16 Assassin's Nettles (1)

Following the map on the back of his mission order, Sora headed back to the Mercenaries' Order to report his mission and complete his second task of the day, allowing him to advance from the Leather class to the Obsidian class.

However, upon arriving at the Order, a face he didn’t recognize spoke to him.

"Hello, are you a new adventurer?"

"Hello, yes, I registered yesterday."

"Oh, I see, so you met Emma for your registration."

"Yes, she was the one there, even this morning."

"Exactly, but this afternoon, it’s my turn to work. So if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me."

"Actually, I do need you. I just finished a mission, so I need to report it."

"Which mission did you take?"

"The Alfa of Oblivion weeding job."

"Oh, that one? That shouldn’t have been too difficult."

"Indeed, I finished it in under five minutes. I spent more time walking than actually completing the mission."

"And the reward... just a single Leather coin. That’s very little."

"That’s true, but Emma told me that if I completed two Leather-rank missions today, I could officially advance to the Obsidian rank. So I’m finishing two missions quickly so I can rank up."

"I remember her mentioning that. However, I’ll add one small condition to your potential promotion. To advance to the Obsidian class, you’ll need to complete a mission of that rank that I’ve personally assigned to you."

"Alright, that’s fine with me. Uh, but before doing that, I’ll need to step out for a bit—I’m starting to get really hungry."

"Go ahead, take your time."

...

While searching for the nearest shop, Sora stopped in front of a small stall selling various foods, most of which were unfamiliar to him.

"Hello, I’d like to buy these two sandwiches."

"Hello, that’ll be a total of 63 Leather coins."

"63? That’s way more than I have—I only have 12."

"Sorry, but we don’t offer credit here."

"That’s fair. Instead, do you have anything filling that costs less than 12 coins?"

"You won’t have many options. You can get night apples or blue grass."

"Which one is more filling?"

"Blue grass, since you’ll get more of it for the same price."

"Alright, then give me 11 coins' worth of blue grass."

"Here you go, enjoy your meal."

...

"I can’t believe this... I’m reduced to eating grass—blue grass, no less. I just hope it’s at least edible."

With great hesitation, Sora pulled out a blade of grass and began chewing it.

"Hmmm!! Shit, this stuff burns!! Oh crap, I didn’t get any water! Damn it, now I have no choice but to eat it anyway."

Forcing himself to ignore the pain, Sora continued swallowing one after another.

"Hey, it’s actually pretty filling—I’m almost not hungry anymore. But next time, I’ll know not to buy this again."

...

"You’re back? So, did you have a good meal?"

"I won’t even dignify that with a response. Just give me my quest, please."

"No problem. Here it is—to advance to the Obsidian class, you’ll need to take down some Assassin’s Nettles."

"Oh yeah. I’ll accept right away."

"Hold on, I haven’t explained everything yet. This time, they won’t be in their normal form. They’ve already merged using their skill Merging Leaves."

"So that means I’m going to have to face a super-sized plant?"

"Exactly."

"Do you know how many plants have fused together?"

"If our information is correct, a total of 16 plants have merged into one."

"Seven more than last time?"

"Yes. Now that we know you have a sacred weapon and that you activated it against this type of plant, we want to see if you can use it at will."

"I understand. In that case, I’ll head over there quickly and return with good news."

"I truly hope so."

...

"They’re funny, thinking I can just activate it whenever I want. Last time, it only worked because I was desperate and had no other choice. I still have no idea how to use it again. Actually, now that I think about it, System0, you haven’t shown me the rewards I earned this morning."

[ Affirmative ]

[ Here Are The Rewards The Climber Has Gained: +264 Alfa of Oblivion Seeds / Greatly Increased Understanding of This Plant ]

[ However, Since The Enemy Was Harmless, All Rewards Will Be Halved ]

[ Gains After Restriction: +132 Alfa of Oblivion Seeds / Moderately Increased Understanding of This Plant ]

[ Understanding of This Plant Has Increased From: Very Very Low → Medium ]

[ The Climber Has Gained: 2 EXP ]

[ EXP Needed for Next Level: 93 EXP ]

"Oh, that’s less than I expected. But still, not bad. At least I have plenty of healing supplies. I shouldn’t die today."

...

"Wow, I’m not even there yet, and I can already see that damn plant. It’s huge—the last one was five meters, but this one must be eight or nine. I don’t even know if my sword’s skill will be enough. Well, this is also a good time to try out my new attack: Piercing Teeth."

...

"You’d better stop here unless you want to end up as plant food."

"Thanks for the advice, but I’m the one sent by the Mercenaries' Order, so I think I should go in and help, don’t you?"

"So it’s you? I thought someone more imposing would show up."

"You’d better not judge me by my appearance. Just wait, and you’ll see this plant lying on the ground."

"If I can give you a tip before you go in, use the ruins of the houses. Since it’s been smashing everything, there are now spots where the plant can’t reach."

"I see, thanks for the tip. By the way, I have one for you too. Evacuate the entire village and make sure everyone stays at least 20 meters away."

"Alright, I’ll go do that right away."

"Thanks. Now, it’s just you and me, ugly plant."

Drawing his sword from its sheath, Sora cautiously approached the giant Assassin’s Nettle.

"System0, use Collector’s Catalog."

[ Affirmative ]

[ COLLECTOR’S CATALOG ]

[ - Name: Assassin’s Nettle ]

[ - Age: 4 months ]

[ - Condition: 100% (440 HP) ]

[ ABILITIES ]

[ - Strength: 3.20 ]

[ - Intelligence: _ ]

[ - Agility: _ ]

[ - Speed: 4.80 ]

[ - Vitality: 4.00 ]

[ - Magic: 7.20 ]

[ - Magic Resistance: 4.80 ]

[ SKILLS ]

[ - Piercing Teeth ]

[ - Merging Leaves ]

"Whoa, I’m up against a real monster. System0, use Stat Scan."

[ Affirmative ]

[ STATS SHEET ]

[ - Name: Sora ISOSHI ]

[ - Age: 17 ]

[ - Sex: Male ]

[ - Condition: 100% (100 HP) ]

[ - Level: LV.0 ]

[ - EXP: 7/100 ]

[ ABILITIES ]

[ - Strength: 0.40 ]

[ - Intelligence: 0.61 ]

[ - Agility: 0.50 ]

[ - Speed: 0.45 ]

[ - Vitality: 0.22 ]

[ - Magic: _ ]

[ - Magic Resistance: 0.1 ]

[ SKILLS ]

[ - The Collection ]

[ - Piercing Teeth ]

[ TITLE ]

[ - The Climber ]

"That’s such a huge stat difference… even with my skills, I don’t see how I can close the gap. Oh, my stats went back to normal without my sword’s boost. But I’m still holding it this time… which means the difference is even bigger. Well, no use complaining—I might as well test my new skill."

Focusing, Sora tried to activate Piercing Teeth. After a few seconds, he felt a strange sensation in his palm. He extended his hand toward the plant.

As the sensation peaked, a conical spike shot from his forearm, heading toward the Assassin’s Nettle. Unfortunately, the projectile landed just a few meters in front of him.

"System0, was that Piercing Teeth?"

[ Affirmative ]

"Good news—I can use it. Now I just need to speed it up and shorten the activation time."

Unaware, Sora prepared for another attempt. But he hadn’t noticed the plant had sensed him and was already lashing a vine toward him at high speed.

Luckily, it crashed into a wall, alerting Sora just in time to dodge—but he was immediately buried under collapsing debris.

"Ahh… I should’ve been more careful… Shit!! I didn’t see… this damn house crushed my hand!!"