If one heard the monster classification in this game that went from Small-Class to Colossal-Class, they must've thought.
'The Small-Class monster is probably around the size of a boar or a tiger at max. It will be easy.'
Max initially also thought like that and marched through the beach to the area pointed out by Caesar. After walking for a while, he found a small lake near the clearing, just a little bit into the dense vegetation.
There, the goose monster called Garrador happily swam. Whenever a fish came close, it would open its beak and eat it. At first, he was confused as to why a goose monster ate a fish and not vegetation, but he ignored it because it was a game.
When he asked if the monster was truly Garrador, as written above its head by a tutorial helper, their answers were positive.
— That's Garrador, alright
— There is nothing wrong with the tutorial help. What's written on top of its head was correct. It's Garrador.
— Look at his blank face. He even asked us something that the system had confirmed
— lololol, clipped. Stupefied Breeze has been captured!
— Why did you ask us that obvious question? It's Garrador, alright.
— So small. Look at that Garrador; so cute. Its wings are made from metal, and its white, hard feathers can reflect a normal attack. Its beak can break through armor–
— The word limit has been reached; I shall continue. The small eyes that looked innocent, and its small size. It's Garrador 100%.
"Hah? Small size?" Max couldn't help but retort to the chat as he pointed at the goose monster in the middle of the lake. "That monster is 3 times bigger than Caesar, that giant! And it's Small-Class?!"
While it wasn't clear at the start because it swam on the lake, Garrador was more than 6 meters big. Max couldn't understand how this monster was classified as a Small-Class. If this classification was correct, then what about Large-Class? Colossal-Class? Were they bigger than a mountain?
Surprising? Yes. But that didn't stop him.
"Anyway, let's try to get close to it first."
Stepping out from the bush he used to hide, Max approached the lake with his right hand holding onto his sword's handle. Now he understood why his sword was bigger than his body. It was because a smaller blade would do nothing against such monstrosity.
Garrador seemed to notice him, turning its long neck toward him.
"Honk!" It honked loudly and swam to the edge. A large fish with a fin that looked like a sword was still in its beak.
When it reached the land, it gulped down the fish in one go and then spread its wings.
"Hooooonkk!!"
Its voice was so loud that Max stopped on his track to cover his ears. Because they were so close now, he noticed how absurd its size was. He stood up straight, but he didn't even reach his body. Reaching the head would be... impossible unless Garrador hunched slightly.
However, Max was naïve. He didn't know how monsters in this game worked.
"Honk!"
Garrador had an advanced AI, unlike monsters in a normal game. It swung its wing and slapped him away before the sword could reach its head.
As a result, he was blown away into the forest, breaking many tree branches, and rolled many times before he finally stopped when his body crashed against a large boulder. Cracks were formed on it, and many bones in his body were destroyed.
Because he only put 50% pain reduction in his capsule, the damage was pretty painful. It reminded him of the time when he was in that incident.
But he knew that his real body was fine, so he wasn't scared. What got damaged was only his avatar. And this pain only made him feel alive, so he could only do his best to resist it.
Still... the damage was too great. Just one attack rendered him unable to move. Blood covered his face and body. The sword was gone, it probably fell when he rolled on the ground.
Looking in front of him, the trail he created from being blown away was clear. The ground etched the proof of his wound.
"Hahaha... Goddammit."
The game's character couldn't handle the damage anymore, and his HP was fully depleted from the bleeding. At that moment, he saw a red message in front of him.
[You have died.]
When that message appeared, and his body was engulfed in blue light, the chat broke into a frenzy.
— He got b1tch slapped and died. RIP
— Cause of death: betch slap
— Naaah, Garrador's special move is just too scary
— The monster bish slap, so scary
— Heh, killer slap. Its wing is deadly.
— That's why you should
They seemed to have a trauma about it. The attack reminded them too close to home. Probably some trace of their ex-girlfriend or lover could be seen in that slap.
When Max respawned, he returned to the base area near the beach, just right in front of the steam train. His equipment returned, and his sword was in its sheath.
Standing up from his sleeping position, he looked in the direction where Garrador was and declared.
"I will make a fried wing from that monster. Just wait for it."