Into The Forest

"Excuse me sir, can you help me find my mother?" a young boy no older than 7 asked Jay who looked around in hopes to find a specific shop.

"No kid, ask someone else." he replied as he continued his search.

After minutes of walking around, Jay arrived at a large, two floor building with a sign reading "Aries Weapon Shop." This was the store that the old man recommended.

The inside was made out of a dark wood material. Stands of armors were lined up in rows, and swords, axes, and other weapons decorated the walls.

Behind the counter was a tall, bald man. He was muscular, and looked around 40 years old. Noticing a potential customer, the man with a smile greeted him.

"Hello there, good sir." the man greeted Jay. "Anything your specifically looking for?"

In his hand was a letter given to him by the old man. He was instructed to give the letter to the shopkeeper who would then give him a weapon and set of armor. Upon, reading the letter, the man let out a smile and went to the back without another word.

A few minutes passed, and the shopkeeper had returned. In his hands was a set of light armor and a weapon.

The armor was black in color, with a hood to cover his head. The top half was like a robe which extended past the thighs but not quite to the knees. Black gloves and boots matched in color.

In addition, a large black scythe sat on the counter in front of the man. The sharp blade was a smooth red metal material and the top were shaped like red spikes.

Jay was surprised. He had mentioned his dream armor and weapons to the old man but did not expect him to get it made.

Throwing the armor on over his outfit, he looked into a nearby mirror. From head to toe, he was dressed in all black, a look similar to that of the grim reaper. The scythe definitely finished the look.

The old man had already paid for the armor and weapon upon making the order. Jay said his thanks before leaving the store. The hood covered his messy hair.

The old man had done so much for him but he was still not sure why. The discovery of his plunder skill? Maybe the old man just didn't care much about his plans.

An hour passed and Jay found himself at the foot of the forest. It was still light out, and beast usually avoided the edge of the forest in order to avoid hunters and passing adventurers.

His black light armor probably was not the best idea for times in the sun but his hood kept his face covered from the sun's rays. The large scythe sat across his back while a duffel bag was strapped across his chest. This bag stored food, water, medical supplies, and materials to lure away beast.

Without wasting any time, he continued forward.

Bunny like creatures hopped around, beast with wings glided above. Jay continued forward looking for a bigger prey. From what he learned at the old man's residence, majority of beast did have special skills and some could be identified by their appearance.

He was also told that the forest throughout the kingdom only had low tier beast. Middle and high tier beast could be found in areas outside of the kingdom, and dungeons which was used for exploring and finding materials, treasures, and beast hide for armor and tools.

The goal for this trip was to gain exp which would unlock new levels which would give stat points, which can increase stats. New skills could be extracted from the beast, but was not a prime focus. Only skills that caught his eye would be extracted. After gaining the strength needed, he would venture out into areas outside of the kingdom and high tier dungeons to gain more power.

Crunch.

A loud crunching sound could be heard ahead. The sound of a stick being stepped on?

Throwing down the duffel bag to not be held back, he quickly grabbed the scythe off of his back. Ready to fight whatever approached, Jay stood still as to not alert the beast of his presence. He was not deep into the forest but deep enough to run into strong beast.

The sounds of footsteps got louder before finally, the creature responsible could be seen.

A large brown moose-like beast taller than any from his world was now in view. It had to have been at least 8 feet tall. The antlers were larger than normal as well and very sharp. The red eyes emitting a faint red glow as it's sharp teeth could be seen.

"Analyze"

[Name: Mega Alces]

[Weakness: Unknown]

[Strength: 30]

[Stamina: 10]

[Agility: 15]

[Health: 30/30]

"Mega is definitely an understatement' he thought as he charged towards the beast, hoping to land an attack before it could react. Normally, he would be more cautious but the whole reason for coming here was to level up and push his limits.

As he leapt into the air, his entire body was now covered in the metallic material of his Harden ability. His leg strength was increased as well due to the power of the skill allowing a stronger jump.

Now level 5, the skill added an additional 7 strength stats bringing his strength to 25. The downward strike headed towards the slow to react beast while ripping through the air.

Slash

The scythe penetrated into the back of the beast which let out a loud, blood-boiling bellow. Green blood began to gush out, as Jay landed behind the moose-like beast. The beast continued it's loud yell as it's antlers began to emit a red-ish glow similar to it's eyes. This continued for a minute or more.

Finally, it's loud scream stopped as it turned it's gaze towards Jay.

Wasting no time, it charged at it's opponent like a speeding truck down a highway. The beast tilted it's head downwards in order to use the antlers to penetrate it's opponent's body.

Bang

The beast crashed and it's antlers now stuck into the trees.

What the beast had actually charged at was not Jay but a clone created from his Clone skill. With the beast now unable to move, Jay released a fury of inconsistent strikes. He was still getting used to the scythe and had to adjust his strength to control it.

Slash, after slash, blood leaked out until the beast was lifeless. Jay stood above the corpse with a proud smile on his face.

[150 EXP Earned For Defeating Mega Alces]

[210/400 EXP]

Wasting no time, he used his favorite skill.

"Plunder"

"No skill to extract." The System replied.

"The target's strongest stat is strength. The host strength has increased by one." The System added.

"No skill?" Jay asked puzzled. He was sure the antlers were glowing and assumed it was the skill of the beast. Were their skills that he could not extract and use? It would make sense since he didn't have antlers himself.

Before he could ask The System, a strange sound appeared from behind. Turning around quickly, Jay noticed the last thing he thought he would possibly see.

The corpse of the moose-like beast began stand up. It was clearly dead as it had lost a lot of blood, and it's eyes were no longer glowing. Was it actually still alive?

Clutching his scythe, he prepared for another battle with the beast. However, the beast turned and walked away. It was not going to fight or even run away, but just walk away as if nothing happened.

"System, what's happening?"

The system's answer shocked him just as much as the sight before him.

"Unknown" it replied within his head.