Hello there, I know I said that the next chapter would have been up a couple days after the poll but I happened to find the translated versions of Re:Monster all the way to day 300 something which took up a lot of my time since I was reading it almost none stop. I also have a lot of midterms and assignments coming up since I am a university student and working on those also took up a lot of my time. Just letting you know that if updates are slow from Oct 20 to like Nov 5, it most likely because I am studying for midterms or working on assignments. No need to fret, I have no intention of dropping this fanfic, and If I do, I will let you guys clearly know, but I assure you, as of right now, I have no intention of dropping this fanfic. Also if you have any questions that you really want answered or suggestions that you really want to give me, send me a message to my inbox, I ve noticed that it notifies my email, which I check regularly, this means that if you do send a message, I will most likely, like 99.99% see it, unless maybe in the future where readers are sending me dozens of them then maybe not, but currently its only like 1-2 so its not an issue. ALSO, theres only 1 line of dialogue in this chapter but you will have noticed that it no longer has (Shar) or (Esla) in front of it and that is because I want to try to get away from that. Ive also taken some advice and put in like "Hi there" said John 2. Why hasnt the MC died yet? A: Well, beginning of games are usually pretty easy and most of the chapters hes been stuck inside the village so I guess I there really hasnt been a opportunity to do so? 3. Will you add my suggestions into the story? A: Possibly, but maybe not. It depends on whether it fits into the story and whether it will create plot holes or not, also I cant really have the MC have like 1000 pets so unfortunatly I cant add in everything. I will try tho. Okay I think thats it for now. Enjoy OH WAIT @TheWalkingOrange, How do I give you a cookie? Does cookie stand for something? Iam relatively new to these forums and forums in general so I have no clue what to do. Am I just supposed to be like. Here you go, a cookie for you :). 'Passes cookie over to TheWalkingOrange' WHAT DOES THIS MEAN???

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Shar woke up from his sleep still feeling relatively tired, last night events had exhausted him greatly and he could still feel the fatigue wearing down his body. Seeing that a dim light filled the small den, he noticed that it was still fairly early in the morning. Not wanting to waste any time, he quickly got up, ready to prepare some breakfast. Realizing that he had run out ingredients, he walked over to where Esla had fallen asleep, the small blanket still placed on top of her.

“Esla come, wake up. I need you to catch some rabbits for today’s breakfast.” Shar moaned tiredly, attempting to wake her up; however, his efforts seemed to be wasted as she simply did not reply. He felt quite worried since Esla often woke up early and was normally quite energetic in the morning; it was unusual for her to be so unresponsive.

Thinking that maybe he had missed an injury when he had examined her yesterday or that she had contracted some sort of illness, Shar pulled off the blanket in an attempt to get a closer look. However, what he saw shocked him. All he saw was a shriveled mass of what appeared to be her corpse. Although he knew that Esla was a computer generated entity and would revive in time, he could not help but feel regretful. Ever since the accident, Damien had grown reluctant to develop close relations with other individuals, and although he was quite friendly with Dr Adel and a couple of the nurses, he realized that they were simply fulfilling their duties.

In fact, although he often tried to maintain a positive outlook and a friendly attitude, deep inside he was still quite lonely; however, Esla’s appearance had changed all of that. For the first time in a while, he felt as if he was close to someone. Not only did she support him in battles, she also supported him mentally, allowing Shar to slowly recover from his fears and the fact that he had allowed her to die made him filled with regret. Wanting to give her body a proper burial, Shar picked up what remained of her body as he made his way outside. However, as he headed towards the exit, he heard a familiar screech followed by the sound of rapid pitter patters. Running outside, he couldn’t believe what he saw; there she was perfectly healthy and alive. Rushing over, Shar hugged her, astonished by the fact that she was okay.

Esla, on the other hand, simply stood there, confused but otherwise enjoying the hug. Releasing her, he saw that she was dragging numerous bundles of silk behind her, most likely a couple rabbits that she had managed to hunt this morning, he also noticed that she had grown a lot darker and faint red stripes could be seen running along her back, but what he noticed the most were the two sharp retractable knife like claws that protruded from her two foremost legs. Confused as to what had happened, Shar examined her:

Looking at the information before him, he finally put all the pieces together. Looking closely at the shriveled mass that he had mistook as Esla body, he realized that it was merely her old exoskeleton. He should have realized earlier when he had picked it up, for it was too light for what he thought it was, but his thoughts had been clouded at the time, which led to the misunderstanding. What likely happened was that Esla had evolved at some point in the night while Shar was asleep, explaining why he wasn’t notified of the change.

Simply glad that nothing happened to her, he unraveled the small bundles of silk. Grabbing the rabbits and skinning them, he went ahead and proceeded to gut them before seasoning them lightly. Restarting up the fire using the flint he had purchased previously, Shar gave the grill a moment to heat up, before placing the rabbit meat onto the grill. While he was waiting for his meal to cook Esla was already in the process of eating her meal since she preferred her meat raw. Seeing that his meal was ready he dug in, quite hungry due to yesterday’s battle. Feeling satisfied after finishing his meal, he motioned for Esla to come. Getting up, she prepared to climb down from the sturdy branch that she was resting on. Knowing that she was quite quick on her feet, Shar went ahead, heading even further north.

However, taking a couple steps outside of the clearing he immediately stopped in his tracks. Before him was a relatively large Green Slime, and although it stood still, Shar knew that the slime would most likely not allow him to leave without a fight. Pulling out his weapons, he judged that by the size of the slime, it was most likely level 9 or 10; however, he wasn’t worried, he himself was level 9 and was confident that he could win in a duel, but what he wasn’t prepared for was the second Green Slime that hopped out of the bush to his right. Looking at the two Green Slimes, Shar felt his confidence waver but was unwilling to give up, quickly rushing forward, he managed to catch one of the slimes off guard, getting in a powerful vertical slash, wounding one of the slimes. However, Shar had put too much strength into his swing, leaving his sides vulnerable. Immediately after, he felt a powerful blow to left side, throwing him to the ground.

Struggling to catch his breath, he could see that the damaged slime had already recovered and was readying itself to attack while the second slime was already heading his way. Raising his sword up, Shar managed to block the first attack, but knew that he would unable to block the second one undoubtedly coming his way. Preparing himself for the inevitable, he saw a dull blur in the corner of his eye rushing towards the wounded the slime. Getting into close range of the slime, the blur suddenly disappeared and in its place was Esla, who had her claws placed over the slime, ready to stab downwards. Esla proceeded to stab viciously, ripping out small chunks of the slime with every jab, although the slime struggled furiously, she held on, using her 6 other legs to tightly grip onto the slime. Slightly distracted due to Esla’s sudden appearance, Shar barely had enough time to block an incoming attack.

Seeing that Esla was doing a good job of keeping one of the slimes occupied, he charged forward, determined to do his part. Although he attacked rigorously, the slime weaved left and right making use of its gelatinous body, dodging most of his attacks. Despite the fact that he was unable to get a clean hit in, the slime was not without damage, upon it’s body were numerous small cuts, showing the intensity of Shar’s attack. Unfortunately, due to his reckless attacks, Shar had depleted the majority of his stamina, forcing him to take on a defensive stance. Launching itself towards Shar, the slime aimed for his opponent’s right arm, for it knew that if it managed to disarm Shar, it would most likely be victorious. However, the slime intentions were too clear. Pulling his sword back, Shar swung fully, right into the trajectory of the incoming slime. Unable to stop or change its direction midair, the slime could only watch helplessly at the sword coming its way. Coming into contact with the sword, the slime’s tough membrane attempted to resist against the incoming slash only to be cut through almost instantaneously. Due to the slime’s momentum and Shar’s swing, the sword easily passed through the rest of the slime, only to be stopped by the solid core residing within its body; however, the impact had destroyed the fragile core, reducing it to numerous small fragments. No longer able to hold to its physical shape, the slime dissolved into a slimy residue before fading away.

Turning to see how Esla was doing, he saw that she had already disposed of her target, as she held a small green core in her mouth, holding onto it proudly as if it was a trophy. Going back to where his slime had died, Shar was slightly disappointed to see that he had damaged the core too much, making it practically useless. Not even bothering to pick up the small remnants, Shar decided to take a closer look at Esla’s status, interested by the skills that she displayed.

(Shar) “Pet Status: Esla”

Race: Dark Hooded Spider Level: 10

Health: 143/170 Mana: 75/100

Strength: 18 Vitality: 17

Agility: 35 Wisdom: 10

Intelligence: 12

Affinities: Dark[5]

[Skills]

Stealth - Beginner 1

Back Stab (Passive) - Beginner 1

Looking at her status, Shar could see that Esla’s evolution had led her to become a rogue type fighter. With her skills and high agility, she was now capable of moving fluently and stealthily while delivering quick attacks. Although her strength was relatively low, it appears that she made up for the lack of damage with a higher attack speed. Quite happy to see that Esla was growing steadily, he gave her a small pat on the head, which resulted in a happy screech from the spider.

Continuing his adventure that had been rudely interrupted by the two slimes, Shar began to walk north; Esla following close behind him. Although they ran into a couple green slimes every now and then, they were quickly taken care of by the pair.

Cutting down another green slime that they had bumped into, Shar saw the familiar in-game notification come up, notifying him that he had leveled up. After putting his sword back into its sheath and picking up the Cracked Green Slime Core, Shar distributed his unallocated skill points into vitality. Although before he had mostly focused on strength and agility, with Esla’s new evolution, it was no longer necessary since he was not the sole damage dealer; instead, he felt that it would be more beneficial for them if Shar focused on being a tough front liner that could absorb a lot of damage while Esla focused on dealing the damage.

Now that he was level 10, it was time for him to soon pick up a class; however, it was not something that he wanted to pick without having put a lot of thought into. Classes were vital in creating a strong character, and although each class had various strengths and weaknesses, not all classes were equal. Rare classes and unique classes also existed within the game, and although these classes were difficult to find, they often possessed unique and powerful abilities, making them highly sought after. However, just because a player managed to obtain a rare or unique did not necessarily mean that they would be strong, a lot of these classes often fit niche positions and would not normally fit into a regular team; in addition, most of these classes required a lot of skill and training in order to played properly and often took longer to develop.

Due to his physical condition, Damien often spent his time outside of the game researching various aspects of All World Online. Because of this he had managed to attain a wide and extensive knowledge base of the game and despite the several issues involved in attaining and training a rare or unique class, he had come to the conclusion that having one would be beneficial to him in the long run. With that, he had made up his mind; he was determined to get a rare or unique class no matter the difficulty. However, Shar still felt slightly disappointed when he thought about amount of time he had invested into researching the game which he could have spent actually playing. Considering that one hour in real life was equivalent to four hours in game, there was a lot he could have accomplished; however, he quickly put the thought aside. Although researching had somewhat limited his time in game, it would, in the long run, help him make better choices that could have a significant impact in the future.

Unfortunately, due to his attention being elsewhere, Shar had bumped into a tree, resulting in a slight injury to his nose. Although his body was still perfectly fine, his pride felt quite damaged due to the embarrassment he felt. Looking at Esla, he noticed that she was looking at him quite pitifully which only resulted in his ego being further damaged. Deciding to pay attention to what he was doing, Shar continued walking through the dense forest, his thoughts completely focused on his surroundings.

Just then, a small blurred creature shot out from underneath one of the bushes to his left, luckily for Shar, due to his focus being on his surroundings, he had managed to react quickly, pulling out his sword and deflecting the attack. Managing to get a good look at his attacker, he saw that it was a rabbit; however, this rabbit was quite large and a sharp horn was protruding from its head. Considering that the horn appeared to be in perfect condition despite being deflected by Shar’s sword, the horn was most likely quite durable. Taking a better look at the creature, he saw that it was a level 13, which was quite surprising due to its cute appearance. However, Shar merely ignored that aspect, all that mattered was the fact it had attacked him and therefore needed to be rid of. Although the rabbit had displayed tremendous speed and would have normally been a difficult opponent, Shar was not alone. Esla during this time had gone into stealth and stuck up behind the rabbit, holding the creature in place with her eight appendages. Unable to break free from Esla’s grip, the Horned Rabbit had lost its greatest asset, its speed. Seeing how helpless the creature was, Shar quickly disposed of the rabbit, in which it faded away, leaving behind its horn, a small pelt and some rabbit meat. Picking up the items and putting them into his inventory, Shar kept on moving, unfazed by the sudden attack.

Along their journey, they had bumped into a couple more Horned Rabbits which were quickly taken care of and looted. Although the Horned Rabbits were quite strong, they were no match for the combined strength of Esla and Shar. The rabbits also provided tremendous amounts of experience, allowing Esla to reach level 15 and Shar level 14. Noticing that it was getting quite dark, Shar prepared a quick meal for Esla before preparing to log off. Even though he did not want to leave Esla by herself in the woods, his real body desperately needed some sleep. Although sleeping in game helped to some degree, he still needed a good night’s rest every other day in order to feel refreshed. Thankfully, Esla was now a lot more capable of taking care of herself due to her evolution. Since Esla could climb and sleep in a tall tree, the risk of a predator attacking her was low; however, the possibility did still exist. But now, due to her becoming much stronger and gaining the stealth ability, Shar had confidence that Esla would be able to escape from any creature that inhabited these woods. Saying good night to Esla, Shar logged off, getting some much needed rest.