The time was close; their enemy would arrive in less than a day. After coming back to the base, both groups share information about their mission. Although Emily’s group failed to retrieve the staff, Silas was content with the fact that they didn’t suffer a loss or permanent wound.

"If the staff required some type of sacrifice to use, then it would only be a situational weapon. We need to increase our overall power, and since we got more of the green stone, Nadine is going to be able to make more weapons."

"It could have been something powerful enough to defeat the thing looking for us. Kind of a shame." Nathan said that and immediately changed the subject with confidence. "It doesn’t matter. I have a new power. Jacob and I can combine our powers to make super powerful bullets. With this, I’m sure we can defeat even a giant tree."

"Nadine, how much do you think you can do with this ore?" Silas ignored him and continued with the conversation.

"Mmm, I say with this much, about four weapons."

"Make at least one shield. The weapons should be swords since we are dealing with another plant-type monster. We need to make the preparations for when he arrives. Our position strategy is still the same, but we are all going to fight till I give the order to run away."

"Can’t we even escape if he tries to follow us? You remember the monster we fought? If this is his master or whatever, he’s sure going to be much stronger." It was hard to deny; the first plant monster gave them a lot of trouble, but this time they had the field advantage.

"I don’t think we could escape if the battle turns bad, but it is better than all of us dying. I’m not saying we’re going to fight with the premise of escape, but we should be prepared."

It wasn’t the most encouraging speech, but he was telling the truth.

"Still, we have more power. Our abilities are evolving because we have been grinding, and we’re going to fight with all we have. Don’t hold anything back, because this is going to be our first PvP fight and I don’t want to lose it."

"Back to the games analogies, huh."

"Eh, back to the plan. I want to test our powers a little more, make some combinations, and prepare some tramps. Emily I’m going to ask you to not use the orb for now since we still don’t know if our enemy can spy on us."

"Not a problem, but I can use it during the fight, right?"

"I said we won't hold back." He gave her a cocky smile, and then Jacob grabbed him by the shoulders.

"That’s more like it. I was thinking about something while we were coming back with the stone, but aren’t guilds supposed to have names?"

"Yes, but it’s not like we have met other groups yet."

"Let’s choose something then."

"It should be a cool name!" Nathan was already on board.

"D-Do we really need it?"

"Just choose a word and be done with it."

Everyone had different ideas, but they didn’t have too much to waste. In the end, they didn’t reach an agreement, so they postponed it. "OK, but we better pick something good later." Jacob went outside to practice with Nathan.

They made sure they could combine their powers at any moment. As long as Jacob had an angle, he could make sure the bullet would pass the shield and gain the mysterious light. The bullets explode the same, a little weaker since Nora was helping them, but still powerful.

"Have you discovered why you can do that, partner?"

"Nop, it still feels like a regular shield."

"You need to think, Nathan. It could be that your power is more than a regular shield. What is making the bullets explode? Maybe you can use it on other things."

"Mmm, I’m trying, but no matter how much I concentrate, nothing is happening." He grabbed a branch on the ground and tried to pass through it, but it was pointless. He did the same with one of Nadine’s swords, but once again it failed.

"If it's not affected by someone else's power, maybe that means it depends on you."

"Man, don’t make me think so hard. Let’s practice a couple more rounds, and then you help with blocking practice. Woah!"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The ground below his feet moved. The roots were making holes all around the cave entrance. Nora was helping Emily to find a weak spot for traps. With the boost, Emily could use the vines and roots to move the earth.

"Uf, I thought I was getting stronger, but just doing a couple of holes is making me tired."

"Don’t get too tired, we only need to make a few as a distraction during the fight. If the creature looking for us is giant, then trapping it in a hole of this size is impossible."

"I know, a couple more and the new can tell Nadine to fill them."

Inside the cave, Nadine was working the green stone, making new weapons and a shield. She got used to moving the minerals with her hands and didn’t get tired anymore. "Hahaha, if only I could use this power back home. I would change careers to the mining industry in a day."

She was also making spikes with other metal on the side, and Rebecca was taking them outside. "Are you sure you can carry them?"

"Uf, yes, is the only thing I can do to help, since my shadow won’t come out unless someone gets hurt." She carried them to the entrance and hid them in the holes Emily made. Since they decided to fight outside, there was no need to defend the cave.

Silas was practicing his swordsmanship for the upcoming battle by sparring with Franco. He attacked from above and to the right, but Jacob used the same glove to deflect both hits. The gap was completely evident.

"Too slow! I don’t have to move to block it. Put more weight on it!"

"I’m trying!" Silas couldn’t practice his power without an enemy, and most of his combat power came from the opponent too. This was the only training he could do.

Despite his effort, his basic combat power was pretty low. If he had to put it in a list, he would probably be in the bottom three of the guild.

"Ah, this sucks!" He unleashed a flurry of attacks, but Jacob blocked them all and almost hit him in the gut.

"I could have destroyed your stomach just now! You can do better than that. Forget the sword. You need to work on your posture."

"My posture?"

"Yes, it is bad. You aren’t distributing your weight correctly. If you take a step, make it count. Bend your knees and then attack."

The practice turned into a personal lesson about the basics of boxing and momentum. He could do these things when he was copying an enemy power.

"It's just hard to do on my own."

"Then work harder. If you get used to moving with proper timing on your own, then it’s going to be easier during the fight. Come on, focus on dodging my fist. I won’t go at full speed with only one hand."

"I would normally feel insulted after hearing that, but against you I can accept it." Franco was punching at half speed, but Silas could barely react in time. At most, he dodged two times before the third one tapped him in the side or the face.

"By the way, Franco. About the punch you threw in the cave while escaping. Do you think you can do that again? In the worst case, I want to have a huge attack to delay the monster for a moment."

"Throwing me to the grinder huh? I can’t complain; my power is the most useless after all."

"I didn’t say that having good DPS is essential to taking a boss down."

"Yeah, yeah, spare me the weird words, kid. Yes, I can hit again like that." He punched his fists together and made a sharp sound. "But I can go beyond that. Give me the word when the time is right, and I’ll use the strongest punch I have."

His eyes were full of determination. Silas couldn’t help feeling a bit intimidated. I’m glad I don’t have to fight someone like him.

"Enough talk, back to training!"

The hours passed, and after having dinner together, they went to sleep in turns. Emily had to be awake all the time to detect the presence of the enemy as soon as he got close. Of course, there was the possibility he could sneak past Emily’s abilities and attack the cave. That’s why they left a dummy as bait.

A crude dummy made of rocks with some paint made from plants. All made 100% with Nadine’s power. It was bad; you could tell it was a pathetic excuse for a scarecrow, but maybe the enemy would be distracted for a moment. There were no humans here, so maybe he would get confused and decide to attack it first.

The other thing is that only Emily was inside the cave. Everyone else was sleeping in bushes or trees. A surprise attack may kill someone, but they were too far apart to be hit all at once. Well, if the enemy hits us all at once with a strong attack, we’ll just run.

The plan of escape was simple. Silas said that if two or more people were killed, then they were going to scatter into the forest and then regroup in the second cave where the staff was. Emily drew a map and had everyone commit it to memory.

She noticed the moment the creature stepped inside her detection range. "Wake up! is coming from the south!"

"How long do we have?" Silas was the first one at her side.

"About five minutes. I think he’s just walking here."

"He’s underestimating us. Good, we have the chance to make a surprise attack. How big is it?"

"About twice the height of the other monster. He’s made of plants too, but I don’t know which type."

"Nathan, come here. We are doing the thing I told you about. Everyone else, get ready!" They got into position with their weapons and armor.

After a few minutes, they could see the giant creature coming from the south. The animals ran away from his path, and Nathan was in awe of his size. "Seriously?"

It didn’t have legs but instead dragged its roots along the ground. The body was an amalgamation of trees and plants, and the two arms were covered in red flowers. The head was the same type of flower but massive. The red petals made it look almost like it was tinted with blood.

It didn’t have vocal cords or a face, but Nathan could hear him clearly in his mind.

"Ah, to come so far into the land of brutes. I didn’t think my servants would fail so miserably. Was that supposed to be a fake at your side?" He was talking about the horrible scarecrow.

"Yeah, but I thought it would be rude to greet you with this. My name is Nathan and I want to swear my loyalty to you, lord?"

"You aren’t capable of understanding it. In your language, it would be Gloom Scent."

"Please accept me as your follower, Lord Gloom Scent." He put up his shield like an offering.

"Have you lost the will to resist after being in my presence, little vermin? I can understand the desire to walk the path of Azasie, but creatures like you are unworthy. You’re a plague brought by the System, and I must purge you from this world."

A bullet came from behind and passed through the shield. It hit one of the monster's hands, and it exploded.