Monster Hunting 401: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure by Andrew Karevik (book suggestions .TXT) 📗

sluggish movements as she lurched forward into the green light. The skittering of a thousand tiny little insect legs, moving across the ground.

The pale green hue illuminated this creature. I will say ‘creature’ because it was clear that though her body looked to be human, she was clearly not. Her skin was stretched and strained, in the shape of a human head and body, but missing the features that made a person…well, a person. She had eyes but no pupils, a mouth but no teeth and dark green hair that spiraled all over her shoulders, twisted in impossible ways.

“The hell is this?” Trig whispered. “Monsters don’t talk, do they?”

“Some do, but they aren’t intelligent. At least…not the ones I’ve met,” I replied. This bulbous elder did not seem concerned with our drawn weapons. She merely loomed over us, her fat, purple lips smiling widely. I glanced down to see that her lower half was more or less like a giant oval, covered with purple drapery hiding the feet that were undoubtedly insectoid.

“Are you afraid of me?” she asked.

“We don’t fear monsters,” I said.

The creature grinned wider and laughed, forcing each ‘hah’ out in a monotone chant, sending more shivers down my spine. “Monster. That is what all of your kind says. I understand. I am not like you. You are not like me. But those people outside are like you. And you wish for them to live, yes?”

I raised my bow and nocked an arrow. “You threatening them?”

“No. They are mine,” the Eldest said. “I have marked them. I have given them the green flame. They serve me and I keep them alive. But there are things that I cannot do. Forces that oppose me.”

“Just kill it,” Trig said. “No reason to let this thing keep yapping.”

“If I die, the fire goes out,” she countered. “And then the darkness comes. Who will survive? You two, yes. For you know the secrets to orange fire. But a moment is all it takes. And my children are dead.”

There was truth here. If the green fire was keeping the shadow monster out…then even a single second of darkness could end the lives of all the people we had seen. This creature didn’t seem malevolent, but who knows what its game was? It must have had some kind of mind control ability to control the people outside. Maybe she fed on them.

That idea caused me to shudder even more. This massive, bloated creature might have learned that allowing humans to live and breed could give her more food in the long run. A terrifying application of higher intelligence.

I held a hand up to Trig. “What do you want from us?” I asked.

“All hunters are found by me. They like to kill my kind. But they value human life more. More than death. So they do not kill me. But I know of something they can kill, something that would help me. By proxy, it will help these humans,” the Eldest stuttered out.

How could this be? How could this creature be intelligent? We had never met a monster that could think and reason before. But here it was, speaking to us sort of like a person, able to distinguish friend from foe and most importantly, able to think in the long term. Able to think of its own good.

“I don’t like this,” Trig whispered. “But…we should hear her out.” His voice was strained, but concerned. Concerned with the good of the people we had met. Even though they were strangers, it was up to us, as Venators, to look out for them. We were not beholden to any one group. Rather we were meant to look out for the good of all humans. This village included.

Chapter 18

We sat on the cold ground before the massive, bulbous woman known only as the Eldest. She was pleased to see that we would not attack her on sight and began to explain what she wished. Her words were always functional, yet lacking entirely in elegance and grace. Almost like she knew how to speak the words, but not truly what they meant. I had met Fylks that could mimic human language, saying popular phrases to trick their prey into getting close. Could the same principle apply, but for higher concepts? No, that would be too impossible to believe. Then again, what did we face that wasn’t impossible at times?

“There is another like I,” the Eldest said. “A hungry beast that seeks to take what is mine. It exerts its power over my chattel and lures them to itself. It takes advantage of the green flame and leads them alone into its mouth. One by one, it grows bigger and stronger. Soon it shall gain a hold of all. And it has not the patience I do. It will consume them all at once. And they will not make more food for either of us. We shall starve.”

So that was it. This creature was using humans for food, extending its influence over them. But unlike other monsters, it seemed to understand enough about us to avoid killing off its meal ticket. But why would it ask us for aid? Why not get its hooks inside of our minds? Or…had it already done so? After all, we were both sitting with the creature instead of killing it. Mind control was a subtle thing, at times.

Sensing my distress, my Quiverling was quick to scramble about, swapping out my echolocation charm for the Fylk charm. I activated the Hardened Mind ability, making me immune to minor compulsions. It wouldn’t make me entirely impervious to mind control but would at least give me an edge. I felt no different as the charm activated. I had no clue if it was working.

“So you want us to kill it?” Trig asked.

“You are hunters. I sense your blood energy. Your hunger to slay and your eagerness to fight. All humans flee monsters, except your kind,” the Eldest continued. “Do what comes