Capítulo 40: Nightshade Bloom
As Lassim inched forward, he recalled the description of Moonlit Stalkers from the mission's request form.
Mission Target: Collect a rumored Nightshade Bloom that is being protected by Moonlit Stalkers.
Target descriptions listed below.
Nightshade Bloom: A rare flower that blooms only under the light of a full moon, emitting a soft, luminous glow. Its petals are a deep violet, bordering on black, and it releases a mesmerizing scent known to have powerful healing properties. The essence of Nightshade Bloom is often used in potions to cure ailments that resist conventional treatments. Handle with care when collecting this target so that the essence is not destroyed. It is best to collect it when it is the peak of a moonlit night.
Moonlit Stalkers: Water elemental beings born from the of dense forest fog; typically found in areas with high water concentration. It gets it's namesake from being most active at night and are especially violent during moonlit nights. These stalkers are almost invisible in their natural habitat, their presence only betrayed by the unsettling chill that pervades the air around them and the soft, whispering voices that seem to come from nowhere. They can solidify at will to attack, their forms becoming momentarily visible as they lash out with tendrils of condensed mist.
Mission Reward: 800 Academy Points
Lassim's grip on his halberd tightened as he prepared.
After several more tense moments, creeping forward, he spotted it. The flower's bioluminescent petals slowly unfurling under the caress of the moonlight, casting a soft, otherworldly light on the surroundings. It wasn't fully in bloom yet, that much was clear, however it's appeal to the senses grew the longer he stared at it. It was almost intoxicating to behold. Unfamiliar with the plant, Lassim and the others had no idea that this particular Nightshade Bloom was actually fully mature and more potent that the mission anticipated. It's value to alchemists and beasts alike was much, much higher than any other average nightshade bloom. They did not understand or know the danger it's presence signified.
The enchantment of the moment was abruptly shattered by the creeping onset of a dense fog, slithering through the grove like a living entity. The air grew colder, and a sense of foreboding enveloped the trio.
Lassim heard whispers, like voices lost in the wind, and turned to his friends, "Did you say something?"
Lassim felt a twinge of unease. The glance at his companions revealed them both silent, their faces drained of color, eyes wide with bit of fear. His heart raced.
Without warning, the fog thickened, swirling towards them, and the whispers grew louder, surrounding them in a cacophony of sound. Lassim realized too late—He spun around, his instincts screaming a warning, just in time to see a massive specter looming over them.
The mist-like specter, a Moonlit Stalker at SI7 strength, was unlike anything he had imagined; it was both there and not, a creature of fog and shadow, with eyes that glowed with an unholy light. Its form was towering, yet emaciated, and it moved with a grace that belied any sense of gravity on it's being.
"Behind me!" Lassim yelled, stepping in front of Lustria and Sirium, raising his halberd in defense. The whispers grew into a roar, echoing the specter's malice.
Lustria jumped backwards towards the willow treeline and notched an arrow, her hands steady despite the fear that prickled her skin.
Sirium, finding his resolve, added, "Let's show this ghost we're not easy prey. You distract it and I'll sneak by you for the Nightshade."
The specter advanced, silent as death, its form shifting and swirling with the mist. Lassim's mind raced, strategies and plans flickering through his thoughts. Lassim tightened his grip on his halberd, feeling the storm within him stir, ready to be unleashed.
He glanced briefly at Lustria and Sirium, finding reassurance in their prepared stances. "Stay back," he commanded.
As the mist-like specter advanced, the fog seemed to obey its will, swirling around Lassim in an attempt to disorient him. But he stood unyielded, his focus razor-sharp.
The specter struck first, its form shifting, hands extending into long, tendril-like appendages aiming straight for Lassim. He dodged to the side, the mist grazing his arm, leaving a trail of cold that bit into his flesh.
'So, it can solidify its form when it attacks,' Lassim thought, recalibrating his strategy.
He counterattacked, swinging his halberd with precision and force, aiming for the specter's core that slightly showed itself when it attacked, moving disorientingly inside it's mist-like elemental body. The weapon cut through the mist, dispersing it for a moment, but the specter quickly reformed, unharmed. It was like fighting smoke, each strike passing through without leaving a mark.
The roar of whispers turned into specter's laughter, a chilling sound that seemed to come from all around, filled the air. It attacked again, faster this time, a barrage of misty tendrils aiming to overwhelm. Lassim moved with the lightning quick speed, dodging and weaving through the attacks, his halberd a swirling blur in his hands. Yet, for every tendril he avoided or dispersed, two more took its place.
Realization dawned on Lassim; physical brute force against an elemental being wasn't the answer. He needed to harness his elements to fight the mist. Closing his eyes for the briefests of moments, he centered himself, reaching for the lightning and water elemental spirits within his heart world, asking for their strength. His cultivation technique rumbled to life, echoed with the mist in the air swirling upwards to form a dense cloud.
When he opened his eyes from that brief nanosecond of closure, they were filled with lightning dancing across his pupils and water swirling around his figure. He raised his halberd, and the storm answered his call, lightning arcing down to imbue the weapon with its power. The air around him charged, the hairs on his arms standing on end as he prepared to face the specter with his newest technique—[Lightning Lash].
With a battle cry, Lassim unleashed the storm. Lightning surged from his halberd, striking the specter with the force of nature's wrath. The specter recoiled, its form flickering under the assault, but it did not dissipate. It was a being of mist, resilient in its ethereal way. It's form held still for a few moments, allowing Lassim to strike the specter's core.
Upon cleaving it in half, the specter released a shrieking wail as it's form dissipated.
Relieved, yet with cold ice marks across his body where the Moonlit Stalker's tendrils had cut him, Lassim heaved a quick sigh now that the terrifying foe was defeated.
Before he could urge Sirium to quickly collect the Nighshade Bloom, Sirium's steps had already brought him sneakily to the flower.
However, the mist in the surrounds had not disappeared in the slightest. Lassim realized they forgot about the mission's details.... The realization hit him with a cold dread; they had faced but a single guardian. The pack was still lurking within the fog, unseen but undeniably present.
"It's supposed to be a pack of Moonlit Stalkers! SIRIUM GET AWAY!" Lassim shouted.
Sirium froze, the warning echoing sharply through the suddenly oppressive air of the grove.
Lustria's voice cut through the tension, "Back to back, now!" Her command was swift, born of countless drills and an instinct for survival in this situation now that the mist was closing in on them from all angles. They formed a tight circle, Lassim and Sirium flanking Lustria, their eyes piercing through the mist, searching for any sign of movement.
The grove fell into a haunting silence, the kind that screamed of impending doom. Then, without warning, shadows moved within the fog, circling them like predators eyeing their prey. Lassim's heart pounded against his chest, the storm within him stirring once more, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.
One by one, figures emerged from the mist, their forms more defined than the specter they had just vanquished. These Moonlit Stalkers moved with a predatory grace, their eyes glowing with a malevolent light. Lassim counted them—five in total, each one radiating a presence as chilling as the first.
"This is it," Lassim muttered, tightening his grip on his halberd. "Stay focused. Lustria, Sirium, wait for my signal."
The stalkers advanced, moving as one, their floating steps silent but their intent deadly clear. Lassim waited, every muscle tensed, every sense heightened. Then, with a nod, he signaled the attack.
Lustria released a volley of arrows, each one aimed with deadly precision. Her [Void Arrow] technique allowed the arrows to teleport mid-flight, appearing suddenly before their targets. However, the stalkers were swift, dodging with unnatural speed, their forms blurring into the mist.
Sirium, meanwhile, used his wind element to create diversions, sending gusts of wind to disrupt the stalkers' advance, buying them precious seconds. His movements were a blur, a dance of evasion and attack.
Lassim took the forefront, channeling the storm's might into his halberd once more. This time, he unleashed a surge of torrential water with his [Storm's Grasp] technique, aiming to scatter their attackers but also hold them in place as a group. Then he aimed the [Lightning Thrust] technique, sending crackling lightning launching through the grove, each strike illuminating the night with brilliant flashes.
The battle raged on, a dance of lightning and mist, of flesh and shadow, wind and illusions. The Moonlit Stalkers were relentless, their numbers and speed a constant threat.
Lassim, fueled by the elemental fury, struck with precision and power, each attack a testament to his recent mastery of the storm's ideals, to dance between the two elements, the suggestion of dual elemental cultivation that Master Ferrum taught him.
The specter, undeterred, matched his ferocity, its attacks relentless, a never-ending onslaught that tested Lassim's and the other's limits. But him and his friends fought with the desperation of those with everything to lose.
With a final, concerted effort, they managed to overcome the pack, Lassim's [Lightning Lash] had held them long enough for Sirium's wind daggers, along with Lustria's precise shots, to break through the stalkers' defenses and destroy their cores.
As the last of the Moonlit Stalkers dissipated, the grove fell silent once more, the mist slowly beginning to disperse, revealing the star and moon lit sky above.
Panting, the trio converged near the Nightshade Bloom, its glow now a soft beacon in the aftermath of their battle.
"We did it," Sirium said, a grin breaking through the exhaustion.
Lassim nodded, the adrenaline slowly ebbing away. "That was exhausting. I think I used up almost all of my stored mana."
Lustria, slightly panting as well, took a deep breath and added, "Let's take what we came for and leave these woods behind."
Lustria walked towards the Nightshade Bloom, carefully extracting it from the ground with precision, not daring to harm the flower, before she then stored it into her magic pouch. Standing up and tying the pouch back to her waist, "Alright, let's head back to t—"
A sharp hiss that sliced through the air like a knife broke the tranquility of their victory. Shattered in an instant as a terrifying creature, a viper-like falcon, descended from the shadows of a nearby tree with a malevolent grace. Its body is a grotesque fusion of reptile and bird, with scales that shimmered with a venomous sheen, blending seamlessly into feathers that are as sharp as blades. It's talons deep onyx black and tinged at the tips with a neon violent green hue. The creature's eyes piercing yellow, glowed with a malevolent intelligence and hunger as it attacked.
With a speed that none of them could react to, the falcon, its scales shimmering under the moonlight, latched onto Lustria's arm that held the magic pouch. Its talons, sharp as needles and dripping with a dark, ominous venom, punctured her skin, injecting a toxic brew.
Lustria's scream pierced the night as the viper-falcon's strikes became more frenzied, its beak and talons aiming for her face. Tearing and ripping her cheeks and skin apart.
Lassim and Sirium, momentarily stunned, sprang into action, but the creature's agility and the venom's rapid effect on Lustria complicated their rescue attempt.
Lassim, heart pounding with fear and anger, lunged forward, his halberd raised in a desperate attempt to fend off the creature without harming Lustria. The falcon, sensing the attack, repositioned with a sinister agility, its focus on trying to kill Lustria unyielding.
"Stay still!" Lassim shouted to Lustria, trying to find an opening to strike the falcon without risking her further. Sirium, meanwhile, circled around, looking for a way to assist, his own weapon drawn and ready.
Lustria, weakened by the venom coursing through her veins, could do little but try to shield her face from the repeated assaults. The pain was blinding, her vision blurring as the venom's potency began to take hold, fear gripping her heart.
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