Once all was said and done, I played for the princess before leaving. The Red Eagles know most of what happened now except for my two forms, my ears, and my tail. Deciding that it is too late to go to the tavern, I use my bedroom in the palace to sleep. I use [Shift] and sleep in my wolf form.
I wake up bright and early. As I stretch my wolf form out, I receive a notification.
{Ding! Ability: [Gambler] is ready to be used!}
I smile slightly as I activate the ability, hoping for something good or sellable.
{Ding! Item: [Exquisite Diamond Ring(blue)] received!
Effect: Increases charisma of wearer by three points.
Description: Diamonds are a girl's best friend! Or so I am told... I don't have any friends... or a gender... this sucks...}
I let out a small squeal of excitement. My squeal isn't for the diamond ring, but the effect. This is the second time I have pulled something useful! Maybe, with enough tries, I can pull out a spaceship! The only problem is that now, since I pulled something good, the next item will suck.
{Ding! Skill: [Prediction(lvl:3)] Level up!}
I still don't get the point of [Prediction], but I might as well level it up. This skill didn't even show during my seven years. Maybe it exists now because I actually am here. Also, since I slept, all of my statuses are back at max.
I realize I have a problem. My inventory is full. I have thirty arrows, the [Mask of the Wolf Queen], the [Elven Recurve Bow], the golden pass, the bag/satchel filled with coins, my lute, and the [Steel Sword].
Using [Shift], I quickly clothe myself before pulling out the satchel and dumping all of its contents into my inventory. Since the bag is filled with only coins, my inventory easily takes it all. In fact, the only reason I could store the full bag is because it only has coins. If there were other items, I wouldn't have been able to store it at the Mercenaries' Guild Tavern.
I then pull out my sword and put it in the sheath that is on the bag. I will probably never use the close weapon, but that doesn't mean I won't need it. I also store the pass inside the bag. My hands don't pull out the mask, bow, arrows, and lute. That leaves three spots left to use.
Looking at the interface, I see that I have eight gold coins, two hundred thirty-three silver coins, and four hundred fifty-one copper coins. That should be able to keep me going for a while at least.
While my preparing has been peaceful, I have been incredibly bored this entire time. I need combat! It's an instinctual gamer instinct to want to take a mallet- arrow in my case- and smash it into a FUBAR person's face. It is made worse by my wolf like instinct to dominate and attack my foes!
This leaves me with two options, try to find a mercenary party to join, or go off on my own in hunt of monsters. I personally prefer the latter, but I think I will choose the first. I'm not quite strong enough to stand on my own two feet yet. Singing with the lute, I quickly cast [Disguise Self] as I wake my way to the door.
My feet seem to automatically make their way back through the city to the Mercenaries' Guild Tavern. It isn't long before my vision is filled with the large tree. It missed my notice the first time, but the tavern is called "Watering Hole of the Crazed".
Opening up the door and entering, my ears are assaulted with cheers at my arrival. My hands wave as a smile finds itself on my face. I walk towards the bartender, saying hello to the people who try to talk to me.
The bartender smiles broadly at me, "I must thank you miss, my profits jumped by 500% last night. It is true what they say, a bard is a bar's best friend. What can I get for you?"
"It was mutually beneficial. Actually, I am here because I was wondering if you knew of any groups that are going hunting. Nothing longer than two days." I have been calling it the Mercenaries' Guild Tavern, but that isn't really true. The tavern is owned by a separate person, but has a request board laden with requests. Anyone can come and post a request. The Mercenaries' Guild on Somalspire, unlike most worlds, does not have any officials or anything concrete. At most, it is a set of codes, ethics, and veterans that hangout in one spot for a long time.
The bartender stops for a moment to think, "I heard that a group called duo Ceriph's Light is going to attempt to raid a small Devil's Sty west of here. They need someone to help support, but other than that, they are ready to go. They already have two others. You should be able to easily get in with them since every group in the city had at least one person in attendance last night. Be careful though, the religious can sometimes get a little too fanatical."
Ceriph is the god of light in this world. His followers are usually fairly tempered, but they have an extreme hatred of all undead. If undead are involved, they are more of a kill first ask questions never type of group. For the most part, mercenaries will not fight over moral beliefs and tactics for too long. If they do, they won't survive. It is better to let others do their work than to argue who is right. Arguing can lead to death. Pride can also lead to death if the person refuses to even listen to their subordinates and allies.
A Devil's Sty is a place where dangerous creatures are more common. They remind me of dungeons in other games. It is made by too much mana in one place for a long time. They usually only happen in places where there has been combat or vast bloodshed.
I nod my head to the bartender, "Do you know where I can find their leader?"
He points to a human in heavy, silver plate mail armor, sitting in a boot with one other person. He has everything aside from a helmet. A large shield sits in the booth next to him and a sword is in its sheath at his hip. His equipment and posture scream paladin to me. Across from him is a woman in a robe. My first impression is that she is a mage. This is quickly changed when I see her staff ends in a small statue of the sun. She must be a cleric. They seem to be in an intense argument over something
I wave at the bartender and make my way to duo in the booth. The cleric notices me and slides over just a little. It is an obvious invitation. I take it and sit down. Both of them aren't talking anymore.
"I hear that your group, Ceriph's Light, is going to a Devil's Sty." I say to break the sudden silence that is surrounding me.
The paladin on the other side nods his head, "Yes we are. What are you hoping for?" The paladin asks in a friendly voice.
"She obviously wants to join. Why else would she talk to Stephen and then walk over here." The cleric snaps at the paladin. She seems to be in a cantankerous mood.
"She is right. I'll take only half as much of the reward as the rest of your members. Money isn't my priority at the moment." I agree with the cleric.
"Friend, why don't you want the money? Forgive me for being so bold, but it is kind of suspicious." The paladin questions.
"I need some more combat experience. While I am not new to combat, I have gotten a little rusty. I wish to polish the rust off by accompanying a group into battle." I answer the human male as honest as I can.
The cleric nods her head, "She is telling the truth Derick, I used [Detect Lie]."
[Detect Lie] is a simple cleric spell that can be used to, wait for it, detect lies. I know, astounding! A cleric casts it and around them they can tell if anyone is lying for an hour.
The paladin, Derrick, smiles widely at me. "Okay, you can come. I heard your performance last night, so I know you have at least a little skill. This is a low-tiered Devil's Sty, so it should be fairly easy to clean out as long as we have five people. You will be filling up our fifth spot. I will be the frontline. Then we have a berserker and a hunter who will be behind me. Then you and Sharrel," He points at the cleric next to me, "will be behind them. Fairly simple layout and it should be successful. We leave in an hour, what do you think?"
I think for a moment before replying. "So we will leave in an hour, with five people. Nobody will turn traitor during our two-day journey. At the end, I will take half the reward as everyone else. Is that right? If it is, deal." I stick out my hand towards the paladin. This is kind of risky since he might think I am a demon once my skill activates. I shouldn't have to worry too much as not even demons can get past [Detect Lie].
{Ding! Skill: [Prediction(lvl:4)] Level up!}
"Deal." He shakes my hand and winces as [Pact Magic] takes effect. Then he freezes and grabs my hand hard enough to restrict me slightly. "Are you a demon?"
{Ding! Skill: [Pact Magic(lvl:2)] Level up!}
Dang, I thought this might happen. "No, I am not a demon nor am I related to anything demonic." Fenrir is technically a god. He isn't on the angelic nor demonic side. He is a chaos type god.
My eyes follow Derick's as his move towards Sharrel. "She is again, telling the truth."
"That was [Pact Magic], right? How did you use it?" Derrick asks me, dropping my hand.
I smile at him brightly, "A bard never kisses and tells. I have to have some secrets to give me an edge against my opponents."
Derrick nods, "Fair enough. Alright," The paladin moves out of the booth, "Meet us at the gate to the city in an hour. Oh, and what is your name?"
I nod my head as I move out of the way so Sharrel can get out. "I'll be there. My name is Wyx"
{Ding! Quest Obtained: Devil's Sty(Difficulty rating:C}: Go and clear out a Devil's Sty with your new companions 0/1. I hope you have a good day at school, honey!
Reward:4200 XP, one gold coin fifty silver coins.}
After they leave, I take to the stand for thirty minutes to play my lute some. The bartender was excited to see me up there, but grew disappointed when I left shortly after. I make my way through the forest city to the gate. This city is really deceptive. It is made out of trees that are actually buildings. It has a small chunk of wall, but is actually protected by a massive shield.
I wait for a little less than ten minutes before I spot the two humans I saw in the Watering Hole. Next to them is a human guy with no armor on. He has a huge axe strapped to his back and his body is covered in scars. He must be the berserker. Behind the trio is an elven male in a green cloak. He has a bow and a quiver full of arrows strapped to his back. Probably the hunter they were talking about.
I wait for them before I walk over. I had dropped the disguise of the elf during my wait. Now I just have on the cloak over my head, covering everything important. The only new thing is that I have on is my satchel.
I wave at Derick and he looks at me confused. I pull the hood back just slightly to show my face. Derrick's confusion disappears like it was never there as he smiles and waves back at me. The rest of the group quickly notices me walking over.
Once I get to the group, the hunter is the first to talk, "So you must be Wyx. It is nice to have another elf around."
I nod my head at the hunter as I lie, "Likewise. Are we ready to head out?"
{Ding! Skill: [Deception(lvl:4)] Level up!}
"I just want to lay down the ground rules and make sure everyone understands the plan first." Derick says as gathers everyone's attention. "We are going to the Devil's Sty west of here. It should take us a half a day to reach it, half a day of reconnaissance, half a day to clear it, and then half a day back. The plan is for me to go first, followed by Alan," he points to the half naked man, "and Yser," then he points at the hunter. "After them will be Sharrel and Wyx, taking up the rear. This way it should be tank, damage, support." Wow! He almost sounds like a player! "Any questions?" He waits for a moment before continuing, "Alright then. I received information not too long ago that the Sty is inhabited by ghouls."
Everyone there collectively groans at that. Ghouls are a really annoying type of undead creature. They are fairly small and hit semi-hard. They aren't too dangerous until they start to group of together. Since they are undead, they will keep attacking unless their brains or hearts are destroyed. They are a really annoying type of creature to live with.
We start on our journey out of the gate. The guards do their routine efforts of asking questions and searching us to make sure we don't have any contraband. They almost started to pull off my cloak and search me, but quickly stopped as I flashed my golden pass at them.
True to Derick's words, we travel for about half a day before we arrive at the Devil's Sty. We still haven't left the forest. Most groups would enter the Sty instantly. Those are newbies, and they don't usually last long. We set up camp a few minutes walk from the Devil's Sty. It is in a small clearing in the middle of the forest. It is nothing too complicated, just a bunch of sleeping bags and a fire.
Usually, the monsters don't leave the Sties, but rarely they do. The saying "Better safe than sorry" is always applied when doing something dangerous, so we stay away and set up a watch. I volunteered for first watch. I sat against a tree, quietly strumming on my lute.
Nothing happened while I watched. I get up from my position against the tree and head to one of the sleeping bags around the fire. I wake up Yser for his turn of watch. He wakes up and moves out groggily. I am about to lay down for a moment when I realize something, anyone that pays attention to me sleeping will see my ears and my tail. I need to either sleep away or not sleep at all.
A plan starts to form in my head as I glance at Tser. He is standing up, trying to jostle himself to stay awake. I discreetly start to sing and cast [Sleep] on him. He staggers for a moment before dropping to the ground. With my arms outstretched, I race over to catch him. As I touch him, I receive a notification.
{Ding! Would you like to use Sleeping Thief? Y/N}
I select Y and a series of five boxes pop up.
{Skill: Archery}
{Skill: Light Armor}
{Skill: Sneak}
{Skill: Nature Magic}
{Class Ability: Lightning Arrow(A)}
I can steal class abilities too? That's not broken or anything. I think it is obvious which one I am stealing.
{Ding! Class Ability Obtained: [Lightning Arrow(A)]: Can add a lightning effect to any arrow that you touch. Each arrow with the effect added will cost three stamina.
ERROR: CLASS IS NOT HUNTER. RECALCULATING... TRANSMUTING CLASS ABILITY TO ABILITY...}
I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the error message. If something went wrong, it would've really sucked. [Lightning Arrow] is a really cool ability. With my current level and stamina, I should be able to use the lightning arrow thirty-three times. Of course, that is assuming [Predator's Drive] doesn't activate. Speaking of which, that is how I plan to spend the night without sleep. I just need to kill something.
I look at the sleeping form of my temporary companions... first, I should use [Sleeping Thief] on all of them. Walking over and touching Sharrel's arm, my ability activates.
{Ding! Would you like to use Sleeping Thief? Y/N}
I select Y and a series of five boxes pop up.
{Skill: Light Magic}
{Skill: Healing Magic}
{Skill: Staff Novice}
{Skill: Deception}
{Spell: [Purify Food/Drink]}
I can steal spells too? This ability is getting better and better. From my three uses, it looks like I will be shown four random skills that the person has and one random ability/spell/class ability. This is extremely OP. I wonder, can I steal racial abilities? Or if it is a player, player abilities?
{Ding! Skill: [Prediction(lvl:5) Level up!}
I pick the spell. While learning one of the magic skills might be helpful, I would need to learn a spell to go along with it. I couldn't just use [Healing Magic] without having a spell. There are rare cases where this rule doesn't apply, like with my [Pact Magic].
{Ding! Cleric Spell Obtained: [Purify Food/Drink]: Can clear out most poisons, diseases, or grime from most foods. -5 mana.
ERROR: CLASS IS NOT CLERIC. RECALCULATING...
OVERRULED...
ADDING SPELL...}
These error message keep scaring me. I guess that it will happen every time since I am taking abilities/spells that aren't supposed to be taken by a bard.
{Ding! Skill: [Prediction(lvl:6) Level up!}
Next up is Derrick. I'm hoping for something juicy from him. I move next to his sleeping bag and lightly touch his forehead.
{Ding! Would you like to use Sleeping Thief? Y/N}
It's pretty obvious I will always select yes.
{Skill: Performance Apprentice}
{Skill: Cooking Novice}
{Skill: One-handed}
{Title: Master of being Rejected
{Racial Ability: Indomitable Will(A)
There are so many things to be said that I don't even know where to start. Let's start with the skill I am stealing. Obviously, it is the racial ability of the humans, [Indomitable Will(A)]
{Ding! Racial Ability Obtained: [Indomitable Will(A)]: Converts mana into health at a ratio of 2:1.
ERROR: RACE IS NOT HUMAN. RECALCULATING...
TRANSMUTING RACIAL ABILITY TO ABILITY...}
He has performance to the apprentice rank. At every level 25 for a skill, the skill will rank up. The rank up titles are Apprentice, Initiate, Adept, and Master. At Master, the skill gains the ability to be evolved into something else. Some skills, mainly the crafting ones, continue to rank up after Master and not evolve.
I can steal titles! That's awesome! Unless it is a terrible title like [Master of Being Rejected]. Speaking of that, what is with all the choices? They all scream lonely to me. He needs to cook for himself, act like he is fine, and needs an indomitable will to continue pushing past his countless rejections. Poor guy.
Pushing my sympathy to the back of my mind, next I walk towards where the berserker is. I think his name is Allan? I nudge his shoulder with my hand, ignoring the first two boxes in favor of looking at my choices.
{Skill: Pain Tolerance Apprentice}
{Skill: Rage Apprentice}
{Skill: Two-handed Weaponry Novice}
{Skill: Karaoke Apprentice}
{Tittle: The Grand Master Karaoke Singer of the North}
Who would've thought that the berserker is a Karaoke Grand Master? Three Apprentice level skills showed up this time. Nothing I really want, but I might as well take [Pain Tolerance Apprentice].
{Ding! Skill Obtained: [Pain Tolerance]: Every level reduces the amount of pain you feel. Similar to the succubus's racial skill, [Masochistic Tendencies].}
Finally! No error messages! It sucks that I can't take the tiers of higher skills. It would've been nice to skip the grind to get high level skills. Also, did the system just compare my new skill to a succubus? I'm not sure I want [Pain Tolerance] anymore.
I back pedal from Allan as I look around the clearing. These skills/abilities will help out eventually. Overall, it has been a fairly active night for me. Maybe I should do this more often?
I walk over to Tser and lightly slap him in the face. He bolts awake, looking around wildly. When he realizes it is just me, he relaxes.
"Come on Tser, you fell asleep." I stretch my hand out to offer to pull him up.
He grabs my hand and I pull him back up to a standing position. "Sorry Wyx, I swear I usually don't fall asleep during watch."
I wave it off casually, "It's fine. I'm glad I caught you before I went to sleep. You can go back to sleep, I'll take over the watch."
"No, you can't do that. You need sleep too. I'll stay up." He says as he starts to rub his eyes.
"I have a unique bard skill that allows me to sleep less," I lie. What bard is he going to go to ask if the skill is real?
{Ding! Skill: [Deception(lvl:5)] Level up!}
He nods his head for a second before walking back to the dim fire. "Alright, thank you."
I take up my vigil against the tree as I pull out my lute. It is going to be a long night...
-------
As soon as light started to fill the sky, I made my move. I left the camp early after waking up Tser. He easily agreed to keep watch while I went to go "check on something I hear".
{Ding! Skill: [Deception(lvl:6)] Level up!}
This was the lie I told him. In reality, I want to go hunt a rabbit or deer. While I am in humanoid form, my sense of smell is still better than most humanoid creatures on this planet. I easily catch a trail of a rabbit when walking around. My feet carry me towards the source of the scent as I pull my [Elven Recurve Bow] out. This will also give me an opportunity to see if I have gotten rusty in my archery skills and to reduce my tiredness with [Predator's Drive].
Following the trail, a rabbit enters my line of sight. I put the arrow to my bow and pull back, feeling the familiar burn in my muscles from holding a fully drawn bow. The longer a bow is drawn, the harder it will be to hit accurately. If I was using system assistance, I wouldn't have to worry about it, but I am not. I breathe out and release the string all in one go. A twang fills the air as my arrow glides into the rabbits head.
{Ding! Xp Received: 10}
{Ding! Skill Received: [Archery]: Wow! Now you have even more of a reason to cower in the back of a group.}
I feel my HP, SP, and MP restore themselves completely due to [Predator's Drive].
My sneak didn't go up? Have I already reached that point? As a skill levels up, it gets harder to level. For example, instead of just one deceitful action, [Deception] will start to need dozens to level up.
Making my way towards the dead rabbit, my eyes watch the rest of my surroundings. I get to the rabbit and quickly pull my arrow out. Tossing the rabbit into my inventory, filling one of my three slots, I head back towards where the camp is.
Upon entering the clearing, I see everyone is either awake up waking. Tser's face is a little red, but other than that, nobody knows what happened last night.
"Wyx! Where have you been?" The lonely paladin asks me in an aggravated tone as soon as I enter the clearing.\
I silently pull the rabbit out of my inventory and hold it up, "Catching breakfast."
He looks at me stunned for a second before a sheepish expression appears on his face, "Oh... Sorry, I thought you had jumped ship or left to get more of the reward for yourself."
I shake my head at him as I toss him the rabbit. He is the only one that I saw cooking on, so it is only logical. "Of course not, we made a deal. You know how those types of things work, right?"
I see a ghost of fear in his eyes as he nods his head, "Of course. Why did you toss me this rabbit?"
Allan walks up and claps him on the shoulder, "Hahaha, she tossed it to you so you would cook it friend! I see that I am not the only one that see the depressing amount of loneliness on you! Hahaha."
I check my cloak as I approach, making sure it is in the correct position. All good.
"I am not lonely! I have friends! Like Sherrel here!" Derrick tries to defend himself.
Almost instantly, Sherrel's reply cuts down his defense, "I hate your guts. The only reason I keep you alive is because I am ordered too by Ceriph."
I can see the tears in his eyes as he skewers the rabbit and starts cooking. It isn't long until a delicious scent wafts through the air.
"So, anyone want to help me out when we return to the city?" I ask. If I can get a dedicated backup or lead singer, my fame will surge. While I am not bad at singing, I want someone who is a Grand Master. Someone like Allan.
"What do you need help with friend!?" Allan asks with in a loud voice. Is a loud voice all he can make?
I take a piece of the rabbit as Derrick starts to hand it out. "I need a singer. Someone who is wonderful. I mean, I'm not bad, but with a dedicated singer, I could raise the amount of money by maybe two times."
Allan freezes for a moment before laughing in mirth, "Friend! Have you finally realized you are in the presence of the Grand Master Karaoke Singer of the North?"
Tser sighs as he starts to string his bow, preparing for our adventure. "Now that you have started him up about his "great" accomplishment, he won't shut up."
"I am indeed the Grand Master Karaoke Singer of the North. Hahaha, what fun memories." Allan starts to get ready. He pulls out his axe. I guess that is as ready as a berserker can get.
"Why don't you tell her how you got that title?" Sherrel asks snidely. I think that she really likes to cut people down.
"That is right! Astounded by my voice, all the other contestants dropped out, giving me my victory!" Allan says cheerfully.
"That isn't true, he threatened everyone there that he would kill them all if they didn't give him the title." Tser whispers into where he thinks my ear is.
I look back at Allan in a renewed light. I thought he might be different, but he is a berserker. Of course, he solved his problem through might and not skill or intelligence.
The rest of the party gets ready with some light banter between the four of them. I pull out my lute. Adjusting my satchel, I debate internally on whether I should pull my bow out. I decide against it; if I need to pull out my bow, I can easily store my lute in the inventory and take out the bow. Same with the arrows.
{Ding! Ability: [Gambler] is ready to be used.}
{Item Recieved: Oak Twig}
I toss the useless item aside.
"Alright, form up. I don't know the exact numbers, but there should be about seventy ghouls in this Devil's Sty." Derrick orders us.
We head into the Sty. After five minutes, we finally encounter our first Group of ghouls...
Yes, I am evil. Enjoy the cliffhanger.