"Hmm, was this open before?" I muttered to myself as I peered down a corridor to my right. I was outside the Craggy Crabore's boss room. I had only passed this way a couple of times, but I could've sworn this side tunnel was blocked off by rubble. "That must be the quake earlier." Moments after defeating the Craggy Crabore, the earth trembled and a deafening crash followed.

A brand-new area had become accessible after my victory.

I left it for later; I wanted to turn in the quest first and see how the storyline of Mehubanarath progressed. I was hoping for a way to enter the village while maintaining my connection with the elder Mardukryon. The thought of asking Luds for tips entered my mind—perhaps through Nic—but I dismissed it.

How would I find Nic anyway? Also, Luds would catch on that I had completed this quest on my own—I didn't want him to know about that. I suspected I had stumbled upon information worth selling to the Expeditionary Legion, especially when the Mardukryon area would be opened to the greater world of Hierakon. And I, the Great Herald Stone, would make sure of that.

As I trotted through the tunnels of the Scholar's Lodge, I opened my Akashic Configuration to view my Aritu Form Ocadule. I had unlocked the next skill after [Healing Touch]. Should I take it now?

Lvl. 1 Molten Corium: Ancestral Flames thread through the skin of Aritu practitioners, granting them (+20% Fire Resistance) and (+5% Fire Resistance Cap). Being of such untold purity, the Ancestral Flames also warp (10% of all incoming non-Fire damage) and convert them to the Fire Element.

It was a great tanking skill, especially against fire. As per the MCO site, elemental resistances were normally capped at seventy-five percent. But there were ways to increase the maximum—like what [Molten Corium] did—up to ninety percent. When it would eventually reach level ten, [Molten Corium] should provide plenty of fire resistances. Besides it, I expected other Mardukryon skills to include fire resistance as well. After all, we were bull centaur lava golems.

But unless I fought Mardukryons, it was pretty much useless in my current situation. I doubted if I'd encounter fire element monsters in this icy mountain. And I wasn't aware if Mardukryon PvP was a thing here.

From what I heard from Nic, and also Luds, there weren't that many Mardukryon players remaining. Next to no new players come, while veterans were gradually quitting. I couldn't picture an active PvP scene. Even if there was, from my experience in playing Nornyr Online, people usually avoided fighting tanks anyway.

However, the second part of [Molten Corium] was interesting and applied to all kinds of damage, not only fire. If I understood it correctly, it was essentially a final damage reduction, turning a percentage of the incoming damage to fire, which I would presumably resist by a ton.

Ten percent? That amount would be impactful in the latter stages of the game when I'd turn over every rock in search of defense modifiers.

But for now? I better not take this until I met an extremely hard-hitting boss. I decided to follow the guides I'd read saying not to spread the Gli consumption too much and focus on leveling only a few skills during the early levels.

My hooves stomped up the steep ramp to the world above. Hard rock transitioned to thick crunchy snow as I walked out in the open. I stretched my arms as if I had just awoken, savoring the success of a few days' grind. The sunlight bathed me.

This part of the world seemed to have only short nighttime. I bet the Expeditionary Legion had already taken that into account when trying to find this mountain but still weren't successful. Just wait for the Great Herald Stone to lead the Mardukryons to freedom!

"Squeak, squeak..."

Mirdabons?

“Squeak…”

Lowering my arms, I turned my head left and right to find the source of the sound. It was louder and a bit deeper, more guttural than what I’d grown accustomed to hearing when I hunted them. I hadn't seen any of those murderous furballs here. Granted they were hard to spot against the snow if they didn't move, but I should've stepped on at least one of them by now if any were around.

A mound of snow beside a Mardukryon statue suddenly shifted. I initially thought it was a group of Mirdabons on top of each other covered by snow. But as the creature shook the snow off of its fur like a dog drying itself, I found out what it was—one extremely oversized Mirdabon.

Then its name appeared as it came out of its stealth state.

[Lvl 74 Legendary Mirdabon: Buvalu]

I sharply breathed. Buvalu?

This was the high-level monster in the Golden Forest I had read about in guides. Seventy fucking four? I didn't realize it was this ridiculously high of a level!

I imagined it was around level thirty at the most to provide a significant challenge to newbie players. This was essentially a mid-game boss for those months into the game that was roaming an area for absolute baby players.

Mehubanarath had mentioned this name. He referred to Buvalu as the most fearsome Mirdabon or something along those lines. From its level alone, it was very fearsome indeed. And monsters with names usually meant it was especially powerful. I recalled Sharulrath had accused me of looting the Mirdabon leftovers of Buvalu—this monster was not only strong but also a cannibal.

Buvalu did a little bounce as it faced me. I felt the vibrations of the ground. Its innocent eyes, which were like black opals the size of my fist, stared at me with curiosity. Its long whiskers wiggled as its tiny dark nose twitched as if trying to catch my scent.

"Excuse me, kind sir," I said with amusement in my voice. "You seem to have accidentally wandered into the wrong place. If you're looking for food, your smaller siblings are that way." I pointed in the direction of the outer area of the Golden Forest as I slowly retreated into the mouth of the cave. Then I stopped, changing my mind. If it followed me down to the tunnels, the chance was high I'd be cornered.

Its nose twitched. It rolled forward once, looked at me, then rolled a couple more times to come closer.

Was it going to attack? Or was it like the smaller ones that only reacted if attacked first?

I'm still alive, so it wasn't aggressive. Nonetheless, I didn't make any sudden movements because its attention was right on me. Right now, it was only matching my movements. If I ran, it might instinctively go for me like I dog. I backed a few more steps, going left to avoid the cave. Hiding amongst the ruins was a better idea. I hoped that would be enough to stop it from continuing to roll towards me. It wouldn't go over toppled pillars and other obstacles, would it?

"Squeak...squeak..." Its massive body crushed the rubble in its way.

"Woah!" I exclaimed in surprise. It was that heavy? I assumed that its body was more like a huge water balloon or maybe a squishy bean bag. Should I just make a run for it? I might be able to survive if I reached the treeline, then I could—hang on, why am I afraid of dying here?

I wasn't in the middle of anything important, and I'd simply respawn back on the cliffs. It was a longer walk back to Mehubanarath's hideout coming from that direction, but it wasn't—the cliffs! Right, the cliffs!

Could I lure this furry bean bag over the cliffs?

The rewards would be incredible if I managed to pull it off. And I had a hunch there were secrets or quests connected to this big guy here. Why else was he wandering this area, looking so out of place?

"Might as well try," I said. I went through my routine setup of defense skills. Next, I opened my Aritu Form Ocadule, paused for a second before sighing in resignation. "Fine," I groaned as I clicked the second skill. [Molten Corium] was less than four percent damage reduction with my current fire resistance. It wasn't much, but if it would help me survive Buvalu all the way to the cliffs, then it'd be more than worth it.

I continued to retreat, taking care not to stumble amongst the rocks. The Legendary Mirdabon slowly picked up speed in rolling. Its face frowned, then grimaced, getting angrier and angrier with each roll, fangs extending out of its mouth. This guy already had it for me right from the start; I didn't even need to hit it like the normal Mirdabons.

The squeaking noises it made slowly turned into growls that became more earthy. From seventy-four, its level rose to seventy-five… Seventy-six…

I was getting closer to the trees, only a few meters away. Given this monster could easily crush rocks and rubble, there was no shred of doubt it could bulldoze its way through the forest. "This is it!" I said, turning around and leaping over massive roots crawling above ground. My powerful legs kicked back as I stampeded forward. Run! Run! Run!

I entered the forest as a powerful roar shook the world. Snow and leaves fell from the crown of the trees. I almost tumbled as a forceful wave expanded outwards from the Legendary Mirdabon. Various negative ailments appeared after I was hit by it. I moved in slow motion, my body became heavy. It didn't even need to bite me to inflict these like a normal Mirdabon.

"Should I—? No!" I was thinking of grabbing [Cleansing Flames] to gamble removing the slow effect. But I couldn't specifically target that one amongst the many ailments I had. And I already took [Molten Corium] from my Aritu Form Ocadule—which might've been a mistake—so I didn't want more mouths to feed with Gli.

A mighty gust swept over me, driving snow away like a leaf blower clearing dried leaves. I was also pushed forward and ended up slamming against a tree, my horns getting tangled with its branches. I looked behind me as I struggled to push myself back up. Buvalu had grown expansive feathery wings! With another flap, it zoomed into the air.

"The crossbows!" I cried out as a circular shadow fell over me. I had recalled the great crossbows at Kurghal Village pointed up at the sky. That was peculiar unless there was danger coming from above. It was for this asshole of a monster!

There was a whistling sound as the Legendary Mirdabon hurtled down to the earth from a great height.

Back on my hooves, I did my best to get away from ground zero. But I knew I wasn't going to make it. The last thought was, Is this what the dinosaurs felt?

"Dammit," I snapped as I respawned. I clenched my fist in frustration. I shouldn't have taken the [Molten Corium] for such an extremely risky gamble. Now, it was a wasted investment. "At least, I'm the only one who knows...." I looked around and noticed I wasn't at the cliffs. "...this mistake." I finished softly.

Sharulrath was by my side and the two of us were outside Mehubanarath's hideout. A pinkish translucent wall blocked our path.

"I had to rescue him, uncle," Sharulrath loudly said to the Big M on the other side of the wall. "He was hurt by Buvalu! I couldn't leave him there."

"You are tainted!" the Big M roared as he pointed at me, ignoring his nephew. His powerful voice was slightly muffled by the barrier. "You are no longer pure!"

“What is this?” I muttered. “A scripted event?”