Touch of Fate

Chapter 138: Hunting and Experimentation

After ditching the guards, leaving a message with his friends to let them know he would be out late, and grabbing the 'Monsters of the Central Continent' book as a reference, Mike spent the next few hours hunting. Thanks to a newly acquired Basic Stealth skill, he was able to evade the roaming patrols of the University Guard while in the process. The monsters, on the other hand, proved much more sensitive, finding him almost instantly.

Wanting to practice the new applications of Air Magic he'd unlocked, he focused on taking them down with magic. He'd finally learned the Wind Blade spell, which Tal used to great effect on a number of occasions, and tested both the standard and modified version on a monster that looked like a cross between a snake and a bear, which was apparently called a Baratu. According to his Appraise, the creature was highly valued for its smooth, and flexible skin.

His initial attack had been effective, but not fatal. It created a deep wound across the creature's torso, which staggered it and left it open for his follow up attack. Using a slightly modified version of the same chant, he fired another blade of wind that cut completely through the beast and deeply into the ground underneath it. It seemed that the inclusion of vibrating air currents merely increased the cutting power of offensive Air Magic. Since doing so effectively doubled the mana cost of the spells, it was a tool to put into practice when necessary. He made sure to annotate the modified version in his grimoire (journal).

After killing the monster, he'd gone through the beasts various component parts, before finally determining that only the skin and the things gall bladder were worth the effort of collecting it. His skinning of the creature was clumsy initially, since he was relying on what little information he'd picked up throughout his previous lifetime, but got better when he unlocked the Basic Dismantling skill.

[Two useful skills in one night. I'm on a roll.]

While he was in the process of dismantling the Baratu, he considered disguising or hiding the rest of the body, but eventually decided not to. On one hand it would show that someone had killed the thing and harvested certain pieces of it, but considering the militancy of the student body, it wouldn't be surprising that some individuals would be capable of it. At the same time, it was clear that the University was in the process of hunting these monsters, and leaving their corpses would give them proof that they'd been dealt with. Mike figured that they wouldn't expend too much effort in determining who was responsible for doing their job for them.

Once he'd acquired all he could from the bear-thing, he moved on, interested in practicing other abilities. By advancing his Air Magic to Tier 2, he'd unlocked two other forms of composite magic he was keen to experiment with. Since Mike hadn't felt threatened by either of the two monsters he'd encountered so far, this seemed like an excellent opportunity to do just that.

When he ran into another of the giant spiders, he decided to use Lightning Magic, due to the cool visual effects. The spider immediately charged once he'd gotten in range, so he started focusing his mana as soon as he detected the hostile intent.

Much like steam, using the lightning composite element took a good bit of concentration and mana. As soon as he started channeling, a crackling nimbus of electricity surrounded him, causing him to glow slightly. It was accompanied by a tingling sensation all over his body, and the smell of ozone. Obviously sensing danger, the spider halted its forward movement, and started backing away slowly.

With a thought, he directed the surging current of energy at the monster, creating a bolt of crackling lighting from his outstretched hand. He maintained it for a few seconds while the spider started to cook inside of it exoskeleton. When he finally released the spell, it collapsed into a smoking pile.

Appraise listed this creature as an Obsidian Crawler, a commonly seen monster in certain portions of the Ashmourne. He took a moment to consult his reference book. According to it, the only portions of the Obsidian Crawler that were considered valuable, were its poison glands and its spinnerets. Both had to be handled carefully, and were sensitive to extreme temperatures. Overheating could render them worthless.

He paused for a moment to look at the still smoking corpse of the spider, feelings of regret washing over him. It seemed like there was nothing else to be gained here, so Mike chalked it up as a loss and moved on to find his next target.

After dodging a few more patrols he ran into an unusual looking creature that was attempting to tear into a storage shack in the Arts Department grounds. Vaguely humanoid, but hunched over and brutish in appearance, the creature was in the middle of ripping the door off its hinges when he finally encountered it.

He took a moment to observe the monster and use Appraise, trying hard not to look at the dark grayish-green flesh which was currently bared to the world.

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Sgkykurl

Age: 45

Race: Swamp Troll

Class: Swamp Troll

Title: Lord of the Swamp

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[I can guess where Wendel found this one. It looks like it's somewhat intelligent. Should I try to communicate with it first?]

He took a moment to consult his reference book while the creature was busy ransacking the shack. There wasn't an entry for Swamp Trolls specifically, but the volume did explain trolls as a general category. Apparently there were several different varieties of the creature, who had adapted to various environments. This meant that there was a wide variety of the things that inhabited almost every known region. However, there were a few standard traits that spanned the broad family of monsters.

Trolls tended to be of rudimentary intelligence, often times only barely able to understand complex thoughts. They appeared to have some means of communication which consisted of grunts and growls, but it is the general consensus of the scientific community that they are only a little more intelligent than most animals. Almost as if to make up for it, trolls had a number of powerful physical abilities that made them dangerous opponents.

All known varieties possess high vitality, high speed regeneration, and a thick hide capable of shrugging off all but the most powerful of blows in short order. This combined with a disproportionate amount of strength for their already massive size meant that they were difficult to deal with in melee combat.

Trolls tend to lead solitary existences, and there have been several accounts of multiple trolls fighting over territory. They rarely interact with other humanoid races, usually content to keep to the rural and deserted places outside of civilized regions. However, when times are lean, they have been known to attack humanoid settlements and devour some of the inhabitants.

As such they are usually considered a 'kill on sight' monster, but due to their relatively innocuous actions the majority of the time and the difficulty in fighting the creatures, they are usually ignored.

The author of the book noted that troll biology was, as of yet, something of a mystery. The beasts appeared to reproduce asexually somehow, and didn't seem to age. Some leading scholars propound that they aren't even an animal at all, and are instead a type of highly developed fungus. In either case, troll blood is considered a valuable alchemical ingredient in the manufacture of potions and tonics related to healing and vitality.

[Huh, interesting. It would be pretty cool to get my hands on some of that bloodbut I suppose I'd better try talking to it first.]

Deciding on his course of action, Mike stepped forward and announced his presence to the ransacking creature. "Hello there! I come in peace."

The noise inside the shack stopped, and the creature pushed itself back out into the night, shattering some of the door frame in the process. He had a chance to get a good look at the roughly 2.5m tall troll as it started growling at him.

"Mine! Get away! Mine!" It was saying in a burst of guttural quasi-speech.

"Calm down. Let's talk about this. If you keep destroying that shack, the guards are going to come and kill you." Although, looking at the troll's broad, muscular form, they would be hard pressed to do so.

This elicited a more furious bout of growling, "No kill me. Kill you!" The creature tensed, ready to spring at him.

[Well, I tried. If anything this is harder than talking to bees. At least they were somewhat logical and understanding.]

Concentrating his mana, Mike decided to try Ice Magic this time. As soon as he began pulling up the mana, he noticed the temperature around him starting to drop, as his breath started steaming from his mouth.

Not really sure what to do with the new form of magic, he simply directed a blast of it at the charging troll. A wave of frigid air swept the area between them, instantaneously creating a coating of frost on the ground. The monster didn't even have a chance to respond as it was flash frozen, stiffening into a solid block of ice. He kept it up for a minute, until the hostile intent faded, letting him know that the creature's life had been extinguished.

He sighed. This kind of magic was even more draining than the lighting magic for some reason, and it left him feeling kind of drained.

Looking over his handwork, a newly formed ice sculpture of a troll in mid leap, Mike realized he would have a hard time harvesting the things blood at the moment. With another sigh, he channeled some mana into his Fire Magic, in an effort to start thawing the creature.

Taking the troll's infamous vitality into account, he made sure to decapitate the beast once he thawed it sufficiently. This also allowed him to drain the creature's blood into a wide bowl produced through Earth Magic, which he converted into a large jug once he had finished. Unfortunately, this jug was far too large for the extradimensional sack, so he was forced to carry it.

[Well, this seems like a good place to stop for the night. I've tested my new abilities, and acquired a few new ingredients to use with my alchemy. All while making the campus a little safer.]

Mike felt quite pleased with himself as he walked back to the dorm carrying his jug of troll blood. Little did he know, that his actions would cause the University staff a major headache. The eventual discovery of the three mangled monster corpses, combined with the fact that none of the hunter teams took credit for the kills, led the guard to assume that a truly dangerous monster had been mixed in with the others, and was now hiding somewhere on campus.

The person responsible had no clue, as he stored the jug in the kitchen (lacking a better place to put it), crawled into bed to the sounds of a snoring beastman, and reviewed his [Status] until he fell asleep.

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Status update follows. Please feel free to skip to the next chapter.

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[Status]

Michael Rasmussen

Race: Human

Age: 15

Class: Skill Master

Tier: 3 (High)

Title: None

- Multiverse Traveler

- Blessed One

- Hunter of Renown

- Battlefield Healer

- Kal'Thel

- Philanderer

- Hero

- Dungeon Savior

- Undinekath

- Saint of Healing

- Nemesis of Demons

- Antagonist

- Wyrmkin

- Fortuitous Alchemist

- Known to the Lurker

- Conjurer of the Draconic Bloodline

- Dragonknight (EVOLVED)

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Skills:

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Primary Skills:

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Communication Magic (Rank 3)

Intermediate Healing Magic (Rank 5)

Analyze (Rank 2)

Journeyman Almiran Military Swordsmanship (Rank 2)

Intermediate Water Magic (Rank 3)

Intermediate Fire Magic (Rank 3)

Intermediate Air Magic (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Basic Earth Magic (Rank 5)

Basic Light Magic (Rank 1)

Basic Dark Magic (Rank 2)

Basic Conjuration Magic (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Basic Calling Magic (Rank 1)

Basic Alchemy (Rank 2)

Bind Familiar (Rank 2)

Blood Collector (Rank 1)

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Secondary Skills:

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Lifestyle Magic (Rank 0)

Advanced Lovemaking (Rank 3)

Athletics (Rank 2)

Intermediate Evasion (Rank 3)

Basic Dagger Fighting (Rank 2)

Intermediate Spear Fighting (Rank 1)

Intermediate Sword Fighting (Rank 2)

Intermediate Elemental Magic (Rank 3)

Basic Summoning Magic (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Basic Riding (Rank 5) (RANK UP)

Basic Haggling (Rank 3)

Basic Musical Performance (Wind Instrument) (Rank 2)

Basic Unarmed Fighting (Rank 4)

Basic Chanting (Rank 3) (RANK UP)

Dual Casting (Rank 2)

Aerosense (Rank 1)

Basic Stealth (Rank 2) (NEW)

Basic Dismantling (Rank 2) (NEW)

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Passive Skills:

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Intermediate Fear Resistance (Rank 2)

Intermediate Physiological Resistance (Rank 1)

Advanced Poison Resistance (Rank 1) (TIER UP)

Basic Heat Resistance (Rank 4)

Basic Mental Resistance (Rank 5)

Moderate Mana Enhancement (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Moderate Mana Regeneration Enhancement (Rank 4) (RANK UP)

Moderate Endurance Enhancement (Rank 2)

Moderate Agility Enhancement (Rank 2)

Moderate Strength Enhancement (Rank 1)

Basic Willpower Enhancement (Rank 3)

Limit Break (Rank 1)

Detect Hostile Intent (Rank 3)

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Inherent Skills:

Traveler's Luck

Fate-Touched

(BC) Vampiric Regeneration, Lesser

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- Dragonknight -

By virtue of skill, deeds, and popular acclaim, you've ascended to join the hallowed ranks of the Dragonknights. Though you haven't explored the full mysteries of the sacred bond with your dragon companion, its presence grants you power. You are a hero to the weak, a terror to the evil, and a protector to the just. Large increase to Charisma when interacting with individuals favorable inclined to the Dragonknights. (Only applies when active) Minor increase to all attributes of bonded dragon.

- Conjurer of the Draconic Bloodline -

Your powerful connection to draconic creatures has colored your Summoning Magic. Moderate increase to Draconic Summoning Affinity. Minor increase to the mana efficiency and duration of Conjuration spells used to summon draconic creatures, and beings carrying a draconic bloodline.

- Basic Stealth (Tier 1, Rank 2) -

The art of not being detected. Through the suppression of one's presence, bodily control, and a good sense of timing, the user can hide themselves from others. Higher levels reduce the chance of being detected, and the amount of concentration necessary to maintain stealth.

- Basic Dismantling (Tier 1, Rank 2) -

The process of dissembling the bodies of slain enemies. Minor system correction to dismantling. Higher levels of skill reduce material waste and increase the likelihood of harvesting useful materials.

- Advanced Poison Resistance (Tier 3, Rank 1) -

Frequent exposure to harmful substances has increased you body's ability to resist them. Provides large resistance to poison and poison based effects.