Chapter 29: Becoming a druid
I was surprised at first when I heard a notification in my ears but then I started jumping around the forest. I guess I was that happy. I looked at my skill page and another surprise welcomed me. I was so preoccupied with meditation that I didn't even see that I had one more skill. That skill, I got from the first part of my learning to become a druid. Two skills were as follows.
Nature's Call
Passive Skill
Level 0 15%
Bigger perception in the natural environment, very small chance to detect creatures under Stealth, a small chance that wild beasts won't attack you.
Nature's Blessing
Passive Skill
Allows the user to wield the power of Nature.
Intelligence +20
+5 Intelligence for every nature related skill learned
Are these skills OP or not. Well, I guess every druid will have the same skills. But these two skills are amazing nonetheless. Now I should go to Veran and begin my last task.
Veran was expecting me like last time. How did he know that I succeeded? To find that out I asked him.
, How did I knew you succeeded? Haha, easy. When you didn't return that night to sleep here I knew you had a breakthrough. This time, however, I can fell Nature's energy from your body. Even though it's still weak. But with time it will grow within you. The best way for that is using it over and over again. And that is also what you should do now. Utilizing that energy."
, How should I do that?"
, By using skills, of course. There are some skills that I can show and then you can use them yourself. The first time you cast one skill, you will officially become Priest of Veles."
, What are you waiting then? Quick show me."
, Don't rush. There are a few things you need to know first. The skills you can use now are limited. You can cast only low-level spells now. But tell me this first. Have you thought about what kind of druid you wish to become?"
, Not really. What kinds of druids are there at all?"
, Listen carefully. There are three regular types of druids. Most of the druids are proficient in one of these types, but there are some who are proficient in two of them. Druids who are well versed in all three druidic disciplines are rare though. My teacher is one of those by the way.
These three disciplines are Nature Protectors druids, Shapeshifting druids and Rejuvenation druids. I belong to Nature protectors and we are the ones who mainly stay in the forests and protect them. We are skilled in all kinds of spells which are utilizing energy in forests. Me living together with a tree is a very advanced skill which Nature protectors can use. We can also control trees but you are far from that.
Shapeshifting druids can change their forms into those of animals. Some experienced shapeshifters can even change into mythical creatures. They don't stay in the same place, because their nature is one of the nomads. But shapeshifting is maybe the hardest and for sure the most dangerous of all druidic disciplines. Some of them are in animals skin for too long and can forget that they are humans or they can go rabid on some occasions.
Rejuvenation druids are most proficient in healing techniques. Their healing techniques can rival those of priestesses of Vesna. They are the ones who are most welcome to human settlements. And their skills are easiest and fastest to learn.
But there are no druids which know skills from only one discipline. I am Nature Protector but I still know several skills from other two disciplines. So what do you think? Which discipline is close to you?"
, Do I have to choose now?" I asked. I didn't think that I will already need to choose a specialization.
, You do not need to choose at all. If you want you can try and learn skills from all three disciplines, but that is very hard. That is why druids concentrate on one or two.
. What do you think I should do?" Veran is an experienced druid. He should give me good advice.
, I don't know, this decision is on you. But you don't need to make it yet. Some skills are required for other druids to show you how is done. Shapeshifting must be learned alone. Not even best shapeshifter druids can help you with that. I as a Nature Protector would recommend you to choose that also. Other druids would recommend their disciplines. In our druidic circles, those who mainly practice one discipline think that their path is the best. That is why we are thinking of shapeshifters as wild and healers as prideful. On the other hand, they are calling us loners. It is on you to choose in the end. But let me teach you some skills first."
Putting all that in the back of my head I concentrated on learning skills which Veran showed me.
I could only learn two skills because my level was not high enough. Veran explained that as not being strong and learned enough for more skills. As soon as I learned first skill Veran tapped my shoulder in approval.
, Now you have become a beginner druid. To. become a full-fledged druid you must learn one skill from each of the disciplines. Young disciple, I welcome you into the ranks of Priests of the Velen.''
, Thank you, teacher.'' I said with great respect and notification appeared in front of me.
, Congratulations for a class change. You have become beginner druid. You are third beginner druid in the world. Rewards await the one who first becomes a druid. Druids walk the path of Nature. They are knowledgeable and determined.''
Wow, I became third beginner druid in the world. There is even a chance for me to become the first full-fledged druid in the world, among the players. I think that only Europa region has druids, but still, first in the world is a thing to strive for.
I looked at my stat page and saw that Beginner Druid was there in big letters. There was also a short description of the class, which I skipped over. The thing I wanted to see the most was my first class skill. Since Veran was Nature Protector the first skill he teched me was a skill from that discipline. That skill is Ensnaring Roots. Ensnaring Roots is a skill for traping your opponent into a place with the tree roots from the ground. Its duration is not that long, only 2.5 seconds. But Veran told me that if I use the skill a lot in the future the duration will get longer, and even trap more enemies at the same time.
This fact made me realize the potential of this skill. If I level it up in the future this low-level skill will be great control AOE skill. The next skill I learned was the Healing Touch. This is a very simple instant cast healing spell that can heal the target for a fixed amount of health. Over time it can also grow and heal for more.
These two skills made me a lot stronger. One can control my enemies and with the other, I can heal myself or my allies. If I had one attacking skill I would be even stronger. But for now, these two skills are good enough. The only thing I needed to do and become full-fledged druid is to learn a shapeshifting skill. But that is a lot harder than learning the other two skills together. According to Veran the only way to learn shapeshifting is to observe animals. There is no shortcut in this. He said that Druid can shapeshift in all animals possible if he had observed all of them. There is no limit which form can shapeshift Druid take. The only limit is the ability to observe animals and time which would take.
I need to find an animal to observe if I want to take its form.
, If you want to take a shape of an animal you have to understand it 100%. Some are easier to observe and understand while others are hard to find and figure out. There is a way for a Druid to be sure to observe an animal but it could be dangerous later. Let me show you how shapeshifting looks."
Before I could ask him what that way is, Veran started changing right in front of me. He gradually became smaller and furrier. I looked in shock as he got smaller and smaller and in but a moment a squirrel appeared in front of me. If I didn't know that this was a game I would think I was seeing things.
, So what do you think?" Veran in the form of a squirrel talked. Even though I understood him, his voice did change a little.
, This is my third animal form. I learned it while I was fused into a tree early on. I didn't have much chance to use it so I used it now."
He said that and started climbing the tree. He climbed so fast I almost couldn't see him. He then started going from tree to tree. He was no different from a regular squirrel. He then came back down and turned back.
, When you learn an animal form you can stay in it as long as you want. There are no restrictions if you managed to understand said animal 100%. But remember, if you stay in one animal form for too long you may start and lose yourself over to the spirit of the animal. Nature is calm and peaceful, but it can also be rough and vengeful, especially to those who harm it. But even we druids must know when to stop using her gifts or else we feel her wrath."
, I will remember that teacher." I said with great respect and a little fear.
, You won't need to call me teacher when you become a real druid. You can call me Treegrower, as that is the name my brothers gave me. Rest now and tomorrow try and find an animal to observe."
, Ok, teacher." I wanted to ask him about that sure way but decided against it. If he thought I could do it he would have told me how.
Next day I shared my success in obtaining a class with Hope at home, and with Maria and Anna at work. They congratulated me and asked about details. I told them and then asked them how is the trip to the town going.
They said that they can hunt during the trip when carriage stops for a break or if it gets attacked. Until they arrive in the town they should reach level 10. But it seems that the town they are going to is different from the one Wolf, Marco and I are going. Good thing is that these two towns are relatively close to each other, so sooner or later we will find each other in the game. I told them to be careful.
I arranged another date with Maria on Sunday and left work with a smile. When I returned home I talked with Wolf and Marco a little. I told them that I obtained the class and that I will be on my way soon. That bet is lost for sure. Now I just wanted to see who will be first to arrive in the town, Marco or Wolf. If we didn't take time for other things we may have already arrived. I was busy getting a class, while Wolf was busy hunting. I am not sure what was Marco doing, but if he arrived he would already say. And he did say indeed. While I was observing an animal in the forest the next day, by the end of it Marco sent us a message that we owe him 10 silvers each.
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trickywolf
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Chapter 30: First animal form and first...
When Marco arrived into the town, I was at the end of my first day of observing the animal I decided to use as my first animal form. It was hard to make a choice. Most of the players who choose druid as their class would want to transform into a bear, a wolf, even a tiger or a lion if they can find one. Eagle or a hawk, or any other bird are also preferable choices. But, finding those creatures and observing them for a long time is what it makes it a hard task. My first choice was a bird. Any kind of a bird would be good. But since they spend most of the time in the air, I concluded that they are harder to observe then land animals.
So I found myself in a dilemma. To go deeper into the woods and try to find wolves, and risk getting attacked. Or do I observe some easy to see animals in the vicinity of Veran's territory? In the end, I decided that safe choice is the best choice for now. Now, I just need to decide what animal to observe. The reason for wanting a bird to be my first animal form is a fast traveling speed. I was already behind Marco and Wolf, and I didn't want to get behind other players.
At first, I thought that I should observe squirrels like Veran, but decided against it. I wanted a form with some fighting power and squirrels are for sure not the right choice for that. Not that sometime later I won't have a squirrel form. After some deliberation with myself, I made a decision and went to Veran to ask him.
, Veran are there any deer in this part of the forest?"
, So that is your choice for the first form. A good choice indeed. A lot of our brothers from all disciplines choose a stag as one of their animal forms. There are deer south from here. In fact, that territory belongs to them. One Great Stag leads a herd over a hundred deer. Not even feral animals dare enter that part of the forest. You must also be careful not to provoke them. But since you are also part of nature now, they shouldn't attack you for no reason."
After Veran's advice, I went south to try and find that big herd of deer. If nothing goes wrong I should be able to gain my first animal form very soon. I quickly passed the border of Veran's territory and entered the territory of the Great Stag, as Veran called him. I didn't want to wonder too much into it so I moved on the edge of it, hoping that I would find some of them. An hour later and no deer in sight, I remembered that small herd I encountered before and moved towards the river. At one point they would need to drink water and the closest source is this river. I should wait for them at the border, a hundred member herd should be easy to spot. And I was right. Not long after I found a good spot to sit down, I could hear a noise coming from the forest. It was getting louder and soon enough, the whole herd arrived at the river bank. With that, I started my observation.
I could see stags, does and fawns drinking water from the river, with no worries at all. This being their territory and all, it is quite normal, I thought. I was wondering which stag is the leader but none of them looked the part. They were all the same size and I thought that the leader should be bigger than others. I didn't get preoccupied with that because I was concentrating to observe them as much as possible. I watched as they drank water but I couldn't see that restlessness like from the ones I saw before. The stags were turning their head all around looking for danger. But this herd appeared like they didn't have a natural predator. Veran was right, this part of the forest is their territory.
When they finished with drinking water they moved back into the forest. I went after them. I was careful not to get noticed. It would be easy for them to misunderstand my intentions. I moved against the wind because I knew that the wind can move the smell with it, and animals all had a better sense of smell than humans.
They stopped from time to time, either to rest or to eat grass and leaves from small trees. I used every opportunity to observe them. I looked at every motion and action they did. When they stopped to eat I ate with them and when they walked I walked with them. I ate some sour fruits Veran gave me. That boar jerky is all gone by now. Since I had it, I shared it with Veran. I even tried to eat grass and leaves like deer, but after few tries, I gave up. I couldn't eat as many as one deer could. It looked like they ate a small amount of it but when you count how many times they ate, it appears a lot. I was watching them at night too. I only logged out to have breakfast and then got back into the game.
During the night time, they were sleeping so it was easier to observe them. But I still had to be careful so I didn't move too close to them. I was a hundred meters or so away from them. The only thing I heard was their breathing and wind moving the branches of the trees. There were still some stags that were keeping watch but they didn't move to away from the rest of the herd. Whole night passed like that. I only took some fruits to eat in the game and left for a half an hour to get a real lunch. With the sun coming out herd got up one after another. Frist stags, then does and fawns. I had one more day to observe them before my date with Maria so I wanted to use my time as much as I could. And this morning the Great Stag finally appeared.
Just describing him as great is an understatement. He was almost double the size of the other stags. His fur was colored red and then as he moved into the sunshine it changed to brown. It was almost blinding looking at his glossy fur. His horns were tree meters big. They were the biggest so far I could see from a deer. No wonder he was the leader of this big herd. I used my Appraisal on him but it didn't work. I used it yesterday to see what level are others. Young ones were Level 10 and does were between level 15 and 20. Other stags were between level 20 and 25 and couple of them were a few levels higher. At first, I was surprised that their levels were higher than the levels of the Rage Beasts and Rage Nightmare I encountered in the beginner village.
But since this herd didn't have any natural enemies and were growing without any interference I suppose that is normal. I was very curious what level is the leader so I tried a couple more times. Using Appraisal on the herd yesterday I managed to raise my skill more than 30%. Using it on the leader should give me at least 5%, I thought. But after one try Great Stag sensed me. He couldn's see me because I hid very carefully but he sensed that I was looking at him. I didn't want to enrage him so I stopped and moved away a little.
As I watched and observed them I tried to use Appraisal on the leader but it failed almost ten times. I even used it in a half an hour interval in fear of being found out. I head a feeling that as soon as I found out more about the leader, my understanding of deer will raise by a big margin or even reach 100%.
Until it was time for me to get ready for my date with Maria I was watching their every step and action. Even during our date, the only thing I did was looking at her. That made her feel a little uncomfortable so she asked me why am I looking at her like that.
, Do I have something on my face? You almost didn't say a thing tonight?"
I couldn't say that all that observing from the game rubbed into reality, could I? So I responded the best I could in that situation.
, You are too beautiful. I can't stop looking at you." I know it sounds corny but that is the best I could do at the moment and not to blab out that I got it from the game. To be fair I was looking at her every time we were together on dates. It just happens that tonight I didn't talk too much but concentrated on observing.
She smiled at me sweetly and her cheeks got a little red. Seeing her like that I had to say it again.
, How can I stop looking at you when you are beautiful at whatever you do."
, Huh, you wouldn't say that if you saw me in the morning with my hair all messed up."
, I would like to see you then, only to say that you are beautiful and prove you wrong."
It took me a moment to figure out what I said and a moment of silence followed. Then we looked at each other and our eyes met. I could see that her cheeks got even redder but she didn't move her eyes away from mine.
, You will have to wait for that a little." she said and looked at me with a mischievous smile. I was surprised when she said that and didn't know how to respond. I bet that I was redder than her at that moment from embarrassment. She noticed that and laughed again. I got myself together and asked for a bill. I paid and we left the restaurant. I walked her to her place and before she entered I said.
, I will wait, as long as you want." I don't know where that came from but I thought that I didn't give her an answer she wanted while we were at the restaurant. She turned around, surprise written all over her beautiful face. She hugged me and I could hear her faintly say, thank you. I took her hands and we looked each other in the eyes.
What happened then I will remember for the rest of my life. Our lips met and we kissed. I melted from that feeling. Our lips intervened. It felt like an eternity passed at that moment. We separated and looked at each other again. I then remembered and my eyes moved in the direction of the window above us with a little fear. Maria saw that and with a smile said.
, Don't worry. I said to dad not to look anymore outside."
, It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." I said in a hurry trying to make myself look brave again. She smiled and gave me one more quick kiss and ran into her house. I thought I heard Mia behind the door but I was too preoccupied remembering the taste and the shape of Maria's lips to think about anything else. During the whole way back home I was thinking about that moment. When I got back home mom, dad and Hope were looking at me, all with big smiles on their faces. Mia already talked to Hope I see. And Hope already told our parents. After the grand inquisition that lasted almost a whole hour, I went back into the game.
I don't know if it is a coincidence but after every date with Maria, I had some kind of a breakthrough in the game. She truly is my lucky star. After long three days of observation and stalking of the deer, I managed to appraise the Great Stag. As soon as I did a notification appeared.
, Congratulations, you managed to observe the deer to 100% completion. Your reward is transformation skill Great Stag Form.
Congratulations, you are a first druid to learn a transformation skill in the world. You became the first real druid player. Rewards are as followed..."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
trickywolf
trickywolf
Guys sorry for the wait, the new chapter is here. I hope you liked it. If you did vote, write a comment or a review, or visit my Patreon page
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I won't give you false news about next chapters because I myself am not sure when will I have time to write. I hope that I will able to write one before New Year's Eve.
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