16 {shadow lizards}

"if you do not want to craft them , that is fine too , im pretty sure some of your acquaintances will be interested in this material and also offer good prices, i have more of these anyways way , and i also can get you some other unique materials that you can experiment on and increase your crafting skills"

what desmon was hearing would have set any other blacksmith in his position on cloud nine, but experienced in life , he new that such a good thing dose not just fall from the sky, so he had some worry in him

"ill be honest, ill need a full time blacksmith in a month or two, and i will be hiring even more in the future, as a true blacksmith, i do not think you will ignore this once in a lifetime opportunity, to lay your eyes on new material and get the chance to refine them"

said dan with obvious desire in his tone

"why do u need a blacksmith for yourself and why will you be hiring more"

asked desmond, after his curiosity overcame his weariness

"hehe, come on, you cant expect me to just trust a stranger, right?"

"yeah, i guess you are right, it was too presumptuous of me to ask such a question"

said desmond while scratching his head and a stupid smile on his face.

"just know that like this unique material, i can get even stranger ones, and currently i am probably the only one to be able to do so, anyways "

"Like what?"

"you can find out now if you start working for me, or just wait a couple of months until it is public information and other blacksmiths all over the world will know as well "

"Anyways i have to leave, have other things to take care of , and ill see you soon , probably when all these spears are worn out"

with that said , dan leaves a curious and confused blacksmith to his thoughts, heading strait to the [Emerald Essence Canopy] to test his new weapons and head deeper in the forest to hunt and explore

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it was already mid day by the time dan walked three kilomiters deep, and so far he had faced the [Emerald antler Elk] and the [Emerald Leaf Snake]

if anyone could spot him right now in this forest where visibility is poor , they could see a silhouette with two spears on his back and a wide bright smile that could blind a person, plastered on his face.

'It truly is a different story with good equipment, i can just one hit kill these guys as long as i hit the brain or nervous system on their backs, and i feel no resistance when penetrating their skin or bones.'

in front of Dan's view, he was observing the giant pond under a cliff that had a waterfall providing the water for the pond, he was currently sitting atop a tree and observing the creatures that were quenching their thirst.

staying there he was scanning any creature for a suitable target

it was late in the evening until a suitable target finally showed up, it was a lizard with grey protruding rocks on his back and brown belly, four meters long and one and a half meters wide.

'lets see how difficult you might be to hunt

[Chaotic system]

[shadow lizard variant] Mid-stage

Health:100%

Stamina:100%

[Stats]

Strength: 3

Vitality: 4

Agility: 5

Intelligence: 3

Spirit: 5

[a lizard that has evolved into its shadow branch variant trough living in an environment with abundant shadow elements, the creature can use the shadow element's energy stored in their core to create attacks such as shadow claw, shadow movement, attack from shadows , ???????,????? (required higher scan stage to get more information ) absorbing the monster cores acquired from them might result in learning of a shadow skill that they are proficient at ]

'i only waited here to see what monsters i haven't seen since most that drop good loot got hunted to extinction before they got the chance to proliferate '

'so this is what White Shadow hunted that build his foundation into the shadow arts and magic, i wonder what kind of skill fragments are the question marks, and when my scan skill will increase in level'

after the lizard had its thirst quenched, it observed the area around it before it started heading west.

dan proceeded to follow, wanting to find the location where these shadow creatures have claimed as home.

on the way dan followed the [shadow lizard] from about a 90 meters distance keeping the lizard in the range of his superior senses to make sure not to loose this sneaky little devil and also to not be spotted.

fifteen minutes later, while traveling trough the dense forest cover with countless plant variants and species, the [shadow lizard] proceeds inside a ravine opening leading downward while cliffs covered with vines and moss appeared on the sides and the lower one went the wider the opening got, leading to a big opening surrounded by cliffs on the side and having a couple of cave entrances leading further underground.

'so this is the abode of these shadow lizard variants'

observing the lizard going deeper inside, dan decided to camp on the side of the cliff where he found a good hiding spot, a stone that had a smooth surface and covered with veins and some bushes was perfect for a hiding spot.

throughout the next two hours , dan observed a total of 65 shadow lizards going in and out of the caves, helping him deduce that the caves where and underground labyrinth like structure.

Since these creatures live in a group and exit from different caves , that means that all the caves might lead to one location, where all the shadow lizards live and protect their of-springs, and since its all dark , and the lizards are of the shadow element , the environment in those caves should have abundant shadow element energy for them to absorb and evolve.

'I could go inside the caves and start hunting there, but acquiring a shadow skill before entering the caves is a much better and safer option , even if the time spent here is longer, besides , i have no idea what to expect from in there, this is a new location for me, one that i have no memories of, which means this might have been kept as a private hunting grounds by that scum of a lord and his demonic like minions.'

Dan did not move a muscle until the next shadow lizard has appeared, walking out of a cave and heading towards the exit of this beautiful green ravine

seeing the shadow lizard he targeted walk towards the exit of the ravine , dan proceeded to follow it out before he jogged around it and waited atop a tree branch thirty meters ahead until the shadow lizard appeared under it, walking with its senses fully active the shadow lizard only noticed its attacker only two meter before it was hit from mid air, giving it time to dodge to the side, surviving the attack but only to end up having the eye on the right side stabbed trough, leading it to scream in pain and move further to the left while in pain ,

dan not giving it a chance to take a breath, attacked again in a swift movement and stabbed his spear trough the lizards limb behind the injured eye, leading to the shadow lizard having a blind right side with its right lib also dysfunctional resulting in it's movement and dodging speed reduced significantly.

in pain and not being able to observe from its right eye the lizard continued to run in the direction it could see, but with slower speed because of dysfunctional limbs pain.

dan bending his back backwards and stretching his spear holding arm in a trowing position instantly puts all his strength in the spear holding arm trowing the [antler spear] towards the lizards destroyed eye, penetrating strait trough to its brain, killing it on the spot.

taking a deep breath and releasing it with satisfaction dan proceeds to search for the Shadow lizards monster core

'isn't this nice, sneak and precise attacks are the best at preserving the body intact and acquiring the resources from the target , too bad i don't have a way to collect and carry all these materials and can only focus on the monster cores and hunting right now. '

[ding !]

acquired shadow lizard mid-stage monster core x1

[absorb to acquire a skill fragment and energy for evolution]

looking at the rice sized grey mid-stage monster core, dan was wondering which of the skill will the fragment be of, and not to keep himself in suspense , dan uses the chaotic system to absorb the shadow lizards mid-stage monster core

[ding!]

absorbed shadow lizard mid-stage monster core, acquired skill fragment: attack from shadows x1

skill fragment:

attack from shadows(1/10)

acquire all fragments to get skill and skill information

'hah , this is a good start, lets proceed with the sneak attack strategy, and increase my spear wielding skills '