just to be sure, you're not part of any weird religion right?"
A chuckle burst from me as I denied her insinuation, my harvest now secured.
Though a spell caster, she'd spent a small fortune on a breastplate piece, over her gambeson, preventing nearly any attack to her torso from injuring her deeply. She also carried a spear, probably more to buy time than fight with, but it showed she was smarter than Benji, so I was pleased. Looking over at the barbarian, carrying a great axe over his shoulder with a relaxed look on his face, reflecting his simple mindset. After 20 minutes of roaming, much less quietly than I'd hoped, a wolf leapt from the bushes to Benji's side. Dodging instinctively, we positioned ourselves around it, Ophelia holding it back with the spear as Benji swung at it with his axe.
'Wolves rarely attack alone, especially when attacking a larger predator. They like to surround their opponent and attack from the rear. So if this holds true it will come from the thicket behind Ophelia.' Prepping the sword like a baseball swing, I waited. By the time the brown coat was exposed to the sunlight falling through the trees, my swing had connected with its snout, caving in the muzzle and cleaving the top of its head from its neck. Benji's cuts had cut off a leg, and as I readied myself to move in, he hacked through the ribs of the animal.
*Ding! XP gained +7*
"So the main contributor gets half the XP, and the rest is split between the others I guess," I commented as I handed Ophelia my dagger. "So I need to kill at least 19 G-ranked, not including assists." 'This will take a while. The second these guys hit second, we are going further in, looking for F-ranks.'
"You're level 2? You went hunting without me?"
"uhh yeah, so once you two level up we should look for small groups of G-rank and solo F ranks, cool?"
"I'm fine with it."
"Should save time, so I also think it's acceptable."
It took about 2 hours before the 2 had reached Level 2, and as I had held off opponents rather than actively killing them, I had gathered 20 XP myself from assisting. Deciding to stop and eat before we challenge our next foes I tried to get to know Ophelia.
"Why're you hunting despite being a noble? And why not with a higher levelled party for your safety?"
"If you asked most nobles that they'd call you impudent." *sigh* "I'm hunting to develop my stats and to enter the academy on my own merits, unlike my pathetic siblings that needed a monetary bribe to the academy under the pretence of a donation to enter. And if the party is much stronger than you, while safer, doesn't teach you anything. What use is knowing how to cast a spell, if you don't know when you guys in the front are in need of it, or what I can do to help apart from heal."
Benji, mouth agape whispered to me, "she's amazing bro."
Having found the hoof print of an armoured rhino, we followed the trail, finding it in the midst of tall, thick trees we could use for cover. Due to their limited eyesight and slow acceleration rate, these creatures were only F-rank, however at full speed, they'd flip an entire carriage with ease, killing whoever was in it. Both me and Benji flanked the rhino, picking a side each before proceeding to swing at its back legs as hard as we could. While the creature was stunned we kept hacking, breaking through its iron hide and into the tendons, preventing it from building up much speed. As the creature turned to look back at us, I, using my significantly improved Agility, ran around it again, driving my sword into its armpit, almost as if I were a rhino myself. Pulling my weapon free from its torso, Benji took his axe to its neck, swinging in a frenzy while I used the hole in its chest to stab into its organs more easily.
*Ding! XP gained +25*
"Yeah, that's definitely quicker than hunting G-ranks." After harvesting the beast of both heart and horn, we readied to leave. The sound of slapping feet and the slight rustling of feathers alerted me to the approaching foe. "Hide!" Hidden with Ophelia in the brush behind a wide trunk, I witness the largest goose I've ever laid eyes on ram its beak into the rhino's flesh. Taking the healer's spear as slowly as humanly possible, I sneak around the 10-foot-tall bird, positioning myself under its soft belly. Observing Benji's readiness, I shove with all my strength, impaling the bird on the shaft and rolling out from under it, however not as quickly as I'd hoped. The head and neck of the goose swung out, not with a bite, but still bashing me in the side with its whip-like head.
*22 HP lost*
"Half my health with a fucking headbutt."
"Rraahhhh!" Benji's rageful Battlecry gathered its attention, as he charged the beast, carving into its chest. Fetching my sword from my back I hack at the base of its neck, aiming to kill it as quickly as possible so that I could heal. Looking at one of Benji's cuts to the stomach of the bird, I realise the cut is deep, almost deep enough for its innards to spill free, so ducking under the goose's flapping wings, I kick the gash on its belly, tearing open the wound.
*Ding! XP gained +25*
"Heal please," me and Benji call simultaneously, both having been batted by the long-necked goose.
"After healing you before Benji, I've only got 2 more left today."
"That's fine, focus your healing from now on Benji. Let's eat."
"Again?"
"Well it's that or you can watch me eat, I'm going to eat some of that "prepared meat." Though I hadn't gotten any stat points from a creature I didn't kill, or contribute to, I had collected 7 hearts over the day. Munching through the hearts as quickly as I could, I ignored the disgusted faces on the duo.
*Ding! Stat points gained +10*
Putting 4 points into strength, and 3 in both Agility and Constitution, I almost moaned as my body changed. It wasn't just the feeling of growing more powerful, but the twitching of muscles as they grew and condensed.
"Status"
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All-Consuming Beast System
Name: Fionn Meldor
Level: 2
Xp: 89/100
Health: 68/70
Stamina: 50/50
Class: Fenris
Stats:
Strength: 10 Agility: 12 Stamina: 5 Constitution: 7 Charisma: 3
Hunger: Locked
Skills:
Breaker of Chains Lvl 1: (Passive)
The host has significantly enhanced resistance to all physical and mental restraints and is immune to restraints attempted by beings up to 2 levels higher than the host.
Devour Lvl 1: (Passive)
The host can gain stat points by consuming the hearts of his prey.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Let's just hunt in the weaker areas for the rest of today, that way we can retreat if you run out."
"Probably a smart idea."