Within seconds, a replica of the original cannon-flower plant burst from the ground, stretching up toward the sky just like the first.
That’s how it spreads?! It shoots seeds like artillery and grows copies of itself?! That’s cheating!
“Y-You’ve gotta be kidding me…”
Al winced, her cheek twitching with tension as she spoke. But honestly, I felt the exact same way.
And then, just as we were still reeling from the first blast, both the original plant and the one that had just sprouted fired again, launching more of those cannonball-like seeds straight at us!
“Whoaaaaaa?!”
“W-What are we supposed to do against this?!” Al yelled as she desperately ducked and weaved to avoid the barrage.
Every time we dodged one of the shells, it would hit the ground, sprout a new plant, and that one would start firing too. The attacks multiplied by the second!
“Tch—take this!”
Suddenly, Saria’s face shifted, becoming unmistakably gorilla-like, as she timed a blast of fire magic to intercept an incoming seed.
The seed exploded midair under the intense flames, but from the shattered husk, a spray of smaller seeds burst out like buckshot, raining down on us from above!
“Waaah!”
“Saria?!”
“I’m fine!”
The seeds had detonated almost right in front of her, but she’d somehow managed to dodge all of it in the nick of time.
Still… what the hell is this plant?!
It fires seeds like cannonballs, and if you try to burn them, they explode into a scattershot of mini-seeds? That’s totally insane!
While I struggled to process the absurdity, Al swung her axe, batting aside one of the incoming seeds as she shouted, “Burning them makes them explode, but if you use a normal weapon, you can just knock them away!”
“G-Got it!”
No, but really, did Lulune and the others actually make it through this area? They must’ve, right? There’s no way they got taken out by these things, right? Those bones we saw earlier. That’s not them, right? That’s not how this story ends, is it?!
The thought alone was enough to send a shiver down my spine. I shook my head quickly, trying to banish the image. Nope. Not going there. Bad luck to even think it.
But that left one question still burning in my mind: what even is this plant?!
Dodging another incoming blast, I activated Analysis.
>???: Level ???
“That tells me NOTHING!”
Come on… Question marks for both the name and level? Seriously?
And why was this thing appearing here of all places? That kind of stat screen is something you’d expect from a final boss, not just some random roadside encounter.
I couldn’t even get close due to the endless barrage of seeds. Every time I dodged one, a new plant appeared. And with it, even more projectiles. It was a literal nightmare.
I mean, I’d probably be fine even if I got hit… but if I start casually tanking explosive plant artillery, I’m really just drifting further and further away from being human. And I’d prefer not to dwell on that, thanks!
“Damn it! If we can’t get close, we’ve got no way to fight back!” Al shouted, swatting away a seed mid-air with her axe.
Watching her, an idea suddenly popped into my head, so I went for it.
“Take this!!”
“Seiichi?!”
As another seed flew toward me, I stepped forward and swung—using the blade of The Rapier of Festering Hatred, also known as Black, like a baseball bat.
With a sharp crack, the seed launched back the way it came, whistling through the air and slamming directly into the flower-shaped muzzle of the plant that had fired it.
A perfect hit. Like a line drive back at the pitcher.
Apparently, the other plants hadn’t been expecting one of their own to get taken out. Whether or not they had emotions, they definitely paused, their movements slowing as if stunned by what just happened.
Did I just confuse a plant?
I raised a hand to shield my eyes and watched the seed soar into the distance, genuinely impressed.
“Ooh. Not bad. That actually worked.”
“The moment you’re involved, worrying about situations like this really is a waste of energy,” Al muttered, sighing like she’d aged ten years in five seconds.
Wait… is that a compliment? I think that was a compliment!
I started swinging The Rapier of Festering Hatred again, half-hoping another seed would come flying my way. Just then, I noticed Saria making the same shading gesture with her hand, watching the seed disappear over the horizon, until her gaze sharpened and she spoke up.
“Oooh… hey, wait. Seiichi?”
“Hmm?”
“The seed flew off somewhere… do you think it’s okay?” Saria asked, shading her eyes as she looked after it.
“Huh?”
“I mean, didn’t those seeds sprout new monsters? Or whatever those things are, when they hit the ground?”
“Ah…”
I hadn’t even thought about that until she said it.
W-Wait. Did I just mess up?
Right on cue, the surrounding plants, until now frozen in confusion, suddenly sprang back to life as if jolted by the memory of what they were doing. And this time, their attacks came faster, harder, as if driven by anger.
“See?! This is what happens when you take down their buddy in some weird-ass way!” Al shouted while furiously deflecting another incoming seed with her axe.
“They’re mad about that?!”
And hey, “weird” is sort of rude, don’t you think?
Still, I couldn’t deny it. They were probably pissed because I nailed one of their own with its own seed.
What stuck with me more, though, was what happened afterward. The plant I smacked down had disintegrated into particles of light like always… but this time, it hadn’t left behind a single drop item.
I remembered Zora saying back in the dungeon that drop items weren’t guaranteed, but until now, every monster I’d defeated had dropped something. Always.
So what gives? Could it be… that these things aren’t actually monsters?
Thinking back, even that shady monster shop Lulune used to work at had UMA—unidentified mysterious animals—mixed in.
I wanted to stop and piece it all together, but the plants clearly weren’t going to give me time for that. First things first: I needed to wipe out the ones in front of us.
“Hey, Al!”
“Hah?! What now?! I’m kind of busy dodging for my life here!!”
“S-Sorry! Just… There aren’t any human settlements nearby, right?”
“Does it LOOK like there are?! We didn’t see a single living creature on the way here, much less a village!”
“Fair enough.”
In that case, I guess it’s fine if I keep knocking the seeds away like before.
I mean, fire magic could work too, but unless we burn them completely, those things just explode into more seeds, which makes everything worse. Besides, Al and Saria were already overheating in this environment. No point adding more fire to the mix.
And if there aren’t any people living around here, then even if one of those seeds takes root somewhere else, no harm done, right? Honestly, if anything, some greenery might actually benefit this sun-baked wasteland a little.
“So with that settled… Batter Seiichi’s stepping up to the plate!”
“Take this seriously!!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Despite getting scolded, I kept swinging The Rapier of Festering Hatred like a baseball bat, sending seed after seed flying back to its source. One by one, the monstrous plants exploded into light and vanished, clearing the area at last.