Kenny walked cautiously as he noticed he was getting closer to the trees. When he first noticed that he had finally made progress he was ecstatic. Now, as he moved with purpose and got a bit closer, he started to notice something odd. The wasn’t any movements or sounds of creatures nearby.

It was like that several times before as he made his way here, but monsters usually appeared after some time. This time it had been like that for a lot longer. His gut was telling him he needed to be careful. That something was going to happen if he wasn’t. That something came true, but not in the way he had thought it would.

As he placed his foot down and went to take the next step, the ground below him suddenly sank bringing him down into a massive hole. The brush, grass leaves, and branches from the trees nearby had fallen in with him giving him a soft cushion to land on besides the hardened dirt.

After realizing what had happened, Kenny slowly got back up and brushed the dust off of himself. He scanned the area he had fallen into to see the hole was around eight to nine feet deep. He wasn’t sure since he was bad at judging distances, but he used his own five-foot eight height to judge it. The floor and walls of the pit looked to be a compacted dirt area with several small spots of loose dirt that crumbled slightly.

 As he did this, he heard a deep bellow suddenly filled the air above him where the north side of the hole was. The north side was where the trees were located. The strange and menacing sound was accompanied by a chorus of slow thumps indicating whatever had made the noise was getting closer to the pit.

Kenny didn’t like the sound of the creature that was coming, but it wasn’t like he was able to get out. There was nothing he could see that would allow him to grab and pull himself. So, instead of waiting near the spot he figured the creature would appear, he made sure he was on the farthest side and waited.

Soon, in the light of the moon that was starting to make its way away from sight inside the pit, a figure appeared. From what he was able to see it looked like a goat. However, there were differences that he was able to make out that told him it could be a different creature than the goats he had fought so far.

For one, its coat looked to be fluffier than the slicked back fur the goats had. The other sign was its horns. These had curved inward twice before allowing the tips to point out towards whatever it was facing. The color of its coat was also a deeper, darker green than the Grass Thistle Goats as well. The screen that appeared before gave him the answer to the question he was thinking.

[Mid-Area Boss. Vine Whip Ram. Level – 6. Stat Talent – Strength.]

“Shit,” Kenny swore slowly dragging the word out as he stared at the Stat Talent. He knew he made comments earlier about having to fight Agility Stat Talent creatures earlier and was happy to fight the Vitality ones, but having to fight another Strength Stat Talent so soon after the Guardian Stone Hound…he was really starting to hate this area. As the screen swiftly disappeared, Kenny was suddenly taken aback.

A strange feeling started to warm his body. It was faint, but he was able to recognize it. He looked in the direction the feeling was coming from and stared at the Mid-Area Boss. The warm feeling was slightly stirring because of this creature.

A vague understanding started to fill him with some hope. He believed he was on the right track, but at the same time he wasn’t entirely sure. But he believed this feeling was created from a trigger. A trigger he was trying to find to awaken one of the two remaining Skill Trees.

The only thing that was holding him back from being completely hopeful was that it was faint. It wasn’t strong nor filled him enough to believe this was what he was looking for. But that small, faint stirring within him told him he was on the right track. Now he just needed to know what it was about the ram that was stirring it.

He didn’t have long to ponder on this as the ram leaped down into the pit, creating a small rumble in the dirt. Kenny’s attention was now fully on the creature. Now that it was closer, Kenny was able to see more descriptions of the creature.

The monster stood to about his neck, making it the biggest monster he had come across so far. The wool on its body had a weird texture to it. It didn’t look like normal wool. He couldn’t put a finger on it, but it looked more bark-like or stem-like. Its eyes were a dead black like you would see on a fish. Its legs were completely shaven, revealing prickly skin and sharp hooves. Even the monster’s horn had a rougher appearance.

It let out a deep bellow as it tapped one of its front hooves in an impressive rhythm before it finally dug all of its hooves into the ground and charged at him. Kenny hopped to the side to dodge it and was impressed when it came to a dead stop before slamming into the wall. It looked like this creature was smarter than the ones he had fought so far. That wasn’t good.

As it turned its head, Kenny stepped in and threw a right hook into the side of the ram’s face. Instead of soft skin he felt a rough bark like surface making him think he tried to punch a tree. Kenny’s eyes narrowed as he started to think this was going to another repeat of his fight with the Guardian Stone Hound.

The Vine Whip Ram swiftly rolled its head under Kenny’s hand and tried to headbutt it upwards as hard as it could. Surprised, Kenny’s hand was slapped upwards. He then saw it charge forward. The power in the charge was so shocking that it took him a moment to process that he was flying backwards after getting rammed in the chest.

He came back to his senses as he felt his entire body hit the hard dirt and started rolling. He used the momentum of the roll to get back to his feet right before he crashed into the wall. He then swiftly leaped to his left to dodge another charge from the creature. Once more it was able to slow before crashing into the hard dirt wall.

As Kenny’s feet touched down, he jumped back in. This time, however, instead of going for the head, he threw a punch at the stomach. The ram was wary of the punch and shifted its body just enough for Kenny to miss. It then tried to rake its horns along the exposed forearm as it brought its head down before raising it up in a quick jerk motion.

Kenny moved his arm to the left, away from the monster’s horns. He used the momentum to do a spinning heel kick into the monster’s side. He wasn’t able to see where he landed the strike, but when it did land he felt something strange. He wasn’t sure what it was his foot collided with, but it wasn’t the ram’s body.

At least…he thought it wasn’t the ram’s body. He tried to bring his leg back down, but when he did it, it didn’t move. Something had tightened around his ankle keeping it against the ram’s body.

He didn’t have enough time to comprehend what was going on when he was suddenly jerked off his planted foot and was dragged along the dirt as the ram started to run. It ran along the edges of the pit. Kenny was lucky he was on the inside of the pit because if he were on the other side he would have been hitting not just the hard floor but the wall as well.

The ram seemed to suddenly realize which side Kenny was on and came to a halt. It went to turn around to change direction, but as it started to turn Kenny dug his fingers as deep as he could into the dirt. They didn’t get far due to how much the dirt was compacted, but it was still enough for him to grip it tightly and allow him to yank his ankle free. As his leg came loose from whatever was holding it, he heard a snapping sound like twigs being breaking.

Kenny scrambled away from the monster before finally turning around. He turned just in time to see the monster about to ram its horns into his chest. As fast as he could, Kenny grabbed both horns and dug his legs into the ground. He felt his arms tighten and his muscles tense as the creature’s full body came crashing into him.

Kenny stubbornly held on as he pushed his own body weight against the monster. His body started to slid as the creature’s weight and force gave it an extra push. However, Kenny was able to stop the monster’s momentum, and they came to a halt.

He then twisted the monster’s head to the left with all his might, causing the Vine Whip Ram’s body to follow with it. He was able to slam the ram’s head into the wall they had ended up next to before he twisted to the other side and caused its whole body to fall to the ground with the monster’s head.

Kenny then took a step in and slammed his right fist as hard as he could into the monster’s head. He threw a second punch and was successful, but as he went for the third, he felt a sharp clawed hoof thrust into his stomach before coming back and slamming into him again.

Kenny stepped back with a hand on his stomach where he was struck. The ram was flailing its legs around giving Kenny a brief moment to look at where he was hit. There was no blood that he could see and the vest looked to still be in good condition. It looked like the only damage he took was the blunt force from the kicks. Something he was both thankful for and hated. Those kicks hurt like hell. It also did decent damage as well. He had lost fifteen health points with each kick.

Making a mental note not to get kicked again, Kenny noticed the ram had gotten back to its feet. It let out a threatening bellow before it charged at him once more. This time Kenny took a step to the right and readied a punch. Once it got within striking range, Kenny threw a powerful right punch.

As his hand slammed into the creature’s body he was met with a surprise. Instead of feeling fur, his hand sunk right into the creature’s side. He heard a sound that he felt was similar to when pushed their hand and arm through a bundle of sticks and vines. That was when something clicked.

The reason he couldn’t figure out what the monster’s fur was made of was because what he originally thought was wool, from afar, was really fuzzy leaves that covered the monster’s body. The fuzzy leaves were a disguise, making people believe its body was exactly like a rams when it wasn’t. This ram was a full blown plant creature.

He felt something within the plant like body trying to snake around his wrist causing him to pull it out. However, he was too slow. It had successfully wrapped whatever was hidden behind the leaves and held him there. A second later, something long and thin whirled from the other side of the monster’s body and cracked down against the bare skin of his trapped arm. Kenny saw what he believed was a victorious smile on the monster’s face as it slammed its strange object three more times against the trapped arm.

                                  

---

 

“Oomph, that doesn’t look good for the kid,” Mimi stated as she looked over at Vesely. Wanting to goad her, she added, “This might be where it ends for him. The liquid those thorns on the vines carries stack when struck back to back. He won’t be moving anytime soon.”

Vesely didn’t look at her nor took the bait. Instead she looked calm. Something both Mimi and Estrella found odd. Estrella was about to make a comment to try and make the woman feel off balanced, but Gunnar beat her to it.

“That’s strange,” he started, causing everyone but Vesely and Ayla to look at him. “Why does it look like he is fine? That poison should be potent against participants this low leveled…”

His eyes suddenly widened as a thought came to mind. He then looked at Ayla and Vesely and was about to ask, but instead Ayla put a finger to her lips and suggested, “Let’s keep watching shall we? I am sure we will find something out.”

                                 

---

 

Kenny wasn’t sure why the ram thought it was victorious. The whip like attacks really didn’t hurt. In fact, he was pretty surprised that the amount of damage that was being done was so low compared to the kicks it had landed on his chest.

If the kicks were powerful enough to knock the wind out of him these whip cracks were more like an attempt to stop an itch that you’re not allowed to scratch. Sure there was a nice sting, but that was it.

After seven more whip cracks he noticed something quickly flashing before his eyes. it came and went so quickly he wasn’t sure what it said. The only thing he did know was the screens only appear after the vine-like whip smacked his arm. Finally the whip stopped, and he was able to see what it was saying.

[You have been afflicted with a Weak Paralytic Poison.]

[Poison Constitution has activated and absorbed the poison. Poison Stored: 5%.]

[Weak Paralytic Poison’s effects have been neutralized.]

Kenny’s eyes widened as he read the notification. He hadn’t realized the monster had poisonous attacks or that it was trying to poison him at all. Now that he thought about it that must have been what that stinging he felt was. It was the paralytic poison trying to seep into his blood with each pierce of the thorns.

That also explained why he believed the ram had smiled. It must have thought it had won by paralyzing him through the poison. He could understand that. Anyone, or in this case anything, would think they had the upper hand when they pumped or whipped poison on their target. Or rather paralyzing their target with poison.

Unfortunately for this monster, Kenny was a bad match up for that strategy. Something he made the creature understand quickly as the vine whip went to attack once more but was stopped as Kenny caught the vine whip with his free hand.

The Vine Whip Ram’s eyes suddenly widened as it saw Kenny grab the thorned vine as it came down. It went to move but was taken by surprise as Kenny twisted his body and started to pull the monster with him.

Kenny didn’t start running nor tried to walk away from where he stood. Instead he started spinning with all of his strength. The Vine Whip Ram felt its legs get dragged as it followed the direction Kenny went. It then let out a bellow as it felt speed start to pick up a bit before its legs glided over the ground.

It’s leg started skipping across the dirt a few times as Kenny couldn’t handle all of its weight, but it wasn’t able to get any stable ground and just skimmed the surface. It was starting to get dizzy with each swing and wasn’t sure when it was going to stop.

It started to move some vines within its body to try and break free, however, before it could do that it felt its entire back side suddenly slam against the wall hard. The force of the impact caused it to let out a painful bellow as it released its hold on Kenny’s wrist.

Kenny released his own hold on the creature and took a few steps backwards. He breathed heavily and tried to calm his beating heart. Trying to spin a creature of its size was both tiring and hard work.

He could see how Strength played a big part in what he did, but he had to give his Endurance credit where credit was do. If he didn’t have that big of a Stamina Pool he wouldn’t have been able to pull this maneuver off. He would need to get some more of his stamina back in case he needed to do that again.

He glanced at the creature and saw it was staggered. He contemplated on just rushing it and giving what he had left in his stamina pool, but after checking it and seeing how low it had gotten he decided that it would be a bad idea.

It was in the fifties at the moment, but if he had to move around quickly and use his Spring Step Bracelet’s special effect then it would disappear in no time. He needed to drink a stamina potion and fast before it recollected itself.

Kenny turned and looked for his pack. It was on the other side of the pit. He swiftly sprinted over to it and pulled out two Basic Stamina Potions. He drank one and felt the Jello-like liquid run down his throat.

He then felt a surge of energy rush through his veins as his fighting fatigue started to disappear. A screen flashed before him making him smile as he felt a warm soothing sensation filling him. That was the special effect of the Bone Vitality Bracelet of the Alpha Rat doing its magic.

After the effects of both the potion and the bracelet wore off he downed the other Basic Stamina Potion. It felt great that he was refilling both his Stamina and Health at the same time. This bracelet was a godsend. After the potion and the bracelet did its thing, Kenny threw the empty vials at his pack and turned to face his opponent once more.

The Vine Whip Ram was slowly getting back to its feet, still a little disoriented. After it finally stabilized its vision, it glared at Kenny. Its right leg and hoof started pawing the ground furiously as air blew out of its nostrils in a threatening manner.

Kenny knew it was angry. It had every right to be. It had used a move that probably always worked for it against other opponents. It probably had answer for a moment like this, and Kenny was curious to know what it was.

Slowly, while not taking its eyes off of Kenny, the ram made its way to the middle of the pit. Kenny wasn’t sure what it had in mind, but he didn’t move, wanting to make sure he didn’t trigger something that could hurt badly or trap him. As soon as it reached the middle, the creature did something that confused Kenny. It dug its hooves deep into the hard dirt.

After it finished situating itself the fluffy leaves started rippling across its body. Shortly after that its entire body started to shift. Six vines suddenly shot out and towards the sky showing how long its reach was. All six vines could reach the entire area of the pit without issues. Kenny now had a bad feeling with what it was planning.

He didn’t have time to try and think of a plan to counter it as four of the vines snaked backwards before cracking fast and hard towards him. Kenny activated his Spring Step and move to his right. As he got away from where he once stood and before his feet could touch the ground he heard a loud crack. When his feet touchdown he turned to see dirt falling back down around the area he once stood. A small section of that area now had a dip where it was once solid.

Kenny cursed as he started seeing the bigger picture behind the ram’s earlier attack. The whip attacks earlier weren’t meant to hurt him. It was to apply the poison it had in the thorns and paralyze him. By planting itself into the dirt it now had a better grip to really show off why it had the Strength Stat Talent. If any of those vines hit him, he was going to really feel it.

Kenny jumped again as the two vines that attack him moments ago started to move. As soon as he landed he saw a single vine rake the ground around ankle height. He jumped up to dodge it and as he came back down he dropped to his knees then shot his feet back to lower himself even more as another vine soared over his head and body. He then pushed his left arm and leg to roll away as another vine came cracking down on him.

Kenny continued dodging the best he could. This now felt like an obstacle course where the rules were he couldn’t get hit. The problem was the vines were gaining momentum the more he dodge. He understood that if he didn’t do anything now he would be in trouble. As he dodged a few more times he came up with a possible solution.

Banking on this working, Kenny bent his knees as he came back down from jumping up dodging a raking vine and then leaped forward towards the ram. However, as he shot forward something gripped around the exposed flesh above his shoes and pulled him back down and in place. He felt his body fall face first into the dirt as his forward momentum came to a violent halt. He turned his face to see what had happened and saw two vines had emerged from the ground.

He looked at the ram and saw there were only four vines instead of six. During the fluster of having to dodge the vines that were attacking him, the creature must have sent two of them into the ground and waited to spring the trap. Something Kenny didn’t think the monster was capable of doing.

He tried to yank his right leg free, but as he did so he only felt the thorns on the vine dig deeper into his flesh. A screen flashed before his eyes telling him that the poison they contained failed to do its job. That didn’t stop him. He tried four more times, hoping he could free himself. The only answer he got for his efforts was a powerful strike to the side of his head.

The blow made his ears ring as his vision swam. A second powerful strike followed the first against his side causing him to blow out a gust of air. Pain erupted in both spots, but it didn’t stop there. More strikes started to crack against his body. Screen after screen flashed before his swimming vision. He wasn’t able to see what they said, but he didn’t need to. He knew what they said as it was the same thing over and over. The only difference in the messages was the increase of percentage to his storage being filled.

Kenny blocked his thoughts on the messages as he focused on the problem at hand. He was right about his earlier assumption. These vine whip strikes were a lot stronger than the one from earlier. So much stronger that he could feel lines of liquid start to run down each area that was getting hit. That and his health was starting to drop. It wasn’t dropping fast nor was it dropping in huge chunks, but each strike hitting him over and over was still showing him how bad of a situation he was in. He needed to figure something out and fast.

                              

---

 

“Now this is an interesting development,” someone commented as the group of people watched through the orb as Kenny got whipped over and over.

Something Kenny didn’t see that the ram had done was it wrapped two vines together bringing the amount it had from four to two thicker vines. If it had whipped him with four separate vines then the damage it was doing wouldn’t be that big, however, by wrapping them together and making the vines into two, it gave it a thicker look and feel allowing its attacks more power behind them.

“Has there been any records of someone pushing this creature to this point? I don’t think I have ever seen a Vine Whip Ram do something like this before,” the strict and stern sounding male stated.

“That’s because it has never come across anyone who was immune to its poison, Christian,” another person commented. “We haven’t had anyone take on the Trial Grounds with their first ability being one like that.” The person glanced at Vesely as they added, “Not even someone from the Toxo Clan started out like that. Isn’t that right?”

Vesely didn’t reply. Her eyes were glued on the screen as she watched whip strike after whip strike slam into Kenny. She felt her body twitch with each attack. Even though she knew there was nothing she could do, her body still wanted to act.

“Vesely?” the person tried again.

“Don’t mind her,” Mimi said, joining the conversation. “She’s just realizing that her claims on this young man are about to be shredded before he could step foot into the Tower.”

Gunnar frowned before saying, “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Gunnar, not you too,” Estrella scoffed as she hopped in. “Look at him.” Estrella pointed to the screen to show Kenny bringing his arms up to protect his face. The strikes of the Vine Whip Ram hit his exposed arms but also started to attack his open sides. “ He can’t do anything but get hit. He’s done. He knows it to. That’s why…”

Everyone went silent as they heard Kenny suddenly whisper through the orb, “Alright, fuck this. I’m done being your little pincushion.”