Harry spent his fourth day edging his way around the clearing without actually stepping foot inside of it, noting potential hiding places, perfect trap locations, and areas that would be best to avoid so as not to be trapped with no escape. His traps were pretty useless against Boss Monsters but they could be used to slow one down or confuse one just enough to allow him to get close enough to strike out with his dirk. He'd learned that on the many trips he'd taken with Kirito over the past few months. Sure, Harry could have walked away from whatever Boss Monster was lurking within the clearing but that Monster was his entire reason for coming to this forest (well maybe not that exact Monster but one like it).
On the morning of his fifth day, Harry sent a message to Agil letting him know he was going to fight one last Monster before heading back home; conveniently leaving out the fact that it was a Field Boss that he was going to face. He then stepped into the clearing with his dirk held firmly in one gloved hand and a coil of razor wire in the other (a rather sturdy wire that could cut through a tree like a knife through butter that Harry had been saving for a moment like this). The instant he reached the center of the clearing, a mighty roar echoed through the forest as a great moss covered Monster emerged from the depths of the cave.
The beast was huge, standing several feet taller than a Killer Mantis, and its burnished deep green scales glistened in the sunlight that shone into the clearing. The dark brown fur that grew between the scales was streaked green and yellow with moss and tangled to the point that it was matted into thick, rope-like strands in places. It had a long, sinuous body (like that of a snake or a serpent), a long tail tipped with deadly looking blood-red spikes, four stubby legs, and stood on clawed feet that ended in serrated blood-red talons. Its head was a mesh of lizard, dragon, and bird features; sharp horns, long pointed ears, long scaled snout, mouthful of needle sharp teeth, and a beak like protrusion on the tip of its mouth.
Its glowing acid-yellow eyes fixed themselves on Harry at that moment and the creature roared a second time as it unfurled ragged bat-like wings that were covered with long ropy vines of moss and fur on the back of the leathery appendages.
Harry had just stumbled upon the Forest Boss; the Mossy Wyvern.
He only had a few seconds to take in the breathtaking sight of the beast looming over him before it attacked. The wyvern was fast and ferocious as it attacked Harry with mouth, claws, wings, and tail. Its powerful attacks did considerable damage to the boulders lining the clearing each time Harry dodged the attacks and Harry suspected that he'd die a most painful death if the creature managed to catch him with an attack. The first hour of the battle was spent analyzing the wyvern's attack patterns and searching for any weaknesses that the beast might have while Harry continued to dodge each attack.
The next four hours would be spent whittling away at the wyvern's HP using his dirk and an assortment of snare and net traps. Twice, Harry was nearly smashed by foot or tail when he didn't dodge fast enough and twice his still unrecognized magic rose up around him to shield him from the fatal blow. Towards the end of the fifth hour of battle, he scored his first big hit against the creature when he damaged its right eye with a well timed thrust of his dirk. The wyvern had retaliated by raking him across the face with its claws. The pain had triggered another accidental outburst as his magic called down white lightning from the heavens and electrocuted the wyvern in response; dropping the creature's HP down into the red.
Harry had finished it off at that point by driving his dirk into the creature's left eye before wrapping its neck tight with the razor wire and pulling tight as he jumped from the beast's back; the wire slicing through the weaker scales on the underside of the wyvern's neck. Collapsing to the ground, Harry had stared blurrily up at the beast he'd slain as it exploded with the sound of shattering glass just seconds after he'd fallen. A grin had formed on his face as he passed out from a combination of pain and exhaustion at that point.
Present…
Sunday, April 26, 2020 10:25 PM
"…and I didn't wake up until after night had fallen. The Mossy Wyvern was a magnificent creature though, Agil! The way it moved and how fast it could whip around and attack. You should have seen the way his claws ripped through the boulders in the clearing as if they'd been made from butter! I swear his teeth were three times as long as I am tall and sharper than your axe."
"Baka, you could have been killed!" Agil growled as he scowled at Harry.
"No. I wouldn't have died no matter what," Harry countered with quiet conviction, his earlier enthusiasm dimming in the wake of the worry and fear he'd just heard in Agil's voice. "Any time I was about to take a fatal blow, this glowing gold shield would form around me and stop the attack. When the wyvern raked his claws down my face, white lightening shot down out of the sky and hit the Monster; dropping its HP down into the red. It was almost like magic, Agil, the way I won that fight."
"There is no magic in Aincrad, James," Agil insisted as he finished securing the bandages across Harry's face.
"You're wrong," Harry insisted as he turned to stare out the window at the full moon that hung above the skies over Hajimari no Machi. "This entire world is the magic. Where else would you ever find fantastical creatures like the Mossy Wyvern? Inside this game, a person's dreams can come to life and the only thing limiting them is their own strength of will. It's terrible that one man destroyed the wonder of Ken no Sekai by trapping everyone here because this could have been the start of something wonderful. A place where people from all over the world could have come together to share in the wonder that is Aincrad."
"I'm glad to hear that you have finally found yourself again, James."
"What do you mean, Agil?"
"You changed after you got caught up in that glitch and not for the better; and no, I'm not just referring to your Avatar reverting to reflect your physical appearance. It was hard to see you struggle with your fears over the past few months and I'd been afraid that you'd lost far more than your innocence that day. You'd been naught but a shell of your former self up until tonight."
"Oh."
"Lighten up, gaki," Agil admonished with a soft chuckle as he reached out to ruffle Harry's hair. "Now you never did mention what treasures you netted from your fantastical battle with the Mossy Wyvern."
"Oh! You should see the two dozen or so scales I picked up! They're almost as tall as I am and harder than diamonds. I bet they'd make awesome armor or shields! And then I got something that's called the Dragon's Eye but I don't know what it's supposed to do; here, let me show it to you…"
.
.
.
.
.
.
👀The novel is available in PDF, visit my Patreon store👀
🚬Patreon.com/BlackGoku222🚬