As Axel continued his justification session, he roamed around the field. Before he even knew it, he was face-to-face with the fabled [Apples] he had heard so much about. Its appearance matched the descriptions he'd been given: glossy red skin that gleamed in the sunlight, crowned with a stem and two delicate leaves. The slightly round shape told him it was an apple, and even the sweet aroma that permeated throughout the air tallied with the stories he had been told. The only thing that was out of place, and caused all of the alarm bells to ring in his head was the fact that the fruit was as tall as he was and wider than his skinny frame.
Axel had always been taught that [Apples] grew on trees, but he couldn't fathom any tree capable of bearing such colossal fruit. As Axel scratched his head, contemplating about the credibility of the stories he had been told, the thing in front of him started to move. To his astonishment, the top of the Apple, where the stem was nestled, began to lift, carrying the stem with it. It ascended briefly before tilting backward, resembling the opening of a hatch or trapdoor. From within emerged a peculiar pink creature. It bore a resemblance to a worm, yet no worm Axel had ever encountered had been that enormous, heck even some snakes he had seen didn’t even grow to such a size.
Its beady white eyes locked onto Axel's, holding his gaze for a moment before retreating back into the depths of the Apple, sealing the hatch behind it. The apple began to slowly move, the whole thing rotating as it slowly rolled backward. Axel gripped his weapons tightly, ready to face the monster and claim his delicious prize. He watched intently as the colossal apple loomed before him, maintaining a cautious distance as it picked up speed. Then, abruptly, it came to a halt, leaving Axel on edge, waiting for the next move.
A hole appeared in the middle of the apple as a hatch opened up. Axel expected the giant worm creature to poke its head through the opening, but what came out was something else. With a furrowed brow, Axel peered at the unfamiliar object, trying to make sense of it. It was reddish-green, matching the hue of the apple it protruded out of, but there was something familiar about it. As realization dawned, Axel's confusion gave way to realization—it resembled a cannon.
As soon as the word “cannon” appeared in Axel's mind, a thunderous boom echoed through the air. In a split second, a projectile rocketed out from the apple monster, hurtling directly toward him. Reacting quickly, he used [Strength Boost] and felt his whole body instantly grow stronger, he brought up his whirl blade and [Blocked] the shot, in the nick of time. The resulting impact sent vibrations throughout his whole hand, jolting his arm backward, but he held firm, refusing to let his weapon get thrown out of his hands.
The projectile landed on the ground with a muffled thud, catching Axel's attention. He glanced downward at the object that had been hurled toward him, it was a seed, but a giant one at that. His observations were erupted by another thunderous boom as another colossal seed came his way, and was [Blocked] again by the glowing blue shield end of his whirl blade.
Axel began his charge forward, running in a zig-zag pattern. The cannon mounted on the apple monster swiveled desperately from side to side, attempting to track Axel's unpredictable movements. He just hoped he didn’t have to resort to circling around the creature. As he pressed on, the apple fired more seeds at Axel, Thankfully, Axel's agile maneuvers kept him safe, with the projectiles only finding purchase in the earth, sending plumes of dirt skyward instead.
At last within striking distance of the cannon, Axel narrowly dodged under a final shot before [Slashing] at it with both weapons in hand. Despite the difference in length making the attack a tad awkward to execute, it did its job nonetheless. With a satisfying thud, the cannon toppled to the ground and vanished. Axel half-expected it to transform back into an [Apple], but to his surprise, nothing remained. If only he had been given the chance to read the signs on the shack before he was so rudely interrupted.
As the hatch sealed shut, Axel was able to get in one more [Slash] before the apple suddenly jumped up into the air. The sudden movement worked in his favor as his [Slash] cut a huge gash across the surface of the apple, causing a mixture of yellow and green liquid to spill out from the wound.
Craning his head up, he wondered what it was going to do next. Was it about to fly? Was it about to fire more seeds at it? But, as the apple grew closer and closer, it dawned on him what it was planning to do. Axel sprang out of harm's way as the monstrous fruit came crashing down with a mighty slam, leaving a massive crater in its wake.
The monster repeated its crazed assault, bouncing up and crashing down onto the ground, each impact carving out yet another sizable crater. Axel could feel the earth quivering beneath him, the rush of wind, and the splatter of juices as the apple monster slammed into the ground with tremendous force. With each successive slam, the gash on the apple widened, cracks spiderwebbing across its red skin while more juices oozed out.
Finally, one last slam proved too much for the giant apple to withstand. With a deafening crack, it shattered into countless pieces, sending chunks of apple flying in all directions amid a shower of juices. The air was filled with a sweet aroma that teased Axel's senses, enticing his taste buds as he surveyed the aftermath of the onslaught.
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Standing amidst the aftermath, Axel awaited the system's message, curious about the name of the creature. However, to his surprise, the expected notification never came. Frowning, he turned his attention back to the remnants of the colossal apple strewn across the ground.
Amidst the debris, something caught his eye—a subtle movement amidst the rubble. The pink worm poked its head out and looked at Axel. Startled, it recoiled and quickly slithered away.
It was unsurprisingly slow, barely making it 10 feet away before Axel caught up with it. A quick [Slash] severed it in half and it disappeared into an [Apple] and [Gold Coins] for Axel to collect.
[Apple Worm was slain. Gained 17 points.]
All of that effort for one measly [Apple], was quite disappointing. Some tips from the shack would be useful right now, and Axel decided to walk back towards it.
While walking back he encountered another giant Apple. Actually, it had discovered Axel first as a giant seed landed to his right, sending dirt flying and some of it inadvertently finding its way into his mouth. Axel spat out the grime, his tongue hanging low, as he tasted the stale earthiness that permeated throughout his mouth.
Another loud boom reverberating through the air told Axel it was time to go as he charged in the direction of the noise, employing the same zig-zag movement to throw off the aim of his foes. As he moved, an idea began to form in Axel's mind: if the monster was going to start its jumping slam attack, perhaps he could turn the tables and use it to his advantage by hitching a ride on the beast.
With a leap of faith, Axel vaulted onto the giant apple, using the protruding cannon as a makeshift stepping stool to reach the top. As he landed, the cannon withdrew back into the apple, and the hatch sealed shut behind him. A low rumbling could be felt below him before he felt his stomach lurch as both he and the apple leaped high in the air.
Now airborne, Axel's heart raced as he struggled to maintain his grip, clinging desperately to the surface of the apple. With each passing moment, the descent felt increasingly uncontrollable. Determined to not get thrown off he drove his sword into the flesh of the apple, hoping to anchor himself.
As gravity pulled them inexorably downward, Axel watched as the ground loomed larger and larger in his vision. With a resounding impact, the world shook as they collided, the giant apple absorbing much of the force.
Still holding on for dear life, Axel wasted no time and began slashing away with his whirl blade, carving an entrance into the massive fruit. As he peered inside, he locked eyes with the pink worm piloting the fruit, a look of confusion was plastered across its pink face. Suddenly, the worm went wide-eyed and headbutted him square in the face. Instinctively, Axel activated his [Copper Body] ability just in time, the blow feeling as gentle as a pillow against his reinforced skin.
The worm seized control of the levers fashioned from the apple's stem, piloting the giant fruit frantically. It pounded on every button within reach, each button resembling the fruit’s seed. The entire apple trembled as it careened backward, then forward, then from side to side. Axel found himself tossed around in every direction, his only anchor being the sword lodged firmly within the fruity flesh, preventing him from being flung off entirely.
Feeling increasingly queasy and desperate to put an end to his misery, he brought down the whirl blade upon the worm. In a flash, the worm vanished, replaced by an [Apple] and a scattering of [Gold Coins]. But, so did the massive Apple that it piloted, which fragmented into a small pile of six ordinary [Apples].
Axel had a theory brewing in his mind: the less he damaged the giant apple, the more [Apples] he'd receive in return. With this hypothesis in tow, Axel embarked on an experiment as he journeyed back toward the shack.
Approaching different giant apples, he tested his theory by employing varying levels of destruction. Some apples he obliterated entirely before dealing with the worm inside, while others he would remove only a quarter before completing the task. With some, he endeavored to minimize damage as much as possible, curious to see the outcome of his efforts.
The results spoke for themselves as he obtained more [Apples] when the giant one was preserved in better conditions. What confirmed it for him was when he finally reached the shack at the entrance, where one of the many signs paraphrasing his theory back at him.
To get more apples aim for the worm inside and try not to damage the outer shell.
For now, Axel was getting bored of farming [Apples], a change of pace was what he needed. This time he went back to get some [Potatoes] from the Potathrows.
Axel approached the Potathrows with a warm smile on his face, moving at a leisurely pace as clumps of hardened dirt bounced harmlessly off his shield. between them. With each step, the sound of dirt colliding with his shield grew louder, the Potatothrow growing increasingly frantic as it hurled more projectiles at an accelerated rate.
Sometimes Axel would slice off the catapult-like part of the monster with his sword, other times with his whirl blade. Occasionally if he was feeling fancy he would [Slash] at them with both weapons at the same time.
All in all, it was a relaxing harvest. He was just collecting his crops to sell to finance his future searches and gear. Also, it doubled as a good way to grind for points and to improve his skills. He had to do that in order to help Gina.
It was all to secure his future, stop John Smith, and save Gina. He was definitely not procrastinating on the issue or anything. Fen did say that the Isekinds were strong, so the only way to best him and free Gina was to get stronger. It was definitely not him trying to delay the issue and leave it to later or anything. It was definitely not because he was afraid of being reduced to a slave. It was definitely not any of that.