Chapter 233 - Next hunt (Patreon)

"Hey, Peaches?" Hera called.

"Yeah, kid?"

"If I leave the plaque, will I fail the task? Or will my progress be erased?"

"It won't. After you hit the finish button, the plaque will check your answers, and even if you leave or enter another biome, the progress will be there."

"Great," Hera rushed back to the reception, "I really need to go to the bathroom."

"Is that why you've been shuffling around for the past five minutes?"

"Yep," Hera replied just before closing the bathroom door.

After coming out, she felt refreshed. Most of the plaque was already complete. She placed all the information in the blank slots and even the creature's size and data in the graphs. There was only a single thing missing, and she had no idea how to complete that blank spot.

"Can you give me a hint?" Hera turned to Peaches after leaving the bathroom.

"Before I answer that, answer my question first. Did you wash your hands?"

"Of course! What do you take me for?" Hera gasped.

"Good, and no, I can't give you anymore hints."

"C'mon. How am I supposed to know if the poison can paralyze an elephant for 17 hours or a camel for 27? Both seem right."

Peaches shrugged, "Then just pick one."

"Yeah, then I get it wrong and have to do it all again."

"Then write something else. The information has to be correct. It doesn't have to be what's there."

"But how can I…" realizing what he meant, Hera opened a big smile, "You are amazing, you know that?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Peaches turned around. It would be easier for him to hide his smirk if his body wasn't see through.

Hera walked back to the plaque, and in the place where it talked about the strength of the poison, she added the ending of the sentence. 'The poison it has can paralyze a regular human for 36 hours.' She reviewed the rest of the information she had added to be sure she didn't make any mistakes. She had to talk about how it could sustain itself with mana for a while and how it could easily move around in the sand. About its hermit tendencies and how it would steal nests after meals.

Everything seemed to be correct. Taking a deep breath, Hera pressed the confirm button at the end of the window.

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Desert Biome – Final Task Completed

The information you provided about the Three Needle Scorpion was correct.

The desert biome was completed.

If you complete the current role test, the Three Needle Scorpion will already be part of your [Hunter's Catalogue]
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"Yes!" Hera cheered.

"Nice going, kid. Just two more to go," Peaches said.

"Thanks! By the way, how can you tell I finished the task? Do you get the notifications too?"

"Not a notification, but I just know when you finish a task. Even inside there."

Hera stared at him for a moment, "That's creepy."

"Tell me about it, but it's not like I'm the one who decided that."

"So, this was something the system did?" Hera asked.

"Can't say for sure. It's always been like that for me. It's like asking if having to breathe air is something the system did for you," Peaches replied.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I can't answer that either."

"We can have a more philosophical discussion later. Now you still have work to do, kid. You may have plenty of time, but that doesn't mean you can waste it now."

"Alright, alright. I'm going," Hera double-checked her water bottle and all her gear. After being sure there wasn't anything missing, she headed out to the second door. This one was light green, with the last one being yellow. She opened it and was faced with a large mountain range. There was no snow at least, but there was no vegetation either. With a quick glance, she noticed that to traverse this area, she would have to climb and move in a very tricky terrain.

"You know. I was never too fond of green," she mumbled to herself while walking towards the last door in the corridor. She knew that even if she fell, there wouldn't be any big risks, but the idea of plummeting to her death wasn't the most attractive.

The yellow door opened to a thick jungle. The air was damp and hot but not unbearable when by the shade. She could smell a scent much like that of a greenhouse. There were so many different types of flowers and trees that her nose couldn't even distinguish them. Unlike what she was used to in Brinnefront, everything in here was green. It felt like a genuine rainforest and not something that came out of a psychedelic trip like the purple woods she spent so much time in. Walking around this place would be a nice change of pace.

As soon as she took one step inside that biome, a notification appeared in front of her.

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Jungle Biome - 1st Task

You invaded the nest of a creature. This specific type of beast is extremely territorial and aggressive against unknown invaders.

Exit their territory or find a good place to hide before one of the creatures finds you.
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"Say what now?" Hera asked the air while staring at the notification. Wasn't the hunter test supposed to be about finding food? Why did she have to run away now?

She stopped wondering about all that and looked around. She could hear bugs flying around and things moving in the jungle. It was clear that she wasn't alone. On the other hand, all the noise seemed to be moving away from her. Maybe this area, in particular, was a place where most creatures wouldn't approach. Hera activated her [Hide] and started walking around the area, looking for tracks or markings that could lead her to the monster she was running from. Even if she understood that picking a direction and running towards it could be a solution, she wanted to first learn about her enemy before doing anything reckless. Besides, there was a very real possibility that she would end up finding the main part of their nest. Considering everything that happened to her during her entire life, from not being an explorer even though she had the right skills and stats to meet the qualifications after her level up, all the way to finding a roaming wendigo and getting stuck in Boothudurn, Hera didn't expect her luck to be particularly good.

She walked slowly for around ten minutes, and while she kept listening to the insistent sound of bugs, they seemed to be hiding. Finally, she found a massive yellow dotted python climbing a tree. The snake moved without a care in the world, meaning that, at the moment, it wasn't threatened by anything. Then again, this could be only because whatever was around wouldn't do anything to it. Just because it was relaxed, it didn't mean that Hera could do the same. Just in case, Hera triggered her [Observe].

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Lesser Great Python - Level ???? - Tamed
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Seeing the 'tamed' on its name, Hera moved away from the snake. She was worried about two things. First, what had tamed that creature. The test was supposed to have only monsters inside it, or at least, that's what she assumed. Second, she remembered that some snake species were able to jump from trees to get their prey, and by the size of that one, it could easily reach her location from the tree.

Hera kept looking around, but all creatures she found had the same 'tamed' tag. From small insects like flies and caterpillars to larger animals like jungle cats and boars. They all were under something's thumb. She was already worried before, and now this all seemed much worse. Whatever controlled these animals was without a doubt considered the king of the jungle. The only good thing about all that was that they didn't seem to bother her or rush to warn whoever was their leader. A couple of times, she came out of a bush only to find a boar or a snake staring right at her, but the creatures kept going about their life and didn't seem to care about the human moving around.

Another half an hour went by, and Hera was still walking in a straight line. She ended up getting lost a couple of times, but after keeping her explorer's map open all the time, that stopped. She was starting to feel a bit tired when a large grey ape appeared from behind a tree. It had red hands and feet and a blood-red face with long sharp fangs on both sides of its mouth. Its ears reminded her of those from a deer, but they were much hairier. It was walking together with two smaller versions of itself. All three snarling and yelling at each other.

Hera froze for a moment, trying not to make any noise that could attract their attention, and used her [Observe].

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Darikon Orangutang - Level ???
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As soon as Hera used the skill, the bigger ape started moving around, sniffing the air and yelling. The smaller ones followed suit, and suddenly all three locked eyes with Hera's.

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Jungle Biome - Alternative 1st task.

You have been found by the territorial Darikon Orangutans. They will chase and kill any unknown intruders in their territory.

Escape or neutralize the ones chasing you without leading them to the door you came through.
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"Shit!" Hera gasped, already turning away to run. The orangutans yelled and started chasing the invader. The yell seemed to warn other animals of the chase. Boars started grunting, and snakes hissed in response, almost as if they were rallying under the same battle cry.

Hera kept running with some bugs flying around her, trying to sting her, but since only her face and hands were not covered in armor, she managed to swat them away. The snakes came from all sides. Biting at her heels and dropping from trees, but Yarnball would start vibrating every time something got too close. Thanks to her relic, she had a small window to try to avoid anything.

She looked back and saw the three orangutans running a few meters behind her. If it wasn't for her flee skill, they would've been gaining on her. Trying to thin their numbers, Hera started to send poison needle after poison needle towards them. She had managed to charge a little of her mana stone, but not enough to top it off. She tried to evade them by turning towards areas where the jungle was denser, but the creatures were much more proficient in moving through the trees than her.

She started hearing the sound of rushing water. If her memory was right, monkeys and apes didn't know how to swim. There were some exceptions, but right now, she didn't have the luxury to consider them. Aiming for what she hoped to be the river, Hera used her poison shower to zone them away from the easier path. That allowed her to put some distance between them.

The sounds of rushing water became louder and louder, and without even seeing the source, she was sure it could only be from a waterfall. Hera looked back, but now, she didn't have much choice. Pushing through, she hoped that at least there was a river she could cross before reaching the fall.

The monkeys were relentless, but the other animals would only intervene as she crossed them. If she got too far away, they would ignore her. It felt almost like they were just putting on a show for their bosses while they were around.

Hera tripped on some roots and tumbled forward, trying her best not to lose too much of her speed. Unfortunately, the small break was enough for one of the smaller orangutans who was moving through the canopy to jump on top of her. She struggled to push it away, and with a swing of her chakram, the monster lost one of its arms. It howled in pain, but Hera followed it up with her handaxe, slamming it against the monster's head.

Only two monkeys remained, but the death of their friend enraged them even more. Their grey fur turned whiter, and their blood-red arms started to glow with a weird, fur-like energy that made it seem like their hands were now made out of hair. The largest orangutan slammed his fist against a fallen tree in his way, turning part of the trunk into dust in one swing.

Not wanting to be on the receiving end of that attack, Hera ran towards the sound of rushing water. It took less than five minutes to arrive at the river, and although there was a waterfall there, it wasn't that high. The fall seemed to have just a bit over 5 meters, and the river was shallow. It was just enough to cover her ankles. The water was so clear that anything moving through it would be easily spotted.

This meant that jumping down to run away might not be the best option. The monkeys could easily follow her through the trees on the sides. At least it was an open area. Here she wouldn't have to worry about sneak attacks. She quickly pulled her chakram and placed a poison reinforcement on it.

When the first of the monkeys broke through the jungle, she tossed her chakram aiming at its side. The monster dodged, but with a burst of mana, the blade sunk deep into the creature's neck. It stumbled and fell in the water, roaring in pain. The orangutan tried to get up and flee, but it tripped over the wet rocks in his frenzy, only causing the bleeding to worsen. It took only a few moments to fall to the ground, motionless as a stream of red spread through the river.

Only the big one was still alive. It jumped over most of the river and landed behind Hera's back. It tried to hit her with one of the glowing fists, but she managed to turn around and evade the first strike. Hera swung her handaxe, hoping to defeat it just as quickly as she did the other two. The strike hit the monster's arm, but instead of cutting it clean off, her weapon got stuck before it even reached the bone. The orangutan took advantage of the proximity and struck Hera's chest twice with its glowing fist. She felt the air trying to leave her lungs, but her armor blocked most of the blow even though the impact was massive. Now that she was away from the trees, Hera placed one hand on the monkey's chest and cast a grease fire, hoping to make the flames spread around its body. She was worried about using that in the jungle since there was a risk of causing a wildfire, but she had some leeway in the middle of the river.

Her plan worked, and the flames quickly engulfed the orangutan. The monster started to beat its arms around, trying to put out the fire. As it moved in a frenzy, it got closer and closer to the edge of the waterfall. Hera took advantage of that and swung her handaxe towards its back, creating a large gash just by the monster's spine. She slammed the weapon down again and again, and only after hearing a crack coming from the exposed bone, she stopped. The creature fell to its knees, having lost all the movement in its legs, and Hera struck at the back of its neck, sending the body tumbling down the waterfall.

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You have completed the Jungle Biome - Alternative 1st task

Jungle Biome - 2nd task

The Darikon Orangutans are gluttonous and greedy. They will attack any traveler and expand their territory beyond the jungle. Animals that refuse their rule are killed or chased away.

Find a way to halt their advance.
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