Novels2Search

Chapter 2 : Matt the Barbarian

image [https://i.imgur.com/AQpQAM4.jpg]

As the gigantic Gorgucek in front of Matt grew to about 10 meters, its growth stopped. In their original size, Gorguceks weren't really that massive.

In the "Monster Encyclopedia for Those Who Want to Survive," published weekly by Lost Explorer Huhu, it was noted that the largest recorded Gorgucek was about 3 meters tall.

So, the monster Matt accidentally enlarged wasn't originally that big. In fact, it was below average, a weak Gorgucek that couldn't feed well due to neighboring Gorguceks, and thus held a grudge.

If the hologram were active now (which it would be shortly), it would say "Boss Level Dangerous Giant Gorgucek" above the monster's head.

Due to the vengeful and solitary nature of Gorguceks, the giant creature first scared away its neighbors and even ate a few of them. It did this more out of rage than taste.

Matt preferred to think, "O-of course! It has no business with me! It must be angry at its ne-neighbors!"

image [https://i.imgur.com/wDPUYoS.jpg]

image [https://i.imgur.com/kNts6Kz.jpg]

Caution: This monster is far above your level. Do not attack without forming a party."

Matt thought of the "office parties" he could no longer attend. Who knows how much fun he would have had? He couldn't think of a better time to prove to his new coworkers how interesting he was than at an office party.

He had even practiced a bit in front of his small mirror in his dingy, damp apartment before starting the job.

"Are you bored with the party too? Haha, such a cliché, right? I'm Matt, nice to meet you."

"Oh, so you love Japanese cars too! Sorry, did I say 'you'? Haha. Is that okay? Great! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

The singing helmet's little ditty drew both Matt's and the Giant Gorgucek's attention back to each other;

Hold, hold! Not now, hold, hold!

My love for you is fierce and bold!

Hear me first, it takes some time!

What a giant creature stands in line!

Matt quickly reviewed his "inventory." The "Grandmother's Trap" Taso had already done its job and disappeared.

What he had left were the "Fersah Bird Whistle" and the "Legendary Helm Houler" on his head. Not much luck, he thought. Maybe if he had some kind of "legendary sword," he wouldn't mind if it sang, but unfortunately, he didn't have such an item.

"At least I won't take a deadly blow to my head," he consoled himself, then looked in fear at the rest of his body, which could still take a deadly blow.

Matt had never taken good care of himself. Whenever he could, he would go on culinary adventures with different combinations from the fridge. Meatballs with bananas and cheese on top. Chips with yogurt and pasta in a sandwich. Sometimes two kilos of strawberries. Sometimes 2.5 liters of soda with lots of salty snacks.

He even suffered food poisoning as a child from mixing too much. There had been times when he walked shivering to the hospital, holding his father's hand.

His job search process had been a depressive period, running everywhere but ending up with a ruined stomach and a non-athletic body due to unhealthy eating habits. He was the last person who should have fallen into a dungeon.

Matt especially thought about this with intense regret. Meanwhile, the giant creature had already charged at Matt with its many legs. With the trembling ground, tense webs, and echoing screams, allow me to give a small bit of information.

The mouths of Gorguceks are very small compared to their bodies. They slowly tear apart and eat creatures caught in their webs, like an old lady patiently and calmly tearing pieces of bread and bringing them to her mouth.

Still, if enlarged tenfold by a trap spell like "Grandmother's Trap," their eating speed, hunger, anger, speed, strength, weight, and many other attributes also increase tenfold.

The claw strikes that hit the vending machine were supporting this. Matt had crouched behind the vending machine, which he guessed was made of steel alloy and even prayed it was, trying to protect himself from the creature.

With each blow from the creature, he spent time thinking, "This is the last sound and feeling I'll ever experience," as the impacts shook even the ground.

TOOKTHT!!! With a hard hit, the vending machine rattled. "I'm still so young!"

TOOKTHT!!! Matt clung to the vending machine. "I don't want to die!"

TOOKTHT!!! They were dragged to the center of the cave. "I haven't even started a family yet!"

TOOKTHT!!! The creature decided to swallow Matt whole and opened its mouth. "My collections are all incomplete!"

TOOKTHT!!! The creature tried to swallow him again. "There are so many shows and games I haven't finished yet!"

The small mouth of the Gorguceks prevented Matt from being swallowed in one gulp. But it also made the creature's anger and rage increase. The furious creature opened its mouth wide and attacked.

A Gorgucek enlarged tenfold would have a mouth slightly smaller than the vending machine. It could easily swallow Matt but never with the vending machine attached to him. And Matt, realizing this, clung tightly to various parts of the vending machine with all his strength.

The enraged Giant Gorgucek grabbed the vending machine and Matt with its mouth and tried to swallow them whole. While struggling with this unfamiliar sensation of not being able to swallow, it recalled how the "black stove snake" it sometimes saw ate.

The snake would first paralyze its prey, then take it into its mouth in one gulp. It would lift its head up and down rapidly like an elevator to swallow its prey. This way, it could swallow prey that seemed impossible to eat.

With its intelligence increased tenfold, the Gorgucek used the same method, lifting its head, mouth, vending machine, and Matt into the air.

And the elevator started working. With each gulping motion in the vertical direction, the creature tried to amplify the effect by hitting its base on the ground, gradually swallowing the vending machine.

GUUUM!!

Matt clung tightly to the vending machine with a terrible feeling of nausea, similar to the day he missed the blue Subaru Impreza model.

GUUUM!!

He had entered a "stay the longest in the giant elevator" contest at the newly opened Fantastic Wonders Amusement Park and had actually made it to the finals. He sometimes imagined meeting the sweet brunette girl who was his opponent. "The girl is so sweet, as fun as I am, and loves Japanese cars just like me!" He had assumed this because that was the prize of the contest.

GUUUM!!

Matt neither won the Subaru Impreza nor saw the sweet brunette girl again. "Maybe I'll never see her again," he thought.

And with the final blow, he realized that the ground had collapsed, and "monster," "vending machine," and "himself" were in free fall.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

When you weigh ten times more than a normal Gorgucek, collapsing the floor of a cave suitable for solitary living is inevitable. Additionally, their homes, though they live alone, are not built on solid foundations since they dig the same ground with many neighbors.

The confused Gorgucek, trying to understand what had happened, was also shocked. If it could spit out the vending machine from its mouth, it could save itself from this situation with a thick web. But this did not seem possible yet.

During this free fall, many old webs, skeletal remains that had been caught and forgotten, and even some adventurer items appeared and disappeared, as if Matt were watching a fast-forwarded movie.

His life flashed before his eyes like a film strip for the fifth time. Childhood toys, his mother's departure for work, his grandmother's delicious meals, and his police father's saying, "Son, whatever you do, make sure it benefits this world," kept spinning in his head.

Matt shouted, "WHAT BENEFIT DO I BRING TO THIS PLACE!" and continued falling. His shouts turned into a great hum in the void of the cave.

Several such regretful cries were cut short by a solid impact.

GUUUMMM!!!

Another Gorgucek, living much deeper and never imagining its ceiling would be collapsed by a giant Gorgucek one day, was stunned.

It stared at the massive relative that had collapsed onto its giant web bed, which it had woven with great care and attention to detail.

Gorguceks do not stick to their own webs. Due to the enormous weight of the giant creature, the large bed woven from webs was stretched tightly and acted like a spring, correction, like a catapult, launching the giant creature and what it held in its mouth into the air.

The shocked smaller Gorgucek, with a sense of urgency or a similar instinct, hurriedly left its home with its multiple legs as quickly as possible.

The massive creature, vending machine, and Matt were launched beyond where they had fallen, crashing through the cave ceiling and into the outside.

With the impact and sudden collision, first Matt, then the vending machine, were freed from the creature's mouth. As Matt tried to gauge where he would land, he felt the warm joy of seeing daylight for a moment before completing his descent by hitting a tree.

The vending machine was flung much higher and disappeared from sight. Probably the creature, unable to swallow, had managed to spit out the vending machine with a final desperate effort.

The creature, which detested sunlight, searched angrily for the cause and saw Matt, who had survived thanks to his helmet, at the base of the tree.

Without the legendary helmet, Matt would not have survived the impact. In a state of gratitude, as he turned, he felt the green eyes of the giant Gorgucek on him.

"Guess this is it, sorry dad!" said Matt, frozen in place, watching the steam rising from the creature's sunburned body. Sunlight burns the skin of Gorguceks that have never seen the sun. If you're ten times bigger, it burns ten times more.

The creature, in agony, let out a final roar to kill Matt;

“GROOOAAA”—-- THUD!!!

The creature's speech was abruptly cut short by a very solid and distinct impact from the "mysterious vending machine" that fell on its head. The vending machine had killed the giant Gorgucek.

In fact, part of the vending machine had penetrated deep into the creature's mushy brain. Therefore, the giant Gorgucek gave its final movements with a few nerve twitches and reflexes before dying. Purple dust mixed with gas, used to produce webs, began to gush from various parts of the creature.

The beautiful sight was accompanied by a pungent odor that filled the air. While Matt held back his urge to vomit, the hologram reappeared.

image [https://i.imgur.com/DLI7Xn6.jpg]

image [https://i.imgur.com/D2CR8hT.jpg]

Matt felt a pleasant sensation inside.

image [https://i.imgur.com/D2CR8hT.jpg]

All his fatigue and pain vanished.

image [https://i.imgur.com/D2CR8hT.jpg]

Matt felt like he was being tickled.

image [https://i.imgur.com/D2CR8hT.jpg]

He felt stronger and more energetic.

image [https://i.imgur.com/D2CR8hT.jpg]

Matt sneezed lightly.

image [https://i.imgur.com/D2CR8hT.jpg]

He let out a hearty laugh.

image [https://i.imgur.com/tjI1W0b.jpg]

image [https://i.imgur.com/g28WkAa.jpg]

image [https://i.imgur.com/Wv4zUyr.jpg]

While Matt examined this feature, which he was sure he would never use, new screens continued to appear.

image [https://i.imgur.com/VT6QOjo.jpg]

"Now this is really useful! Awesome!" said Matt, overjoyed.

"But how do I use this feature?"

image [https://i.imgur.com/idI7Ucl.jpg]

You can now select a class! Please choose the class you wish to be; Before Matt appeared some of the classes he was familiar with from games. Each was shown on the hologram with armor and a name. "What a magnificent and cool thing!" thought Matt.

Matt had always admired druids. He thought aloud; "Shamans are great too, you can place totems everywhere, so much fun." "Hunters look really cool when they use animals." "Why do people play paladins? I don't understand. I never get magic." "Healers just watch while others fight, that's not for me."

Matt was torn between a fighter and a barbarian. Just like in every game. Matt would play any MMORPG until level 30 and then quit, saying it was the same boring quests over and over. He could never manage PVP because the internet speed in his area was terrible. He preferred PVE games that were enjoyable to play.

Maybe the hologram would automatically give him a starting weapon if he chose a class quickly, so he selected "barbarian."

Actually, he accidentally chose the healer next to the barbarian. With his eyes and mouth wide open, he exclaimed, "What the!!!!" as a new screen appeared.

image [https://i.imgur.com/M9d4bUQ.jpg]

"I can't play a healer character! What do I know about healing! How will I survive now!"

"Hey, hey, cancel! Cancel it! I'll reselect! Hey!"

image [https://i.imgur.com/ULDditr.jpg]

Matt, in frustration, desperation, and anger, tried punching the hologram screen a few times. When he got no results, he gave up. And a new hologram appeared.

image [https://i.imgur.com/AHlH8ti.jpg]

Matt, delighted, said, "I guess the reward grows when the creature grows. So, 'Grandmother's Taso' isn't such a bad thing after all! Heh!"

"Ahhh, I was almost dead, I want to cry!!" He leaned against the tree he had hit, sitting down on the ground with a deep sigh.

He wanted to fall asleep peacefully, but his instincts immediately reminded him that he was in a very dangerous world.

"Okay, let's make a quick assessment. I guess I'm level 7 now, and I'm a healer. Ugh! But wait a minute! I must be pretty strong now. Hey! Hey! Hologram, show my stats!"

The hologram opened without much delay this time. Matt thought, "I guess I can reach you more easily as I level up!"

image [https://i.imgur.com/PO1o5BD.jpg]

Examining his stats, Matt wasn't as happy as he hoped. "Yes, I'm pretty strong now, but it's still not enough. I'll need higher stats and a weapon to get out of here! Even if I'm a healer, I can use a sword!"

"Hey hologram hey! Can I get a weapon from you? I have money!"

Hologram: Pay to get extra information!

Matt looked at the hologram in disappointment. He had no confidence in the hologram, which was very random in providing information. "Well, let's give it a try! I have money, anyway!" he said, pressing "Yes."

image [https://i.imgur.com/2Ly9fmE.jpg]

Would you like new information? 250 tears

"Uh? What's next? Ugh, I was really curious. What good is this information—" he said, cutting himself off. Whether from his deep thinking ability or his quick wits, Matt had caught onto a detail."

How could he have forgotten the name on the chips in the vending machine: "Kahru's Mysterious Chips" and the description on the back of the chip bag?

image [https://i.imgur.com/Em36gpI.jpg]

So these chips must have been produced by Kahru in the Shadowy Mountains. Could it be related to his missing daughter? Maybe he was selecting victims from the normal world and bringing them to this world with the vending machine, expecting them to survive with the objects trapped in the Tasos inside the chips and find his daughter.

His deep thinking ability was working well. Matt thought, "Nah, it can't be that!"

The body of the giant creature had turned into a pitch-black silhouette, disintegrated into ashes, and completely vanished. Now, where the creature had been, there was only a dark stain and the vending machine standing in all its glory. Matt quickly ran to the vending machine and went to the back.

Avoiding the area labeled "Do not pull the lever in case of emergency," he said, "Let's give it a try!" and entered the code on the "portability lock" wheel: 1, 5, 5, 8.

The metal wheels with numbers began to turn on their own, and the device started vibrating. The rattling was followed by mechanical clanking and a magical wind sound. Then, suddenly, the huge vending machine shrank to the size of a small lighter and fell to the ground.

"Yes! This way, I can take you anywhere I want! So the mysterious man with the strange hat must have been carrying you like this. I wish I had a few more tokens!"

"Apparently, I can only buy information with money, for now." At least, I should find some tokens so I can fill my stomach and find new items."

Matt, hungry, started walking step by step to find more tokens. He tried to find the place where he first fell, but it was nearly impossible to find the exact spot since he had run away so randomly in his desperation.

Hours later, Matt had gotten lost among the branches and magnificent trees of the forest. He was very hungry, thirsty, and cold. He thought for a moment about drinking from the gelatinous stream he passed by, but when he saw the large fins moving inside, he quickly backed away.

Ah, what can I do to save myself

What can I do to console my heart

I forgot myself, I was forgotten

If only I could ride a caterpillar once a year!

"Ah... Enough already! Stop it, geez!"

Due to his singing helmet, he had attracted the attention of various creatures five times and barely managed to escape unnoticed each time.

He was desperately searching for tokens.

Night was falling. And the only thing Matt had found was a rusty "tree branch." Since he was walking while looking down for tokens, he had hit his head on the rusty metal he mistook for a branch. "Wait a minute! What's this doing here?" he thought, realizing that the rusty branch-like thing was an iron cable.

This cable was actually an abandoned item from a side quest that should not have been found. And the mysterious structure at the end of the cable was supposed to remain mysterious.

Matt wondered, "Where does this cable lead?" and started following the cable.

"I'm so hungry..."

image [https://i.imgur.com/XaW8zD5.jpeg]