While laying in the grass Sam looked at the Beast Bank. It had reached its max. And she gained a hilarious 4xp for that fight. With 6400xp to spend on her tames she quickly bumped everyone up to level 8. The added 20% damage would help with the rest of the quest.
With the upgrade to Tempy's main fighting skills, they got a bump to 23 damage, while Tempest Coil raised to 12. Her base damage also increased to 13 after sending her STP all to strength.
Iggy had similar gains with her campfire spark now doing 17 damage. Her STP was divided between strength and instinct. Giving her added base damage and a little boost to getting away and control over her flames.
Syn's Photosynth Shield finally got its upgrade, now absorbing 20% HP damage or reflecting 20% of the magical damage dealt. Thornfang Pounce also got a boost in power with its level up, now lasting for 10 seconds while dealing -6HP poison damage per second.
While Sam obviously didn't level up, the use of her Beast Tamer passive Keen Senses quietly worked in the background. She has assumed the increase was thanks to her perception but clearly it was a combination of the two. She was able to level it up to LVL 3 along with Bond Healing. She just had to incorporate her other passive animal empathy into her fights. However being murdered by aggressive animals kind of overpowered her empathy for them. She'd try to use it to calm the next beast to see if it helped.
They continued on their way, Sam looking for red dots on her map, hoping to catch sight of a Plains Stalker before it caught sight of them. A feat made a little bit difficult with a huge wolf walking with you.
A few hours later they found a group of three hunting antelope-like creatures. With them distracted they managed to catch them off guard. The added power up to her tames skills seemed to help a bit more and after a couple hours they managed to kill all three. They were a couple levels lower than the first one, which seemed to help, but the lack of the extra XP didn't. Still a good amount though.
They were even able to get a few antelope who were wounded from fighting their own battle. They turned out to be Glidehorn antelope. They had wings on their backs that helped them glide from ledges of cliffs. Typically bonded to riders who used them to traverse mountain sides. Her test of using her animal empathy didn't work too well on the Plains Stalkers but it worked to calm the panicked antelope, and she needed to use it quite a bit over them much to her delight. Though the poor things were suffering which dulled the joy over her gains. She did manage to get it to LVL 2.
The resources Sam obtained from them were their winged hide which could be used in agility gear, and their light weight bones that could be used to improve mobility enchantments. Crushed and mixed into the mana ink, they added a 40% bonus to the enchantments base stats. They also could be of use in crafting bows and arrows to improve their mobility through the air.
With only one beast left to kill for her quest, and the sun making its way to the horizon Sam figured now would be a good time to look for a camping spot. Hopefully one devoid of fireflies. They traveled towards a small wooded area, not much bigger than her property back in Dungeon City. It had a good size river running through it and according to her map it ended in the ocean. Since rivers were freshwater and ocean salt, she didn't have much hope for ocean biome creatures to be swimming in the river but living in this weird world she couldn't necessarily use earth logic when it came to its creatures.
After setting up camp, she made her way to the river. It was almost ten feet across dividing the small forest in two. Not particularly fast moving, she could see normal fish and some that were obviously integrated. Pulling her bow out, she wasn't too fond of the idea of getting into the river without at least testing some of those creatures. Plus she's had enough of being bitten and would like to keep her toes. Besides she wasn't quite sure if her spear would poison the meat of the fish, plus her accuracy with the bow was much better.
Attaching a thin cord to the arrow to haul it and it catch back, she took aim at a regular fish first. No point in angering an integrated one too early. With the power behind her bow the cord attached to the arrow didn't disrupt its flight at all and deftly hit a fish right in the head killing it instantly. She rugged it to shore, removing the arrow. The test proved easy enough so she used her inspect to find an integrated creature. She found a freshwater eel. Jarvis was kind enough to add to her inspect info.
{Freshwater Slick Eel - A slime coated eel. Not particularly tasty but has alchemical properties.
Name: Freshwater Slick Eel
Age: Adult
Species: Eel
Level: 8
Rarity: Common
Tier: Green
HP: 50/50
Highest Stats: Instinct (12), Strength (10)}
Aiming for its head she let the arrow fly. The water caused some drag against it causing the arrow to miss her initial target but it still hit the eel. Its strength was no joke. The cord quickly unraveled from the makeshift spool, but Sam caught it in time. Her strength, more than double its own, didn't cause much trouble, but it put up quite the fight. Getting it onto the shore she brought out a knife and removed its head while keeping it in place using the arrow. It dissolved into mana particles leaving behind a jar of slime and a couple pounds of meat. What she was hoping for rang in her head a moment later.
{Ding! Quest Component Acquired. Natural Selection Quest: Grasslands (Done), Forest (Done), Mountain (Done), River/Aquatic (Done).}
"Yes! Only one more. Say, Jarvis. Is a city considered a biome? Rats and the like are everywhere, but mainly in cities right?"
{"Hmm, you may be on to something there. I do believe a city would count as an Urban biome. Are you seriously going to hunt down rats?"}
"Whatever gets this quest done faster. The next closest biome is coastal but I think that eel knocked that one off the list. After that is the swamp or rainforest and that's miles away. I know I have enough food to last a while but that cot is not as comfortable as I hoped." She said, "Besides, the sooner I'm done the faster I can start going into dungeons."
{"Fair enough, they provide much better XP than out here. Sure there's lots of beasts, but the monsters in the dungeon also drop better loot."}
After 'fishing' some more normal fish, she made it back to the campsite. Iggy had made use of the campfire Sam had set up before she left. She cleaned the fish she caught and roasted them. Keeping one fire herself she gave the others to her carnivorous tames and brought out some food for Sunblaze.
She had set the eagle eggs beside her so she could make Sunblaze a little more comfortable by removing her saddle. She had a little over a day left until they were expected to hatch. Hopefully she could travel to Thrasien and pick up some kind of vermin quest. As a mainly agricultural city, she was sure they had to have a rat or mouse problem somewhere. It wouldn't really give her much XP but that wasn't really the goal.
While eating her dinner she opened her Enchant-opedia and rune index to see if there was any kind of inventory organization enchantment she could use on her bag. Anything that would help the mayhem that she was sure it contained. There were a few for various situations, self organizing drawers, ones for closets.
What she was happy to find was not an enchantment so much as an upgrade to the bag inventory enchantment she had used. It would add a sort function. It wasn't so much an added enchantment but an alteration to the original one. Taking out her brush and ink she sat the bag on her lap. The charcoal markings she used as a guide could still be seen, unlike the simpler runes that had been painted free hand on other things.
With a few strokes of her brush, she added the sort function, watching it disappear into the bag's material. When she opened the inventory interface for the bag, at the top of the screen was a drop-down menu. She could sort by weight, which puzzled her since nothing actually weighed anything inside the bag.
She could sort by the date collected, or alphabetically from both A-Z and also Z-A. She could also have it organized alphabetically by category. Weapons, Armor, Resources - Ores, Resources - Plants, even food was in its own category. This is the one she chose. Once she did, another drop-down menu popped up so she could skip to the category she wished. It was official, she loved magic.
As the sun slowly set, she kept watch while her tames slept. Keeping an ear out for any unusual noises, she looked over her newly organized bag. The extra resources would help with her crafting. She had a few hundred pounds of various raw ores and ingots. Plenty of various animal and plant fibers and for weaving into fabric. At least twenty different kinds of wood. The biggest surprise was the different crystals and other minerals. Some pretty high quality stuff.
The quest claimed salvage rights were hers, so she hoped this didn't come back to haunt her later. Closing the window screen she stared off into the distance looking for trouble. Her map didn't show anything nearby. Even for integrated beasts, at least the ones that didn't have an affinity for it, fires were instinctively avoided. Just as she was going to wake her tames to take over for her, she heard a rustling in the grass. With her keen sense skill boosting her perception, she knew whatever it was, it was small and her map didn't show any hostile creatures.
From the grass came an odd little mouse. Its facial features were slightly exaggerated, almost as if to make it look less threatening. Pulling a small bun from her newly acquired food stock, she broke off a piece tossing it just in front of the mouse.
{"Feeding the vermin are we now?"} Jarvis spoke {"I do believe that is a Whisperkin. A type of beast with a mental affinity. Probably using it right now to get you to feed it."} He said laughing.
"It's cute, I don't mind." Sam said, tossing another piece.
{Ding! Your skill Keen Senses is ready to upgrade.}
"Finally."
{Would you like to upgrade this skill?}
{Yes/No}
She mentally clicked yes
{Ding! Your Primary Class Beast Tamer has leveled up to LVL 2. You can now tame two extra tames.}
{You have gained four more skills.
Active skills:
Animal Empathy Surge LVL 1 - Calm or charm a beast. Boosts taming and reduces aggression. Doesn't affect bosses
Mana: 30 | Cooldown: 40s | Duration: 10s
Beast's Insight LVL 1 - Detect traps, hidden enemies, or escape routes within 30m.
Mana: 20 | Cooldown: 25s |Duration: N/A
Passive Skills:
Beast Familiarity LVL 1 – Knowledge of beast types, habitats, and weaknesses.
Enhanced Bond LVL 1 – Boosts Strength and Agility by 10% when near bonded beast. (Percentage increases with level)}
Trying out Animal Empathy Surge right away she focuses on the little mouse to draw it closer. Her new passive gives her enough knowledge to know this is definitely one tame she could use.
Triggering the skill brings a window up with the information.
{Name: Whisperkin
Species: Mouse
Affinity: Mental/Emotion/Truth detection
Classification: Support (Non Combatant)
Max Size: Tiny
Rarity: Rare or Higher
Typical Tier: Purple or Higher
Strengths: Stealth, Lie detection
Weaknesses: Low HP
And unusual beast as it seems to be dependent on a Tamer for most of the listed skills. Skills featuring an asterisk* are the only skills available to the beast (or a variation) in the wild.
Active Skills:
1. Truthscent*
Sniffs the air when someone speaks, highlighting deception or emotional dissonance. Visually marks liars a [TRUTH | LIE | OBFUSCATED] indicator. Also detects illusion-based magic or charm spells.
2. Emotional Echo
Can "echo" the surface emotions of nearby sentient beings to the bonded tamer. Helps detect tension, fear, guilt, or hidden motives in conversations.
3. Squeak of Warning*
Lets out a sharp squeak when danger, betrayal, or malicious intent is near.
Works even through magical silence, illusions, or false identity spells.
4. Insight Nuzzle*
Fluffs up and gently nudges the tamer when they're emotionally compromised.
Removes or reduces mental debuffs like Charm, Fear, or Despair if the bond is strong.
5. Pact Glimmer
For a brief moment, creates a magical aura that forces truth from anyone bound by oath or contract.
Passive Skills:
1. Aura of Honesty* - Slight calming influence in its presence. Reduces tension in groups, encourages openness.
2. Bond Whisper - Can "whisper" feelings directly into the tamer's mind — often in vague vibes, not words. E.g., "suspicious... warm... liar... run..."
3. Curse Nose* - Can detect cursed items, subtle manipulation magic, or possession attempts.
4. Tiny Pathwalker* - Can get into locked rooms, vents, walls, bags, etc. without being noticed. Often acts as an early warning system.
5. Tether of Comfort - Staying near the tamer gradually restores morale, stamina, and system focus.}
"Well, well little one, you are quite handy to have around aren't you?" Sam said, smiling at the little mouse. Pulling out a sack of gains she takes a handful before sending it back. "Come on, I won't hurt you. You should be able to tell, right?" She leans forward and the little mouse scurries up to her fingers. Obviously knowing she's being truthful.
{A connection has been found between you and a wild Whisperkin. Emotional trust 100%, Would you like to add it to your Tame List?}
Smiling Sam acknowledges the prompt with a yes.
{Ding! Congratulations you've tamed a Whisperkin. Beast Tames 5/6.}
Using inspect she checks out its details.
{Name: Whisperkin (M)
Age: Adult
Species: Mouse
Level: 5
Rarity: Epic
Tier: Red
Experience Level: 507
Health Points: 53/60
Mana Pool: 200/200
Mana Control: 10
Mana Regen: 20MP/a
Stats:
Vitality: 6
Strength: 4
Wisdom: 20
Instinct: 10
Skills:
Active Skills:
Truthscent LVL 3
Emotional Echo LVL 1
Squeak of Warning LVL 4
Insight Nuzzle LVL 2
Pact Glimmer LVL 1
Passive Skills:
Aura of Honesty LVL 3
Bond Whisper LVL 1
Curse Nose LVL 2
Tiny Pathfinder LVL 4
Tether of Comfort LVL 1}
"Welcome to the family little one, I'll be sure to tell the cats you're a friend not food." She laughs as the little mouse stops eating to look up at her. Tilting its little head, she hears its tiny voice in her head.
'Cats?' it squeaks 'Wait I can understand you?'
"Trick of the trade, and don't worry you'll meet them soon and you'll see."
{Ding! Quest component acquired. The More the Merrier - Elemental (done), Light (Done), Mental (Done)}
"Almost there." She says to herself.
Waking up the gang she introduces the new member of their family. Tempy and Iggy promise not to eat him after a short lecture from Sam. She imprints him to her pendant and Sam and her newest tame enter the tent for some much needed sleep.