44 Stage 44: Items Get!

Berry Fairy threw a flurry of punches at the petrified monster, but each strike barely made a dent in its health bar. There was no way they would be able to take down this creature and she knew it. It was pointless to keep trying.

She looked over to the fish boy and was about to tell him to flee while she distracted the giant mole rat, only to find his gaze directed skyward as if in thought.

Before she could shout at him to get his head in the game, he turned toward her, his eyes flashing with an idea. Yet before she could ask about it the monster broke out of its stone shell and attacked her again.

~

Without hesitation, Lixin spun towards Berry Fairy, his mouth already open to call her over. But before the words could even leave his lips, the monster escaped its imprisonment and lunged at the Panda girl. She barely managed to dodge a spear thrust, but the rat monster's spiked tail caught her with full force and sent her sailing across the room.

Lixin activated Ceylon twice in rapid succession, re-encasing the beast in a stone shell. He breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Berry Fairy climb back to her feet glad she hadn't been stunned.

"Let's just leave," she said between deep breaths as she rushed over to him. "There's no way we can beat this thing."

"I think we may be able to," he said, remembering his idea. "I have a plan."

Berry Fairy looked at him as she chugged down a potion with wide eyes. "You do? What do you need me to do?" Her voice was filled with urgency when she noticed tiny cracks beginning to form along the stone encasing the monster.

Lixin pointed up towards a large boulder hanging precariously above them. Describing his strategy to lure the creature beneath it and then trap it there while Berry Fairy knocked down the boulder, destroying the monster along with it. At least that was the hope.

Once he finished explaining his plan, he met Berry Fairy's gaze with questioning eyes. "What do you think? If you think it won't work we can just leave."

But instead of shrinking away from danger like most people would've done, the idea appealed to the brave Panda girl who was clearly eager for revenge. "Let's do it," she declared without any hesitation. "I want payback anyway."

Lixin smiled at her before rushing over to the encased monster and standing in front of it. As his skill began to wear off, Lixin nodded at Berry Fairy, signaling her to get ready. The Panda girl gave him an affirmative nod, and he began to prepare.

He thought of the Atropa skill Rósastóll and mumbled steep. Although he knew the vines wouldn't last long, they would bind the monster faster than Ceylon.

"I can do this," he muttered to himself. "As long as I don't trip…"

Once the monster was free from its stone encasing, Lixin shouted out as loud as he could, "Hey you! Over here!" drawing the rat monster's attention and luring it toward the bolder.

However, the monster was faster than he expected; it leaped towards him with a spear in hand, causing him to fall but luckily he managed to dodge it and roll away just in time just missing being crushed by its spiked tail.

While still on the ground, Lixin pushed off with all his might and bolted towards the large boulder the creature hot on his heels. When he was in the spot he needed to be he turned around and tried not to freak out as the monster closed the distance between them.

'Just a little more,' he thought, looking upward at the rock and back at the monster again.

Once the Glaber was in precisely the right spot, Lixin yelled "SERVE!" Binding it in place.

"Now Berry!" Lixin commanded.

Berry Fairy flew into action, screaming Rapid Tempo, and began sprinting up the cave wall with blinding speed. In one fluid movement, she flipped through the air toward a nearby rocky outcropping above the monster and aimed a powerful punch at the loose rock.

With a deafening crash, the giant rock broke apart from the ceiling and tumbled down upon the monster. This depleted its health bar completely and ended its life with one powerful blow.

Berry Fairy landed on her feet in a heroic pose while Lixin let out a sigh of relief.

"We did it!"

[Cora:] [You have gained: 1500 EXP]

[Cora:] [You Have Leveled up!]

[Cora:] [You are now level 5!]

[Cora:] [You have gained 5 skill points!]

"Omg! I'm level 8 now!" Berry Fairy exclaimed excitedly. "What about you? Did you level up as well?"

He smiled, "Yup, I'm level 5 now."

"Nice! Let's see what items this giant rat will give."

[Cora:] [System Alert! The party mode has been changed to equal distribution!]

Lixin glanced at the Panda girl wondering why she had changed the party when he remembered what this mode was. He'd read about it on the message boards. The cash gained from a monster would be split evenly among the players in this party mode, and the items would be dropped on the ground instead of automatically transferring into the player's inventory.

"Since you're luckier than me you should collect the spoils. If I do it we might get nothing but junk," Berry Fairy said, looking at her hands like they were cursed.

"Alright," he said, walking toward the dead Glaber. "But don't blame me if we don't get anything worthwhile."

"I won't."

Nodding, he stuck his hand over the monster and said, "Collect!"

As soon as he said that a familiar ding sounded in his ear and the monster disappeared leaving several glowing objects on the ground in its wake.

[Cora:] [You have gained: 1 Silver & 24 Bronze Coins]

"Awesome!" Berry Fairy cheerfully shouted when she saw how many coins she'd earned. "I hope the items are as good as the coins."

"I hope so too," he said, before checking out what they had got.

Two crystal cores had dropped much to their excitement along with a mole charm, a cosmetic bow, one large mole rat skin, and two metal plates.

"Can I have the bow? Please...please, you can have everything else," Berry Fairy begged.

After reading the description, he knew why she wanted it.

Kiore Bow (Cosmetic Item): Although it might look like a normal hair tie it is much more than that. (Item Effect: +3 Str +2 AGI +2 Luck) [Requirement: Level 10+]

"It's alright you can have it," Lixin told her. "You don't need to give me everything."

"Are you sure? With this luck buff this bow would be worth a fortune."

Lixin just smiled and said it was fine. But he couldn't help but wonder if the luck stat was that rare in this game.

"Well, I'm still determined to make you take everything else. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't," she said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Alright, alright. I'll take them."

Her happiness over achieving her goal led her to say, "Good."

While putting the rest of the items in his inventory, Lixin turned to the Panda girl and said, "I'm so glad we didn't give up on killing this thing."

Berry Fairy nodded, feeling the same.

~

Author Says: I wonder how much the bow would be worth?