Chapter 9

Act 8: Let The Grinding Begin!

Elton and everybody walked over to the outskirts of Toad Stool Town. It was a green field with rolling hills and very few trees.

The mobs there were mostly boars, ostriches, bulls, and other wildlife; nothing special.

"Alright this is where we will start," Veronica said. "It seems like Daniel knows this place pretty well even though there is not much to know about it."

Daniel crossed his arms. "Yes, I hunt here all the time, and I know all the best spots for monster spawning."

"Great." Elton said, eager to get started. Elton had never hunted before since he didn't own any weapons but now he has a weapon and he is ready to slay.

"Your going to want to go after the boars first, they're the easiest then once you level up a bit move on to the ostriches. Finally, once you have made it to level ten, you can fight the bulls, not saying you should though they are incredibly strong and they're stamina gage is hard to lower because they are hard to parry." Daniel informed Elton.

Elton nodded and took out his switch dagger with a big grin on his face. It was almost scary how he looked. He looked like a psychotic serial killer about to kill somebody in the worst way possible. "Which one should I go after, hmm... So many options," Elton said to himself.

"your going to want to get the jump on one so you can sneak in a few free extra hits. Try to get your combo counter up as high as you can." Veronica said to Elton.

Elton was confused. "What is a combo counter? I don't think I have one of those Veronica." Elton told her.

Veronica sighed. She almost felt sorry for how stupid Elton was. "It's a tab that appears when you get into a fight. The more you hit the mob the more it goes up, the more it goes up the more extra damage your attacks do."

"Oh, ok, I really am stupid, huh?" Elton said while rubbing the back of his head. Veronica sighed.

"Your going to want to get there stamina gage down to 0 as well. Once it hits zero they are stunned for a second or two and that's when you make your move with a heavy attack, flurry attack, ability, or a powerful spell. I would say stick with a flurry attack since you can't perform a heavy attack with a dagger, nor are you able to cast or use spells and abilities." Daniel informed Elton.

"So much information my head is going to explode," Elton said while holding his head. I think he was trying to be funny, but nobody was laughing instead they looked at him like if he was a complete moron which he was, there was no denying it.

After looking some more, Elton found the perfect one to sneak up on. The boar was basking in the sun on the ground with its back turned to Elton. Elton crouched low to the ground and lunged quietly and swiftly towards the boar. Elton was so excited, his first kill within S.S.O he couldn't wait any longer. Once Elton got to a good amount of space between the boar and him, he got ready to strike, clutching his dagger as hard as he could to the point where his hands turned bright red.

"3...2...1..." Elton counted down in his head.

"NOW!" Elton shot up from his crouched position and swung his blade at the back of the boar.

Slice!

"REEEEEEEEE!!!!" the boar screeched as Elton sliced its back open.

Bding!

a small and slim tab appeared in the corner of Elton's view.

[1 hit combo]

"Oh, now I see what Veronica meant." Elton focused his attention back to the boar. The boar huffed and puffed as its tag turned red. A red tag meant the monster was now hostile and will fight back.

Elton darted at the bull and swung his dagger.

Ching!..

Elton's entire body shook from the impact of the boar's tusk, hitting his tiny little dagger. Elton staggered a bit but regain his stance. Elton looked up at his stamina gage it was now at 5.

"Crap," Elton said under his breath. With another swing of Elton's dagger, the boar dodged it and charged Elton from the side.

Ching!..

Again Elton shook from the impact and was shot back this time. Elton fell to his knees, exhausted as the boar was circling him, grunting. Elton looked up at his stamina gage.

Stamina: (0/15)

"Tsk," Elton sighed. The boar rushed in to finish him.

Slice!

"REEEEEEEE!!!!!!" the boar screeched as Elton had cut it again. Veronica and Daniel's jaw dropped. Elton got up on his feet, clenching his dagger in his left hand.

***

"When you're down to your last bit of stamina, you must still fight. As long as you're not unconscious or dead you will be fine," I said, using my grandfather's speech and just changing it to fit the situation. I turned to face the boar.

"Round two..."

The boar came charging at me with its last bit of hp.

"Run Elton! You can't fight without stamina!" Daniel and Veronica shouted in sync.

"I'll be fine," I thought to myself. I got in a strong fighting stance with my dagger out in front of me. I was ready for anything.

The boar's tusks glowed with a red aura.

"Oh, no... Elton, move out of the way!" Daniel yelled. I stood my ground. Glowing tusks would not scare me.

The boar lunged into the air, aiming for my face. I swung my blade up in front of my face, blocking it from being hit.

BAM!

"What the heck the boar's attack was 10 times stronger this time!" I shouted inside my head. It sent me back flying with a ringing noise in my ear. I landed on my back hard and tumbled down the hill.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch..." I said while I was rolling down the hill gradually loosing hp. Who knew boars were so powerful.

Tmp, tmp, tmp, tmp, tmp!

I heard the hooves of the boar hitting the ground; it was chasing after me! I tried to roll faster down the hill, "Faster!" I thought.

"He looks like a tumbleweed," Daniel snickered.

"No, he looks like an idiot," Veronica replied.

"If he can't even defeat a boar, well there is no hope for him." Daniel said.

"I disagree. I have a feeling Elton is holding back a power hidden deep within him. I mean, you saw how he could dodge the boar and slice it like if he was at full stamina. He's definitely different. I only tease him in hopes of him to grow stronger." Veronica informed.

"I guess you 're right, but for now we just have to wait and see."

"I guess so."