I’ve never spent points as fast as I did just now.
This spell basically straight up group teleportation. Easily the most broken spell I’ve seen by far in this world.
What a beautiful day today is. I can’t help but kiss Blossom for a short while to let my sheer excitement out of my system before I combust internally.
I’m as horny as I’ve ever been. I’ve not only just fingered my mate for fifteen minutes straight, smelling her alluring nectar fill the cavern chamber endlessly, but now this… I want to take her right here, right now. So. Damn. Bad.
But through sheer force of will I restrain myself. The Aegis Vanguard soldiers could be done with the werewolves at any second, and even if by some miracle I manage to open a Gate before they kill us all, I will miss out on the Geimroot.
I would never forget my lower half if I got shafted out of being a spellcaster due to not being able to keep it in my pants. ‘You are not a wild beast, Quinlan… Tonight, you will fuck her senseless, so bear with it ’till then!’ I tell myself numerous times and finally manage to let the panting, confused girl go.
At the end of the large chamber lies a simple pathway leading further inwards. We don’t waste any time as we step through.
The chamber we step into is much smaller than the one before, with five simple beds arranged neatly against the stone walls. The air feels still, quiet, and empty. It doesn’t take long for me to put the pieces together. This must have been the sleeping quarters for the Aegis Vanguard members. They must’ve left their post due to Blossom’s machinations.
So Ayame was right; the three-headed dog wasn’t just a killer- it was an actual guard dog. Its main purpose wasn’t to destroy us but to signal the real muscle hiding deeper in this lair. I imagine the Aegis soldiers were supposed to be ready for anyone who made it past the beast. If they’d been here… well, it would’ve been game over for us.
I glance around, hoping for valuables, but nothing catches my eye during this quick scan. I’m sure there could be something useful hidden among their things, but time isn’t on our side. I feel the pressure building. The werewolves and the human soldiers aren’t going to keep killing each other until the end of time.
My mind turns to the far end of the chamber, where I see a lever built into the stone wall. Wasting no time, I step forward, grip the cold metal handle, and pull.
The sound of grinding stone echoes in the room, and a door slides to the side, revealing another path ahead.
“Ahh… Is it time again…? They’re here…”
A strange voice sounds as soon as we step through the doorway.
It’s incredibly inhuman, so deep and desperate, to the point that it’s quite literally wailing.
‘What is waiting for us ahead…?’ I can’t help but feel agitated. I can already tell that it’s going to be a talking, thinking, intelligent monster.
I stop and look at Ayame, “what do you think this is based on the sound?”
“What sound?” She inquires back with evident confusion in her tone.
“You don’t hear it? Some monster is depressed because it sensed our arrival.”
“No…”
“Blo- Ghost can’t smell a monster either.”
‘Fuck… Am I under a mental attack already?’
It already knows we are here, so I decide to approach it peacefully. “Can you hear us?!” I shout.
The wailing stops.
“W-what? You can understand me? Who are you?!” All depression leaves its tone, replaced by confusion, and then excitement.
“We’ve invaded this place because we heard that an ingredient is kept here that will allow me to become a Wizard despite being an adult.”
“Oh. So you are enemies of the human kingdom?”
“Yeah. Not only is the king directly responsible for the illegal enslavement of my cherished companion, but we’ve already stolen his Legendary rarity artifact. There is no love between us and the kingdom.”
“Amazing! A Legendary artifact. Hahaha! Serves them horrible individuals right!”
It, or he, as his voice is incredibly deep and masculine, so I would assume that I’m talking to a male, seems to have turned from depressed, to confused, to jovial in a minute.
He quiets down after a short while.
“I’m not your enemy. Please come closer to let me see who I am talking to. I swear on the Goddess that I won’t attack any of you.”
“He wants us to come closer. Supposedly non-hostile. I think he was imprisoned here by the kingdom.” I relay his words and my theory to my companions.
“Let’s go then. No time to waste.” Ayame agrees hurriedly.
We round the corner and enter the chamber, and what greets us is nothing short of otherworldly.
The room is crammed with a massive, gnarled tree. Its twisted roots snake along the floor, curling around the walls and ceiling, choking the space as though it had grown far beyond the confines of the stone chamber meant to hold it. The bark isn’t like any normal tree- it’s black as obsidian, shimmering faintly with veins of glowing blue energy running through its surface.
Its limbs stretch out in all directions, like jagged, skeletal arms that claw at the walls, some having punctured the ceiling. The branches are heavy with dark leaves that pulse as if they were alive, each one exuding a faint mist that hovers in the air.
The entire thing feels ancient, like it has been growing here for centuries, pressed into this small space.
At the base of the tree, massive roots twist and writhe. The tree appears to be in constant, subtle movement, as though it’s adjusting itself within the chamber, despite having no more room to grow.
The air is filled with the scent of earth, rot, and something else- something magical. It hums with a dark, foreboding energy, like a creature bound by chains it can never break.