Some of the natural trees are absolutely enormous. At regular intervals, usually a few hundred metres from each other, these truly massive trees rise out of the swampy water and spread their branches impossibly wide. Giant fleshy leaves the size of a lounge room spread huge amounts of shade everywhere. From below, strange shadows shift about the branches and foliage, so I don’t attempt climbing up at this point. I’ll wait until I’ve managed to scope out a little more info.
Oooo, here we go.
Nearby is a vibrant flower with several dark green pods on vines hovering around the main trunk of the plant. The flower itself is beautiful. Shades of yellow and orange rippling across the petals in a strangely hypnotic pattern, almost as if the colours themselves are moving. I almost feel a… a lull… coming over me… as if… tired…
HACK!
Not today! Vigorously I shake my body to cast off the lethargy starting to wash over me due to the influence of that damn plant. This must be some kind of mind affecting ability. Perhaps caused by the pattern itself or maybe spores in the air.
Thank goodness for a high Will stat!
Ok… This flower is going to get it. To learn about the creatures of this Expanse, I must engage in true diplomacy, monster style. Which of course means killing and eating.
Calling on my sub-brains, I have them weave the water construct from the Mana in my core. I’ve been practicing with this transformation shape whenever I get the chance, whipping it up and then letting it dissolve so I can whip it up again. Practice makes perfect as they say, and my time has been steadily going down. There’s still a long time to go before I reach what I would consider mastery. Though I’m satisfied with my current progress.
Before long, a bright and shiny new construct is glimmering inside my head. My brains get to work operating it, feeding raw Mana in one end and producing the glittering blue energy out the other side. I don’t think water Mana is going to be super effective against this plant, but since I’m practicing it, I need to keep using it in order to become familiar with its uses.
[Mana Transformation (III) has reached Level 3.]
Haha! There we go. Practicing the Transformation magic is definitely reaping the benefits of experience at least. Particularly when I’ve been using it in combat.
All right, flower. Time to get hosed.
79. Battling the Marsh
Deftly I use my sub-brains to weave together two water bolts, leaving one brain to maintain and operate the Transformation construct, as I lie patiently in wait like the great hunter I am. The flower has no way to detect me with my Advanced Stealth active and my positioning being on point.
[Water Magic Affinity has reached Level 2.]
Nice!
I need to keep practicing these spells in order to rapidly raise my proficiency. The power of my current evolution is all in my capacity to utilise magic, so I have to grind these skills until I can fling spells about with practiced ease.
Gradually the bolts weave together and I take careful aim before unleashing them all at once.
POW! POW!
Two tear-shaped orbs of water zoom through the air and smash into the flower, hitting the stem and the centre of the petals directly. The impacts cannon into the plant-type monster, rocking it back and forth on its stem, reeling from the sheer force of the strike.
If I imagined before that using water magic on a plant was like giving it a gentle sprinkling, I’ve been convinced otherwise with this attack. It’s more like hurling a block of concrete. Unlike fire, which causes damage by burning, or electricity, which zaps an organism whilst also burning them, water doesn’t seem to have any inherently harmful properties. It’s important to remember though, when water is accelerated to sufficient speeds it becomes harder and more difficult to break up.
Rather than thinking of the water bolt as throwing a ball of water, it’s more like throwing a ball of metal. The sheer kinetic force is what does the damage rather than any particular property of the Mana.
Having been smashed with two water bolts, the flower is reeling, its vines desperately flailing about as it attempts to seek out the source of that vicious strike. The fun has only begun, flower, I’ve got two more bolts on the way!
POW! POW!
CRASH!
The bolts collide with tremendous force against the stem of the flower. The impacts are nearly simultaneous, and the flower is knocked straight to the ground, the fibres of the stem starting to tear and split where the bolts struck. If I were to keep attacking that spot, the stem may simply snap, killing the monster directly. I almost feel bad. This is a rough way to fight. It’s like I’m bludgeoning the thing to death by hurling rocks at it.
And thanks to that last strike, the flower seems to have gotten a bead on my location. As it strains to right itself, the four pods surrounding the central flower swivel in my direction and open, revealing a bizarre, mouth-like arrangement on the inside. Just as I’m wondering what the heck is going to happen, the mouths open wide and shriek!
YOWCH!
Super high-pitched, almost inaudible sound waves batter against my antennae. It’s a sonic attack! From a damn plant? The sound tunnels straight through me and begins to rattle my brain. A wooziness comes over me as the persistent sound waves try to stun my mind into rest.
Having unleashed its sonic screech, the main body of the flower presents its full glorious petal arrangement. It immediately begins to employ that strangely hypnotic rippling technique, only this time it’s far more potent. The flower puts all of its effort toward lulling my mind.
Small vines creep nearer across the ground, likely to seize the stunned and mesmerized prey, and drag it back to the flower for consumption. In your dreams, petal face!
POW! POW!
Using my strong Will, I’m able to resist even Tiny’s ear shattering scream. As if some dumb flower could hope to match that volume or potency. Concerning the petal dance, now that I know it’s coming, I steel myself against it long enough to form a few more water bolts.
The two bolts smash into the flower right on the stem and shatter the plant fibres completely. Stem broken, the flower topples to the ground. Take that!
[You have defeated Level 14 Fascinatio Folium Flos.]
[You have gained XP.]
Ha!
Defeating a plant with water is an odd feeling.
Too bad for this flower my strengths matched up very well against its own. With my potent mental defences, it isn’t easy to hypnotise me. Tiny might be caught in its snares, but not this ant!
Keeping low and trying not to attract any more attention, I creep over and start eating the flower, keeping an eye on my surroundings.
[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Fascinatio Folium Flos. You are awarded one Biomass.]
[Basic Profile of the Fascinatio Folium Flos unlocked.]
[Fascinatio Folium Flos: Bewitching Petal Flower. This plant-type monster uses a combination of powerful mental attacks to lull its opponent into a stupor, allowing it to use its relatively weak physical body to consume the prey. This monster is weak defensively and can be overcome with surprise, but be careful of its sonic scream.]