Using the inspect skill on Calvin[Freddy] didn't show up anything strange. He had advanced tier equipment all over his body. Something that nearly everyone in the room apart from them had, so he wasn't hiding anything.
'Since when did I become like this, he's a middle-aged man.' Archer[Quinn] thought, placing the palm of his hand in his face.
"If you want to know anything, just ask. I have one daughter and two boys. My daughter is a little cutie pie who just turned five, and my wife is someone to die for." Calvin[Freddy] said in excitement. "You see because I have a family, I don't like to go on dangerous quests. So I often go with the newbies because they tend to be on the more cautious side.
"Also, if they've never gone hunting on this planet before I can help them. Guiding them to good spots and places to stay out of trouble. After all, there might be an area where you pass a bunch of higher tier beasts on the way. So it's good to have someone experienced like me. As I said, there's nothing strange about it.
"This benefits me, doing less risky jobs for my family, and benefits you as well, " Calvin[Freddy] said with his gentle smile once again.
'Does this guy have a charm effect or something? His smile, it's so golden.'
Archer[Quinn] felt like after everything he said, he just couldn't turn the man down. Besides, who else was going to join their team? Sure, many people were keeping an eye on them, but it seemed like they were hoping for Archer[Quinn]'s group to split, so they could snatch them up one at a time rather than one of them come to their side. Perhaps because of what Calvin[Freddy] had said, it would be a pain to be the one guiding a bunch of newbies.
"Okay, " Archer[Quinn] said, and the man's traveller ID was inputted into the quest board.
When exiting the shelter, two guards who had a strange square looking device asked one of them to place their tag on the device, which made a ding sound confirming they had taken a quest. Only when they heard the ding from each of the tags were they finally allowed to leave the shelter.
Exiting the shelter, Calvin[Freddy] had offered to lead the way. He had a large rucksack on his back and multiple digital maps he would pull out in it. Ones that would show their location on the map itself and it looked like it had been edited with a lot of information. Little notes he had put and areas to avoid.
The planet's soil was mostly red in colour, and from the ship looked to be a little smaller than earth. It was one big clump of land and had many large rivers running through it, but didn't seem to have a large sea. Or at least something similar to an ocean that earth would have.
There was still plenty of forest and mountain areas all over the place, and it looked like they were heading towards one of the more hilly areas.
While walking, Calvin[Freddy] gave out as much information as he could. "The Hypocen are a type of beast that lives up one of the rivers that go through the hills there. They are aquatic creatures, but they can survive out of land for a good half an hour before having to go back in.
"They have relatively large bodies and are slow in movement. However, their large mouths and jaws are deadly. In an instant, they can crush you. The main thing to look out for is a Hypolord. It's an advanced tier beast that is sometimes in a pack. But it mostly chooses to stay in the waters. As long as you don't attack it directly or enter the water yourself, it will ignore whatever is outside.
"The best thing to do is lure the Hypocen out from the water. Their large bodies make them slow in movement. And that way we won't anger the rest."
Calvin[Freddy], just like he said was good, he knew all the spots to avoid trouble. The information that Calvin[Freddy] had given to them for free, including the map, would have all cost them credits from a market stall. Yet, he had kindly given it for free and wasn't even charging for his service.
It also looked like a few other groups were doing the same quest as them, heading off to the same area. But Calvin[Freddy] said there were plenty of beasts, so they had nothing to worry about.
The walk seemed like it would take about an hour and a half to get there, so it wasn't too far from the base. Back at the shelter, Archer[Quinn] had seen a few ships leave and other vehicles, which could be requested if one was to go somewhere further.
However, the deposit on one of those things was insane. At the moment, Archer[Quinn] had no chance of renting out one of those.
During their walk, Calvin[Freddy] would fill in the quiet times with conversations about his family. He would talk about his kids and loving wife. It seemed like he really cared about them.
Hearing all of this started to sadden Archer[Quinn]. The way he talked, it was the life Archer[Quinn] never had. By then the war had broken out, his parents had left him, and they had died in the war. He wished that he had a father like Calvin[Freddy] to be there for him.
Finally, they had reached one of the hilltops and down below a forest area could be seen, along with a large river running through the forest at the bottom. It looked like some groups were already there hunting the beasts away.
"Haha, let's do this!" Arian[Fex] shouted, running ahead of everyone else.
With so many groups here, it was important that they kept their vampire skills a secret, but for Arian[Fex], he could freely use his string. Like Calvin[Freddy] had said, the beast had a large body. It was similar to that of a hippo, only more ugly looking and they certainly did have a snap in their bite showing their sharp teeth.
With Arian[Fex] there, the task of hunting the Hypocens was a lot easier than they first thought. Because of his string, he could literally pull the large beast out of the water and with the five of them, it was easy for them to defeat the beast without getting too close to it.
Paul still hadn't learnt the poison Skill[ability], it would take him some time, but he did get to practice with the claws. Things were going so well they decided to do something to speed up the process.
Arian[Fex] was designated the fisher. Using his string, he would pull two Hypocen out at the same time and throw them towards the others. They had split off into pairs. Fiza[Kazz] and Calvin[Freddy] were taking on one, while Paul and Archer[Quinn] would defeat the other.
The other groups who were nearby could see this, and couldn't believe their eyes. A group was taking out so many intermediate beasts and so quickly.
"That person's Skill[ability], it's perfect for water type beasts like these." One of them said.
"Yeah, I think most of them are new. Maybe we should try asking him to help us out."
After a while, the group had managed to take out fifteen Hypocen and were now taking a break. Calvin[Freddy] was tired after all. While sitting down, away from the river and mostly under cover of the tall trees. A few of the other groups had approached them.
'Why is there always trouble, can people not just leave us be?' Archer[Quinn] thought.
"We were wondering if you could help us hunt beasts." The front man asked, looking at Arian[Fex]. "It's okay if you can't, but it takes a long time to get their attention before we can take them out of the water. If you're too tired, it's okay."
Arian[Fex] turned around looking at Archer[Quinn], wondering what his answer would be. Arian[Fex] still had plenty of energy, and they were just resting for Calvin[Freddy]'s sake.
As for Archer[Quinn], he was a little stunned. It was twice now where he had expected something terrible to happen, and yet people weren't complete arses the first time he met them.
"Sure, go ahead, " Archer[Quinn] said.
It was always a good idea to have a good relationship with others. Maybe this would even help him out in the future.
Arian[Fex] did the same for the other groups as he did for them, and quickly he was getting everyone's attention.
"Come on, let's get going then, " Calvin[Freddy] said, tensing his bicep. "We can still hunt without him."
Without Arian[Fex], it was a little harder. Somehow they were to get agro of the creatures closest in the water and lure them out. This was when Calvin[Freddy] came up with a suggestion. He looked around him before saying anything.
"I know a place where we can go, " Calvin[Freddy] said. "Follow me."
By now, Archer[Quinn] had no doubts about Calvin[Freddy]. He was just too nice to be up to no good; it made no sense and Archer[Quinn] was pretty sure even if he was to try something, the three of them could take him on.
Calvin[Freddy] went into the forest and guided them somewhere until they eventually came across a waterfall. Here the water was more shallow than the river they were just at, and the Hypocen could be seen a lot easier towards the edges.
"You guys are stronger than you look, so I think we will be fine here, " Calvin[Freddy] said with a smile.
With the Hypercen going towards the edge of the water and it not being so deep, it was easy for them to hit the beast as such. During the whole fight, Archer[Quinn] was wondering what Calvin[Freddy]'s Skill[ability] was. This entire time he had just been fighting with a beast sword and armour.
Not only that, he seemed to be close to Fiza[Kazz], making sure she didn't get hurt. Whenever it looked like the Hypocen might hurt her, he would swoop in to protect her.
"It's fatherly instincts, " Paul said, looking at the same scene that Archer[Quinn] looked at. "He has a daughter and kids himself, and Fiza[Kazz] looks quite young. It seems like it's natural for Calvin[Freddy] to protect those younger than him. I think the real reason why he approached us might be because of how young you all looked. When he said, you were his children, he really meant it."
Ever since coming to this shelter, Archer[Quinn] started to have a change of heart in how the people were. Was it really the military that was at fault with everything? Things seemed fine here. However, there was one difference, they weren't at war at the moment, and the threat of the Oregon[Dalki] still existed.
Paul and Archer[Quinn] continued to fight away, and so did Fiza[Kazz] and Calvin[Freddy].
Under the water, a slightly larger Hypocen could be seen coming towards them.
"Hey, look at that one. It's really fat!" Fiza[Kazz] said, laughing, as she rushed over to go hit it on the top of its head, hoping to get it's agro.
"No, wait!" Calvin[Freddy] shouted out. "That's a Hypo lord!"
His cries were too late. When Fiza[Kazz] got close enough, the larger Hypolord had already opened up its mouth showing its large sharp teeth. It was wider than the hole of Fiza[Kazz]'s body.
"Damn it!" Calvin[Freddy] said. "Swap."
One second Fiza[Kazz] could see the large mouth of the beast and its sharp teeth. She prepared her fist, something like this couldn't kill her. The next second, she was suddenly back on land, and now instead, she could see Calvin[Freddy] where she was moments ago in front of her.
His body was facing towards her while his body was going into the mouth of the beast.
"Live, sorry kids, " Calvin[Freddy] said, and the next second, the mouth was closed shut.
Blood splattered everywhere, with his leg hanging out from the mouth.
"Nooooo!" Archer[Quinn] shouted in a rage and activated his shadow in an instant.
To be continued....
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