Kapitel 461: F Series
The leaves rustled, a chill crawled up his spine. Gear grit his teeth, he was stronger now! There was no need to fear the Chimera. He will defeat it!
Gripping the handle of his sword tighter in an effort to steel his nerves he continued walking alone in the forest. The mist that clung to the trees seemed to slowly branch out. A fog began to obscure his vision, but he did not falter. If he allowed such a monstrosity to continue wandering such a peaceful village. . .
He winced, the fog grew so thick he could barely see ahead of him. Because of it he failed to see a log and tripped on it. Standing back up he inspected the log, but quickly found himself horrified.
<Warning! Player has approached a high Leveled creature!>
<It is recommended to flee!>
<<Failed Chimera: F-3 (LVL: ???)>>
F-3?? That name was different from the one he came across! Moreover this Chimera looked incredible different! What exactly was this one supposed to be?!
That didn't matter! If there was more he would have to defeat this one too! Gear lifted his sword and swung down with all his might. After researching several tutorials he placed his stats in the most optimal way that was recommended. Although he failed to test his new strength he still felt confident!
His arms felt a heavy recoil, instead of carving through the moving log like he envisioned it bounced off hard. The log twitched and the forest began to move. The trees shook and leaves began to fall. Since the fog was so heavy Gear couldn't spot what was happening.
"Screee!"
Gear's head snapped upward, what greeted him was yet another fearful sight. It looked like the head of a massive Mongolian death worm, except made of several faces. As it opened its mouth layers of different types of teeth were visible. As it widened its mouth a loud screech pierced Gear's ears.
"SCREE!"
A blast of hot hair slammed into him, the screech provided a strong enough blast to blow away some of the fog. Gear couldn't even run this time, the size of this Chimera dwarfed the first one. Moreover this one didn't seem to want to play with its food.
"Wai-"
The Chimera shot downwards at a speed Gear could not witness and consumed him entirely. There was no struggle, for Gear was nothing but a helpless prey in front of the Chimera.
. . .
Gear gasped and sat upwards. His breathing was quick and showed clear signs of fear. Hyperventilating he looked around, a somewhat familiar but unfamiliar surrounding greeted him.
"Easy boy, you are fine."
"Wha- where am I?"
"By the grace of the protector you have been saved. You are in our little village still Gear."
As the fear began to fade he realized why the place looked so familiar. Looking at the one who spoke to him he found a recognizable old face, "Granny Rey?"
"Your eyes do not deceive you."
"I-"
"You came across the nightmare that haunts this place, yet you still live. Consider it a grace."
"You know about the Chimeras?!"
"So you are aware of what they are. Everyone in this village is aware of what lurks in that forest at night."
"Why haven't you done anything?"
"We are powerless to do so. Even you who's increased somewhat in strength could not stand a chance. Although I commend your bravery, it was a foolish endeavor."
"Then what are you supposed to do?"
"The protector shrouds our homes in the moonlight, as long as we remain inside these homes we will be safe from the horrors that lurk at night."
Gear felt exhausted, to think all of his efforts were for naught. Not only were the Chimeras still significantly stronger, but there was more in number as well.
Granny Rey placed her hands together in a small prayer. Her eyes always seemed to remain closed no matter what happened. This time though one of her eyes peaked open, "Knowing this do you wish to remain here?"
"I. . ."
-><-
"Protector?", asked Jarvis.
"I have no idea, even when I asked her she never said specifically what it was."
Jarvis pieced together a few ideas, but the main concern still remained on his mind, "So considering you have a way out, and when you realized just how powerful all of these Chimeras are, why did you stay?"
"Because I grew attached. The people here are nice and caring, although they have their own quirks about themselves. I didn't want such a place to constantly be in fear."
"So how did you get stronger? Forgive me but it's hard to believe you were here the entire time. Even if you were eventually the side quests would have given you diminishing returns. Surely you're aware that you've reached the strength of the average playerbase. Who all have access to greater resources than this place could ever provide."
"I have Granny Rey to thank for that. Every Sunday she would grant me a strange side quest. The rewards were. . . extreme in a way. Additionally she taught me the ways to stand up to the Chimeras. When I was finally granted the strength to stand up against them. . . the exp drops from a killed Chimera is in no way small."
It seemed unlikely, but crazier things have happened before. Additionally if the bare minimum was Second Stage to start fighting the Chimera's then it made sense. Since the beasts should be on the level of what the average playerbase fights for exp. This would also explain his knowledge on the subject of Chimeras. So it seemed like everything was put together.
"How successful have been your endeavors?"
"Hardly, I can only consistently defeat the F series of Chimera. Especially since you have a limited amount of time before the noise attracts more."
"Looks like I'll have to see for myself just how fearsome these Chimeras are."
"I don't recommend it, although it seems you have better circumstances than I the last thing you want is to be overwhelmed."
"I appreciate the warning, but I'm afraid one of my companions is still out there."
Gear's eyes widened, "That's right you said there was people with you! I'll come along, we can't let them be out at night."
"You said they mostly react to sound and sight right?"
"Yes, a lot of them don't have noses so smell isn't something I don't think."
"Then she's fine, we just have to meet her."
"What. . . ?"
~ ~ ~
"How unsightly."
Kiro dashed through the trees, each time she landed softer. Like a passing wind only the leaves would react to her movements. She hardly made a sound, and her exceptional stealth was in play.
However despite that something was high on her tail, chasing her down no matter what. Their speed was relatively the same, meaning that she couldn't out run it. The beast sent a shiver down her spine, some foul feeling reeked out of it. It made her skin crawl.
The beast looked like a dog, however it's head was only a mouth. There was no eyes or even a nose, just an abnormally large canine jaw. As it chased Kiro it kept its mouth open, a strange liquid flowing out like saliva.
Kiro raised her hands and made several signs with them, flipping over a branch she reached towards the tree and slapped its surface. A puff of smoke leapt from its surface and the tree dramatically changed.
[Tanuki Ninja Art: Alter Form]!
A brick wall formed where the tree was and Kiro landed softly. She was able to catch her breath for a single second before the 'dog' crashed through the wall with its jaws agape. Clicking her tongue she reached behind her back and grabbed the handle of a Tanto. Unsheathing it she dashed towards the dog.
Lowering its 'head' the jaws widened in anticipation. Just as Kiro was about to come into contact with the jaws she sprung upwards and threw four shuriken towards each of the legs of the 'dog'. As the shuriken left her fingertips a puff of smoke sprang from its surface as they changed shape. Now in the form of stakes they flung forward and stabbed through the paws of the 'dog', temporarily pinning it into place.
Tapping the pommel of her Tanto a trickle of smoke traveled down its blade and it increased in length. As she fell she stabbed it through the open jaws and pinched them together. Her weight slammed into the beast's 'head' and caused it to drop towards the ground.
Now with the beast pinned she let out a small breath, "I miss my days of slacking and drinking."
The 'dog' squirmed underneath her weight for a bit before it let out a long whine. It then shuddered violently before lifting its paws upwards. The metal stakes tore through its paw, but by sacrificing its flesh it ripped itself free.
Kiro frowned, but the dog freeing itself was not the major concern. The entire forest seemed to shake in response to its whine. If her ears were correct there was several things approaching at once. The feeling that lingered around Kiro stated it wasn't going to be good either.
With a wince she weighed her options, from what she could tell there was no escape route. Staying calm under such situations was something she was trained to do from a young age, so she quickly deduced a few things. With the little time she had she came to a quick solution. Reaching behind her she put her hand into a small bag, fishing around she pulled out a tiny pebble.
Squeezing the pebble caused smoke to appear and it formed into a small firework. Gripping a tab at the bottom of it she ripped it free, the friction and material produced a flame and lit the firework. She threw it upwards, where it lingered in the air for a moment before exploding into a shower of brilliant sparks.
Then she sprinted away, her main hope was that the noise from the firework would cause enough confusion for her to slip past. Perhaps the noise would attract other things too, preferably help. Spinning her Tanto she flicked away the foul beast's blood and sheathed it back where it rested.
Grimacing at the situation she silently cursed under her breath. It seemed what the firework attracted wasn't help, but more of the beasts. It was good to know sound was a contributing factor to what attracted them. Since that was the case there was a good chance she could use it to her advantage.
Pulling out another pebble she squeezed it, causing it to transform into another firework. This one looked more like a typical black sphere bomb. With a long fuse included. Ripping the tab to ignite it she tossed it forward and jumped. With a spin she kicked it to the side, causing it to fly across the forest. After a bit of time a loud explosion sounded. Kiro almost immediately noticed the shift of activity. A wry smile formed on her lips, "Like clockwork."
She slid to a stop, her attention being drawn to something. A wolf leapt into view and landed with a heavy thud, on top rode two people. A faint laugh escaped her lips, "You're just in time Mister!"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein