15. First Battle.
15. First Battle.
"Hey! You son of a bitch! Look here!"
I quickly tried to make eye contact with the Enderman. It didn't seem to hear me, as it kept staring at the ground. Its purple eyes looked incredibly ominous, and just by its appearance, it looked much stronger than the monsters that usually spawned. Ranma, surprised by what I was doing, shouted at me.
"What are you doing! It's going to be dangerous if that thing comes running at us!"
I ignored Ranma. The Enderman's detection range is 64 blocks anyway. Here, no matter where we are, if the Enderman turns hostile, we're in a situation where we have to fight with nowhere to run. The scary thing about that guy isn't its combat power. It's definitely an incredibly strong monster, but the scariest thing about it is something else.
"That thing can steal Dirt Blocks!"
"What!?"
"Huh?"
At my words, Asagi and Ranma put on serious expressions. Since Ranma and Asagi had also spent some time here, there was no one who didn't know how important a resource Dirt Blocks were in our current situation. An Enderman can pick up blocks within a 4x4x3 range centered on itself. The types of blocks an Enderman can pick up are limited, and here, the Dirt Block is the only block the Enderman can pick up.
Endermen teleport. Since space here is limited, if the Enderman happens to teleport over to our side, it could just grab a Dirt Block and fly away.
We currently have 23 Dirt Blocks. Because I did something stupid, one disappeared from the 24 we had. If it takes a Dirt Block every time it spawns, in a really unlucky scenario, we might not be able to duplicate dirt because we don't have any, even after working hard enough to get gravel.
Then it would really be the end.
Fortunately, an Enderman becomes hostile to a player who makes eye contact with it. And when it charges after the initial detection without me attacking it, it doesn't teleport; it runs. It means we can definitely make it fall into the trap I made.
"We have to make eye contact with the Enderman! Make it charge and fall off the cliff!"
As I shouted, Asagi and Ranma, realizing how serious the situation was, joined me.
"Hey you bastard! Look at me!"
"Look here! Look here and come at me!"
"Yahoo! Yaaaaahooooo!"
Even though Asagi and Ranma were screaming like crazy, the Enderman wouldn't budge. It wasn't looking at us right now. A desperate Asagi looked at me and shouted.
"Get closer! Go closer and get into its detection range!"
"Endermen are neutral monsters! If I go closer, only the Creepers, Spiders, and Skeletons will detect me and chase me! We have no choice but to make eye contact!"
At my shout, Asagi made an annoyed expression. This isn't because she's annoyed at me. She's probably just annoyed at the current situation. I'm annoyed too. It's only the second day, and it's this hard? And the Phantom hasn't even appeared yet?
I can't do this anymore!
While I was thinking that and feeling annoyed inside, the Enderman suddenly disappeared. It had vanished from the Monster Farm. I sensed that I was fucked. When I looked back at Asagi and Ranma, who were dazed beside me, they also seemed surprised to see the Enderman suddenly disappear.
Kkuk! Kkuk!
The Enderman's cry was heard from behind my back. Since it was a neutral monster anyway, I didn't have to worry about being attacked. Still, I couldn't help but feel anxious.
Please.
Just don't be holding a Dirt Block.
"Ah."
The lanky monster, which looked to be about 3 meters tall, was carefully holding the Dirt Block—the most precious thing to us—in its two hands. Ranma and Asagi, who turned their heads a beat later than me, also had their mouths wide open as they saw the Dirt Block the Enderman was cradling so preciously. I almost burst out laughing because I didn't know Asagi, who had been acting all cool until now, could make such a stupid face, but the situation was insanely serious right now.
Our dirt was stolen.
"Attaaaaack!"
I rushed at the Enderman without looking back, veins popping on my neck. Not the Dirt Block! Anything but the Dirt Block! If we don't have that, things will be just as hard as the amount we're missing!
As I charged at the Enderman wielding one of the three Wooden Swords I had made to give to Asagi, Asagi and Ranma, who had finally assessed the situation, rushed out. As expected, those two also knew the importance of the Dirt Block.
"Haaah!"
Asagi, who had rushed at the Enderman in an instant, struck the Enderman's head with her Wooden Sword. A pa-ak! sound of impact was heard from the Enderman's head. The expression of the Enderman, which had been blankly hugging the Dirt Block with its hideous appearance, changed. Its glowing purple eyes began to tremble wildly, and it started making a bizarre sound that couldn't be described in words.
Mmmmmm!
"Eek!"
"All three of us, attack together! According to the system, it dies if you hit it 10 times with a Wooden Sword! But if it's Ranma and Asagi-ssi, it'll die even if you hit it a few times!"
I shouted that and got behind the Enderman, which was swinging its arm at Asagi. I gripped the Wooden Sword tightly! I couldn't let it take the Dirt Block meaninglessly here. I had never regretted not building a ceiling on the Monster Farm this much. I should have taken my time to gather materials and build it. The spawn condition for an Enderman was that there had to be at least 3 blocks of empty space above the platform. That's because the Enderman's height is set to 3 blocks. Monsters that appear in the Overworld, such as Skeletons, Zombies, and Creepers, spawn even if there is only 2 blocks of empty space, excluding Spiders. If I had just built a ceiling at a height of 3 blocks, the Enderman wouldn't have spawned.
I was a sinner for missing that because I was distracted. If I told Asagi this, I might get beaten to death.
But now is not the time to worry about that. The Enderman is holding the Dirt Block. I must never let this guy disappear. This bastard has given me a reason why it must die here now that it's holding the Dirt Block.
Drop the Dirt Block!
As I struck the Enderman's back with the Wooden Sword, putting my wish into it, the Enderman let out a "Kku-uk!" sound. Asagi and Ranma are not players, but characters who are like irregularities in this world. Naturally, their attacks would be stronger than mine, an ordinary player. Me hitting it? I can guarantee it.
I am under the influence of the system.
A player equipped with a Wooden Sword has an attack power of 4. In Minecraft, health is displayed in hearts, and you can consider one heart to be 2 health points. So, my attack is an attack that removes 2 hearts.
The Enderman's health is 40. That's the amount of 20 hearts. If I hit it with a Wooden Sword, I can kill the Enderman if I land 10 solid hits.
As long as I don't get hit.
The Enderman, having been struck on the back by me, swung its long arm backward. It meant my attack was annoying. I was startled and threw my body backward. I heard the sound of my shirt being ripped jjii-ik! by its long claws, and I rolled on the ground. I almost died!
"You just stay still! You're actually in the way!"
"Yes!"
I answered immediately to Asagi's annoyed shout. Thank goodness! I don't have to fight! I was waiting for someone to say this! My genre isn't fighting or combat! My genre is wilderness survival!
Ranma joined in where I had backed away. With a very serious expression, Ranma kicked the side of the Enderman that was attacking Asagi. The Enderman screamed as if it were dying, then disappeared from that spot. It was teleportation.
"It's teleporting! Prepare for an attack!"
At my shout, Asagi immediately held the Wooden Sword in a reverse grip, clapped her hands together, and formed a seal. I could see sparks flying all over Asagi's body. My jaw dropped. Her movement earlier also seemed like teleportation, but she hadn't formed a seal back then.
Was that speed her normal speed?
How fast is she if she forms a seal?
While I was thinking that, the Enderman popped out behind Asagi. I checked the Enderman's hands first. Fortunately, it was still holding the Dirt Block. As the Enderman's hand was about to strike Asagi, Asagi's hand seal was completed.
"Ninjutsu: Art of the Hawk."
Asagi muttered. At the same time, along with sparks exploding from her entire body, Asagi's figure disappeared just like the Enderman's. The Enderman's arm miserably sliced through the air. The Enderman also seemed unable to catch sight of Asagi, looking around. And that was the Enderman's last action.
Peobeobeobeobeobeobeobeok!
A tremendous sound swept through, hitting the Enderman's arms, legs, head, and torso. Asagi swung her Wooden Sword at a speed that couldn't even be counted, striking the Enderman's torso as if slicing it into pieces. The Enderman screamed in pain. The Enderman, whose 40 health points had disappeared in an instant, turned into light and vanished on the spot. I watched the scene with my jaw dropped. On the planks, the itemized Dirt Block was floating and bobbing up and down, and I could see a green orb shaking next to it.
Asagi, who had stopped in the posture of swinging her sword at the Enderman, let out a suppressed breath with a "Huuuu!" sound once she confirmed that the Enderman had died and disappeared. Ranma also seemed surprised by Asagi's transcendent combat power, staring at Asagi with his mouth open. It was the same for me.
Who knew that an adult game protagonist would be this strong if they actually fought?
I must never mess with her.
"Wow! Amazing!"
Ranma, who was the first to come to his senses, ran toward Asagi, admiring her combat power. I saw Asagi grin at Ranma. I let out a sigh of relief. Asagi had done a great job in the worst-case scenario that had suddenly struck us. I thought Ranma would be the strongest, but looking at it now, I felt like Asagi might be the strongest among the people here. I don't have a good eye for combat, so I don't know for sure, but the impact she has shown me so far was the best.
I plopped down on the spot. Because of the sudden appearance of the Enderman, I almost had our precious dirt stolen. Since the Enderman was dead, I felt like I could take a breather now.
That damn Monster Farm. I vowed that after tonight, I would dismantle it immediately so that nothing would spawn.
Now, only one thing remains. Making the zombies commit mass suicide while increasing the spawn rate of spiders; there will be plenty of time to do the rest tomorrow morning.