NOVEL NEXT 12 - Rock-Paper-Scissors
Thick pines stretched away below him as David glided on the cool night air and slowly spiraled outward in his flight away from the meadow. To his absolute delight, David found that the rank up in Flight meant that the drain on his stamina while airborne was moderately decreased, and with Nocturnal active he could now glide without his Stamina falling at all. His lips wrinkled up over his canines in a snarly grin while he just enjoyed being able to coast around on the wind, the world spread out below him. David hadn’t forgotten the huge shadow he’d seen flying overhead that first day in the woods and kept relatively close to the tops of the trees just in case, bringing up his Status for a quick review before he got started.
User: David Fisher
Species: Duskling
Rank: F
Health 40/40
Stam 140/140 (++)
Level: 4
Exp: 014/125
Special: Echolocation F
Traits: 4/4
Nocturnal: +8% Damage, Stam Regen, Exp Gain at night.
Next Upgrade: E
Echolocation: Manipulate high-frequency sound waves to see with more than just your eyes. Next unlock: E
Flight: Allows for flight and gliding. Moderate Stamina drain. (stam+)
Next Upgrade: C
Small: Your form is small, weighing no more than 65lbs. (stam+)
Next Upgrade: D
Abilities: 3/4
Screech F (2pts): You emit a loud screech, damaging enemies around you. Low Stam consumption.
Next Upgrade: E
Glare F (2pts): You fix your target with a baleful gaze, inflicting Fear. Moderate Stam consumption.
Next Upgrade: E
Gloom D: Your wingbeats spread Dusk powder with every flap. Enemies under the effect of Gloom are inflicted with visual hallucinations. Stacks up to 7 times.
Next Upgrade: C
Empty:
Mutagens: 1/5
Unnerving Mutagen B: Your appearance is unnerving. May cause enemies to reconsider aggressing you.
Empty:
Empty:
Empty:
Empty:
Yep, looks good. The only problem now is going too far and getting lost. Man, I bet I could fly for hours like this if I kept gliding. Alright, time to try and find a quest, and hopefully not get eaten in the process. Positive thoughts.
David firmly fixed the position of the clearing in his mind with one final glance at the gap in the trees they called home before he angled his wings and descended into the woods. Pulses of Echolocation blanketed the forest ahead of him as he drifted through the dense growth carefully, ears swiveling at every noise and a faint silver shimmer following him through the air. His wings scooped the fresh mountain wind as he glided, flapping only when he needed to dodge some oncoming branch or weave around the trunk of one of the tall pines.
David was almost starting to get bored, even the quick dips and bobs through the air that had been so entertaining when he had first descended into the forest quickly became tiresome. He hadn’t seen much, though there was some life to the forest, and hordes of tiny creatures swarmed through the underbrush. David swooped low and landed with a quiet thump against the bark of a dead tree that had fallen at an angle, propped up by its still-living neighbors. The log was mercifully stripped of large branches by weather and grey with age, its dry wood yielding quickly under his clawed wings and feet as he secured his grip. He inhaled the pleasant smell of the pines as he continued to fan the area with Echolocations before settling in to rest.
–Health: 40/40–
–Stamina: 58/140–
Yeah, not letting that run out again. Meadow is…that way. Perfect. I got this. There’s gotta be something out here, but if not at least Echolocation is probably gonna rank up soon. I’ve really been underusing this, if it wasn’t so laggy I could just follow Claire around during the day. Maybe it’ll get better after I rank it up?
David’s thoughts were interrupted when the brush began to rustle nearby, his ears swiveling to catch the faint sounds instantly. He scurried to the edge of the log and hung from the side by his hind feet, ready to leap back into the air at the slightest hint of danger. David’s batlike face scrunched as he directed his attention to a patch of gently moving greenery before mentally berating himself and directing a rapid series of Echolocations at the area. His claws dug into the wood excitedly as a trio of lanky wolflike creatures were revealed where they slunk through the forest, moving away from him as they hunted. David watched them go as he bathed them with more Echolocations before they finally walked out of his range, but he wasn’t too worried.
He glanced at his readout after a few minutes and nodded happily before taking flight in the direction they had been heading, finding them again easily. He flitted from tree to tree to save Stamina, careful to always bank around the rusty-hued creatures that seemed to have a sixth sense for staying out of sight. They threaded through the small gaps in the plant life and slithered through dense bushes with ease, well hidden from sight but not his constant Echolocations.
The forest floor grew rocky as David trailed the beasts, and large mossy outcroppings of stone began to appear more frequently as they continued. The trees thinned out while flying became easier, allowing him to glide comfortably above the predators, though he cringed when he finally managed to get a good look at them in motion. Echolocation was infinitely detailed in many ways sight wasn't, but the rapid slideshow failed to capture the true uncanny essence of the things.
The beasts were large, maybe twice as big as he was, the biggest one easily three times his weight based on how big it looked from the air. They were lanky-limbed, shaggy furred, with bizarrely elongated necks and wide flat muzzles. Something about the emaciated frames of the creatures was disturbing, and David wondered if they had an Unnerving Mutagen of their own when he watched them glide like a liquid up the foothill that began to rise above the treeline. David braked hard, filling his wings with the rush of cold air flowing down the steep hill as he suddenly heard exactly what he’d been hoping to hear all night. He directed his attention away from the mouth of the cave he saw the slithery wolves vanish into and everything unfocused slightly as he read the text that accompanied the happy little jingle.
–Landmark Quest Available: Dangerous Prey–
–Reward: 120 Exp, Unlocks Pack System–
–Failure Penalty: Death–
–Echolocation has leveled up!–
–Gained 3xp!–
–Echolocation has leveled up!–
–Gained 3xp!–
–Echolocation rank up!–
–Special: F → E–
David cackled maniacally as he allowed the brisk wind to carry him out and away over the forest, a faint shimmer under his wings mixing into the glitter of the stars above as it trailed away into the sky behind him. He flapped hard, scooping huge amounts of air as he wheeled around and dived, trading height for speed before leveling off just above the treetops and skimming his way back toward the meadow. He was happy to see that despite how long it had taken to follow the mangy things as they lurked around, it wasn’t taking that long to get back. It had taken him a few hours to follow them back to the Landmark, but as the crow flies it wasn’t as far as he’d expected. As he steadily lost momentum from his lengthy glide, David flapped higher and began to peer around expectantly.
Everything more or less looked the same, endless darkened forest in every direction, treetops waving in the wind sleepily. David however, had already learned better over the last few days and quickly picked out the details he could now plainly see.
Okay, so that’s the Big Lump, and that’s the River over there, City is behind me…then the Ridge is that one there. Wobbly bald spot that looks like a goofy eye…Ah, there it is. Perfect. I did it!
David smiled to himself as he floated down towards the meadow, absolutely certain of one crucial fact, even if he was bad at math - in the high-stakes arena of woodland Rock-Paper-Scissors, the kicky Lizard beat creepy Dogs, without fail. He caught the sweet scent of the fruit tree long before he fluttered into the top of its branches, mind buzzing with ideas as he almost reflexively snagged one of the soft orange fruits.
That worked perfectly, there’s no way this can go wrong. What we’ll do is…