Creatures Caves

Part 1:

What's a Grendel to a well seasoned hunter? Nothing, nothing more than a nuisance, thought Xavier. Why did the other initiates seem so nonchalant, while Xavier fought the overwhelming urge to vomit? Could their placid faces be a façade, was there a terrified young norn beneath those hardened faces? It was initiation week for up and coming hardman norns, and nobody was taking anything lightly. These few days decided if you were going to pluck peppers with the elderly, or earn respect and immortality through your deeds as a warrior.
The past six days hadn't been cake walk for Xavier, more like a swim through the piranha pond (which had actually taken place). You see Xavier had never been the typical hardman his peers were used to. He'd climb vines while his family gutted grendels, extrapolate his elevator rides to avoid games of beat up the Grendel bot, and would even go so far as to feign illness to avoid aggression classes. The most Xavier could hope for was to survive the trials and live to scrape by with a mundane career in the agricultural field.
Their instructor had led them deep into the foliage, the vile, warm fumes given off by the decaying flora were nearly unbearable for Xavier. He wiped sweat away from his eyes, a combination of nerves and heat. How would he succeed in killing a fully grown jungle Grendel. It was hardly fair, he rationalized, after all he wasn't even fully grown...

Tell me what you think, I know I can be a bit wordy! Depending on feedback I might continue the story