Plant-Type Monsters 1

From what the adventurers told us, the theme of the thirty-first floor seemed to be contamination and corrosion. Undead — those creatures no fantasy world would feel complete without — and vines that served as a counter to the Holy Power meant to fight them.

"…A Sanctuary is a large-scale sacred art that applies the circulation of Holy Power. The Holy Power flowing from the priests rises into the sky, purifying the space itself, then falls like rain to bestow grace upon every living thing on the ground."

The adventurer explained it carefully — how a Sanctuary worked much like the water cycle, sending Holy Power skyward so it could purify the earth in a wide area. Whether he had ties to the Temple or was simply a mage with an interest in sacred arts, he talked a little too much, but at least he made it easy to follow.

The problem was that those vines had swarmed toward Irene's Holy Power the moment they sensed it — and they had done the same, in nauseating numbers, toward the Holy Power raining down from the Sanctuary.

Individually, they were so fragile that Katie's sword cut through them without resistance. But when their numbers became uncountable, the story changed entirely. A thirty-centimeter vine posed no threat to a human. Pile those vines up by the ton, though, and a person would inevitably be crushed to death under the weight.

"The priests and Temple Knights did everything they could to cut down the grotesque vines wrapping around the Sanctuary… but the things kept coming, as if they were regenerating. They kept coming until every last drop of the Sanctuary's Holy Power was drained — and the Temple Knights' and priests' Holy Power along with it."

Just as I'd expected, the Sanctuary had been completely overrun and shattered by the vines. I'd thought it strange that the ground where the Temple Knights and adventurers were holding out was so unusually wide and flat — so this must have been where the safe zone once stood.

One odd detail, though: the flat ground itself was perfectly intact. They'd fought vines that charged hard enough to knock Temple Knights unconscious after the Sanctuary collapsed — and yet the earth hadn't been torn up at all?

"Hey. Did those vines just suck up the Holy Power and disappear?"

"The vines? If you mean the tentacles… yes. To be precise, a few adventurers and priests did get caught and dragged away, but what those things were interested in was Holy Power, not people. Once the Holy Power ran dry and the remaining adventurers banded together to resist, they gave up and withdrew."

So other than sheer numbers, they weren't particularly terrifying. I'd jumped to the conclusion that this was a mid-boss event just because it happened on the thirty-fifth floor — but it could just as easily be a simple event quest.

Those things — vines, tentacles, parasites, whatever they were — had greedily drained the Sanctuary's Holy Power dry. Then, when the Temple Knights and priests panicked and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠poured out more Holy Power, the creatures buried them under sheer mass, dragged them off, and left nothing but a vacant lot full of battered adventurers before losing interest and retreating. At that account, Irene's face went dark.

A handful of adventurers had survived intact, but most of the Temple Knights, priests, and nuns had been swallowed by the mass of tentacles and hauled away. "Hauled away" was a polite way of putting it. A mass large enough to smother an entire Sanctuary would have crushed them flat the moment their Holy Power ran out — pulverized them under its own weight.

"…I see. Thank you."

"So, we have a request. …As you can see, there's nothing left here. We'd like to ask you to escort us out of the Tower."

Everyone nodded at the mage's words. The mage who'd been explaining things looked haggard from mana exhaustion but otherwise uninjured. The adventurers who'd fought with their bodies, on the other hand, were all wrecked.

Kind-hearted people, every one of them — they'd thrown themselves into the fight without holding back, determined to protect even the single remaining Temple Knight. Each of them had at least one arm or leg broken or twisted out of place.

No Holy Power left for healing, and whatever supplies should have been in the tents had been swept away along with the communication magic tools. They'd roughly cut the surrounding ash-gray trees and bound their limbs with scraps of tent canvas — a pitiful sight if there ever was one.

"Of course. The Temple will not turn a blind eye to your efforts."

"None of you seem to have trouble walking, so shall we head down right away?"

The party nodded at Irene's words. There was no chance that Han Se-ah, a player, would choose to abandon every NPC in a situation like this — and our kind-hearted companions would never turn their backs and pretend it wasn't their problem either. Knowing that, Irene accepted without hesitation.

Irene nodded without a shred of reluctance, and the rest of us accepted it without a word of complaint. The adventurers welled up with tears of gratitude at the sight. They'd lost all their supplies, but they still had their gear, and while they were wounded, none of the injuries looked severe enough to leave lasting aftereffects — so of course the tears that came were ones of relief.

"First, let's treat the injuries as best we can with the potions we have… then head for the safe zone on the thirty-fourth floor before we go outside. We'll need to pass the information on to the Adventurers' Guild and the Temple."

"Let's do what Irene unnie says. There are eight wounded — hauling all of them all the way out of the Tower would be tough."

We gave emergency treatment to the people with leg injuries using Han Se-ah's potions, then I hoisted the unconscious Temple Knight onto my back. Seven wounded adventurers and one knocked-out Temple Knight. We'd have to avoid combat as much as possible on the way.

As long as we didn't use Holy Power, the path back to the thirty-fourth floor was utterly peaceful. Just as I'd sensed on the way to the safe zone, the ash-gray trees ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and vines thrived densely only in areas where they could feed on Holy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Power.

The closer we got to the passage, the more sparsely the ash-gray trees were spaced — more like the occasional roadside tree than a forest — and the ivy-like vines that had been packed so thickly thinned out noticeably as well. Even at a glance, the area looked relatively safe, and the tension visibly drained from the adventurers' bodies.

Avoiding combat as much as we could, we arrived at the thirty-fourth floor's safe zone.

"Something like that happened? …The Temple will remember your efforts."

The Temple Knights on the thirty-fourth floor startled at the sight of their comrade, still unconscious and slung over my back. After hearing the full story while the adventurers were being treated, they nodded with heavy expressions. Was that some kind of official Temple line?

They called each other brother and sister, and the group solidarity ran deep — the gestures of the priests and nuns tending the adventurers grew a touch more formal, more respectful. How to put it… they went from doctors treating patients to attendants serving honored guests.

Watching the adventurers grow flustered under hospitality so extreme it looked like someone might start spoon-feeding them water, our party drifted over.

"I've already passed the situation on to the Guild and the Magic Tower. So what now? Should we head to the thirty-fifth floor and try to find the roots of those grotesque vines?"

"Roots?"

"Yeah, roots. The adventurers called them tentacles, but to me they looked like some kind of vine plant. If that's the case, there should be roots making them grow like that, right?"

The party nodded, agreeing that Han Se-ah's confident reasoning made sense. They seemed to trust the image of Hanna the genius mage so completely that doubt never even crossed their minds. Feigning a thoughtful pause, I casually shifted my gaze to Han Se-ah's stream window.

The first thing I saw was the chat gleefully roasting Han Se-ah. Glancing sideways at her as she carried on the conversation with the party, I noticed the tips of her ears had gone red. Her lying skills might have improved enough that she no longer stumbled over her words — but her body was still honest.

Next up was the quest window Han Se-ah had put up on her stream for the viewers. Whether from hearing the survivors' testimony or from returning to the thirty-fourth floor, the updated text now flatly declared that the things on the thirty-fifth floor were parasitic vine plants.

So that was why Han Se-ah had thought of looking for the roots.

It made sense. If the quest said parasitic vine plants were proliferating, the natural impulse was to find the roots and pull them out. I'd heard that things like ivy and kudzu just kept sending up new stems unless you dug out the roots completely.

"That does make a lot of sense. They got denser the closer we got to the safe zone, and the ash-gray trees seemed to proliferate right alongside the vines. Near the passage there were barely any trees and the view was open, but around the safe zone — even after the vines had physically swept through — plenty of trees were still standing."

"Ah— aah! You're right! They said the magic tools and tents got shoved right through, but the ash-gray trees were still growing thick!"

When I offered evidence backing up Han Se-ah's theory, Katie gasped and made a whole production of it. Apparently the idea that those things — the ones that coiled around trees and then launched themselves like springs to latch on — were plants was pretty startling to her.

"So, back to the thirty-fifth floor? We skipped the fights and came up as fast as we could, so our supplies are still solid."

"I think that would be best. …There might still be brothers and sisters alive, after all."

"Ah…"

"But we should rest first. Let's stay here for a day before we go."

At Irene's words — a tangle of complicated emotions — Grace and Katie quietly pressed in against her on either side. Sharing adventures and a divine mission from the Goddess had clearly forged a close bond between them. It was a good sight.

Honestly, I doubted there were almost any survivors left. But saying something that hopeless in a moment like this felt wrong, so I just nodded in silence.