Crisis and Fear
Riding Ikelos into the heart of the crisis and terror, we were greeted by a lush, overgrown forest. Because of the Red Queen effect strengthening the monsters, the plants had evolved to match. There should have been countless trees shattered from the monsters' territorial wars, yet even more stood tall. The information agents strolled through this dense woodland with casual ease.
"We need to swing slightly off course here. Wood Goars are roaming up ahead."
"Watch your right. A nest of Night Bees is settled there."
They clearly didn't possess exploration skills like mine, yet they navigated as if this were their own backyard, reading every detail perfectly. The positions of fallen trees, the distribution of monsters, the fluid variables that kept emerging—they tracked it all.
"There's a pack of Laserdons nearby. We'll have to tweak our route a bit."
"You can actually see that?"
"If you've been working this ground for over twenty years, you'd better be able to see it."
Thanks to the information agents who analyzed and calculated everything in real time, we crossed the chaotic, territory-torn forest without a single hitch. They truly deserved to be called the North's elite. At least when it came to monster-related problems, the Empire's Special Affairs Department, the Holy Kingdom's Tribunal, the South's Blades of Night, and the East's Eyes of the Sun would all have to yield a step. Even I, who relied on the power of Mystery, would have run into trouble several times, but they handled it effortlessly. That proved their worth.
After crossing the forest where territories shifted hour by hour due to the adult Nepentula's presence, signs that we had entered its domain began appearing everywhere.
"Fiber threads are caught on the trees. This must be the boundary it marked for its territory."
"So that's how it marks its domain."
Neon, who had been carefully examining the Nepentula's markers, suddenly noticed something odd. The growth rate of the plants outside and inside the boundary, based on the fiber threads hanging from the trees, was markedly different.
"Wait, why do the plants look like this?"
"Because they're inside the Nepentula's territory."
Neon quickly pieced together the reason from my answer.
"Is this that so-called natural domination ability?"
"Exactly. Nepentula possesses the power to control plants, with a particular specialization in accelerating growth."
The forest's natural recovery rate was incredible, but not to the point where saplings sprouted directly over broken stumps. Yet the plants within the Nepentula's domain were different. Fresh saplings were rising from trunks destroyed mere days ago. Grass and flowers even pushed through soil compacted by the trampling of massive monsters.
Having witnessed plants growing in real time, Neon wore an expression of pure disbelief.
"Does this even make sense? If they grow too fast, shouldn't they collapse under their own weight?"
"That's why monster abilities are classified separately from magic and Mystery. They're simply too alien."
"What an absurd power," Neon marveled at my explanation.
It really was conceptually different from both. I finally understood what Delian had meant when he said it felt too raw to call it Mystery, yet its methods couldn't be explained as magic.
"Let's move in. An information agent is in danger—we don't have time to hesitate."
Having confirmed we'd entered its territory, we advanced without reservation. The deeper we traveled into the adult Nepentula's domain, the more dramatically the plants' growth rate changed. What had merely been slightly accelerated growth before now happened visibly in real time. Plants that shouldn't exist in this region were sprouting everywhere. Some of them were ingredients for elixirs or near-elixirs.
Taking it all in, I murmured in quiet admiration.
"Nepentula is certainly dangerous, but it's an equally captivating monster."
"If we could manage them properly, we'd never have to worry about elixir shortages again."
"The moment it senses even the slightest use of its territory, instead of elixirs it grows nightmarish poisonous herbs and man-eating plants. What can you do?"
I silently agreed with the adventurers chatting behind us. The North had tried countless methods to solve its chronic elixir shortage. One of the most promising had been cultivating them using Nepentula, but the creature hadn't earned the nickname Tyrant for nothing.
It detected intruders the instant they stepped into its domain and chased them to the death. The moment it felt exploited, it would transform every plant in its territory into a vision of hell on earth. Herbs that melted nerves on contact. Mushrooms that spread parasitic spores through the air. Flowers that fired brain-melting beams the instant they were looked at, using corpses as fertilizer. Man-eating plants that moved like pseudo-monsters.
The hellscape that taught you exactly what nature's malice looked like killed everything that entered its borders. To clear all those threats and harvest the elixirs would require at least Gold-class adventurers, but committing such elite forces created more loss than gain. After all, Gold-class fighters were needed to hunt high-ranking monsters.
"That's a trace left by our junior."
"I see signs of the Nepentula as well."
While moving, the lead information agents spotted white powder on a tree and slowed their pace. Since we'd found the information agent's mark, both the agent and the Nepentula engaged in a chase should be nearby.
Yet for a place where a pursuit was supposedly underway, the territory was eerily quiet. That made sense. The truly terrifying thing about a Nepentula was its stealth, which didn't match its enormous size.
"They must be in the middle of a chase right about now."
"Let's hurry. There's no telling what tricks the Nepentula is preparing."
Since we'd come this close, it was the adventurers' turn. Following the route the information agents indicated, we spotted a man moving desperately through the underbrush. His ragged breathing suggested he'd been chased right to the edge of his limits.
Wearing a robe that blended with the surrounding terrain, the man had been dodging secretly approaching vines when he spotted us. His eyes widened.
"You're...?!"
"Kiiiiik!"
At the same moment, the Nepentula that appeared behind him leaped forward like a launched arrow. It looked ready to seize the man, but a storm of shards slammed into it first.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The Ikelos summoned from the magic circle fused into one and shot forward fiercely, stopping its leap cold. While the Ikelos bought us time, we pulled the man back. He smiled bitterly.
"I'm sorry. I was supposed to help the adventurers, yet here I am receiving help instead."
"What's wrong with receiving help? We've been on the receiving end this whole time. It's nice to finally return the favor."
"I'll make sure this doesn't happen again."
"That's how growth works—by learning as you go."
He was clearly younger than the information agents who'd accompanied us. His career had to be shorter than theirs, who had been active for at least ten years. Even so, lasting this long against a Nepentula proved the man was a first-rate expert.
We handed him over to the information agents and stepped forward with the adventurers. The man retreated and offered a warning.
"Be careful. It's not alone."
"Not alone?"
"It has subordinates. Or perhaps I should say servants. I confirmed it controls three young Nepentulas."
"You risked discovery just to learn that?"
"I'm an information agent of the Adventurers Guild. For the safety of the North, I'm prepared to face this level of danger. I left clues in multiple locations in case I was caught."
So that was the final piece of information he'd tried to uncover. To the man's words, filled with pride, I answered by quietly thumping my chest. The intelligence gained at the risk of death had been worth it.
Learning the adult's hidden card sent a chill down our spines. Nepentulas were plants by nature and hermaphroditic, laying eggs on their own. I'd assumed there was zero chance of cooperation since even the young were eager to devour their own family. I never imagined the adult would forcibly drag its offspring along to use as tools.
That meant the adult's intelligence was exceptionally high compared to others of its kind.
"Ha. We prepared forces to take down a single adult, and now there are young ones too."
"Can we handle this by ourselves?"
"Even if we can't, we have to. It's not like this is the first or second time we've faced unexpected variables."
We couldn't lose confidence over something like this. While not common, these were the kinds of variables every adventurer encountered a few times in their career. This one was particularly severe, but if we couldn't endure it, we might as well quit the adventurer life.
"Adela and I will handle the adult. The rest of you take care of the young."
"Should I join the young ones' side too?"
"Your role is the most critical. The adult might maintain its senses even after seeing your black magic, but the young won't. The more attention you draw, the higher the adventurers' chances of taking them down."
"Huu... Guess I need to show them the true essence of moving casting I learned at the guild."
Neon let out a heavy sigh and shook off his tension. This battle would hinge on his performance. Still, I wasn't worried.
"I'm counting on you, Neon."
"Don't worry. I can't complain about difficulty when it's just the two of you facing the adult."
After all, among everyone I knew, no one was better at evasion-tanking and drawing aggro than Neon. We'd take down the adult first if possible, but it was hard to imagine Neon falling to the young Nepentulas. If that were likely, he would've been caught long ago during the months he spent fleeing from young Nepentulas in the past.
Even without learning the Northern breathing method, Neon had survived several months against young Nepentulas. He confidently raised his black magic.
"Stop hiding like cowards and come at me all at once!"
"Kik!"
"Kiiiiik!"
At Neon's shout, the three young Nepentulas that had been stealthily hiding in the bushes revealed themselves. Despite their massive bodies and heavy legs, they made no sound—not even the rustle of grass.
At the appearance of these spine-chilling hunters, Neon and the adventurers broke into cold sweats yet kept their smiles.
"I'll buy as much time as I can."
"If we survive this, I'll feed you until your stomach bursts."
"Summoner and black mage, we're trusting you two."
With those words, the battle between the adventurers and the young Nepentulas began in earnest.
Confirming the fight had fully engaged behind us, I gazed at the shard storm with calm, lowered eyes. Through the fiercely raging tempest, I could see the adult Nepentula crouched as if dead. It looked torn and broken everywhere, practically on the verge of death. But if mere wounds like those could fell a Nepentula, I wouldn't have needed to step forward at all.
"Aren't you going to stand up soon? I know you're waiting for an opening inside that shard storm."
I pulled the sword-spear from my inventory and rested it on my shoulder. As if understanding my words, the crouched adult Nepentula slowly rose. Its body was pristine, as though the wounds had never existed. No—thin cuts formed wherever shards grazed it, but they healed instantly. That was only natural. The injuries it had displayed while crouched were self-inflicted.
"You were trying to lure us into carelessness, weren't you? But every single shard attacking you is an eye. If wounds appear without you attacking, the information naturally gets passed to me."
"Kik."
"And above all, you flinched when Neon raised his black magic, didn't you?"
The adult Nepentula, which had been positioning itself leisurely within the storm, let out a short cry of disappointment that its ploy had failed, then began approaching us. Its steps were utterly relaxed, as if taking a casual stroll. Yet Adela and I instinctively sensed the threat and rolled swiftly to either side.
At the same moment, the Nepentula that had been walking toward us collapsed, only to burst up from the exact spot where we'd been standing.
"Heh."
When even its final prepared move failed, the adult Nepentula's eyes finally locked onto me and Adela. It was as if we'd earned the right to be its opponents. What was truly terrifying was how one of its eyes remained fixed on Neon until the very end.
Neon must have felt that intense gaze, because he kept glancing our way with a slightly sickened expression.
"Argo! Adela! I'm counting on you two! I mean it!"
"Kiiiiik!"
"Hik?!"
Chuckling at the sight, I charged straight toward the adult Nepentula.