Hell's Glitch (LitRPG): Into a Dark Adventure by Belart Wright Page B

into it. 
He felt the thing shiver and saw it wilt as the cold Dagger pierced through
wood and found its target.  The thing had some kind of soft organs inside of it;
Sam could feel whatever he had struck squirming around his blade.  He
instinctively kicked the creature off of his dagger and pulled the blade away
as it fell to the ground.  He had successfully gotten a special backstab on the
creature, meaning he had effectively done at least triple his normal damage to
it.  His Dagger and gloves were now covered in the beast’s dark blue blood.
    After attacking it, he was able to see its health bar.  He
watched as it quickly diminished—only it stopped diminishing a little more than
halfway and the creature started moving on the ground.
    Sam whispered his panic under his breath: “Are you fucking
kidding me?”
    The critical blow had allegedly done three to four times
normal damage and it still only took down slightly more than half the
creature’s HP.  Sam’s class was ridiculously weak.  Or maybe this enemy was
just too strong.
    “I can’t believe this.  Come on, get up!  Let’s go!”
    Sam tried to position himself at the creature’s back as it
was rising, but the thing quickly turned to face him as if it knew his
thoughts.  He quickly struck it two times with a slash and a stab at its arms
and chest doing damage that was barely noticeable.  The critical damage for the
backstab must’ve been much higher than he’d anticipated, like twice as high. 
Now, his attacks didn’t seem to be doing even a single percent damage to it. 
The thing lashed out at him with its pointed claws and he barely dodged it with
an instinctive side roll.  It was as if the game had assisted him with the
maneuver.  His movement was much smoother than anything he could muster in real
life and he noticed that he cleared a long distance.  He was quickly on his feet
and nearing the creature’s back again.
    The rolling motion had made him feel a little dizzy, but he
ignored that and tried to get in close.  The creature extended its brown leafy
arms out at its sides and they grew large wooden spikes that hardened to a
darker brown.  The creature then spun its upper body around in a deadly
contortionist’s twister.  Sam was too close and reactively raised his Deflector
in a parrying motion.  The panicked parry was way too early and Sam was left
wide open to the creature’s attack.  The backhand blow was solid and sent Sam
sprawling down onto his back.
    The pain felt too real.  Sam could actually taste the blood
in his mouth.  It made him wonder what was happening to his real body as he
played the game.  It made him want to quit.  But there was an urge deep in the
primal part of his brain that didn’t want to die, no matter if he was in real
reality or virtual reality.  It made him rise to his feet for his own survival.
    The blow had taken a little over a third of his total health
and the creature was approaching to attack again.  Now on his feet, Sam knew
what his next move would have to be.  With his current class, he could only
play in a reactionary way.  He’d have to capitalize on an enemy’s mistakes and
punish them for it.  Now that this thing was guarding its back so well from his
attacks, he only saw one good option, but he had to wait for a good chance to
use it.
    Sam stood at a disadvantageous middle range from the
creature that he now decided to call Hardass.  He stood straight ahead of it,
prepared to dodge at a moment’s notice.  Hardass whipped its stretchy leaf-like
arms and razor sharp claws at Sam.  Sam dodged to the left, out of the creature’s
way.  The move was guaranteed to put him at the creature’s back again—but the
creature’s response felt off.
    “Oh crap!  Screw you, Hardass!”
    That whipping motion had been a feint.  Before Sam had even
made it to his feet, Hardass was priming for another attack.  It stretched its
thorny limbs all the way over to him.  One of the