Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Vegetation (4)
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I was pretty damn flustered myself.
Suddenly, this ominous black energy came flying at me, and I twisted my body desperately to dodge it, only to get hit dead-on with no damage whatsoever. After firing off that slash, my mana flow was unstable, so I couldn't even use the Ring of Nine Lives...
"......What the hell did you just do?"
I couldn't help but snap sharply at the demon woman.
"Y-You! How are you completely fine?!"
"????"
Instead, she pointed at me, her voice laced with shock.
What? Her reaction makes it seem like she did something...
[Elemental Resistance Lv. 4], [Magic Resistance Lv. 4], [Physical Enhancement Lv. 5], [Mental Enhancement Lv. 5]
Well, roughly speaking, these skills must've blocked it. Plenty of candidates come to mind. But even so, if these skills blocked it, there should at least be some minor effect... not zero impact at all...
"Ah."
That's when it hit me—one skill I still had active on myself.
[Sensory Block]: Hallucination block active.
'...Was that spell just now a hallucination magic?'
Even as I thought it, it seemed pretty convincing. If this woman cast the hallucination magic on the entire corridor and that door upstairs... then the spell she just used on me could be hallucination magic too.
'I don't know the details... but this is my chance!'
No intention of standing there dumbfounded. Confirming my body was still fine, I accelerated again and charged at the demon woman.
"N-No way!"
The woman, denying reality, swung her staff once more. The same black energy billowed out and shot toward me again.
This time, I kicked off the ground and leaped up, bounding straight to the ceiling to dodge the incoming black beam. Then I kicked off the ceiling and dropped right in front of the demon woman.
"Eek! Pó-nos!"
She staggered back, swinging her staff wildly. Unlike the previous black beams, the energy at the staff's tip exploded outward in all directions.
"Urk!"
It looked different from the spells before, so I hastily raised my sword to brace for the impact... but...
"????What the?"
Still, even after taking a direct hit from the magic, I was unscathed.
"I-Impossible! Even this spell?!"
"........."
No way—another hallucination spell?
I've closed the distance this far, and instead of protective or attack magic, she uses hallucination magic?
Still, no letting my guard down. Calmly raising my sword, I swung at the staff—that annoying obstacle first.
-Slash!
"......."
"...Aaaah! My staff!"
...No barrier? When I ambushed her earlier, a barrier definitely blocked me, so I figured she'd use one...
Toward the woman clutching her snapped staff in shock and screaming, I lashed out with a kick. It met no resistance and struck her body clean.
-Thud!
"Guhk! Kek... cough..."
With [Limit Break] mobilized in that kick, she tumbled backward, coughing violently while tears and spit drooled from her face.
From the resistance at my toe, her robe seemed enchanted with some protective magic... but...
"Hey."
"Th-This... this is a dream. Yeah. Did I inhale spores while tending the plants? Maybe I forgot today's antidote..."
For a second, I wondered if it was a clever ploy to make me drop my guard, but seeing her plug her ears, drool flowing from her mouth, ignoring my calls and denying reality... even I felt deflated.
"What, no attack or defense magic? You're a demon, so that energy earlier seemed like demonic energy..."
".....Can you see me?"
At that, the woman—who'd been muttering to herself—stared at me in disbelief.
"Y-Yeah... how could I not?"
"Huh? Dark purple hair, horns above your temples..."
"Ah! Aaaah!"
At that, the demon woman let out a shriek and spewed incantations from her mouth.
"Pó-nos! Ýp-nos! Gargaláo!"
-Thud!
"Guhk...!"
"Shut up."
I drove my fist into her abdomen as she tried to deny reality and cast more spells. Spit poured from her mouth, her eyes rolled back, and she passed out.
That last desperate spell seemed like hallucination magic too...
'...No way she can't use any other magic?'
Even as I considered it myself, it seemed unlikely.
Still, no room for carelessness. I drew my sword and held it to her throat, but...
"......Hmm..."
Instead, I sheathed it and pulled out a gag, stuffing it into her mouth to prevent chanting.
"There might be others inside."
In case there were more enemies deeper in the passage, I'd take her hostage for now.
Regardless of it not working on me, the fact she hallucinated the entire space meant she was skilled—high-value personnel, probably.
With that, I grabbed her hair and dragged her unconscious body along the floor as I advanced.
-.....K......Ah....
As I dragged the woman by her hair and moved forward, a faint groan reached my ears.
I instantly went on high alert, but the faint sound showed no sign of approaching—instead, it grew even quieter.
'A prison or something inside?'
It sounded like someone on the verge of death, so I figured there might be a jail holding others and pressed on... but...
[Greenhouse]
'.....Greenhouse?'
-....K...─....A...ah....
Following the groans led me to a door labeled "Greenhouse."
'...Greenhouse—as in, a place to grow flowers?'
There was a [Seed Storage] earlier, so a flower-growing space wouldn't be odd...
-Click.
The door was naturally locked. I tugged the handle once, then pulled a Portaling from my inventory, attached it to the door, and entered.
And I regretted my rash action.
"......Wh-What... is this..."
Since coming to this world, I'd seen plenty of horrors compared to my Earth days.
Dying people were routine; I'd killed some myself. Sneaking through labyrinths with [Stealth], I'd seen corpses mauled by monsters or male adventurers being raped by male monsters—countless gruesome sights.
"Kuh... uh... ah..."
"........A......Ah....."
The first thing I saw was a pit large enough for several people. Around it: a desk with scattered books, a storage box for ingredients, and a small wardrobe with clothes in the corner.
As if someone had been living here.
".....In a place like this?"
After scanning everything, I reluctantly shifted my gaze to the pit in the room's center.
Scattered haphazardly inside were... people? No, could you even call them that? Green vines sprouted from their bodies everywhere, plant roots burrowing through them—could you call that a human form?
Visually, they looked more plant than person.
One odd detail: all males.
And the plants rooted directly into their bodies were...
"Kieee..."
"........."
Another person.
Or more precisely, roots taking human shape.
Like they'd devoured a whole person, the massive roots twisted and clumped into humanoid forms. Up close, low screams threatened me.
"Urgh..."
Hearing those screams made my head ring faintly. Simultaneously, [Mental Enhancement] and [Curse Resistance] activated.
'Screams that shock the mind and curse just by hearing...'
Eerie screams, roots mimicking human shapes.
"...Mandrake?"
Mandrake. Or Mandragora.
A real narcotic poison plant on Earth, but famously a fantasy plant too.
Roots shaped like humans; uprooting them unleashes screams that drive listeners mad or kill them.
They looked just like that myth brought to life. I dry-heaved and backed away from the mandrake.
"Ughhh..."
Amid the mandrakes' low screams, a real human groan sounded.
Turning toward it, I spotted a young-looking man covered in marks like flesh torn off here and there.
"A demon too?"
Small horns on his head; collapsed on the floor, groaning. I approached.
Despite tear-like marks, far better off than the others turned to mandrake fertilizer. To assess quickly, I got close and checked his wounds...
-Plop.
"This?"
A seed rolled from his wound. Given the surroundings, I could guess what plant...
-.....Sizzle...
"Huh?"
As the seed fell away, familiar steam rose, and the holes in his body began filling in ever so slightly.
"This is... [Regeneration] skill?"
Stunned by the unexpected sight, I glanced at the desk in the corner, picked up the books, and skimmed them.
'Let's see... research logs, mandrake—yep, actually called mandrake. An encyclopedia on them too...'
My expression soured as I read. By the time I'd gone through the key parts, I stood before the woman I'd dragged by her hair—Mystic.
"You're useless."
Not like I was playing hero of justice or anything...
This is just too disgusting.
"......Urgh..."
Mystic clutched her throbbing head and opened her eyes.
"Awake?"
At the man's voice by her ear, she jerked her head up. The man whose hallucinations failed on him stared down coldly.
"!!! Y-You!"
"Still haven't grasped the situation?"
...Stared down?
"Wh-What the hell is this?"
Panicking as her body wouldn't move, Mystic looked down.
Her body was buried in the ground from the waist down—like fixed in place. No matter how she struggled, it wouldn't budge.
Only then did she survey around and realize the space was familiar. This was...
"My greenhouse?"
.......And for some reason, no sensation below her waist either.