Taking a cautious step forward I drew my scythe and Whisper drew his bow, knocking a fire bolt arrow. Slowly we walked through the dense foliage dispatching any flora guardians we ran into. The landscape seemed to have a natural path that worked its way through the leaves and bushes. There seemed to be plants that were alive and ones that weren't and it was incredibly hard to tell the difference between them. Keeping us on edge the entire way.
The walls for the most part were ones that weren't alive though we did stumble on some snake vines more than once as they tried to grapple and bind us. Attempting to work their bodies around our necks in an attempt to suffocate us. After their second attempt at our murder, I scanned the vines to see what the deal was with them.
Scan Results
Creature - Florapod, Living Plant
Name - Snake Vine
Combat Type - Rogue
Threat Level - F
Special Skills - Camouflage, Entangling Body, Augmented Grappling and Entangling, Blood thirsty
I don’t know what we thought, thinking that this was the easiest dungeon we could have entered. I mean sure the creatures here were weak but damn. How many of them are there? We fought for what felt like an hour before we caught a break. Dispatching the last of them, Whisper and I crashed to our rears panting, wiping the sweat from our heads.
“I thought you said this would be the safest one. I’m not so sure you were right about that.” I said between labored breaths.
“Haha, yeah. I totally fucked this one up boss. Want to leave or do you want to keep going?” he said while gasping for air.
Once I’d caught my breath, I stood stretching my aching body and reached a hand to Whisper.
Smiling, I said, “If I didn’t already have a home. I’d take over this one.”
Grabbing my arm with a smirk. He pulled himself to his feet and started collecting his arrows. While he did that, I scanned the rest of the creatures and looked for possible resources.
Scan Results
Creature - Florapod, Living Plant
Name - Blue Bell
Combat Type - Healer
Threat Level - F
Special Skills - Healing Pollen, Nectar of Vitality, Root Strike
Scan Results
Creature - Florapod, Living Plant
Name - Orange Orchid
Combat Type - Summoner
Threat Level - F
Special Skills - Population Pollen, Spread Seeds, Plant Growth, Seed Shot, Nectar of Growth
Scan Results
Creature - Florapod, Living Plant
Name - Lesser Orchid
Combat Type - None
Threat Level - G
Special Skills - Seed shot, Nectar of Growth
Scan Results
Creature - Florapod, Living Plant
Name - Warrior Rose
Combat Type - Warrior
Threat Level - F
Special Skills - Armored Petals, Thorn Shot, Thorn Whip, Multi Attack, Augmented Grappling, Nectar of Furry
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Scan Results
Creature - Florapod, Living Plant
Name - White Delite
Combat Type - Rogue, Alchemist
Threat Level - F
Special Skills - Poison Pollen, Charming Scent, Acid Spray, Nectar of Corrosion
“Holy Shit!” I exclaimed, “These plants are the resources. Their nectar, pollen, and petals are a big deal.”
Telling him what I discovered through my scan ability he looked at the flowers in a new light. Too bad we don't have any jars to collect the nectar. We collected the petals from the red flowers as best we could. Hoping it can be used to create tough clothing or armor of some kind.
Spending a bit of time searching, we eventually found a hollow tree that led downwards into the dungeon. Excited, we crawled through the hole and found ourselves in a new type of ecosystem. It was a land of mushrooms! Tall and short, thin and fat, wide and round. There were mushrooms of all shapes and sizes here.
I was about to walk out and marvel at the new landscape when Whisper’s hand rested on my shoulder. He pointed to some movement off in the distance but before that was a cloud of white spores floating in the air. I remembered enough about mushrooms to know that spores were how mushrooms reproduce and it was how they defended themselves against predators.
Thanking him with a nod we crouched down and formed a plan. We decided I would use wind magic as much as I could. Keeping the spores from attaching to us as best as I could. Providing minimal offensive support. We also decided that fire magic wouldn’t be a good idea just due to the amount of plant matter in the air. We could end up burning ourselves if things went wrong. In this area Whisper would be our main offense.
We got close enough to see what Whisper pointed out and what I saw both scared and intrigued me. Mushroom men the size of goblins with bulging eyes and jagged teeth. Their eyes had no lids and their teeth seemed to be misplaced and filed to a point. We could see that they were eating the corpse of some animal. Ripping and rending its flesh with their hands and mouths.
I turned to Whisper and said in a hushed tone, “You call this the safer one. I’m picking the next one. You’re gonna get us killed.”
With a shrug and a chuckle Whisper drew his bow. Knocking an arrow along the way he took aim.
Sighing I pointed my palm in the direction of mushroom men and used my Wind Tunnel spell. Blasting the spore cloud and mushroom men away. The cloud dispersed right away but the little guys only bounced around going only 50 paces or so. Whisper followed up with his bow scoring hits all along their heads. Which didn’t seem to make a difference. The magic in the arrows did, however. Causing the normally small hole to widen into large gashes that caused a foamy, green, fluid to leak out of their wounds.
Oh, the smell. It… It was bad. Like fresh baked feces on a rotten fruit sandwich. I tried to hold it in but wasn’t able to for long. The smell was so bad I could feel it burning my eyes out of my head. Behind me I could hear Whisper heaving, trying to breathe through the horrible mess.
“New plain” I said once I recovered. “Those things need to burn, with fire. Like a lot of fire. I mean a ridiculous amount of fire.”
Whisper stumbled to his feet and shook his head in total agreement.
Scan Results
Creature - Fungalthrope, Living Plant
Name - Mushroom Man
Combat Type - Brawler
Threat Level - F
Special Skills - Poison Spore Cloud, Toxic Touch, Outbreak, Putrid Blood
Fighting our way further through the mass of Mushroom Men, with Fire. I warned Whisper of the dangers of touching them. We did manage to find a couple new mushroom people that would provide some resources.
Scan Results
Creature - Fungalthrope, Living Plant
Name - Guard Shroom
Combat Type - Warrior
Threat Level - F
Special Skills - Burgeoning Blood, Shield Stool, Iron Spores, Shield Bash
Scan Results
Creature - Fungalthrope, Living Plant
Name - Bio Fungi
Combat Type - Healer
Threat Level - F
Special Skills - Luminous Spores, Spore Cloud, Smoke Spore, Regeneration
Those last two we decided could be used in Shield creation, farming and food production, Defense potions, Light potions, Healing potions, and Smoke Bombs. We had been nearly inside this dungeon for 10 hours and we were starting to feel the pressure. Whisper had been incredibly effective in collecting his arrows, but he was still running low.
We decided to rest for an hour before heading on to the obvious entrance to the third floor of the dungeon. A massive mushroom that looked like a weeping willow with marshmallows growing down its stalks. In its center was another hole leading downward.
Clearing the passage, I was once again starstruck by the beauty of my surroundings. I could see the night sky above. Complete with shooting stars and a beautiful luminous moon. Before us a picturesque image of glowing plants in blues, greens, purples, and oranges. Giving the forest in front of us a fairyland feeling. Kind of like shining a purple light on things that would light up in the dark.
Catching myself gawking I snapped back to reality regaining my senses. Looking for Whisper's rebuke I saw he was in just as much awe as I was. Snickering, I quickly raised my arms in front of him. Causing him to jump right out of his boots. He gave me a dirty look and readied his bow.
I put my finger up to my lips indicating for us to remain silent and pointed to a spot not far from the entrance. We walked over to it and sat down. Deciding to take another rest and enjoy the scene a while longer. As we rested, I thought about my old life and what I could have done differently. After a few hours of thought I came to the conclusion that there was nothing that could be done. Deciding to take my new life as destiny. I also decided that, though, yes, I would get revenge. It wouldn’t be my only motivator. I would learn more about my creations and take a more direct approach in aiding their development. At least with those who come from my new realm.
Looking back to Whisper I saw he was doing the same thing. I could see the sorrow and resolve in his eyes as he gazed at the luminous flora of the dungeon floor. Once he noticed me looking at him. He gave me a soft smile and stood up. Looking much better than he did moments before. Refreshed, we began our journey through the third dungeon floor. Excited for what we might find.