Chapter 11: The Struggle for Strength
The night was calm, with a cool breeze gently swaying the tall grass around them. Yuno, feeling the exhaustion from the day's events, finally had a moment to breathe. Piggy had already curled up, snoring peacefully after a long day of hunting. However, rather than resting, Yuno saw this as an opportunity.
"I should take this chance to complete another mission while she's asleep," Yuno thought, his determination flaring. Opening the system menu, he requested a new mission. The system quickly responded, presenting him with a task:
[Mission Received: Absorb all collected items]
Reward: Exclusive Ability
An exclusive ability? That instantly caught his attention. His excitement grew as he imagined what kind of ability it could be. If it could help him become stronger, it was worth any effort.
"This should be simple. I just need to absorb everything I collected today," Yuno mumbled. Carefully, he accessed his inventory and started pulling out the items one by one.
The moment he did, Piggy's ears twitched, and her nose wriggled as if catching a delicious scent. Her eyes snapped open, her tail wagging furiously as she stared at the items Yuno had placed in front of him.
Before she could act, Yuno quickly held up a small apple. "No! This is for my mission." Piggy's ears drooped in disappointment, her entire body deflating like a sad balloon.
Seeing her pitiful expression, Yuno sighed and tossed her one apple. "Fine, you can have this one." Instantly, her mood flipped. She happily munched on the apple, her tail swaying as if nothing had happened.
Yuno shook his head at how simple she was but quickly turned his focus back to the mission. Now came the real challenge. Among the collected items was a small rock. He stared at it, confused.
"How am I supposed to absorb this?" he muttered. His mission progress showed zero percent completion although he had eaten multiple fruits because the system lacked any guidance.
"Wait a minute…" Yuno narrowed his eyes. "Absorb… not eat?" A sudden realization struck him. A memory of the Boulder Mushroom they had met previously flashed through his thoughts.
He remembered that the Boulder Mushroom had absorbed the Blade Mantis by simply resting on top of it.
"No way… do I have to do the same thing?" Embarrassment filled his mind because he needed to absorb instead of eating.
He took a deep breath before sitting on one of the small fruits while keeping his body in close contact with it. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, he felt it. The warmth from his body spread throughout the fruit which then dried up and died completely before it turned into dust.
A notification popped up:
[Absorption successful: +10 Exp]
Yuno's eyes widened. It worked! He proceeded to use the same method on all remaining items because he felt eager to continue.
Each collected object dried up beneath his presence until its life force became one with his body. The items gave either minor stat improvements or restored his energy levels.
A system notification appeared when the last item vanished after his extended efforts:
[Mission Complete! You now possess a special ability known as Decomposition which appears in your system. [+200 EXP]
Yuno experienced an intense surge of power when his body started emitting dim light. The game interface showed his character had achieved Level 10 status.
His new ability became the most captivating aspect to him.
You can decompose monsters and objects at level 1-20 to extract their nutritional value through this ability.
"I now have the ability to consume both monsters and materials. That's…" Yuno's mind buzzed with possibilities. The discovery proved to be more than useful because it represented a complete game transformer.
His Stamina Points reached zero from the energy consumption. His stamina suffered from absorbing all the collected items.
"I should rest…" Yuno released his eyes for the first time since he sighed.
***
The morning brought Yuno a small amount of refreshment. The brief rest period ended abruptly for him.
[New Mission Received: Hunt 10 Monsters]
His face fell instantly. "Why are the missions getting harder?!" he groaned.
Piggy displayed her high spirits through tail-wagging as she woke up. She had achieved Level 11 status which allowed them to fight against weaker monsters.
Still, there was a problem. The environment of this world differs from standard gaming systems. Yuno voiced his concerns about monsters appearing randomly as they hunted their initial target.
They managed to locate a Level 8 Green Slime after searching for some time.
---
Green Slime (LV.8)
HP: 75/75
MP: 0/0
SP: 70/100
Attack: 16
Defense: 25
Magic: 0
Magic Defense: 15
Speed: 13
Critical Rate: 10%
Description:
The Green Slime's entire body is composed of a gel-like substance. Its transparent organs float inside its body, making it difficult to determine its weak points. As long as the heart remains intact, it can continue to survive. Upon death, it dissolves into an ordinary gel puddle, which is commonly used to create medicines.
---
"Alright, this is our chance," Yuno whispered. He used his new enhanced body to make a swift strike against the enemy.
The strike from his attack caused the slime to roll uncontrollably until it almost met its end.
"Just one more hit" Piggy launched toward the slime at that moment and ended its existence with a single powerful stomp.
[Green Slime Defeated!]
"What the, YOU STOLE MY KILL?!" Yuno shouted. Piggy stood there with her tail moving in a happy manner to show her satisfaction.
Yuno became enraged when he looked at his system because the mission progress showed zero completion. The system registered his kill which was unexpected to him.
"Huh? How?" Piggy produced a peculiar stone from her mouth at that moment. Yuno appraised it.
The Party Stone creates a connection between two creatures which enables them to share both experience points and acquired loot.
"…Wait. So we're in a party?" Yuno's thoughts returned to the time they uncovered the peculiar stone during their previous excavation. The system must have automatically established their party connection.
Piggy observed his hesitation before he suddenly appeared guilty.
"Oh, no… Yuno became aware of the situation. He sighed heavily before giving her side a gentle pat.
"Alright, alright. I was wrong. You deserve my apologies because I made the mistake of shouting at you. I will seek out a tasty treat to compensate you for my mistake so please accept this promise.
Piggy became excited and her tail began to move with joy.
The duo pushed forward with their hunt yet made minimal progress during that time. Their search lasted for many hours but they managed to collect only four slimes.
"This is taking forever," Yuno grumbled. A surprise attack struck him right when he planned to speak his complaints.
Piggy relied on her natural instincts to escape the attack by a fraction of a second.
---
Possessed Stump (LV.18)
HP: 417/540
MP: 60/60
SP: 34/100
Attack: 99
Defense: 150
Magic: 10
Magic Defense: 3
Speed: 5
Critical Rate: 13%
Description:
Formed when low-level evil spirits merge with an abandoned tree stump, the Possessed Stump thrives in dark, humid areas. It camouflages itself as a regular stump, waiting for unsuspecting prey. Due to the moisture in its body, it has developed a natural resistance to fire.
---
"What was that?!" A Level 18 Possessed Stump appeared from the dense grass.
The stump moved with cracking wood as it stared at them with its red glowing eyes.
Yuno quickly analyzed it.
"This thing is strong… and it looks like its defense is insane."
The stump attacked again. Piggy managed to evade the attack but her counterstrike resulted in the opposing force bouncing back to push her away.
The instant Yuno saw the monster he understood it possessed a damage reflection capability.
"Piggy! He yelled at her to avoid any direct assault.
Piggy remained disoriented because of her previous assault.
The Possessed Stump prepared for another strike.
Yuno had to act fast. He had no other option so he triggered Spore Explosion to produce a dense light orange fog.
Spores flooded the air while visibility became completely obstructed.
The stump paused in its tracks because it lost sight of them within the thick fog.
Seizing the opportunity, Yuno grabbed Piggy and whispered, "Run!"