NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Mushrooms
Looking down at my hands, I saw colorful mushrooms begin growing from my arms, any place that had come into contact with them, and it started to grow from there. Hanging from the cliff, I tried to tear them off, but my skin came with them.
More and more mushrooms started to sprout, making their way to my shoulders.
I tried slicing them off with my dagger but to no avail. I felt panic consuming my mind as they crawled closer to my brain. Maybe magic?
I used hardening magic on every part of my body. My body became numb and hard like steel; the mushrooms stopped their rapid growth, and I felt their path blocked off, their roots no longer digging deep into my flesh. I’m not sure what happened, but it worked.
Through the cage of mushrooms, I saw the glint of the flowers, and with a quick snatch, I pulled the Elysiums from the ground and, tucking them in my shirt, started my descent. Smashing my fingers into the rock with both hardening and wind magic, I created my own handholds and, within a minute, made it to the bottom. As soon as my feet hit the hard earth floor, I saw dozens of mushrooms rooted to the ground.
Four out of five teams had mushrooms growing from their eye sockets, mouths, and ears. Their skin is a canvas for the different colored mushrooms.
Blood trickled slowly from their budding heads, silent as the forest. My eyes then quickly searched for my teammates, and I saw their familiar silhouettes under a tapestry of mushrooms lying flat and still. I whispered, “Why?”
“Hand over the Elysiums,” a rough voice shattered the growing silence. I looked up to see the only squad left standing over me. “Corpses don’t need no healing flowers,” the four soldiers laughed to themselves. I tilted my head, what was happening?
[New Quest: Kill the traitors +4 levels]
A younger soldier stepped out, grabbed me by the collar, and said, “Baby boy doesn’t understand; it means you were just our bait this whole time.” Another soldier said nervously, “We should stop talking, and just go.”
“HEY, I am in charge here; don’t talk back,” the first soldier growled, then he glanced down at the mushrooms that grew from my arms. Probably confirming my imminent death, he started looking through my pockets for the flowers.
My mind was all confuddled; mushrooms, blood, and my teammates all floated around in my head. But then rage brought back my clarity and took the head of the soldier rummaging through my clothes and smashed it with all my strength on my knee. The magic hardening was still active, and I felt the crunch of his skull as he fell limp at my feet.
Before the other three could react, I was upon them. I threw a quick and powerful straight right hand into one’s face; he fell backward, his face likened to a curved bowl. A roar of anger ripped through the other two, and they charged at me, swords brandished.
Both of them swung in a horizontal strike to my head; I crouched low and shot forward, catching both of them where the sun didn’t shine. Spinning around, I threw a roundhouse kick into the head of the bent-over man on my right, took the last soldier by the collar, and asked him, “Why.”
He sputtered, fear in his eyes, “I-I was just following orders; it was all Killian’s idea; he knew about the guardian of the Elysium and wanted to obtain both the flower and kill any opposing rivals so the Duke would favor only him. I o-only followed ‘cause he was stronger than me.”
“Where is he now? Why are you not affected by the mushrooms?” I asked. The soldier pointed shakily to the soldier who had first dug through my pockets. He was lying face down in the soil, blood pooled around his head. “Oh,” I said, well then, that was taken care of.
“He had a special potion made that wards off this certain type of mushroom monster,” replied the soldier, then, with a pitiful voice, said, “Could you please let me go?”
My eye returned to his and pushed him to the ground. Scrambling back, he started to thank me but then froze. For I had picked up his sword and, with a horizontal swing lopped his head clean off.
[Ding dong Quest complete +4 levels]
I leaped back from the fountain of blood that sprayed from his neck, then finding a nice clean place, I started to dig. I dug two shallow graves, and lying the bodies of my two companions, I pulled out the mushrooms on their faces and closed what little eyelids they had left.
My memories replayed in my head, the passion for life they once had, the people they had left… They had become almost close to me.
I felt something tug at my heart, but I willed it away. Pushing loose dirt over them, though I wasn’t the religious type, I had once been to a funeral, so I said a short prayer for their souls. Hoping wherever they went, they would be shown mercy.
Then, turning my gaze to the other soldiers, I started to rummage through their clothes, I found a good amount of gold and silver pieces, a few bottles of some purple liquid, and some food. I opened my status
[Host: Human]
[Level: 16]
[Skills: amateur body hardening magic, amateur wind magic, amateur kickboxing]
My skills had upgraded to amateur kickboxing, and my level had increased significantly. Turning to a tree, I used 50% of my power and broke it in half. Now the dilemma, what was I to do?
My ears pricked up, and the sound of wings blew into my head. Jam landed on my head, and she cooed satisfactorily. “Just say they were all ambushed by the guardian of the flowers; since you’re a young human, they won’t suspect much.” She tilted her small head to the side and said, “Do you have the shining plant?”
I nodded and pulled the flowers from my inner pocket.
“Those are really valuable. You should save them for when you are seriously injured. But you should present at least one stalk to the Duke so he won’t be suspicious.”
I patted the bird’s smooth black feathers, what a smart little thing. Then, I began the journey back to camp. In the beginning, I dreaded the multitudes of Starvire’s, but the first one I met was just too easy to pop like a balloon.
I would sprint at it and either do a flying kick or a flying punch. POP, I found that using just 60% of my full power could kill the monster easily. I didn’t know it at the time, but as I raced through the forest, hands bloody from the heads of incoming monsters, a huge smile was slathered across my face.
It was at that time that I noticed I could gain levels by just killing, I didn’t need to wait for a quest window. If I killed ten Starvire’s, I would gain one level, by the time I finally got to the bottom of the mountain, I had successfully beaten 20 of them and leveled up twice.
But I could feel that the pace was slowing down I would need higher-level creatures soon. The camp was in view, but before I stepped foot inside, Jam, with a passion for drama, told me of a plan that would cast away any suspicion on me.
The Duke’s eyebrows were furrowed as he looked at the map stretched out before him. An enemy country wanted to take the neutral land that had long been peaceful and a trade hotspot, but his kingdom was not strong enough to wage war alone; he might need to call on the aid of the neighboring kingdom…
His thoughts turned to different matters, and he ran a hand through his hair. He wondered if sending the newbie squad on a dangerous mission was all that smart.
They had done very well in their first battle, and he wanted to test their mettle a bit more. This wasn’t a tough mission; most of the danger would be just on the way to the flower, and there were other veteran teams as well.
Moreover, Killian had given his word to take care of the green soldiers, so he thought that things wouldn’t go too badly. Although Killian wasn’t a fairly strong man, he had a keen mind, and his battle tactics were good. After all, how difficult would gathering a flower be?
Loud voices outside his tent caught the Duke’s attention, and, with long strides, he stepped into the night air. Raidriar, the young boy sent on the mission, was limping towards him with blood, soaking his beige uniform, out of breath, and shaking terribly.
His emerald green eyes were unfocused, and he uttered the words, “All dead---too strong…”
Before collapsing at the Duke’s feet, holding a single white flower that glowed softly in the dim light of the torches.