Chapter 354: Harvest season

Chapter 354: Harvest season

Health : 80 980 / 80 980

Stamina : 21 047 / 21 047

Mana : 203 650 / 417 100

Sofia looked at her mana trickle down as she prepared a piercing bolt before entering. Its really annoying that the runes lock all regeneration. As soon as I get stuck on VPPV the next goal is to fix that. Hopefully before the next trial.

Plasma kept growing and gathering over the Scepter, Sofia felt the heat on her face even through the bone armor helmet but her right arm was completely fresh, protected by the dragon scale arm. She turned to Astelia, Ready when you are.

The small Vampire nodded and closed the visor of her own helmet. She walked up to the door and extended her hand.

Interestingly, she said, I have a lot more control over my specialization when I directly touch the target. Kind of like you with your bones.

Like punched by a giant, the heavy-looking stone door broke off from its frame and was sent flying away into the huge bosss room, it flew on a curved path, barely missing the giant tree in the middle to lodge itself into the opposite wall like a thrown dagger into a soft fruit.

You missed, Sofia commented.

Im the Oracle of Moon, not an expert of door ballistics.

Barely able to hear each others banter through the crackling of the bolts raging plasma, they walked into the strangely peaceful room.

The boss room was akin to a giant cylinder, with narrow pathways all the way along the walls. It somewhat reminded Sofia of the abyss under Scriptures Holy See. In the middle was a giant tree with dark red bark and black leaves that spanned from the bottom where they were all the way up to the ceiling, some fifty meters above. The diffuse red light coming from its three large veiny red fruits near the canopy lit up the room somewhat, quickly drowned by the intense light of the bolt Sofia was holding onto. The trees thick roots were all over the floor and amidst them were dozens of rusty and broken mechanical knights like the Protector of Mezanthil the students had fought.

The only reason Astelia and Sofia had time to banter was because of the lack of immediate danger, but they became serious once they stepped into the room.

Theres mana coming from all the broken knights.

The black leaves of the tree rustled above.

Impaled by thick roots that spread in and around them, the armors stood up.

This seems dangerous, Sofia told Astelia as they observed the creatures stand up like zombies, Lets go for my plan.

Got it.

Astelia activated her [Lunar Realm], flooding the room in cold moonlight while she closed her eyes. This was her opportunity to rest, heal, and regenerate some mana and stamina.

Meanwhile, Sofia still kept her small reserve of just about thirty thousand mana and made her way back down to the ground level, walking on thin air in the direction of the two creatures. She switched her scepter with her left hand.

The red sap obscuring the creatures exact appearance dripped down as they stood up, and their real form was revealed. They were like thin vaguely human silhouettes made of silky smooth dark-red wood. They had nothing comparable to a head or a mouth and yet they produced a blood-curdling scream. They charged. Sofia could barely see them move as they appeared before her and attacked in unison with one arm each. Their pointy wooden arms lashed out horizontally at Sofia from both sides like a pair of scissors.

It was hard for Sofia to fight her instinct to try to evade but she stood still, and the attacks harmlessly curved around her, their force leaving a deep x-shaped laceration in the opposite wall.

Scary.

Using the last of her mana, Sofia simultaneously activated the third tier of [Runeforged Overlord] as well as [Erredian Rot] and charged forward, body-slamming the two twig monsters standing before her.

The rot spread through contact with the bone armor as it was enveloped in a thin layer of holy light. This was the best way she had to precisely hit the monsters without spraying rot everywhere and possibly ruining whatever magic item was hiding within the roots of the giant tree.

Covering the monsters in rot was successful, and ramming them into the wall too, but Sofia lost the Order state of [March of the Envoy], the monsters stuck again as they freed themselves from the wall, and Sofia died, her head sliced into eight pieces.

Astelia was in high-alert, her mana clutching around the Academys catalyst hidden within her armor, she was scanning mana and space in a wide area with her eyes closed. Sofia had just died, which was part of the plan. If anyone was waiting for an opportunity to attack the students like Sofia feared, it was now or never.

The twig monsters charged Astelia, who stopped them with her specialization, but she would not be able to hold them for long.

Nothing came of it, and Sofia was reborn three seconds later.

Nothing?

Still, stay alert, Pareth.

I need to help Asty fast.

Sofias heart flew out of her chest.