Soul Art Online

- Arthas -

Two weeks had passed. By now all of the prisoners had been released. The rest of the people had accepted that they were trapped in this world more or less. I wonder if they realise that not even a day has passed on the outside world if what the Game Master told us was true? Although from what I could gauge out, no one was believing that part maybe because of their anger?

I had rampaged inside the forest this past week. The animals inside were all T2 with the occasional rare T3 mixed in which would have been extremely dangerous if I had been hunting the normal way.

Creating a suitable location for the hunt took a majority of my first day but after it was done, it was a slaughter. The wolves had a very sharp sense of hearing and smell and cooperated really well in small teams. But once that was taken out, it was like shooting fish in a barrel. It wasn't as if I was always having an easy time. The T3 Bear that had come out of nowhere had almost uprooted the tree which I was hiding on. It was only thanks to the chilli bomb to its face that it left the tree and I could find an opportunity to make a shot.

It took a dozen arrows to take down that thing but it was worth it. 500 Exp and a ton of loot including a rare one.

I was finally able to max out the Apprentice Hunter Class.

I had gathered a buttload of stuff in the last week that needed to be sold and things that I needed to restock and buy.

The Apprentice Hunter Class gave some very useful skills. Keen eyes, Aim Leg, Disable, etc.

I could see the players moving around although in a mechanical way to do the basic job to feed themselves. My previous hunting ground was now full of people with a few dozen trying to hunt a rabbit when it came out. A simple Observe showed that they were all Villagers. In fact the highest level I had seen among the players was a level 6 Villager who was leading a party to hunt boars.

I did draw some eyes towards myself because I was coming out of the forest but no one tried to pick any fights with me.

The Game had a pretty nifty feature. You can hide your level and Class from other players but some players with special skills can see through it. My Apprentice Hunter Class did give me such a skill. After all, which decent hunter wouldn't have a skill to assess their opponent?

I went straight towards Gunter's Hut to see what needed to be done to get the Hunter Class. He was a Hunter so it was only natural that he would know what I needed to do to become one.

There were a couple of people talking to the man outside.

I remembered the quest to become an Apprentice. 20 Rabbits and a Boar. With the increased number of people, it would take a lot of time to complete that quest.

I didn't say anything but waited for them to disperse and then went to the man.

"Arthas. Is that you brat? You disappeared for a while. I thought that the forest claimed you too but thank the Spirits that you're still fine."

"I went on a hunting trip."

"And it was successful from what I can see. You've grown up a lot."

"Thank you teacher. I wanted to know what I needed to do to become a Hunter. Is there another test that I need to take perhaps?" I asked as the man laughed.

"Already wanting to become a Hunter, eh? It's not that easy to become one, ya know. Took me a year. You think you are ready for that? You need to hunt an Iron Back Bear. You can't receive any help from others. The Badge you have will record it and only then can you qualify for the exam."

I gave the man my badge and he raised an eyebrow before letting out a gasp.

"Sunova….you brat! How did you get that one?"

"Got lucky. Anyways, I can take the Hunter's Exam now, right?"

"Well yeah. I can hardly imagine any reason you couldn't. To get a Hunter's Badge, you need to hunt a Mutated Animal in the forest. They are far stronger than the normal ones and can also use Magic sometimes. Be careful. Those things are the lords of the forest around this area. They will not be easy to hunt."

Quest Received

Hunt or be Hunted.

Objective: Hunt a mutated animal in the forest.

Reward: Hunter's Badge, T3 Class: Hunter Unlocked.

Mutated animals.

"What are these mutated animals?" I asked, trying to get a general idea.

"They are animals that have somehow evolved into something of a variation of their species. It can be for various reasons. Maybe they ate something that gave them power, maybe they were blessed by a spirit, maybe it just became strong enough or maybe it was cursed by someone. The main point is, they become far stronger than the normal ones of their kind. They are generally the lord of the areas they live in. Very hard to kill. They do however drop the best of drops and sometimes even magic cores that can be used to imbue items with elemental powers. Those things sell for a pretty decent amount of gold I tell ya."

"Are there any mutated animals in the forest?" I asked.

"There sure are. Hunted one myself to pass the exam in my youth." he said, his eyes gaining a reminiscing look.

"Really! Where? Which area can I find them in? I haven't spotted a mutated animal even after an entire week inside the forest."

"That would be me helping ya, kid. Sorry but, no can do."

I let out a sigh.

Obviously it won't be so easy.

I will ask around a bit and see if I can find anything.

It will be a difficult prey to hunt.

If I don't find anything, I will head out towards the next village.

With these thoughts in mind, I headed towards the Butcher's Shop to sell off the meat that I had gathered in this week.

The wolf Pelts and the rest of the parts will go to the Blacksmith's Shop.

The Blacksmith's shop was empty. Considering the price of things here and the fact that even hunting a rabbit was a challenge with the number of players crowding the hunting ground, it wasn't a surprise.

"Mr. Arthas, you're back. I thought you had left for the next village." the assistant asked me as I entered the shop.

"I was just out for a long hunt. I need to complete some tasks and commision some new armour. I'll provide the materials, you can add anything if you need on top of that. Think you can do that?"

"New armour? I'll need to see the materials."

"Sure." I brought out the materials I had collected over the week.

Scores of animal pelts, claws, fangs, even large bones were lined up in front of the now stunned guy.

"I want four sets of armour, the best you can make out of them. Four Swords, four quivers of arrows, four long spears and two bows. The rest I would like to submit for the quests I had gotten from Mr. Braham."

My quests were of a repeatable nature and I could complete them multiple times with the amount of items I had with me.

He selected the best of the items he could and returned the rest to me.

The best thing about the game was that I could keep the quest completed but receive the rewards when I wanted. This meant I could keep completed quests and keep the stored exp in them and just max out a Class the moment I gain them, provided I had enough exp in the quests.

The armour and weapons would take a day to make. I did get some information about the mutated animals. There were eight of them all around the forest. Each had an area of their own. Some even had subordinates, like the Mutated Wolf was the leader of its own pack, so it was out. The bear was alone but it was stronger than the first two.

There was a snake but I didn't want anything to do with it. I was not going to try and see if the basic antidote worked on its poison or not. The tiger was out as well.

That left the Bison, Gorilla, Boar and Jaguar.

Gorillas can climb trees and so can Jaguars.

So finally between the Boar and the Bison.

Need to find more information.

I headed towards Martha's shop to complete the last bits of the collection quests.

This shop was more crowded than others. It is probably because this place also sold bread and the basic necessities of the people. Currently the cheapest way to survive in the place. A piece of bread was 1G each. This could keep them filled up for a day. I waited for my turn which came soon.

"Is that you, Arthas?"

"Yes, Granny. I came here with the quests you had given me and to restock on some items."

I realised that some people were looking at me but I had better things to do. At this point time was of essence and I was not gonna waste my time.

I laid out the products and completed the collection quests and quickly restocked on the items before taking some more quests and leaving.

- Scene Change -

Asking around the entire village, earned me some more quests and some information. The Bison was a part of a herd while the Boar was alone. That last bit of information decided what I was going to hunt next.

I still had to wait for a day to get the weapons and armour though.

I had noticed some people trying to keep a watch on me since I completed the quests at Martha's. Around three people were taking turns to run into me inside every shop I tried going or speaking to every person I was speaking to. If they thought they were doing a good job of hiding, they were dead wrong.

I still didn't feel safe staying inside the village so I left towards the outskirts.

And so here I was, in a small hole like cave near the outskirts of the village. At times like this, people are more dangerous than any bosses or wild animals I might encounter.

My train of thought was broken by the sounds of a fight nearby. The sound seemed to be from a boar.

I snuck around quietly and saw the scene. A woman who looked to be in her twenties was on a large rock, throwing pouches at a group of young piglets. She had light brown hair and purple or violet eyes, the night light was making it difficult to see properly. The piglets were getting a 'Dizzy' status so it must have been something in those pouches. Too bad she attracted the boar too and the big guy was just shrugging it off. She was stuck on the top of the rock although she did manage to make some hits on the group with her spear before it broke leaving her stranded on the top of the rock.

I waited to see what she did or if someone would arrive near the place or if it was a trap but even after waiting for fifteen minutes straight there were no signs of anyone showing up.

I slowly crawled out of my place and took up a position on a nearby rock. The angle was good so I took my aim and the first shot was made towards the Boar, Aim Leg.

The arrow tip gained a green colour as the arrow tore through the air striking the leg of the boar. It was a normal level 7 Boar. Not much it could have done against me.

The girl looked in the direction of the arrow and saw me but by then I had taken another shot directly taking the head of the piglet that was Level 5.

I noticed a pattern. At level 6, the Piglets evolved into a Level 1 Boar. So it was probably on the verge of evolution. I'd rather it get taken down now.

The Boar looked in my direction but the leg injury made it nigh impossible for it to do anything. Just for a safety measure, I took down another Piglet before climbing down and bringing out a sword.

The Boar tried to charge but fell down. I threw a spare piece of spear near the girl. "Take a kill."

This boar would have given me only 30 Exp which was a waste compared to the 120 it would give the girl.

The piglets were easy for me to take down.

The girl stared for a moment before taking the spear and piercing the eye of the Boar in a straight strike.

That's when I noticed the level of the girl, Level 9 Villager.

That's the highest level apart from me in this Village.

The leftover piglets were soon taken care of by the two of us.

I took the ones I killed leaving the rest to her and she in turn returned the spear to me when she was done.

"Thank you for saving my life."

"I didn't save your life. At best you would have been stuck there till morning and at worst for a whole day. They would have left to hunt or other Players would have found you either way."

She looked stunned for a second while I started to skin the piglets before letting out a giggle.

"Oh, that does sound right. In that case, allow me to thank you for helping me out."

"You're welcome."

I checked her name.

Veena.

"Can I ask what those things that you were throwing at the Piglets were?" That's the main reason why I intervened even though she wasn't in any real danger.

"Those were some herbal mixtures. I can mix some herbs to create mixtures with some effects. They are not very strong but enough to distract the animals, making it easier for me to take a strike. I mainly sell the mixtures and some healing salves to others." she replied as she started walking away towards the village.

My sleep was ruined either way and it looked like it was going to be morning in an hour.

"But still hunting this late at night?" I asked her, curious.

"Mornings are when I work for Madam Martha as her Gardener and it is not really suitable for levelling up. People are getting restless nowadays and with the violent ones released, people are a bit tense in the mornings. Stealing kills and then fighting is common in the mornings. Nights are still the time when they don't come outside, fearing for their lives. I simply take advantage of this."

As odd as it sounded, it was also weirdly reasonable.

We walked together and I asked her about the Skill to mix herbs. It was apparently a Gardner Skill. The Gardener Class gave her Exp for the plants she grew but those were only applicable for when she had that class active. She was apparently a Level 5 Gardner. The T2 for that one will be an Apprentice Herbalist and T3 a Herbalist. This here was a straight out production Class Gamer. It's always good to be friends with such people. After all, potions were more or less the staple of all Gamers.