Monster Hunting 401: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure

by Andrew Karevik

  As I secured the last rope around the wagon, tying a barrel of well water to the side, there came a hiss in the distance. I glanced up to see Trig, standing by one of the green torches, a ghastly pallor across his face. He was motioning for me to come over, but to avoid drawing attention. This wasn’t a good sign.

  I finished tying the knot on the barrel, then slowly made my way over to him. “What’s the trail looking like?” I asked. While I readied the supplies, he was supposed to scout the trail a bit, to at least see if conditions were good for travel.

  “Remember that crab thing we fought?” he whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was nearby.

  “Vividly,” I said.

  “Well, barely thirty feet away from the village entrance, there’s six of them.”

  I frowned. Did he misspeak? “Six? Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Right out in the shadows. Waiting for us. And it gets worse. I decided to check the perimeter circling the village and well…there’s a lot of those beasts. Six on the road, but nearly fifteen forming a circle around us. And here’s the odd thing. They didn’t attack me.”

  This wasn’t good. “They didn’t?”

  “No, they just…looked at me for a second, then returned their gaze forward. To the village. I think they’re waiting to attack or something. Like for a signal.”

  The Vessel’s story of boosted intelligence made sense here. If the Shadow Titan had grown smarter as a result of absorbing the memory shard, then maybe it was able to sense the Orphine’s loss of control, as well as the village full of unprotected people. But why wouldn’t it attack Trig? Had it learned we were good at killing its creations?

  I sighed deeply, dropping my head down. “Don’t give me this news…”

  “Sorry. But I’m pretty sure the moment we take a caravan full of people outside, they’ll strike. We need to figure out some way of killing them as quickly as possible, before they hit. Maybe we can rig some kind of massive explosive trap?” Trig asked, scratching his own head as he puzzled out the idea.

  “No…” I said, turning my head upwards, staring into the darkness. “These monsters aren’t here by accident. Something’s directing them. If we want to get these people out safely…we’re going to have to cut straight to the heart of the matter. We’re going to have to kill the Shadow Titan. And quick.”

  Chapter 32

  The question on just about everyone’s mind was how we could possibly fight a shadow. But I had an ace up my sleeve, so to speak. The Coresight ability from the Giantslayer skill tree would grant me the power to see nearby Titan cores. Combined with my enhanced perception abilities, who knows? Maybe I’d be able to locate the core from here. If not, I’d move out, alone, into the woods until I found the damn core. After all, we didn’t really need to fight the Titan as much as we just needed to destroy its core.

  The most recent Orphine kill granted me 6,000 points, bringing me up to a grand total of 15,000 Bloodpoints. Enough to purchase 2 Giantslayer abilities, unlocking the next tier. Good enough for me. My first purchase was Coresight, followed quickly by Unbreakable. Two extremely useful abilities, for the staggering cost of 10,000 points. I just hoped the next tier would have something useful for me.

  Rank Up! Appeared in my vision, the golden words sparkling brightly enough to give me a bit of a headache. Rank 3: Titan Hunter. Select Rank Bonus and Hunting Style Bonus.

  Choose One Rank Bonus:

  - Trophy Hunter: You gain an additional Aspect Point when creating a new charm.

  - Essence Harvester: Bloodpoints now rejuvenate health, though they cannot heal critical injuries. 1,000 Bloodpoints equal 10% healing.

  - Predator: Gain one permanent enhanced sense: Tracking Scent, Echolocation, Tremorsense, Darkvision.

  - Changeling: Extends any transformation effect by 8 hours.

  Choose Hunting Style Bonus:

  - The Stalker: For each hour you study a monster, you gain 1 free critical strike against it, up to a maximum of your Stealth Skill +2.

  - The Huntmaster: Your allies are imbued with your perks and charms affecting your perception. In addition, their perception stat is replaced with yours while within 100 feet of you. This affects a number of allies equal to your Navigation Skill, +1.

  - The Planner: Your traps gain an additional use before needing to be reset. All traps now have the piercing quality, as long as you are the one to set them. This affects a number of traps equal to your Trapping skill.

  - The Opportunist: Attacking a monster without preparation grants you an automatic insight into one weakness. Attempted ambushes by monsters grant you a speed bonus equal to your Acrobatics skill +1.

  My eyes went wide as I studied these new options. I was a bit surprised by the sudden rank up. I had only increased my rank once before, and that felt so long ago that I had kind of forgotten about it. But now, I had two entirely new options to pick, and best of all, they were free!

  The first set of options was interesting. Changeling was out, obviously. I wasn’t about to start body transformations any time soon and if I did, I certainly didn’t want them to last for eight extra hours. Predator was interesting but I had charms that could do those jobs for me easily enough. The real toss-up was between Essence Harvester and Trophy Hunter.

  Essence Harvester basically gave me the ability to keep going in a nasty fight with multiple creatures. A quick harvest mid-fight would provide a huge boost of health, allowing me to keep going. And it could theoretically help fuel some of my charms that cost health to use, such as my telekinesis charm. On the other hand, harvesting in the middle of a fight was…risky. It could open me up to attack or worse, accusations of me trying to steal when working with other Venators.

  Trophy Hunter, on the other hand, gave me a leg up when it came to making new charms. Not only did it grant me a point to use later, but I had actually seen quite a few charms where the ability only cost a single Aspect point. This meant I could theoretically get a permanent ability from a new charm and use another ability, if I wanted to. Or I could cut down the wait for the really good abilities by quite a bit, since I wasn’t really running into the same monsters all the time.

  Trophy Hunter it was. Next on the list was the “Hunting Style.” These were interesting enough, but I narrowed down on two almost instantly. Huntmaster or Opportunist. Huntmaster because I was quite literally the Huntmaster of Hunter’s Hope and had plenty of allies hunting with me, and Opportunist because it always seemed like monsters came out of the woodwork with barely a moment’s notice. Especially in a place this dark.

  I think, ultimately, Opportunist would match my style the most. My danger senses would prime me well in advance for an ambush attempt, giving the extra speed extreme utility. I could react fast as lightning, move my allies out of the way of danger, or intercept a strike before it landed, all while learning a key weakness of whatever new horror was coming my way. Maybe if I were staying in one place for long, Huntmaster would be more appealing. But once this adventure was over, I’d be heading straight to that new city in the north, to learn about the monster slayers who lived there. No doubt I’d meet a host of new creatures to fight while on the road.

  Acting true to the name, I grabbed Opportunist without much forethought. I frankly didn’t have a lot of time to be mulling things over, not when I knew Titan Hunter would unlock a new skill path for me.

  What I wasn’t expecting was that Opportunist was a skill path as well! Two brand new branches formed in front of me, both level 1 and both costing 2,000 per rank.

  Titan Hunter Tier One:

  - Territorial Awareness: You automatically become aware of a Titan’s presence and location when entering its territory.

  - Tempting Recipe: Brewing Bloodpoints, Firnin and animal blood creates a Titan Lure. Depending on the amount of Bloodpoints and Firnin spent, this Lure will attract a Titan to the location over a number of days, weeks or months. The Titan will seek the lure and consume it once it
is found.

  - Titan Blind: You gain the ability to construct a Titan Blind out of monster bone and foliage. These small buildings render occupants invisible to Titans. Even a Titan actively searching for the occupants is fooled by the Blind and will not engage unless directly attacked from within the building.

  Opportunist Tier One:

  - Improvised Trapping: You may create any trap you have learned with objects from your surroundings. The quality of this trap will be low and it will break immediately after the use is finished, but the trap will achieve its intended purpose.

  - Follow Up: After you deal critical damage to an enemy, you may immediately strike the exact same spot again with a single attack.

  - Creative Circumvention: Once per day, you may gain a creative insight into your enemy’s defenses, allowing you to bypass a single immunity of your choice.

  These were interesting to say the least. Titan Hunter was more like…for actually hunting Titans, not really for fighting them. Though, I guess that was to be expected since it wasn’t called Titan Killer or Titan Slayer. Still…these were useful in a way. The ability to know where Titans were when I moved into their territory? And the ability to lure them? Stuff I’d pocket for later, for certain, though nothing of immediate value now.

  Opportunist on the other hand had two automatic buys. Follow Up and Creative Circumvention were a deadly combo, especially when combined with my True Arrow ability. If the Shadow Titan had no corporeal form, I could use Creative Circumvention to deal regular damage to it and Follow Up to fire another lethal shot. And both for only 4,000 Bloodpoints! What a steal!

  I finished up selecting my bonuses and watched as my Hunter’s Profile shifted once more, updating my rank and proudly displaying my brand new skills.

  Avery Lorn: Titan Hunter

  Health: 90%

  Mana: 100

  Bloodpoints: 1,000

  Stats:

  Strength: 4 (2+2)

  Dexterity: 4

  Intelligence: 4

  Perception: 3

  Charisma: 4

  Stealth: 2

  Archery: 10

  Tracking: 5

  Navigation: 7

  Trapping: 3

  Acrobatics: 10

  Surprise Attack

  Clean Retrieval

  Search I

  Light Step

  Snare Trap

  Leap

  Archer’s Eye

  Recognizable Scent

  Fast Movement

  Spear Trap

  Safe Fall (40ft)

  Piercing Shot

  Tracker’s Instincts

  Home Territory

  Advanced Bear Trap

  Dodge Reflex

  Focus Breaker

  On the Trail

  Expedition Leader

  Perfect Balance

  Rapid Shot

  Danger Sense

  Acrobatic Training

  Multi-shot

  Strider

  Acrobat’s Grip

  Swift Hands

  Group Captain

  Air Combat I

  Sniper’s Aim

  Springheels

  Explosive Shot

  Homing Shot

  First Aid: 5

  Alchemy: 7

  Magician: 7

  Spellbow: 4

  Giantslayer: 7

  Opportunist: 3

  Skilled Extraction

  Mystic Recovery

  Spell Saver I

  Fell The Mighty Oak

  Follow Up

  Physiological Examination

  Mana Boost

  Spell Arrow

  Obsession

  Creative Circumvention

  Enhanced Mixtures

  Student

  True Arrow

  Invigorating Roar

  Apprentice

  Dabbler

  Arrowfinder

  The Harder They Fall

  Nourishing

  Journeyman

  Hindered Regeneration

  Extra Sip

  Mystic Vision

  Iron Meets Steel

  Charm Trick

  Coresight

  Illusions:

  Weapons:

  Armor:

  Tools:

  Bone Charms:

  Alchemy:

  Dazzle

  Bone Bow: Strong Fire Affinity

  Swift Medium Scale Leather

  Slots: 1

  Expanded Bag

  Max Level Kinru Charm

  Firnin: 0

  Phantom Sound

  Iron Crossbow x3

  Swift Blackoak Greaves

  Level 1 Fitzon Charm

  Estoan: 0

  Enchantments:

  100 Tooth Arrows

  Blackoak Vambraces

  Slots: 1

  Level 2 Fylk Charm

  Kaos: 0

  Return Arrows

  Bone Bow: Strong Sonic affinity

  Level 1 L’Gara Charm

  Potion of Speed: 2

  Switching Arrow

  Bone Bow: Strong Lightning Affinity

  Level 3 Fungara Maestro Charm

  Blessings of Swiftness

  Level 1 Ligoran Charm

  Expand Satchel

  Level 1 Great Wyrm Charm

  Thunder Arrow

  Manipulation:

  Level 1 Lurbia Charm

  Summon Quiverling

  Minor Spellburst

  Level 1 Hypnosin Charm

  Strong Elemental Affinity

  Minor Telekinesis

  Level 1 Glurp Charm

  Weaponlink

  Weigh Down

  Level 1 Griffin Charm

  Bless Boots

  Level 1 Tyndel Charm

  Titanic Weapon: Josiah’s Storm

  Slayer: 3

  Striker: 4

  Artillerymaster: 3

  Bow-Bond: 2

  Munitions Specialist: 2

  Damage Rating: 5

  Bow Connection

  Forceful Hit

  Indirect Fire

  Gift of Intelligence

  Breach Charge Recipe

  Weapon Speed: 2

  Rage of the Slayer

  Unmoving Arrows

  Barrage

  Partnership

  Triggered Charges

  Special 1: N/A

  Endurance Surge

  Agonizing Strike

  Range Extension

  Special 2: N/A

  Snap Shot

  I just hoped these would be enough to let us kill that damn Shadow Titan.

  Chapter 33

  “Well?” Trig asked as he held his slender, violet-skinned wife by his side. She was better fed than most of the survivors, though there was quite a disturbing reason for that.

  I continued to scan the area around us, eyes searching the darkness desperately. Behind us, the village was quietly moving, single file, back down into the hut that housed the stairs leading into the underground cavern. Into their old prison cells. Once a place of horror, it was, ironically, their only shelter from the beasts above. One entry point, guarded by green flame and the Vessel, who was slowly beginning to retain its immense power. If the Shadow Titan made a run on the village, they’d have to really work hard to get to the people.

  “No good,” I sighed. “I can’t see a core anywhere. No sign of anything like that.”

  “Da
mn,” Trig replied, sighing just as heavily as I, dropping his head down. We both knew what this meant. We’d have to split up. I’d have to go out into the darkness and search for the Shadow Titan alone.

  “Do not lower your head in these easy times,” his wife scolded. “You must look strong for the children and the feeble-minded.”

  Trig lifted his head up at that and nodded. “Yes, yes,” he mumbled. I couldn’t help but chuckle at this new dynamic. 41 certainly had an interesting definition of easy times. But then again, based on previous circumstances, an impending threat was a big upgrade from a perpetual one.