The Hunter’s Guide To Monsters

Eli lowered the headset over his eyes.

It had come first thing in the morning, and he'd unpackaged it immediately.

Darkness fell and Eli was standing on a platform in space. No really, some distance to his right, the Horsehead Nebula was twinkling.

Before him, several translucent frames hung in mid-air.

[Welcome, Elias Crewan! You have one (1) account/s on this system.]

[You have one coupon.]

[Activate Account]

[Register Account]

The headset was an RSI product specifically calibrated for the Redlands game, so of course there was the option to register.

His public data and Redlands registration was already in the system since he connected his phone to the headset, so it was only a matter of checking if the data that automatically filled in the account form was accurate.

His bank account details were also accessible via the headset.

Eli transferred 3800 ecru into his Redlands account. The remaining 2000 ecru left in the bank was enough for living expenses, and his increased electric bills for the next year.

Converting 3800 ecru to in-game currency meant he now had a starting budget of 380,000 golden drax.

Eli smiled in satisfaction. It was worth the month of little sleep.

He tapped on the coupon.

A buy one month, get one month free that came with the brand new headset. Two months at 195 ecru? A steal.

He activated it immediately. That upped his premium months to fifteen.

The December of next year was the fourteenth month from now.

Eli took a deep breath, and another.

He wanted to live a life he would not regret.

This was the first step.

He reached for the translucent frame.

[Activate Account]

The game automatically logged into the character creation area.

The space view around him changed to a massive temple, the stone ceiling so far above him he could barely see the repeating curved flower pattern. Around him was a great hall bordered on two sides by a colonnade of white and grey marble. Each column was wider at the base than ten of him spread-eagled finger to finger.

On the far side of the hall was open space, an endless blue sky and clouds.

Between the columns were sculptures he'd seen before, in this same character creation area. Last time, he didn't know they were symbolic depictions of deities. In fact, in his research, he hadn't come across that data yet.

The sculptures towered above the hall, massive and imposing.

Nine of Creation.

Nine of Destruction.

The eighteen gods of Zushkenar.

Gods that came to exist, in viscerally real ways, when Redlands became more than a game.

Of the sculptures closest to him, on his right was a massive tower clock with a single gigantic eye. Chronakem of Destruction.

On his left was a single graceful flower, the gently curving stem maybe nine storeys tall. The goddess' worshipers said that it was called the callaflor. Anradeth of Creation.

This, now that he knew what he was seeing, now that he had lived in lands they looked over, was something to engender awe.

There was no place in Zushkenar where the symbols of the world's deities could all be seen together.

It was only here, in the character creation area, that this temple existed.

Eli pressed three fingers of his right hand to the center of his forehead, staring straight down the middle of the sculptures, taking care not to look at any one of them directly. Then made a fist with the same hand and pressed it over his heart.

These gods had given the survivors of the Quake nine years of life.

Even though it was an attempt to not be destroyed themselves, it was still nine years of life that the transmigrators would not otherwise had.

Eli would not worship them.

He was not a religious person.

But to offer respect was just good sense when coming before beings that could crush continents.

In Zushkenar, the gods were present in the everyday lives of the people. Eli had learned their names and legends nearly by osmosis.

He pressed his hand to the pedestal in front of him.

It shone, and a chime rang crisply through the large hall before him.

He whirled, remembering the AI that startled him near to death the last time.

There was no one behind him.

"Welcome to the Halls of Choosing."

"Weeping skies!" Eli cursed and whirled back, grappling for a weapon. The curse that left his mouth was pure Zushkenari. Was he already starting to think like a Zushkenari again? He snorted. He wasn't even there yet.

The being, dressed in simple robes, serenely stood beside the pedestal.

"Weeping skies," Eli seethed, "don't do that."

"I apologize. Are you ready to begin?"

"Fine." Eli crossed his arms. "I've come to choose, and all that. Can we get started without the spiel about being watched over by the gods, priest? Or is it priestess."

The being inclined a hooded head. "Attendant, should suffice. They/Them. And by what name would the guest go?"

Eli hesitated.

He'd gone by StrawmanScare before. And people had called him Scare even after the Quake. Should he go with the name?

He wavered for a few moments.

"Ilas Krow," he finally said. "I-L-A-S then K-R-O-W. He/Him."

Eli chose something close to his real name, so he would remember that from a certain point of view, the game was reality.

He wouldn't mind being called Scare, but that name had many bad memories attached to it.

Using Ilas Krow would not completely negate that history though.

His name from before was referencing a scarecrow after all.

"A unique name," said the Attendant, accepting it. "Then, Ilas Krow, you have come to choose where your fate begins. In the world of Zushkenar, there are nine races."

That was the first time Eli heard the name of the world in this life.

Everyone else called it Redlands.

Eli tamped down the sudden nostalgia.

"Call me Krow."

The Attendant nodded at his words, then lifted their hand. Large cards started to appear one by one before Eli, as the Attendant named the races.

"The Humans. The Dwarvir. The Sirens. The Trollkin, The Magmigant, The Vargvir, The Dryads, The Draculkar, The Mafmet. Choose well, Krow, and live with the strength and cunning of your choice."

Eli glanced at the first.

The large card depicted two people back to back, with a large mountain city in the background.

Humans were the usual very adaptable average build. They lived in city states and small nations all over Zushkenar, the biggest city being Grangonthor, the mountain city that survived a thousand wars.

It really was a city that covered an entire small mountain, spread across the foothills, and the plains and the coast around the mountain.

The city was self-sufficient and well-planned. If they closed the gates, the city-state and its three million inhabitants could survive for a hundred years.

It was the race Eli had chosen the last time, barely skimming over the others.

This time, he moved down the list.

He touched each card, skimming over the information to see if there were things he didn't know, and remembering things he did know about the races.

Dwarvir were part dwarf and part other. They generally only reached 170cm in height, max. They were good with stonecraft, and preferred heavy weaponry. Their armies had stone cannons.

The card depicted another two people, their eyebrows jutting out beyond the bounds of their faces like unexpectedly graceful blades made out of hair. They were stockier than Humans, and in the background was a crest with the sigil of stonemasons.

They had great endurance and strength. Also the second most charismatic race, so much that there were a fair few dwarviran bards in the game that did very well.

For those interested in subclasses and crafting, the dwarvir were best when choosing to become Builders or Brewers. They were the second best choice for Miners, unless mining for stone.

Dwarviran crafters could do things with stone that to other races were impossibilities.

Sirens had pretty scales trailing down their necks below their webbed ear-appendages, and on their spines, the backs of their hands.

They were greatly music inclined and most become bards. Their fingernails were pearl colored and so were their eyes. Their hair, in Zushkenar, came in shades of blue or green or purple or orange.

Sirens were the race with the highest charisma stat, but also their DEX was excellent. However, average endurance and low strength slotted most siren players into battle support roles.

They made the best potential Bards and assassins, also diplomats and entertainers.

For crafters, the sirens were best for water-related professions, anything to do with musical instruments, plus Acrobats and Weavers.

Trollkin were one of the most balanced warriors in the game, though best at melee. They were mocha-skinned and pointy-eared, with large canines. They had a habit of decorating their skin with scars, which stood out intimidatingly.

Because of their preference for non-urban environments, Trollkin made the best druids.

For crafters, they were good in Herbalism, Forestry, and anything to do with woodworking and beast-taming.

The Magmigant race preferred having an active volcano nearby, which limited player mobility unless they took the quest for a portable lava crystal they could make into jewelry. Which is why Magmigant players fairly sparkled in the sun, with all the jewels they had.

They were arguably the largest and tallest people in Zushkenar, with heights up to 220cm. Their great endurance and strength make them one of the best close and mid-range warriors in the many lands.

Their skin was obsidian colored and they had horns that looped around their ears gracefully.

They tamed firdrakes for transport, which were giant firebreathing lizards with no wings, but with spiked tails. The quest to tame one as a mount was available for Magmigants only.

Their traditional crafts were generally linked to metal-smithing. The great mines of the world all have Magmigant influence.

Vargvir were wolfmen, descendants of one of the divine servants of Kombar, god of beasts, according to the tales. Their human forms had pointed furry ears on their heads.

They were one of the most adaptable fighters in Zushkenar. By tradition, the class Wolf Warrior was tailor-made for them.

Vargvir remain one of the great Enchanting classes. After the Magmigant race, they were the best smiths.

Dryads were great alchemists, and often the battle-class of golem summoner was perfect for them. They made excellent Bards and Enchanters, and also great Druids.

They lived in forests, and were traditionally allies of the Vargvir. Often they preferred solitary places, places of contemplation and isolation from the world.

They had tall, lean and willowy frames, with hair often entwined with leaves and flowers.

Draculkar lived in mountain cities, with many many high towers. Their legends say they were descended of ancient dragons, though they might also have siren blood.

They were the best mages of all the races and did well with magic-heavy builds.

Draculkar were artistic. Much of the jewelry that adorned the bodies of notable people across the lands were draculkar designed.

Their skin came in shades of purple-blue, and their eyes came in metallic shades like gold, silver, copper, steel, etc.

Mafmet meant 'children of Maf' as the race revered Maf, an ancient sorceress who gave them the ability to see in the dark and to use magic. They had hidden claws on their fingers. They did not have fur, but had cat-like eyes. They were one of the shortest people in-game, but were fast and vicious.

Mafmet were excellent engineers and assassins. They were the first Forged, and still there are many who recreate themselves. One of the most numerous races in Zushkenar.

All the mechanized clockwork mounts in the game are made by Mafmet artificers. It was a racial secret, the process to animate clockwork.

"The Draculkar." Eli stated clearly.

"Are you certain?"

In truth, Eli had been wavering between Vargvir and Draculkar.

Vargvir not only came with a battle-class tailored to it, there was beast-rider potential there which meant points in general beast-taming.

Draculkar were mage-builds and despite the large magic pool, didn't have a lot of stamina. They were meant for quick overwhelming takedowns.

Both had great potential at being a monster hunter and an enchanter.

He wanted the Enchanter class; he knew that before coming into this.

Enchanters in Zushkenar became rich even with the smallest enchanted items.

A vargvir Wolf Warrior was better than a draculkar Battlemage for solo combat, mostly because of the synergy bonus between the vargvir race and the Wolf Warrior battleclass.

And the fact that draculkar had relatively weak endurance.

But there was something he wanted from one of the hidden draculkar racial bonuses, and that was the chance to gain the ability to control shadows.

He had personally seen how godblastingly useful the ability was in a race that wasn't known for weaponless fighting, and seriously coveted it.

Shadow Animation was only available in several drakulkar and magmigant racial quests. And dryads could create shadow-golems, technically.

It also came with points in stealth.

"I'm certain."

When it came to open battle and stealth battle, Eli leaned toward the latter.

Redlands was a game where you could toss a rock off a lonely cliff and hit someone fighting a battle challenge. The system rewards were excellent if you won, even without the possibility of betting on yourself.

The only way to get around a challenge was to have stealth abilities or speed abilities nearly twice greater than the opponent.

The last time around, he'd been challenged so much he would have personally sawn off his own arm to have stealth.

He hadn't joined even joined the wars!

Mostly because he'd been too low-level for the guilds.

But Scare hadn't been hiding under a rock, either. The rumors of transmigrators killing transmigrators in the first year after the Quake because they were only doing what they were used to doing in-game, turned out to not be rumors.

In a little over a year, everything was going to become real.

And even now, more and more people were getting cut down, getting used to cutting down others. There was a sick feeling in Eli's stomach.

Battling monsters was…less philosophical.

"Very well, Krow," the Attendant waved his hand and the rest of the cards vanished, leaving the image of the draculkar, two people back to back, with the background of a city half hidden behind mist and clouds.

"You have chosen the race of Draculkar, those who seek the skies."

The card changed.

The male draculkar turned until it was facing him, and the city disappeared into white cloud.

The card enlarged until it was full-size.

Krow just knew, this was what his avatar looked like.

The card had turned into a mirror.

He lifted his hands, turning them over.

Draculkar skin had a tinge of darkening evening to it, with a hint of moonlight in the undercolor. At least according to a bard he'd heard once.

Eli's skin was twilight pale, a purple-blue hue, and dark waves of raven hair fell down his shoulders. The hair was a little uncomfortable. His had always been short.

"Can I braid this?"

The Attendant snapped their fingers. "You can choose to change the structure of the avatar up to 20% of the base body."

"Huh." Eli felt his hair move, and waited until it was done.

Creepy.

He turned his head from side to side, checking how it looked in the mirror-card. The result was a series of braids tied back into a ponytail. His dual pointed ears were visible against the dark hair.

There was a rather distinctive pattern of scales on his temples in the space between the edge of the eye and the ear, larger than the delicate designs of siren scales.

The scale patterns were a dark purple, nearly black.

The headset scanned the biologics of the user at the beginning, so the face looking back at him was his own.

"Change the face about ten percent, maybe? Random but symmetrical." Eli watched in fascination as his face in the card changed. "Another two percent….that's it. Looks great, thanks."

"Of course."

Eli considered his avatar, then nodded in satisfaction.

It was different enough not to be instantly recognizable and yet close enough to recognize echoes of himself in the avatar.

The skew on the facial features of each player maxed out at twenty percent. That was enough to be a different person.

The last time, he went the full 20% and experienced a distant disorientation every time he looked in the mirror until he accepted that his own face had changed so much.

The gold of the eyes was a little disconcerting.

"Can we change the eye color to something brown?" Closer to his natural eye color.

"A shade of copper, is the nearest within draculkar parameters."

"Copper, huh? Alright."

Eli bent his knees, getting used to his body. He stumbled a little.

"What height am I now?"

"One hundred and ninety centimeters." The Attendant answered crisply.

Too tall.

"Can we tone it down to 185?"

One hundred and eighty-five centimeters was two inches taller than Eli's natural height. He should be able to get used to it faster.

"It is within the tolerances for non-hybrid draculkar height."

Eli looked at the Attendant sharply. "It's possible to gain a hybrid race?"

"For the Draculkar, it is possible to cross with Sirens, Trollkin, and Dryads."

"Would that give the resulting hybrid the natural strengths of the other races?"

"It is possible to choose which one strength and one weakness a hybrid would have. The resulting visual combination, however, is random."

Eli mulled that over, then asked. "How is it done?"

If possible, he wanted the Vitality of the Trollkin.

"A bloodvial of any of the three compatible races will cost two hundred fifty thousand drax."

Hah, of course it wasn't free.

"Can I see a list?"

The Attendant removed a scroll from his voluminous sleeves, and offered it to Eli.

The weaknesses of the Trollkin in return for greater HP and VIT generation, involved lower Magical Aptitude or one less Spell Slot.

He could conceivably survive as an Enchanter within those limits.

On one hand, he needed VIT now, and he wasn't going to train Enchanting until later. On the other, VIT was trainable, and was the boost in VIT generation worth limiting himself in the future?

It was possible he couldn't gain the title of craftmaster again.

Not to mention, he still had to buy Spells, and starting gear was viable only up to Lvl 10.

"I don't suppose there are half-vials or something?"

The Attendant was silent, the hooded faceless façade turned serenely to Eli's direction.

"…nevermind." Eli gave the scroll back. "I'm fine with pure draculkar."

With draculkar as his race, he'd come out in the Hallagon mountain range, in the draculkar highlands.

He didn't know the starting villages there, as he chose human last time and entered the game in a human village. But he'd ended up in a town very near the mountains after the Quake.

There was a quest he'd been doing in Alliance territory there. And after the Quake, he'd been recruited by Findrakon whose base was a nearby human village. After the rebellion, he'd stayed in the same general area.

That is to say, he knew the Hallagon Mountains more than he knew any other part of Zushkenar. It was an advantage he wasn't going to throw away.

The Attendant waved again, and another set of cards appeared.

"There are fifteen battle-classes, fifteen crafting classes, three hundred and seventy-five subclasses. Krow, you may choose one class for battle, one class for craft, and four of the subclasses."

Eli leaned closer to the first layer of cards. The battleclass for a draculkar had to have magic or waste the advantages of the race.