Code Collector

The night came not long after Allen ate the fish. The twilight was approaching when he went out to hunt the fish, so it wasn't a surprise to him that night suddenly fell.

The sounds of beasts started to echo from the forest. He was beside the lake which had a small area of open land before reaching the forest. He decided to camp out here since it was better than hiding in a cave where he could be cornered.

The open land was an advantage for him since he can see any beast that would try and attack him. Bit by bit, Allen was adjusting to his new life. For a few days, the forest will be his home and if he can't get use to it, he will not last long.

The Stone Hammer was right by Allen's side too. For now, he could only equip one weapon at once and he decided to equip the hammer so he would benefit from its strength boost.

Since sleep wasn't an option, Allen decided to roam the forest and hunt smaller nocturnal beasts. If he was lucky, he could find a nest of weaker beasts and he could gain another code for his quest.

The boy fed his fire with a lot of branches so it would not run out when he comes back. The fire can ward off beasts so in case he encounters a beast that he can't handle, he can run back to his camp and stay there until morning comes.

With a nod, Allen decided to start his hunt. If he could remember, not only predators roam the night. Creatures like rats, frogs, and birds would also thrive in the dark.

His goal plan was to find a new Code that would help him see better in the dark. Right now, all he could rely on was the large moon of Haven. Haven's moon was bigger than the moon on Earth.

They called this moon Lune. It was one and a half times brighter than the moon on Earth and almost twice its size.

When humans started roaming Haven, when the Second and the other worlds weren't discovered yet, there was a lore surrounding Lune. It was said that it was connected home to the rulers of this new world, the ones who are comparable to gods in Earthen mythology.

Croak. Croak.

Allen woke up from his thoughts after hearing a sound of a frog. As expected, frogs would be close to the lake. The wind was still wet in the areas and the ground wasn't as dry.

Raising his hammer, Allen walked closer to the sound. He had seen nocturnal frogs before, and not all of them are small. Some of them was large enough that they are capable of eating a human toddler.

He was wishing that he would encounter one that was barely the size of his fist, but what awaited him wasn't the one he hoped for. Over a large leafy plant, a group of frogs the size of a bowling ball snapped their heads in Allen's direction.

In the place where they were was a small pond of water. The pond had lilies on them where the frogs sat while fireflies lit up the dark area.

"Oh, no," Allen whispered after seeing the frog's eyes lit up with a red color. The frogs opened their mouths and made a loud and sharp croaking sound that made the boy cover his ears.

One of the frogs spat its long tongue and managed to wrap itself around Allen's wrist.

"Disgusting!" Allen yelled. The hair from all over his body raised, goosebumps running to his spine after feeling the silky and soft tongue of the frog.

He pulled his wrist that made the tongue loosen its grip. This gave an opportunity for Allen to grip the tongue with his other hand and pulled it to the ground. With a silent yell, Allen slammed the hammer on top of the tongue, making the frog croak in pain.

The others seemed to felt the pain of their ally. They started to croak even louder while one by one, jumping out the pond and surrounded Allen.

Before, even when weaker creatures approach him, Allen would run to his group and hide behind their backs. He was incapable of doing anything back then. But this time, it was different. He didn't need to run anymore, because he was stronger now.

"Bring it on, frogs!"

–

…

'Lily Frog killed. +10 EXP'

'Lily Frog killed. +10 EXP'

'Lily Frog Code gained.'

It was the fifth frog that Allen killed before he gained the Code. It wasn't long before another set of notifications rang in his head.

'Quest [ A Collector's Start ] updated.'

'Codes collected 3/3'

'You have completed your first quest. Reward: +50 EXP, Inventory.'

"Inventory?" Allen thought. He wasn't aware that he had an inventory in his interface. He just thought that the notification must mean the Codes list, so he shrugged the thought away. He felt another slimy tongue that wrapped around his arm that made him shudder. "What a pain."

'Lily Frog killed. +10 EXP'

'Lily Frog killed. +10 EXP'

…

It was the last beast from the group and Allen smashed its body with his stone hammer.

'Lily Frog killed. +10 EXP'

'Lily Frog Code gained.'

The boy sat on the ground with a grunt. He raised his head to the sky as he watched the moon right above him. He basked in its light before he closed his eyes and smiled. It was beautiful. The trees were beautifully opening above him that the light from the moon shone in his face perfectly.

His eyes then opened and his body twitched in fear after thinking what the Code he gained must be. He had thought that maybe it was a skill that allows him to extend his tongue or make his body secrete slime, both of which was not something he desired.

With a scrunch of his face and a heavy gulp, Allen opened his inteface. He had seen a small circle on the bottom right corner and it had a small bag logo inside.

"This must be the Inventory the notification was talking about," Allen thought, but decided to check it out later. For now, he wanted to see what the frog's Code was. After all, he got two of them.

[ Leap of Faith ]

Type: Skill

Grade: Basic

Effect/s: This skill allows the user to leap up to a distance of three meters (scales every 10 levels).

Allen released a sigh of relief. He was relieved that it wasn't one of his fears, something that he was grateful for. This skill could actually be useful for him. Three meters wasn't a short distance, and he can reach new heights with this skill.

There were times when he has to reach high places, but since he was only five inches over five feet tall, he was unable to do it. Although he was a Hunter and he could jump higher than normal humans, it still wasn't enough for some situations.

It was then that Allen remembered the new Inventory feature. It was the reward for his completion of the quest, but he was still clueless about what it does.

Clicking on the new small circle, a new square tab opened over his inteface. The tab had five smaller boxes lined up on the top part of the square.

[ Welcome to your Inventory! ]

< Click to continue. >

A line of message appeared on the box. Allen clicked on it and another message appeared.

[ The Inventory feature is exclusive to the Primordial Beast Bearers. Once the Code is lost, the Inventory and everything inside it will also vanish. ]

< Click to continue. >

Once again, Allen clicked the interface. It was new for him since the Bearers didn't even report something like this to happen. "Those bastards. They hid this information from everyone else."

[ To command the Inventory to place an item, the user must touch the item with your hand and command 'Store'. To take the items out, use command 'Out' + the item's name.' ]

Allen nodded after reading the instructions. He was about to test it out when another notification rang.

'New quest available.'