Chapter 37：Unreasonable (1/2)

The root was of green color and the pressure its mana emitted was terrifying. Hazel then realized how sorely mistaken her team was. This was in no way a low-mid-tier monster. She braced herself for the attack as she sent her mana to the rune card her mother gave her. Before she could activate it, however, the scenery changed in front of her eyes.

”Kira, stall for time!” A familiar voice rang in her ears, she looked up at the person embracing her in a daze. However, she couldn't see anything behind his crossed helmet. She wanted to voice out his name but flames erupted in the battlefield sending her words down her throat.

”Dammit!” Marco roared in anger as a root had dug itself deeply into his shoulder blade from the back. The other tanker had dashed and helped him get away but the skin was already green colored. He was sweating bullets as the pain seemed unbearable.

”We should retreat!” The earth mage shouted as he kept using his ability to make the ground underneath Rachel and the healers afloat. It seems he was competent enough to use his ability to manipulate the soil into hardening and making it float. However, this was an unnatural use of his ability as his mana drained like water from a cracked bottle.

”Dammit! Healers, what are you doing?! Do your jobs for god's sake!” Marco kept trying to defend himself against the roots but his strength was weakening because of the poison. The healers used their abilities and began healing him but the poison was too strong to be healed in such a short amount of time.

Arthur, who was behind the helmet, looked at the scene with a calm gaze. Roots kept attacking everyone from underground while they tried to defend themselves against it. He could see the monster underground through his Detection rune. Judging by its life-force, it was even a bit stronger than Kira.

”We need to run.” He told Hazel, the reason he came here was to warn the group. He was drifting through the forest when he heard the scream the monster issued. He decided to venture deeper under the protection of Kira but he was surprised to meet Hazel so soon. It has only been ten days since they last met.

Before they could hold a conversation, the ground shook even more as the true form of the monster started emerging. Everyone fled the scene and retreated far away to witness the figure of the monster that had appeared. It looked like a giant nut with roots protruding from everywhere. The roots swarmed around it and the tree from earlier was no merely the top of its head.

The group, Arthur, and Kira looked at the monster with a serious expression. There was a brief silence followed by the monster's roar that shook the surrounding.

”You need to leave,” Arthur told Hazel, knowing she has figured out who he was. He signaled to Kira and the latter rushed to his side and he was about to flee as well. Kira might be able to hold the monster off, but Arthur had no chance of even surviving a single attack.

”Stop! Let's kill it together!” Seeing that the wolf and the man were about to leave, Marco shouted in urgency. Arthur paused for a second and looked at him.

”Together? With your current state?” Even though he wasn't a doctor, he could feel the fluctuations of Marco's lifeforce through the detection rune. He might be in danger, but Arthur doubted he would be any use against the monster. Furthermore, he wouldn't trust these guys no matter what. The last time he joined them, he ended up with a dagger on his throat.

”This happened because of you! I got hit when I was defending against you!” Marco shouted in hysteria. If Arthur knew anything about poisons, then he would have said that the toxins reached this guy's head.

”I never attacked you. Remember?” Arthur turned around at that and was about to leave. Before he told Kira to sprint forward, he heard the conversation behind his back.

”Let's retreat.” The earth mage voiced out, clearly making a rational choice. However, he was only met with an infuriated Marco.

”No one is retreating! We'll steal the plant and flee afterward!”

”Marco, this is too risky. Some of us might die!” The tanker who kept silent until now spoke up.