A lucrative distraction

Good start today. I’ll build on it tomorrow. He began his trek back towards the mountains. As he walked, he allowed his mind to wander.

Tomorrow I’ll go hunting again. With my new knife I’ll be better at foraging from my catches. I can hopefully get some furs and enough meat that I can trade some away for another tool. That means I’ll have to talk to the goblins- His thoughts were interrupted by voices ahead of him.

“Ugh, we’ve been playing all day and I’m only level 3. I thought you said you could get one of your sorority sisters to power-level us.”

“For the last time, no, I didn’t. I said we might be able to power-level them.”

Adventurers. No monster would talk so clearly but speak such utter nonsense. Quickly looking around, the goliath found a hiding place behind a boulder just before they came into view.

“Why would they want to be power-leveled? I thought they only wanted to play so they could have bigger tits or whatever?”

Spank_the_Tank43, Level 3
Adventurer, Human, Explicit

The speaker was a human male whose build almost rivaled the goliath’s. Six feet tall and broad-shouldered, he was dressed in basic leathers, with a wooden shield and a sword at his hip. Adventurers were notorious for having powerful gear compared to whoever they were fighting, but he seemed to be more modestly equipped.

His companion was an elven woman with long silver hair that shimmered as it cascaded down the shoulders of her light blue robes. Even without the staff in her hand, she was obviously a spell-caster.

BelleOfTheBrawlxX, Level 2
Adventurer, Elf, Explicit

“Don’t be a creep, Hunter.” Her voice took on a flat tone. “Eta Omicron Epsilon uses virtual reality to make social activities more exciting, accessible and above all, safe.” Her voice went back to normal. “And now that MegaVerse has taken away the feature to customize our avatars’ appearance, we’re looking for a new option. Or in this case, an old one. Shards of Arkus has an old-school character builder, and if I can say I already have an in-game guild hall set up when I suggest it at our next chapter meeting, I’ll totally get elected Social Chair.”

Incomprehensible. Some of those words weren’t even in Common, he was pretty sure. The goliath tried to tune out their babbling as they approached.

They seem pretty distracted. If I stay hidden, they’ll probably pass right by without noticing me. Or I could use the element of surprise and fight them. If I win I’ll get experience and some sweet adventurer gear. Not that they seem to have much that I could use. Maybe one of them has a quality knife in their inventory. A monster can dream.

The adventurers were approaching the far side of his hiding place. They’re unhurt but they seem tired, as if they’ve already been fighting today. I don’t see any strong equipment, and there are only two of them. I might have a real chance at winning. But if I lose… I’ll wake up tomorrow with nothing. Just like I did today. He listened to their upbeat voices and snarled silently. I bet “heroes” never wake up with nothing. They don’t drop their weapons and armor even when they die, so I bet they wake up with them, ready to jump right back into murdering monsters and breaking into their caves.

That decided it. He was going to get the jump on these adventurers and take whatever they had. He opened his inventory window and left it hovering next to his hand. He withdrew a rock and waited.

Sure enough, they passed right by and kept walking without even glancing in his direction. He allowed himself a small smile as he pulled his arm back to throw, his body subconsciously adjusting into proper form. Always kill the mage first, he thought as he let fly his weapon.

Surprise Attack! 2x damage.

He ignored the strange symbols and the cry from the elf as she collapsed. He had already withdrawn another rock and thrown it at the human, the second projectile on its way before the swordsman had even turned around to see what had happened. The swordsman’s eyes widened as he saw the goliath-fist-sized rock on a collision course with his head. But then, in a frustrating feat of competence, he found his stance and raised his shield in time to block the missile. A loud thunk sounded as the wood absorbed the bulk of the damage from the attack.

This wasn’t ideal, but still doable if he’d dropped the mage. A quick look showed her moaning and half sitting up. Very much alive. He threw the next rock at her prone form hoping to rectify that, but suddenly the swordsman was there, shield up to deflect the blow away from both him and the mage. The human was saying something to the elf at his feet.

The goliath wasn’t going to win this fight if the adventurers got the chance to gain the initiative. He threw one more missile at the human’s head, then lumbered forward as soon as his opponent had raised his shield. The goliath wasn’t fast, but he was big, and with each step his momentum increased until he was barreling towards the adventurers. The human lowered his shield and saw his charge with enough time to brace his feet, and then -

BAM! The human hit the ground on his back and slid. Not a lot of air time at all though. Definitely not his best hit. The goliath looked beneath him to the wounded elf as his feet, ready to finish her off.

She was looking at his leg, and reaching towards it with a glowing hand - oh no no no -

Spell: Alela’s Conscience
Wisdom save - Failed!
You have been stunned. (6 seconds)

Wait, what am I doing? Attacking people unprovoked? What kind of a person am I? That poor woman at my feet - oh she’s gone now, that’s strange. Is she okay? Ah she’s standing over there, behind the man with the glowing... sword…

As he shook off the enchantment and his wits returned, his heart sank. The swordsman had finally drawn his sword. And, of course, it was magical, the arcane rune blazing now that it was out of the scabbard. Facing down a magic weapon armed only with his fists was intimidating, but what really sealed his fate was when he noticed the elf’s hands glowing with a soft yellow light.

This was a classic adventurer combo - the defender and the healer. His only hope now was to damage the defender faster than she could heal him.

Lifting his massive, meaty fists, the monster began laying into the swordsman. Not bothering to dodge his enemy’s return sword strikes, he was soon covered in sizzling slashes. Briefly he wondered if the magic sword was doing less damage than it should, but soon he was in a combat trance, worried only about the next opening and the next strike.

Swing. Hit the enemy square in his leather-bound chest. Take a counter-strike.

Swing again. The enemy blocks with his shield. The wooden shield creaks, and the **** of the blow still rattles the arm behind the shield. Take another counter-strike.

Swing. A glancing blow in the head this time. The leather cap does even less to protect against the strike than the shield.

The enemy was off-balance for a moment, and something was wrong with his eyes. Behind him the healer’s hands were glowing, and before she fixed him up good as new, the goliath got another hit in, putting all of his weight behind it.

The swordsman tried to block with his shield, but was a moment too slow. The shield, already well-used before this fight, finally took a blow at the wrong angle and snapped fully in half with a loud CRACK. The swordsman stumbled, his eyes clear after the healing, but now there is fear in them.

Swing. The swordsman dodges. He’s out of position to counter-attack. The goliath swings again. The human dodges again. The adventurers are talking. What?

The goliath shook himself out of the combat trance enough to tune into what they’re saying even as he continued his ****.

“-ake a mana potion!”

“I don’t have any! I used the only one I had earlier. You spent most of our money on that flashy fucking sword.”

“Damn it. You’re sure you’re completely out of mana?”

The goliath couldn’t believe his luck. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen an adventurer run out of mana - he’d forgotten it was possible. Grinning, he redoubled his ****, hoping to end the defender in a few more hits, leaving the mage out of mana and easy prey.

But then, inexplicably, the big burly swordsman grabbed the healer by her robe and… jumped behind her? The goliath’s strike wasn’t aimed at her, but without the defender to worry about he managed a glancing blow on the elf, which was enough to drop her. The human was already running, calling out over his shoulder, “Sorry babe I’ll see you in town!” The goliath stared in disbelief at the “heroic adventurer” bravely running away - lumbering, really, he wasn’t particularly fast at all. Not wanting to ignore a golden opportunity, the monster withdrew another rock from his inventory, cocked his arm back, aimed, and let it fly.

Spank_the_Tank43 has died.
You have defeated a level 3 human! +300 XP

“Ohh… Hunter, you asshole…” The goliath looks down and sees that the robed elf wasn’t quite dead. Battered and broken, and presumably still completely out of mana, the adventurer looked up, meeting eyes with the grey-skinned monster towering above her. He shrugged as he raised another rock above his head. “Sorry,” he growled, before the rock came down and her vision went black.

BelleOfTheBrawlxX has died.
You have defeated a level 2 elf! +200 XP

Level Up!

The goliath sucked air in great heaving breaths. Was it really over? In answer, the corpses of his fallen enemies faded away, and in a rain of sparkles they were replaced with a pair of brown sacks.

Loot bags. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually defeated an adventurer, but it must have happened because more details were coming back to him. Adventurers dropped loot bags when they died, presumably everything in their inventories, although nothing they were wearing or carrying.

He touched the first one, the elf’s, and looked inside. The sack itself was empty, but a window popped up, showing his little two-by-two inventory on one side and a four-by-four inventory on the other, half-full of things like bread, cheese, a candle, and a… book? He waved the windows away and walked over to the human’s bag. This one was even bigger - a six-by-six - and had all kinds of things in it. He saw some more bread and cheese, a torch, a strange red crystal-

A loud cry called out from the sky. Startled by the sound and the rush of adrenaline, he grabbed the bags and crouch-ran to the boulder he used to ambush the adventurers. Throwing his back against it, he scanned the sky while cursing himself. What am I doing? Focusing on windows while I’m outside my cave? That’s a great way to become a snack and lose everything I just gained. Not seeing the threat, he peeked around the boulder, then pulled himself back behind it again as fast as he could. Ohh that's big. Much bigger than the one this morning. Okay, it looks like it’s hunting. Just stay out of sight. It’ll fly away eventually, and then I’ll carefully head back to my cave. And no looking at loot until I get there!

What followed was a terrifying journey, consisting of the large, clumsy giantkin risking glances out of his hiding spot waiting for the airborne titan to be out of sight, and frantic sprints to the next far-off piece of cover, always aware that if the creature spotted him, he was as good as dead. This pattern continued for three nerve-wracking hours, during which time he made it no more than halfway home, before the flapping of leathery wings sounded directly overhead. The goliath curled up in a ball up against his most recent hiding spot, a short ridge of stone, and glanced upward at the predator he’d been dodging all afternoon. He was greeted with a majestic and stomach-dropping sight of an ancient red dragon. And not just any dragon: the Great Wyrm of Imporne. The most powerful monster of Mount Imporne (the location of his humble cave) and probably the strongest in the entire shard. It was flying so close that he could practically see the individual scales as they shimmered in the late-afternoon light. With great beats of its mighty wings it began to rise towards its lair at the peak of the mountain, prizes clutched firmly within its claws: a mangled collection of small, green-skinned bodies.

Looks like the goblin village got unlucky today. Poor little guys, he thought with pity. Maybe I’ll go see them tomorrow, see how they’re doing. Maybe I can help them, somehow. His mind flashed to the still-unknown bounty in the bags he had clutched in either hand. _No, no looking yet. Not safe until I’m home. Not safe until I’m home, _he repeated to himself until the dragon was out of sight, presumably in its cave enjoying its meal. He waited a few more minutes just in case it came back for more hunting, and then resumed his trek home, still cautious, but now racing the quickly-setting sun.

He didn’t arrive home until after the sun had set, the fading light just enough for him to navigate the nearby cliffs that he knew so well. When he finally made it into the cave mouth, the tension of the last several hours released and his legs gave out, sprawling him on the cold stone floor. He shivered, less from cold than from the stress of hiding from bigger, nastier creatures for so long. He had stayed out too long - nocturnal predators had started to become active, and he had heard their growls and calls but been unable to see them as he raced against the fading light. He hadn’t been attacked - this time, thank Calico - but at least a few of his past deaths had been because he was caught out after dark. Fighting without being able to see - he shuddered in thought. No thank you.

His stomach growled. Now that the tension and constant fear had left him, his body was reminding him that all he’d eaten today was what he could forage from one little rabbit. Well, he’d gone to bed hungry before, he could do it again. And then tomorrow-

Wait a minute. He had loot bags. Loot bags with _food _inside. He grabbed the bags, pulling the cheese and bread and immediately started tearing into them. The taste… this was incredible! He had never had such luxuries. He would fight adventurers more often if it meant he got to taste such exquisite delicacies again.

Multiple days’ worth of rations for the adventurers disappeared into the goliath’s mighty stomach until, finally, he was full. That was another feeling that was all too uncommon for him.

Now, he thought, I’ve waited long enough. Let’s see what other loot I got from that asshole swordsman and his pocket healer. But as he reached for a bag, his eyelids began to feel heavy. He spent the day getting beat up and being terrified, not to mention hiking for hours. And now that he was finally safe, with a full stomach for the first time in who knows how long, his body demanded that he rest and sleep. He fought to keep his eyes open, to focus on the grid of pictures depicting the contents of the loot bag, but it blurred in front of his eyes as his eyelids sank lower and lower.

I’ll just… rest my eyes for a moment, he thought, and rested his head on the hard stone of the cave. Hardly a minute later, he began to snore.