Chapter 101 Homesteading in a fantasy world
Added 2022-11-07 16:58:57 +0000 UTCIt was Monday again. For the rest of the week everything went quite normally but last night I felt a predator enter my land that was not supposed to be there. This morning I got a better idea of what it is and where it’s headed. Unfortunately, it will come quite close by and most likely will notice us. If I understand correctly, it’s a huge Wolf most likely a monster as its energy density is quite high.
So today I did not go with my apprentices to the village instead I started to gear up when they left. But before I left, I thought of my animals and that it might be a good idea to bring them. They are all quite big already and I think it’s time to stop babying them all.
I went and let them all out and brought out Goose as well. I practised the commands and hand gestures with them constantly. I got their attention and started to explain as best as I could what was going to happen.
Their excitement quickly tied down about being let out. For a moment I questioned if I was making the correct choice but when I looked at them, I know that it was time. They were all bigger than the largest dogs on earth. They were true wolves with white fur for the winter and it was time to add some red into the mix.
It was time to teach them what it meant to be a true wolf and be in a pack protecting its territory. It was easier to make Goose understand what was needed to be done thanks to our bond and he started to fly high to get into scouting distance.
While yes, I knew exactly where the prey was, we won’t always be on my land and having a scout up high is an extreme advantage I want to learn how to use. We left quickly going over the bridge.
When we went past it, I noticed that the edges of the river are starting to freeze. It won't be too long now until the river is frozen, and anyone can walk over it. If the goblins were smarter and just waited to attack me until winter, they could have just walked across, and I could have done nothing to stop them.
Our prey was quite a distance away, but it was approaching quickly. It was towards the lake and came from the higher energy and mana density area. There were a few clearings that we could use for the ambush. We traversed the distance quickly. I brought my longbow, the big spear and on top of that, I carried my two-handed sword. The hand axe was brought just in case I needed to make some traps.
We made it to the clearing faster than I expected, and I quickly surveyed it. We started to set up. My plan was quite simple the wolves and I were going to camouflage ourselves into the snow. Them using their natural fur and me using my rabbit fur cloak. We were going to use Goose to bring it here. He was going to pretend that his protecting his nest to get the attention of the wolf monster.
We had to wait for about 2 hours in the freezing snow, but I was no stranger to this kind of and activity. Finally, we started hearing Goose making noise and closely followed was a deep roar that didn't sound anything like a wolf.
It didn’t take long after that until we could hear it running towards us and I quickly took a peek at what was happening. It was a wolf as tall as a human with matted fur that was different colours of black and grey with some bald spots chasing Goose as he was trying to fend off the wolf making it believe that this way was a nest that it could get some eggs to eat.
Why I didn’t just let Goose annoy him so he would start following him was because I learned that monsters can be quite smart and that action would be quite obvious for anyone to figure out that this way might be an ambush.
I calmly watched and waited to give the signal to begin our plan but unfortunately, my wolves were not quite up to the task of staying completely still. The wolf monster only got about 10 meters into the clearing which was around 200 meters wide when his head snapped towards one of the hidden wolves.
This didn’t stop it only made him start to go towards the wolf that it noticed. If it had time to think it would have known that he was making a mistake, but he was too full of adrenaline to think clearly. If I made the plan counting on green wolves that have never been in a proper battle being able to stay still, I would have been a complete moron, so I did not do that. I quickly got up and yelled my own battle cry and started to rush towards it. This is the signal for the wolves to start moving as well.
The wolves were not spaced out or alone. They were in two groups of four and the most intimidating one was with Freya. While she was not as big as this monster, she was still the biggest among the attacking wolves.
I didn’t make a mistake thinking that this monster would be quick on its foot and as soon as I revealed myself, he quickly sidesteps just in case making my thinking correct that anything shot would miss. Now that its attention was on the two bigger threats, I had time the line up a shot and filled it with energy and activate different effects on the arrow to make it more damaging.
I didn’t have time to charge it fully to make it a truly devastating attack as it would take too long. Then the monster would figure out that the wolves were just a distraction. I already knew that this wolf monster would be able to quite easily kill any of my animals as I’m quite certain that it is at least silver. But their distractions would work quite excellently and later when the wolf monster was hurt then they might become more useful.
I released the arrow and instantly the wolf monster noticed it and tried to dodge but the distraction gave enough time for it to still hit deep inside its chest and it left out a paint cry and was now fully focused on me.
I didn’t want to let him wait and I was pretty certain that any other arrow would be quite useless so even before the arrow hit, I had already dropped my bow and picked up my spear and used my moment ability to get as close as possible.
What I didn’t expect was there to suddenly be a wall of earth spikes between me and him. I couldn’t slow down and had to barrel through them. This made me lose grip on my spear and when I was finally through the spike wall, I saw it fly further away thanks to an impact with a spike.
Luckily my armour ability was able to keep me from skewering myself but my opportunity to attack was missed and I got a claw swipe in return. Everything happened so fast that I didn’t have time to activate my other abilities so I was sent flying to this side a few meters and quickly had to roll myself to get back on my feet. “SURROUND, CIRCLE.” I quickly yelled out to the wolves as some of them wanted to rush in to help me.
This made them stop and go back to circling our fight. It seems that it was quite surprised that I was completely alright. While I did have a few claw marks on my armour they were only shallow scratches. If I wouldn’t have my armour ability activated not only, would I be pierced by the spikes I would be missing an arm right now. We were both eyeing each other and slowly starting to circle one another.
This time I was fully focusing on trying to see everything it was doing. So, it did not come as a surprise as it started to gather energy in its mouth and the next moment a basketball-sized rock shut out of its open mouth and headed with quite a speed towards me. But it was too slow to make me do anything more than a simple sidestep to dodge it. It did not like me dodging it so easily. I thought that he might be able to make it faster if we made the rock smaller.
This monster being capable to control earth to some extent was quite troubling and it was feeding his manipulation with energy meaning that this was elemental magic. This form of magic was only possible through the system with abilities that used energy as fuel.
This form of magic was not particularly valued by the sentient species and was mostly used by monsters. All the abilities seem to have some form of control over the elements similar to benders in avatar. Although they are a lot more limited compared to that. Like with this wolf it would seem that he has only access to the two abilities it showed off.
It tried to move towards one of the wolves to break the encirclement, but I instantly start to move forward drawing my two-hander and cutting short his escape attempt. I rushed in again but this time I didn’t use my movement ability so I could see its energy moving from one of its paws into the ground and towards me.
I quickly stopped so I wouldn’t run into another spike wall that formed a few meters ahead of me. It would seem that it has a limited range. Elemental magic truly is quite limited I wonder if the power of true benders can be achieved.
I didn’t want to give it more time to think of a solution, so I did another run towards it, and it again made a spike wall in front of me. But this time I was ready and again using my body I broke through the spike wall and then right after used my movement ability to get close to him. This time surprising it. Unfortunately, this didn't give me a lot of time to make my strike strong enough to end this fight with one strike, so I was only able to get a shallow wound on one of each front leg.
But this time its counterattack didn’t push me back as I used my ability to make myself weigh more and just tanked the hit and made another strike this time it was a lot more powerful and left a deep wound on his other leg.
But after that I needed to quickly retreat as this time he was coming in for a bite and I was not feeling confident about my armour's ability to resist it. The next exchange was not so favourable for me, and I only got one shallow cut before I needed to retreat. We kept going and we both soon figured out I had more energy and stamina than it and slowly I could see panic starting to colour its eyes.
No matter how cold-hearted monsters are supposed to be it seems that this one still was afraid of death. The wounds that I had given it were starting to pile up and making him weaker. Thanks to that it didn't see Freya coming when she took a small chunk of its back leg.
It was still able to react quickly, but I didn’t let the opportunity go by and another wound was given before it could do anything to Freya. I think at that moment it knows that it was going to die. This didn't make the fight easier but the opposite. Now it had nothing to lose.
In the few following exchanges, I almost lost a part of my body every time as its teeth almost got me multiple times. If I wasn’t ready for this change of pace and for the ferocity I might have lost. But now it just made the fight more dangerous.
A few more deep wounds one on its side and one making its left front leg completely useless signified the end of this fight. It was still able to keep going but now the wolves could help and when Goose was able the blinded it by crawling out its eyes, I could finally put the end to its pain with a clean thrust into its heart.
Comments
Almost a week passed since my chat with Bert, and the sun rose on yet another Monday. The week was mostly uneventful, but last night I felt a presence enter my land that was not supposed to be there: a predator. This morning I got a better idea of what it was and the path it’s taking. Unfortunately, it will come quite close by and there is little chance it will not notice us. If I understand correctly, it’s a huge Wolf and from the high energy density I can sense, it is most likely a monster. With that in mind, I did not go with my apprentices to the village but started to gear up as soon as they left. Before I headed out, I thought of my animals and how it might be a good idea to bring them along. They are all born hunters, and their behaviour, if not their size, tells me it’s time to stop babying them. I went and let them all out and brought out Goose as well. I have constantly practised the commands and hand gestures with them and went through another set out of habit. I got their attention and started to explain as best as I could what I expected to happen. Their enthusiasm about being left out quickly died down. For a moment I questioned if I was making the right choice but when I looked at them, I knew that it was time. They were all bigger than the largest dogs on earth. They were true wolves, and it was high time for their white winter fur to be died in red. It was time to teach them the essence of a true wolf and a pack protecting its territory. Our bond made it easier for Goose to understand his role, and he soared high in the sky to get into scouting distance. Admittedly, I knew exactly where our quarry was and their heading, but we won’t always have this advantage. If we are outside my land, having a scout up high is an extreme advantage, and I definitely want to have this ace in my pocket. We made our way quickly towards the bridge, and when we went past it, I noticed that the edges of the river were starting to freeze. It won't be too long now until the river is fully frozen, and anyone can just walk over it. If the goblins were smarter and waited to attack me until winter, they could have just walked across, and I could have done nothing to stop them. A shudder went down my back that had nothing to do with the cold in the air. Our prey was quite a distance away but was approaching quickly. It was towards the lake and made its way from the higher energy and mana density area. There were a few clearings that could be ideal for the ambush. I brought my longbow, the big spear and on top of that, I carried my two-handed sword. I had also strapped the hand axe in case I needed to make some traps. We made it to the clearing faster than I expected and after a quick survey, we started to set up. My past life and countless experiences have ingrained the requirement to keep plans simple. The clearing was about 200 meters wide. The wolves and I were going to group up in a semi-circle and camouflage ourselves into the snow. Their natural fur was made for this, and I would make do with my rabbit fur cloak. We were going to use Goose to lure the wolf here. He was going to pretend that he was protecting his nest to occupy the attention of the wolf monster. We had to wait for about 2 hours in the freezing snow, but I was no stranger to this kind of activity. Finally, we started hearing Goose, closely followed by a deep roar that sounded nothing like a wolf to my ears. In a split second the roar was replaced by the sound of it running towards us. I risked a quick peek at what was happening. A wolf as tall as a human, with matted black and grey fur and some bald spots was making his way towards us. Goose was trying to fend it off making it believe that he would not allow his nest behind him to be a meal for the wolf. I considered sending Goose to annoy him and get the wolf to give chase, but I have learned that monsters can be smarter than regular animals. I could not risk it, as that might make it obvious to anyone that they were getting led to an ambush. I patiently watched and waited for the right moment to give the signal to begin our plan. Unfortunately, my wolves were not quite up to the task of staying completely still. The wolf monster got less than 10 meters into the clearing when his head snapped towards one of the hidden wolves. This didn’t stop the monster; it only made him change target to the wolf that it spotted. Perhaps with more time to think it would have known that he was making a mistake, but the adrenaline did not let him think clearly. No plan survives first contact with the enemy, and this maxim is valid no matter which world one happens to be in. Had I expected my inexperienced wolves to follow the plan and lay perfectly still, I would have been a moron. I am not, and anyone able to argue that point is not around in this life, so I did my best not to act like one. I quickly got up from my position and started to rush towards it with my own battle cry. This was the signal for the wolves to start moving as well. The wolves were not spaced out or alone. They were in two groups of four and the most intimidating one was led by Freya. While she was not as big as this monster, she was still the biggest among the attacking wolves. I expected this monster to be quick on its feet, and my judgement didn’t prove wrong. As soon as I revealed myself, he reacted with a quick sidestep, seemingly expecting a ranged attack. Now that its attention was split between two bigger threats, I had time to line up a shot and fill it with energy and activate different effects on the arrow. I didn’t have time to fully charge it for a truly devastating attack as it would take too long. By then the monster would figure out that the wolves were just a distraction. I could already tell that this wolf monster would be able to easily kill any one of my animals, as I’m quite certain that it is at least silver rank. But their distractions would work for the moment and later, when the wolf monster was hurt, they might become more impactful. I released the arrow and instantly the wolf monster noticed the attack and tried to dodge out of the way. The distraction created by Freys’s pack bought enough time for the arrow to sink deep inside its chest. The monster let out a pained cry and turned his focus fully on me. I didn’t want to give him any breathing room and I was pretty certain that another arrow would be useless. Even before the arrow hit, I had already swapped my bow with my spear and used my movement ability to get as close as possible. What I didn’t expect was a wall of earth spikes to suddenly erupt between me and him. I couldn’t slow down and had to barrel through them. This made me lose grip on my spear and when I was finally through the spike wall, it had flown away from me thanks to the impact. Luckily my armour ability was able to keep me from skewering myself but my opportunity to attack was gone and I even got a claw swipe in return. Everything happened so fast that I didn’t have time to activate my other abilities, so I was sent flying a few meters to the side. I somehow was able to turn my body enough and get into a roll to get back on my feet. “SURROUND, CIRCLE.” I quickly yelled out to the wolves, as some of them wanted to rush in to help me. My orders made them stop and go back to circling our quarry. It seems that it was quite surprised that I came out of his attack unscathed. While I did have a few claw marks on my armour, they were only shallow scratches. If I didn’t have my armour ability activated, not only would I be pierced by the spikes, but I would be missing the better part of an arm right now. We locked eyes as we slowly started to circle one another. This pass I was fully focusing on trying to see everything it was doing. So, it did not come as a surprise as it started to gather energy in its mouth followed the next moment by a basketball-sized rock shot out of its open mouth and headed swiftly towards me. But it was still too slow for me, and it took no more than a simple sidestep to dodge it. The ease that I was showing in dealing with its attacks seemed to displease the monster. I thought he might be able to attack faster if he made the rock smaller. This monster being capable of controlling earth, even if only to some limited extent, was quite troubling. It seemed that it was feeding his manipulation with energy, meaning that this was elemental magic. This was magic that was only possible through the system, with abilities that used energy as fuel. This form of magic was not particularly valued by the sentient species and was mostly used by monsters. All the abilities seem to have some form of control over the elements, much like in the Avatar universe. Although the abilities here appear to be a lot more limited compared to that. This wolf seems to only have access to the two abilities it showed off. It made a jump towards one of the wolves to break the encirclement, but I instantly moved forward drawing my two-hander and cutting short his escape attempt. This time I didn’t rush in using my movement ability, so I could see its energy moving from one of its paws into the ground and towards me. I quickly stopped to avoid another spike wall that formed a few meters ahead of me. It would seem that the ability has a limited range. Elemental magic truly is quite limited and for a moment my thoughts drifted to wonder if the power of true benders can be achieved. I didn’t want to give it more time to think of a solution, so I threw myself towards it again, and it again responded with a spike wall in front of me. But this time I was ready! I enhanced my body and broke through the spike wall and followed with my movement ability to get close to him. This time I was able to surprise it. Unfortunately, this didn't give me enough time to imbue enough strength in my sword to end it with one strike, but I was able to get a shallow wound on both front legs. Its counterattack didn’t push me back, as I used my ability to make myself weigh more and just tanked the hit. I did make him pay with another strike; this one was a lot more powerful and left a deep wound on his other leg. But after that attack, I needed to make a hasty retreat. He was coming in for a bite and I was not feeling confident about my armour's ability to resist it. The following exchange was not so favourable for me, and I got one shallow cut before I needed to retreat. We kept going and we both came to realise that I had more energy and stamina than it did, and slowly I could see panic rising in its eyes. No matter how cold-hearted monsters are supposed to be, it seems that this one still was afraid of death. The wounds were starting to pile up and make him weaker. Thanks to that it didn't see Freya launching an attack and she came out of the exchange with a small chunk of its back leg between her teeth. It was still able to react quickly, but I didn’t let the opportunity go by and landed another strike before it could do anything to Freya. I think at that moment it realised that it was going to die. This didn't make the fight easier; quite the opposite in fact. With nothing to lose, the fight just got significantly more dangerous. I almost lost a part of my body every time we exchanged attacks, as its teeth got uncomfortably close multiple times. If I wasn’t mentally prepared for the change of pace and ferocity of a last stand, I might have lost. But it was not my first time in this situation, and that made the result of this fight unquestionable. A few more deep wounds, one on its side and another making its left front leg completely useless, signaled the end of this fight. It still was not willing to give up, but at this point the wolves could help attack freely. Goose was able the blind it by clawing out its eyes and I finally put the end to its pain with a clean thrust into the heart.
Ino
2022-11-21 02:19:24 +0000 UTCHmm, just had another thought about how the powers to be clearly did there best to block and prevent anyone from knowing the best routs let alone what was truly affective vs what simply worked for them and keeping control of the populace. The kingdom may of fell but those in power no doubt somehow likely survived and I highly doubt they'll like someone not only strong/powerful themselves but also more then happy to TEACH others how to grow instead of hiding everything like they did.
Straven
2022-11-08 02:12:27 +0000 UTC
