The Western Grasslands weren’t particularly expansive; bordered by the village behind him, and sheer cliffs ahead and either side of it, Max estimated he could walk the breadth of it in fifteen minutes or so. He knew that would make clearing the area (and being certain that it was clear) more manageable than if it covered a larger patch, although the length of the grass seemed like it might be an issue; tufts were as tall as his boots, providing an effective hiding place for a species that he’d been told bore some resemblance to a dog.
As Max took his first few steps into the area, text appeared in his HUD, accompanied by the now familiar fanfare of discovering somewhere new.
New Location Discovered!
Western Grasslands
+ 1 Exploration Orb
Max carefully pressed forward, the grass brushing against his shins as he moved.
Every now and again, he would think he saw movement in the distance, only to realise it was the natural sway of the blades in the gentle breeze.
And then… there was a grumble. Not the smooth sound of the swishing tufts, but a predatory snarl wet with saliva.
Max scanned his immediate vicinity, feeling his adrenaline begin to fire up.
There you are, you bastard, he thought, as he locked eyes with a nasty-looking face camouflaged in the thick of grass ahead of him.
Now that he had located the beast’s head, he could just about make out its body. Farnhal hadn’t exaggerated when he’d said their fur looked like grass; the pelt was almost indistinguishable from its surroundings, with the only thing giving away its inauthenticity being a slightly shorter length.
At least on a visual level.
Even without having upgraded his ability to detect hostile beasts by their smell, Max was getting a fairly strong whiff of damp animal.
“Come on, then,” Max goaded it. “Show me what you’ve got.”
Reacting to his taunt, the grassgrot bared its gnashers and took a few steps towards him.
But then Max heard another growl… and another.
He quickly glanced to his left, then his right.
There were two more, flanking him from either side.
And then came another two growls from behind him.
Shit.
He had no time to plan his next move.
The first grassgrot right in front of him pounced, flying at him with an impressive speed.
Gripping the broadsword’s hilt tightly, Max swung it with wild abandon at the incoming beast, and sliced right through its middle in mid-air, cutting the thing in two through its ribcage and sending a spatter of blood and guts everywhere as both halves hit the floor, thrashing and spasming.
-45 HP
Grassgrot 6
26/71 HP
Fatal Wound!
-25 HP every 1 seconds
That was the first one done for, as it was rendered immobile, and would hit zero HP in a matter of seconds.
But Max still had four more to contend with.
Grassgrot 6 Defeated!
+1 Battle Orb
+1 Beast Orb
He quickly spun to face the approaching grassgrot on his left, but before he had even locked eyes with it, one of the ones that had been behind him launched itself at his left ankle and sunk its teeth into it.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Fuck!” Max cursed, his adrenaline not quite fully able to numb the sharp stabs of pain from the fangs piercing his skin and tearing through his muscles.
-18 HP
Farnhal had been spot-on about the amount of damage the grassgrots dealt; 30 minus the protective 12 coming from his clothing. It was still a decent amount.
Max swung his sword around and drove it into the beast’s side.
-45 HP
Grassgrot 2
23/68 HP
Max had hoped the strike would have caused the thing to let go of him, but it just clamped its jaw even tighter around his ankle.
“Get the fuck off me!” Max growled, and lifted the sword above its head, so that the tip was hovering above its skewiff skull. With a roar, he plunged he blade down, right into the grassgrot’s tilted head, going through its right temple and out the other side with a crunch.
CRITICAL HIT!
-60 HP
Grassgrot 2
-37/68
Grassgrot 2 Defeated!
+1 Battle Orb
+1 Beast Orb
The thing burst into blue particles, providing instant relief from the sharp pain, but it didn’t erase the damage that Max had already received. That would have to be done with a potion.
Max quickly considered whether he should consume a regenis potion at that moment or save it for if he were to take more damage, but he was jolted out of his brief consideration by another set of teeth sinking into him, as the grassgrot that had been on his right pummelled into him and clamped its jaw around his neck.
-18 HP
Grimacing, Max checked his total.
Max Knightly
24/60 HP
He gritted his teeth and drove the broadwsord upwards, piercing the attached grassgrot through its stomach and skewering it.
-45 HP
Grassgrot 5
25/70
With a heave, he ripped the beast away from him and slung it as far away as he could. On impact with the ground, it was dealt another 5 damage, taking its total down to 20.
Max knew he had to down a regenis potion before it was too late.
As quickly as he could, he plucked one from his inventory and began gulping, but before he had finished, another grassgrot slammed into his face, shattering the bottle and splashing the liquid all over him in a feverish frenzy of sharp teeth and claws.
As Max shook the attacker off, narrowly avoiding its bite, he briefly glanced at his health level.
Max Knightly
38/60
The fucker had wasted more than half of the potion, causing it to only replenish 14 HP, instead of the 30 it would have done had he been able to consume the entire thing.
Max was pissed off.
As the flailing grassgrot hit the ground beside him, he swung the broadsword down with all the force he could muster, slicing right through its body and separating it in two.
-45 HP
Grassgrot 3
24/69
Fatal Wound!
-25 HP every 1 seconds
The area was now a bloody mess of red and green.
“Anyone else?” Max goaded, as the two halves of the severed animal at his feet burst into blue embers.
Grassgrot 3 Defeated!
+1 Battle Orb
+1 Beast Orb
He had killed 3 of the 5 that had been surrounding him, and had damaged 1 of the remaining 2.
The beasts were beginning to lose confidence, Max could tell. They were standing their ground, but they were no longer advancing on him.
They were scared.
So you should be, Max thought, and swung for the remaining grassgrot that had full health.
It tried to dodge the attack, but the blade caught its back right leg, chopping it clean off.
-45 HP
-25% Mobility
Grassgrot 8
27/72 HP
As the thing staggered and tried to limp away from him, Max thrust the sword into its right thigh.
-45 HP
Grassgrot 8
-18/72 HP
Grassgrot 8 Defeated!
+1 Battle Orb
+1 Beast Orb
As it dispersed, Max set his sights on the remaining grassgrot that only had 20 HP left, but it had fled.
He couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment. He had turned the tide. He was in charge now.
Now that he wasn’t getting attacked from all angles, he knew he had enough time to consume an entire potion, so he pulled a second regenis from his inventory and drank the entire thing, savouring every drop.
Max Knightly
60/60 HP
That was more like it.
From what Farnhal had told him, there were between 10 and 15 grassgrots in total in the area, so his work was far from done, but he had a newfound confidence in his ability to defeat them, and he was looking forward to killing the remainder of them.
It didn’t take him long to locate the one that had fled. The damage he had already dealt to it was seemingly affecting more than just its HP level, as it was moving slower than before he had dealt the damage, and seemed less aggressive.
A quick stab in its back took it out instantly.
Over the course of the next forty-five minutes or so, Max had a whale of a time hunting the rest of them. They were no longer congregating in packs, as they would flee when he approached, so he had fun swapping his sword for his bow and picking them off with arrows.
When he had killed 11 of them, he was struggling to locate any more, but eventually found one lurking in a thick tuft close to the northern cliff face. It had to be the last of them.
“Your fate is sealed, just like the others,” Max told it, striding towards it.
In a vengeful, last ditch attempt at retaliation, it bared its teeth and pounced, but Max effortlessly swung the broadsword right through its neck and decapitated it in mid-flight.
CRITICAL HIT!
-60 HP
Grassgrot 9
13/73 HP
Fatal Wound!
-25 HP every 1 seconds
Max watched as its severed head hit the ground and snarled, foaming at the mouth, before it burst into a cascade of blue particles.
Grassgrot 9 Defeated!
+1 Battle Orb
+1 Beast Orb
He had done it. He had killed 12 grassgrots, and could sense no more in the area.
Now it was time to have even more fun.
It was time to loot.