At the mountainous region’s periphery, Julien and his party located a monster lurking about.
It was a bipedal monster with sharp horns, being the size of a giant gorilla but having a slim and agile body.
This monster was currently resting in a cave and to trigger the hidden quest, one would need to make it notice them.
"Careful. This notorious monster retreats the mont it feels threatened. It’ll only attack if it feels it can harm its opponent." Celeste warned. "If you cause it to retreat, the quest will fail and won’t trigger again."
This was the reason why it was still uncleared.
Whenever high ranking Players approached this monster, it would run away and won’t show itself, making them fail the quest.
Once the quest failed, the Players saw no reason to give chase and kill this monster.
As for the low ranking ones, many died at the hands of this monster and failed the quest by default.
"It’s troubleso indeed." Julien comnted.
"What do we do, Master?" Jackie asked.
Julien thought about it and tried to co with a rough plan.
"Well, for starters, we can act as if we’re just passing by and get the attention of this monster. When it takes notice, it’ll either attack or ignore us. If it’s the latter, we can tail and poke it. If not, we can try to fight."
Julien devised a rough strategy to defeat this monster.
"Rember, we need to appear weak and always let that guy know he has an upper hand or he’ll retreat."
"Understood." Jackie nodded and started doing a quick check on her equipnt.
Julien turned to Alia. "You’ll stay at the back line and offer support as much as possible. Don’t engage and avoid confrontation."
"Understood." Alia nodded as well.
She was adept at casting battle spells and healing. She was a good support.
"Miss Celeste, if you feel the situation isn’t going in our favor, please pull us away."
"Okay." Celeste agreed.
Julien did so preparation before confronting the monster and when he was ready, with his party, they walked near the monster and tried to grab its attention.
Julien and Jackie talked loudly and had a fake disagreent.
When they saw it did not work to get the attention of the monster, they engaged in physical combat.
Soon enough, the three heard a notification.
[Hidden quest triggered!]
[Floor 17 Hidden Quest #1 — The Unruly Jungle Scamp.]
Difficulty: E
Quest: The Jungle Scamp has been terrorizing the local population on Floor 17 for decades, rendering them unable to roam freely.
Clear Condition: Kill the Jungle Scamp.
Ti Limit: 3 days.
Reward: 100,000 XP, Following of the Floor 17’s tribal community.
Failure: -10 Levels.
The quest was triggered.
The monster was approaching!
"A monster?" Jackie gasped, feigning surprise as she shifted into a defensive stance, holding back from attacking just yet.
They had to keep up the act. The Jungle Scamp was intelligent-if it sensed a real threat, it would retreat.
The creature hissed, baring its sharp fangs at the trio. It wanted fear, so they gave it fear, tensing up and stepping back as if intimidated.
Then, with a shrill screech, the Jungle Scamp launched itself off a nearby boulder and lunged at them.
The three instinctively retreated, positioning themselves as the beast extended its claws and slashed at them in a flurry of attacks.
Jackie deflected the strike with her daggers, while Julien managed to block one but barely dodged the other-his sleeve tore open as a claw grazed past.
The Jungle Scamp landed lightly, then sprang forward again, twisting mid-air for a vicious drop kick aid at Jackie’s head.
She sidestepped in a sharp L-step, angling her dagger just right-one of the monster’s feet landed directly on the blade.
"Krrrrhhhhhh!" It shrieked, stumbling back as blood dripped from its wound. Snarling, it yanked the dagger out of its foot and glared at them.
’Did I overdo it?’ Jackie wondered, tensing.
Her concerns were quickly answered. Within seconds, the monster’s bleeding stopped - the wound sealing itself as if it had never existed.
Then, without warning, the Jungle Scamp hurled the stolen dagger straight at Alia.
Julien stepped in, parrying it with his sword.
The beast paused for a mont. Its sharp eyes glead. It had caught on to sothing.
With a mischievous chitter, it grabbed a handful of nearby rocks and flung them at Alia.
Julien and Jackie moved instantly, blocking as many as they could, but the creature was relentless.
"Krrrr! Krrrr!" The Jungle Scamp screeched, almost laughing. It was toying with them now.
Then, without warning, it turned and bolted into the darkness.
The trio held their ground, waiting, uncertain.
Had it retreated?
Their hopes were short-lived.
The monster reerged monts later, dragging a sack behind it.
With eerie deliberation, it reached inside— then pulled out another dagger.
Before anyone could react, it hurled the weapon straight at Alia.
Jackie stepped in to dodge, but at that exact mont, the Jungle Scamp pulled out another dagger and hurled it straight at her.
Her eyes widened-caught off guard, she twisted her body just in ti, but not fast enough to avoid it completely. The blade grazed her arm, leaving a sharp sting and a thin trail of blood.
Julien’s expression darkened as he noticed the wound.
"I think it’s ti we got a little aggressive," he muttered.
If they kept playing along like this, they’d end up seriously hurt.
Jackie winced as Alia’s magic worked over her wound, the stinging fading as the skin slowly knit itself back together.
"What’s the plan?" she asked.
Julien’s gaze flickered toward the monster, which was watching them with a chittering excitent. It thought it had them figured out.
"First, we run," he said.
Without hesitation, he bolted in the opposite direction, signaling the others to follow.
The Jungle Scamp screeched in delight. Its tricks had worked-it had made them afraid.
With renewed excitent, it gave chase, shrieking wildly as it flung more stolen weapons at them, eager to prolong its cruel ga.
Julien and Jackie intentionally took a few hits from the monster’s weapons, wincing as they let the attacks land. They needed to sell the act-to make it believe it had the upper hand.
And it worked.
The Jungle Scamp, drunk on its own success, mindlessly pursued them, unaware of where it was being led.
By the ti it realized, it was too late.
The trio had lured it away from its cave— into an open field in the middle of the forest.
No trees, no boulders, nowhere to jump, nowhere to escape.
The monster skidded to a stop, its instincts screaming at it. Sothing was wrong.
"Jackie!" Julien shouted, dashing in from the side. He signaled Jackie, who rushed in at the sa ti.
The Jungle Scamp shrieked in alarm. It was trapped.
With no escape, it resorted to the next best option-attacking Alia.
It lunged toward her, claws gleaming, hoping to force the others into defense rather than attack.
But what the monster didn’t know... this priestess wasn’t just a healer.
Alia’s hands clasped together as she chanted. Arcane energy surged through the air.
A blue magic circle materialized above the Jungle Scamp’s head and descended, passing through its body like a spectral chain.
The creature froze mid-step.
Its muscles locked. It trembled, its eyes darting frantically, but it couldn’t move.
Dread seeped into its frantic gaze.
"Jackie, now!" Julien roared. He surged forward, sword poised to pierce through the immobilized beast.
Jackie followed in sync, her daggers flashing as she aid to sever its neck from its body.
The Jungle Scamp’s wild, restless eyes began to spin.
Its entire body convulsed.
Crack.
Loud fractures echoed from within.
Jackie and Julien faltered for a split second.
’What was happening?’
The Jungle Scamp’s eyes turned bloodshot.
With a soul-piercing scream, the spell shattered.
The air itself trembled as the creature’s body convulsed in unnatural angles. It threw its head back, screeching at the sky. Fury. Madness. Frenzy.
It had broken free.
Julien’s grip tightened around his sword.
"Oh... not good…"
"Alia, run! Jackie, stay behind her!" Julien shouted, charging toward the frenzied beast as it lunged for Alia.
In its bloodthirsty mind, Alia was still the weakest link-the easiest prey. It screeched and gave chase.
But this was no longer the sa Jungle Scamp.
Its bipedal fra had doubled in size, muscles bulging unnaturally. Though berserk, it hadn’t lost its battle intelligence. It was faster, stronger... and deadlier.
Within monts, it caught up to Alia and Jackie.
It lashed out with razor-sharp claws, swiping at them with terrifying force.
Jackie reacted instantly-grabbing Alia and rolling to the side, narrowly dodging the lethal strike.
Julien arrived at that exact mont, his sword flashing down in a brutal arc.
Steel t flesh.
The monster shrieked in pain as the blade bit deep into its back.
But it wasn’t done.
With unnatural agility, the creature twisted, its claws slashing toward Julien’s chest.
Julien was already anticipating a counter. He swiftly stepped back, dodging just in ti, then darted around the monster, repositioning for another strike.
His quick maneuver gave Jackie and Alia the chance to recover.
Both scrambled to their feet, regrouping into a proper fighting stance.
Now, all three stood ready.
The Jungle Scamp, seeing its prey no longer at a disadvantage, hesitated.
Then, to their surprise, it let out a sharp screech-and retreated.
Julien’s eyes narrowed. ’It’s running?’
Without hesitation, Julien commanded, "Chase after it!"
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