MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer
chapter-16

New Leaf Forest was slightly dark, and yet visibility was good inside.

It was as if the trees themselves suffused a soft light into their surroundings. Legends had it that this was a blessing from the land itself toward all the creatures inhabiting it.

"I heard them mention foxes. How strong are they?" Bubblegum asked with interest.

"Strong enough to wipe the floor with both of us instantly. While it would take them 2-3 bites to kill us, the main issue is their speed. There is no way to dodge them with our current level 0 stats." Jack calmly remarked.

As he was speaking, he kept evading dash attacks from the chickens that were still after him. Seraphine was frightened by how natural this all felt. They could have been talking in a safe zone that he would have the same goddamn tone!

"Yet we are heading straight into fox territory, right?" She remarked.

"Indeed. Now, make sure you remain toward the back. In Infinite, one needs to be careful with territories. The edge of the forest is a no-creature's land and pretty safe, but it soon changes." He explained.

"Aye Aye, Captain." She playfully answered.

Jack guided them through the forest, walking a very peculiar path. He was leading them in zigzags. They were probably trying to avoid monsters, right? Eventually, he stopped and turned toward the chickens, seemingly awaiting something. What now?

That's when a chicken lunged at him! Jack sidestepped it, the monster stopping a few meters away. Suddenly, there was a flash of orange light! What?! A fox had just jumped out of a bush and grabbed the chicken in its jaw!

<Sneaky Fox Level 4: Happy>

Without waiting any further, it dragged its prey back in the bush it came from. Was this a sacrifice?! Wait, Jack had made sure that the chicken was the first to enter the fox territory, right?! How scheming!

"Alright, let's go!" Jack made them resume their journey.

Soon, he repeated the same action with two new foxes, respectively level 5 and 6 this time around. They had to hurry up for the window of opportunity would quickly close otherwise. Luckily, the foxes liked to play with their food.

Before long, they were standing before a large tree that had a hole in it, with the Elder Chicken still trying to murder Jack.

"What's in there?"

"A deadly Fox Boss"

This one would be relatively challenging. Going inside would be easy. The issue would be coming out. Luckily, he knew a trick for it. It was showtime!

First, Jack made sure that the chicken intruded into the fox's nest directly. Afterward, he quickly ran away, with the chicken following him. Behind it, there was already a flash of orange following.

The poor chicken had no clue about the fate that was awaiting it. Jack waited for the fox to reach the chicken, and then the both of them ran toward the fox nest. The inside was an easy-to-navigate tunnel.

At the end of it, there was a small bed made out of twigs. Without hesitation, Jack dug it until he found a few flat logs that served as the foundation. Grabbing them, he hurriedly turned heels!

"Bubblegum, make sure you stay in front. You'll have to charge at the boss directly!"

"Won't I die instantly then?!" She protested.

"Yep, see you at the Village!" He admitted.

What kind of villain was he?! Had Jack brought her along just to serve as a meat shield?! That fucker! What kind of teacher did this?!

"You better make it worth my sacrifice!" She grumbled as she went forward.

As they tried leaving, the boss appeared:

<Fox Progenitor Level 8☠>

The skull icon said it all. This thing could murder them over and over before they could even damage it. All the New Leaf Village players could gang up on it, and it would still emerge victoriously.

The monster grabbed the poor Bubblegum in its powerful jaw. Now that she was stuck in there, her fate was already determined. The first tick of damage almost killed her, and the second finished her.

- 15

- 15

Bubblegum's HP:

20 to -10 —> DEAD

The boss threw her bloody corpse on the ground as it turned toward the remaining human. Jack had used this time to slide between its leg, arriving on the other side.

But, could he outrun the boss? Nope! Foxes were as fast as a thief running from the police. That's when Jack took out an apple from his inventory, throwing it toward the back of the nest.

The fox hesitated a second but then went after the apple. It could always catch up to the human later, right? It had to secure the sweet-smelling apple first! This was the creature's weak spot!

Had there been a party still alive, the fox would have prioritized them since they could be a threat to the weaker foxes. This only worked because Jack wasn't seen as a threat at all.

Jack left as quickly as his legs could carry him. He now had to follow the exact same path they had come from without straying at all. Otherwise, a stray fox would quickly murder him.

He really couldn't afford to die, or he would lose the Hardwood since it was a boss guarded item. Otherwise, Players would just run into every boss lair and die with tons of sweet loot in their inventory.

He managed to make it back to the Village. Instantly, he was welcomed by tons of Players losing their shit.

"What the fuck?! He's alive?!"

"Who the hell is this guy?!"

"Wasn't he chased by 4 Chickens?!"

"Not only that, he somehow killed them all in the forest?!"

"Where is the girl that was with him? The pink-haired one?"

"Who knows and who cares! I want to know how he did it!"

"For sure! We're here struggling to kill one chicken, and yet he…how?!"

"Maybe the foxes killed the chickens? Maybe we can farm XP using such a trick?!"

"Let's try it right now! Who here is good at dodging chickens?!"

There were already players heading his way to ask for tips, so Jack hurried toward the Village. He gestured at them to go away: He didn't really need more than one student (slave).

Most understood and didn't insist, for he wasn't obligated to help them. But, as usual, life couldn't be that simple, right? A group began to assemble as they blocked Jack's path.

They were the guys that had skipped queue to receive a quest from the Village Chief. There were about 20 of them grinning at him. Now what?…

Creator's Thought

Foxes are fast and great at hiding. The paths that seem safe at first glance are usually protected by foxes in ambush. At least, there are fewer of them then. By using a 100% hiding foxes path we could face 3 of them instead of a dozen. There is a trick to finding the ambushes: the bush sways a quarter of a beat later than the actual wind.