The first attack was a success, but it was just the beginning. "Now!" Silas yelled and used his power on Gloom Scent. At the same time, Franco and Nadine jumped from the trees.

Gloom Scent was looking at his hand. Half of it had been blown off by the explosive bullet. He didn’t expect that. He’s still shocked by the attack. While Silas transformed into a plant, he learned all the abilities of his opponent.

[Blessing of Azasie]

[Regeneration]

[Debilitating scent]

[Magic: Nature]

What? Magic? Can you use magic in this world? His mind processed the information instantly like a computer, but the last ability caused him doubts. This was the first time he had found a skill that allowed the use of magic. Maybe the beasts and plants he fought until now were too weak to use it. Whatever the case, they were already at a disadvantage. He had to think of a way to deal with this, but first he had to warn them.

"Don’t get close!" he yelled, but they were too close to back down.

Nadine slashed at him with a green sword, and Franco punched him. The punch wasn’t very effective, but the sword cut the roots and made him bleed sap. Both backed away after the attacks.

"Dammit, why do all these plants have to be so resistant to blunt attacks!" Franco was cursing the monster as he was going to be less effective than the swords.

"He’s the same as the other one; he can regenerate and is stronger in the ground. He can release an aura around his body that weakens you. Be careful, focus on fighting at range and make an opening for the heavy attacks!" He didn’t speak about the last skill to use magic. He wanted to give the impression he didn’t know about it to Gloom Scent.

If he notices that I know everything, he may decide to fight us seriously. We need to burst him while he’s still underestimating us.

"The same? You think I’m the same as a simple servant!" It was strange to say, but he could feel the anger in the voice of a plant. "Know your place, vermin! How dare you compare me to a mindless servant!"

He began to heal his wounded hand; the roots were growing back at an unbelievable speed.

Jacob shot three more times, and they all passed the shield. This time, a wall of roots came from the ground and blocked them all. Gloom Scent was controlling them with the lower half of his body.

"Is that all you can do, vermin? I was taking it easy on you since I thought you had come to your senses and were ready to accept a painless demise. But now you fought and insulted me. I shall show you the power of someone who walks the path of Azasie."

The flowers all over Gloom Scent’s body bloomed at the same time a red cloud poured all over the forest. [Debilitating scent]

We can’t get anywhere close to it without being affected by it. Silas had a good power, but it wasn’t perfect. He could learn the skills of an opponent, but it’s not like he had complete knowledge of them. For example, he didn’t have an idea of what magic could do or, in the case of [Debilitating scent], what types of debuffs it could inflict.

Even if one of us gets hit by it, we can’t tell precisely what it is doing. There is no status screen here. We also don’t know how long it will last. It could be minutes, hours, or something that works as long as we stay close to the user.

"Keep your distance! The plan is the same!"

"Now you run away like the vermin you are. This is more suited for your kind." Another barrage of bullets came at him. "The same thing over and over, how tiresome." He raised another wall of roots, but these bullets were combined with Nora’s power.

She was hanging close to Jacob so she could help him. The wall exploded after one bullet reached it and the other two hit Gloom Scent in his chest.

His chest got blown off along with a loud boom. But he was still standing. He had managed to block the second bullet with another wall at incredible speed.

"His reaction time is insane, and he took the explosion pretty well, huh. This one is going to be a tough nut to crack. Nora, another round please!"

"I’m right beside you, Jacob."

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"Enough!" Gloom Scent started to regenerate his torso and moved forward. He cut the distance between him and Nathan. There was no time for another volley of shots. He raised his fist and slammed it right on top of Nathan.

He didn’t have time to dodge. His shield took the impact, and he felt as if one of the bones in his arm was broken. The ground below him cracked, and his legs were shaking. I took it well, but my arm is hurting. A single hit could kill all the others.

Nathan was in pain and afraid. His life was in danger. And yet he was determined to stand his ground as the tank. "Is that all you bastard!"

"Insolent vermin." The other fist was about to slam him again when three others jumped in to attack.

Silas, Franco and Nadine attack from all directions to give him a chance to reposition himself, but Nathan moves were slow. No, everyone's movements had slowed down considerably. It was the effect of [Debilitating scent].

Their eyes were blurry, their ears were listening to strange sounds, and their bodies were heavy. The cuts barely slashed the surface of Gloom Scent's body. It was so weak that he didn’t have to block.

The fist punched right at the shield and broke Nathan’s arm completely. It sent him flying into a tree. Rebecca came out of hiding and went to his side. The battle was so fierce and chaotic that there was no time for someone else to give orders. She was the only one who could decide who needed healing.

"Nathan, are you conscious?" She summoned her shadow and began to treat his arm.

"Y-Yes, it’s strong. I need to get back into it. I’m the only one who can take those hits."

"I-I know, I’m working as fast as I can." Healing a broken arm like this in seconds was incredible. It was already starting to swell and bend in three different ways. The shadow made an incision and began to straighten the arm back into position with some tools. It also gave him an anesthetic for the pain and drained the blood to remove the swelling.

It was going to take a minute, but in this moment, that was enough for the battle to end. Gloom Scent was trashing the trees, trying to kill the others. They were dodging for their lives, but one root almost caught Nadine.

Gloom Scent fell into one of the traps and lost his chance. The spikes below didn’t even pierce his body. "Pathetic tricks. You thought this would do something against me?" He sent his roots below, and they came out of the rest of the traps. Nine holes in total, they barely gave them ten seconds to retreat.

Bullets were bouncing from the bark. Jacob was attacking with his gun thanks to Nora’s power, but without Nathan, they didn’t do any damage at all. "We keep shooting until he comes our way."

Nora’s was changing the trajectory of the bullets to make it seem like they were in another place. It was an attempt to buy the others' time. Unfortunately, Gloom Scent didn’t care for their attacks.

The monster was looking at Rebecca and Nathan. He started to move towards them.

"Over here, idiot!" Nadine stuck her hand in the ground and raised a wall with the earth. He moved as if it wasn’t there as his massive body broke it.

"You want a fight? Then you've got one!" Franco jumped forward with a punch, but the roots slapped him away. He broke his arm, and half of his face was burned by the friction. If he hadn’t punched the root to reduce the power, he would have died. Despite that, Gloom Scent focused on Rebecca.

"I’m already annoyed by having to come here personally to kill you. The least you can do is stay dead."

Shit, he’s targeting the healer and tank at the same time. What do I do? tank a hit so they can run? I’m not sure if I have enough defense; regeneration doesn’t matter if he one-shots me. His chest wound is almost healed too. He was considering this moment to retreat, but something happened.

The secret weapon made her move. Emily had been hiding in the cave all this time, watching and preparing. The original plan was for Silas to give her the signal, but things weren’t going according to plan. If she did nothing, two people were going to die. She grasped the orb in her hand tightly and attacked.

"[Green Slash]" A hard green light manifested in the entrance of the cave and went flying at Gloom Scent, cutting everything in its path.

A sonic blade that split the forest in half. Gloom Scent finally stopped as he lost control of his lower half. The blade cut him in two. The sounds of the trees falling left everyone in awe, trying to understand what they saw. Only two people had an idea about what happened.

Silas suspected it, but Emily felt it in her body and soul. This was magic. She unleashed a new power from inside her by using the orb. Silas tried to do something similar and aimed at the monster, but he couldn’t.

Why is it not working? Why can't I do magic? Wait, could it be? The only thing Emily and Gloom Scent have in common is that they are both plants. I look like him, I have the same type of flowers in my body, and I can use his other skills, but I’m still human.

Gloom Scent was genuinely shocked by the attack. He was trying to join the lower half of his body with regeneration, but his attention was focused on the vermin around the cave entrance. Her shape was that of a vermin, but her appearance was similar to that of one of own kind. She also had something in her hands, but he could feel it was familiar.

"The heart of my servant. Is that how you used it? Was that blade a spell? You dare cast magic against me?"

Rebecca finished healing Nathan and ran immediately to help Franco. Gloom Scent didn’t care for them. This was the biggest offense he'd seen till now.

"Disgusting vermin, turning your body like a Bors is blasphemy! Not only is that transgression against our goddess, but you also used the heart to cast your foul magic!" Gloom Scent flowers began to glow with an aura around his body.

Silas tried to attack while he was distracted, but he only made a superficial cut on his back. Jacob was still shooting but doing no damage at all. He’s so angry he’s not defending himself.

"You, you have earned my wrath. You vermin who worship the System! It doesn’t have real magic. The power it gives you is only an imitation. A virus that infects all the pureness of the world. This is true magic [Crimson Bloom]!" The flower he had for a head bloomed, and a crimson cloud extended toward Emily.

Nathan jumped away since he couldn’t block it. That decision saved his life.

It disintegrated everything in its path. The trees, flowers, and the ground itself turn into dust.