The Devouring Mushroom

The forest around the village was dense with trees close together.

The sizes vary, but most were large with trunks that would have taken at least three people holding hands to make the circle; the sharp, twisted branches had green leaves of many different shapes.

Sometimes sounds of animals and strange creatures can be heard.

Due to the dense amount of trees, the sunlight had difficulties in illuminating the interior of the forest.

During the day, the interior was dark and poorly lit. During the night, the interior was completely dark, not even the moonlight could illuminate any part of the forest.

…

"Finally it started. My long-awaited first adventure" Liu Yang stood at the entrance of the forest looking at the dimly lit areas in front of him. The cheer couldn't be hidden from his face.

The other students have already run into the forest and started the challenge as quickly as possible.

Five days was too little due to the number of items on the list.

The faster he starts, the more chances they have to complete the challenge.

Only Liu Yang had no interest in passing the Coming of Age Challenge because it was just a test to be accepted into the Combat School. He didn't want this.

For the village, the coming of age test was just a formality for young people to leave home and explore the forest as their first adventure.

After sixteen years, Liu Yang finally left the village for the first time.

As he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, fresh, pure air was inhaled and reached his lungs before being blown out.

"That's the smell of the forest..." He muttered.

The air breathed in the forest was a little different from the air breathed inside the village. There was no smell of smoke, just the smell of trees and plants.

crack... crack...

Before starting to do things, Liu Yang stretched out to stretch his arms and legs.

Getting good exercise before doing any physical activity was the best thing to do.

"It's time to start…" Liu Yang slowly walked in some random direction. He didn't have a map, so that's the only choice to make.

His current appearance was that of an adventurer's apprentice. Leather clothing to protect the body and a sheathed short sword strapped to his waist.

After walking about ten meters away, he finally found the first creature.

A mushroom. But the mushroom was gigantic, one meter high, thirty centimeters in diameter, at the top, the two holes looked like scary eyes, and on the head was a big hat half a meter long, but when it was opened, two large rows of sharp teeth were revealed.

The creature in front of Liu Yang was called the Devouring Mushroom.

It is one of the most basic and weakest types of creature in the world, but still too dangerous for a young person with no real combat experience.

"I've done this many times in the combat simulator. I've killed thousands of these creatures. So why is this happening??" Liu Yang asked himself what was going on.

The instant he saw the creature, his body froze in fear. His legs became weak and limp.

Even the wind could knock him down at any moment.

"Dad was right… The simulation was just a simulation… Real-life is a completely different thing"

His father's earlier words echo in his mind.

Liu Yang's father always told him not to completely trust simulation combat training because it was just a simulation.

The difficulty was much lower than the real creature because there was no sense of threat he was feeling at the moment.

"I need to run… But if I do that… I won't be able to become an adventurer…" Liu Yang was in a big dilemma.

What choice should he make?

"..." As he tried to hold the sword, he noticed that his hands were trembling and weak.

Liu Yang was powerless to draw the sword.

poff… poff…

The Devouring Mushroom didn't have legs to walk, it just jumped from side to side.

clang... clang...

The mouth on top of its head opened and closed quickly as if it were hungry.

The two rows of sharp teeth collide causing sounds of metal colliding with metal.

"..." These sounds made Liu Yang more nervous than before because there was no such thing during the training session.

"I just hope others aren't going through the same difficulties as me..."

bite…

Wasting no more time, Liu Yang bit his lips hard until he bled.

Pain awoke his body and he ran to escape the creature. The Devouring Mushroom tried to jump and follow him, but it was impossible because it was so much slower.

Liu Yang didn't even notice it because he was too scared to look back.

…

A few meters ahead there was a large tree covered in bushes, Liu Yang was sitting on the ground to hide.

Sweat was wiped from his face, but his breath was still heavy and labored.

"..." Liu Yang tried to calm down, but it was still difficult.

His legs trembled as he thought of the creature he'd seen just moments ago.

"The simulation is totally different from the reality…"

"If I can't defeat a simple creature like this mushroom, how can I become an adventurer and travel the world? The outside world is thousands of times more dangerous than this forest…"

His words were self-critical.

Liu Yang knew that he could never fulfill his dream if he kept trembling in front of the Devouring Mushroom.

"I need to try again…" After a few minutes of rest, Liu Yang got up and walked to the spot where he was before.