Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 776 - 717: Gate Breed Player is Online
Dream Elves were not originally vegetarians; they too lived by hunting before the birth of the Druid profession. It was not until the Lady of Nature, the Elf Queen Irason became the first Druid, when elves obtained far more food from the soil than from hunting, that the dietary habits of the Elf Clans shifted from a meat-centric diet to a completely vegetarian one. Research into plants by the Druids enabled the entire clan to detach themselves from reliance on meat, and the prior carnivorous behavior was henceforth seen as a crude and vulgar habit by the elves. The very purpose of hunting underwent a transformation, gradually affecting the entire Elf Clan; the Druids’ social status rose while the hunters’ declined, and as this continued over time, the primal skill of Archery, originally a part of elven heritage, was now less mastered by the elves than by humans who had learned from them—known as Rangers.
There were no explicit rules banning the consumption of meat, but meat-eating elves were almost extinct within the clans. This disdain for feasting on corpses should have flowed in the blood of all elves, enduring throughout their long lifespans. However, not long ago in the eyes of the elves, the Dream Elf clans split in two, a group of rebellious elves self-identified as Witherers left the clan and came into contact with humans. They re-adopted the habit of eating meat out of necessity because the only palatable dishes in human cuisine were meat-based.
"What I’m trying to say is..." Doludo held up a perfectly roasted rib, speaking between bites of juicy meat, "the training task for Berserkers... eating meat... strengthening oneself has its own reasoning... *burp*, and besides, their culinary skills are quite impressive! I’ve never been this satisfied!" Doludo showed his greasy smile to his companions; his once-teacher persona was completely shattered. He wore a beast hide cloak, his well-groomed beard and hair turned into a messy lion’s mane, a stone axe strapped to his back, with his muscular, knotted thighs exposed beneath his battle skirt.
Charles believed his friend had absorbed the power from the meat, considering how he now appeared as rugged as a primeval ape. The Adam’s apple under his armor bobbing, Defender Charles flipped open his little knight’s booklet to distract himself, the round shield resting against his feet. Essena’s priestly attire had hardly changed, suggesting that priests from any faith seemed to prefer simple robes.
"Doludo seems to have adapted quite well to his new profession; my training task is devoted prayer, and the tolerant Sister allowed us to pray to anyone or anything, even a vague concept, and as a result, I learned my first skill—Healing Skill. Life as a priest has been wonderful, except I’ve discovered that the Sister’s faith doesn’t seem to be all that steadfast... Charles, how about you, are you content with the life of a Defender?"
"Of course, good Knight Commander, good Queen Lina, good training content; life as a Defender has basically met all my expectations. I wanted the strenuous life of a soldier..."
"So what is your training task? Mine is consuming meat, Essena’s is devoted prayer; what’s yours, and what is your first skill?"
The Defender paused for a second, gazing at his brother.
"The Defender’s training task is pressure combat..." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
"Oh, getting hit." Doludo nodded. "That makes sense for a front-line tank; what about the skill?"
Charles was mistaken; becoming a Berserker hadn’t turned Doludo into a lumbering oaf. Even though a Berserker’s panel only listed an intelligence of 9, he gained a booming voice along with a blunt and embarrassing frankness that made Charles miss their former tactician. Without another word, Charles used his own skill.
He raised his shield, and layers of Crystalline Polymer grew on it; a small additional white bar appeared on Charles’s health bar, indicating Armor Value.
"Stacking Armor, right."
"...Yes, Stacking Armor. What about your skill, our Berserker Mister?"
...
In the woods a mile away from the trio, a hunter player suppressed his excitement and crawled slowly, not even moving as fast as a turtle, with all his focus straight ahead.
There perched a beautiful bird with indigo tail feathers, its lovely eyes met the hunter’s, and its crisp chirp sounded extremely pleasant. The use of beast taming skill varied from person to person, and this former Druid chose the most harmonious way to influence it. They drew closer and closer, and the hunter’s outstretched hand was almost touching the tip of its tail, both knew what that meant—a friendship that transcended species was about to be born.
Only the suddenness of death could part them.
A cold blade fell, its severing light appeared to carry a hint of red, and after a sorrowful cry, the beautiful bird burst into a cloud of light dust, with Kylo Servblade standing before the hunter, his gaze colder than stone.
"Ah... Ahhh! My darling! My dear little Blue! Kylo Servblade! You heartless executioner! Despicable ghoul! Termite in rotten wood! Damned jester! Do you know how much time and effort I spent looking for little Blue? She was the most beautiful Phoenix-tailed Sparrow I have ever encountered, her tail a rare sky-blue! I waited three days before I found her! You! You! You!!"
In Kylo’s eyes, the hunter burst into an emotional display, spouting a string of censored words before sinking to his knees again, wailing like a child who lost a toy, lamenting the unfairness of fate, and mourning his own hardships.
"Sorry, but I am completing a training task for the Assassin profession; we need to assassinate targets," Kylo melded back into the shadows, leaving a wholly insincere apology behind. It was deliberate, for the hunter before him was once a Druid under the Elders’ Council, and had long been at odds with the Eye of the Queen squad that Kylo led. Kylo Servblade did not shy away from using underhanded tactics; in fact, he would take pride in them if they were used against an enemy.
The hunter knelt on the spot, continuing to curse the air, knowing that his current complaints were meaningless, but he needed to vent the imbalance in his heart.
"You killed my bird! Why! Why didn’t you kill me too! I don’t want to live! I can’t lose my little Blue!"
"That makes sense." Crimson critical hit numbers appeared above the hunter’s head as his health bar was emptied, his body made a squelching sound as it turned into a marble tombstone, Kylo Servblade returned, wiping non-existent blood stains off his short sword with a bizarre expression.
"I will remember your selfless sacrifice. Although we have had our enmities for a long time, please believe that at this moment, I am genuinely grateful to you." Imagining the hunter’s spiritual body stomping in anger right there, a smile curled at Kylo’s lips.
The assassin vanished again, the invisible threat stirring a faint breeze.
"Charles gives up rallying the Elders’ Council’s troops. Throws himself into the game wholeheartedly? I will wish them fun in their gaming. With my Assassin profession, I will help create joy. Have they moved yet?"
"No, Captain, those few are still staying put, and a companion who has turned Archer is keeping watch on them with Eagle Eye."
Kylo Servblade took a breath.
"The first confrontation in the new dream has begun, my old adversary."
