NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73: First Fight Out
His farming dreams were temporarily paused when he heard a sound near him.
ROAARRR!
And it was from a monster directly in front of him!
Gasp.
It seemed like there was a rare monster coming from this direction, and therefore saw him first. And it certainly wasted no time before aiming for his head.
Finn immediately ran back to the barrier, while at the same time facing and blocking the beast with his halberd. This was all by instinct. If he had been depending on his own brain and experience, he might've lost a part of his face already.
ROOAAARRR!
The monster continued to push while the tip of the halberd was right at the monster's mouth. As Finn was pushed back, he quickly activated his only offensive active skill.
[Activated! Heated Arc]
He felt a slight change in the atmosphere, condensing at the tip of his weapon. Suddenly, it felt a bit sharper, and the penetration of the spike deepened.
ROAAARR!
In the few seconds the skill was activated, he swung and stabbed the monster through its mouth, and he could feel its breaking meat and flesh!
Sadly, before he could take another shot, the commotion attracted two more monsters.
ROAAAR!!
ROAARR!!
With monsters attacking him from all sides, Finn had no choice but to pull back. He didn't forget, however, to make the subtlest movement forward to take the last shot anyway, taking at least one of them and imbalancing the others.
[Killed! Brindlejaw (awakened)]
Using his passive [Blade Proficiency] and [Monster Instinct] he avoided the monsters' bites by moving his body flexibly, with the halberd moving as if it were an extension of it. He wasn't as flexible as a dormant, but as an awakened, he fortunately was.
Otherwise…he could imagine having hip pain in the middle of a battle.
He slashed and stabbed and parried. By this time, he was two meters away from the barrier. So near yet so far.
He gritted his teeth. He had to finish this quickly, otherwise, more monsters would come while he was outside the barrier.
Anyway, he used their imbalance to step over the hissmal, causing the other one—another brindlejaw—to bite it by accident. He finally got near enough from the barrier and threw his backpack-basket there, all while blocking the monster with his spear. He was about to run back as well, but the brindlejaw suddenly pulled on the spear.
Unlike the usual though, he did not fight the beast's pulling motion. He allowed himself to get pulled in while holding the halberd, jumping up before the hissmal—which came from his side—could take a bite at him.
He twisted his body so his feet would land on the brindlejaw's face. He knew enough about its structure to know where to step on. At the same time, the Hissmal's body turned flexibly, its large mouth prepared to take a bite at him.
The brindlejaw under him squirmed as it squirmed around, trying to get him down his back. He timed its attack well, avoiding its bite, making it accidentally bite the pole on his hand.
Bite!
Without another word, he summoned the dagger from his space, and with his free hand—SLASH! —he stabbed it through the eyes and straight to its brain.
ROAAARR!
[Killed! Hissmal (awakened)]
He took the dagger back in his space, just in time before the monster below him suddenly opened its mouth, letting go of the halberd. The sudden movement imbalanced him a bit, but he took this chance to use the weapon as a pole, as if he were pole vaulting.
ROAAR!
It bellowed, trying to catch up to him. Finn cursed as he twirled, kicking it back even by a few inches. The momentum from the kick added to his movement back, landing just in time before another monster bit his legs!
Huff… huff…
"You okay, la?" the panda said, still in the process of organizing his loot.
Finn didn't answer him and just stared at the monsters outside. There were four now, three arriving when they smelled the blood of their fellow monster.
And now that he was inside the barrier, his arrogance returned. He smiled, looking at the monsters as if they were just meat to eat.
"Time for slaughter."
…
Including the monsters on the other side of the walls, he defeated all 10 or so monsters in less than an hour. Satisfied with his productivity, he stretched his arms with a wide grin on his face.
Pang tutted. It wasn't that he was unimpressed. Considering how pitiful Finn was at the start, he had really gone far. It was just that he was way too proud, considering he was just hiding behind the barrier, and the monsters he was going against were among the weakest kind.
"Hey! The barrier is part of my luck, and therefore part of my skill," Finn said as a matter of fact, and Pang could only agree.
[Status]
Name: Finnick Altheus Solthar
Race: Human
Class: Innkeeper, Chef
Level: Awakened Tier 1
Awakening Type: Physical
Affinity: Fire, Earth, Wind
…
VITALS
HP: 282/300
Mana: 250/300
Stamina: 261/300
Wallet: 84 Gold
Hearth Points: 450 Points
…
Skills:
Active: [Ingredient Scan] [Dish Analysis] [Heated Arc] [Foraging]
Passive: [Blade Proficiency - Growth Type (Lv 2)] [Monster Instinct]
[Strong Stomach] [Improved Palate] [Fire Resistance]
Condition: Normal ]
The purchase of the armor and the potions really made a dent in his treasury, though they were definitely worth it. The lack of gold was particularly bothersome, however.
He really did not want to sell cores for less than they were worth. He could've lost a limb fighting them earlier, how could he be willing to undersell the rewards?
The most sustainable was the customers.
Did he really have to fetch them himself? Putting up signage and marks should also be a thing, but it really felt lonely to do these alone. Pang was limited to the inn territory, after all. Also, he hadn't gone more than 10 meters away from the barrier, and he was already struggling; what more if he headed further out?
Sigh.
Regardless… he mumbled, looking at the carcasses outside. He also felt the slight soreness in his arms. He handled the weapon skilfuly, but the foundation-building was rather strict.
He deserved some relaxation. As well as a new hobby!
.
.
Which was why he finally decided to build his garden!
[Garden]
[Information: A compact, magically-enhanced plot of land for cultivating herbs, fruits, vegetables, and the like. +100% Growth rate, enhanced resistance to pests and weather. Adds Ambiance +1 each.
Ingredients planted here had increased chances of creating essence food.
Size: 1 meter x 1 meter
Duplication Capacity: 0/10 (increases every level up)
Cost: 10 gold, 100 Hearth Points]
He nodded. Fair enough.
He wondered how many he should buy at first, but then he remembered he wasn't a farmer, and the plants here were flora he didn't have the luxury of having records or internet articles for.
So, for now, he chose to buy one and test things from there.
[Purchased! Garden! -10 Gold, -100 Hearth Points!
After clicking it, the grid pattern from before—the one that overlaid over the territory—once again appeared. This was closely followed by a familiar notification.
[Please select an area to embed Garden module]
Hehe, Farming Life: Start!