Monster Inquiry

<Author's 10 Thoughts: An extra chapter for reaching more than Power Stones this week. Thank you, LeonidasCSNeto, Higime142, Nighass and V_S242005! I really appreciate your support!> 

The adventurer talking to Pana left and Vivian stepped forward.

"Hi," Vivian said and smiled.

"Vivian?" Pana asked with a surprised expression. "I didn't expect to see you here. It's been a while since I've seen you during this time of the day. What can I do for you?" 

"Yeah. Anyhow, I'm planning to go explore a little deeper in the forest around this city and I want to know what kind of dangerous monsters I can encounter."

"I understand."

Pana took out a large book underneath the counter and began flipping pages.

A few moments later, she stopped and looked at Vivian.

"There are common and special monsters. I'll give you the common first."

"Okay."

"For the common monsters, we have Treebark, Bukaroo, Sunkiss, Yellow Wako, Jupper, Paparu, Brown Kraine, Black Ekan, Green Ekan and White Ekan."

"Hold on, can you show me the pictures of each just so I know which is which?"

"Here, let me show you…"

Pana turned the book toward Vivian and began explaining each monster sketch as she flipped the pages.

The Treebark was, of course, the trunk monster.

The Bukaroo was, of course, the bird that can cause paralysis on its target using its tail.

The Sunkiss was the sunflower monster that could cough out an orange gas that had a similar effect to a pepper spray.

The Yellow Wako was basically the long-eared fox.

The Jupper was the tiny jumping mushroom that tackles its target through a jump attack and causes an itch if the attack makes contact with the skin.

The Paparu was a horned rabbit. The horn on its forehead was similar to a seashell and can grow up to 15 inches long.

The Brown Kraine was the wolf-like creature that Vivian encountered yesterday.

The Black Ekan was a black-colored snake that could grow up to 20ft.

The Green Ekan was basically just a Black Ekan. The only difference is that it's color green and can inject venom through its fangs that causes poison.

The Brown Ekan is also similar to the Black and Green Ekan. The only difference is that it's color brown and can inject venom that causes paralysis.

"I see," said Vivian. What are the special monsters? I believe you mentioned it?"

"Ah yes, there's the special monster…"

Pana began explaining and flipping through pages.

The first one was a White Lady. Apparently, this is a soul creature in the form of a woman's silhouette dressed in white and only appears at night or in dark places. It's completely immune to physical attacks and its touch can drain mana. And to kill it, one simply has to hit it with Magic Arts or any weapon that has elemental enchantments.

The second one is a Black Lady which is basically a White Lady. The only difference is that it's dressed in black and its touch can not only drain mana but also drain life force which could kill a target.

The third special monster is a Puffer. Just like the first 2, it only appears at night or in dark places. This monster isn't exactly "hostile" in a sense, but rather a playful one instead. It will use a magic spell that traps the target in an endless maze. There are only 2 ways to escape the maze: Find and kill the Puffer or wear all of your clothes invertedly. Its dwelling is not limited to forests. It can be found on abandoned ruins or in caves.

Finally, it came to the last special monster.

"This is a Peon," said Pana. "It's a humanoid monster that has both male and female genders and its color is usually green. Although the highest height it can reach is only 4ft, it has a quarter of human intelligence so it can learn how to fight using weapons and also use magic. It can also communicate in its own way, but given it only has a quarter of human intelligence, it prefers to live the savage way and is territorial so they're not exactly friendly."

Vivian's eyes narrowed as she stared at the drawing that Pana was pointing.

Isn't this basically a goblin…?

No, hobgoblin perhaps…?

No, it's too thick…

Basically, the image looked like a cross-combination of a goblin and a dwarf but without any hair, so it resembled a goblin more.

"This monster is classified as a special monster in the forest surrounding this city because they're rarely seen," said Pana. "But in other places where they're common, they aren't classified as a special monster. As a matter of fact, there's a special quest for Gold Rank adventurers to hunt them at the Luminous Ruins. Because once they become too many, they would try to expand their territory and kill and eat anything that they consider their territory…"

"Do they 'touch' female humans…?" asked Vivian.

"There have been some cases, but they love eating children and female humans so they would usually catch and then take them to their nest."

"I see. So these are just the monsters I can encounter in the forest?"

"Yes. But if you go even further, you will start to encounter another group of monsters, like giants."

"These Peons. You said that they can use magic. What kind of magic do they use?"

"Depends on the Affinity. However, it's rare. Maybe like 1 in 1,000 or 5,000, I'm not sure."

"Can they also learn Physical Arts?"

"Yes."

"So they have weapons, huh…"

"Yes, but it's usually just sticks and rocks. But if they can kill an adventurer or anyone with items, they would use it."

"What about Class Magic?"

"They can use Class Magic if they have access to a Mother Class Crystal."

"What are the chances of me encountering a Peon with Class Magic?"

"In the forest? Even encountering one with Magic Arts is already very rare. That's because Peons are tribal and savage-like. So those who are strong within their group would usually just stay at the nest while the weaker ones go out to hunt for food and spoils."

"You mentioned that there is a special quest for Gold Rank adventurers to hunt Peons in a ruin. Does that mean it's filled with Peons who have Magic Arts and Class Magic?"

"There's bound to be a dozen there with Magic Arts. But with Class Magic, assuming there's a Mother Class Crystal there, then maybe all of them. But there isn't, then maybe 1 or 2, I can't exactly tell. You should ask the Gold Rank adventurers who hunts there."

"Pana, I know this is a stupid question, but where does Class Crystals come from?"

"Hey! How long is this going to take?!" a male voice suddenly said behind Vivian.

Tch!

Vivian clicked her tongue mentally and turned around.

What she saw was about 7 people waiting in line, all of whom were adventurers, ranging from Copper to Gold Rank.

Some were even giving her an impatient look.

The urge to swing her poleaxe to cut all of them in half welled up inside her but she suppressed it.

Shit…!

I forgot that morning is the busiest time in the guild…

Tch!

Vivian clicked her tongue mentally once again before turning back to Pana.

"Thank you, Pana."

Pana let out a wry smile.

"No problem, Vivian. I'm always happy to help."

Vivian left and went to the Quest Processing counter.