Why does no one knock!?

John quickly pulled up his pants as Arnold laughed heartily at John’s embarrassment. “Don’t put that away on my account, boy, not like I have not seen it before,” he teased, patting John’s shoulder as he winked at his daughter. “Be good to her, and I won’t have to hurt you.”

John nodded quickly, the scare of Arnold standing behind him having killed his boner which made it easier for him to put it away.

Arnold strolled further into the room, taking a seat next to his daughter, tickling Toph’s head as she looked at him with a mix of surprise and interest.

“Pangolin? Not the most deadly of predators, but an interesting one to have.” Arnold cocked an eyebrow at John, the boy in question nodding.

“Dad, how do you even know what Toph is!?” Cynthia asked as she kept brushing Toph’s scales.

Jack, with a ball of yarn in his mouth, jumped onto John’s lap, nuzzling into his stomach as he stared at John’s hand. John took the message and started to pat Jack softly.

“I know most animals, it’s part of the job description. But, that’s not relevant at the moment. John, you wanted to talk about what, powerleveling your pets? I take it you find your pets to have little use at the moment?” Arnold’s eyes turned a bit grim as he looked at John.

“No! Not at all! When I got ambushed, they felt bad for not being able to help me, so I want to know if there is a way that they can feel useful as soon as possible, that’s all!” John raised his hands in defense.

Arnold simply chuckled. ”John, I hope that before you and my little princess here get married you will learn when I am joking.”

Cynthia punched her father on the shoulder. “Dad, stop being mean to John. That’s my job!”

Arnold chuckled again as he patted his daughter’s head. “To answer your question, there is no way to ‘powerlevel’ your pets. Though there is a way that your pets can be used in combat while they are still young. When our pets are about halfway through their maturing stages, most hunters get a vision of something, a creature to hunt with their pet. If the hunter manages to kill the creature and feeds its heart to his pet, then the hunter will learn a helpful skill. It differs from hunter to hunter, but overall they are always something that is beneficial to the hunter. The pets will feel useful, and it deepens the bond. Failing the mission is not dangerous, your pet will not leave you, but overall, a hunter that has completed his mission is stronger and more versatile than a hunter that has failed his mission.”

John nodded as he listened to the explanation. Jack was pawing at his hands by now, nibbling on his finger as he seemed to like what he heard.

“So, Arnold, where do you find these creatures that you are supposed to hunt then? Do you create your own illusion barriers for it or...?”

Arnold hit his own forehead as he nodded. “Right, I forgot we haven’t taken you to the hunting grounds yet. Well, John, I guess it’s better to show you than to tell you, but for now I am telling you anyway. We can’t be careful enough with these mercs around.” Arnold tickled Toph’s snout as she licked him, good with animals as his title suggested.

“There is a reason that our camps are located here, John. Deeper in this forest, there is a trio of large ilusion barriers; these illusion barriers are very, very old. It’s the place where we hunt, where we earn our tribute to Artemis. And where we keep the balance. All three of them have a different biome, but we mainly stick to the forest one while the wild hunt likes the plains more. Different hunting techniques, you know? The last one is a mountain, countless caves and predators. It’s the place we go to hunt big, dangerous game, great creatures to hunt, yet not our speciality..”

John nodded, finally knowing both why the hunters were here and where they went to hunt their prey.

“So that is where those creatures appear?” John asked with a questioning gaze.

“Yeah, don’t think that a special creature just appears though; you are generally urged to hunt a certain creature. Sometimes you get lucky and are told to hunt a bat, others had to hunt a bear or an eagle. Both things I would advise against by the way, those beasts are vicious!”

John nodded. “Okay, well, I think I will keep hunting in my own dungeon for now, they seem to be made for that purpose or at least just to allow me to fight and improve myself. No offence.”

“None taken, John, it might even be safer. The location of our hunting grounds is not really a secret, and with you being as weak as you are, no offence, being able to grow in relative secrecy is a good thing.”

Arnold then got up. “Well, if that’s all, I should get going, still have things to do, people to see, Marco to take care of. Have fun you two. Oh and before you two go at it again. Old Fred wanted to see you John, he thinks he might be able to help you with your crafting.

Meanwhile at a collapsing castle on top of a hill:

A green skinned woman surveyed the area, two one handed axes in her hands, then she charged forward, into the halls of the castle. “Emanuel! You bastard orc! I have come for my vengeance!” A loud, powerful voice echoed through the abandoned castle. No response came from the within, just a whimpering from the nearby room. The woman strode with large, confident steps. “Emanuel! Show yourself!” Still no response. The woman walked into the other room, finding a tall orc curled up in the corner.

She raised her axes at him, spitting on the ground as she hissed, “Where is Emanuel?”

“He’s gone, the chief is gone, most of the tribe… All gone, we can’t even find their corpses!”

The woman roared in anger, striking the orc’s chest with her axes.