After the first monsters had appeared, more began to appear, this time in groups, and they quickly advanced on the group.
Jeewok surprised Kaizen because not only was he very skilled with his sword, but he also wielded it firmly, always sure of his own movements. Salles, the more experienced swordsman, had a closed smile on his face as he watched his pupil slice through his enemies.
As they entered a clearing in the Lost Garden, a larger group of monsters appeared and surrounded them. The green creatures immediately attacked them with ferocity, hurling flower petals and acid at the guild members. There were many projectiles, but there were no novices in the group, so everyone dodged with agility or defended with their skills. At that moment, Korgrak stretched out both arms, and a moment later, light stakes appeared on each of the monsters. As soon as Korgrak lowered her hands, the light stakes drove into the monsters, killing them easily.
Kaizen looked at her with an excited smile. He could feel how strong she was to make it look so easy.
Still, the place was infested with monsters. Not just dozens, but hundreds. It didn't take long for more monsters to appear and harass them. As the players fought the monsters, they moved carefully to avoid stepping on the trap-type monsters on the ground. This place was indeed like a completely untouched environment.
As they moved forward through the Lost Garden, they encountered more and more monsters. Some of these monsters were alternate versions of the Death Flower, spewing hallucinogenic pollen, while others were cactus-like, shooting explosive spikes. They knew they were getting close to something important as the monsters grew stronger and more numerous.
After defeating a few more groups of monsters, they finally reached a deeper part of the Lost Garden, where there was a large rock covered with vines and tendrils. What's more, the monsters finally stopped spawning, giving them a moment's rest.
"I wonder what that is?" asked Anfrid, curious about the strange rock in front of them.
"Is it another monster?" asked Jeewok attentively, trying to touch the rock with the tip of his light sword.
"Surely not..." Salles was about to say, but suddenly the vines surrounding the rock reacted to the touch of Jeewok's blade and grabbed it.
"AAH! What the hell is that?" Startled, the young swordsman tried to pull his sword back, but his basic strength was nothing compared to the strength of those vines.
Salles, with a serious expression on his face and swinging his sword, said:
"Jeewok, drop your sword and step away from the creature."
"But..." Jeewok looked back.
"Now, no arguing." Salles said.
The boy immediately took a few steps back, and the group of players once again prepared for battle. A second later, the creature moved abruptly and let out a high-pitched roar that caused everyone to cover their ears as it turned 180 degrees to face them. It was a strange creature that used the rock as its body, but it was made entirely of plants. It didn't even have eyes or a mouth, looking more like a swollen tumor with smooth, pointed parts.
The players were stunned by this strange creature, which was now moving its vines with amazing speed, as if it wanted to attack them, but didn't have enough motor coordination to aim at them, so its vines were shaking violently. At the same time, this creature was emitting a strange sound that seemed to be a mixture of a roar and a groan of pain.
"Get ready!" Korgrak shouted, holding out a hand. "This thing will not give us a truce if it tries to escape!"
Coincidentally or not, as soon as Korgrak shouted, the strange creature's vines seemed to have found the group's location, so it stopped swinging them in all directions and focused on where the players were. Obviously, Kaizen had noticed this minute detail.
As Psyker shielded the entire group from the vines with a shield created with <Telekinesis>, he warned:
ραпdα Йᴏνê|(сòm) "This creature is blind, but it is not deaf. We can't stay together, or its attacks will cause area of effect damage. Spread out and change positions whenever you think it's necessary!"
Everyone immediately nodded, and instead of staying together as a group, they split off in different directions. This caused the creature's vines to hit the ground again and again. Still, it was impossible for anyone to dodge the attacks, except for Anfrid, who was there to heal them whenever needed.
"Watch out! She can throw thorns too!" shouted Anfrid and cast a healing spell on Jeewok, who was hit in the back by very thin thorns.
The boy smiled confidently and said:
"Don't worry, there are more of us!" He approached the creature's body again.
Salles and Jeewok started a fierce battle against the Forest Possession creature, trying to break its rocky body in half, but it was a very resilient creature, not only because its body was different from other plant-like creatures, but also because of its unpredictable attacks.
The Forest Possession easily withstood the attacks of the two swordsmen, using its vines to try to grab or whip its enemies.
Eventually, Kaizen, Korgrak, and everyone else realized that the swordsmen's momentum was useless. If they wanted to defeat this creature easily, quickly, and without expending too many resources, the stronger players would have to get seriously involved in this battle. The moment Salles and Jeewok retreated, Korgrak stretched both hands forward, ready to use the same skill he had used to defeat a horde of monsters when they were surrounded. However, Kaizen approached to her right, and as the two exchanged glances, Korgrak realized that Kaizen was the one who wanted to do this.
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
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