Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

Geared and ready

On Aaron’s request, the foragers of the tribe had been sent out to gather a few special herbs and berries. When they returned, Nashoba and his son Kawasha were standing ready, dressed for battle. They were each armed with wooden spears and had slingshots attached to their waists.

Now that they had enough time to prepare, the chief and his son were dressed in thick hide armor, stitched together from the finest black bear pelts. On each of their heads, rested a crown carved out of the skulls of Dire Wolves. With the identical tattoos on their arms and the elephant tusk pendants hanging from their necks, the father and son looked inseparable.

Kawasha was just a few inches shorter than his father, with a much slender physique. He sported no beard or moustache and had his thick curly black hair tied into a bun. Though he was no warrior, he was the most skilled tracker of the tribe.

“Mawanko, I hope you can help us navigate the forest,” Nashoba said, looking at the gruff looking hunter standing before him.

“I can chief,” Mawanko replied, bowing his head slightly and touching his chest with his left fist. “The beasts of Zofran forest are dangerous, but I am as good a hunter as my father. No Long Tooth or Black Claw can harm you while I live.”

“That’s good. We will set out at the break of dawn, when the hungry deity is still asleep.”

It was already night and they could hear the howls of dire wolves and the distant roars of the hungry tigers roaming the forests. They were safe from all predators inside the human settlement, as long as Gilbert didn’t decide to launch a new raid or special event. Though the walls of the settlement were like paper and the people defenseless, this area was still a safe zone at night.

With all the preparations complete, the chief handed Aaron one of his favorite weapons—a pair of Elite Deer Horn Knives. These close combat weapons were forged out of iron and consisted of two polished crescents crossing each other. Their curved crescent surface was sharp enough to slice through skin or even thick animal hide, while their crisscrossing pointy ends could be used for breaking bones or shells. This was the perfect weapon for the Martial Artist class.

Aaron thanked the chief and grabbed hold of his very first permanent weapon. Equipping the Deer Horn Knives boosted his physical attack stats as well as his defense penetration. The weapon wasn’t as powerful as the Spear of Catastrophe, but it was better than having nothing. It was an Elite weapon, which made it just a bit better than the crude Common weapons which were easily susceptible to breakage. If he were in a town or even a medieval village, this weapon would have been no special find, but since Aaron was in a tribal human settlement, he became curious about how Nashoba had obtained it. The Cayuga were just a tribe of hunter gatherers who hadn’t even discovered iron, yet this weapon was a prime example of master blacksmithing.

Aaron’s questions were finally answered by the chief’s son. “It wasn’t father who found this. It was me.” Kawasha went on to describe how he had come across a special wooden chest in a grotto inside the forest and obtained this weapon along with a special ring, which he was still wearing on his index finger.

Zach recognized the ring at once. “That’s the Ring of Vigor. It doubles the EP of the wearer.”

“I cannot give it to you,” Kawasha pulled his arm back, as if expecting Zach to pull the ring off his finger.

“I don’t want it, dude. It’s just an Elite item,” Zach scoffed. “I’m pretty sure we’ll get our hands on Rare artefacts when we raid the Dark Orc camp.”

Despite their differences and the initial hostility, Nashoba invited the two friends to have dinner with them. Zach and Aaron hadn’t eaten in a day and this was an offer they definitely didn’t want to refuse. The Cayuga being tribals didn’t know how to cook elaborate recipes. But they did know where to hunt the best game. Dinner consisted of roasted venison, cooked over a small open fire and boiled sweet potatoes. It was a humble but filling meal.

No one slept that night, as they eagerly awaited the arrival of dawn. When the sun peeped out of the ocean, the chief presented the two friends with his final gifts—a pair of worn leather chest pieces and pants. Aaron already guessed where they had got their hands on such armor and he smiled at Kawasha. The chief’s son gave him a big grin and exclaimed, “I just keep finding treasures even though I’m not looking for them.”

“Thanks again for your gifts. We are honoured,” Aaron said, looking from Kawasha to Nashoba.

The chief nodded and replied, “Think nothing of it. Among the Cayuga, it is a tradition to gift armor and weapons to the allies who join you in battle.” He then turned to Zach and added, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a weapon for you.”

“Of course you don’t,” he whispered and tried his best to put up a fake smile.

After double-checking their inventory, they put on their new armors and checked their individual character stats.

Aaron didn’t unlock any new skills immediately, but went over his upgraded stats first. Equipping the Elite Deer Horn Knives had added a special effect to his attacks.

[*Predator: Pyromancer*]

[Rank: Fledgling.

Level: 9.

Health Points (HP): 800/800

Energy Points (EP): 200/200

Physical Attack (P. Atk): 50 (**Attacks have 20% chance to inflict bleeding status effect**)

Magical Attack (M. Atk): 0

Physical (P. Def): 30

Magic (M. Def): 5

Armor Penetration (A.P): 15

Speed (SPD): 25

Critical Rate (C. Rate): 10%

Critical Damage (C. Dmg): 150]

Aaron now had enough EP to use the more powerful skills, and his light armor gave him some degree of protection against physical attacks. The only issue was dealing with magic. For now, both his magical attack and magic defense stats were dismal. He could only hope that Zach would be able to provide protection using his support skills.

With all their equipment double checked, they set off for their journey. The others were still fast asleep inside the little shacks. The only one who greeted them near the front gate of the settlement was Odolo. Aaron had asked him for a special scroll, but he hadn’t been able to obtain the exact same one. So, instead he presented him something similar.

“I hope you will forgive me, but this is all I could find.”

Aaron took the scroll from him and handed it to Zach. “What do you think?”

Zach unfurled the brown piece of paper, marked with dried black ink and sighed, “This is a pretty old one. It’s gonna take me a while to activate it. The casting time could be over 10 minutes.”

“So, it’s still gonna work, right?”

“Assuming I can read what’s written inside. This is a Common level 2 scroll, and it’s in terrible shape. The one I used to boost your stats was a level 5 Elite scroll. ”

“Well, you gotta make it work, bro. You’re the only wiz in our party.”

Zach nodded and gently rolled the scroll back up, before putting it into his satchel, which also contained a few left over Frost Shards and Crackler Gems, as well as the herbs and berries Aaron had requested for.

Bidding goodbye to Odolo, Aaron and his companions stepped outside the settlement. However, before they could begin their journey, Aaron wanted to use his skill point to unlock one more skill. He opened the skills section in his Z-band and turned to Zach. “Ready to unlock new skills?”

“I already used my three skill points when you were talking to the chief.”

“Wow, I thought we’d do it together,” Aaron replied, a bit disappointed. “So, which skills did you unlock?”

“You’ll see soon enough. It’s gonna be surprise,” Zach winked.

“Suit yourself,” Aaron smiled back and began scrolling through the different available skills. Zach had promised to play support, so this time Aaron decided to invest all of his skill points into the offensive skill tree. He ignored the Defensive and Exploration skill tree and scrolled down to the bottom. Having selected 5 attacking skills, he clicked the confirm button.

[*Skill unlocked!*]

[Offensive: 1. Ember Kick: A powerful heavy attack which causes knockback and deals heavy damage. The skill consumes 10 EP each time it is used.]

[Offensive: 2. Fire Claw: Transforms the user’s fingers into flaming claws. While active, the player can perform rapid strikes which can penetrate light and inflict the Rend status effect. The skill uses 20 EP to activate. It lasts for 30 seconds.]

[Offensive: 3. Pyro Charge: A charge attack which engulfs the player in flames and boosts his speed. This skill is capable of knocking down smaller enemies and inflicting low fire damage. Player is unable to change direction while charging, but becomes immune to stagger, knockback and knockdown while using. It consumes 40 EP to activate.]

[Offensive: 4. Fire Barrage: Conjure fireballs to attack the enemy. This attack has a maximum range of 50 meters and is highly effective against wooden structures. It consumes 50 EP to cast.]

[Offensive: 5. Summon Firelings: Allows the user to summon 5 Firelings. All summoned Firelings last 30 seconds. Each Fireling has 10% of the summoner’s stats. This skill costs 100 EP to cast.]

“What kind of magical item is that?” Kawasha exclaimed in wonder, looking at Aaron’s glowing Z-band.

“It is a special item from a different world,” Aaron explained.

Kawasha would have wanted to know more about this mysterious item which spoke to him in such a strange voice, but Mawanko intervened.

“It’s going to be noon in a couple of hours. We must hurry if we do not wish to become food for the hungry deity.”

The group immediately set off towards the forest, led by Kawasha. Nashoba walked just behind his son, while Aaron and Zach remained in the middle. Mawanko being the seasoned hunter stayed at the rear, where he could watch their backs and prevent any beasts from ambushing them from behind. It was a mixed party of 5, with 3 NPCs and just 2 real players. Aaron and Zach had never tried such a team composition, but it was better than going in with just a squad of two.