“I choose the nightstalker.”
“Wonderful choice,” Master Greenfoot said with a thoughtful nod, “Being able to hide from sight is invaluable.”
A message popped up in his vision.
Quest - Animalistic Ritual
Requirements
• Druid
• Level 15
Quest Rarity: Common
Quest Reward: 1500 experience, Nightstalker Cat Form.
Description: You must hunt down and kill the nightstalker Shadefire. When it dies, use the provided Soul Crystal to extract its essence.
The Soul Crystal in the quest description confused him for a moment until he spotted Master Greenfoot with an outstretched hand. A clear gem sat in his palm. The surface looked like the Soul of the Dire Bear he’d found before, but there was no light coming from it. It looked like any other piece of oddly shaped stone.
“So, is this how all the forms work? I just need a Soul Crystal to capture their spirit? Can I buy more Soul Crystals?” Atlas asked.
“No. Soul Crystals are only given for quests and only work in conjunction with that quest. They are not sold and even if you had one, it wouldn’t capture the soul unless you had a quest specifically telling you to do so. As you know, though, you can find complete soul crystals as rare drops for other forms.”
That sucks, but I guess it would make it far too easy otherwise.
“Any advice for this hunt?” Atlas asked.
“Yeah, don’t die,” the druid said with a blank expression.
Atlas chuckled, and the old man grinned.
“Noted. I’ll come find you when I’m done.”
Atlas exited the building and checked his map. A small section showed a green outline notating the location of his hunt, so he left the city and headed directly for it.
The clear grasslands outside of the city gave way to a small forest. His feet brushed along the leaves as he traversed under the tall canopy. The location of the quest drew closer, and the forest darkened.
Shadows encroached farther into the undergrowth and Atlas grew nervous. Knowing his target was a stealthy cat made the shadows far more ominous than he cared for. It was hard enough hunting a predator as it was, especially one that could probably use stealth. He felt like a dangling piece of meat just waiting to be devoured.
His attention snapped to the surrounding path. Knowing his quarry caused him to attempt to hunt the hunter. He scanned every inch of the surrounding dirt, praying for any sign of a large cat. The hard pack soil told him nothing. A scan of his surroundings yielded nothing more.
As much as he might like to pretend, he didn’t know the first thing about tracking animals. It’s not like a giant footprint will be perfectly preserved in hard dirt and lead me all the way to the animal.
Instead of focusing on tracking it down, he brought his staff to the ready and stayed alert, hoping he could react fast enough to counter a surprise attack.
It wasn’t much farther when the hairs on his neck stood on end. A chill ran through him, as though his life just ended. Not knowing what else to do, he dropped to a knee and hunched forward in a crouch. His move definitely paid off as a sleek figure of black and purple soared over his head, its tail brushing his own hair, and landed ten feet in front of him.
The long black tail swished in what Atlas assumed was annoyance before the lithe body turned and the creature’s silver eyes stared into his soul.
Welcome to your death, druid.
That the best you can do, Shadefire?
The animal pulled back its lips and exposed a row of razor-sharp teeth, glistening in the light as it drifted through gaps in the canopy. Atlas stood back to his feet and launched forward, triggering Triple Threat.
The cat lurched to the side as he swung forward. The attack met nothing but air, and Atlas stumbled.
Shadefire dodged your attack!
He regained his balance and turned toward the animal just in time to see a paw with claws extended slashing toward him. The nails dug into his shoulder and ripped free with the power of the swing. He spun slightly as he cried out in pain.
Shadefire dealt 12 damage to you with Heavy Counter.
This bastard can counter? That’s not good.
The thought didn’t last long because he knew what came after a counter. Atlas whipped his staff around and barely caught up to the image for the block. His staff thumped against the paw of the cat and it roared in pain as it stepped backward.
He activated Counter and swung forward. The nightstalker tried to dodge to the side, but the pain in its paw caused it to stumble as it tried to put weight on it. His attack hit the side of its shoulder. Before it could recover, he activated Triple Threat, and the staff became a blur as it spun and struck. Two rapid hits followed by one solid strike on its head smashed into the creature before he tried his new combo piece, Pursuit.
He dashed forward again and came in with another strike at its side. Activating Triple Threat, he tried to launch forward, building on the Pursuit, but he stopped in place.
You dealt 5 damage to Shadefire with Counter.
You dealt 18 damage to Shadefire with Triple Threat.
You dealt 5 damage to Shadefire with Pursuit.
What the hell? Why did I stop?
A low growl interrupted his thoughts, and the cat leaped toward him. In a panic, he struggled to get his staff in place. The creature’s claw connected with his staff as his mind registered a small feeling of relief. That feeling lasted only a moment before the attack continued and the claws pushed through to rake him on the shoulder.
Shadefire dealt 7 damage to you with Pounce. (5 Blocked)
So they can push damage past my weapon. That explains the defense rating on my staff.
Another attack followed that one, but Atlas snapped back into focus, angling his staff and deflecting
