Killing A Level-One Bug

"Ito, what is this?"

Seeing Pel turn to the side and speak into the air, Wilson blinked in confusion. 'Who is he talking to?'

[That should be a mana crystal]

"Mana crystal?"

[They are formed in areas highly concentrated with mana like the forest Crista was found]

Pel turned to Crista with questioning eyes but he had to hold off his question since an obstruction was still standing right there.

"What do you mean by this?" Pel asked Wilson impatiently.

"Since you know what this is then you must be able to ascertain its value. We're willing to pay a large sum of mana crystals if you agree"

'I don't even know what this thing is capable of and he dares to try and buy me off with it, daring' Pel observed the crystal silently before turning to Wilson. "No thanks...and I still have things to do"

"Let's go Crista"

Crista nodded and left with, Pel ignoring the dazed Wilson.

'He rejected the mana crystal?!... Perhaps the elder was right...and who is that girl, she looked pretty important to him'

*sigh*

'Today did not go well at all, I hope the elders won't be too upset'

* * *

When they reached the forest Pel then decided to ask his questions.

"How much do you know about that crystal?"

Crista was absent-minded and so did not answer the question. 'So they recognize it as mana crystal, but now that I think of it, it looks like a spirit stone...I've seen it in a comic although the similarities aren't that much and also...'

"Crista!!"

"Huh?" Crista blinked.

"I've been calling out to you, what's on your mind?" Pel gazed at her with a suspicious look on his face.

"Nothing"

Pel stared at her for a while before he turned away. "Ito, can you lead me to the exact place where those stones can be found?"

[Affirmative]

Crista followed behind Pel as they slowly made their way through the forest. As they went deeper, she could feel the change around her and not just her but him too.

Soon Pel encountered his first mana beast and in that split second he drew Crista with him and they both took cover.

"What is that?" Pel whispered in disgust.

From their hiding place, they both peeked at the creature which looked like a giant fly. In fact, it was a housefly that mutated causing its increase in size.

Pel felt his insides turn but he forced himself to swallow everything after looking at Crista that was standing close to him.

For the sake of his pride, he couldn't show an embarrassing side to a lesser species.

"Ito what is that?"

[That is a mana beast, one that can help you level up]

"You want me to go near that thing?" Pel asked with widened eyes.

[Without your weapons]

Pel remained silent and his expression could not be described. "Look, Ito I don't know what happened after your evolution but I miss the old one"

[...]

—Quest

—Kill the level-one mutated bug without the help of your weapons or another party.

—Reward: An attack skill.

—Warning: Failure to complete the quest will lead to serious consequences.

Pel slowly turned to look at Ito with dead eyes. "You never did joke before"

[...]

"Are you serious?!!...Ito we fight at long range...is there a way around this?"

[Host will have to figure it out himself]

"What is an attack skill anyway?" Pel asked.

[Skill info will be revealed to the host after the completion of the quest]

"Fine" Pel breathed and decided to access the situation carefully. 'Ito won't provide me details of this creature...is this just a training program he thought of or more?...doesn't matter, I trust him'

'The only ability I have at my disposal is Cloning and my stats are disappointing so that won't be of much help either so I can only make use of the surroundings'

'I'm pretty much handicapped here so everything should count...okay let's blind this thing'

"Are you sure I can help him Ito?" Crista asked starting with worry in her eyes.

[This is not a quest that requires your assistance and I believe my host can complete it]

"That would have felt good if this was another situation" Pel said surprising a scoff. "Just look at the size of that thing...I can't fight that in melee combat so I have to wound it from afar"

Pel then narrowed his eyes in thought and then turned to Crista. "You stay here and don't get seen"

With that he made a clone appear and the clone ran out first drawing the creature's attention.

'Look at those eyes, there are many weird things on earth'

The task of the clone was to keep the creature away for as much as possible for Pel to create a trap that could at least make the creature immobile if possible kill it.

'Those limbs look like they can get out of pretty much anything...I need to know if these vines are strong enough to hold it'

'There's no harm in trying anyway so let's get started'

Cutting off the vines wasn't an option so Pel had to climb up the trees to make proper use of the vines.

Pel only needed a few minutes to make the crude trap and although the looks weren't pleasing to the eyes, the probability of catching the creature was high with this kind of trap.

Now he just needed to make something to help him kill the creature from afar but how can he make anything if he wasn't even allowed to use a knife?

'I guess I have to find it's weak spot where even a stone will be harmful'