MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer
chapter-40

The New Leaf forest was resonating with tons of dying screams as the Mighty Dragons were toyed with by the powerful wolf boss.

Meanwhile, Jack was sneaking inside the boss's lair as quickly as he could. The rocky tunnel was long and led toward a large cave. The wolf had left gigantic claw marks on the walls, and below one of them were the iron ores he had been looking for!

But, this wasn't all. There was something else that stood out. In the rocky surface was an imprint of a wolf, seemingly menacingly guarding the place. Following the pattern were flowers glowing with a soft blue light: lunar blossoms!? How?!

Jack, who had kept this his cool all this time, couldn't help but stare, gasping. This flower was first seen in the level 20 fairy garden?! What was it doing here?! For the early stage of the game, there was no better magical catalyst!

In theory, the current Jack couldn't gather this flower. After all, he didn't even have a gathering skill yet! But, in Infinite, things weren't always a game of numbers and levels. Skill was important!

He steadied his trembling hands, delicately plucking them. This seemingly simple action was more challenging than fighting the chicken onslaught! Gathering was an art, and most likely, the original explorers of this place had wasted the material!

After a few seconds, he was finally done. He had managed to gather a third of the flowers! This was an incredible result!

He couldn't help but grin, seeing the lunar blossoms resting in his inventory. Just for this, the trip had been worth it! He even saw an instant benefit as a message prompt appeared.

[Gathered Rare Lunar Blossoms! Completion Rate Epic!]

[+ Gathering Proficiency!]

[+ Gathering Proficiency!]

[+ Gathering Proficiency!]

[+ Gathering Proficiency!]

[Gathering skill obtained, F Rank!]

He couldn't help but give a wry smile. Who knew that his first skill ever would be a life-skill one?! Usually, reaching this point required at least five days!

But it was time to go. Without waiting, he grabbed the ores and hurriedly left, giving one last look to the wolf imprint. He would soon be back!

The outside world felt calm, a little too calm. The screams had stopped and this was bad news! Jack ran. He simply ran, rushing as far away as he could. Gathering the flowers had taken too much time.

He was just about to leave the clearing when an enormous black shadow appeared to block his way. This shadow was one that he had no chance to defeat. The wolf progenitor was there, with the wolf cub in its maw.

The entirety of its fur was stained blood, blood that he knew belonged to the 50 players it had just annihilated. The creature rested its yellow eyes on Jack, and he knew that he was done for.

Could he outrun this beast? Hell no! It seemed like getting a few ores was even more challenging than he thought. Had he underestimated the tutorial too much?! Sure he knew a lot, but some things took time and grinding…

He resolved himself to die at this moment, but he wouldn't go out without a fight!

His eyes darted to the surrounding. The trees were too far away: he'd die trying to climb one. What if he tried using the steak he had as bait? It likely wouldn't buy him enough time, not so deep into wolf territory.

No matter what, he was fucked! That's when he focused on the wolf pup. Was this a way out? Instead of cowering, he looked at the wolf that was many times his size, dead in the eyes, with his menacing title.

"You should take care of your pup, live and let live. You do not wish to fight me." Jack growled at the wolf!

The creature glared at him with incredible disdain. Did this human think it had a chance against its power?! Preposterous! The beast slowly lowered its cub to the ground and gave a mocking growl to the human. It would now die!

Jack could sense the monster's killing intent focused on him. A regular player would have been frozen in fear, but not him. That's when the creature pounced, determined to end his life!

The attack was so fast that a player of his level couldn't react to it. It was simply impossible. But Jack still dodged it. He had thrown himself to the side as soon as he had seen its frame recoil slightly backward in preparation.

— Woosh! —

Jack felt the gale produced by its movement. He felt the deadly claws pass right next to his head. He felt the creature miss him and end up farther away. This was the only attack he could dodge, so he didn't waste any time. He instantly dashed to the cub!

He immobilized the cub and equipped his Cluckinator. He then looked at the boss straight in the eyes. It had looked down on him and ignored his warning…grave mistake! He could see the fury in the creature's eyes but so what?!

Jack would slaughter the youngling and get some XP, but most importantly, he'd make this fucking boss regret it! "I told you, you do not wish to fight me. Fuck you!" He grinned as he went for the kill.

The boss howled in grief as it saw the deadly blade reach the pup's head. But, just as Jack was about to murder the creature, he saw its clear eyes, staring at him so gently. He unconsciously released his grip on it.

Instantly the young one pounced on him and violently….began licking his face! It remembered the human that had played with him before! For some reason, he smelled so nice! It was a very familiar smell, one that made it feel safe.

Jack suddenly changed his mind and lost all power in his body. His quarrel was with the boss. It was foolish, but he didn't feel like killing the little wolf anymore. That's when the gigantic maw of the wolf progenitor cast a shadow on his body.

He couldn't help but give a self-deprecating smile. Who would have believed that the motherfucking Herald of Light would ever succumb to cuteness? He remained still, waiting for death. Sparing the pup was only on a whim and wouldn't affect the big picture anyway.

The boss's maw engulfed Jack's head. This was the end. But that's when a shrill whimper resounded. Somehow it felt…reproachful?! The deadly fangs stopped a millimeter from tearing his neck apart.

Jack could distinguish the blood and the bone fragments inside the creature's mouth. He could feel the fetid scent of its breath. He sensed gross saliva drenching his hair….but he was still alive?! Another cute whimper later, the boss let his prey go free.

Jack couldn't help but be stunned. Had the pup saved him?! Had it interjected to beg for his life?! What the fuck was happening?! That's when it began licking his hands, especially the one he had used to gather the Lunar Blossoms. Wait…what if?!

He took out a Lunar Blossom. Instantly, the eyes of the little wolf began glowing with the light of desire. Holy crap! Jack slowly fed it one, as it devoured it gleefully, softly howling in happiness and licking its lips.

It then began begging for more, its tail wagging from side to side. Jack waited a few seconds, but nothing at all was happening. One would have to be crazy to feed the little thing another incredibly precious flower!

But then, Jack hesitated for a few seconds before feeding it another. Perhaps something would happen after a few? After all, there had been so many flowers in the lair! With every new flower, the pup's tail wagging seemed to become even faster!

Jack couldn't help but fear that he was making a great mistake, but he also kinda wanted to see what would happen if he just kept feeding it. Would its tail wag so fast that it would fly away helicopter-style?!

That's how he fed it eight flowers out of the nine he had! He had fed it enough wealth to buy a few beginner villages over! He could have likely paid a month of rent with that he had just squandered!

But, as a gamer, he was dying to know if he could unlock a secret event! Infinite was layered with mysteries. Was it a coincidence that Lunar Blossoms grew inside the wolf cave? Probably not! It was perhaps a hint for a quest!

Maybe he was going crazy, but he wouldn't rest easy if he didn't try! After this extravagant feast, the little wolf finally showed a hint of being full. It rested its head on Jack's lap for a few seconds before peering straight his way.

That's when its eyes began glowing a soft blue light, the same one as the Lunar Blossoms! Magical symbols began swimming in them as if alive, slowly forming a pattern. Jack,s heart began beating faster, holy shit!

This whole event stemmed from the power of a bloodline. How the fuck did a seemingly normal wolf possess it?! Jack could not only read the symbols but also knew what they meant.

አስማታዊ ውል

This was the initiation of a magical contract! The wolf pup wanted to become his pet, but not any pet. This was a total submission contract! Such a concept only applied to mythical and up creatures! What kind of origin did this one have?!

Jack instantly willed to accept the contract! He'd be crazy not to! While it would probably start out weak, it had incredible potential! The leveling up quests for mythical creatures were arduous, but so what?! He was motherfucking Jack'O!

It only took an instant and then it was over.

[Magical Link Established!]

He felt their souls intertwine. He felt the heartbeat of the young wolf, how happy it was for them to become partners, how it longed to explore the vast world with him, and so much more all at once!

All Jack could do was smile as he gently embraced the little furry creature. They exchanged a glance, sharing this happiness. Who said a dog was a man's best friend? Wolves were super soft and even better at hunting!

But the magical moment was suddenly interrupted by a message.

Bubblegum: "Be careful! The Mighty Dragons are coming full force to get you! They made promises and enlisted literally all the players in New Leaf. The assholes already forgot how you helped them during the chicken onslaught!"

Jack'O: "I see."

Bubblegum: "We're trying to get an army going to fight them, but we really can't compete. What should we do?!"

Jack'O: "Don't come anywhere near the forest and let them come. I'm more than ready to welcome them all, hehe!"

Jack gave a glance at the wolf progenitor nearby. That's when he began cackling like a madman with the wolf pup doing the same in its cute high-pitched voice.

He couldn't wait for them to attack...

Creator's Thought

Is a Lunar Blossom that great? Well, it's subjective. Considering the game in its entirety, it's nothing but a cool glowing flower. But, when the strongest players are level 2-3 a level 20 flower is great! Perhaps only a week of chain questing would give something almost as good.