He had gotten to the door pushed, pulled, kicked, and twisted anything that could be a handle... nothing happened. He had tried everything he could think of to open the door, even asking the dungeon interface if there was anything he or it could do. The only reply he got was...
Dungeon Interface ×!=#÷, does not have a key to exit this floor. Please retrieve keys with proper authority to exit the first floor. Keys have been issued to Arena Guardians for safe keeping. Please issue a formal contest to receive keys.
He asked where to find them and what kind of formal contest he needed to issue, but nothing else popped up. It was frustrating how he was unable to figure out anything or reach a conclusion outside of just start hunting down the [Shroom Commanders]. There was no clue other than the Arena Guardians, but all he could see in this huge chamber were damned walking mushrooms.
'It took so much effort to kill just one of those things. How long will it take just to clear the floor?' He thought to himself He had given up on getting back to the village in time and decided getting back alive was the priority, but he was sure May might change his mind in that regard. He shook his head, trying to fix himself in the here and now. Nothing was going to change, just sitting around thinking, he needed to do something, and it was better sooner than later.
He treked back to where he had ambushed the [Red Shroom Commander], finding the poor spear he had hurled at its red armored cap. It just ricocheted off to the side like nothing happened. It was then that the big mushroom somehow knew where he was and started charging at him.
'How did it find me? It doesn't have eyes or any other sensory like organs that I could find. Neither did I find any muscles, hearts, or bones. So, was this a cheat like thing where you just blame magic?' The thoughts clouding his mind disappeared when he heard a "Thump..." he ducked down behind a wall, taking a moment to peek over to see his next opponent.
Another Shroom Commander, this one being green, walked in a more brisk manner. This was his chance. He was near a pillar that was climbable, and he could try the same trick he pulled with the Red capped one even if this one was quicker he was ready to scale the the stone before it could get to him and if he wasn't fast enough he could dive behind it for cover if it started kicking.
He got into position and, this time, aimed a little lower than his last shot. It flew, and without looking, he started for the pillar. His mad dash paid off because he couldn't even hear the monster behind him when he got high enough to avoid its head bud attack. So before he got too high, he looked back to see if it had gotten any closer, but when he did it, he didn't see what he thought he might.
Congratulations! You have slain [Shroom Scout] experience will be sent to the bank
He was surprised by the pop-up window blocking his view, moving it out of his sight so that he could get a better look at what it was confirming. The green mushroom was down, the spear sticking in its green cap like a giant toothpick. He had to blink a few times before he understood what he was seeing. He had one hit killed a monster that he thought would be more difficult than the last, and now he was jumping down to get a closer look at it. He approached slowly just to be safe, but it was an unfounded worry as he pulled the spear out and stabbed it a few more times.
'Well, what the hell is this bull. I thought I was going to have to risk it all to get this guy!' Lone was somewhat embarrassed by how much he had hyped himself for this [Shroom Scout]. 'How many times am I going to be the stupid one here?' He thought of so many things going on around him. The pranks how he was caught the first time out of the wall, the [Shroom Commander] being easy and finally the green capped [Shroom Scout], it was all starting to pile up and he wasn't liking how this was looking.
Ignoring his latest "victory!"... He took out his knife and began carving up the monster. This time, he punctured a sack filled with green sappy substance it didn't look like it was poison, but he had already got some on his hand and was taking his magic pouch off his belt when he felt his fatigue melt away. He was feeling ready to go again! Just like before he started this hunt, and he psyched himself up.
'Interesting. This green stuff is like a stamina potion. The red stuff is the HP version. This is feeling surreal.' He was slightly amused by the contrasting between this world and a video game of the old one.
He found a yellow mushroom next, or "Shroom," as the system referred to them. It was thumping along its predetermined path crossing a red on its way to a spot Lone had chosen for the attack. He felt sweat making his shirt stick to his back when he saw the red Shroom giving him a small flashback of what he went through just a little while ago. He ignored the feeling and waited for the yellow to get to the isolated spot on its path. He had been waiting and watching its patrol for awhile now, waiting for any unexpected visitors finding a good spot not far from cover should he need it. The cover was a wall that was as thick as the pillars and built high enough for him to get to safety.
It was time, and he was ready for round three of this ridiculous kind of cage match he was stuck in. He took the spear freshly sharpened with the knife he had and set up so he could run when he saw how the yellow reacted.
He counted down in his head, 'three. Two. One!!!
As the spear flew, it was a little off this time,"damn!" Lone cursed, but as it got closer, it split in half down the shaft.
The yellow Shroom had grown a blade on the side of its cap, swinging its head in an awkward style. It began its charge toward him and fast! Faster than what Lone had planned all he could think of was the red cap shield that he put off to the side. He reached for it just in time as the yellow Shroom twisted, striking it hard, but he didn't go flying like he expected it was a much lighter hit than the clashed with the red commander. In fact, the sharp impact rebounded back, staggering the Shroom. Lone was still so taken aback that he didn't think to grab his knife before it twisted again. This time, both partys were ready, as they clashed the second time, then third, and even a fourth. The exchange was easy for Lone his height playing a role as the Shroom was too tall to get under the shield, the twisting motion it was making couldn't adjust to the angle he was blocking. This gave him room to get a hold of the knife at his waist, and by the seventh clash, he had the timing down to the point that he was able to grab his knife and counter after the eighth strike. All it took was the one swing as Lone cut both legs, the Shrooms legs giving out there and then. The yellow Shroom fell to the side unable to move properly.
It was now wriggling back and forth trying to get up any way it could but with no arm's to help it was impossible. Lone stabbed at the base of the cap of the mushroom stalk. The yellow Shroom struggled for a few seconds but went still quickly. It felt strange putting a mushroom out of its misery but it had to be done if he was going to get out of here.
Congratulations!
You have slain a [Shroom Rogue] experience will be allocated to the bank
Notice! Your base stats increased! Reward will be granted upon Age requirements being met.
Achievement!
You have killed multiple monsters that are more than twice your level. One of your titles has been upgraded to [Rare]
He was interested in the upgrade, but that didn't help him now, but what did was the stat increase. Anything that could help him beat the mushrooms was welcome, but he wasn't sure how much it was that it helped. He didn't have the luxury of testing out his stats. Right now, he needed to find an Arena Guardian to get key, and the idea of facing something stronger than the [Shroom Commander] gave him the chills. How was he a 7-year-old supposed to do that?... He realized how stupid it was that he was using his age and body as an excuse when he was the one who snuck out and got himself in this situation, especially with how much they tried to stop him. Even with his adult mind, it was childish.
The Yellow Shroom dissection was different. There was no sack that held a sap that healed him or rejuvenated him in any way. He did find that the blade sticking out of the cap was complete with a handle if he cut the bits that acted as roots. It was a pretty good weapon. Mind the handle was a little wide, but he could make do. Even cutting it up more finely, he found nothing new or useful.
It was time to move on. He took out the sack of green sap that gave him more energy and felt ready to go after drinking a third of what was left. It was sour, but the taste disappeared almost instantly like it wasn't even there, ending up feeling like he drank water instead. The items he was picking up all had value, and he was beginning to see why adventurers were a thing in this world. Though he didn't know how much any of this was worth in coin, he couldn't see it not pulling in a decent amount, after a days work. He had moved to the next area this time without his spear and make all new plans for how to deal with the next Shroom he would encounter.
As luck would have it, he found a spot that had a green [Shroom Scout] wandering threw two high hills that looked like a decent place to ambush with a good escape root to an area he could defend even against a [Shroom Commander]. It was thumping well within range of his throwing abilities, the question was what to throw. He had the Shroom blade or the wood sword he got from the blacksmith. The Shroom blade was sharp but was hard to grip because of the handle, while the wood sword was a good blunt weapon, easy to use because it was made for him, but blunt wasn't something he wanted to use against the Shroom. In the end he had went with throwing the Shroom blade. If it hit right it would kill instantly and if it didn't he would be able to use the wood sword to at least beat back an attack one handed while he could have the red cap shield in the other hand for more defense.
Now that he was decided all he had to do was wait for it to get a little closer. He readied himself to throw the blade tomahawk style with both hands. Three... two... one!!!
It was a good throw but the spinning was random and hit the green capped mushroom with the handle knocking it over. The green cap was struggling on its side to get back up on its feet but did so just before it was knocked with a wood blade. Lone had rushed forward hoping to finish it off quickly, only achieving a solid hit to the side of the [Shroom Scout].
It had been knocked back barely staying on its feet but that was all it needed because it started a dash. Not toward Lone but away. It had sped away before Lone could even get a second swing on it. He chased it for a couple of steps, stopping so soon because it was very obvious at that point that he wasn't catching up to it.
"Fucking hell." he cursed, it being the only thing he could do.
He waited for a moment to see if it was coming back around to attack him in some different style than the red or yellow Shroom but it was gone. He walked back to the blade on the ground, picking it up and looking it over nothing out of shape so he put the wood sword in between his belt and hip and walked back to the spot he started at thinking he might have to change spots if it didn't come back soon. Once there he sat down to rest and think of the odd scene of the Shroom running away...
It had been a few minutes when he thought about picking up and going to a new spot when he noticed the thumping sounds coming closer. He turned his head to see what was coming and saw a group of Shrooms coming his way.
"What the hell is that!" He said he felt a chill run down his back.
He scanned the group as he was readying to leave. "That's seven of them. 2 red, 2 blue, 2 green and 1 yellow. This is what the green one does isn't it." He said to himself as if he just had to hear it out loud to confirm his guess.
He turned in the direction of the defensive area he had found earlier and started running. He was pretty far away from the place he had ambushed the [Shroom Scout] earlier, so when he turned to check out the hills he was surprised that the group was passed the hills and was still marching his way. The two in lead were the Green Shroom and looked like they were tracking him in some way. They didn't have eyes but that didn't stop them from fighting in the first place so why would it stop them from tracking him. He was finding alot wrong with the world and it was finding wrong with him more than he wanted it too.
He got to the destination he could defend and found it lacking in more than a few things. It was a four walled room, no windows, without a roof. Made of stones and mortar it looked solid but in light of the incoming force he didn't know how it would fare against that meny. The only entrance was partly blocked by a pillar that was part of the door frame. This made it an obstacle for any of the Shrooms because they would have to bend down to get in and from what Lone had seen, being that top heavy it was probably impossible for any of them. All he could do was wait and see what they would do.
It didn't take long for him to find out. Even as a group, they were faster than Lone at his jogging pace. They didn't slow the entire time they chased him. It was an eerie feeling as he realized that he couldn't even run away. As he watched, the two green lead the group like hunting dogs to the entrance. When they reached the door one had tried to enter but as he suspected it couldn't get low enough to squeeze through.
When the green tried again he took the chance to thrust the point of the Shroom blade into the cap of the [Shroom Scout]. The tip of the blade dug in deep as he pushed as hard as he could. The Scout jumped back flailing its head, taking several steps back before tripping over its self and falling to the ground. It lay there kicking a few times before it went still.
While their companion danced in front of them, the other Shrooms got into a formation. The two Commanders got in front while the yellow Rogue stayed close behind. The two blue Shroom stayed the furthest back while the Scout stayed in front of them. After the battle lines were ready the Commanders charged in to take the pillar down. Unfortunately for them, the two couldn't strike the doorway at the same time and banged into each other before smashing into the frame of the door, the impact shook the whole wall. It was so hard that one of the Commanders fell down.
While one Commander was on the ground the other continued it's attack on the obstacle in the doorway, banging its hard cap a few times. It surprised Lone how the fallen pillar held so well under such a heavy bombardment but it looked like it was holding up with easely. He took this opportunity to look at the other Shrooms to see what it was they were doing, specifically the blue ones, they were the unfamiliar ones in all this after all. From what he could see they just stood there with the green scout standing in front of them acting as a guard. What was strange was that he could see the color on their caps get lighter then darker in short increments. They were doing something but he didn't know what yet.
A loud crack brought Lone back to his senses. He then found that a line had appeared on the unmoving pillar. He no longer had time to sit and watch. He turned to face the [Shroom Commander] in front of him. It was now kicking instead of hammering away with its head, the force was a little weaker but doubled the amount of attacks with two legs. As he sat there though, he noticed that it's upper body was close enough for him to hit with either the shroom blade or wood sword.
"Well hello there." He said as thrust the blade into the opening as hard as he could muster.
He was shocked both physically and mentally, when the blade touched an invisible wall around the Commander, bouncing him away like he was nothing. The kicking continued without pause as Lone got up and looked at the at the blade in his hand seeing nothing different from it, he turned to the Commander at the door. The pillar wasn't going to last much longer and he didn't have any other weapons that could reach unless he got closer than he was comfortable with.
"Shhhiiiit!" He yelled
He was running out of time and he needed to do something now, so he did the only thing he could. He thrust at the [Shroom Commander] again not expecting anything different to happen. He wasn't wrong, he bounced off again but this time he stayed on his feet. Still nothing else to do, he continued his useless thrust. The Commander kicked and Lone jabbed for the next minute but the only thing that changed was the cracks on the pillar and the small chunks of it increasing in the doorway.
He was getting tired fast, but he only had this. The wood sword was dull at the tip, and the knife was too short, so the shroom blade was all he had. 'This isn't working maybe I could run to another...!' His thoughts stopped as he felt something cold run through him. It started in his head flow down his spine to his toes bouncing up into both arms shooting into the blade and out the tip. All of it happened in less than a half second. Next thing he knew the Shroom Commander was in two halves, an upper and lower.
Congratulations! You have an achievement!