The whole process took maybe 15 seconds. When I looked back up, the field was moving.
Something—or a lot of somethings—were coming through the grass.
I couldn’t see them. They were too short.
First thought? Snakes.
I hate snakes, please don’t be snakes.
But no—the movement was wrong. The grass rippled and bent like something darting on two legs.
Okay. Not one big monster. Many small ones.
…Rats?
Would I rather be eaten by a giant snake or swarmed by rats?
…Neither.
Not happening. I set my stance and waited. There was no warning.
The first creature exploded from the grass, full sprint, straight at me.
And let me tell you—a rat would’ve been preferable.
The best way to describe it? Gremlin. Not the cute kind—the "fed after midnight" kind.
Two feet tall. Thin, scaly, and a mouth full of WAY too many teeth.
I barely had time to process it before—
It launched itself at my stomach. I didn’t even think. I sidestepped. The little bastard flung past me, claws outstretched.
Instead of letting it go, I swung both hands down and spiked it into the dirt like a volleyball.
CRACK.
It twitched. Something was very broken. It flailed helplessly, trying to get up.
No hesitation. I stomped.
SQUELCH.
----------------------------------------
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
You have killed LVL 1 Chaos Spawn. EXP Gained.
----------------------------------------
I immediately threw up. Holy shit. That was horrible. But I had no time to dwell on it—
Because five more burst out of the grass. Same strategy. Same kamikaze jump.
Five of them, all at once. And behind them? At least 30 more.
…Oh, fantastic. I punched the first one mid-air.
Its body collapsed inward like an accordion. I gagged again.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
You have killed LVL 1 Chaos Spawn.
Okay. That's two down. Four more slammed into me.
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Two rebounded off—but two did not.
One latched onto my ass. The other? My love handle.
SON OF A BITCH!
I screamed, reaching back to grab the one chewing on my ass. It did not want to let go.
I finally yanked it off—and made a critical mistake.
I held it up to get a good look at it. It smiled.
A chunk of my flesh fell from its mouth. The pain was white heat.
"You are one disgusting little freak.” I joked. I told myself if I was still joking it would be ok.
Even though these monsters had almost no HP, there were too many.
I didn’t have time to be graceful.
Instead, I went full animal-in-a-trap mode.
With one Chaos Spawn dangling upside down in my hands and another frothing at the mouth, latched onto my hip, I did the only thing I could think of.
I extended my arms—
And started swinging like a lunatic. Like a kid playing airplane at the park.
Except instead of a kid, I was using a Chaos Spawn as a club.
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SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
You have killed Chaos Spawn (Level 1).
You have killed Chaos Spawn (Level 1).
You have killed Chaos Spawn (Level 1).
The system kept dinging, rattling off kill confirmations.
Ding.
Congratulations! Healer class has leveled up.
Alright!
Unfortunately, my spinning wheel of death strategy had one fatal flaw—
Too many dead bodies piling up at my feet.
I kept tripping over the corpses of my own victims. And if I lost my footing? It was over.
These things would swarm me, drag me down, and I’d be ripped apart.
I had to keep moving.
I tossed the limp, ruined Chaos Spawn into the nearest group of enemies, knocking a few of them over. That’s when I saw it.
A tight mass of at least 30 of them right in front of me.
I didn’t have a weapon. I didn’t have a plan. But I had legs.
I took off at a sprint, charging straight into the horde. And then?
I high-stepped.
Pumping my knees like a football drill, smashing every Chaos Spawn that got in my way.
Not every hit was a kill, but I saw constant EXP notifications.
I was 15 kills in when it happened. My legs slowed. I was out of steam.
One Chaos Spawn latched onto my calf.
Another onto my thigh. Then another. And another.
By the time the fifth one sank its teeth into me, I couldn’t run anymore.
They swarmed me. I was covered in them.
I shook, flailed, kicked—nothing worked. My HP was plummeting.
I pulled up my status screen.
* HP: 5/21
* Status: Bleeding
* MP: 10/28
Shit.
I stumbled. My vision blurred. I was DYING. Then—I fell flat on my face.
CRUNCH.
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SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
You have killed (4) Chaos Spawn (Level 1).
Ding!
Healer class has reached Level 3.
----------------------------------------
Wait. I leveled up. That means…
I have free points!
No hesitation.
I dumped 5 into Constitution, the rest into Intelligence.
* HP: 8/27
* MP: 21/39
I cast Weak Heal. Then again. HP jumped to 18.
Clarity returned. Only six left. I could do this.
With only four more of the spawn still clinging to me, I forced myself to stand.
Each one was latched onto my thighs or calves, their claws digging in, their tiny mouths biting down.
I gritted my teeth and fought through the pain, ripping them off one by one.
It was gruesome, brutal, and horribly painful.
By the end, I was drenched in blood—some of it mine, some of it theirs.
I was on the edge of passing out. But I got it done.