Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System-Chapter 16: Killing First Crimson Creature

Now that the water supply issue was temporarily resolved, Vikram needed to focus on obtaining food and steel.

Steel might still be obtained from blue Exquisite Treasure Chests, the same way he had received some before.

Now that almost every development path pointed toward treasure chests dropped from hunting, Vikram had no reason to hesitate.

He set off down the mountain.

Behind him, the Guardian Sprout waddled forward with its short vine-legs, occasionally lifting its shield-like arm as if guarding Vikram’s back. Every few steps it swung its vine lash in the air, seemingly practicing its attacks.

The Warrior Sprout followed closely as well. Compared to the steady Guardian Sprout, it was far more active. It dashed ahead for a moment, then circled back to Vikram’s side, occasionally striking nearby bushes with its tiny vine-blade arms as if impatient to find something to fight.

At one point it even jumped onto a rock and looked around like a miniature scout before quickly climbing back down and continuing after Vikram.

Seeing their lively behavior, Vikram couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Although they were small, their presence made the journey feel far less lonely.

His first target was still the place where he had last hunted a wild buffalo.

That location was a wide, flat plain with excellent visibility. Any movement there would be noticed immediately.

If prey appeared, it would hardly escape Vikram’s sight.

The reality, however, was that creatures in this world were not abundant. He clearly remembered that the last time he hunted, it had taken a long time to find prey.

"Perhaps before the acid rain disaster, there was some kind of novice protection period?"

The most obvious evidence was that the acid rain had only lasted one week, allowing many Survivors without stone houses to barely survive by constantly repairing their wooden shelters.

But this Extreme Cold disaster would last six weeks.

It was unlikely that people would muddle through it the same way.

Furthermore, the notification from the Survival Platform last night had mentioned that creatures had undergone changes because of the acid rain, which suggested that the difficulty of survival was beginning to escalate.

Vikram walked while thinking, gently stroking his chin, where a rough beard had grown after many days without shaving.

He gradually realized that the cruelty of this world was slowly revealing itself.

Each disaster pushed Survivors further, testing their ability to survive.

"The novice protection period might really exist," he muttered quietly.

"But it was only a buffer... giving us time to adapt to this world and learn how to survive."

Because Vikram had easily resisted the acid rain, he had once developed the illusion that disasters in this world were nothing more than that.

The more Vikram thought about it, the colder his back felt. If he continued maintaining such a relaxed attitude, the chances of failure would increase significantly.

"I must constantly remind myself not to get carried away. I need to stay calm."

Vikram muttered to himself, his eyes firm and filled with determination.

By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, it was already afternoon. Most of the day had been spent traveling.

Just as he was considering how he might obtain a vehicle in the future, a rustling sound suddenly came from the nearby bushes.

"Who’s there?"

Vikram immediately jumped back a step, his muscles tensing as he spoke coldly.

Behind him, the Guardian Sprout instantly moved forward, raising its shield-arm and positioning itself slightly in front of Vikram as if ready to block an attack.

The Warrior Sprout reacted even faster. It darted to the side, its small vine-blade arms lifting into a fighting stance, clearly prepared to charge if the enemy approached.

A head with a pair of long horns slowly emerged from the bushes.

It first looked left and right before fixing its gaze on Vikram, who stood motionless ahead.

Vikram narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the figure that gradually stepped out of the bushes.

It was a wild Horned Deer, roughly the same height as him.

However, unlike an ordinary deer, this creature had wide blood-red eyes, and a faint crimson aura surrounded its body.

The strange bloody aura instantly made Vikram abandon the idea of rushing forward to hunt it.

Anyone could see something was wrong with this deer.

Perhaps this was the change the Survival Platform had mentioned the night before.

After the stag noticed Vikram, its gaze never left him.

The two sides stared at each other in silence.

Even after two full minutes, the Scarlet Horned Deer showed no intention of retreating.

Sensing that the situation was unusual, Vikram silently summoned the Plant Life System in his mind and scanned the creature.

[Scarlet Horned Deer: Blue]

[Mutated from a Blue-grade Horned Deer after being affected by acid rain.]

[Inherits the original Horned Deer’s attributes. Due to mutation, it has lost most of its pain sensation and has become extremely cruel and bloodthirsty.]

Fine beads of sweat had already begun to appear on Vikram’s forehead.

Green creatures were only slightly tougher and stronger than ordinary animals. Vikram had originally thought that blue-grade monsters wouldn’t be much different.

However, after seeing the System’s description, the confidence he had gained from enhancing his physique immediately vanished.

Who would have thought that rare-grade and exquisite-grade creatures, though only one tier apart, would transform from simple cannon fodder into true berserkers?

Vikram cautiously took two steps to the left.

The moment his left foot moved, the deer across from him seemed to finally confirm that Vikram was a living target.

With a violent snort, it suddenly lowered its head and charged forward with all its strength.

At the instant the wild Horned Deer lunged, Vikram relied on his instinctive reaction speed and quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the direct impact.

Behind him, the Guardian Sprout immediately rushed forward, planting itself firmly between Vikram and the deer. Its shield-arm rose instinctively, ready to block if the creature changed direction.

The Warrior Sprout, on the other hand, darted to the side, trying to circle behind the deer like a tiny ambusher. Its vine-blades flickered as it searched for an opportunity to strike.

While rolling across the ground, Vikram didn’t let his eyes rest for even a second.

He rapidly scanned the surrounding terrain, searching for usable obstacles or anything that could be thrown.

Directly confronting a crazed Scarlet Horned Deer head-on would be extremely dangerous.

The best strategy was to maintain distance and fight cautiously.

While dodging the deer’s charge, Vikram grabbed a pebble from the ground, twisted his body, and quickly ducked behind a nearby tree.

Of course, such a crude hiding spot couldn’t fool a beast that had already lost its sanity.

The wild Horned Deer skidded to a stop, violently scraping the ground with its hooves.

Then it swung its head around again, locked onto the tree where Vikram was hiding, and launched its second charge.

"Thump!"

Just as the Horned Deer prepared to charge at Vikram again, a heavy impact sounded from behind it.

The creature abruptly twisted its head toward the source of the noise.

It was the Guardian Sprout.

The small plant had rushed forward and slammed its shield-arm into the Horned Deer’s flank.

Seizing the opportunity, Vikram stepped out from behind the tree.

The hunting bow in his hands was already drawn to its limit, the string pulled tight.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow shot through the air, flying straight toward the crimson-aura-covered Horned Deer.

"Neigh!"

A painful cry rang out as the arrow pierced into the deer’s belly.

The Horned Deer instantly twisted its head back toward Vikram, its bloodshot eyes filled with rage.

Even though most of its pain sensation had been lost due to mutation, the arrow clearly dealt significant damage.

Blood began pouring from the wound in its abdomen.

Despite that, the beast still tried to charge toward Vikram.

But before it could take more than a step, the Guardian Sprout slammed its shield into the deer again and lashed out with its vine.

The vine wrapped around the deer’s front leg.

The Horned Deer stumbled and tripped forward.

At that exact moment, the Warrior Sprout seized the opening.

It leapt forward and swung its vine-blade with full force.

"Slash!"

The blade struck fiercely at the Horned Deer’s hind leg.

A severed deer leg flew into the air.

Seeing this, Vikram’s eyes lit up with excitement. He immediately nocked another arrow and fired again.

"Whoosh!"

But even with only three legs remaining, the Horned Deer twisted its body and managed to avoid the shot.

What disgusted Vikram the most was that, even after losing a hind leg, the creature showed almost no reaction to the injury.

Because of its dulled pain sensation, the Horned Deer continued dragging its body forward, inch by inch, using its remaining three legs to slowly approach Vikram.

But while the Horned Deer was completely focused on Vikram, the Guardian Sprout and Warrior Sprout did not stop attacking for even a second.

Vikram’s lips curled slightly.

"It’ll be much easier if I can find a weakness."

The crimson glow in the Horned Deer’s eyes had not faded despite the massive blood loss. Its irrational mind was still consumed by madness.

Taking advantage of this, the Guardian Sprout charged forward again and slammed the deer with its shield, knocking its balance off and tripping it once more.

The Warrior Sprout immediately seized the opportunity and swung its vine-blade, striking fiercely at the deer’s remaining hind leg.

"From four-wheel drive to two-wheel drive... I don’t believe you can still run now," Vikram chuckled as he watched the Horned Deer stumble and halt abruptly.

At the same moment, the Warrior Sprout leapt forward slightly and thrust its blade straight into the back of the Horned Deer.

The Horned Deer let out a sharp, pained shriek.

Its body convulsed violently as blood poured out from its wounds.

Vikram kept his gaze fixed on the creature cautiously, bow still ready in his hands.

Only after several seconds passed—and the crimson glow in the deer’s eyes slowly faded—did the Horned Deer finally collapse completely, no longer moving.

This time, Vikram felt the battle had been surprisingly easy.

Most of the credit belonged to the perfect coordination between the Guardian Sprout and the Warrior Sprout.

If he had several more plant warriors like them, he probably wouldn’t need to fight personally at all.

He would only need to stand back and collect the rewards.

At the moment the Horned Deer died, a notification from the Plant System appeared.

[Congratulations on defeating a Crimson Creature Horned Deer with the assistance of your Guardian Sprout and Warrior Sprout]

[Reward: Plant Essence +20]

[Obtained: Spikevine Seed×2 (Green)]

[Obtained: Thornvine Seed×1 (Blue)]

Vikram immediately understood that the reward was granted because of the assistance from the Guardian Sprout and Warrior Sprout.

His Plant Essence increased from a pitiful 40 to 60.

While he was thinking about how easy the battle had felt, he didn’t realize that other Survivors were struggling against the same creatures—some even dying in the process.

Even with a blue weapon and enhanced physical attributes, killing a Crimson Creature of the same rank required tremendous effort.

The reason Vikram had managed to win so smoothly was entirely because of the cooperation between the Guardian Sprout and the Warrior Sprout.

Without them, he might have easily died in the battle just now.

Not to mention that most other Survivors were still wielding stone weapons.

Vikram cautiously scanned the surroundings, making sure there were no other threats nearby.

Only after confirming the area was safe did he slowly approach the Horned Deer’s corpse.