"Stay back! Do not let the pollen touch you!" John yelled out after connecting the dots.

Becky just got most of her upper body covered in an extremely concentrated dose, and from her dazed expression and glassy eyes, she was not doing well.

Well, fuck, he thought as he deliberated his options. From the way she looked, she was either in shock or there was also another substance at play.

If she remains in there for too long, she might not have enough strength to activate her mark.

Deciding to not leave her there to die, he gritted his teeth and charged forward, intending to get the unfortunate lady back to safety.

After covering half of the distance, he felt something rush over his head, and by the time he looked up, the projectile—an arrow twice the size of the regular ones—was buried into the pulsing organ in the middle of the massive bulb.

The creature convulsed in agony, releasing a primal screech reverberating through the entire room. Its massive form started to violently tremble, and as the vines thrashed and whipped around it, one unfortunate blow struck below Becky's ear.

Oh no…

Her lithe figure was tossed to the side like a rag doll, smacked into the tightly packed vegetation, and slid off into a heap.

"Noo!" Luke yelled behind him. "We gotta help her… John, do something!"

"I don't see shit, and my right arm feels strange," Connor cursed next to him

John, seeing the unnatural angle of her neck only shook his head, and carefully backed away. There was nothing he could do anymore, and from the way the Thornweaver moved, it was about to get much worse.

Keeping a close eye on its form as he moved back was the only reason he had time to react to the fast-approaching onslaught. Noticing dozens of small spikes forming over the vines put John on high alert, and as those spikes grew over the next two seconds into the familiar shapes of the finger-long thorns, he had just enough time to cry out a warning, tuck into a ball, and brace behind his shield.

Luckily, the enraged creature didn't try to aim and sprayed the whole area in front of it with more than a hundred thorns.

Being roughly eight meters away, John felt more than a few impacts on his shield and one thorn ping off the side of his chainmail.

Unfortunately, despite their distance, the guys in the back had it significantly worse. George, the only one among them with a shield, stepped in front of Luke to protect his vitals, but Connor was left to deal with the attack on his own.

Hearing the pained cry, John glanced over his shoulder and saw Connor's form curled up in a ball and four thorns sticking out from his back.

"Fuck!" He cursed. Not only was Connor out of the fight but the way behind them was blocked by a mesh of crisscrossing vegetation.

No other path but forward.

"Is it over?" George asked, peeking over his shield.

The creature was starting to calm down, but John wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

"Yes, but we need to finish it off!"

During that time, his stiletto nearly cut through another thick vine, but the other minions served only as a distraction.

The plant turned out to be strongly heat resistant and also not vulnerable to electricity, leaving only his stiletto and his javelin as viable offensive options.

A bright flash of blue light briefly illuminated the entire room, and as John looked over his shoulder, he witnessed Connor's body turn into a small mote of light and shoot through the canopy into the sky.

He must have used the mark, John thought as he pulled the javelin out of his storage and took aim.

What is it doing?

He watched as It stabbed all its vines deep into the foliage around it and started swinging its body up and down, making itself an easy target. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, John changed his target to the thickest vine leading directly above its head and let loose.

The javelin passed the ten-meter distance in a flash and buried itself into the foot-wide vine with a satisfying thump that was followed by another impact of a large arrow piercing through the vine to the left and leaving behind a one-inch hole.

Leaning back, he was about to release another throw when he finally realized what the Thornweaver was doing. Letting it fly, he turned and sprinted toward Goerge with everything he had.

"Guys, tell me your other abilities are useful, otherwise we are in deep shit."

"Why? I'd say, we are holding up, but I am not foolish to distrust your…"

"Uhh… guys? Is it just me or is the thing trying to tear itself off the ceiling?" Luke asked in a shaky voice.

"It's doing what!?"

"That's what I was afraid of," John nodded along.

The colossal plant began with seven vines spread around its bulb with the thickest one leading directly upwards and so far that one remained in place, holding its form above ground and letting it flail around with the remaining appendages.

Now, after their engagement, one vine was completely cut off and leaking a green liquid from its stump, another vine only hung limply from the bulb with most of its width cut through, and half a dozen arrows stuck out from the rest, spread around the holes left behind by Johns javelins.

"I can grant protection from the next three blows to a single target in my sight," George followed up with a discouraged voice. "Alas, it only works when the enemy is at most a single grade above its target, so it's not going to work against this creature."

Wow, that is a crazy good ability.

"I have the ability to empower my arrows, and then one that helps me with tracking, so… yeah," Luke said as he released another arrow.

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"Ehh… George, I am E grade though, so your ability is something we can use."

As they continued attacking from range and talking about the upcoming strategy, John also guided his stiletto to the vine with the thumb-sized hole and willed for it to continue its work.

After a particularly loud snap of wood that shook the entire canopy, the plant wrestled itself free, stood up on three other vines like a tripod, and began its advance toward them.

Another empowered arrow punched through it, making it stumble. Unfortunately, it was not enough and it caught itself on the wall to its left and sped up, moving like a four-legged spider and waving the fifth vine angrily in the air above it.

"uys… I …ont …eel …ood," Luke slurred as his legs gave suddenly out under him.

John noticed Luke looking off before he fired that last ability, but that seemed to drain him from his remaining strength, and going by the two thorns sticking from his legs John had the probable reason behind it.

"John, there is no shame in retreat. How about we use our marks, and…"

"No! Give me the protection and let's finish it off."

"Very well, but if anything happens to you, I am out."

There was no visual component, but in the next moment, John felt the energy anchor around his body.

I better get as much use from this as I can.

A flash of blue light coming from behind made him frown.

"Luke?" He asked to reassure himself.

"Luke," George replied in a grim tone.

Ok, here it comes.

To be more agile, he stored his shield, grabbed the javelin with both hands like a spear, and charged.

His body was covered in the golden hue of the Galanthar's blessing and his legs carried him forward with long, powerful steps.

As the distance between them shrunk, the Thornweaver slowed down, preparing to whip the annoying pest away, but John's heightened senses let him react in time and duck to the right in the middle of his run.

The vine passed over his head and left shoulder, but before it even hit the ground, he pushed off his leg and stabbed the heavy weapon with everything he had.

Aiming at a partially damaged vine that served as one of its legs, he delivered a devastating stab. Twisting the javelin to the side, its sharp head slipped out through the vine's side, tearing out a fist-sized chunk and crippling it.

Third vine down.

Knowing that the long weapon already served its purpose, John let go, pulled out his club and a shield, and braced for impact.

The vine that previously missed was now doing a chest-high sweep through the room and caught him dead center, however, the blow lacked any impact. Instead, a translucent panel of force briefly formed directly in front of his shield, bounced the incoming appendage away, and shattered into hundreds of motes of golden light.

That's the first block.

Unwilling to give it time to react, John was already following with an overhead blow that landed with a satisfying smack and an explosion of vine-juice. The creature screeched and retaliated with its own overhead blow, which he decided to ignore and lean further into a second swing.

Previously he wasn't sure if he could trust the promised protection, but after seeing it in action, he decided to capitalize on his advantage and cripple his opponent as quickly as possible. The incoming blow was once again repelled with a barrier that formed above his head and his follow-up attack landed on the same spot, further damaging the injured spot.

Second block out.

Noticing the vine buckle under the weight, John grinned. The victory was almost in his grasp.

It attempted to retaliate with another blow, but seeing the angle, John moved and it smashed into the ground next to him which he punished with a third strike.

"Watch out!"

Glancing up, the bulb was wide open above him and trying to spit out the necrotic pollen covered in the viscous goo that leaked from the pierced organ.

It is getting desperate, John thought as he danced around its clumsy form, avoiding the spit, and putting another dent into the nearest vine.

The creature must have understood that it was done for, because as a last resort, it launched itself forward, intending to pin John under its bulk, and frankly it might have actually worked. Not expecting it, all paths except backward were closed by the incoming vines and John fumbled the dodge, moving into the trajectory of its left side.

"Oh shi…" his curse froze on his lips as the Thornweaver bounced off the protective panel of force and crumpled next to his side in a heap of tangled vines.

That would be its last mistake as John repeatedly beat its mutilated form until all of its vines were crippled or worse.

"Wait!" George yelled out behind him.

"Hm?"

"Let me have the kill, please. I will pay you double and promise to give you any card it rewards."

"Why would you… You are going to use the mark, huh?"

"Yes, I can't afford to risk my life here. I have more than two thousand people relying on me back home, and besides… I am much better suited to leading large groups of people, not a small party. Would you be willing to pass this kill to me?"

Hmm… I am going to stay here either way. Besides, this was a terrible match-up against my skill set… I should be able to find different beasts of D-grade or even higher and get the trophy myself.

"Make it four yellow piles, and it is yours."

"Four?! That is too much, I could go for three, but…"

"No, the price is four. But I'll also tell you how to become an E grade," John immediately interrupted.

"Alright… Two yellow and fifty blue is acceptable?"

Seeing John nod, George walked closer, gave him the promised payment, and started beating its immobile form with his mace until it released the ash.

John stood next to him as George took his right glove off and inspected the yellow tattoo in the shape of the Thornweaver.

"So, to reach the next grade, you need to have all six attributes at least E."

"Wait, that's it?"

"Yep," John nodded with a grin on his face.

"Argh, Belle is going to kick my ass," George grumbled with a helpless smile.

"Ehh… What?"

"Apologies, I phrased that poorly. I convinced my wife that spreading the attributes is a mistake and we will be better off focusing our main fighters on only one or two attributes, gaining more of the capable people, but now… damn…"

"Well, let me give you a small…" A gut instinct let him know that saying anything about Fate would be a mistake. It didn't feel like he couldn't, but saying anything would hamper instead of help.

"Small… what?"

"Ehh… small spoiler," John nodded, acting like that was what he wanted to say in the first place. "When you reach the next grade, you gain a slot for a third ability card."

"Of course! Now it makes sense. You are using the three minions and that javelin is just a powerful magical weapon. Did I get it right?"

"Mhm."

"It was driving me crazy the entire time, thinking how it was possible for you to have such a wide variety of offensive options… Thank you. Both for the advice and for letting me have the kill. Oh, what about Becky?"

Walking to her unmoving form, John gently turned her body over and recoiled in shock. The majority of her face already rotted away, turning into a black slimy mush, and her torso was not far behind.

"That bad?"

"Even worse," John replied, shuddering as he remembered the snippets of his own rotted body during the strange dream.

"I am sorry to hear that. She was a valiant fighter and didn't deserve to end up like this. Unfortunately, sometimes luck simply isn't on your side… Anyway, If you ever visit London and my shelter still stands, I'd be delighted to see you. It was a pleasure."

"Likewise."

After a friendly handshake, George activated his mark and teleported out of the trial.

Well, it seems like it's only me… and my three companions.

Leaning down, he unclipped a small storage bag from Becky's waist, took her spear, and finally stepped outside.