Axel stood before the portal adorned with a picture of corn. He could go for some corn right now, maybe if he could set up a fire he could even get some roasted corn, but corn by itself would suffice as well. Stepping through the portal he was once again greeted by vast expanses of farmland and the usual wooden shack with signs plastered all over it.

Chop off the corn on the Cornfetti Cannoneer to obtain [Corn].

If it loses all of its kernels you won't receive the corn.

Axel briefly glanced over the instructions, then turned his attention to the field before him scanning the area for any ongoing skirmishes. Once again, he was met with the sight of a man, but this time Axel recognized him, it was John Smith. He was still wearing the same white shirt with an emblem and blue pants, instead of the red fur armor that almost everyone he met wore. Instead of a sword, throwing knife or a bow, he held a stick. Confused was an understatement of what Axel was feeling.

Axel remembered Fen's advice about the 'isekind', but still he could not help to be curious. If curiosity killed the cat, then satisfaction would surely bring it back, right? Plus all that he had was a stick, what harm could he do?

The Cornfetti Cannoneer was a humanoid being roughly Axel's height. In fact, the only thing human about it was its body shape. Its slender torso and legs were greenish and resembled stalks of corn, while its head and forearms were literal cobs of corn, connected to its body by green stalks. The rest of its body was just the green husk of the plant, but in the shape of a person with legs, torso, and everything that makes a person have the shape of a person.

"Foul creature, you will meet your doom at the hands of, I, John Smith!," he shouted.

The Cornfetti Cannoneer that had originally been marching around the field, halted abruptly then turned to face John Smith. It had clearly heard his taunt despite any obvious ears. Raising its two corn arms, it pointed them in his direction.

John Smith was armed with just a stick. He didn't even have any armor on, he was literally defenseless. At least Axel had a sword that he could use to [Block] against attacks, what good would a stick do?

Axel began to run forward wanting to help John Smith, but then the image of Bernhardt crept into his mind’s eye. The last time he attempted to help someone he got chastised for it. Would John Smith do the same? He had managed to make it all the way to Tillage Town after all, but then again, anyone could do it. The dirt path leading to Tillage Town was thankfully monster-free, so maybe John Smith just walked its length and had never actually fought a monster till now.

"Die foul beast!" John Smith shouted once again.

The shout entered his ruminations and it was enough to kick him back into reality. Axel saw a white glow encompass the tip of the stick that he wielded.

"Magic Bolt!" John Smith yelled.

A small bolt of white energy shot out of the stick, slamming into the Cornfetti Cannoneer which caused it to stumble back slightly, but it quickly regained its footing. Green lines snaked around its corn-like arms until they collected at the tip. The row of corn kernels on its arms began to spin until a torrent of kernel-shaped bullets were released from its arm tips.

"Magic Shield!" John Smith yelled.

The air before him shimmered, and a glowing white shield appeared in front of him absorbing a portion of the kernels before shattering upon the heavy fire.

"Magic Shield! Magic Shield! Magic Shield!" he yelled out in quick succession, the stick glowing in response.

Three additional white shields appeared in front of him in a straight line, as the wave of bullet kernels continued to batter his defenses. The assault persisted until the Cornfetti Cannoneer seemed to pause to reload. Rows of corn kernels from its corn-like hands popped out and dropped onto the ground. As each row dropped, the subsequent rows advanced to fill the void that was created.

While it was in the midst of reloading John Smith shouted out, "Ha ha ha! I was waiting for this moment. Magic Bolt!"

The blast of white energy struck the Cornfetti Cannoneer in the chest, sending it stumbling back. Despite the setback, it quickly regained its composure, raising its hands, ready to unleash another barrage of kernels. The rows of kernels began to rev up, slowly increasing their speed. The green lines wrapped around the corn-like arms as they approached the tips of the cob. Just as it seemed poised to release the volley, John Smith's voice pierced the air.

"Not so fast, scoundrel! Magic Bolt! Magic Bolt! Magic Bolt!" he waved his hand in a zigzag motion and white bolts of energy came flying out, striking the Cornfetti Cannoneer multiple times, interrupting its attack.

Once again, it stumbled back from the multiple impacts, giving the young man a chance to further press his advantage.

"For far too long you have terrorized the farmers of this region. Too long have your wicked schemes gone unpunished. Well, today that changes. You shall face justice! Magic Bolt! Magic Bolt! Magic Bolt!" three more bolts left his hand in quick succession causing the Cornfetti Cannoneer to reel further backward.

Axel scratched his head. As far as he knew there were not any farmers in the area. Unless the people harvesting the monsters were farmers? So did that make Axel a farmer? But, the monsters had no apparent wicked schemes. They just attacked people who came too close to them. Nothing as grand as an evil plot that involved terrorizing farmers. Plus, why was he shouting out his attacks? Axel wondered if the guy really did hit his head too hard when he arrived.

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"Magic Bolt! Magic Bolt! Magic Bolt! Magic Bolt! Magic Bolt!" five more bolts of magic escaped the man's stick and struck the monster before him, causing it to stagger from the continuous blows. Finally, it collapsed to the ground and vanished, leaving behind some [Corn] and [Gold Coins].

"I, John Smith, will free this farmland from the horrible Cornfetti Cannoneers!" he grabbed the loot on the floor and ran off into the distance.

Axel just stared blankly at the scene, watching as John Smith grew smaller and smaller until he could barely distinguish him anymore. At least the guy had not spotted him, having to deal with that felt like way too much effort for zero reward. But, if what Fen said was true, Axel had to grow stronger faster or the only thing that would be growing would be grass over his grave.

Axel crossed over into sub-world 13, eager to get his harvest going. After watching the battle between John Smith and Cornfetti Cannoneer, Axel had a rough idea of what to expect. After some actual experience against the Cornfetti Cannoneer which had snuck up on him, its arms up as it prepared to shoot, he would have a smooth idea.

The popping of corn filled the air as the Cornfetti Cannoneer unleashed its arsenal upon him. Axel ran in circles around, feeling the breeze of the corn kernels whizzing past him, narrowly avoiding each projectile by mere inches. The monster spun, still firing, its vine-like torso twisting with each rotation, making its already twisted structure even more chaotic.

Axel strained to maintain his pace, the relentless barrage of kernels hot on his heels even with [Strength Boost] activated. Axel just had to wait till the monster reloaded. While running, he had some time to think of a better strategy.

Running around in circles was somehow always an effective strategy, but it was tiring. [Blocking] the stream of kernels would be impossible and he did not have anything to use as a makeshift shield, like when he fought the Adult Timberstone Tree. Trying to endure the wave of kernels with [Copper Body], would be suicidal. His only other option would be throwing his swords in hopes it would be distracted, but that was unlikely. With a sigh, Axel continued running at full speed unable to come up with anything smarter. Maybe he should get a shield, but dual-wielding was surprisingly fun.

The sound of popping corn slowly died down, the only sound that lingered was a rhythmic 'Chk Chk Chk'. The Cornfetti Cannoneer had exhausted its supply, leaving Axel with a moment of reprieve amidst the chaos of battle.

Now was Axel's chance, making a sharp turn and beelining straight for the Cornoneer which had begun its reloading process. With two decisive [Strength Boosted] [Slashes], Axel severed its arms at the base. The two arm cornnons transformed into two pieces of [Corn] as they fell to the ground.

[Basic Sword Proficiency - Rank D → Rank C]

As Axel watched, the now armless Cornfetti Cannoneer dropped to all fours, its green, stalky limbs burrowing into the ground, anchoring itself firmly into the earth. Axel stepped back in a bout of confusion. Sure, he could quickly put an end to it by attacking it while it did whatever it was doing, but a part of him wanted to see what would happen.

The head of the Cornfetti Cannoneer began to spin, mirroring the motion of its hands from before.

"Oh shit!" Axel shouted before running.

Instead of a stream of kernels, the Cornoneer unleashed a devastating blast of corn. A row of kernels had been compressed into a small ball and shot out creating a rapid expansion of air that resulted in a booming explosion.

If the Cornoneer had been able to move it would definitely have been able to hit him, but too bad for it because Axel was already behind it. The moment it started spinning up, Axel made a quick loop around to its backs, activating both [Strength Boost] and [Copper Body] just in case.

The Cornonner continued to shoot, but all it struck was the nothingness in front of it. Why it continued to fire was beyond Axel, but he knew he had to kill it fast. Each shot used up a row of kernels and if it exhausted its supply, Axel doubted he'd have another chance to procure additional [Corn].

Axel [Slashed] at the stalk of its corn head, decapitating it. The flying corn head slowly morphed into a piece of [Corn] which would soon find its place in Axel's [Inventory]. Despite being rendered headless and armless, the peculiar creature remained alive, yet to dissolve into points and loot for Axel.

A headless creature definitely should have been classified as dead, but then again he had seen a literal headless chicken wandering about before, and that was before he even entered the barrier.

The Cornoneer remained unresponsive and still, resembling nothing more than a mere plant.

Axel looked around hoping to find some sort of answer in the fields that surrounded him, but all that greeted him was a big fat nothing. With a resigned shrug, he accepted the lack of answers and focused on the task at hand, chopping down the sprout in front of him.

[Cornoneer was slain. Gained 20 points]

Three pieces of [Corn]. Farming here was definitely a lot faster than anything he was used to.

Axel continued wandering around the field, harvesting the crops. Occasionally, luck would be on his side, allowing him to stealthily approach the Cornoneers and disarm them before they could even fire. Other times he would have to run laps around it till it reloaded, giving Axel the window to harvest it.

Feeling a bit peckish after tending to his crops, Axel figured it was time for a corn snack. While roasting it over a fire would have been ideal, Axel opted for the easier route due to his laziness. Grabbing a piece from his [Inventory], Axel inspected it. It looked like the same yellow corn he knew and loved. Bringing it to his nose, he gave it a quick sniff. It smelled like the same old corn he was used to. A big long lick along the length of it later, and Axel concluded it tasted just like corn as well.

Axel took a bite out of the cob, munching on the kernels. How much damage the very kernels he was crushing with his teeth could do to him was a mystery, but it was a mystery he would rather remain unsolved. Or at least have someone else solve it for him.

A quick snack break was what Axel needed to fuel the last leg of his hunt. More running, slashing, and looting later and Axel was exhausted. The physicality of the fights was definitely tiring, but what drained him the most was the tedium of having to run in circles. Sure, running was tiring, but that was not what drained him. Rather, it was the monotonous repetition, the endless circling until the Cornoneer ran out of ammunition, that gnawed at his spirit.

If only he had a shield. Axel spent his time ruminating about what sort of shield he should get. A round shield? Perhaps a kite or even a tower shield? Maybe he could have a shield that had a slot just for his sword, then the shield could be on his back, and whenever he needed to block something he could use his sword to grab the shield.

More Cornoneers fell under his blades, more points and corn flowed in. The scorching noon sun beat down, creating a sweltering heat that was oppressive to the point where Axel decided to call it quits. Opting to find out how much the crops he harvested were worth.