CWD: OE ~ Two

Brie flashed like lightning through the meadow grasses. When she got in range of the grain monsters, a wave of energy tore across the meadow and struck the first Massive Millet Stalker. The resulting explosion of millet and black sap splashed across the ground while Brie was still fifteen feet away. She’d hit one of the plants and reduced its total Health from four hundred and twenty, to three hundred and forty-five.

“I’ll have to hit it six more times to kill it!” She whirled her weapon around. “As a bonus, no pits opened up under my feet.”

So far, combat seemed like it would be fairly easy and straightforward, as the Millet Stalkers didn’t appear to be mobile. That hope was promptly defenestrated as the ground behind Brie boiled and green vines shot up from the soil. A concealed Millet Stalker burst from the midst of the writhing tendrils in a cloud of dust and grass and immediately threw vines around Brie.

She was so surprised that she didn’t have time to activate her Defensive Whirl. One set of vines bound her limbs while another vine, full of spikes, did what it could to shred her armor. As she howled in pain, everything that wasn’t a system-recognized armor was stripped from her—namely, the yellow satchel of lacrosse balls and her belt of Life Hack yogurt.

Nacho watched in horror at the scene as it unfolded. These things didn’t need to eat people: they only needed to strip the flesh from a person’s bones, then let that flesh decompose into fertilizer for their roots. That explained the field of fetid decay and the plants’ lack of mouths.

Their name—Stalkers—suddenly made far too much sense. They had undeniably stalked Nacho and his friends; the entire discovery had been a trap. The monsters had known they were coming and pretended to be immobile, though it seemed that the pernicious grasses could only move when underground. One by one, the entire field of stalks started to force their vines and leaves back under the surface. Nacho knew right then that if he and his friends didn’t get out of there immediately, they’d find themselves in a hopeless situation.

Nacho caught a glimpse of gore-splattered skeletons and the leftovers of armor and clothing peeking out from under the residual vines. These monsters had definitely done well against other players: they were smart, and they clearly used the fact that humans weren’t used to plants being self-propelled to their advantage. “It’s a colony of genius grains.”

The cook’s mind sharpened to a razor’s edge as another of the creatures started to erupt from the ground behind them, though he couldn’t suppress a hint of begrudging respect for such a well-planned ambush. Regardless, he wasn’t going to worry about defense for the moment. Nacho gripped his cleaver and prepared to start choppin’. Thanks to the magic of the HungerCry knives, he would be able to damage the Tier two monsters—but he tempered that assumption with caution, as the Patrons had thrown him curve balls before.

Nacho’s Small Blades ability provided him with two useful perks. First, it increased his damage when using his blades by thirty-eight percent and allowed him to strike successfully from a distance of six inches. Based on an upgrade he had gotten when increasing the Tier of his weapons, the HungerCry Knives hit with double the normal damage expected of daggers—ten instead of five. All together, when Nacho hit, he hit hard. Adding in his food-based boosts and Reuben’s Positive Vibes, he was slashing for twenty-five health… times four.

He shredded the Millet Monster attacking Brie like a renegade lawn mower, focused only on freeing his friend. Thankfully, he tore away the flaying vines in time, so she was still able to run. They retreated in hasty unison but were forced to stay in range because too many of the Millet Stalkers were rising out of the ground in their way. “What is this, a millet palisade?”

They turned to see the second Stalker Millet reach for Reuben, who had been throwing punches against the initial ambushing bush. Sadly, his attacks weren’t doing damage. Even though these things were technically food, letting him deal more damage per punch thanks to his choice of weapon, it just wasn’t enough to break through the fifteen percent mark required to deal lasting damage to a Tiered creature’s health.

Brie had a secret weapon that she used to save him as a thorn came from an unseen angle. She flung out her hands and sent the tornado of her Defensive Whirl spinning across the ground, using the fact that reaching Tier one with skills allowed for a ranged option. The blast of spinning energy orbited Reuben, blocking the vines and strikes of the two Millet Stalkers.

Nacho couldn’t help but appreciate how effective her ranged Defensive Whirl was at protecting her target from harm. It used fifteen percent of her total Hunger Points, but it could block ten attacks before wearing off. That allowed Reuben to escape to the forest, but also meant that both Nacho and Brie were cut off.

Both of them were okay with that.

Reuben threw his arms around himself. He didn’t glow, but Brie did. The damage she’d taken from Millet Stalker healed over immediately, and she glared at him. At level nineteen, the Merchant of Soothing restored ninety-five Health with a single spell, which really helped once they had started increasing their Fitness.

“Nacho! I don’t think they can’t travel through the ground if it has roots. Get to the forest!” Once again, Reuben’s ability to notice details astounded the cook.

Brie again threw her hands and set her Defensive Whirl on Nacho. He wasn’t about to complain, it allowed him to put his entire attention on dealing damage.

He raced forward and ran through a smaller Stalker that climbed up out of the ground, his knives carving a path through its body. It took a moment to cut all the way to the other side, but the vines couldn’t grab him because of the whirlwind protecting him. He shot forward and was able to reach the forest, then whirled around and managed to get a System View on the smaller monster as he skidded to a stop.

Mini Millet Stalker

Effective Tier/Level:?

HP:?

Reuben had the same idea, and called over with his information. “The Medium Millet Stalkers are Tier one. We’re facing a variety of giant, large, medium, and small.”

Nacho dropped the System View, and turned to look at his friend in horror. “You're not saying there’s a Tier three?”

Brie was still trapped in the middle of the literal killing field, but she charged the Mini Millet Stalker and hit it with her normal damage, no Combat Dash included. The small Stalker’s silken sack exploded and loose grain rained down. Nacho ran to the landing site and started collecting before the other monsters could close off their exit.

Reuben danced forward, fists raised, and struck once, twice… and the thing was down to one hundred and thirty-nine Health. Nacho hacked into it twice with his cleaver, taking out chunks large enough to keep a fire going for three hours at a time.

Damage dealt: 115/210.

“The small Tier zero have half the Health of the Tier twos!” He called out, attempting to raise their combat awareness.

“Good to know!” Reuben slammed his fists in a one-two punch that knocked the Tier zero Stalker for a loop. The second dropped the plant onto the ground in a splash of grains. “Oh, look! We managed to kill one of the nasty weeds.”

“Only twenty credits? This system is so unbalanced!” Brie thundered in frustration.

A Medium Millet Stalker grabbed Nacho with a vine, while another spiked version tried to rip off his armor. Failing that, it attempted to shred his flesh like a shark. His Skillet of Turtling nearly slipped off his back, but his armor held. One thorn gashed him down his arm as another ripped through his jeans, opening a terrible jagged laceration.

Health remaining: 68/126! Direct hits and glancing blows, into the ground you soon will go!

“Abyss, that hurt!” Bloodied and shaking with pain, he realized that the shredding vines were dealing thirty-four damage a pop. No wonder the field was littered with decaying bodies. If the Tier one version did that amount of damage, how much did the Tier twos do?

Brie streaked forward, ducking vines as she threw her damage against the Medium monster. The pulpy stem of the flora was blasted, freeing Nacho from the vines. The cook should’ve run at that moment, but he wanted to make sure Brie didn’t get trapped. He hacked and slashed until it was raining green.

Those vines went to snag him again, but two things happened almost simultaneously. First, his body glowed, and Nacho felt the ghostly form of Reuben hugging him as his Health Points were restored to full.

Second, Brie’s Defensive Whirl blocked the other plant monsters from hurting him, giving him the option of running to safety.

But, he couldn’t and wouldn’t leave Brie. He turned and attacked from behind, creating a flash with his cleaver and chef’s knife that caused a rain of green and grain snowflakes.

“Just leave so I can leave!” Brie was forced to slam her stick into the wounded Medium Millet, reducing his Health even further. If Nacho’s math was right, the Medium Millet Stalker only had sixty-five Health Points left.

Before Brie could run to the edge of the forest, vines grabbed her ankles and dragged her back into the middle of a group of Stalkers, even as she struggled furiously. “I’m at ten Health, people! I can’t hurt the Tier twos without using my Skills, and I can’t use my skills again, or I’ll go negative on Hunger!”

Brie had Athletic Endurance, which reduced all her Hunger Point cost by thirty-eight percent, but she’d been using her Skills near-constantly. Nacho finished off his target, leaving a splash of millet, leaves, and black blood still collapsing as he rushed to her aid.

Congratulations! You have killed a Medium Millet Stalker

Tier 1 Creature = 0 Credits

Nice work!

Nacho raced forward and drew a Life Hack yogurt from his Storage Slot, tossing it to Brie, then stepped into harm’s way. “Reuben! Keep me healed, this is gonna hurt!”

Two of the massive monsters and one of the mini monsters flogged him with their spiked vines, their original target of their fallen Berserker saved by his intercession.

Health remaining: 24/126!

Brie sucked down the yogurt and kicked her feet harder. Reuben hit Nacho with another heal, which saved his life. Nacho’s health shot up to one hundred and twenty-six, only to be immediately whipped again by three of the angry grainy plants.

Health remaining: 24/126! Wait, didn’t we just give you this message?

While Nacho was shredded and healed, then shredded and healed again, he traded blows with the wounded Tier two, reducing it to forty-five Health Points.

“I got twenty-five Hunger back!” Brie yelled at him as she struggled to stand. “Have I told you how much I hate eating and fighting at the same time? Get ready to run, Nacho, and this time stay saved!”

In a final burst, having gotten a quarter portion of food down her, Brie used her Combat Dash on the wounded Massive Millet Stalker. She hit it so hard that she burst through the monster’s main trunk, killing it and sprinting away without pausing. The Berserker threw her Defensive Whirl in front of her, clearing a path. She and Nacho sprinted after the whirlwind, managing to escape and reach Reuben in the forest.

“I was wrong. I should have listened, and am so sorry.” Brie was gasping for breath, sweating, and clearly upset. “I thought the plants wouldn’t be able to move.”

“Talk later, move now.” Nacho directed them deeper into the woods as monster after monster appeared, until the entire meadow had shifted to the edge of the forest. The vines were wiggling between the trees, grasping for fresh meat.

The System finally gave them some good news.

Congratulations, Player! Active Combat is over! That certainly was an exciting battle! There was blood, pain, and millet. Now, fighting Millet Stalkers might seem like they are a waste of time, but so does most of the farming you humans used to do… all the way until the harvest. Have fun shopping, and enjoy your Health and Mana Regen!

Nacho was intrigued by the idea of a harvest. For now he moved his friends to the south, where they sat and watched the Stalkers return to the center of the field where large piles of decayed meat lay.

“I feel terrible. I lost my lacrosse balls, my yogurt belt, and my pancake purse… I nearly got us killed.” Brie shook her head and groaned as she reached for something, only to remember that all of her extraneous gear had been stripped away. That hand instead shot out to grip Nacho near the elbow. “You have to forgive me. We’ve been fighting such easy Tier zeros lately, I forgot what the real monsters can do.”

Nacho pulled her in for an awkward half-hug. “It’s okay, Brie. We made it out alive, and that’s the only important thing. Now… you guys stay here. Now that the herd has returned to the middle of the meadow, I want to go get those dead monsters and process out the Putrid Mana. Maybe that will make it all worth it.”

Reuben blinked owlishly as he tried to parse what had just entered his ear-holes. “Are you seriously going to sit there and tell me you’re going back into the killing fields?”

“I refuse to miss out on the chance to make an Epic donut.” He had been stuck at ‘Rare’ for so long—in terms of creating higher Rarity foods—that he assumed that it had to be the quality of his ingredients that was holding him back. “I want to get Taye and Kristie up here. Now that we know the Millet Stalkers secret, we can take them out from a distance. At least… the weaker ones. Once we level the playing field, we annihilate the rest of them.”

Reuben started clapping in admiration. “That's we love you, Nacho. One minute you’re talking about forgiveness, and the next… annihilation. What’s not to love?”

Nacho gave them a nod and started back toward the fields, staying low. He did not know if that would help, as the monsters had no discernible sensory organs, but he was going to lean into his stealth as much as he possibly could.

“This harvest is long past due. Imma make a donut outta you.”