The Fiery Friend Makes His Entrance
Adela was the first to launch an attack. She lowered her body, transformed her skin into chitinous armor, and extended her claws to their full length before leaping forward like a rabbit. Having absorbed countless genes and accumulated experience up to this point, she had grown on an entirely different level compared to when we first met in the nest. Dodging the plant tendrils that surged at her from every direction, she finally managed to slash one of the immature Nepentula's legs with her claws.
Her speed was so extreme that even after landing, she slid across the ground for a moment before finally coming to a stop. The immature Nepentula simply shook its severed leg as if it were ticklish. Aside from a few droplets of blood, there wasn't a single visible wound.
While Adela puffed out her cheeks in complaint, I charged forward next and challenged the immature Nepentula head-on. I used Ikelos to form armor over my body and summoned the Rune Golem nearby to deploy a Gravity Field. The moment the immature Nepentula's body floated up and lost its ability to react, I severed its right leg with my sword-spear. The ferocious spinning aura synergized perfectly with the Dragon Slayer's Sword-Spear, making the feat possible.
Gravity Field
"Kiiik."
However, the immature Nepentula simply stared at me with a bored expression. For a normal monster, that would have been a wound capable of turning the tide of battle, but when it lightly shook its severed leg, the surface swelled rapidly and a new leg formed. Adela gasped in horror at the sight.
When I delivered the bitter truth to Adela, who was staring in disbelief, her face scrunched up completely. It was only natural she'd feel wronged—after all, we'd cut off its leg, yet the only result was a bit of spilled blood. But the story changed when you looked around the immature Nepentula.
"It absorbed the life force of the surrounding plants through the legs touching the ground."
At my words, Adela examined the area near the immature Nepentula. Sure enough, the nearby grass and trees had all withered. It was clear evidence that the Nepentula had drained their life force. That was what made these creatures so terrifying. To them, plants were basically stamina potions.
I warned Adela about what to watch out for and stared at the creature. Thanks to our training, she had grown strong enough to sever the immature Nepentula's legs, but I had no idea how the real fight would unfold once it began in earnest. The immature Nepentula, which had been gauging our level by offering up its legs, would finally start moving seriously.
As if to prove my point, its eyes darted around before locking onto me.
"......!"
The instant our eyes met, a chilling sensation ran down the back of my neck. I immediately spun around and held my sword-spear horizontally like a shield.
Chiiiiik!
The sword-spear barely managed to block the venomous liquid fired from behind. The dangerous hissing sound coming from the venom eating away at the aura made me click my tongue.
If the Unchanging attribute hadn't been on my weapon, my body would have melted too. From the reaction, it looked like it had mixed corrosive poison with acidic liquid. I had no idea how this bizarre fantasy world worked that plants could produce both. From the way the Nepentula used it, it really did seem like the substance was extracted from plants.
Anyway, the moment I blocked the attack, the Nepentula that had fired the acid charged at me. It had confirmed my sword-spear was still intact and attacked before I could respond. The massive plant-spider transformed its legs into sharp points and stabbed down. I deflected it by tilting my sword-spear at an angle and slipped inside its guard.
Naturally, the nearby plants tried to bind my feet on their own, but it was useless.
Paht!
"Kiiik?"
Using Blink to teleport above the Nepentula's head, I pulled Ratta out of my pocket at the same time.
Ratta, who had secretly gathered the Mystery of electricity inside my pocket, raised both hands. A massive current poured down onto the Nepentula's head. Even though she looked like an ordinary squirrel, she was a squirrel who had awakened a Mystery. Thanks to following me around, scavenging various things, and growing in a safe environment, Ratta's lightning had become powerful enough that even decent monsters couldn't ignore it.
"Kiiik!"
The immature Nepentula, struck directly by lightning, staggered. If it had been any other body part, it might have ignored the pain and counterattacked, but because it hit the head, all eight of its eyes had been scorched. It wasn't ordinary lightning, but an attack manifested through the Mystery of lightning, so it seemed to have inflicted considerable pain on the creature.
It was recovering at an incredible speed, but we weren't about to just stand by and watch. The creature manipulated the nearby plants. Trees came to life, flowers spewed hallucinogenic powder, and venom shot out from the grass. Since it wasn't fully grown yet, using this level of plant manipulation should have been a strain, but the fact that it was doing so meant the damage it took from Ratta was no joke. It was only natural since the Mystery of lightning had penetrated it.
I couldn't miss this opportunity. I summoned another Ikelos in the air to use as a foothold, leaped down like a diving arrow, and shouted.
Adela, who had read my signal, charged in without hesitation. Tree trunks writhed and venom sprayed from all directions, but none of it had much effect on her. She had already edited the genes of countless monsters, making her body resistant to most poisons. Minor wounds could be endured with a monster's natural toughness and regenerative power, so even when tree tendrils pierced her chitinous shell, she simply sliced them off with her claws.
The moment she reached the creature's leg, she extended her claws and sliced cleanly. Suddenly, the Nepentula's leg swelled dramatically and became so hard that she couldn't penetrate any further. The instant I saw that, I summoned Umbra from the Nepentula's shadow.
Originally, Umbra could only be summoned from my own shadow, but after investing two months' worth of experience points into my skills, Umbra appeared and immediately slashed the Nepentula's abdomen. At the same time, I drove my sword-spear into its head with the full momentum of my fall.
Kwajak!
"Kyaaaak!"
No, it wasn't the head—it had pierced the shoulder instead. Even though its eyes should have been completely burned and unable to see anything, it had still twisted its body at the last second to avoid a vital point. It must have sensed the space through the plants and reacted accordingly. For a newly independent immature specimen with absolutely no combat experience, the fact that it managed to dodge the attack showed why it had earned the title of tyrant.
"Kiiik!"
The Nepentula didn't fall even after taking such a blow. Despite its body being in tatters, it burned through its stored nutrients to heal the head wound and pulled in every plant in the vicinity. Then it drained all the life force contained within those plants. As the plants lost their vitality, its remaining wounds fully recovered.
We'd finally created an opening, but we couldn't finish it off, and now it had recovered again. If this were a game boss pattern, players would have flooded the forums with complaints.
Even while struggling desperately, it had protected its head until the very end, preventing a finishing blow. Well, even if we had destroyed the head, if we gave it time to recover, it would have healed anyway, so this situation would have repeated.
Having tasted the Nepentula's regenerative power, Adela readily agreed to the idea of finishing it quickly even if it was dangerous. It seemed even she thought the creature's regeneration was over the line. I whispered a rough outline of the plan to her and got into position. The immature Nepentula watched us warily. It made sense. Among all the monsters we'd faced so far, this immature Nepentula was by far the most troublesome opponent. Without the right countermeasures or equipment, we would have taken serious injuries, so we decided to hurry.
The adventurers were still holding up for now, but if we dragged this out any longer, there was no telling what might happen.
Leaving the briefly replying Adela behind, I kicked off the ground. As I charged toward the rapidly approaching Nepentula with my sword-spear aimed like a lance charge, its body swelled up and split into five identical copies. I stabbed my sword-spear into one of them, and its body burst like a balloon, revealing an interior filled with acidic liquid.
I blocked the pouring acid with my sword-spear and made a dumbfounded face.
Even while panicking at its absurd ability, my body moved mechanically, destroying the clones one by one. Even if they were just empty shells, if they gathered venom and fired it, I couldn't ignore them. The moment I destroyed the clones to block that, the real Nepentula, which had finished preparing, slipped into my blind spot and charged.
It was a perfect strike achieved by pushing its hunter instincts to the limit. If I took the attack like this, it would be dangerous enough to cause a fatal wound, but—
Unfortunately for it, I had predicted the attack. After all, I'd deliberately created an opening so it would deliver a decisive strike. While the immature Nepentula charged at me, Adela, who had been watching for the right moment, called out to Neon for help.
At her request, Neon dodged the attacks of the baby Nepentula and somehow managed to fire a dark energy ball in our direction. Adela suppressed the instinctive revulsion she felt from the dark energy ball and covered her hand with a material that mana couldn't pass through. Then she grabbed the dark energy ball and threw it at the immature Nepentula.
"Kiiik?"
The immature Nepentula, which had been focusing all its nerves on me, instinctively locked its eyes onto the dark energy ball.
"Gruooooong!"
While it was distracted for a brief moment, the Irregular Laserdon that had appeared from the Water Realm bit down on it with its massive fangs and dragged it into the Water Realm. The creature thrashed wildly in panic at the sudden ambush, but being pulled into the Water Realm was faster.
Confirming that it had successfully been moved to the Water Realm, Adela and I cheered and followed it inside.
The interior of the Water Realm was an extremely barren space. There were a few patches of grass here and there, but compared to a forest, it was practically a wasteland. While the immature Nepentula looked around in confusion after being transported to such a place, I stroked the head of the Laserdon, which was baring its teeth warily at the creature.
"Gruong."
From what I could tell, it had been injected with venom, but it seemed capable of neutralizing it. Still, to prevent the poison from spreading quickly, I sent it back. Then, as I slowly approached the immature Nepentula, its eyes, which had been scanning the surroundings in confusion, fixed on me. It must have realized I was the one who had dragged it here, because its gaze was filled with hostility.
"Kiiik!"
It was a shame that the Laserdon, which could have been a huge help in battle, had to retire. But it didn't matter. There was a best friend I could summon without worrying about the surroundings being destroyed.
[Krrrrrr!]
As if my friend had finished preparing as well, it let out a powerful roar and revealed its presence. Just from hearing the cry, the temperature inside the Water Realm rose. Sensing something was wrong, the immature Nepentula charged, but it was too late.
[Kraraaaaa!]
A massive summoning circle formed in the air, tearing through the rift as the Lesser Dragon emerged and bit down on the immature Nepentula's torso. My fiery friend, proudly displaying its red scales that flickered with flames, hurled the immature Nepentula far away and announced its arrival to the world.