Little Nepenthes had three primary attack patterns, each carrying a lethal threat to any intruder who dared step into their territory.
1. Melee Attacks – Dagger Leaves
The leaves growing along the stalks of a Little Nepenthes weren't just ordinary foliage. They were weapons, honed into razor-sharp blades.
They could use them in two ways:
Sweeping Slash – A wide, forceful arc that could strike multiple targets at once.
Piercing Thrust – A sudden lunge, driving the razor-sharp edges of their leaves straight through anything within range.
2. Ranged Attack, Corrosive Spray
The deadliest weapon of the Little Nepenthes.
From a sac-like organ on their body, they could unleash a jet of corrosive liquid with a range of up to five meters.
This liquid didn't just reduce a player's HP, it rapidly eroded equipment durability, weakening armor and weapons at an alarming rate.
Worse yet, it was adhesive. Victims caught in the spray would find their movements sluggish, making them easy prey for follow-up attacks.
However, the attack wasn't without its flaws:
Its effective range was limited to a 30-degree angle in front of the creature. Players positioned to the side or behind would be unaffected.
Before firing, the Little Nepenthes always exhibited a telltale sign, the sac on its body would swell, as if gathering energy.
If players recognized this moment, they could evade in time by sidestepping or retreating.
Despite their fearsome offensive abilities, Little Nepenthes had soft, unarmored bodies. They lacked any real defense against precise attacks, making them vulnerable to relentless assaults. Players could exploit this weakness to take them down before getting overwhelmed.
That was what Ren had read in the guidebook.
But theory was always simpler than reality.
In a real fight, there were no warning messages popping up to signal an enemy's attack, no pause button to stop and strategize the next move.
Only blurred movements, distances vanishing in a blink, and lethal strikes descending without warning.
Three Little Nepenthes tightened their encirclement, twisting and writhing like wild boars preparing to charge, then, all at once, they lunged.
The real threat wasn't their powerful ramming force.
It was the razor-sharp leaves whipping out like waiting blades, eager to carve apart anything in their path.
Ren clenched his teeth, his body tensing for a split second before instinct kicked in.
He couldn't let them corner him.
He couldn't let them close in.
Shifting his stance, he lowered his center of gravity, muscles coiled like a drawn bow as his eyes flicked toward the only gap in the creatures' formation.
They were closing in from three directions, cutting off all escape routes. Their dagger-like leaves gleamed under the dim light, poised to slash through flesh without hesitation.
But there was no time to hesitate.
Whoosh!
Just as the bladed leaves came slashing down like scythes of death, Ren lunged forward, his body gliding across the ground like a streak of lightning.
His sword flashed through the air, an unpredictable strike aimed at the creature on his left.
Slice!
The blade tore through its vine-like body, carving a deep wound into the green flesh.
It convulsed violently, but didn't fall apart immediately. From the gash, a thick, greenish slime oozed out, dripping onto the ground in heavy droplets, shattering into hundreds of red pixels upon impact.
The writhing roots along its stalk flailed wildly, reaching for Ren like grasping tendrils, desperate to trap him within their hunting ground.
Damn it!
Ren twisted his body, ducking to the side just as another bladed leaf swept horizontally, barely missing his face.
A cold gust brushed past his cheek, sending a chill down his spine, the sharp edge had nearly ended him.
But the danger wasn't over yet.
The third creature let out a piercing screech.
The sac on its body began to swell ominously, trembling with an eerie intensity, as if a storm was about to erupt.
"Corrosive Spray!"
Ren immediately kicked off the ground, retreating the moment he spotted the telltale sign.
Splat!
A viscous, glistening liquid shot out from the monster's bloated sac, speeding toward him with terrifying force.
In the blink of an eye, the toxic fluid splattered against a tree behind him.
The moment it made contact, the bark sizzled and bubbled, eaten away in an instant, revealing a blackened core beneath.
A thin wisp of smoke curled into the air, carrying a pungent, stinging odor, a grim warning of what would happen if even a drop landed on him.
If that liquid touched him…
His HP wouldn't just drain at an alarming rate.
His gear, his only protection, would corrode into useless scraps within seconds.
He couldn't afford to get hit.
Clenching his jaw, his sharp gaze remained locked onto the three monsters screeching before him.
They weren't giving him even a moment to breathe.
Their slender, root-like legs dug into the ground, bodies contorting unnaturally as they prepared to lunge again.
A second later, the dagger leaves swung once more. The sacs swelled, another corrosive spray incoming.
But this time, Ren didn't retreat.
He gripped his sword tighter, then charged.
On the other side of the battlefield, Nautilus and Yuna were slowly being separated.
Two Little Nepenthes slithered between them, their creeping vines wrapping tightly around the surrounding trees, forming a natural barricade that widened the distance between them.
Under the dense canopy, the dim forest air grew suffocating. Every breath carried a weight of tension, like a tightening noose.
Nautilus tightened his grip on his sword, sweat trickling down his forehead as he swung down with all his might.
But the strike was clumsy, weak.
His blade merely glanced off the monster's slick surface, failing to deal any significant damage.
The sensation of his sword slipping uselessly against its skin sent a shudder down his spine. A wasted attack.
He gritted his teeth, stepping back to regain some distance.
But at that moment, a bladed leaf from the creature beside him slashed down with terrifying speed.
In that brief instant, he barely managed to twist his head to the side, feeling the cold air rush past as the deadly edge narrowly missed him.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
His breaths turned ragged.
And the monsters… weren't stopping.
On the other side, Yuna wasn't faring any better. She kept retreating, gripping her sword so tightly that her knuckles turned white. But her legs trembled, and her back was nearly pressed against a tree trunk.
The Little Nepenthes in front of her screeched, its swollen pitcher-like body beginning to expand dangerously.
"Corrosive Spit!"
The moment she realized it, a chill ran down Yuna's spine. But her legs were frozen in place, refusing to move.
All she could do was stare in horror as the viscous, corrosive liquid shot straight toward her, devouring everything in its path.
A jolt of panic broke her out of her paralysis, and she threw herself to the side just as the acid spray struck.
The slimy substance barely missed her, slamming into the tree behind her. Smoke sizzled from the bark as it melted into a terrifying, blackened mess.
But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, her foot suddenly caught on something rough and solid.
"Damn it!"
Yuna stumbled, lost her balance, and fell. The impact knocked the wind out of her for a moment, and a sharp pain shot through her knee as it hit the ground. She grimaced, intending to spring back up immediately, until something strange under her palm made her freeze.
The ground… was moving?
No, that was impossible. It had to be an illusion from her panic.
But no, the surface beneath her wasn't solid earth. It was roots… and they were no longer still. They trembled, tightening together, slowly but surely.
Some of them even rose higher, slithering across the ground like small serpents, weaving together in an eerie pattern.
Yuna swallowed hard. A sense of unease coiled in her chest, but she had no time to dwell on it.
The Little Nepenthes, having missed its attack, was advancing faster. The vines on its body writhed like living tendrils, ready to lash out again.
A sharp leaf swung down from above, glinting in the cold light.
Tension locked Yuna's body in place.
I have to move!
She clenched her teeth, pushing strength into her legs, ready to leap up despite the strange roots beneath her. Whatever was happening here, it didn't matter more than surviving right now.
Back to Ren…
A precise slash cut through the main body of the Little Nepenthes, leaving behind a flickering trail of light.
Greenish slime splattered as the blade severed the writhing roots, making the creature convulse violently before falling still.
[You have defeated Little Nepenthes Lv.4]
One down.
Ren exhaled, tightening his grip on his sword. His heartbeat was still pounding, but compared to the initial panic, he was now in sync with the battle.
The two remaining creatures no longer screeched. They backed away slightly, the vines on their bodies trembling as if assessing the situation.
Sensing the shift, Ren's lips curled slightly.
At first, they had been the hunters. But now, they hesitated.
The battle was tipping in his favor.
Ren didn't waste the opportunity. Without waiting for them to act, he charged!
In one swift motion, he switched his grip, dodged the second creature's leaf strike, and closed the distance.
His blade carved a sharp arc.
A clean, powerful slash. The monster shrieked as a deep wound split open on its body, thick fluid spilling from the gash. Its roots convulsed and trembled in agony.
The creature collapsed, shattering into scattered polygonal fragments.
[You have defeated Little Nepenthes Lv.3]
One more…
Ren gritted his teeth, refusing to stop even for a second. If he could keep up this momentum…
Then suddenly...
A strange sensation crept over him.
The ground beneath his feet was no longer completely solid. A subtle shift, faint, nearly imperceptible, but enough to set off an instinctual alarm in his mind.
And then...
The monster's speed changed.
No longer hesitating, the last Little Nepenthes screeched and lunged at an unnaturally fast pace.
Ren reacted instantly, sidestepping the attack. But the moment his foot touched the ground.
Crack!
He stiffened. Something beneath him… moved.
The ground was shifting. Very subtly, almost unnoticeable, maybe just his imagination.
"Stap!"
His instincts screamed that something was terribly wrong. But there was no time to hesitate.
The monster was already upon him, its vines coiling tightly, ready to strike!
Ren gritted his teeth and activated his sword skill!
A faint light shimmered along his blade, a powerful force surging through his legs as he propelled forward like a bullet.
Slash!
His sword pierced straight through the creature. Slimy liquid spurted as the writhing vines convulsed in pain, before they were severed completely.
[You have defeated Little Nepenthes Lv.4]
The system message flashed before his eyes, but Ren had no time to celebrate. He needed to help the others.