I got lucky. As the pig fell on its paws, the blade went into its belly to its full length, and now, judging by the frantic screams of pain, the handle was dragging along the ground, widening the wound more and more. But still, before entering into a full-fledged battle, I circled around the increasingly slowing monster for a few minutes.
Now it's time!
I turned around and, slashing the beast with my sword on the forehead, immediately jumped back. And not in vain. I'd like to say that the pig's head burst like a ripe watermelon, but nothing of the sort. Either my hands are useless, or the sword is blunt... The blade bounced off, and the stunned beast, passing within inches, nearly knocked me off my feet.
However, my attack didn't go unnoticed: dark blood covered the snarling muzzle, including the eyes, and the brain (if it has one) was shaken, and on the next turn, the squealing pig was no longer so confident on its feet. Excellent!
This time I waited until it was quite close, and first jumped back, and only then slashed at its neck. There! That's better! I didn't kill it, of course, but blood gushed in a thick stream from the huge wound, and the pig decided to run away.
Dream on! I caught up with the not-so-nimble beast and with two strikes finally cut through its neck.
[You have killed a Minor Grunt of the 2nd level.]
[Note: For killing monsters, intelligent beings, as well as completing tasks, you receive experience, which allows you to grow in levels and unlock additional functionality.]
The help function works in offline mode, and that's great!
Oho! And here comes the first loot!
About ten centimeters above the body of what I consider to be not such a minor grunt, a light green box appeared in the air.
After turning it in my hands and playing with moving it to the inventory and back, I opened it.
[Received 7 copper coins.]
Well... Ninety-ninth level of realism... Thanks for not giving me a chair, of course, but if you're going to stuff all sorts of crap into monsters, let it at least be weapons. However, maybe it will be. And maybe not just weapons. After all, this grunt was only second level, moreover minor...
I hope this isn't an endangered species from the local Red Book or a missing pet of some farmer who, upon meeting, will ask to find the animal and bring it back.
I wonder if the locals are okay with money falling out of monsters? Although, what am I talking about?! The system has probably been here for thousands of years, and for them, it's as logical as apples on an apple tree.
And the state? After all, a constant uncontrolled influx of cash is a path to wild inflation, which means there must be equally wild fees and taxes... Damn it! Is this really the most appropriate moment to think about the financial system of an unknown fantasy world?!
What's next on the plan?..
I thoughtfully examined the grunt's carcass.
Could there be anything else valuable in it? Theoretically, yes.
It's still about ten kilometers to the city, or rather the village, where I was heading, and perhaps it's worth learning as much as possible about the world before the first contact with other intelligent beings.
The nearest grove was about a hundred meters away, and I was pretty exhausted by the time I dragged my prey there. It's good that I managed to cut off the head and stuff it into the inventory.
So, grunt... I have a serious man-to-man talk with you. Uncle Ilya desperately needs some super-rare-unique ingredient that he will then sell and become the local king or at least a major feudal lord. Dreaming? And why not? Is this fantasy or what?
Taking a deep breath, I took out the dagger and began to butcher the prey. I lacked experience. Rather, it was absent, but nevertheless, after half an hour I already knew the approximate anatomy of local monsters.
That's where the good news ended. I found nothing and didn't even get any feature like "butcher" or "gutter". Although no. The system was generous with one more note, and now I knew that organic substances in the inventory do not spoil.
After the carcass dissection, the hunger that had been approaching before retreated in horror, and after carefully (as much as I could) wiping my hands on the grass, I got busy with other matters.
Money. One silver coin turned out to contain ten copper ones. Ten silver ones were exchanged for one gold. The girl had two silver coins in her purse, I had three in mine... So five in total, plus the copper. I have a feeling you can't feast on this money.
The purses that held the money turned out to be magical. If two of them ended up in the inventory, they immediately merged into one, and all the cash that went into the pocket was automatically added there.
Very convenient. Especially for robbers. Catch a traveler, and if he gives up his purse, you can be sure he has nothing left.
The pink liquid in the vial (about 0.1 L), judging by the smell, contained alcohol, but the system identified it as:
[Healing Potion.]
That's it. What and how much it heals — will have to be learned empirically, that is, through experience.
Of course, you can use it for its second purpose and celebrate getting into another world, but it's better to accumulate at least three or four, because one probably won't have much effect.
Now the most important thing — the map. It's crappy, not detailed, but it's what we have.
I'm supposedly on a large white spot called Prilesye. It's at the bottom of the map. The huge forest itself starts far to the east. I'm going from south to north. And more or less in the same direction are three settlements. Small ones. If you believe the scale and that redhead girl, approximately ten, twenty, and thirty km away. Plus or minus five. They stand on one crooked road. I don't see it, as initially it goes from the east and only turns north in the first of the villages named Kipen.
Well, that's basically all that this crumpled piece of gray fabric contained. It's completely unclear why the locals needed it... Although... If we assume that our meeting was planned by the system before it glitched, then this map was originally intended for me.
Hmm. And how could it have been planned? This girl is definitely not a non-player character, that is, she's real. I'm 146 percent sure of this. Which means she was told to come there. It turns out that the system gives personal tasks. And, probably, I should have received such task(s), but I was taken for an unknown player, which means this method of leveling up is not available to me yet...
Well, to hell with it! At least I have freedom of action! If I want, I'll go kill the main dragon right now! And if I want — tomorrow... Or in a year.
The gravity either corresponded to Earth's or was slightly lower. If we assume that other constants here are roughly the same, and the sun is at the same distance and of the same size... Yeah, knowledge of physics suggested that I was too presumptuous to assume such things. And in general, this world could easily be flat and stand on elephants and a turtle... What am I getting at? Ah! Judging by the position of the sun, it's now three or four in the afternoon, so it's time to move to this glorious village of Kipen.
Hunger began to approach again, but I stoically ignored it.
That single loaf of bread that I have is worth saving for a rainy day, and I won't eat the grunt, but I'll certainly take three kg of ham.
I looked around, left the grove, and trudged on. My hands had already rested, and I again began to practice lunges and blocks. Most likely, minor grunts of the second level are not the most dangerous opponents here, so it's worth learning to cut off heads with the first strike.
What a thrill it is to feel how the leg muscles work. To walk and feel the unevenness of the earth, and jump over... Even over this blue flower!
I couldn't resist and took off my sandals.
Wow... The grass tickles my ankles, pebbles and twigs dig into my soles... Cool! But it's better to put the shoes back on.
***
For about half an hour, I walked quietly and peacefully across the plain. I already thought I'd reach the village without adventures, but then a dark-haired bearded man came out of another small forest to meet me, or rather ran out. I didn't like this right away, but even more so when two minor grunts jumped out from behind the trees.
"Help!" the man shouted and waved his arms.
[Unknown player! You are offered a task: save an intelligent being.]
[Accept/refuse.]
[Reward: 1 silver coin and gratitude of the saved.]
[Note: Tasks can be received...]
The message greatly interfered with keeping an eye on the approaching opponents, and I dismissed it. The reward is crap, of course, but two against two is basically a normal layout.
[Accept!]
I pulled out my sword, stood in a fighting stance, and was very surprised when the man, continuing to call for help, ran past, and his voice began to fade away.
Damn it!
Less than ten meters to the first monster, and the option of running away looks unpromising. It's better to meet the enemies at full strength, especially since their habits and techniques are more or less clear. It's a pity they're rushing on all fours.
Meanwhile, the grunts running side by side switched their attention to me and slightly changed their trajectory.
For better mobility, I put away the shield and repeated the practiced move: I jumped back at the last moment and lowered the sword onto the neck of one of the opponents.
It turned out much better than last time. There was a squeal, and the grunt rolled on the ground. The second, paying no attention to the misfortune of its comrade, turned around and went for a second approach.
I'm in stance again and repeat the maneuver.
And now it turned out worse... The grunt caught my leg, and I lost my balance. Only the tip of the sword scratched its head. Zero damage, plus ten rage...
I jumped up and only at the last moment leaped away from the new attack.
Damn it, what the hell is this?!
The man stopped shouting. Moreover, he pulled out a short sword and began to approach the battlefield. Only it's obvious that not with the intention of helping me: this bastard was greedily looking at the grunt writhing on the ground and clearly wanted to finish it off, that is, take my experience and loot. You guessed wrong!
"Mine!" I yelled and rushed to the unfinished one.
The bearded man flinched and backed away. Damn, this unpleasant sound of paws behind...