Nature against man

Deep inside Springfield’s forest, within a large forest barrier, two men stood together, looking across the vast expanse of trees. The sounds of the forest could be heard in the distance as the older man put his hand on the younger one’s shoulder.

“This is as far as I can take you, boy. From here on out, it’s on you. Strict rules with the missions. If you get help from someone else, it does not count. It is your hunt and your kill to make. Now, be careful, there are some nasty critters about; don’t leave your guard down, or you will find yourself on the wrong end of a hunt soon enough.”

“Thank you, Arnold. I appreciate it. I hope to see you again soon, and not, you know. Die.” John awkwardly remarked.

“Don’t worry, just go with your gut, and remember, no shame in running away. Only a fool fights when the odds are against him.”

On that positive note, Arnold took a step back, disappearing back to the real world, leaving John alone in the vast expanse of the woods. John dismissed Toph right away, the first target would be his quest together with Jack, he also did not want to to put the more **** pangolin into any danger while he himself was unsure what to expect.

Just as John and Jack took their first steps into the forest, a fresh, green pop-up appeared in front of him.

Quest unlocked
The Way of the Wilds
Collect 10 hunting trophies from carnivorous creatures. 0/10
Collect 15 hunting trophies from herbivorous creatures 0/15

Optional: Collect 1 hunting trophy from an apex predator 0/1

Rewards: 1000 exp
+20 rp with Artemis

Optional reward: 500 exp
+10 rp with Artemis

Gaia showed me this feature, now show me what you can do, Mr Newman. I will be expecting your results.
Artemis

John looked a bit befuddled by the new kind of pop-up, only for it all to make sense when he saw the added message. ‘Well, it makes sense that she wants me to hunt more than just the one creature; it is supposed to be my job to do this anyway. And holy shit, the reward is, incredible. That’s a whole damn level worth of experience right there!’ John thought in shock, bending down to Jack, whispering. “I guess we are going to be taking a small detour to our destination, boy. The nice lady that gave you to me wants us to run a small errand.’

Jack mewed happily, nodding his furry little snout before clambering up John’s cloak, making his way to sit on his shoulder.

Crouching down, looking for tracks, John chuckled slightly. “Here goes nothing.” The lonely hunter stared at the grass around him, his skill kicking in as he faintly made out a set of prints. Hooves, heading into the forest. That information appeared in his head as John moved forward, his fingers trailing the flattened grass. Jack looked intensely at the ground as he sniffed loudly,, letting the smell of the creature reach the his nose.

Step by step, John followed the tracks, looking around every so often to make sure no enemies were sneaking up on him either. The sounds of the forest moved along them as well, small roars, the screeching of animals and a thunderous crash now and then. The barrier was alive, alive and flourishing.

Just as John wanted to move through a bush, Jack hissed into his ear softly, causing John’s movements to slow dramatically. The boy looked to his shoulder, seeing Jack’s eyes focused on a tree nearby. When John looked over as well, he saw a shadow of a creature moving along the branches, moving in the same direction they were going. John kept completely still, hand on his bow, as he waited to see if the creature would notice them. He kept himself close to the ground, his green cloak covering most of him, helping him blend in decently well with the surrounding greenery.

When the creature moved on, John let out a breath of relief. “Hmmm, Jack, can you track the creature through scent?” he whispered in a hushed tone, seeing his little leopard nod. “Then I think we might be better off in the trees, too much chance of getting ambushed from above if we stay on ground level.”

Jack mewed and nodded, firmly gripping John’s shoulder as the human boy climbed the nearest tree, his feet finding the right spots on the trunk, and a few seconds later, John was making his way across the crisscrossing branches of the forest. Jack hissed into his ear now and then, causing John to alter his direction to match the way Jack was facing, seeing a pop-up for both Wildrun and Tracking leveling up along the way, dismissing it as he heard a loud clamoring up ahead.

As John slowed down once more to creep closer, he saw two creatures locked in battle below him. One of them was a black, scaly feline. Black chitin plates covered its limbs, back and head, a pair of sharp canines indicating its desired source of food. The scaled creature snarled at a more robust deer. It took John a quick double take to realise that it was indeed not a deer but a moose, the two creatures circling each other slowly; every time the chitin covered creature feinted an attack, the moose lowered its antlers and prepared to charge. ‘We found our herbivore and our stalker,’ John thought as he drew his bow, switching his aim from the moose to the unknown creature and back.

’Herbivore or carnivore, hmmm. If I shoot the moose, the other creature will probably not let me off without a fight. On the other hand, if I wait and let the predator kill the moose and hit it at the right time…’ John’s thoughts went rapidly, his eyes trained on the swiping and charging creatures below him.

John realized he had overlooked a small thing when the antlers of the moose barely cracked the chitin on the nimble predator’s body. Chitin was meant to be hard to penetrate as well as great protection. He was not very confident in getting through it even with his new bow’s special feature. ’Hmmmm, do I give up on it? Or, no wait, I got it. I faced a similar situation before. I just need to focus; I can probably trigger a skill for this.’

John drew an arrow from his quiver, staring at the tip, focusing his mana to form a sharp, drill like shape around the quartz, his thoughts commanding it to be as sharp as magically possible. The mana condensed around the tip, making it shine dimly. Having no indication that it would work, John put the arrow to the string, drawing it as the fight below them lost its intensity. The predator had managed to pin the moose to the ground, his mighty jaws snapping closed around the neck of the moose, ending it’s life.

’Perfect, just what I needed.’ John let fly his arrow, a loud Twang reverberating through the forest as the added tension fired the projectile down towards the chitin covered head. When the tip hit the plate it… Cut through it like a hot knife through butter.

Crit 26 dmg

The arrow pinned the creature’s skull to the forest floor, inky ichor starting to drip from the wound as the predator’s eyes dimmed. The brain must have been cleanly pierced by the arrow. Its life was cut short as the arrow vibrated slightly, the feathers waving ever so softly before coming to a stop.

+20 exp