Chapter 349: Proper teamwork

Chapter 349: Proper teamwork

The sap is harmless, Topaz, Sofia told her from her position in the back.

Nodding to Sofia, Topaz stepped up to the doors once again and resumed the cutting.

You know these plants? Astelia asked, curious.

Know is a bit of a stretch, but its not my first time seeing them, I just never realized it was the same plant until I saw the characteristic blood-red sap, she explained, then, whispering into Astelias ears, she added, This should be the dungeons main monster. Its a kind of living tree that takes over dead people, empty armor suits, things like those. It can also just be in the form of a fake tree, and as far as I know, only these specific parts are dangerous, the general roots are just roots. I dont know the name but Ive seen them in the spirit forest.

Sofia could see the realization of something on Astelias face as she told her this. Astelia whispered back, sounding excited by the discovery, I have heard of this from the Queen! There are monsters like these in the forest, yes! Theyre really tree monsters, the system calls them the Hallowed purifiers, apparently they feed primarily off of curses!

Curses? That would certainly explain their presence in the black primus forest since Zerei was buried under there. And on the 99th floor of the ranking spire Yeah its not a stretch to say the place it was based on might have been cursed.

Theyre not very smart so that will make good fodder for the students.

The last roots blocking the doors fell and Topaz opened the way into the next room, she took a step in but En who was right behind her grabbed her by the belt and pulled her back, Watch out!

A dog-sized monster fell from the high ceiling right in front of Topaz. It looked like a four-legged mechanical steel spider fused with a bunch of creeping roots and vines. Half-covered in leaves, it was almost hard to see amidst the vegetation if not for the one glowing red eye-like bead on the middle of its body. Having missed its prey, it let out a mechanical screech and skittered away.

Thank you, En, Topaz thanked the furry girl without looking back, her axes ready, she carefully peeked into the room, trying to see if more creatures were waiting in ambush.

Nice! Punch the eyes, En! Keep the pressure on!

Finally, Opals spell was ready, mana surging at her fingertips, she raised the wand in her other hand which released a blue flash. This was something Topaz had explained to everyone as far back as the first event in the forest, Opals signal to take cover. Topaz and En jumped back straight into the passageway, rolling to the sides of Opal, each with several spiders on their tracks while the Spirit Guardian was completely getting swarmed on and could not move anymore.

Opal released her skill, a violent surge of blue flames spewing from her palm in a large cone. The monsters, the Spirit Guardian and Astelia were all in the cone of fire. The vines on the mechanical spiders caught fire and they spread out in a panic, spreading the flames everywhere, while the Spirit Guardian chased after them, finishing them off, unbothered by the fire.

Oh, thats a lot of mana for a single spell at her level. Very effective.

The one spell had exhausted Opal, it seemed, and her sister had to catch her as she fell back, Topaz also called out to the other students, Can someone extinguish the fire?! The monsters are retreating but it's spreading too fast!

Im on it! Shaily answered, a few almost invisible water sprites appearing near her and flying out of the passageway into the burning hall.

After a few minutes, despite the students coughing from the lingering fumes, the fire was contained, at least in the vicinity, and the Spirit Guardian came back from its hunt. Sofia smiled as she observed how her students had fared. No big injuries and quite a few level-ups! Good! Perfect! We didnt even have to intervene, thats going to be worth a lot of tokens.

The instructions Sofia had received for the counting of tokens here were quite simple. The group all shared a single score they would all get. There was a maximum possible score, level-ups and kills would award a certain amount of tokens while severe injuries and teacher interventions would take them back There were also a few special single-person bonus prizes for those who discovered magic items or contributed the most in fights. So far, it was looking quite good for Sofias group.

Astelia teleported back to Sofia, despite getting caught in the fire spell before, she looked completely untouched. Your students are good, she complimented Sofia, I did not have to do anything. The further part of the dungeon is burning though. Sorry about Clints stumble, he put your group in danger.

Its fine, not your fault. And I dont think he wanted to fall either. I believe the magical flames will run out soon, and if Im correct, the regular ones wont be enough to burn the red sap, so no need to worry about that.

Hmm, you might have a point, Astelia answered cheerfully, then my students are up next!