Mirage

The displacer beast snarled and sneered at Roko as it approached closer. It's purplish black fur was already blending in with the blueish shadows of the forest. If Roko lost track of the beast, it would be difficult to find it again. Or at least it would be if he wasn't able to analyze it. The problem with that was something his analyze spell had already told him. Or rather, analyze map. For when Roko first registered the figure in his spell's range, he noticed that the pulse traced over a figure that was slightly off from where he had seen the beast with his eyes. It was slight, only barely an inch of difference but it was still alarmingly noticeable. So what did that mean? And more importantly, how should Roko go about unraveling this mystery?

Roko raised his bow and pulled the arrow back, taking aim at the displacer beast. The leopard like monster snarled and roared at Roko for this sign of aggression. For a moment, Roko feared he had taunted the beast too quickly or too intensely and that the beast would attack him immediately, before Roko could even figure anything out. But the beast instead calmed down again and began to circle around him from the left, trying to get out of the way of his arrow. Roko didn't quite understand why, perhaps it was something he was giving off or maybe the beast is just a cautious as him but this was a prime opportunity.

Roko trained his bow on the beast in front of him, keeping his eyes and weapon on it as he sent out another map pulse. The outline of the environment began to trace itself into the corner of his vision but when it approached the displacer beast, the pulse went right under it, failing to trace over its body like other cases before it. With the abnormality clearly apparent, Roko made one more test to ascertain his suspicions.

"Scan."

His signature spell failed to activate. Even though he was looking directly at what should've been the displacer beast's body, nothing registered. Even the eldritch creatures would trigger his spell, they would just have unknown stats. Which meant that despite what he was clearly seeing, the displace beast was not there. Some sort of illusion maybe? Given the outline that he did see, there definitely was a monster here which meant that the real body had to be invisible. Which meant…

"Analyze map."

Roko sent out another scanning pulse but this time, he moved his eyes about, pretending to look for a way out, keeping his bow aimed at the illusion. But as the pulse closed in on the displacer beast's location, Roko shifted his eyes to the opposite side of the clearing. Where the pulse traced out the figure of another displacer beast in clearly empty space. He could see the figure preparing to pounce but as soon as Roko fixed eyes on it, the displacer beast suddenly stopped. Roko could only imagine the look of surprise on its face when it realized that the human in front of it seemed to have pinpointed its real body. Perhaps it was a bad idea to put the beast on such high alert but Roko needed the opening to apply his spells properly.

"Scan. Analyze."

The moment his spells registered and information on the displacer beast entered his mind, Roko began to look around again, innocently pretending like he was still looking for a way out. The displacer beast seemed to relax a bit from his quick little act but it clearly wasn't quite convinced. It was more wary of him than before but at this point, Roko felt much more prepared to face the monster. Its position was clearly marked in the corner of his eye even as Roko fixed his eyes back on the obvious illusion in front of him. He may be aiming at an illusion but the beast's expression was probably no fake. The beast's confusion and suspicion was clear on its face but it soon made up its mind as it began to glare back at Roko and snarling. It was preparing to attack. Roko let his arrow arm go slack a little as if in exhaustion and the beast took the perceived opportunity to start running towards Roko.

Roko quickly drew his arrow back and fired it at the illusion. Naturally, the arrow just phased through the image of the displacer beast but it was enough to embolden the monster to charge even faster at him. Roko calmly drew the next arrow from his quiver but it was already too late as the displacer beast already bore down on him, one of its spiked tentacles raised to slash into him. The image of the displacer beast had moved to the left but the analyze marker indicated that the beast's true body was approaching from the right. If he dodged the displacer beast that he could see, he'd be running right into the jaws of the real beast. It would've been easy enough to just ignore the illusion and fight the actual threat that he knew was there but if he brazenly disregarded this creature's hunting method, who knows how it might react. It might run away or it might attack in a more desperate manner. That's why Roko jumped back. And in the split seconds in his retreat, he drew the arrow on his bow back and waited. Waited for the fake and real tentacle that the displacer beast attacked with to overlap in their attack arcs and fired at that moment. A sickening squelch and one loud roaring later, Roko landed back on the ground on his back. The displacer beast was reeling back in pain, its spiky tentacle now embedded with one off Roko's arrows. Interestingly, the image of the displaced beast had attacked with its right tendril but the arrow was lodged in the displacer beast's left tendril. The hidden pincer attack that the beast tried to employ used tentacles on opposite sides but since only one was real, the arrow struck the hidden left tentacle instead of the obvious right tentacle. The fact that this was reflected on the visible displacer beast's body meant that they weren't quite smart enough to correct for this small discrepancy or it was too much in pain.

The displacer beast groaned and growled as it stumbled back, more confused than it was enraged. For a beast that employed illusory tactics like this, Roko couldn't imagine it got injured like this often. The beast was glaring at Roko as if it was trying to remeasure how much of a threat he was.

"Yes! I managed to hit it!" Roko acted blasé to this achievement. It was difficult to imagine and channel the feelings of a rookie that only managed to hit a beast he didn't know by sheer luck while still pretending to be ignorant of the displacer beast's powers and honestly, Roko wasn't sure if this would even work or if it would even understand him. But it seemed to work as Roko could see the tension loosen a little from Roko's acting. Despite seeming like it had been convinced by Roko's act, the beast was backing away, giving Roko more and more room to approach the creature at a distance with his bow drawn.

Let's see...if Roko was playing the lucky hunter then the displacer beast retreating meant...it was giving Roko room display his own abilities to better gain a measure of his abilities. Which meant that if Roko was going to commit to his own little bit of deceit…

Roko sighed and aimed his bow at the displacer beast, letting loose an arrow. The arrow flew right into the illusion and of course, missed the main body entirely but that was the point. Roko fired again and again at the illusion in front of him while making short confused and frustrated sounds, all to further the illusion that he had hit the displacer beast by sheer luck. The more Roko missed, the more confident the beast became again, jumping back further and further back as it dodged Roko's arrows. In this play, Roko had stepped forward more and more, cornering the beast in his thespian display of hubris. The displacer beast began to fight back again as it snarled and made short jumps forward. Snapping it's leopard like jaws at him and swinging its spiked tentacles at him. The attacks were easy enough to dodge, just forcing Roko to give back some of the ground he gained. But interestingly, the displacer beast's main body had not moved, sending it's illusion to attack Roko. Because Roko was still keeping up the act, he had to dodge the illusion's attacks as if it was real but he didn't mind retreating a bit. The more distance he had between the target, the more effective his bow will be. Once he felt like he had returned enough ground, Roko fired off the arrow in his bow. The arrow struck the illusion in the shoulder but passed through harmlessly. Still, it forced the illusion to jump back as if it had dodged the attack. Roko himself gave himself a bit more inches by take a step or two back as he retrieved his next arrow from his quiver.

For a moment the two watched the other from across the clearing, ready to react to the other should they make a move. At this point, Roko wasn't sure if he could keep up the act any longer and he also knew he didn't have the abilities to fight an enemy this tricky for much longer. He'd have to end the fight quick and in one motion. The question to how he would do that was interrupted by movement from the displacer beast. Not from the illusion but from the main body, the analyze marker moving forward even as the visible body remained still. Even if Roko strained his ears Roko couldn't hear this invisible body move. As soon as the displacer beast's main body lined up in front of its illusion, it roared and began to growl threateningly. Roko understood immediately. The displacer beast was going to charge but since the illusion was going to be several steps behind, the main body will reach Roko way before he expects and get surprised by an invisible attack before he can react. It was a pretty dastardly plan for a monstrous animal but it was perfect for Roko. If he didn't know about the illusion, he would have been caught by the attack. Actually even if he did know about the illusion, without knowing the true body's exact location, Roko wouldn't be aware of this tricky attack and be unable to defend against it. But since he knew, all Roko needed to do was release his arrow early. But it needed to be accurate and hit somewhere that would immediately kill the displacer beast.

In short time, the displacer beast let out a short roar and began to charge at Roko. Time slowed down for the otherworldly human as he waited with baited breath for the beast to come closer. The beast's visual body was still several meters away but his real body was much closer. It would be foolhardy for an archer to fire at an illusion so far away but it was also not close enough for Roko to guarantee a killshot. If he missed he'd probably damage the beast but it would still barrel down on him and kill him. So Roko waited. Waited for the invisible beast to draw closer. As the beast closed in on him, reaching out with the spiked tendrils on its back, reaching out with its front claws to capture and kill Roko in one swift instant. Roko waited until the displacer beast was only a foot or two away before he released his arrow. The tendrils stopped inches from Roko's body and the displacer beast's illusion that was still several feet away from Roko dissipated. The true body began to come into view as the beast fell to the ground, dead from the arrow that had stabbed deep into its head.

Roko breathed a sigh of relief as the beast laid dead before him. It was a pretty harrowing first experience for a fight but he managed to score a pretty good supply of meat. So much so that Roko didn't even think he'd be able to hold it all even if he ate some for dinner tonight. But just as Roko was starting to relax, the thought that there were more displacer beasts nearby snapped Roko back to attention and he released another map pulse to immediately take stock of his surroundings. Thankfully there didn't seem to be any creature as scary as the displacer beast nearby but atop one of the rocky outcropping, Roko spotted some sort of animal. This animal in question was much smaller than the leopard like displacer beast and when Roko spotted it, it...looked like a dog. A shiba inu? No...a Shikoku Inu? Regardless, the proud looking dog was looking down at him with curious eyes and what seemed like a small kitten in its mouth. A small...dead kitten that from the small tendrils on its back was probably a dead displacer beast kitten. Did that mean there was a displacer beast nest nearby? Was that why the displacer beast never chose to flee? Roko reached up towards his quiver. He didn't draw an arrow since he didn't feel any sort of animosity from the dog but he could never be too careful with these magical creatures. But before Roko could even react, the dog was suddenly gone, the dead displacer kitten falling to the ground. Roko's breath stopped as he didn't even see the dog move nor where it could have gone. It was just gone as soon as Roko blinked and from behind him, Roko could hear a soft panting already walking around him. The shikoku inu that was several meters away was now walking around to the front of Roko, wagging it's tail and panting cheerfully.

"You're not dangerous are you?" Roko said as he tentatively knelt down and began to pet the dog.

The dog responded well to Roko's petting, wagging it's tail even faster and licking Roko's hand as it rubbed against it.

"You're not a normal dog are you? Scan. Analyze."

The dog sat down obediently as Roko consulted the information in his head.

"You're...a blink dog?" Roko frowned, "A dog that can teleport. And you hate displacer beasts?"

The dog barked in an affirmative manner.

"Wow, your intelligence is pretty high." Roko said as he began petting the dog again, "You're even smarter than Roland."

The blink dog laid on its back, letting Roko begin rubbing its stomach.

"You're pretty amazing for a magical creature. If only I had a treat. Oh, I know." Roko unhooked the cured meat from his belt and presented it to the dog, "Do you want this? My plan with this doesn't seem to be working well anyway."

The blink dog bit onto the meat and began eating it enthusiastically.

"Heh. Well isn't it nice to see a friendly face in this forest." Roko said as he stood up, "If you want some more meat, I've got some. Stick around as long as you want but I'm probably going to leave in a bit after I do a few stuff."

Roko stood up and walked over to one of his fallen arrows. One of the arrows that he had fired to convince the displacer beast that he was just inexperienced and lucky. Testing the arrowhead and shaft, Roko couldn't see any significant damage to either. Whatever enhancements the elves made to his arrows, they were certainly more sturdy. Roko slung his bow over his shoulder and moved the quiver off his back to return the arrow to its storage.

"Now only about a dozen more left to pick up." Roko sighed.

"Woorf."

Roko looked down to his side where the blink dog was standing with a wagging tail and all the arrows he had fired in its mouth.

"Oh!" Roko blinked, "You got them all for me?"

The blink dog panted happily as Roko took the arrows from the dog and gave him some more scratches in return.

"Thanks."

The blink dog barked in response.

"Now then..." Roko sighed as he returned the arrows to his quiver and turned to the displacer beast he killed, "I should probably move this out of the way before its mate come back from hunting or something."

Walking up to the dead beast, the blink dog teleported on top of the corpse, waiting for Roko while panting happily.

"I can't carry both of you." Roko sighed as he gave the dog a few more scritches, "Get off it, please."

The blink dog teleported to the ground next to the body and watched as Roko hefted the giant beast over his back with great effort.

"Okay." Roko gasped, already feeling like collapsing under the weight of the displacer beast, "Now to move away from here."

There was nothing that Roko had experienced that was more strenuous that moving that goddamned displacer beast. The weight of the giant leopard on his back, the smell of a wild animal mixed with a corpse. Roko just did his best to keep moving though with every step he took he felt like collapsing under the weight over and over again. Roko forced himself to count his steps, counting up to 100 steps before he stopped and looked around for a place to rest. Finding a small opening secluded by several leaves and branches, Roko dragged his exhausted self inside and collapsed on the ground for a long moment.

"Aaahh..." Roko moaned, "I would go to sleep if I wasn't so hungry. Speaking of which, are you hungry too?"

Roko pulled himself up to face the blink dog that was licking his hand in a friendly manner.

"I'm not sure why you're still here but I assume you want to travel together for a bit?"

The blink dog barked affirmatively.

"Well, that's fine." Roko nodded, "I'm not sure what time it is now so I'm just going to start cooking up this displacer beast. Do you eat displacer beasts?"

The blink dog snorted and turned its head away.

"Alright, I still got some cured meat for you. I'll just eat the displacer beast then. Hopefully it tastes normal at least."

Roko gave the blink dog another slab of cured meat before he pulled out a knife and began cutting into the displacer beast. He had no idea how to butcher animals but Roko felt like he did well enough. Well enough to build a small fire and start cooking a few pieces. His first batch smelled good enough and after taking a bite, Roko was confident that the displacer beast was edible. So for his next batch, Roko sprinkled a few spices on it and lightly roasted some of the herbs he had scavenged. It was a pretty bourgeois meal for his current conditions. Even the blink dog was happy enough with it's non-displacer beast meat and some water. But the true price of this meal was the water that Roko had now run out of. The river he had heard had actually gotten fainter though if Roko strained himself and poked his head out of his small camp he could hear it in the distance.

"Man, it's going to be a long trip back to get that water." Roko sighed as he laid on the grass, "Do you know where I can find some water, doggy?"

The blink dog barked again in a confident manner.

"Can you show me the way to it?"

Another bark in an agreeing manner.

"Thanks. You know, it'd be pretty rude to just keep calling you just a dog. Do you want me to give you a name?"

The blink dog barked indifferently.

"Alright, so how about Blinky?"

The blink dog looked at Roko with an unimpressed look.

"That was mostly a joke. How about-"

Roko spent the rest of what he assumed was night bouncing names off the blink dog until he fell asleep.