Chapter 49 – On the Matter of Indulging in Comfort

The light rain never ceased throughout the journey. After crossing two swampy areas, the two finally stepped onto solid ground. Unlike the lifeless Withered Wood Forest, this place had traces of yellowish-brown moss on the ground, with occasional low shrubs scattered about.

“Since the thorns can attack us from the sky,” Lin Wei said to Duan Yu, “it means the thorns aren’t the main body of the plant but just a part of it!”

This also explained why there was no record of such thorns in the Bestiary… What kind of plant has a long lifespan, the potential to advance to a high rank… and possesses massive thorns?

“Abel,” Duan Yu spoke up.

“Abel Vine…” Lin Wei clicked his tongue. “Raber’s cousin.”

He then chuckled and said, “In that case, I can’t make it my summoning plant. We must kill it and take everything we can carry back! Daniel will be thrilled to see it.”

The Raber that Lin Wei had contracted with was a rare magical vine—tough yet flexible, with numerous branches. When fully grown, it was massive, and its sheer strength and durability made it both a formidable attacker and defender.

The Abel Vine, however, was different. As a magical vine, it had an extensive root system that spread underground before emerging as branches. Its main offensive power lay in the thorns that grew on its vines and the potent toxins contained within its flowers and fruits.

Its extensive roots made it immobile, so it wasn’t suitable as a summoner’s companion. However, its thorns, leaves, flowers, and fruits were all precious alchemical materials.

Knowing that the thorns weren’t its main body, there was no need to attack them anymore. The two landed, and the spirit formed a sturdy rock shell to fend off the sharp thorns.

Magical plants possessed intelligence, but it was nowhere near that of magical beasts. Thus, they could only ever reach the high rank in their lifetime—even so, magical plants had their own terrifying aspects. While magical beasts were mostly set in their abilities once they matured, magical plants continued to grow slowly, never ceasing, especially the Abel Vine they were about to face. Its size and root system grew increasingly vast, and its toxicity became more potent. It didn’t manipulate elements, making it highly concealed. Its main body was difficult to locate, and it was nearly impossible to kill completely, so it wasn’t afraid of being attacked by magical beasts—it was always the one doing the attacking.

“Its main body could be very far away… Over time, its roots have likely claimed a vast territory,” Lin Wei said.

“Let Jerald handle it,” Duan Yu reminded him.

“Good idea,” Lin Wei closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into the contract, while Duan Yu’s mental energy enveloped the surroundings, defending against the constant barrage of thorns to prevent Lin Wei from being disturbed.

Through the contract, Jerald used his innate elemental affinity to seep the special power of the elemental spirits into the ground. Everything about the soil and rocks became crystal clear in his spiritual world—and was also conveyed to Lin Wei.

A vast network of roots formed in Lin Wei’s mind. His task was to find the origin of these complex roots.

After a while, he opened his eyes and looked toward the rolling hills in the distance, shrouded in rain and mist. “Over there—we’re currently at the edge of its territory, so only the thorns are attacking. If we go further in, we’ll see the fully formed vines. This thing’s territory is indeed huge, and we can’t—and don’t want to—bypass it.”

A pale golden barrier unfolded before the two, and the thorns could no longer advance past it. A high-ranking wind elemental beast enhanced their magic, allowing them to move faster toward the mountain range.

A high Mage against a high-ranking magical plant—the odds were heavily in their favor. The only tricky part was the toxicity accumulated by the vine over the years.

As they moved forward, the traces of yellowish-brown moss disappeared. The entire mountain range showed no signs of life—the already barren land had been completely drained by this vine, which endlessly expanded outward, spreading countless branches to seize the nutrients needed for its prolonged growth.

Concealment, competition, and possession—these were the only rules in this forgotten, sealed land, whether for magical beasts or plants.

“Close your eyes,” Duan Yu suddenly said.

Lin Wei instinctively shut his eyes, feeling himself being lifted off the ground by Duan Yu once again. He released his mental energy, and in his mind’s eye, he saw blurry, wriggling, elongated shapes—they had entered the vine’s true territory, a place filled with faintly toxic mist. Closing his eyes and slowing his breathing was the most effective method for now.

The vines were incredibly tough due to their half-metal nature, but this also meant Duan Yu didn’t need to expend much energy to sever them.

The cold gleam of Gungnir and the pale golden blades crisscrossed as they swept through the area before them. Gray earth elemental energy filled the gaps in their defense. In this close-quarters combat, a summoner couldn’t contribute much, so Lin Wei didn’t do anything else, simply allowing himself to be carried through the tangled vines—he had complete faith that Duan Yu could safely navigate through them, so he wasn’t worried. In fact, he felt a sense of security he had never experienced before.

This feeling was quite peculiar because, in his past life, Lin Wei had been the young Duke wielding immense power, the supreme commander of the Imperial Corps and the Mage Corps—for the better part of his life on the battlefield, he had been the one in control, constantly on edge, protecting his army to the fullest while fighting the enemy. He wasn’t the type to close his eyes and entrust his safety to someone else.

Lin Wei cautiously reflected on his current state and realized it was dangerous—he was one of those who indulged in comfort, and over the past year, he had been subtly influenced by the guy beside him, gradually becoming lazy and carefree. This was unacceptable, something to reflect on, but it also seemed… pleasant.

The Young Duke went through an internal struggle and ultimately chose to continue hanging onto the Mage with a clear conscience.

When given the opportunity to indulge in comfort, people naturally would—there was nothing wrong with that. He told himself this and found some solace in another thought:

“We need to pass through two mountain ranges, and then we’ll see a hill to the right… It’s not very tall, and the main vine is there, probably at the summit. After the first mountain range, there’s a deep valley, so be careful.”

The mountain ranges, hills, and underground roots perceived by the spirit overlapped in Lin Wei’s mind, and he relayed this information to Duan Yu, guiding their path—since he was directing the way, he couldn’t be considered completely useless.

As they got closer to their destination, the vines grew denser, sprawling across the ground without restraint. The deep brown vines had sparse, feathery leaves, and beneath these leaves grew small, deep red flowers—their scent, when inhaled, carried a burning, spicy sensation.

Lin Wei summoned a water elemental beast to follow them, and the water balls it hurled at the vines weakened the toxic scent significantly.

“Climb the mountain?”

At the foot of the mountain, Duan Yu asked.

“Wait,” Lin Wei controlled the Arcane Eagle to circle lower and observed the situation at the summit. “There are fewer vines at the top, but the root’s origin is indeed in the center of the mountain—probably in a cave. The cave must be very large… It should be easy to find.”

“No need to search,” Duan Yu’s voice was calm. “I see it.”

“See? You didn’t close your eyes?” Lin Wei was somewhat surprised.

“Its poison doesn’t affect me.”

“Alright…” Lin Wei paused, then asked, “Shall we go in?”

Once inside, the visual impact was immense—even though Lin Wei was only using his mental energy to see, the scene was still blurry.

The cave was indeed massive, making one wonder if the entire mountain had been hollowed out by the vine. The thick main trunk extended into tangled branches that hung all over the cave, writhing together like a nest of snakes, utterly repulsive.

But there was no time for Lin Wei to express his disgust. Thick vines with sharp black thorns lunged at them, and the flower buds burst open, releasing a much more concentrated toxic mist than before.

Even if Lin Wei held his breath, he couldn’t last long. It was impossible to avoid inhaling the toxic mist entirely—the water elemental beast formed a thin layer of water, but it didn’t block all the poison.

“We need to dig out its magic core quickly…” he said weakly to Duan Yu. “Though it’s not fatal, I feel like I’m about to pass out.”

—The juice of the Abel Vine’s fruit was highly toxic, its flowers’ scent was dangerous, and the fire magic contained within could burn the eyes and exposed wounds. Inhaling it directly caused hallucinations—this was clearly written in the Bestiary.

Although the two weren’t worried about dying from the flowers’ scent, which was why they dared to charge into the cave where the main vine grew, inhaling too much of something with hallucinogenic effects was still not a good thing…