Rippling Grass Under Crimson Moonlight
Under the rippling grass and crimson moonlight, dozens of grotesque shapes surged toward us. Grrrrr! They charged.
A perfect ambush. Forming a party with just mages, no scouts—how dangerous could it get?
"Siegurd! Punch through the front! Barrier up!"
I deployed the formula. A hemispherical barrier enveloped the entire party. But it was a close call. Before it could fully seal, five slipped through the gap.
Five that timed it perfectly, slipping in just before the shield from the front reached the rear.
"Evel!"
I whipped my head around and shouted urgently. They were lunging straight at her.
That's when it happened.
"You wicked abominations!"
Heinrich's voice cut in, laced with fury—like back in the warehouse. Sharp as a blade.
Fwaaah! A blinding flash stabbed at our eyes. Thin swords of light extended from his gauntlets, tracing dazzling crosses in the air.
Schwick! Not even a scream. The five monsters charging from behind were sliced like tofu and crumbled to ash.
"Rear is clear!"
Thud, thooong! Thud! The rest went berserk, hammering at the barrier. Plenty of them, but none packing enough punch to crack it.
Finally, I caught my breath and assessed the situation.
Lots of numbers, but individuals aren't that tough, huh?
The initial panic was all from the surprise. And yeah, their creepy looks didn't help.
Anyway, for a '2' on the die, they were pretty underwhelming. Way easier than the first-floor gatekeeper.
Which meant the dice somewhere in this grass were probably adding up to a total we hadn't spotted yet.
"Siegurd! No big deal! Just go wipe 'em out!"
"Excellent—!!"
With the rear secure, Siegurd bolted forward. I reached out, layering him with a combo of life and barrier magic for reinforcement.
He charged right up to the monsters' faces—then, without stepping out, raised his fist.
"No, idiot! Do it outside the barrier! Not from in here!"
"Raaagh—!"
"You maniac!"
Kabooom! My desperate plea came too late. Siegurd's brute fist slammed dead-center into the inside of my barrier—the one I'd just reinforced to the brim.
Craaaack—clang!
"You fucking moron!"
Couldn't help the curse. The sturdy hemisphere shattered like glass, fragments spraying everywhere.
And through the bursting mana shards—Pop! Crunch! The monsters plastered to the surface got blasted by the shockwave and exploded. The ash piles they left scattered, blotting out the red moonlight.
"Hahaha! Did you see that? The might of Siegurd de Lavallier himself—!"
Siegurd bellowed triumphantly. Front cleared.
But the aftermath was the problem. No more barrier. Meaning our defenses on the flanks and rear collapsed entirely.
As if waiting for it, the lurkers pounced, ripping open their jagged maws in unison.
"Evel!"
"Got it!"
She thrust both hands left. Craaack! A brutal freeze that could ice the air itself—her signature now, flash-freezing targets alive into ice sculptures.
The left-flank monsters turned mid-air into stark white statues, shattering to ash before they hit the ground.
"The right flank is mine."
Heinrich stepped up opposite. Fwaaah! Blinding spears of light fanned out behind him. The beams swept the right side clean. Pierced by holy lances, they oxidized to ash without a whimper.
Left and right cleared. Rear was all that remained—my turn.
I drew mana for a fire formula, then paused.
Wait. Fire magic in a grass field? Bad idea.
Grrrrr! They didn't miss my hesitation. Drooling from hideous maws, they accelerated terrifyingly, right in my face.
"Iris!"
Evel's cry faded. Heinrich's attack flashed in my mind.
They crumbled on contact with light. Holy or purification's their kryptonite.
Obvious fix. I twisted the fire framework into a purification formula.
Snap! White light burst forth.
Fwaaaah! Bathing in it, their hides melted instantly. Clean evaporation, no screams. The horde scattered as ash before hitting dirt.
Front, left, right, rear. All down.
Plink, plink. Just mana stones pattering onto the grass.
#
Rustle, crunch. Dark night, waist-high dense grass. Six mages crawled beneath it.
"This is insane."
Ever seen The Gleaners? That masterpiece of poor peasants bent double all day picking up dropped grains—yeah, feeling their misery in my bones right now. Augh.
Who designed this damn labyrinth? If you're making it game-like, add auto-loot to inventory for monster drops. Crawling around picking mana stones? What a joke.
This user-unfriendly crap won't get good reviews.
"Ughhh."
I stretched my aching back. Siegurd peeked from afar, griping.
"See? What'd I tell you? Worst place for loot pickup ever!"
"Shut up and pick."
Whose fault was this mess? You smashed my barrier too, turning it into a free-for-all. Scattered the stones everywhere.
Wanted to half-ass it and bail, but no dice—literally. Doal's missing die was here somewhere. Had to find that at least.
While rummaging, Evel tugged my sleeve.
"Iris."
"Yeah?"
"Look at this."
I turned. Couldn't help but gawk. Her arms overflowed with gleaming mana stones.
"Whoa."
"I did good?"
"You did great, Evel!"
Come to think of it, she had a knack for scavenging. Lately she'd been hauling weird junk daily—thought her luck sucked. But here she delivers!
"And this too."
She held out her tiny palm. Doal's lost six-sided die sat there.
"Nice!!"
"I did good?"
"Super good!!"
I whooped, scooping her up for a massive hug and head-rub frenzy.
"Everyone! Found the die!"
"Ooh!"
"Finally!"
"Whisper whisper!"
The party perked up, heads popping from the grass. Evel puffed her chest proudly with a hmph.
So cute and clever—I hugged her again. SSR pull after ages. Ten hugs wouldn't cut it.
...Wait, is that right?
Nah. The die was ours anyway, stones headed for our pockets regardless. Just lost 'cause of this grass.
Whatever, good vibes are good. No need to rain on their parade.
Point was, we recovered the die.
"Evel, what number was showing when you picked it up?"
"2."
Got it. I nodded. Other dice were 2s too. So those monsters were total '4' difficulty.
A bit higher than layer one average. Makes sense.
I handed the die to Doal, brushed grass juice and dirt off my hands, and stood.
Mission accomplished—no more back-breaking crawl.
"Die secured. Let's wrap up loot and move."
Party dragged their weary bodies through the grass.
Rustle, rustle. This cursed stuff whipped at waists even walking. Hindered loot, blocked sight—total nuisance. And after that ambush, paranoia city.
I addressed the group.
"Everyone."
"?"
"Do we really need this grass?"
"What're you on about?" Siegurd shot back.
No answer needed. Red mana churned at my fingertips. Formula: fire. Form: flood.
Flames unspooled from my right hand.
"Miss Iris? You don't mean…."
Heinrich's alarmed question—too late.
Snap!
Fire wave rolled forward.
Whoooosh!Cracklecrackle! Ignited fast. Crimson blaze rode the wind, spreading wide.
Dense thickets engulfed, heads drooping one by one into the dirt. Visibility opened up nicely.
Good so far.
But…
It's spreading a lot.
Unexpected side effect. Flames ballooned wildly. Straight line turned bushfire, devouring the whole plain.
Roooar! Vast grassland torched at once, thick black smoke billowing skyward. Smoke? More like smog blanketing everything.
Like slash-and-burn farming? Tried pioneering a path that way, but misjudged the scale.
Whiiiish! Wind picked up. Fire surged farther, a massive inferno visible from afar.
Luckily downwind, so party safe—but….
"You crazy bitch! Lighting fires willy-nilly—what's your plan if valuables burn up? You covering the losses?!"
Siegurd's curses flew right after.