Shaan tried to untangle the vines from his legs, but to no avail. His entire body was now numb. Even moving his lips was difficult, and the only part of his body he could still move was his eyes.
[Shaan! Hold on. I’m coming to help you!]
Through the corner of his eye, Shaan saw Robin Hood trying to stop the vines that had wrapped around Shaan’s legs using his arrows, but the other vines kept blocking Robin Hood’s attacks, stopping him from getting close enough to help.
’This is bad... if this keeps up... I... I’ll...’
In an instant, the vine around his leg snapped apart, and his body slammed into the ground. He widened his eyes as he watched the cut vine spill thick, dark purple fluid. It writhed violently across the dirt for a few seconds before falling still.
"What... what just happened?"
Shaan turned his gaze to the side and saw a woman with blonde hair standing tall beside him. Through his blurred vision, he saw one of her hands gripping a slim sword, now soaked in the purple liquid that came from the massive plant’s vine.
"Na-Nalira? That means Nalira has succeeded—"
"Chelsie, check on Shaan and use your healing skill to treat him." Nalira gripped her sword tightly. "I’ll handle all the attacks from this giant plant while you focus on helping him."
"Uhmm... okay, Lira."
Without hesitation, Nalira dashed forward and slashed at the incoming vines again. As soon as she moved, Chelsie turned her attention to Shaan, who looked even weaker than before.
"Oh no. Shaan’s body has gone numb, and I think the plant’s poison caused it. My healing spell won’t work properly. I need to give him an antidote as soon as possible," Chelsie immediately took something out of her bag. "It should be around here somewhere, but where—Ah, here it is." Chelsie took out a glass bottle containing a light blue liquid. "I’m going to pour this into your mouth, and you must swallow it, so the antidote can work fully."
Chelsie uncapped the bottle and gently poured the liquid into Shaan’s mouth. Within seconds, a strong bitterness spread across his mouth. It tasted very bitter, which made him feel nauseous every time the liquid ran down in his throat. He desperately wanted to spit it out, but he couldn’t. If he did it, the antidote wouldn’t work, and the poison would only get worse.
’No, no. I have to swallow all of this. I have to!’
Shaan kept swallowing the antidote without stopping until he emptied the bottle. A warm sensation rushed through his body the moment he finished it, and the stiffness in his limbs began to fade. Slowly, he started regaining control over his body.
"Thank goodness the potion worked." Chelsie sighed in relief as she watched Shaan move his fingers. "Wait, Shaan. Now, I’ll recite my healing spell," Chelsie directed her wand toward Shaan. "Just hold on, Shaan."
Instantly, a golden yellow light shone brightly from Chelsie’s healing spell symbol, surrounding Shaan’s body perfectly. All the wounds and bruises covering Shaan’s body slowly faded until he was finally back to normal.
"Thank you, Chelsie. Without your help, I might’ve died from the plant’s poison."
"Uhmm... I’m glad I could help, Shaan." Chelsie quickly covered her blushing face with her hair.
"Now, we need to help Nalira and Robin Hood defeat that giant plant." Shaan stood up slowly. "Damn, but this creature is so strong, and we have no idea where its weak point is."
"Uhmm... leave it to me. I can help," Chelsie said. "Carmen, use your ability to track down the weak point of this giant plant."
[Alright, Romani girl. Oculus Fractura.]
Instantly, a heart-shaped symbol—one of the seven virtues of Charity—appeared directly beneath Chelsie’s feet. A golden yellow light emanated from the symbol and slowly enveloped Chelsie’s body. Within the light, the silhouette of a pair of eyes, complete with Carmen’s smiling mask, could be seen. The silhouette of those eyes then emitted a red light, and instantly, Chelsie’s eyes also emitted the same light and began searching for the weakness of this giant plant.
"There!" Chelsie pointed toward a cluster of long antennae on top of the creature’s head. "I see a crack—its weak point. If you destroy all of those antennae, I’m sure this creature will die."
"Alright, I understand."
"Fire. Use fire to burn those long antennas. It should work."
"Thanks for the info, Chelsie. I’ll let Nalira and Robin Hood know right away," said Shaan as he pulled out both of his dual short swords. "Chelsie, head behind the boulder and protect the courier hiding there while we finish this thing."
"Uhmm... I understand."
After Shaan told Chelsie that, he immediately dashed toward Nalira, who was in front of him. Using his dual short swords, Shaan swiftly slashed through all the vines trying to capture him.
"Nalira, listen to me. The creature’s weak point is there," said Shaan, pointing in the direction Chelsie had indicated. "Chelsie used Carmen’s abilities to find the creature’s weakness, and if we can burn or destroy that cluster of antennae, the creature will die," said Shaan, slashing at the vines that were trying to disturb him.
"Alright, I understand." Nalira nodded her head.
"However, its position is too high for us to reach, and we need to figure out a way to—"
"Leave it to me. I can do it," Nalira said confidently. "Focus on attacking those vines, and let me handle the rest."
’Wait, Nalira must be joking, right? How could she possibly attack from such a height?’
"Shaan... do you hear me?"
"Oh, yeah, yeah. Alright." Shaan nodded. "Robin Hood and I will handle the vines."
Shaan and Robin Hood immediately launched their attacks at every vine, trying to interfere with them. Once again, they used the same trick as before and successfully dealt with the vine attacks quickly.
’Good, everything’s going according to plan. I’m just curious what—’
Suddenly, Nalira dashed past Shaan at incredible speed and reached the creature’s weak spot in a matter of seconds. She launched her fire blast directly at the creature’s weak point, and the fire instantly burned the giant plant to death.
"Oh my God... that... power... incredible power. How is she doing it?"