Chapter 3 — |The Beast of Gévaudan .
Chapter 3 — |The Beast of Gévaudan .
They took their mounts. But first, they stopped by a tavern to have a drink and eat something before setting off on the adventure.
They arrived at the tavern, and they left their horses outside. They went inside; the tavern was packed with hunters.
"I hope you drink alcohol. Let’s eat a little bite before leaving," Lyra said.
"Yes," Kaelen said, scratching his head.
They approached a table. They sat down, and the waitress approached them.
"Welcome to the tavern. What would you like?" asked the waitress.
"We would like your Tuesday menu," Lyra said.
"Alright," the waitress said.
"What is the Tuesday menu?" asked Kaelen.
"It’s pork with potatoes, accompanied by an excellent homemade drink. This is where hunters come to celebrate after a victory," the waitress explained.
The waitress brought two bowls of pork with two cups of homemade drink.
"Dear friends and colleagues, we have a new hunter among us; his name is Kaelen. Let’s raise our glasses for his commitment and his new mission," Lyra said.
The crowd went wild.
"You didn’t have to. Thank you anyway," Kaelen said.
They began to eat. Kaelen savored the food as if he hadn’t eaten for about 20 days. They thoroughly enjoyed it.
After the food, Lyra paid, and they went out. They took their horses.
"The food was good, and the drink wasn’t bad either. What is it even made of?" asked Kaelen.
"You shouldn’t know," Lyra said.
They left the capital. They rode across the plains. After a few hours on the horses, they arrived at a mountain. From afar, a dark forest could be perceived.
"We have arrived. You see, it’s the Black Forest. Where the beast hides," Lyra said.
"So this is my first mission, a dungeon in a forest. We will have some fun," Kaelen said.
They went down the hill. Lyra was in front; she entered the forest first, and Kaelen followed.
"It’s really dark in this forest even though it’s the middle of the day," Kaelen said.
"It’s not for nothing they call it the Black Forest," Lyra said.
They ventured deeper and deeper into the forest. Kaelen cast a spell. A flame appeared in front of them.
"How did you do that?" asked Lyra.
"I am a mage, and I have more than one trick up my sleeve," Kaelen said.
The forest was illuminated; they could see clearly now. They arrived in front of a crypt.
"This is the entrance to the dungeon," Lyra said.
"Let’s go," Kaelen said.
They went inside, but not with the horses; they left the horses outside in the forest. They were inside the dungeon, and the flames lit up on their own like a mechanism. The door closed behind them immediately.
[System: You have just entered a level 2 dungeon.]
The system message was displayed in front of Kaelen. He quickly understood what he was dealing with.
They ventured deeper and deeper into the dungeon. Reaching a certain level, they saw two tunnels. So they decided to separate: Lyra took the left one, and Kaelen took the right one.
Kaelen, already inside his tunnel, brought up the system and cast a "presence check" spell while the system checked the surroundings of the tunnel.
On the other side, in her tunnel, she saw human skeletons and decomposing animals.
"It really smells like death here," she said.
Despite that, she continued to move forward. She heard a noise as if someone was following her, and she held her sword tightly against herself.
"I hope there are no weird insects in here," Lyra said.
She kept advancing. A spider got into her hair, and she started screaming.
"What is this again, a spider? I hate them," Lyra said.
She continued to advance alone in this tunnel.
[System: Threat at the end of the tunnel, but it turns out a power growth crystal is located at the end of the tunnel; it is essential for you to retrieve it. Because this allows you to increase more powers and knowledge. But the snake king guards it.]
While Kaelen evaluated the situation on his side, Lyra was getting closer and closer to the beast of Gévaudan.
She arrived at the end of the tunnel and stepped out. She saw a mountain of skeletons. The beast was at the top, resting.
"Looks like I found the beast that terrifies the inhabitants," Lyra said.
It was a beast, so imposing, large with claws.
While Lyra evaluated the situation, Kaelen had already exited the tunnel. He fell toward a pool of blood; fortunately, his shield protected him, so he didn’t fall inside. He used a gravitation spell that allowed him to be stable.
He approached the crystals at the very top to retrieve them. From the depths of the pool of blood, a large snake came out with steel scales.
The snake stopped.
"Young human, why do you disturb my sleep?" the Giant Snake asked.
"I am here for the power growth crystals," Kaelen said.
"Many people like you have tried but always end up in the pool of blood. I advise you to turn back because I have already dined, and this is your only chance," the Giant Snake said.
"I am going nowhere," Kaelen said.
He got into a combat stance and drew a legendary sword, "Sword of the Holy Christ."
The snake launched blasts of venom in the form of crystals. Thanks to his shield, Kaelen stopped these two blasts, but one deflected and hit the wall.
Kaelen attacked the giant snake with incredible speed. The snake blocked his sword strikes with its crystal tail. The combat was intense, truly intense.
Kaelen stepped back and brought up the system.
"Now let’s get serious. Meteorite ball system."
A rain of meteorites began to rain blood. The snake’s crystal walls began to melt; it wanted to flee toward the pool of blood to take refuge. But Kaelen immediately cast "Gravity Press system." The snake was immobilized and could no longer move. Kaelen approached it and chopped off its head in a single strike.
Slash!
The head fell into the pool with the rest of the body. He rushed to retrieve the crystals. After retrieving his crystals, the system appeared.
[System: Congratulations, you have defeated this snake boss. You obtain a bonus of 1000 XP, cognitive capacity developed.]
Kaelen understood that the beast was not here and that Lyra might be in danger. So he set off.
While Kaelen was arriving, the beast woke up; it caught Lyra’s scent. It began to sniff.
Foum-foum.
Lyra understood immediately; she hid behind a pillar.
The beast launched a fireball that destroyed the pillar; Lyra made it out just before the impact. She drew her silver sword, and the beast descended the skeletal steps.
"Stranger, why have you come to disturb my sleep? What audacity," the Beast of Gévaudan said.
"I am here for you because you kidnap the villagers. I came to put an end to all of this," Lyra said.
"So you think that on your own you can defeat me?" asked the beast.
"Yes," Lyra said.
"For years, everyone who tried has died. I hope you understand the gravity of the situation you are in," the beast said.
"Enough talking, let’s begin," she said.
She charged at the beast with truly incredible strength; the beast did nothing but dodge.
The beast launched another fireball, but this time, Lyra stopped it with her sword; winded by the blast, she lost her balance.
She tried to combine her movements even more with the sword by using her ultimate technique, "Slime Divine Transgression." A great white light burst from her sword, piercing the entire area until it cut the Beast of Gévaudan in two.
"Finally, I got it with my ultimate technique. My mana is depleted," Lyra said.
She collapsed to the ground but was still conscious.
But to her surprise, the beast regenerated at an insane speed. She saw the scene.
"How is it possible that you are still alive?" asked Lyra.
"I warned you, I am the Beast of Gévaudan; I regenerate instantly. But pity for you, I thoroughly enjoyed our fight," the beast said.
The beast approached Lyra and drove its claws deep into her abdomen. She screamed in pain, gravely injured.
Presently, as the beast was preparing to finish her off, a massive bolt of blue magic struck between them.
Kaelen appeared, surrounded by his holographic screens of digital glitches. With a single gesture of his hand, without any effort, he launched an overpowering elemental spell that instantly disintegrated a limb of the beast, which was nevertheless regenerating.
Lyra was in shock seeing this second-rate mage become so strong in power. Kaelen’s system reappeared:
[System: Second quest: Save the ally. Reward: 500 XP. Good luck.]
Lyra couldn’t believe her eyes; she was saved by a second-rate mage.
"But who are you? I didn’t even hear you coming," growled the beast.
"I am Lyra’s comrade. I am here to put an end to your massacres," Kaelen said.
"You hurt me. I hate it when people touch my limbs," roared the beast, straightening itself up.
Kaelen smiled slightly while adjusting his stats screens.
"You haven’t seen anything yet. Let’s begin!"