Getting Hard (Journey of a Tank)

“What do you mean?” asked Megan. “It’s a cloven hoof.”

“Cloven?” asked Nitana. “How do you know that word? Are you some farm girl?”

“I used to spend summers at my uncle's farm in Buttonquail. Cloven hooves have two separate halves on each foot, compared to horses with a solid one. Those two hooves thingies are called claws, which means… cows, goats, and pigs are animals with claws!”

That’s a good one, I thought, grinning.

Nitana sighed, shaking her head. “Are you proud of that joke?”

“I am,” huffed Megan. “I’m always saying that Mardukryons are half-cows, not half-horses, because we have cloven hooves.” She turned to me. “Why were you saying this isn’t a Mardukryon hoof print, Herald?”

“Two things,” I said, holding up two fingers. “First: Mardukryon tracks do not always show cloven hooves, depending on our footgear. Remember that extra set of tracks I wanted to show you but was wiped away? It didn’t have cloven hooves—just one whole shape.”

“Oh, right…” Megan looked down. “I only have energy bands around my ankles, not actual shoes, so I leave behind cloven hoof tracks.”

“The game adjusts footwear to each race,” said Kezo. “Explaining it away with alien tech. Otherwise, we’ll have very, very limited gearing options if we can only wear what’s specifically made for our bodies.”

“Secondly.” I placed my foot next to the questionable hoof print. “This print is smaller. Even if he unequipped his boots or whatever it was, RailGunLord has a higher level than me. This should be bigger if this is his hoof.”

Kezo also stepped forward, comparing his hoof to the impression too. “RailGunLord and I have almost the same level. We should be about the same size, but this is only around halfish.” He looked around. “I could be wrong, but I can’t recall any monster in these parts with hooves. Paritor, do you have any hoofed summons?”

“I do not,” Paritor said. “Also, I confirm that none of the creatures here have hoofs.”

“Can it be something from the Great Hunt?” I guessed. “Like the Alpha Cragodon and its herd wandering about.”

“Only the Colossal Snowstorm Satyr has hooves,” said Kezo. “Its hooves are bigger than the paws of Mr. Bear. This could be a boss or mini-boss dragged out of its usual area by the Great Hunt. But that’s unlikely because we’re far from the main path of the migration. I’m trying to think of bosses with hooves…”

“The Living Statue should have cloven hooves,” Melonomi said. “After all, it’s a Mardukryon statue—wait, it’s too big. The Overfed Swinelord and the Mist Reindeer are both also too big for this hoof print.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” said Nitana. “Herald’s right. This isn’t that giant weirdo satyr but a new event monster added for this Great Hunt. No big deal.” She rapidly blinked and raised her finger. “Oh, hang on. It is a big deal if it’s new.”

“The more reason we should find it,” I said. “We’re now hunting Mr. Bear and…uh, Mister… Hoof? We shouldn’t let them fall into the hands of—”

“What if it’s the village goat?” Megan chimed in, excitedly raising her hand.

“The village goat…?” I slowly repeated. The cogs in my brain started to turn. She might be on to something.

“A goat has cloven feet,” she said. “It’s not really big, is it? I bet its hoof could fit this print.”

“I’ve never seen the crimson goat go out of Kurghal village,” said Melonomi. “Isn’t it afraid of entering the forest because it nearly got killed by the Feral Frost Macaques? I can’t remember its story. I did a few collection quests for it when I was a youngling.”

Megan slowly lowered her hand. “Yeah… my theory’s stupid. Sorry. Just spewing random things out. Nitana’s guess is the best one so far.”

“The easiest way to uncover Mr. Hoof’s identity is to find it.” I charged forward, taking the lead as was my rightful place. “Let’s go! Mr. Bear might be eating Mr. Hoof.”

As we ran, my mind went back to Megan’s guess. More than likely, she was partially right.

The owner of the hoof prints wasn’t the crimson goat in the village, but some other goat fellow. The village goat’s hope wasn’t in vain. Some of its kind survived to this day.

But why did it show up now? Bawu might’ve something to do with it.

The collapse of the cliff walls behind the village affected many monsters. Together with whatever was happening inside the mountain during the Great Hunt, some path must’ve opened up and a musical goat managed to reach our isolated side. My progress with the village goat was the final ingredient to the perfect brew.

Pieces of Music—that was the quest given by the crimson goat after I showed it proof of killing the boss of the annoying snow monkeys. It told me about its tragic backstory and offered to teach me music magic. But I had to make my instrument first. I was tasked with gathering the pieces needed to make one, many of which were dropped by monsters during the Great Hunt.

I didn’t give it much thought back then… but why gather during the Great Hunt? Were the materials not present in the caves and forest even without the event?

Seeing evidence of a long-thought missing musical goat, a theory formed in my head. The shifting energies inside the mountain dictating the migration of powerful monsters was somehow crucial for music magic. A random goat in a random part of the mountain previously unreachable to us also wanted to make an instrument and was gathering materials. It came across an opening, maybe a crack on the mountainside that wasn’t there before, and entered it or fell in. This random goat was now somewhere around here.

In a sense, Nitana was also right. Partially.

The owner of the mysterious hoof prints was set to appear during the Great Hunt, but it wasn’t a new event monster. It was a quest triggered by yours truly. The stars aligned and the heavens conspired to aid Herald Stone.

An ichor-carrying giant bear, a long-lost musical goat, and a cave with secret recipes and wardcrafter knowledge all walked into a bar. They all had a good time… and they’d continue having a good time if a certain invisible bastard would leave them alone. We need to—

We?

We or just me?

I couldn’t stop RailGunLord on my own if he decided to kill the musical goat. He’d do it if he saw me going for it. Assuming the worst in people as always. With my party, we could protect the musical goat. Though that’d entail revealing to them what it was.

What was the problem with that?

Kezo, Megan, and Nitana were with me when I—okay, when we started the world quest. Having them along plus Paritor and Melonomi was no big deal. More witnesses if I’d start a world quest again. More people to spread the word of my greatness. And they were my friends.

Trust people more, I urged myself. This wasn’t a cutthroat business environment. Making friends as an adult was hard, but it shouldn’t be.

“Are we near the PvP zones?” I asked Kezo.

“Another minute or so,” he replied. “See the landscape change.”

More crystal formations pierced out of the ground, some the size of a Mardukryon house. The trees reached for the skies and shone so bright, bathing everything below in dazzling light. It wasn’t just golden light from the liquid threatening to burst out of the stretched bark of the trees. There were also rainbow-like lights from crystals I hadn’t seen before—these must be hints of the special ones found in the PvP zones.

“It looks like we’re in a disco,” said Megan.

“Have you ever been to a disco?” asked Nitana. “Do you even know what the word ‘disco’ is short for?”

“I’ve seen pictures and old movies and stuff. And I don’t really care what it’s short for.”

Any more banter between Megan and Nitana was halted by a rumbling roar flooding the forest as if a giant monster with a megaphone was trying to clear a stuffy nose. The branches high above rustled as the ground shook, sending clumps of snow falling on us.

“Mr. Bear sounds angry,” Kezo said.

“It’s killing Mr. Hoof,” I said, buffing our movement speed. “We need to save it!”

Hints of a white hill some ways away peaked from between the expansive tree trunks, becoming bigger as we got closer. It was also getting taller and straighter, revealing itself to be a [Lvl 66 Oyi Oso], rising to stand on its hind legs to display its full height, taller than the Living Statue. Looking like an armored polar bear—its head, arms, chest, and back were covered in interlocking white bony plates—the Oyi Oso spread its arms out, brandishing claws as long as Kezo’s scimitars, roaring in defiance at its enemy.

I breathed a sigh of relief. A musical goat wasn’t its target.

Instead, a [Lvl 69 Grand Matriarch Fengharl], likewise a giant bear rivaling its size, also armored but with spiky ice and golden crystals, stood up to match the Oyi Oso’s challenge. It roared, sending shockwaves that shook the snow off the canopy above us.

“Look yonder!” exclaimed Paritor, pointing at something behind the Grand Matriarch Fengharl.

“Yonder?” mumbled Nitana. “Who uses that—?”

“There are more bears!” said Melonomi.

Half a dozen normal Fengharls, smaller than Mama Bear but still very large nonetheless, were coming over. It was like the Alpha Cragodon calling its regular kin. An uneducated person might say that this was too much of a coincidence, meeting two Alphas and having the chance to farm lots of Great Hunt monsters without interference from others. But the truth was that Herald Stone was affecting the synchronicity of the universe with his awesomeness.

“Let’s wait until they injure each other,” said Nitana. “Then Kezo can go in for the last hit. That RailGunLord asshole should be around here somewhere.”

Kezo nervously laughed but still jabbed the air with his fist. “The pressure is on. I sure hope I don’t disappoint.”

“He can’t beat you, Kezo,” I said. “Too bad we can’t farm Fengharls since we’re going to kill the—They’re breaking up!” I wasn’t talking about a lover’s quarrel. The Oyi Oso, seeing the approaching Fengharls, decided it was too uneven of a fight and turned tail.

The Grand Matriarch Fengharl didn’t chase the Oyi Oso. It puffed itself up to be bigger and roared, bathing us with debuffs. The normal Fengharls ambled to its side and stopped. They joined in roaring at the retreating Oyi Oso’s.

“It’s running away! What do we do?” Megan asked.

“All of you stay here,” I said, even though the plan pained me. “Same thing with the Alpha Cragodon. Farm Fengharls. We don’t know if we’ll find the Oyi Oso again, so I have to chase it. It’s either me, Paritor, or Kezo who can bring it back, and it’s better if they stay here for both tanking and DPS. I’ll go alone. Every last bit of firepower and Melonomi’s healing that works on monsters are needed to get the last hit on the Fengharls.”

“But you won’t get Tokens,” said Kezo. “We can hold this until you return.”

“It’ll be tough to hold them all,” I cut in. “And I don’t know how soon I’ll be back. The longer you wait, the more chances of another party wandering over here. If I bring the Oyi Oso back fast enough, I’ll join you. I’m off!”

And the heroic Herald Stone charged after the armored polar bear.