Emm stopped fighting and kept a tight grip on the monster.

"Just kill it!" he shouted. He had to stop it from moving around.

Immediately, Michael was on top of it. He stomped its body to the ground and stabbed it with his knife further down, away from Emm's throbbing leg. The dagger went in without much resistance, and Michael did not hesitate a moment before pulling it out again. He went ballistic on it, stabbing it again and again in different spots, each attack accompanied by a squelching sound. Streams of purple blood filled the air around them.

The snake stopped writhing and finally died. Emm was sure of this only because he felt its jaws going slack, making the pain in his thigh lessen. Immediately, he pulled its fangs out of his leg and shoved the snake away from him. Its tendrils snapped at them again and again but missed their target each time. The dead monster sticking out of the ground now looked more like a carnivorous plant than an animal. Like it was growing out of the soil.

Right. Something [Snakevine], was it?

Emm looked more closely at his wound, which was surrounded by a large red stain. More blood was pouring out with each passing second, and even touching the skin near the wound made his whole leg twitch uncontrollably. Emm tried to control his breathing.

"Are you all right?" asked Michael.

Emm's answer was a pained groan. He squinted his eyes to block out the world around him and nodded.

“Yeah. Good work. Hand me that dagger, will you?" he asked, strained.

He'd been bitten by a dog in his youth, and this wasn’t any worse than the dog attack. It hadn’t been a big dog, but any dog could mess you up if you gave it a good reason to. If Emm could handle it when he was thirteen, he could also handle this snake bite.

It was only [Level] 2, he comforted himself. Weak, basically harmless.

Emm opened his eyes and grabbed the dagger Michael offered him. He used it to tear off a large piece of cloth from his sleeve, wrapped it around his wound, and tied it into a loose knot.

He gritted his teeth and prepared to tighten the makeshift bandage–

Michael stopped him. "Let me." His expression was serious. Both his face and clothes were covered with purple drops.

Emm pulled his hands away, and Michael reached for the bandage and prepared it. Up close, Emm could see red marks on Michael's arms. They were bite wounds from the little mouths of the tentacles, but they had to hurt at least as much as being bitten by a spider.

"On three," Michael started. "One. Two. Three!"

He pulled on it, hard, and Emm had to stifle a moan fighting against the new wave of sharp pain. Slowly, it eased, and he exhaled. A single tear had escaped his eyes and was running down his face.

His leg was a total mess, he was a total mess, but he was alright. He was going to be okay. They had to have some kind of medical aid back at the camp too. He just had to make it there.

However, if the monster had been a higher level... Emm was distinctly aware of the fact that he could have easily died from a single hit. It was silly of them to assume that the snakes were all in the trees just because the first four followed that pattern. This world didn’t do the whole ‘playing fair’ thing.

He had not received any message from the [System] either. [Status], he thought.

Nothing.

He'd deal with it later, Emm decided. He hadn’t been the one to land the killing blow, so there was still a chance that doing that would work. He had no choice but to try.

He rested for a few moments before an idea popped into his head.

He used the blade to cut away more fabric, this time coming from his pant leg. His clothes weren't fit for this kind of environment anyway, and he didn’t feel bad about ruining them. Little by little, Emm cut away a thin strip that spiraled down to above his knee. He split it into two roughly equal parts.

All the while, Michael was looking at him with one eyebrow raised.

As he sat there like that, Emm's nose was finally assaulted by the foul stench in the air. Suspiciously, he looked at the shallow pool of purple blood. The smell was intense and resembled that of rotten eggs, only sweeter and fruitier. Like oranges, or maybe tomatoes. In any case, it was one of the worst things he had ever smelled in his life. Definitely worse than diarrhea and even vomit.

"Is that for me?" Michael asked.

"Yes. You grab the next one, okay? Maybe you can bandage your hands first, like in boxing. Should protect you."

Michael laughed, but accepted the strips and helped Emm stand up again. They exchanged weapons and Michael began wrapping the long strips around his fists. Emm tried to put as much weight as possible on his good leg and used his spear to help him walk.

"I think snakes are good at sensing vibrations," Emm said. "Maybe stomp around? I can’t, not with one leg. Could draw out the underground snakes earlier."

They started doing that, and Emm found a way to help by repeatedly jabbing the thick shaft of his spear into the ground.

"I leveled up," Michael said with a worried look.

“Awesome. I didn’t. At least I don’t think so, I still can't see my status. But I don't feel any different."

"I don’t feel any different either."

They continued to scan the area for signs of new monsters, making slow progress. Michael was in the lead.

"How many stat points did you get?"

"None," Michael replied. "I have to choose my [Class] first. It says I unlocked [Rogue]."

"And you didn’t take it?"

Michael winked at him.

A scream came from the group, and Emm turned to look. Somebody got bit in the face, and a moment later the snake was cut in two by a greatsword. People rushed to help her, and there were some whoops and cheers. The first three monsters were dealt with, and two smaller groups set out to find new monsters.

Soon the leaves rustled over Emm's head, and another lone snake dropped from the sky. The two hurried to put distance between themselves and it; the monster just hanging there, lunging forwards and backward. It didn’t let go of the branch.

"Let me?" Emm.

“Yeah, this one's yours."

Michael went into a wide stance, resembling what professional wrestlers used, and held his dagger between his teeth.

Emm went for a few light thrusts with his spear, testing. Further provoking it. He didn’t land any real hits- the monster was too slippery- but it helped to irritate it. They let it tire itself out first, staying just out of its range, and slowly circled it.

Michael lunged forward and took the snake's head between his hands. He pulled it back like a rope, making it an easy target.

Emm carefully estimated the distance, locked his feet even though his leg protested, and raised his spear as high as he could. Using his spear as an axe, he swung down with all his might and struck the monster right in its hefty body.

He felt the impact throughout his body, but the blow wasn’t enough to cut all the way through it. The blade caught on its spine.

It began to kick twice as hard as before, and Michael struggled to keep it under control. Emm quickly pulled his spear away, then swung again, aiming for the same spot. Another impact, another jolt of pain from his leg - and the snake was still alive.

Emm tried again, but his next blow was noticeably weaker than the first; the spear barely broke through the snake's skin. His arms ached from the effort, he realized. The spear was just too heavy.

"Hurry up!" Michael roared.

The fourth blow was no better. But after the fifth blow, the snake finally died.

Emm was flooded with relief and warm feelings. A brief smile broke onto his face, but it lasted only for a brief moment.

[Status], he tried, and his last glimmers of hope were dashed to pieces.