A blinding light shone from the gem while his ears were blasted with a loud buzz. Jaire winced and shut his eyes, but still held onto the dagger. His mind raced with anticipation and excitement. After five long years of failing to manifest even a slither of magic, he would finally experience what it felt like to wield it with his own hands. He braced himself for the inevitable explosion of water and energy while the dagger deafened his ears and shone through his clenched eyes.

And then it was gone.

The buzzing vanished instantly and darkness returned to his eyelids.

Is it done? Jaire thought. Curious, he peeked out. The mushrooms were still intact, and his area was still dry. Where's the water?? .Confused, he looked at the lifeless dagger in his hand.

What the hell is this!? To his shock and dismay, the dagger was not only unimpressive, but useless. It’s blade looked like it was supposed to be triangular, but the later part of it was oddly bent. Along its edges, both sides were serrated, but on one side the teeth were dulled out while on the other they were missing entirely. Lastly, dozens of holes and dents riddled its face, giving it a fragility that made it unusable as a weapon. Damn you! Where's my magic?!

As far as he could tell, there was no change to his body either. Lin once described to him the sensation of channeling magic, how it felt as though “the source of all life coursed through your veins”, but he hadn’t felt a thing aside from a slight irritation in his eyes and a ringing in his ears.

He sighed. Honestly, I don’t know what I expected. Of course it was just a sham. This sucks!!

He sighed again. Whatever, let’s just find Ghost and go home. If they’re still alive that is. I hope the stupid beast got bored and left already.

As he tried to move, he found that his body ached as though he had stood still for ages. Damn, how long was I here for? Man that's uncomfortable. Annoyed, Jaire made his way back towards the crashing sound he previously heard. There was a nagging thought in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t quite understand it. It felt as though he was-

*skrrrr*

His ears perked and he stopped to listen. A low continuous scratch echoed throughout the mushroom patch ahead, though he couldn't see what caused it.

Too many stalks. Hm, Is it Ghost?

...No I doubt it. He'd be quiter than that. Hmm..

He continued forward at a slower pace, sneaking closer to the noise while keeping close to the ground.

*fffffffffffffffffffff*

Another sound entered the mix. This time, it came from slightly above. Also, it sounded somehwat familiar, like the bellows his mother used, but one that continuously blew. Jaire slowed even further, cautiously peeking around each stalk before proceeding. Finally, the edge of the mushroom patch came into view, and with it the cause of the sounds.

What the hell?

A large body was slowly moving along the edge of the patch. It had the familiar sharp and pointed scales of the gouytan upon it, and they were scraping chunks off the outer stalks as it passed. In turn, the mushrooms released a greenish yellow gas from their caps above, which sank to the floor in a steady stream.

What is it doing? Curious, Jaire continued to observe it, staying far away from the gas. From his perspective, the gouytan moved westward, but its body stretched out from the east. No matter where it was however, it continuously scraped against the mushrooms and caused gas to spew from their caps.

Ahhh, I get it. It's trying to trap me.

He believed the gouytan was most likely encircling itself around the patch in an effort to cage him. He wasn’t sure if the gas was dangerous, but chances were that it was likely.

It's probably going to complete the circle soon too. Damn, if only I didn’t get caught up with this stupid dagger. He sighed. Whatever. Now what?

The gouytan’s body was just a bit taller than his own height, which meant there was a gap in between it and the mushroom caps, but he hesitated. I can probably leap through that opening, but that means diving through the gas. I'm not sure what kind it is, but if that thing won't face it head on, neither will I. So then, let’s head back to the center and get away from this gas.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Jaire turned and walked back nonchantly. Well, we've got some time to think. Even if it's done encircling me, it can't attack until the gas clears out. Plus the caps are hiding me from vision so it has to wait until this entire area is filled as well. Now then...options.

First, we fight. Pfft, that’s not happening. I don’t know much about Ghost’s capabilities but I’m certainly not fit to face it. Plus this dagger is useless, it'll snap if I even sneeze wrong. Ugh, why would he give me a thing like this. Anyways...

Second, we can dig our way out. The dirt seems pretty soft and rich, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Mmm, but then again, I have no way to deal with the roots, not to mention any insect or burrowed Zvyr. Ughhhhh.

Okay then, we climb and run away. The gas is falling and not rising, so going above is my best option right? I guess I just have to figure out how to get up without-

The ground trembled as a roar of snaps encircled him. A gust of wind blew inwards towards him. Now what?

He peered as far as he could, and saw the cloud of fumes fast approaching.

Ahhh crap!

Quickly, Jaire scanned the nearby shrooms. They weren’t thick enough to climb, but he had another idea in mind. Picking the flimsiest stalk he could find, he ran towards it and leapt up its side. Above its midway length, he stabbed the dagger into its soft exterior. It squelched as the cap above hissed. Ignoring the secondary danger, Jaire pulled himself up and pushed himself against the stalk.

His weight forced the soft mushroom to careen backwards, creating an opening to appear between the caps above as its own leaned away. The instance it opened enough, Jaire launched himself upwards and through the hole, landing safely upon the other caps.

That. BURNS!!

From nose to lungs, a sharp and burning sensation coursed through his throat. Jaire thacked and coughed as the pungent gas corroded his insides. He had only exposed to it for two seconds at best, but it was still excruciating.

He coughed violently, but noticed something moving in his perepherals. He cocked his head towards it, and looked up.

*HISSSSSSSSSSSS*

High above, the gouytan stared down at him. It was high above, giving it a clear view of Jaire while keeping safe of the gas. It hissed once more as the ground trembled and the outer stalks snapped.

Bastard. Jaire thought while he vehemently coughed. He stared right back it, waiting for the strike that was going to come. God damn lungs, why do I have lungs!

Yet despite Jaire’s debilitated state and exposed position, the gouytan didn’t move. Instead, it just watched him and continued to compressed its body further as puffs of gas shot through the caps.

Damn it, either I stay here and choke to death, or I try to run and get eaten.

The gouytan hissed, and began swaying left and right. Now what?

It squeezed its body further, but this time however, the mushrooms didn't snap. Instead, the outer ones slowly bent down and disappeared and hissed in delight.

Oh, you asshole. It knew he was trapped, and it was enjoying his suffering. The gouytan moved in close, but stayed out of his range. Jaire tried to strike at it with the dagger, but it pulled away before his strike could land. It hissed once more and squeezed its body tighter, sending more puffs of gas at him. Jaire wheezed and fail to his knees. But rather than feel afraid, Jaire felt something completely different.

Don’t you dare look down on me you arrogant fuck.

Fury swam through his weakened body. It grew with every lap, numbing him to the pain within he felt. All that mattered right now was the cocky beast and his pride. He clenched his teeth and stood back up. The beast continued to loom just out of reach, taunting him. Every nerve upon his body pricked with hatred as rage boiled his blood. He took a step forward. And then another.

The lowly beast hissed and pulled away, compressed itself further to shoot more gas onto Jaire. The gas covered him in its rotten smell, yet he strode through it and glared angrily at the beast.

“What’s wrong?” Jaire spat through his teeth as he approached the edge. “Are you too much of a coward to face me?"

The thing hissed back, baring its teeth while it glared back.

"Is that supposed to be a threat? All you are is-”

Just then, a tiny voice in the depths of his consciousness screamed for attention. It had spotted something at the edge of his peripherals, just beyond the beast. His greater self had ignored it at first, but the voice demanded he inspect closer, thus he gave it a cursory glance.

The gas from the mushrooms had spewed over the makeshift barrier and covered their surroundings. It was quickly expanding into the forest, but in one particular direction, a motionless mound lay upon the ground. His eyes instantly perked as he recognized the heavy jacket.

Ghost!

They were obviously injured, and they needed his help. Without thinking, Jaire dashed forward. He took two steps and leapt off the final mushroom and over the gouytan’s body. That is when his mind caught up.

The gouytan hissed and launched itself towards him. Jaire could only helplessly watch as it opened its maw, reveleaing rows of gnarled teeth, each fully capable of sundering his bones. Ah, fuck.

A second later, the beast chomped down.