Main Objective- Hunt an oriental Rat Snake
Species- Ptyas mucosa, reptile, extremely mutated.
Duration- Before the break of dawn.
Reward- 100 karma.
Penalty- Not required.
Note- Survive the red moon hunt. Good luck, host!"
Anaxa read the details of his next mission with some dread and apprehension, finding the details quite ominous. The system had given him an extremely specific target, the target was confirmed to be 'very strange', the duration of the mission was very short and most alarming of all, the reward was so high yet there was no written consequence for failure.
"Not required….Hmm… usually the system only writes 'none' or simply leaves it blank. So the reason it said so like this… is probably…." Anaxa's eyes flashed a cool look as he deduced the hidden meaning, his heart settling into a chilly acceptance.
Given one of his side objectives had read- 'Survive the red moon' since long ago, Anaxa had subconsciously understood this day was eventually coming.
"System…. What is the red moon? What does it do?" So he asked a bit curiously.
"...." Typical system response.
"Sigh… okay, when does the hunt start?"
"Dusk!"
The succinct reply made Anaxa's lips twitch a bit- he had hoped it would start a bit later.
"Tsk! I cannot believe I have to make a new weapon right now. I had hoped to hunt a few more fish and perhaps get my level up."
Yes, the ever optimistic lizard had not given up on that hope until now. However, with the system announcing the deadline for his next task, Anaxa was at last forced to cast those thoughts aside and hurriedly began his preparations.
He quickly sought out a good, large, strong rock and then, climbing up a tree, used the sharp edges of the stone to chop off a thick, sturdy twig of his liking.
"Dammit Anaxa! Why didn't you think of yesterday? You could have saved so much time!" As the tiny lizard quickly sharpened the stick against his rock, he swore to himself as such, rebuking himself for forgetting to use all the tools available to him.
His twig was so much better and stronger than his previous specimen, such that Anaxa was even confident that if he had this against the tilapia, he could have fully finished the hunt.
The rest of the day was spent like this, with Anaxa preparing himself as best as he could for the hunt that was about to commence.
So by the time the sun had set, the green chinese water dragon had a full belly, his body was at the optimum temperature, his mouth held a spear sharpened on both ends, and there was a rock in his tail whose edges had also been chipped to make it very sharp and jagged.
"Tsk! I really wish I could coat my weapons with some kind of poison. Perhaps from a frog. That would have helped so much!" Yet despite all this, the slightly cowardly lizard was still not satisfied, and wished for something extra.
But whatever he wanted to do, the time was up. The sun had set and as he stood near the mouth of his lair, he kept his eyes high up towards the sky, wishing to spot the 'red moon' as soon as it rose.
….
The full moon crept out of the sun's lingering glow with an eerie radiance, spreading a shade of crimson as though stained by blood. Its light was so much brighter than any full moon Anaxa had witnessed, and it seemed to be charged with an otherworldly energy, making the air seem thick and heavy with a mysterious tension.
The shadows of trees and plants became spookily distorted under its effect while its distorted reflection shimmered across the still waters of all the ponds and puddles, casting a surreal pall over the landscape.
Under the nourishing glow of the spookily red light, the undergrowth of the forest also suddenly stirred unnaturally.
Insects buzzed in frenzied patterns, their wings humming like restless drums and birds, usually silent at this hour, let out shrill, panicked cries as they flitted erratically between branches. Small mammals like rats, rabbits, hares and voles, driven by some unseen force, bared their teeth at one another as an inexplicable torrent of insanity clouded their judgment. Some of them even went mad enough to even attack and eat their children.
And it was not just the small critters that were driven to such extremes.
As time went on, and the moon rose higher and higher, its stronger and intense rays began to affect medium sized predators too.
The shadows pulsed with movement as snakes slithered more boldly from their burrows, their tongues flickering hungrily, while foxes and wild dogs paced with twitching muscles, eyes gleaming with a strange light, driven by an instinctual fury that drowned out almost all caution.
"What… what is happening? Why is my heart beating so quickly? And my blood… ahhh.. I feel like it's going to boil out. Ahhh… I feel so restless, like I cannot wait to hunt! System…!" Anaxa too was affected by the change and cried out in large for an explanation.
"Ding!" Luckily this time, the system responded, succinctly chiming,
"Host is affected by Red Moon Fever. Temporary growth to all skills and senses. Danger of losing control of mind. Host is recommended to finish the given task as quickly as possible."
The system's answer basically confirmed what Anaxa was already feeling- very strong, very alert yet slightly delirious. And that latter feeling was subtly but constantly increasing.
Anaxa wondered how long he could remain cool headed under the moon's 'scorching' heat so quickly thought of burrowing into his nest to escape its rays.
However this moon seemed to have an extremely alluring effect on him, as even though Anaxa wanted to run, his body refused. There seemed to be a primal calling coming from the celestial object, such that even typically diurnal animals scrambled out of their places to bask in its eerie glory, growling and howling with abandon.
"Tsk! It seems there is no escaping it… I need to quickly find that snake if I want to remain sane. Ahhh….I wonder what kind of monster will be for the system to offer me 100 karma."
Unbeknownst to Anaxa, the opponent was also thinking the same.
And he was closer than Anaxa could have imagined.