The Night Life. A term Swamy heard long ago and understood much later.

Swamy was thinking hard on all the experiences he had so far as he wrote another paper due in class. And he was astounded by the behaviour of the npcs in the game. Not that he did not like it or enjoy it, but he came to realize that there was something else at play here.

After all, when Cassian showed his Peek skill he did not need to show Neona's bath. For Swamy, the experience was amazing but the thing was, it was not required. He could have easily shown the next room to display its workings. Why then the particular experience. And what about the kisses he got from Lady Verina and Lady Altia. He could understand how intimacy worked and maybe he had gotten close enough to them. It could also be possible that their personalities came into effect. But if you think about it rationally, the experience, while enjoyable to some, could be treated as harassment by others. It could cause innumerable legal complications and should not generally be allowed. What if a female child is playing the game, such behaviour could be considered rape.

However nothing of that sort had come up so far. Even after players started getting blessings. A male npc just swooping to kiss a female player, kid or adult, would probably put a million dollar or rupee harassment case in any court in the world. Not to mention the male players could feel the same way as well.

So what was it? While thinking hard, Swamy remembered a term he had heard long ago. The night life. Ofcourse he was too small to understand what it meant at that time. After growing older, he finally figured out what it was. The night life was becoming a part and parcel of many virtual reality games. Exclusive content or facilities to be enjoyed by adults or 18+ people. A room which allowed two players to sleep together or a hot water spring which allowed bathing together or even simply taking off your clothes in private, was possible due to this. However, those were the extremes. It could simply be consumption of alcohol or smoking. All of which would form the experience for adult players.

'It could be this night life which is affecting some of the behaviour of npcs towards players. The Peek skill too, I am sure, will have limitations if one were to peek on underage npcs. It might not even work on the player houses or there might be some system setting for that. That doesn't explain everything though.'

It was the concept of choice and permission. The system may have a lot of different attributes to determine the compatibility between two people, be they npcs or players. But at the end, what really matters is choice. That is an incalculable factor. You could try guessing it based on as many factors as you want, but there will always be the slight probability of being wrong. Wherein comes the permission. When initiating such activities, people could always ask permission which would permit the system to allow such behaviour.

Some of the things which happened to Swamy in the game, could be attributed to him being 18 years old. The other thing about choice and permission was still worrying him though. In the end he decided that probably the reaction from the other party, in this case himself, when such an action was initiated could be an indication of whether it was permitted. It could also be a result of many factors but in case the system is confused on the reaction, it could either stop the action or simply ask permission. It should work both ways in that case.

'Well its just how I would do this, but there could be something different at play here achieving the same results.'

However, there were too many probabilities in these thoughts to put in a paper due in class. In the end Swamy wrote on the properties of magic in the game.

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Caterpy and Diggeron were two players who were eagerly waiting to get out of the gate at Gurrow village. They had been excited to finally reach Age 14 and start their own adventures. And just as they thought of leaving, the event quest had started. To capture the beastmen.

Caterpy was wearing the gear loaned to her by the guards while Diggeron, being a battle school graduate, got his own gear. A chest guard, gloves and boots. Each plain and sturdy though Diggeron's gear had some options. Both of them received the weapon of their choice from the guards though. Diggeron chose a sword. Caterpy a bow. The two of them were experienced virtual reality gamers having played other games. They knew how to handle and use the weapons in their hands.

"So when do you think we will start Manish?"

"I don't know but it should be soon enough. I guess they are just waiting for Lady Altia to arrive. And do call me Diggeron in the game. Its no fun choosing a name if I am going to be called by my real name regardless."

"Yeah yeah...but why did you choose Diggeron again. Its not easy to say is it?"

"What's difficult about it...its digger~digger~diggeron! See it even sounds musical!"

Caterpy sighed. Diggeron or Manish had this weird habit of getting into character in any virtual game he played. A warrior, sage, knight...or what else. Caterpy or Himali liked that side of him. In reality he was a cool guy, a bit dreamy or aloof from the world. But nevertheless a good guy. On the other hand in the games, he lived his dreams of being the characters, he dreamed of in the real world. This time his character was a bit weird though. Not having a class in the game he had decided his own class and acted accordingly, which was slowly causing an ache in Caterpy's head. Diggeron was a digger of unknown treasures yet to be found. Or atleast that's how he explained it to Caterpy. All she wished though, was to have a digger-off switch sometimes.

"Ah there is Lady Altia now. And Lady Verina is with her too. Will she be coming with us as well?"

"Dunno. But she isn't wearing armor or anything to fight."

"But its surprising that there are so many people here, isn't it! Never thought so many players reached the Age of 14. I recognize some who I have seen going out the gate as well."

"Yeah it seems they stuck around instead of going to the capital."

They were standing near the gate towards the road to Thelmova along with a lot of other players.

"Alright all those who chose to join, if you have not got your equipment proceed to the guard office on the side and meet us outside the gate. Everyone else step out and follow Lady Altia outside."

The group of people followed Lady Altia outside the gate. There were scores and scores of tents pitched outside. And then they saw the hundreds of fully equipped soldiers standing in military parade formation as if waiting for an inspection. Two soldiers who looked like they were in command approached Lady Altia and Lady Verina.

"Well are we ready to move out?" one of them asked.

"In a moment Emilius. Any new reports?" answered Lady Verina.

"None Lady Verina. I expect the beastmen to be heading in the same direction or the scouts would have notified us."

"Alright. Thank you Emilius."

"Well we better get the Goddess children sorted into rank and file. Come on Emilius, Maltus........"

"Alright you lot! Fighters follow me, Archers with Captain Emilius here. Staff users, you will have to exchange your staff for spears so follow Captain Maltus here!" Lady Altia spoke loudly in a commanding tone.

Caterpy and Diggeron separated as one followed Emilius and the other followed Lady Altia. There were only a few staff users, probably magic school graduates. They followed Maltus. Quickly they were sorted into various companies under different sergeants and they joined the parade formation as it steadily grew larger.

"Alright hear me and hear me well!" Lady Altia's strong clear voice quieted down all the commotion going on. Every soldier, npc or player was listening to her speak.

"A lot of you have heard of why we are here. Beastmen have infiltrated our island for some unknown reason. But that is not why we are after them today. They attacked people who were travelling the road killing all without cause. This is why we are after them today."

There was silence as Lady Altia looked around.

"Some of you are experienced in fighting, while some of you are not. But trust me on this. No one should underestimate the beastmen. They number 6 and we are about 300. But do not think we will win easily. They hide in the forest. The forest is their playground and our disadvantage. For those who do not know, beastmen are strong. They are fast. They have an animal's sense of sight, smell and hearing. And only the most skilled or the most foolish ever confront them in the forest irrespective of the number."

More silence but this time some people were definitely fidgeting. Caterpy, on the other hand, was excited. She knew Diggeron would be excited as well. Ofcourse if you died, the quest would end for you. But otherwise it would be their first fight in the game. Success or failure didn't matter at this point, all they wanted was to go wild. Release all the frustrations built up in more than 2 months of playing but not being able to leave the village. She simply wished that it would begin. A lot of other players might be wishing the same.

"Fighting in the forest is difficult, specially because the trees, bushes, shrubs make good hiding places. Also they restrict your view ahead so it makes it difficult to avoid traps. Most of all, you cannot march side by side as you have been taught."

Atleast the npc soldiers were definitely fidgeting by now.

"But I will still ask you to face them with me. They are the enemy. They are the threat to anyone who plies this road. They are the threat to every being living in the village, your family, your friends, your countrymen! A soldier signs up to protect and we will protect the peace and the innocent lives of this island till our last breath, till the last man or woman capable of still holding a sword. But I do not ask you to die. I ask you to kill these filthy beastmen so they cannot threaten us anymore!"

Lady Altia's voice was not loud this time. But still everyone heard it clearly.

The captains took out their swords and raised it above their heads. Slowly other soldiers started doing the same. When almost every weapon was in the air,

"Lets kill those bastards! HUA!" The captains shouted together.

"HUA! HUA! HUA! HUA! HUA!........" and the soldiers repeated raising their voices sky high. The players joined in the excitement.

"HUA HUA HUA...." went Caterpy with her bow raised. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Diggeron raising his sword and shouting loudly as well.

The commotion died down abruptly as Lady Altia raised her hand.

"Now we will divide into 3 groups of 100 people each. Group 1 will follow the commands of Lady Verina and will guard the village. Group 2 will be the main force consisting of me, Emilius and Maltus. Group 3 is our back up and will start 1 hour after us."

"For fighting in the forest, we will split into teams of 10 each. You will make into the forest in waves, each team following the other closely behind. There will be no formation other than that. Every 2 hours you will take a break. The enemy is moving so expect to wade through the forest for some hours. Prepare accordingly. The rest will be explained by the captains."

Emilius moved front and shouted.

"We cannot use horses so travelling will be slow. Also the deeper you go the thicker the forest will be. The first team will be led by me. Maltus's team will be covering the rear. In case fighting breaks out, find the nearest team and band together. Sergeants in charge will act according to situation so the new recruits, listen carefully." And Emilius looked at all the Goddess's children.

"We do not know how the enemy will move once they realize that we are after them. So always be ready for an ambush. And be careful of any traps. Once a team makes contact with the enemy, the teams leading and following behind will attack from the sides. The rest will then fill in covering the rear as well. Our best bet is to trap them in a box formation. Each side will have multiple teams in support so that they can be used in rotation. If one falls, immediately take his place." Emilius explained the strategy they will be using. But mostly it will be the sergeants who would be applying the strategy, the rest would simply follow orders.

"That's it then. Pack up the tents and leave them here. You won't need them in the forest. We leave in 20 minutes. Get moving!"

Some time later, they were divided into teams and headed to the forest. Caterpy was in the 5th team while Diggeron was in the 3rd, both in group 2.

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Raka was still trying to create water magic. It sounded exciting knowing he could learn to communicate using mirrors and also the Peek skill. But the basis of both pieces of magic...was water. Without it, he couldn't do a thing about them.

Raka wondered why it was so difficult. Magic was complicated in the sense that following certain rules, it depended on the imagination of the magician to take effect. So the problem was Raka's imagination. After all he was transforming energy as he was used to. He could easily imagine air and earth. Even fire, though a bit whimsical, worked. It was not that the elements were easy but he could imagine them as separate, being able to move or act on their own. Just like you can imagine a rock or wind. Even fire, because he could imagine his staff or paper catching fire. It didn't matter one of them being made of metal, even metals could burn. Being able to burn would depend on how hot it is and availability of air. But how does water act independently. You can have it in a bowl or in some shape in a container. You can shoot it out from a pipe, the pressure increasing its speed. You could even think that water can become ice which would be kindof independent of the other elements. Water can become steam, which is lighter than air so you can imagine it flying in the air or other stuff. But what do you do with plain water. He couldn't simply imagine energy stored in a bowl. He tried perceiving that but the bowl and the inside looked the same. It was more like water being stored in something made of water.

Raka sighed.

In short, Raka was affected by the real world logic. Magic may be a completely imaginary thing, but you still have to imagine the way it takes shape. And that imagination is based on your experiences. For example a Fireball. Ofcourse no one imagines it as round like a ball. But rather like a piece of round wood or cloth which caught fire and you throw it. People who frequently play virtual reality games might not have this problem. In other games, the skills would automatically create a fireball and they could look at it. So imagining a fireball would be no trouble. This acted like a two edged weapon though. Once you see something acting in a particular way, it shapes your mind. When you mention Fireball next, everyone will think of the thing they saw.

In this game however, the name was irrelevant. Just a tool to aid your focus or imagination. Raka could name his magic Dragonball and it would still shoot out a fireball if he imagined it right.

And so he stared at the bowl full of water, trying to imagine....water! The only water magic he had seen so far; Sambal wearing it like a glove and then putting it on the mirror. Cassian didn't even need to do that, he simply threw the water on the mirror. Raka was desperately trying to imagine water sticking to his hand like a glove. But his brain subconsciously raised shackles which would make it fail.

Raka was getting tired of his attempts. It was like learning how to perceive energy all over again. Learning something abstract is very difficult and tiring. Giving up he decided to head down to Salmon's place to do some work and hopefully get the woodworking skill.

"PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT, YOU NINCOMPOOP! DO YOU SEE the thickness of the wood? It would take all DAY with the speed your going!"

Raka made a painful face at hearing the unusually loud voice. It could even permeate inside the ear plugs he was wearing to cut down on the noise of the workshop. He did his best to learn the basics and he was now working inside the warehouse instead of the garden.

Woodworking was another skill which was not as simple as it sounded. 'Why is everything so difficult!' he often wondered. He thought that learning it, would allow him to make wooden weapons and it probably could. But what he was learning now, was how many types of wood there are and how to treat each wood. How to measure and cut it to specification using a tape measure. And then how many many many places wood is used on the ship. His role was to treat and shape the wood for the parts of whatever was being made or repaired. Different types and shapes of wood were required for everything from chairs, tables, drawers, casks, cupboards and other household items to wooden rails, ship hulls, masts and rudders. Atleast it was adding to his knowledge.

Ships in the game, or atleast ships which he saw so far, were made of wood but had iron planks bolted on the bottom to protect the hull from damage from rocks or reefs or other things. Complicated in design, they were made of many parts.

What he also found out that the ships were operated by guilds. He assumed they were merchant guilds but they were simply called guilds. These guilds did a lot of stuff. From trading to providing protection and travel. The interesting thing though, was this. Large guilds operated out of a fixed office on some island. They usually had two or more ships of different types and capacities. However there were smaller guilds which operated out of a single ship. They did not have an office on an island. Their ship was treated as their base and office combined. Just their ship and guild were registered as belonging to some country.

'Could the same be true for player guilds?' He remembered Christopher talking about a guild base and this fact fit perfectly into his information. 'So smaller player guilds can simply buy one ship and treat them as their base. But larger player guilds will have to buy or rent an office on an island. Hmm, but maybe smaller guilds can do that as well, I suppose. Depends on which method would be cheaper. Though having your entire guild on one ship and travelling the world together, without worry of maintaining an office, does not sound bad either.'

Ofcourse, Raka had no way to verify this. He knew ships couldn't be cheap. But for once, he did want to be part of a guild...not the big ones, just a small guild made of good people...adventurous people. Sailing the world of Long Island, getting into trouble, having adventures, seeing things.

'Maybe I should go check out the guild office later. I am sure anyone around here will know where it is. Docks people always do.'

"DONT STAND THERE DREAMING LIKE AN IDIOT! MOVE YOUR ASS!" which kinda ended the thoughts bringing in the real world, or the virtual world as ugly reality.

A few hours later he left, heading to Cassian's place for tea.

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Some hours earlier...

"Hi, I am Caterpy" she said introducing herself to the team. The team consisted of 4 players, 3 girls and 1 guy. And 6 npc soldiers who were all male. One of them was a middle aged man, a bit smaller than her but full of bulging muscles like a body builder. He was the sergeant.

"Hi I am Malya"

"Hey I am Deidre"

"I am called Sammax"

The other players introduced themselves too. By the way Sammax was the guy. All of them seemed to be archers.

"Alright assemble and stand in a line. This is inspection!" they sergeant shouted.

All the team members fell in line. The sergeant went around looking at armor and testing weapons. Finally satisfied, he said,

"I am Sergeant Manuel. I am going to lead team 5 into battle. Do you have any knowledge of formation fighting?" he asked around but his main aim was to ask the players.

"I have a little bit" answered Sammax but the others nodded otherwise. The npc soldiers simply nodded in affirmative.

"Alright for those who do not know, I do not have the time to train you in the details. So listen closely to my orders. We have four archers, five shields. I will be using a bow or a shield depending on the requirement. When you face the enemy, shields move in front. Remember, these are not your usual full body shields. These shields are smaller, lighter and round as you can see, atleast they are easy to carry with one hand. Easier to carry in the dense forest. On the other hand, you will have to actually move it to block the blows."

He looked around to see if everyone understood.

"Archers, you will not always get a clear line of sight to the target, and it will not be good to hit our own on the other side. So we will be using a strategy called one direction heavy fire. You will concentrate only on firing in one direction, and only fire on my orders. Otherwise you will shoot at the target when its coming at you and not going the other away."

The archers nodded in affirmative.

"Alright, check your bags and your equipment once more. Take only the basics. Now we wait our turn to move out."

Soon the first team led by Emilius entered the forest. Before he went he shook Lady Verina's hand. Lady Verina was staying to guard the village and was simply here to wish everyone well. And soon one by one every team followed them. Caterpy waved a thumbs up as Diggeron left. And soon it was their turn to move into the forest. The four players were pretty excited, looking around what kind of forest it was. The trees, plants...somehow the animals did not approach. Maybe they were scared of the large party of humans coming in the forest but they hid themselves from their sight.

"Oh could those be herbs..." some wondered. While the others thought on how to make potions or if there were any potions in the game. They hadn't been given any, if there were.

Slowly the forest grew denser. Trees grew closely together, the undergrowth was thick and sometimes muddy. Long grasses or shrubs started appearing with increasing frequency almost blocking the sights of the people. It was getting so bad that they could only see the one team ahead or behind them at any time. Which was probably the intention behind going like this....so that they did not get lost.

While making way, Caterpy was also looking at the soldiers. They were wearing full armor unlike the players. On one hand they carried a short spear. While on the other they had this medium sized round shield. Some of the other soldiers carried swords as well. Sergeant Manuel also carried a sword. Maybe the ranking soldiers were issued swords while the rest were issued whatever weapon was necessary.

The forest could be full of ingredients. Caterpy had learnt the cooking skill as well, so she was interested in what could be cooked. She had gone to the library to find out more about the island's ingredients and hopefully get pictures of the plants and animals you could cook with and some recipes. She did not recognize anything so far.

A couple of hours later, they stopped to rest. A few soldiers took out some bread to eat or water from their canteens. The players were doing the same, just that in their case there were more of other things than bread. About 15 minutes later they resumed. Caterpy did not know how far the beastmen were. Lady Altia had said they would have to wade through for some hours.

Their progress was slow. Atleast the teams behind did not have to cut through the thick undergrowth themselves. The teams ahead were doing it for them. They just needed to follow the path they laid down. Still their progress was slow. The ones behind, not having any work to do, had slowly started chatting. Occasionally a louder voice could be heard. Considering that the beastmen had animal like hearing, Caterpy assumed that they would have noticed them already, if they were nearby.

Suddenly, the sergeant's hand was raised. Everyone abruptly stopped. The reason was the team ahead had abruptly stopped. The sergeant was on alert, and looking at him everyone tensed looking around. The same thing was happening to the other teams behind. After a few minutes, two almost quiet hoots sounded out from the team in front. Then one more hoot. It was so quiet that only the ones behind them, that is Caterpy and her team could hear clearly. Sergeant Manuel turned his head to the team behind and repeated the same hoots, again, as quietly as possible. Then he looked to his team and called them close.

"Traps. The first team came across traps. From now on, be on guard and keep a close watch on where you step. If you have any suspicion, raise alarm by raising your hand....like this."

And the procession continued again.

Some time later and they had stopped a few more times on account of traps. Caterpy did not know what kind of traps they were encountering but she was getting suspicious. 'How come we are encountering traps so regularly?' The beastmen could be aware that a procession of people was following them. But how could they be so sure of the exact path they were taking. Its not like they had the time to rig up multiple traps in the same location covering all paths. The forest was too wide for that. There was no way to guess whether the soldiers up front will walk only this way. The probability of coming across so many traps while moving.....pointed to one thing. That they could somehow, actually see them. And then an even more scary fact. They could somehow overtake them after seeing them, to lay down their traps.

"Sergeant, I have a thought" Caterpy approached the sergeant quietly and spoke of her suspicions. The sergeant listened quietly and nodded.

"Yes, I have had the same thought. But I think Lady Altia and the captains expected this. Which is why we are still continuing. Also the captains and Lady Altia divided their teams to the front, back and middle so maybe they are hoping for this as well. I think if the beastmen attack, they will attack the teams in the middle. So be alert" he replied.

Caterpy moved to the other players and told them the words of the sergeant. They looked excited. On the other hand the npc soldiers were almost sweating with worry. 'That's what not being able to really die does to you' Caterpy thought. 'It turns a deadly situation into an exciting one.'

The teams were still walking slowly. Only the people who realized the situation, were looking all around carefully. The other players were still talking and chatting about this and that, unconcerned.

The same situation continued for another 3 hours. Caterpy's tension was almost at the max. She was feeling tired by now. Her mental state affecting her physical being. Even when it was just an hour ago that they had a little bit of rest, she was still looking around into the forest for anything suspicious. But they had entered the denser part of the woods. Visibility was very limited with the trees, brush, shrubs growing so thick all around. In fact it wouldn't be a surprise if a beastmen was hiding behind that next tree while they sat just a few feet away.

'Maybe they are trying to tire us before attacking.' Well if they were, they were succeeding. The npc soldiers were well trained but being alert cost them. The players who were also alert were slowly losing concentration. The others who were talking without a care in the world, were also tired....because of the heat. The denser the forest got, the hotter it became. And it was that sticky humid heat, you would get after the rain. Sweat stuck to their skin and their clothes without evaporating away, making it very uncomfortable. And then there were the bugs. Who knew that they would encounter so many bugs when they entered so deep in the forest. Tiny in size but great in number, almost like mosquitos, they buzzed around bothering and annoying people.

You have been bitten. Life reduced by 1, affected by slight itching effect for 10 mins.

"S**t! Not again!" Caterpy itched a little. She had stopped counting the number of times she was bit after it crossed 20. She did wonder about Life though. She correctly figured it was related to Health points in other games. She also figured out that it might be a stat or something related to a stat. 'Maybe something like vitality stat!'

Anyway, they still continued.....

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Today Taum was present. So Raka and Cassian stuck to talking about other things. Cassian was a treasure trove of information. So long as he did not ask anything sensitive or classified. One of the things Raka was really interested in asking....how many races live in this world.

"Well I don't know how many. The ones I know of are the elves, orcs, forsyth, beastmen, dracones, cairns ...hmmm...what else....oh and then there are the goblins, dwarves, mer-people and the qsiti. Oh humans ofcourse. That's all the ones I know about. Humans have traveled far but the world is larger still. I am sure there are tons of places we haven't visited. And they could have their own unique inhabitants."

Raka had heard of some of these races. Some he had not.

"So could you tell me about them...like how they look and anything else?"

"How they look eh. Not sure how to tell that. How would you describe a human? Well, if you are really interested in how they look, why don't you check out the library. I am sure they have books on them."

Raka wanted to bang his head on the wall. 'Ofcourse!....why didn't I think of checking the library about this!!!' Now that he got thinking, the library could answer a lot of questions. Its just that the last time he had been to the library he was learning the language and couldn't understand the other texts. But now............

"So any more questions you got?" asked Cassian jovially almost as if it was fun to teach someone about the world.

Raka thought for a bit.

"Um...I am not sure if you will know this...but how come some people have pets...and other don't? Like where is the pet shop anyway?"

"Ah! well that's easy. Its because pets are very expensive. Also they are not very useful. I tried keeping a bird once. But it turned out it was more of a bird brain than a bird...you get what I mean. The rich keep them just to show off their exotic pets. All they do is eat and sleep. They don't even bite!" Cassian did not have a high regard for pets. Maybe that were so and pets were actually just status symbols. Or maybe this was just the case of Ilmentia island only.

"You know in a far eastern island, they actually sell humans as pets?"

Raka shivered at the thought. That was slavery.

"Yes, that is another reason why we don't like to keep pets....or most people don't. A lot of races we do not understand or know about, are treated as exotic animals in various parts of the world. Pets as you call it" Cassian said icily.

"On the other hand, people do have animals as friends though. A lot of dock workers have seagulls as friends. They let them know if a ship is coming and even about bad weather. I know a dock master over there who has a Craysian Eagle as a friend. Those are one of the really rare species of birds near the island. They can cross hundreds of leagues while they migrate. Everytime they migrate here though, it likes to come over and visit him. I think during those seasons he keeps his bird feeder out just incase.

There are sea creatures who have befriended humans as well. Sometimes it helps a lot when you get into trouble at sea. I think the Queen herself has a whale as her friend. There is an interesting story. Once she was on a diplomatic mission and her ship's rudder broke off in the storm. She called out to the whale for help...and the whale lifted the entire ship and carried it back to the island. Islanders were pretty scared to see a mountain approaching the island. They only calmed down when the Queen stepped out on the top."

"So do any of the creatures stick around with you after you befriend them?" asked Raka still hoping.

"Well, that's something you will have to ask them, isn't it" Cassian said gently. "I don't know about the Goddess's children though. Maybe you will find some who will follow you around. You do seem to be lucky in a lot of ways" Cassian chuckled.

'But wouldn't that mean that they are the same as in the real world. Dogs and cats are different species, but to keep them as pets you have to love them and take care of them as friends. Isn't that why you have dog lovers and cat lovers...I wouldn't want them as slaves, but as friends. So the only thing was...not to call them pets!' Raka understood what Cassian meant. Pets are not pets in the game....they are your friends and allies or enemies, just like other npcs.

"Well if you really want one though, the pet shop is located near the docks....just two blocks before and towards the right. Its a fancy looking place, you can't miss it."

After his tea, Raka decided to visit the pet shop. His curiosity won out in the end even against the guilt of buying a creature...but he promised that he won't be like those other people. He will love them and take care of them....and make them his friends. 'I will set them free and let them choose!'

The pet shop was a grand place. Perhaps it needed to be, to cater to the rich or its owner was really rich to afford such a place, he did not know. But as he walked into this white house made of marble and white pillars, it felt like he was entering somewhere important. The inside however was something out of a fantasy novel. A large hall full of cages....stacked on top of each other of all sizes. Some were even covered by dark cloth. Some were completely crated. The hall was growling, snarling, chirping, twirping, groaning, crying, eeking, slithering.....well almost any sound possible.

Raka stared at every cage. When they said exotic, they meant exotic. Raka could not recognize any creature. He tried using his Identify skill, with no result. He had absolutely no information on them...for Identify to succeed. There were snake like animals but with wings, bird like but with opposable thumbs, dog like but tiny in size, tiger like but meowing with three tails...well you get the picture. 'Truly exotic!'

Soon a guy approached him rubbing his hands and smiling.

"Hello honored sir. Welcome to Signer's Exotic Animal Enterprise, I am Signer. I see you are one of the famous and legendary Goddess's children. How may this humble servant help you today?" he said smiling with his perfect teeth.

'Hail Neona!' Raka did not have much real life experience dealing with merchants like these. But thanks to accompanying Neona he had met a lot of different merchants in the game. He knew this was one of the flattery type of merchants. Which also meant that he had to be careful of not being duped.

"Hello, I was looking at the fine animals you have. Are they all pets?"

"Yes ofcourse. All of them are tame and guaranteed to not harm any human. Ofcourse you will have to keep them well fed or they could get a bit rowdy. Most have their canines and testicles removed and are well treated for disease so you do not have to worry" the man replied smiling some more.

"Hmm...and what about prices?"

"Well...a good pet costs money, you know. The more exotic and harder to find, the more pricier it becomes you know. Some of them have come from places so far off, that the transport cost is quite expensive. We also have to pay the hunters to capture them as well." The man explained all the ways it will cost more money.

But Raka was not too worried. From all his time in the game, he had somehow managed to earn about 20 gold 35 silvers 15 coppers. He was hopeful that he would be able to buy atleast one pet.

"So what is your most popular pet?"

"Ah...you see. People do not like to buy a pet others have. We try to keep every pet unique because of that."

"Hmmm...ah well in that case why don't you guide me to the pets you have?"

"Very well...please follow me, and what size of pets do you prefer? If you have any other preferences please let me know"

"Hmm I don't have any preferences just that their size should not be too big."

"Ah perfect. This here is the Unicorse. Found mostly in the wild in an island far to the south, it is an intelligent and beautiful creature. See the soft white fur ..Also its a bit rare with three horns, usually you find with two horns only. You can ride it as well" as he pointed to a white pony but with three horns. 'Kinda like a three horned unicorn!'

"Hmm looks nice. How much is it?"

"Ah it was painstaking effort by the hunters who were able to capture this beast. You see it is quite fast in speed. Also coming from so far away raises the price a bit, you understand. And then there's tax. But especially for you I will offer it at a discount of only 2.5 million gold."

..........................

"Sir..sir, are you ok? Do you want to sit? Do you want a drink...maybe its just the sun?"

"Huff huff....ah no... I am alright...maybe its just the stuffy air in here."

"Ah would you like to step in my office for a bit. It has windows so you may feel better there."

Raka nodded and followed him to the office. The fresh air from the windows made him feel a little better.

........All this time there was this voice inside him which sounded strangely like the pet shop guy repeating in ever increasing tones.....'2.5 million......milllON...millION....milLION....MILLION~'

'IS THAT EVEN FAIR!!!' Raka was stumped. He knew the pets were expensive but this! Lets just say he did not have the words to describe his feelings at the moment.

"Ah thank you..I feel much better. I am curious about your range though, how much is the cheapest pet?"

"Oh...our prices usually start from 15000 gold. But the cheapest we have right now is only for 49,999."

'Fifty thousand gold for the cheapest pet! How much money do the rich people have?!! Is there a thief skill to steal their money!!' Ofcourse, if it were that convenient no one would be rich in the first place.

"Hmm...well thank you. But the prices here are a little too expensive for my taste..."

"Ah please don't be discouraged. Please tell me how much you are willing to spend. I will try to see if I can adjust my prices."

"20...."

"20,000, is it? Hmm it might be a little difficult at that price. But I may have something for you in the warehouse...please wait a bit and I will ask it to be brought...."

"Um...."

"Yes sir?"

"Um....see..."

The man tilted his head worried but still smiling.

"I only have 20 gold."

The smile was still there but somehow his eyes were dead. The man stood there like a statue for a few moments. And then....

"Ah ah ah...I am deeply sorry that I do not have anything in that range sir...." and then he coughed loudly, but Raka seemed to hear 'cheapskate'.

"Why don't you participate in the High Rise Pet Lucky Draw, sponsored by our shop? The first prize is a random pet."

"Ah..do you have that. Well I would like to participate if I can."

"Yes, here is the form. Please enter your details and drop it in the box outside."

Raka did not like lotteries. They had extraordinary odds. Ofcourse with a merchant like this, he did not believe for one second that anyone would win. He guessed that it was just a polite way of saying...get lost!

But Raka was trained by the legendary Neona. There is this saying....when things do not work with a straight finger....crooked make thy finger.

"Hmmm well you know, as you said I am one of the famous and legendary Goddess's children. Well not to say much about myself, but people say we have the Goddess's own luck when it comes to things. We have been known to have some extraordinary abilities which I am sure an intelligent man, like yourself, must have heard. Well I am sure that in time we will grow quite rich and powerful.....owing to our abilities...."

He paused for a bit looking at the man.

"You see, once we do get rich, I am assuming a lot of us will come to you to buy their pets. Think about it. There are so many Goddess's children on this island...."

He paused a bit more...and the man was hooked. Raka could imagine his brain cogs whirling rapidly as he started calculating all the money he will make.

"But ofcourse....people do say stuff about the treatment they get at places you know, good things if they are treated well, bad things also....well I guess we can still buy from the pet shops on other islands."

Raka made a sad looking face. He quickly said,

"Well, I guess I will try my luck in the lottery. See ya!" and Raka turned around to go away.

He had walked maybe a couple of steps when,

"Please hold on, dear sir! Now that I remember there are a couple of pets I haven't been able to sell for long...why don't you take a look at them. Maybe one would be to your liking?" his eyes were shining again and the smile was still there.

"Ah...is that so. Thank you for taking pity on a poor soul. Please I would like to see them."

The man hurriedly went out the office

Some time later, he returned followed by two men carrying two small cages which they put on the table. The cages were covered with some cloth. The owner nodded to the men and they left.

"Ah here they are sir. This..." and he pulled out the cloth from one cage, "is a Parrot. Quite an intelligent bird sir. Look at the colors, green, red and a little bit of blue and purple here. Very beautiful. It can also talk...say something to our customer...Parrot!"

The parrot looked like a really exquisite bird, but still looked like a parrot. Raka had seen them in real life but those ones were small normally yellowish green in color. This was a much more bigger and colorful bird with long feathers. Raka expected a parroty cackling voice, but a deep manly voice came out.

"Oh dear, you do not have nice clothes do you. Look its filthy and torn, why don't you replace it!"

Raka was astounded. It was an insult. But a bird that can talk. It should be a novelty. 'Why didn't it sell then?'

"And this here is..." and he lifted the cloth from another cage, "is a flat faced monkey. It looks a bit ugly compared to the parrot doesn't it. Well it is good at copying what others do...you know imitate them." The monkey did not look too well. But still copied Signer's movements. Signer lifted his hand and the monkey lifted his hand, he lifted another....the monkey did the same. But then seemingly getting tired, he laid down on the floor of the cage, licking at the water bowl.

The monkey was about 2 feet in length, and almost looked like a chimpanzee. But it had a longer tail like other monkeys. Oh and his face was flatter than a real life monkey as well.

"Hmm so which will you choose, honorable sir?"

Raka thought for a bit. The parrot looked magnificent and healthy. And it could talk. Maybe if he befriended it or him, he could become a partner for Raka. He could imagine himself getting a friend in that parrot. He then looked at the sickly monkey. Maybe he should save it instead. It couldn't talk but it would be a noble thing to do. Maybe it will become his friend if he nursed him back to health. And it could imitate. Maybe it could learn skills by imitating. Maybe it could learn his battle forms by imitating. A fighting monkey....well he had heard of monkey style kung fu which seemed to have originated from observing monkeys.

Raka was still undecided on what he would choose. Suddenly the parrot spoke,

"Kind sir, would you like to hear of a tragedy, a ballad of epic proportions"

Was the parrot a singer?

"Ah the melancholy draws my soul to speak out..... AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH~~~~~~~~" and with its manly voice he started singing opera. 5 seconds later he had ascended to a very very high note. Raka was stunned....no literally stunned.

You have been stunned. Effect lasts 5 seconds.

Raka had read about opera singers who could shatter glass. This was his first time hearing them though....and it was bad. It literally did break the glass of the mirror and the glass of water on the table.

"STOP! STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Signer shouted quickly putting the dark cloth back on the cage. The sound stopped. Raka couldn't move for 5 seconds. When he could,

"Identify"

[p=center]Annoying Parrot[/p]

Class: ?

Parrots are native of Araya island and several species of the bird may be found there. They are known for their intelligence and quirky personalities. They are fast learners and often travel to other places in search of their aspirations. This parrot has learned 15 languages. This parrot aspires to be a singer but due to its bad music sense it has been deemed annoying by the others.

Languages learned: Language of Ilmentia Island, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

[p=center]Imitating Monkey[/p]

Class: ?

Monkeys have an unknown origin. They can be found inhabiting several islands. Intelligent and quick learners. There are several species of the Monkey. This particular species learns by imitating actions. They are also known for having a strange sense of humor. This monkey is sick right now.

Raka quickly stood up and said,

"I will take the monkey, thank you very much" taking out his money.

"Ah, thank you very much. Would you like a collar as well?"

"No. That won't be needed. Say, it looks quite sick?"

"Yes, it is just the weather of the island which does not suit it. We have given the required medication so it will recover in a few days."

"Ah in that case, can I ask that you keep it here for 2 days? I will collect him on the 3rd day."

"Yes sir, as you wish. Um, the food costs...."

Raka took out 20 silvers and said, "Feed it well. I did not enquire but what is its gender?"

"Ah this one's a male, sir."

"Ah, well then feed him well" and Raka turned around to leave. Just as he reached the door, he had a brainflash.

"Say, when will I get the lottery results?" Raka simply said smiling.

The man still smiled but Raka thought there could be some grinding going on.

"In 3 days sir" the man finally said.

Raka simply smiled some more.

"Ah I will eagerly wait for the day. Oh and I won't forget to say good things about you either." And then he took his leave still smiling.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later, Caterpy and her team decided to rest as scheduled. She was a bit tired of walking by now and she wanted to sit down but there was no clearing. They were still surrounded by dense woods. Rough grass and shrubs below. Some of the players decided to lean on the thick trunks of the trees to rest a bit. The rest did not care. They sat down anyway. Caterpy was one of them.

It started suddenly.

One moment they were resting. The next, people were screaming. And as everyone turned around to look, they heard the shout "Formations!"

Sergeant Manuel was an experienced soldier who had put his life on the line. His reaction speed to these kind of situations easily surpassed even the veteran players. It was he who shouted the order. The soldiers accustomed to following orders reacted as soon as they heard. The players were slower.

Caterpy quickly stood up and unhooked her bow from the sling she had made to hang it on her back. All soldiers carried a quiver in addition to their usual weapons. The archers carried two or more, as many they could manage. She quickly set up to fire an arrow. And she was one of the fast ones. A lot of the other players were still confused. Maybe that was because they still did not know, whether it was an attack or just someone falling in a trap. It couldn't be helped as they had found so many on the way. 'Someone at sometime was just going to fall in...or that's what the thinking would have become' thought Caterpy.

Thankfully there were still more soldiers than players. And they did not play around with their lives. Looking at them combat ready and serious, the rest of players hurried up. And a good thing it was as well.

Because it turned out they were really under attack.

More screaming but the sergeant of team 4 suddenly shouted.

"Team 3, attack confirmed. Team 4 going center support."

Sergeant Manuel then shouted,

"Team 3, attack confirmed. Team 5 going right."

The sergeant of the team behind shouted.

"Team 3, attack confirmed. Team 6 going cover."

"Team 3, attack confirmed. Team 7 going rogue" Lady Altia's voice sounded.

"Team 3, attack confirmed. Team 8 going cover support...

She could not hear the other teams. Maybe they were too far away or maybe the forest was too thick to drown out their sounds.

'Diggeron is in team 3' was the only thought in Caterpy's head. But it was mostly an envious thought than an anxious one. Thankfully they did not make stupid men as sergeants. Each knew what to say and how to move. The first two teams she assumed had already moved into position. Now her team moved swiftly heading into the trees to make the right side of the box.

And then she saw.

In the time it took them to move.....team 3 was annihilated....by two wolf looking animals. But they were standing upright. 'So these are the beastmen.' She saw Diggeron's corpse on the ground. It still had not disappeared.

Caterpy thought she had gotten used to seeing Diggeron's dead body. After all he had died in other games as well. But no matter what she thought, she still felt irritated...and angry! That was the drawback of realism. Even dead people looked like dead people, atleast before they disappeared. But that could wait for now. She reminded herself that he is actually not dead and took a breath to calm down as they moved into formation.

The wolf looking beastmen were strong. And fast. And they were killing as if the soldiers and the players were mere dummies for them to practice. One of them moved swiping at the nearest guard. He tried to raise his shield to block the blow but then got hit by the other clawed hand, in his stomach. Blood started oozing out of his stomach as the guard quickly pressed on his wound. And then the other wolfman reached him. The guard was as good as dead, but thankfully the other guards moved in just then with the shields and spears on the ready.

Sergeant Manuel quickly let lose an arrow with a bow which magically appeared when he waved his hands. Caterpy knew about this magic used by residents of the village.

Caterpy waited for the sergeant's orders in order to shoot. She saw team 1 and team 2 appear straight ahead, on the left side of the box.

"Archers, aim low at the beastmen. Fire!" Captain Emilius was shouting orders. A mass of arrows were shot and quickly covered the distance between them and the beastmen. The two beastmen quickly moved to dodge. One of them even caught an arrow with his hands and smashed it to pieces. The arrows were aimed low so they did not reach the wounded soldier and his companions but stuck the ground just around their feet.

And the beastmen resumed their attacks again, so fast that the next two guards could not even raise their shields to block their throats which was cleanly ripped with one claw only. They then moved to the 3 players next to them who had brought out their swords. They did not stand a chance. Before one of them could finish their swing, one of the beastmen had moved to the side and punched the other player straight in the chest. The armor took some damage but the player was sent flying into a tree. He hit the tree so hard, that he did not get up again. The other beastman, almost acting in unison, did another punch...this time to the remaining players face. The player smashed down on the ground head first and did not get up again. The player who just completed his sword swing, stared with open eyes. They were not hunting beastmen....it was they who were being hunted. One hit to his abdomen to lower his head, and another to deliver the death blow and this player was also not moving.

And then another round of arrows came from Emilius's side. The soldiers were not lazy in setting up and firing. It was just that the beastmen were too fast at killing. They were like machines designed for killing humans.

Team 4 had lost 5 people in the time it took for people to load an arrow. And then captain Maltus's team arrived as support. Then the magic started.

"Fire storm" Maltus yelled, as moving fire surrounded the two beastmen making a wall trapping them inside. Unfortunately it also hid them from view. And then his team members joined him. They did not say their words instead moving their hands and somehow their swords were shining. Soon it felt like their shine extended by a few feet. They quickly went in slashing at the wall of fire. For a moment it looked like craziness, people swinging shining swords at fire. But soon she heard painful cries coming from inside. Somehow those swung swords were making contact with the beastmen past the wall of fire.

While Maltus and his team handled the two beastmen, Emilius was shouting orders to the other teams as well, getting them organized. He took the rest of team 4 into his team.

But something seemed off. Team 5 had not fired a single shot so far. In fact, Emilius did not head out to help Maltus. As he was a captain himself, he should know magic atleast at a higher level. But he did not use it. And where the heck was Lady Altia. Caterpy looked around. There was one more team missing. Probably team 9. And teams 6 and 8 had still not formed the wall of the box. They were all still standing on one side, like a lid waiting to be closed.

'There is some sort of plan afoot here' Caterpy guessed. It did not make sense for two captains and maybe someone who was even better to not go out full strength from the start. From what she saw, either these beastmen were really bad at magic. Or beastmen, as a race, could not use magic in general. Which made it their weakness. If the captains and Lady Altia, who could all use magic, had gone full out against them, casualties could have been reduced.

And so they let Maltus's team handle the two beastmen...who were still not dead but if Maltus's magic held out, would be soon enough. The beastmen could avoid hits even inside the fire wall, but having 6 people poking their swords in, it would hit at some point. The rest waited...for something. Caterpy did as well.

It did not take too long for her to discover the reason. Team 9 came running back from the direction where the box was open.

"Archers" sergeant Manuel finally shouted, "aim in the cover direction. That is just behind the soldiers who came."

"Yes sir!" and the four archers of Caterpy's team turned around in that direction, string taught, arrows to be released any second.

And then they appeared. More beastmen. There were three more wolfmen and one who looked like a cheetah or a leopard, with all spots. Four beastmen. They took a look at us and quickly separated, each heading to one side of the box.

"Here they come, steady now, Fire!" yelled Manuel as he took aim as well.

Five arrows shot towards the cheetahman approaching them. Similar orders were issued by other teams. The cheetahman dodged towards the middle, and the arrows all stuck the trees. He simply kept on running at full speed. At this rate Caterpy and team 5 would meet the same fate. Unable to do anything. But then like lighting, Lady Altia appeared in front.

The players and even some soldiers could not believe their eyes finding Lady Altia in their midst. A lot of them probably had one thought in their head. 'How did she get there?' Caterpy thought. One moment there was nothing and then next Lady Altia. Fortunately, the cheetahman seemed shocked as well. He growled and then probably considering Lady Altia to be a bigger threat, attacked her. She on the other hand, waited for it to approach and then turned to head out of the box. The cheetahman followed.

Somehow, this became a trigger for everything. Soon every soldier started using magic or embedding magic on their weapons like all the waiting and sacrifice had been for this very moment. The wolfmen who approached the other teams were surprised. It seemed like almost everyone gained a level instantly and could now block the beastmen's blows without being blown away.

But they were still stronger. It seemed the first two were just scouting and the rest were observing. Once they learned of the tactics employed by the humans they attacked full force. They separated so as not to be caught in a similar area of effect magic. It was then, captain Emilius moved and engaged the incoming wolfman. They clashed violently, the sound of claw hitting metal resounded. None broke. The wolfman was stronger but Emilius embedded fire onto his sword with a flick of his fingers. The fire roared forcing the wolfman to back off. Emilius quickly changed his magic and a wind surged from the tip of sword, cutting plants, trees and wolfman alike.

It seems beastmen skins are tougher. The wolfman only got a light cut from that. It growled. In the meantime other teams were handling the other two wolfmen. And it was tough. The soldiers had all gotten a bit stronger but only that much. They were still unable to defend against beastmen strikes, which killed without exception, if it got through.

"Archers...fire!" Manuel shouted the moment one of the beastmen seemed to be going out of the box. Caterpy's arrows were accurate enough and did hit the beastmen without causing much damage. But the arrow still attracted his attention. He changed targets and swiftly approached them but then the other team fired arrows at him. The wolfman growled a shout of great rage, like flies were annoying him. But his rage was also reducing his reason. He was dancing back and forth between the two teams who constantly fired arrows on him. But that only lasted for a minute. Finally deciding, he attacked the other team.

"Fire!" Manuel shouted again and Caterpy's arrow again found its mark. But this time it was ignored. Another kind of emotion bubbled up in Caterpy's mind. She was not even considered an enemy. Pissed off, she shot another arrow, but by the time it reached, the wolfman had decapitated the head of a soldier with one smash of the hand, his head went off flying...helmet and all. Blood spurted out from the neck shooting upwards like a fountain.

Caterpy felt like vomiting. The excitement she felt before was gone. There was just too much blood around.

It seemed getting angry made a beastman stronger. He was ignoring pain, ignoring attacks laced with magic and simply went on a rampage killing whoever it could reach. If his hands reached armor, the soldier was sent flying. If it reached skin, it drew blood. Even the other wolfman did not approach the enraged one. It looked like even he was afraid of that. Maybe in that state they could not tell friend from foe.

And then the sergeants acted. Manuel shouted,

"Keep formation, attack in the same direction when they look like escaping. Saunders you're in charge!" and a soldier shouted,

"Yes Sir."

The command given, Manuel rushed to intercept the enraged wolfman. Each team had a sergeant rank soldier. 4 of them headed to stop the insane wolfman before he destroyed them all. The other 2 banded together to take the last, still sane one. While the other soldiers tried to get in close enough....to pull back the injured soldiers and the dead bodies out of the way.

Caterpy felt useless. Her arrows did not damage them. Even if they did, she could not shoot in the middle of the fighting. She might hit another soldier. At various places where players had been killed, white lights started shining as they disappeared. Even Diggeron disappeared. She still stood though, in the middle of the carnage. Three teams had been wiped out completely. Another two almost lost half their number. And it was still going on. The two wolfmen were still alive inside the fire wall. Emilius was still fighting one wolfman alone. Lady Altia and the cheetahman and had gone somewhere along with her team. The sergeants were strong. But not so strong as to completely defeat a beastmen, which even a captain had trouble facing.

The sergeants were putting their life on the line to save their fellow soldiers, but at the same time were fully aware that all they were doing, was buying time. 'Probably for Group 3 to arrive.' But it would take a long time. It felt longer as so much had happened. But it probably had not been 20 minutes yet. And in the middle of that stood Caterpy, unable to do anything. She believed she had gotten stronger in the past 3 months. But now it felt like, she had wasted it.

Caterpy would realise it much later, that she was not weak. According to the animals who surround the village, she would be quite strong. Just the beastmen she encountered, were so much more stronger.

The fight continued in all its bloody glory. The sergeants had somehow managed to control the enraged beastman, giving the other soldiers and players time to focus on the one remaining. They attacked from the front. While Caterpy and the others shot arrows aiming at his feet, from the back. It was like fighting bosses in other games, with a level of 100 when you are just level 10. The main damage was being done by the soldiers who were at a higher level. Some players also seemed to get some damage in....perhaps reduce his health by a few points. Even Caterpy's arrow was causing pin prick like cuts on the beastman's skin. But it was like they had amazing HP. For a race which probably could not use magic, they also had amazing magic defense. Even magic enhanced weapons were not doing much damage...or atleast not that Caterpy could see.

The situation was slowly turning against them. Maltus had kept up the wall of fire for almost half an hour now. He had started breathing heavily. In any other game, you might have asked, how much mana does he have. You would also know that his mana would end sooner or later. In this instance, it looked like he was getting visibly tired, probably his mana would be coming to an end.

The raging wolfman had killed one of the sergeants which warranted that soldiers go and fill his place. They were less skillful, so more likely to get killed, but they still had to go. They could not afford to lose any more good fighters.

The fierce and desperate fight went on for another half an hour. No sergeants were killed but all of them ended up bloody. The soldiers came in the way of the beastman finishing them and others carried them away. But those who came in between were killed. It was a massacre. Even Emilius had started bleeding from numerous places. But he was still moving. And he was still making magic. And then he decided to go all in.

"Wind blade" Emilius shouted as he dropped his shield. He increased his speed like a whirling typhoon and swung as if both his hands held swords. And it seemed like it did. His now empty shield hand swung and the wolfman stepped back. But he was still cut, a line traced across his skin, spilling out blood. The wolfman was surprised but soon adapted. And moved in closer. This was a fight which was going to end with one of them dead. The whirling typhoon against the solid rock! Emilius ignored defense while following a two sword style. The wolfman, getting used to the invisible blade, learned to avoid it. A very high level fight was going on.

But thankfully, Emilius seemed to be winning. He was dodging every strike while his sword connected with the wolfman regularly. It was only the toughness of the beastman which still kept him standing even after receiving so many of those deadly strikes.

And then group 3 arrived. Right on time.

Quickly the soldiers and the sergeants moved in support. The sane wolfman, who was only being covered by the two sergeants, saw this first. And growled really loudly. He then did something he hadn't done before. He went and attacked Maltus. The soldiers around him who weren't attacking the fire wall, quickly put up shields to defend him but the wolfman jumped straight over them, landing behind Maltus and hit him on the back. And then he turned to attack Team 5 who were nearby. Caterpy and the other archers shot him point blank....but somehow he wasn't interested in attacking. He simply smashed, body first, into the team throwing away the soldiers and the archers aside while he sprinted out of the box and quickly into the forest.

After Maltus got hit, he lost consciousness. The wall of fire disappeared and the two bloody wolfman inside followed the first, jumping above the still on the ground team 5, as they made their own escape into the forest. The one fighting Emilius turned around as well, but Emilius quickly moved in front of him and his team behind trapping him.

"Forget them! Focus on the ones here!" shouted some sergeant in group 3, when soldiers tried to go after them.

A hundred men rushed to overwhelm the two wolfmen who still remained. The insane one and the one fighting Emilius. In the end of an epic battle, Emilius stabbed the wolfman in both the legs behind the knees. Maybe it was one of his weak points but he quickly went to the ground growling painfully. Emilius's team and the newly arrived soldiers then went to work on him with their spears. In a final strike, Emilius buried his wind blade in the wolfman while the others kept on thrusting with their spears. They kept on till they were absolutely sure that the beastman was dead.

The insane wolfman was then brought down not by anyone attacking him with swords. But with the hundreds of arrows which hit him. It kept on moving till the end and then suddenly dropped dead on the ground. Even then, the soldiers stabbed him with spears. Just to make sure he was truly dead.

"Enough!" As Emilius's shout thundered around. "Take care of the wounded. Group 3, on guard, they can come back. Send two teams to Lady Altia's location. Group 2, teams which can still move will head to Lady Altia's location. She went south west."

About 4 teams or about 40 people headed southwest. The fight was still not over.

A few minutes later they came out of the forest. The sun was shining down, and the dense forest had ended. They came to this really large clearing. Some people were surprised. But then they understood.

It was not that there were no trees in this part of the forest, the trees had been destroyed. All of them in an area about 100 metres in each direction. Some had been broken through like some sort of rock had gone through them. And some had been cleanly cut like with a sword. Every single tree....

There was no sign of Lady Altia or the cheetah like beastman. As they started stepping into this clearing like area, a shout came out,

"No, stay back. Do not approach!" A single guard from Lady Altia's team came out of his hiding place and waved, to stop us from coming in. The sergeants understanding the seriousness of the guy, ordered the halt.

We moved to the nearest trees. Looking to see why he had called the stop. There was nothing here, as far as the eye could see. But as people stood wondering, there came a really loud sound...a sound they had become familiar with...of claw hitting metal. And there was this loud spark born mid-air. Everyone turned their heads to look. But apart from that spark, which disappeared as soon as it appeared, they heard and saw nothing. Just then another spark followed by the loud sound a few moments later.....And then another. Then silence for a couple of minutes, and then another.

People were stumped. "What the heck is going on?" Caterpy was one of first to ask.

"Lady Altia is fighting the beastmen" Sergeant Manuel quietly replied.

The players and even the soldiers turned their heads sharply at Manuel. 'So these sparks were getting caused by Lady Altia and the cheetah man! But then how fast are they moving around that we cannot see them!'

"Ah...I have only heard of this, first time seeing it!" Manuel continued.

"Um exactly what is going on here?" Sammax was the one who asked this time.

"Long time ago, during the war, there was this talk of a child who could hold her own against an enemy twice as strong. It was said she could do this because she could move faster than wind. Even the enemy was impressed and had dubbed her the 'Wind child'. Then the child grew up and eventually became the head of the Battle school in Gurrow village. This is the first time I am being witness to it though. But this particular beastman must the most dangerous of the lot, if he can keep his own at this speed. Thank God for Lady Altia. If we had to face him, we would all have been dead within minutes." So said the man who fought with the wolfman and survived, heavily bandaged but still able to move, so his words had to be believed.

It was then Caterpy noticed. Lady Altia had said that we will kill the beastmen. But the quest said capture not kill. It was just that if they did not approach with an intention to kill, forget capture, they wouldn't have been able to survive. She did not know how many people they lost. She did not dare count after 45. The players may be back but several were npcs....who were truly dead. It was only Lady Altia....who was trying to capture the beastman and she chose to capture the most dangerous one, actually helping them by keeping him occupied all this time.

Caterpy could imagine that her fight would have atleast gone for about an hour. Since she drew him out of the box till the time they got here. And it still hadn't ended. It was then that it registered. The whole area had been destroyed by the two of them. The cheetahman caused the broken trees while Lady Altia who was most probably fighting with a sword, cause the sliced ones. How major the battle would have been to destroy this entire area, was something which could not be imagined.

But the battle was still going on. It was so fast that they could only follow it through the random sparks and the loud sounds. Sometimes on the ground, sometimes in mid-air. If the fight of Captain Emilius and the wolfman was high level, this fight was truly epic. Which they could not see!

It went on like this for another half an hour. The sparks were coming with more frequency now. The thunder sounds as well. Someone was winning, but they could not see who.

And then suddenly, there was a loud flash, followed by a loud cry. And then they saw Lady Altia and the cheetahman right in the center of the clearing. Lady Altia had stabbed her entire sword into the left side of the chest of that cheetahman. As he went down on his knees, she quickly conjured a rope and tied his hands and feet as securely as she could. Meanwhile the guards in her team quickly broke their cover and headed straight to where they were, carrying a large thing. We moved out as well, running to get there and provide whatever support we could.

Her team reached first. And the large thing turned out to be a net. They quickly threw the net on the beastman and then bound him with the net with another super thick rope. Not until this was done, that Lady Altia finally pulled out her sword. And then she collapsed on the ground, panting loudly. The sergeant of her team came up to her but she said,

"Not yet, see if he will live. We need him alive." She said controlling her breath.

The sergeant nodded and started checking up on the wounds of the beastman. Curious, Caterpy approached a little closer to see. The wounds on the beastman had started to heal already. The bleeding had completely stopped. The skin on some of the lighter wounds started to join up. 'So this is why they are so tough. They have regenerative powers.' And it was strong enough to even start healing the major wound Lady Altia had given him. 'Maybe anything short of actually getting killed, can be healed.'

The sergeant finished his inspection of the beastman and the bindings and then turned to Lady Altia. He waved his hands...but nothing happened. Or to say nothing visible happened. Lady Altia still said,

"Thank you Nathan. Now all we need to do is carry him back. Any ideas?"

Nathan smiled. "Leave it to me."

And then Caterpy remembered him. He was the instructor at the battle school. She had often seen him when she went to visit Diggeron. But in full battle armor and with a helmet on, she had failed to recognize him.

All of them helped in making a strong big stretcher kind of thingy which could be used to carry the beastman on their shoulders. Ofcourse they tied him to the stretcher as well. Caterpy had a strange worry that maybe these bindings won't be enough and that the only reason the beastman had not cut through was simply because he was unconscious. Maybe he could not tolerate the damage....or the pain.

"Is it strong enough?" she asked aloud.

"Should be. These ropes have been embedded with magic too. If this is not enough to hold him...nothing will" Nathan replied.

"Alright someone help me lift him up. The others will provide guard. We need to rendezvous with the other teams immediately. There is no telling if the runaways will show up. Keep alert!" a sergeant from Group 3 who had come along with them shouted.

6 men along with that sergeant lifted the stretcher and then they headed back to the other teams. They were nervous all the way. Scared of being attacked. Scared of the beastman breaking his bonds. So it was with relief when they saw the other teams.

They had set up stretchers as well, for all the bodies. And for the men who couldn't walk. They even set up to move the dead bodies of the beastmen. With so many men involved in lifting the stretchers, it became a real hazard for the guards. But thankfully, Maltus had recovered consciousness. And someone seemed to have provided some sort of healing. He was bandaged but able to move. Emilius had also recovered enough. And Lady Altia was up and moving though, she was staggering and Nathan had to provide his shoulder. With them adding to the guard, it felt a little bit safer. But the entire return journey, Caterpy and the others in the guard, kept looking around incessantly.

When they arrived back at the village, the group which had remained behind group 1, quickly relieved them of their burdens. And then everyone collapsed on the ground tired.

Caterpy got this message to signify the end.

Event Quest: Capture the Beastmen ends successfully. Based on your efforts, you have been awarded 12 contribution points towards Gurrow village. Contribution points can be used in various endeavors or to ask for favors from the village.

Fame increases by 10.