I could barely sleep last night. Between the wild revelations about my mentor's past and the mountain of bland Jackalope meat settling in my stomach. it made it difficult to lay still.
Last night after I had calmed down, Thorpe informed me that he had reached level 9 by the end of the war. And he gained his 10th and 11th level over the next 2 decades while working as a mercenary.
It was already impressive for someone of his class to be level 8. It's difficult even for stronger combat classes to reach that high in such a short time. But he went from level 6 to level 9 in just a year. Although his circumstances weren't normal. He basically leveled that quickly through trial by fire.
As for level 10 and 11 it was more general and done over the course of almost 20 years. But it wouldn't have been possible if not for how well traveled he became as a Mercenary.
The common understanding is that the soft cap for most people is level 5 but that isn't exactly true. It's just the level where [Class] experience vs survival starts to become an issue. At level 5 the standard experience needed to level up becomes a lot higher. But you can still get the necessary experience for leveling by doing your [Class Quests]. But that creates another issue as the [Class Quests] get more difficult for each level. So difficult in fact that they become unfeasible to achieve without extensive resources.
My mother for example is level 5. And for her to level up through her [Class Quests] she would need to successfully cultivate a 5 by 5 square of Snap Cane. Which is a type of sugar cane that grows along rivers in the South east of the continent. Mr. Thorpe says it tastes like caramel and the reason it's called Snap Cane is because river Snap Dragons build their nests in the thicket. They chew on the canes to sharpen their jaws and eat the sugar to keep their blood flowing during winter.
Now one would think you can just go get a few of them and then grow them. But there are several problems.
There is 3 things that Snap Cane needs in order to grow. One being river water which is easy. We have a river that runs right through the village. It's the other 2 things that make this unfeasible. And that is the soil and the temperature.
Snap Cane only grows naturally in the South East region of Kanacia where it is hot, rainy, and humid pretty much all year round. And with the soil…well the Snap Dragons do give back to the plants they snack on in the form of their…manure.
These are things Mama just can't happen upon or buy the supplies for. She can't change the climate obviously. And Snap Dragons aren't native to our home region of Camden. The only feasible way to accomplish this would be to actually travel out there and grow it but she has responsibilities here that need her. Not to mention how expensive it would be travel that far.
Just another unfairness of our God given system. But I digress.
Old Guard said someone of his level are treated differently by the census. Their whereabouts monitored. He would be highly sought after by Nobility who would likely attempt to force him into contracts. It's no wonder he's kept it secret until now.
But after yesterdays mishaps I am ready to get back out there. Now that we're at the main campsite, we can start focusing on hunting. And I really wanna try to figure out how to get a new monster skill. My [Slayers Aspect] passive skill stated that I can have as many as my intelligence stat, which is 2. So I should be able to get one more.
I've killed a few other monsters before, but I didn't get anything from them. So I'm not sure what the trigger for it actually is.
Which leads us to our current conversation.
"Maybe you can only get skills that don't require tools you don't have. Like you got the [Leap Stride] because you have legs and you can jump. But you didn't get a skill like the Saber Badgers have cause you don't…well…have claws?" Old Guard surmised but his tone didn't sound too confident. A few rocks getting knocked loose as his right foot finds purchase in between some stones.
We are climbing up a small cliff that has a good vantage point at the top. Hoping to get a better view of our surroundings so we can make a good hunting plan. The stones knocked loose by Old Guard clatter past me as I pull myself up to another outcropping against the cliff face. Wind starting to pick up as we get higher. "I considered that but I feel like that'd be too complicated. And I mean…what would really be the point of monster skills if I can't acquire weird and interesting ones." I answer back with a giggle as the imaginative image of me growing big unwieldy claws like the Saber Badger flashes through my mind.
Currently we have traveled a bit aways from camp. The Dominion Woods have begun to thin and the Emperor trees are starting to intermingle with some very voracious pines that seem to literally be consuming the former. I've seen several of the Emperor trees literally in the process of being absorbed into the pines. Or even the roots of the pines uprooting the Emperors to starve them and knock them over. Almost as if their fighting for territory.
After a good 10 minutes of climbing we make it to the top of the cliff. Wind bartering against us. The sun is muted by some slightly greying clouds gathering. My lips purse while I go through a few stretches. "Looks like it might rain."
Old Guard pops through a few of his joints quite loudly. "Yeeeep. Should make for a challenging hunt. The rain will help mask our scent but it'll also tamper with monster tracks and make it harder to hear them moving around depending on how heavy it gets."
I nod along slowly, intaking that info seriously before I stand up to get a look around. The cliff we're on is pretty tall so we can see over the canopy of most of the surrounding forest. And it also has a decent brush of its own foliage with one singular Emperor tree in the middle that looks quite young given its shortness but its bark is very well aged.
The surroundings are quite beautiful tho. Just a sea of various green tree tops dotted with cliffs and plateaus. And further out west the mountains overshadow a large portion of the inner Ardenne. The hooked peak of the largest mountain making the view even more ominous in that direction.
Thorpe steps over to stand beside me and peer out as well. "Creepy over there isn't it. The inner Ardenne is one of the most dangerous places here in the Camden region."
"I remember you said something big lives in there in the darkest parts…" I recall from a few conversations we had both before we left home and during the journey here.
The old man gives a low hum and nods. "The Ardenne is home to mostly bird type monsters. None bigger than the Feather Drakes that live up in the caves and alcoves dotting the mountain." He kneels down and then points a finger at the darkest parts right beneath the shadow of the hooked peak. "But right in there is where the Apex predator around here is nested. The ole Great Horn."
I shift my attention to where he is pointing, kneeling down beside him. "Is it bigger than the Feather Drakes?"
The old man smirks and emphasizes the size difference with his hands. "Much bigger. It is technically also a Feather Drake but it's a different sub-species. But it'll eat its own kin no problem." He stands up and slides his pack off his back to start rummaging through it. "It only hunts for 1 week every few years. Engorging itself on the largest monsters it can find. All the rest of that time is spent hibernating."
I grimace up at him, making worried glances over at the dark forest. "Are…we going to be okay this close?"
Old guard pulls out a furled up map, a spyglass, and a compass. Giving me a passive wave over his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It fed last year. And it doesn't hunt humans. Not big enough for it." Standing back up and handing me the spyglass. "Here…I want you to scan around for me. You are looking for spots where carrion birds are circling."
I accept the spyglass, unlatch and lengthen it out. Mr. Thorpe unfurls the map and places it on flat rock. He weighs down the edges with stones and produces a stick of charcoal. Immediately he circles a spot on the south west and then a spot more central on the map. Our camp and then I'm supposing our current position in that order.
I turn my attention to our surroundings and begin to scan the area. A light morning mist is still settled around us, making it difficult to make out things further away.
I don't notice any major carrions circling out west. Which I am rather grateful for. The further away we are from the Inner Ardenne the better.
Scanning the north as well comes up clear but while scanning out east I finally spot what we're looking for. A flock of large carrions circling around and roosting over a section of forest. "Found them!"
Mr. Thorpe looks up and checks the compass where I point out. "North East. Good job. How far would you say we are?"
Pursing my lips as I swap between the spyglass and just looking out there with my own eyes. "Uh…maybe 2 or 3 hours?" Settling into the spyglass again to scan the areas around the flock.
I can hear Old Guard drawing on the map for a few moments before he grunts. "That shouldn't put us too close to the mid-layer. We'll just be near to skirting the edge of it so we'll need to be extra cautious."
I nod in agreement. "You told me we're going to be hunting something called a Saw Tooth?" Turning my attention to him as he packs up his map and slings his pack over his shoulders.
The old man dusts the charcoal residue off from his hands. "Yes. Thought it would be a decent challenge for us. It's about human sized. Flightless. Long legs so it runs fast. It's hide isn't dense or anything so it should be easy for you to cut through. But it's got some gnarly talons and the edges of its feathers are lined with dense keratin so their razor sharp. And if it gets you down it'll use its serrated beak to saw your limbs off."
I frown, feeling my face get a bit pale. "Is that…something I can handle?" My confidence already dropping low.
Old Guard looks over to me seriously. "Liore I fully believe you'll be able to handle it. And I'll be fighting it with you, no hanging back this time." Ending off the assurance with a smile and thumbs up.
The assurance does make me feel a bit better but the description of the monster in question still gives me some worry.
Taking a deep breath, I give the area we are heading to one last scan around. Not seeing much else of merit but…
Wait…what is that?
My brows furrow. My eye caught something further out east of the flock. Almost hidden by the mist but taking a longer look makes it a bit clearer.
It's smoke…
Rising up from a spot in the far eastern parts of the forest past the flock of carrions. "Hey…Mr. Thorpe. I think I see smoke out there."
The old man's face scrunches up as he approaches onto my right. Taking the spyglass from me as I point out in that direction. Settling his eye against it to peer out. Quieting for a few moments.
"Campfire…definitely…" he mutters.
I can hear the tension in his voice which puts me on alert a bit. "Other hunters?"
Old Guard has his brows pressed tightly together, lowering the spyglass. "Maybe…real amateurs tho. That fire must be pretty big. And to have it burning during the day is not smart in an area like this."
"What should we do then? They still looked pretty far from where we're going."
Thorpe thinks on that question for a moment before nodding. "True. They're atleast several hours off from that flock. But if we do happen to run into them just let me handle it. If their hunters we can just give eachother a wide berth. Plenty of other groups come out here for experience anyhow. Just didn't think it'd be this late in the summer."
We both give the direction one more look before we pack up again and scale back down the cliff. Starting our hunt proper.
But with just a bit more paranoia than we intended to bring along.