Taking advantage of the fact that his body was still intangible thanks to Spectral Walk, Algeni escaped the Sprout’s reach and, with a powerful leap, launched himself onto the branch of a tall tree. He remained crouched there for a few seconds, breathing heavily as he scanned the forest around him, making sure the creature had not followed him immediately.
Gritting his teeth, he muttered in frustration,
“Damn it… If I had known those spores would cause me this much trouble, I never would’ve been so careless trying to cut them.”
The system assistant appeared beside him and said with obvious relief,
“It’s a good thing you escaped. That thing was going to keep attacking.”
Algeni continued putting distance between himself and the Sprout, jumping from branch to branch. Even so, the spores’ effects continued to ravage his body. His muscles felt unbearably heavy, and his eyelids became harder and harder to keep open with every passing second.
At last, he let himself drop onto a thick branch.
“If anything happens, wake me up. I need to rest for a while.”
Without waiting for a reply, he closed his eyes and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
The assistant floated quietly beside him, carefully watching the surrounding forest.
The hours passed slowly.
The woods remained peaceful, interrupted only by the occasional song of birds and the gentle whisper of the wind rustling through the treetops.
Algeni remained asleep.
The assistant continued standing guard when, suddenly…
Whoosh!
A thick grass-like vine shot out from the dense undergrowth and wrapped itself tightly around Algeni’s torso.
It was the Sprout.
The creature had been searching for him the entire time.
The assistant’s eyes widened in alarm.
“User, wake up!”
He called out several more times.
“User!”
But Algeni didn’t respond.
Using the vine that held him, the Sprout lifted Algeni several meters into the air.
Then…
It slammed him violently toward the ground.
Algeni opened his eyes only an instant before the impact.
“Huh…?”
BOOOM!
His body crashed into the earth with tremendous force, sending a massive cloud of dirt, leaves, and dust exploding into the air as the entire forest trembled from the impact.
The assistant quickly descended.
Filled with concern, he asked,
“User, are you alright? Are you still alive?”
For several long seconds, there was only silence.
Then, from within the thick cloud of dust, a weary voice echoed.
“Seriously… this has to be the worst way to wake up.”
At that very moment, a system window appeared before him.
System:
Skill Used: Light Reinforcement
Effect:
Your defense has temporarily increased.
Little by little, the dust cloud began to settle.
Algeni stepped out with his sword already in hand, his clothes stained with dirt and dust.
He looked at the assistant with a thoroughly annoyed expression.
“I’m never leaving you to watch over me while I sleep again.”
The assistant immediately defended himself.
“It wasn’t my fault. That thing came out of nowhere.”
Algeni snorted.
“Yeah, yeah… you just don’t want to admit you’re to blame.”
The assistant quickly replied,
“I insist that it wasn’t my fault.”
While the two argued, the Sprout remained perfectly still, watching them with obvious confusion.
Taking advantage of Algeni’s distraction, it opened its mouth and fired another sphere of spores.
This time…
Algeni reacted in time.
With a swift sidestep, he dodged the projectile.
“Not this… at least, not this time.”
Without wasting another second, he charged straight toward the Sprout.
Perched high among the branches of a towering tree, the creature unleashed a relentless rain of spores from every direction.
Algeni zigzagged between the projectiles with quick, precise movements, avoiding every single one.
Once he got close enough, he unleashed a powerful horizontal slash.
Clang!
But it barely managed to leave a small scratch.
Algeni immediately jumped back.
“It’s far too tough for this sword to cut through.”
The Sprout retaliated by sending several roots bursting out of the ground like giant serpents.
Algeni dodged each one before retreating several meters.
Suddenly, the assistant remembered something.
“Do you remember the Sun Flower? You can use its fire property to deal with the Sprout.”
Algeni’s eyes lit up.
“Good idea. I knew that flower would come in handy.”
He pulled the Sun Flower out of his inventory and asked,
“So, how do I transfer its fire property to my sword?”
The assistant answered without hesitation.
“Pour the flower’s liquid onto your sword. The rest will happen on its own.”
Algeni carefully squeezed the flower over the blade.
Immediately, the metal began to heat up.
“I can feel the heat… but I still don’t see any flames.”
The assistant was about to answer.
However…
The Sprout attacked again.
Several roots burst from the ground in different directions, forcing Algeni to retreat while constantly dodging their relentless assault.
Finally, one of them came dangerously close.
Algeni raised his sword to block it.
The instant the blade collided with the root…
Fwoosh!
The sword suddenly burst into brilliant flames.
With a single swing, it sliced cleanly through the root as though it were nothing more than paper.
Algeni smiled.
“I get it now. The liquid needs movement to activate. In that case… let’s finish this thing.”
Without another word, he charged at the Sprout once more.
Now, every root that tried to stop him was sliced cleanly apart by his sword, which was wrapped in blazing flames.
The creature began to retreat.
For the first time…
It felt fear.
Desperate, it started firing spores frantically in every direction.
But not a single one struck Algeni.
As a last resort, the Sprout forced dozens of roots to burst from the ground around its enemy, weaving them together into a massive prison of living wood.
For a brief moment…
It seemed to have succeeded.
Then…
Slash!
A gigantic flaming slash tore through every root at once.
The roots burst into flames before crumbling into charred pieces.
Algeni emerged from the fire at incredible speed.
Without giving the creature a chance to react, he raised his sword.
The Sprout could only watch as the burning blade came down.
With a single, clean strike…
Its head was sent flying.
The creature’s body collapsed heavily onto the forest floor.
Silence returned to the woods.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Algeni stared at the corpse as another system window appeared before him.
System
Congratulations, User. You have defeated a Level 18 Sprout. Because of this and the other creatures you have defeated, your level has increased to Level 25.
New Statistics
Level: 25
Strength: Increased
Defense: Increased
Speed: Increased
Mana: Increased
All of your Stats have increased. This story is hosted at g.com.
Algeni felt the exhaustion in his body lessen slightly as the level-up took effect. He rolled his shoulders a little before saying with a tired smile,
“That was a lot of fighting for one day… Time to head back.”
After a long walk through the forest, Algeni finally returned to the village.
His clothes were covered in dust, marked with a few shallow scratches and patches of dirt, yet he continued walking calmly as though nothing had happened.
He stepped into the Adventurers’ Guild once again.
Rachel was the first to notice him.
The moment she saw the state he was in, her eyes widened with alarm.
“What happened to you? You only went to gather herbs.”
Algeni let out a sigh before answering,
“I think you forgot to mention there was a monster in the area.”
Rachel froze for a few seconds.
Then she suddenly slapped her forehead.
“That’s right! How could I forget? You must have run into a Sprout. They usually live in places with lots of plants so they can camouflage themselves and hunt boars—or distracted people. You must’ve had to run away. It’s a monster classified as E-Rank. I’m so sorry.”
Algeni noticed the guilty expression spreading across Rachel’s face.
To reassure her, he offered a faint smile and replied,
“Don’t worry. I still managed to finish the mission. Here.”
He pulled the medicinal herbs from his inventory and handed them over.
Rachel accepted them with obvious surprise.
“How did you find these before you found the Sprout?”
Algeni chuckled softly.
“Actually… I found them at the exact moment that thing attacked me… and after I figured out its weakness, I managed to kill the Sprout.”
Rachel stood perfectly still, trying to process what she had just heard, while the usual bustle of the guild carried on around them, completely unaware of the incredible feat Algeni had just described.
Her eyes opened even wider, unable to hide her amazement. Sunlight streamed through the guild’s windows, illuminating her stunned expression as adventurers chatted in the background without paying much attention to them.
“That’s impossible! You have to be joking… An F-Rank adventurer actually managed to kill a Sprout… It must be the blessing of a star!” she exclaimed, placing a hand over her chest.
Algeni shrugged casually.
“Yeah, it was difficult until I figured out its weakness was fire. After that, beating it was pretty easy.”
Rachel remained silent for a few more seconds, still struggling to believe what she’d heard.
Finally, she let out a long sigh.
“Let’s… leave that topic for another time. I’d better give you your reward: thirty gold coins.”
She turned around and hurried toward the area where the guild stored its rewards.
While waiting, Algeni folded his arms and thought to himself,
“If that thing is only considered E-Rank, then there must be creatures that are even stronger… And if that’s true, then there must also be adventurers far more powerful than me. That’s… kind of exciting.”
For a brief moment, he imagined gigantic monsters and legendary adventurers capable of facing them without the slightest hesitation.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he murmured quietly,
“Even if it’s not my main goal right now… I’d really like to meet someone like that someday.”
A short while later, Rachel returned carrying a small leather pouch that jingled with the weight of the coins.
She handed it to him with a gentle smile.
“That should be everything. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Algeni took the pouch, weighed it in his hand for a moment, and replied,
“Actually… I could use another mission.”
Rachel blinked several times, convinced she had misheard him.
“You didn’t just say you want another mission… did you?” she asked in disbelief.
Algeni nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Yep. That’s exactly what I said.”
Rachel placed a hand against her forehead and let out a deep sigh before replying,
“You’re unbelievably reckless. You’re seriously going on another mission after fighting a Sprout? I’m honestly surprised you’re still alive. You should be resting!”
Algeni smiled carelessly, as though the cuts and bruises covering his body didn’t matter at all.
“Come on, it’s nothing. I’ll finish as many missions as I can before nightfall.”
Rachel studied him for several long seconds.
It was obvious she wasn’t going to change his mind.
With a resigned sigh, she reopened the guild’s mission registry and said,
“Seriously… Fine, I can’t stop you. Choose one: find a lost cat for forty gold coins, or hunt goblins for fifty.”
Algeni barely needed a moment to think.
“I’ll look for the lost cat.”
Rachel took the corresponding request and handed it to him.
Before she could explain anything else, however, Algeni had already turned around and was walking toward the guild’s exit with determined steps.
She raised a hand as if she wanted to stop him, but slowly lowered it again as she watched him disappear into the constant flow of adventurers.
Letting out another quiet sigh, she murmured to herself with a mixture of worry and resignation,
“That boy is going to get himself killed.”
The guild’s heavy wooden doors closed behind Algeni with a soft thud.
Without slowing down for even a moment, he continued on toward his next mission, while Rachel remained staring at the entrance for several more seconds, silently hoping that the strange young adventurer would once again return safe and sound.