Lilie's bow emitted a bright luster as she drew it. Once loosed, the arrow tore through the air with slicing momentum, piercing the flora beast's mouth as it closed its mouth shut.

"Oh shit," Morgan muttered. Quickly, he melted the ice hooks off his daggers and used his tendrils as bungee cords to fling himself off the beast.

And for a brief moment, all was still. Then, a tremendous boom erupted from inside the flytrap's mouth. Hungry flames erupted from the gaps of its teeth, and the lobe was instantly engulfed.

The monster screeched as it flailed its vines around, releasing Anari.

"Take cover," She yelled as she shattered wind runes on her legs.

The next moment, Anari was abruptly launched by a squall far into a safe distance. She crashed onto a roll but was left wholly unharmed.

Meanwhile, the spirit beast roared. Its vines smacked against the flames to put them out. But it was a foolish mistake. The blazing inferno clung to them and spread further wherever they smacked, forming a vicious ignition cycle that spread beyond to the surrounding trees.

The fire began to spread. Thankfully, Morgan would douse it with water and limit the destruction. If it weren't for him, the shifting forest surely would have been up in flames.

"We're not done!" Anari's voice trailed along the winds.

She forced herself up and gritted her teeth. After shattering a dozen life runes around her poisoned leg, Anari mad-dashed toward the beast. She swung her sword, launching wind crescent after wind crescent that slashed through vines whenever they hit.

Lilie followed suit. She leaped down from her hiding spot and shot more arrows, moving ever closer to her team leader to back her. Meanwhile, Morgan relegated himself to fire control. Occasionally, he would throw an ice spear to draw the spirit beast's attention from the others. Their tactics and the flames provided a much-needed distraction, allowing Anari to chip away at the fines, eventually leaving the flytrap limbless. Minutes became an hour as they whittled away at the burning spirit beast. And eventually, the attacks laid too much. With a final roar, it toppled onto the ground, never to move again.

"Whoo... We did it." Morgan raised his arms cheerfully. Quickly, he broke from the forest line and headed for the others, only to crash onto the ground a second later. He remained as such as he gulped a large mouthful of air.

"How are you feeling, Morgan?" Anari asked first, the two women slowly closing in on him.

Morgan chuckled weakly. "I'm good. But I'm pulling my skip card on carving that bad boy."

Lilie weakly smiled at Morgan's strong front. They all knew Morgan was actively resisting the urge to throw up from the lack of mana while avoiding drawing in the energy from the air.

"Take these." She retrieved several mana crystals and a health potion from her pouch, handing them out. "Heal up first before anything else."

"Thank you," Anari muttered as she took the potion.

She quickly poured it over her gaping wound and grimaced as purple gunk bled out of her bloody flesh.

"Are you okay?" Lilie worriedly asked, kneeling beside her. "Should we head back to Avalorn?"

Anari shook her head and splashed more potion on her wound. "No need. We'll rest at the bunker for a few days."

Lilie and Blake nodded, with the former reloading her weapons and standing guard. Time passed. An hour later, Anari stood up and tested her injured foot without so much as a flinch. Once satisfied with the results, she turned to the two.

"Let's start the carving."

Morgan was given more time to rest while the two stood before the dead flytrap. Anari brandished her arcane-enhanced sword and made two vertical slices into its massive stem.

First, the purple liquid spilled from the green membrane, which Morgan had to wash away using the pond's water. Then, the two women pried open the plant flesh.

"Oh my gods," Lilie yelped, stepping backward and dropping her shillelaghs. "Is... is that?"

Yes. The half-digested and dissolved remains of the doe Anari led were buried within the plant's gullet. The sight of it brought Lilie to a sudden, somber silence.

"It had to be done," Anari said softly, gently patting her shoulder. "Sacrifices had to be made to ensure victory."

And she was right. Team Breeze had been luring poisoned food to the fly trap day after day to slow it down. Was it okay? Lilie would not think so. But Anari's style was 'Better them than my team.'

In the end, Lilie nodded to Anari. "Let's continue."

The two resumed their carving. They sliced more and more into the flesh until they finally found one large crystal embedded in purple flesh and covered with poisonous goop.

Both women sighed. "Morgan..."

The red-haired man laughed bitterly. He staggered back up and strode to the pond. After a few gestures, he returned with both arms coated with ice, similar to armor.

"No rest for the wicked," he muttered as he shoved his hand into the wound, sloshing his arm about.

"I'm sorry," Lilie said, her face filled with guilt. "I'll make it up to you once we get back."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"How many runes was it this time?" Anari asked.

"It's not that big of a deal, guys." Morgan smiled at them. But as the two women silently stared at him, he fell under their combined pressure. "Fine... I used up around fourty runes in this fight."

"...It'll take a week before you're at full strength again," Anari muttered, sheathing her sword. "But a mere fourty won't hold you back."

"Yeah, I still have my experience." Morgan smiled, soon pausing. "I think I found it."

With a foot on the stem, he pulled with all his might. Slowly, surely, the two witnessed a green crystal the size of a man's head. Its verdant hue highlighted over Morgan's armor, appearing sickly. Then, with a final tug, he ripped off the final strings of flesh that clung onto the crystal.

"There we go."

He then began his special cleansing process, shifting his ice armor into a floating sphere of water before tossing the crystal in. Once the poisonous goop washed off the crystal, the ball spat it into his hands.

"Done," He said, turning to the others. "Can we go back now? I'm dying for a warm bath and a hot meal."

The others nodded and quickly prepared to leave, not wanting to deal with the beasts attracted by the fighting and noise.

"A moment," Anari abruptly spoke up, her gaze lingering on the slain beast. "Lilie, pass me an empty vial."

Once it was in her hands, Anari scooped up some poisonous goop and handed it to Lilie.

"Maybe you can study it and copy its properties," Anari said, smiling at Lilie's confusion.

Lilie was taken aback. Poison?

She hadn't thought of that before. But it may be time to add to her repertoire. So, Lilie nodded and stored the vial in her spatial pouch.

Off they went. Now that the vines had lost their host, they remained dead sand till as Team Breeze headed back. The skies quickly darkened, and the fog thickened on the trip back. Thankfully, they hadn't been met with stalkers or other beasts that stalked the forest. Without the vines to attack Team Breeze, the return to the sanctuary was quick. And Lilie was the first to descend.

Chirp!

Tuula and her companions flew in and greeted her with a flurry of affectionate attacks.

"Alright, alright, I've missed you too." Lilie giggled, enveloping the trio in her embrace.

Soon, Morgan and Anari joined them, and Team Breeze settled into a routine. Anari returned to the office while Morgan wandered off to the bathrooms. Lilie was to man the kitchen. Thirty minutes later, the aroma of stew filled the air. Lilie stood over it and sampled it.

She hummed. "Needs more toenips."

Beside her were several clay pots filled with soil. And once Lilie deemed her stew lacking, she tossed in several seeds. Then, with a gentle gesture of her hand, sprouts shot up from the earth.

"What smells so good?"

Morgan emerged from the washroom. His hazel eyes appeared livelier, and his hair was intentionally left damp.

"Stalker stew," Lilie said, plucking several red bulbs into the pots.

"Mmmm. Can't wait." With a flick of his wrist, water tendrils grabbed onto the vegetables. "Go freshen up. I got this."

"Alright."

Lilie then slipped away as Morgan took charge of the kitchen. However, instead of heading off to the showers, she entered the office first.

"Anari, Morgan's done with the bath. Do you want to go first?"

Her team leader was engrossed in meticulous writing. With a quick glance, Lilie read mentions of their hunt, the cost of resources they spent, and the missing supplies, among other things.

Lilie's brows knitted at the mention of supplies. It seemed like Anari would make a fuss about it once they returned to Avalorn. It wasn't that much of a surprise, given that she was the person to write every little thing down. Moreover, Anari had never batted an eye at lowered pay cheques due to her own costs.

"Morgan's done?" Anari continued writing, not bothering to glance up at Lilie. "What took him so long? I swear. The man would sleep in there if he could."

Pfft

Lilie let out a small laugh. "Maybe he likes splashing and making waves."

A fleeting smirk crossed Anari's beautiful features, but was quickly squashed. "Perhaps. But you go ahead. I want to finish this report before I take a break."

Lilie nodded. Her gaze then trailed down to the bloodied bandages.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly. "I'm sorry."

"Lilie." Anari stopped writing and turned to her. "It's not your fault. These things happen, and you shouldn't blame yourself." A pause. "And that's an order."

"Okay. You're right," Lilie murmured, then sighed. "I wish Atlas were here. You wouldn't have gotten hurt otherwise."

Anari paused her writing. A rare, fleeting emotion was in her gaze, but it quickly vanished.

"He probably would've just tried to throw rocks at it, hoping it would topple over," she said, her composure returning.

There was another round of infectious laughter. Soon, the pair went their separate ways. Time passed. And it wasn't until late evening that Team Breeze reconvened at the dining table. But work was never done for Anari. Throughout the entire meal, she kept her gaze glued to the map.

Finally, Anari spoke up. "While I recover, you two will go out together and hunt for food."

Both nodded. There was no reason to argue otherwise, as she would never change her mind. Safety in numbers.

Satisfied with their agreement, Anari continued, "Once my leg has healed, we'll proceed with our mission." She pointed to Mellor on the map before her finger trailed to several dotted marks near the city. "There are some villages along the path. You know what to do."

Morgan nodded. "Are we going in guns blazing, or will we take it slow?"

"Slow. There's no reason to rush." Anari then turned her gaze to Lilie, a hint of anticipation shining in her purple eyes. "But during our stay here, I think Lilie should try ascending."

Lilie trembled with nervousness. "Y-yes, of course. This time... this time, I'll break through. I promise."

But inside, her guts were clenching. She didn't believe that it was the right time. Yet what could she say? That she wasn't up to the task? Right after her two friends risked their lives to pave her way? What kind of friend would she be? How could Lilie face them if she failed?

Sensing her discomfort, Morgan gently patted her shoulder. "Hey. You got this."

Lilie swallowed the lump in her throat while putting on a false face of bravado. "Right. Soon, Team Breeze will have a new specialist."

Soon, dinner was concluded. Lilie went into a barren room and sat in the middle. Her friends had wished to join her, but she stopped them, making up an excuse of not needing distractions.

Once alone, Lilie drew her newly acquired runic crystal.

"You're Dílis Tekerd Lilie," She whispered, clutching it. "Daughter of Lord Dílis Tekerd Cosan."

With her verdant eyes shining, she began the absorption process.

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