What the actual f*ck is that!? They repeated the sequence over and over. For the second time, they chucked large amounts of scaly bark into the cauldron. The goblin that stepped out had the same bark-like skin. Even the goblin's eyes were covered in the bark.

This is cool. I want to learn about the mechanics and lore behind that so much. The quest is more important, though. I still decide to log out and check if this method of reproduction is common knowledge. I scroll through a few threads about it and it is. There is curiosity about it but nothing much. I'm not leaving anything on the table if I report this back.

I go back to the quest hall and make a detailed report about the goblins and their strange ritual. My reward is pending.

I decided to set aside about 10 Silver Frags and look for a skill. It has to be cheap-very cheap- but useful enough. I can't just rely on that strange armor.

Hours and hours of staring at blank grey rock with the occasional ore has cultivated an insane amount of patience within me. I start going through each and every vendor I can find. Any skill I'm interested in, I log it in a notebook(I didn't buy it, I found it discarded on the ground).

I write the skill name, how it works, basic info, and its price. I think I've logged 37 useful skills that are out of my range before I stumble onto a gem.

It's a skill called [Beast Taming]. Something like this is a class-specific skill. If I can learn it should be worth a lot more than 8 Frags. There is a catch though: You can only tame a single beast and the beast can resist any commands it wishes to. It's obvious why that's a no-no. On top of that, it has a single slot. Maybe there might be more unlocks if you level it up.

I'm banking on if I level this skill up it would ease up on the 'restrictions' somewhat. "Can you do 5?"

The merchant stares at me. I just stay silent. "You know this is a skill-specific to the taming class. I can't just give it away like that."

I want to say it's useless but I just shrug, "I'll give you 6, that's it." I turn to leave and start walking off.

The vendor calls out to me and calls me back. "Ok, you can have it for 7."

"What do you mean 7, 6 it is or keep it! It only has one slot and they can resist any command. What kind of skill is that!?"

The vendor decides to hand over the skill shard, he knows it's useless. I give him the six frags and leave. A few words helped me get it down by two frags, worth it!

I log out since the reward still isn't here. I decided to research the [Switch Build] Skill shard. Any information about it is good information.

Thing is, its like an in-game legend. The most basic information about is that it was granted by the First Dragon to the Mages of the time. What followed was an intense era of war and the Mage Kings. They combined the two classes of [Ruler] and [Mage] to wreak havoc on the continent.

Over time, the [Mage Kings] died and the only thing left behind in their wake were the [Switch Build] Shards. It just sounds like horse-crap to me. You can have [Ruler] and [Mage] as a class. This must be a rumor or something.

I just want to find out where did this skill shard come from. I go through UpJump's stream while munching on a tasteless protein bar, nothing. There's no concrete information about this.

The only credibility around this is that Kopi2Kopi. A high-level player gave an interview where she was claiming to hunt for it. She'd been prompted by the fact as to why she wasn't streaming for the past few weeks. She was very tight-lipped about any information.

That was the only credible source, which wasn't that credible at all. I am starting to doubt if this thing exists but I have to hunt for it. No matter what! I can't give up just like that. It exists! It exists and it exists!

I log back in and the reward for the quests has been processed. That's good. There's a follow-up quest. I decide to accept it since I need to go into the forest anyways to hunt for a beast.

I turn on [Hibernation Mode] and move through the forest down to their cave. The quest wants me to find out why they're reproducing right now, This isn't their season.

I stalk around them for a few hours but there's nothing until the afternoon. I choose some high ground and wait. I would turn on the record function if I had a newer rig model.

Instead, I just observe and make notes of their movements. They start preparing the cauldron. It starts with boiling hot water and then they pile in heaps and heaps of material. The amount of material they have is unending.

Then the shamans, the drum-beaters and the goblins with weird musical instruments come out. Thing is, I still have no idea why.

I decide to leave now, I've wasted too much time on this.

I have an idea of the type of creature I want to tame, a dryad. Dryad's have a very high affinity for magic. I can't take on a normal dryad, they're too high level. I would be blown out of the water.

The only way would be to find an abandoned dryad. Dryads, sometimes push out newer dryad's. It's due to rejection by older, more established dryad's. The main reason is a lack of resources.

I just need to be patient and wait. I remember those goblins throwing in a dryad leg, there should be a tribe around here.