The transition was instant, or at the very least felt like it. We appeared on a dirt road, leading up to a walled-off village, some two hundred meters in the distance. The wall was made from wood, the logs no doubt taken from the surrounding woods. There was a healthy mix between needle trees and leafed ones, all of them looking eerily similar to what I was used to from Earth, yet different all the same. Increased size, colors that were off just a smidge, and leaves that had odd shapes, just to name a few. The blue sky above was only disturbed by the occasional cloud. All in all, the scenery felt serene and… so incredibly normal.
I'd honestly expected a bit more from my first inhabited planet that wasn't a traveler hub.
“Won't they be scared when two monsters show up at their doorstep unannounced?” I asked, carefully eyeing the gate in the distance.
“The quest giver is notified as soon as someone accepts their quest,” River explained, still hitching a ride on my eyestalk. “We took our time getting to the teleporter, so they should have told whatever guard they have that we're coming. Still, it's best we wait out here for them to come to us. Things can get complicated if someone accidentally assumes we're a threat to them.”
It didn't take long for the gate to slowly open, a middle-aged man practically running out to meet us. “Will we even be able to communicate?” I asked, suddenly realizing that there might be a bit of a language barrier.
“The quest giver gets the traveler's language as a temporary skill,” River watched as the man stumbled over himself to get to us faster. “If you'd like to talk to anybody else, you'll have to learn their language. Also, let me do the talking for now.”
“Got it, please teach me your ways, Master River,” I said, only half-sarcastically. I was not aware if there was any kind of etiquette to follow after all.
“Honored travelers, it is a pleasure to welcome you to our village,” the man spoke as soon as he was within hearing range, coming to a stop in front of us. “Although I must ask that you take care of our little problem as soon as possible. The nightly raids have gotten worse recently, and I fear we won't be able to hold out much longer, with most of our able defenders injured or dead.”
“Do not worry, we're very confident in taking care of your request,” River said in a placating manner, and I felt like there was a skill at work, calming the man down. “If you would be so kind as to share everything you know with us, we'll get right on exterminating your problem.”
The calm manner in which the man then proceeded to explain his troubles definitely let me know there was a skill at work. Seemed like a very convenient skill to have, calming people down so you could have a normal, productive conversation. Yet I still didn't like it. River was essentially forcing a certain state of mind on the guy, which was too close to a mind attack for my tastes. Maybe I was a bit overly sensitive since my close shave on the sixth layer of Suigoss, but I was still glad I had some mental protection to ward my own mind against any kind of manipulation like that.
Or was that actually some sort of mental healing? Would my passive even work against a healing skill?
With how cooperative the man was, it didn't take River long to extract all the information we needed. Apparently, the village's scouts had figured out where the cave hyenas had their den a few days ago, but even knowing that, they were too weak to do anything about it. Fortunately for them, armed with that knowledge, we would be able to wrap up this quest lickety-split. After some more reassurances from River, we went on our merry way, leaving behind a dude who was lazily waving at us with a dopey smile on his face.
“What did you do to that guy?” I eventually asked, a bit uncomfortably. I had debated whether I should even broach the topic, but it felt important that I did.
“A combination between enchantment and hypnosis,” River offered freely. “I don't know if you noticed, but the poor mayor hasn't slept for days and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I couldn't let him suffer like that, so I used some gentle guidance to let him reach a calmer state of mind. He should be heading to bed as we speak.”
“I see…” I answered, glad that River only had the best intentions while employing her skills. I suppose not all mental skills were inherently bad. My thoughts and opinions on this were a bit of a tangled mess, as I was just figuring out right now. Which reminded me that I still needed to look for a new therapist on the hub. This feels like something I should talk about.
River gave me a considerate look, eventually opting not to say anything. She obviously had a good grasp on people's mental state and was probably able to tell that I was dealing with something. I was nowhere near as bad as the village's mayor, so she let me be, content to let me share in my own time, if at all.
Not wanting this little episode to tarnish my very first quest as a proper traveler, I refocused my thoughts on the present. I relished in the feeling of rushing through a forest at full speed, happy in the knowledge that the blue sky above me was real, and not just a painted illusion on the ceiling. I'd traveled to a new planet and was helping a struggling village with an issue that seemed insurmountable to them, but was an easy solve for me. I was doing good, AND getting paid for it.
My thoughts briefly flashed back to Caedus, and how he'd probably fulfill the quest, and then return to slaughter the whole village just for the love of the game. I shook my head, not wanting bad thoughts to intrude. Caedus was dead, and the expanse was better for it. Although there was still that weird guy, summoned by Caedus as a last resort. With how overwhelming his power seemed, there was little doubt in my mind that he was one of the Nineteen. Maybe I should look into who he actually is, since I technically owed that guy a favor.
I once again had to force my wandering mind to refocus, as the hyena's den finally came into view.
“Would you like some help?” River asked from atop my eye.
“It's just a bunch of tier eights in a cave,” I scoffed. “This won't be a challenge at all.”
“Then I'll hang back and observe,” River took off and fluttered somewhere behind me, becoming invisible shortly afterwards. I could still see her, thanks to my void feelers, but that was a neat trick.
“Thank you,” I assumed she probably needed to watch me perform to report back to Polly later. “This won't take long.”
Excited for the hunt, even if it was just a bunch of fodder, I activated my speed boosts, cast the shield spell, and shot off into the cave opening. With my void feelers working as a sort of echolocation in the dark caves, I had no issues traversing the dark network at speed. The cave system led to plenty of dead ends, but it wasn't insanely big or convoluted. So finding the correct path that eventually led into a somewhat large cavern, maybe twenty meters across, wasn't hard. Along the way, I had cast void cloak as well, so the twelve sleeping hyenas didn't notice my arrival at all.
The monsters were an ugly bunch, only vaguely resembling the hyenas I knew. Somewhat doglike, sure, but their fur was interspersed with patchy rock armor, the coarse fur poking out from in between seemingly perpetually wet and dripping with some unknown liquid.
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Cave Hyena (T8)
A blind hunter, only coming out of their caves at night, as the sunlight weakens them. Their fur is coated in a sticky substance, which they use to attach sturdy rocks and metals they find while excavating their living space, functioning as crude armor. They have a highly developed tremor sense, which allows them to locate their prey without seeing.
Outfitted with a conventional suite of bite, scratch, and traversal skills, they also make use of a variety of earth and stealth skills, which makes them a terrifying monster to encounter during the night.
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Not bad. Not bad at all.
I could see why they were such a big issue for the nearby village. Being constantly harassed night after night by a nearly invisible enemy must be a harrowing experience. Unfortunately for the hyenas, the hunter had become the hunted. And contrary to their subtle way of doing things, I personally liked to hunt my prey with a stick of dynamite. Or a nuke, sometimes.
It only took a few seconds for the entire cave to come crashing down, and I had to frantically escape the collapsing cave network, which was as easy as teleporting out. Apparently, I was too used to the sturdy environments on Suigoss and should take the fragility of actual, natural caves into consideration in the future. Fortunately, the cave wasn't important in any way, so this shouldn't come back to haunt me. The villagers should be happy I destroyed the hyena's hideout, even.
Is what I thought before remembering that River had been in there with me, and I started to panic just a little. She was a tier nine monster, surely she was able to escape a rapidly collapsing cave without any issues whatsoever… right?
“A bit of a warning would be nice, the next time you plan to solve a problem by collapsing the cave we're in,” River said, somehow fluttering through the collapsed rock like it wasn't even there. “It's generally considered rude to bury a lady alive.”
“I'm sorry,” I said, relief washing over me to see the butterfly was unharmed. “I'm not used to caves being quite so… fragile.”
“As long as you're aware,” River dropped her stern act immediately and came to land on my eye stalk once again. “But I must admit that you sport quite the firepower. Impressive.”
“Oh, you haven't seen anything yet,” I laughed. “That was just a little appetizer.”
“Well then, I'm looking forward to what you're actually capable of,” River nodded enthusiastically. “The guild can use some more heavy hitters, that's for certain.”
“I'm sure our guild is plenty powerful either way.” We had Jorm and Polly, after all. “So what's next?”
“Now we go home,” River replied. “All the hyenas are dead, as verified by the system. There should be a system window waiting for you.”
Just as River said, a system window was trying to get my attention, which I'd missed during the… exciting last minute.
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Quest complete!
Objective: Exterminate the pack of cave hyenas(T8). (12/12)
Reward: 800 T1 credits.
Return home?
Y/N
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“Well, that's convenient,” I said after reading through the notification, happy to learn that the credits had already been added to my system wallet, which was, like a great many things in traveler society, linked to my ID. “You ready to go back?”
“Certainly,” River nodded. “And congratulations on completing your first quest. May you continue to find success in future quests.”
“Thank you,” I said honestly, taking a moment to appreciate that the system was sending me 'home' before accepting the teleport, vanishing from Kloga V. Possibly never to return.
After all, there was a vast expanse out there, and a gajillion planets to explore.