Chapter 5 – A Bonus Feature
"Child, was this your doing?"A soft, serene voice made Alex's ear tremble. There was no doubt—it was the voice of a mature, beautiful, and charming woman.
This voice alone was enough to make him give up his life; he would even fight with his life on the line for this woman.
Realization dawned upon Alex—he had been charmed by a veteran professional. Though it should have been impossible for him to break free from this spell, being just a beginner, somehow... he did.
"Interesting~~"The voice giggled by his ear, but this time, it came from behind, as if it wanted to be seen.
Just as Alex had guessed, the woman he imagined—a beautiful, mature enchantress with a seductive, hourglass figure—was now standing behind him.
This woman could stand toe-to-toe with General Cecilia in terms of valiant aura, but there was a huge difference between them. The general had an icy yet loving presence, while this other woman had a teasing smile and wore a tightly clinging robe that accentuated every nook and cranny of her body.
"Have you looked enough~~?" she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly, still speaking in that seductive voice.
Alex didn't dare look any longer and immediately closed his eyes.
"That thing looks beautiful, yet it pierced the carcasses of the Abyssal Beasts like tofu and absorbed every drop of blood~~"
"There's no mage profession among the myriad races that can do this~~"
"Oh my~~ I forgot to introduce myself~~The name's Amanda Roman, also the one in charge of mages on this battlefield~~"
Fear crept up his spine again. Was this the third time already today?!
Amanda looked at him with her seductive green eyes, clearly expecting an introduction in return.
"I'm Alex. As you can see, I'm a new recruit," Alex replied carefully.
"Hm hm~~"She nodded like a chicken pecking at grain, her smile widening, demanding more information.
"Um…"
"Hm hm~~"
"The General forbade me from revealing more information." He smiled wryly.
Amanda's wide smile immediately darkened, as if she had just eaten something foul.
It was common sense—if the General gave a command, no one could break it. Doing so would mean disaster.
ROAR!!
They both looked toward the beast tide approaching them. The number of beasts was usual, but something felt off.
"The plant!"They both looked toward the former pile of beasts.
It was missing.
Amanda used her perception to find it, but she couldn't track it at all.
"How's that possible?" Her eyes widened in surprise.
She was the strongest mage at level 60 from the rear, yet she couldn't detect a single foreign plant on this barren land.
How... shameful was that?
Her honour was at stake.
Alex was just as shocked by the plant's disappearance. If left unchecked, it could pose a massive threat to every human on the battlefield.
While they were both lost in thought, something far more disastrous occurred at the site of the beast tide.
The beasts, charging forward with wild frenzy, suddenly felt something emerge from beneath them.
CRACK! BOOM!
The barren ground split open beneath them. A black branch burst forth, spreading instantly across the battlefield, piercing the abdomens of every beast in its path.
ROARRR!!!
The beasts howled in agony as a foreign substance surged into their bodies. As if that wasn't enough, barbs on the roots began to elongate, impaling them from the inside out.
Each beast was pierced like a domino in a chain reaction. It was a gruesome, horrifying, and unexpected death.
Before a single drop of blood could hit the ground, it was absorbed instantly by the ravenous roots. The scene played out before the eyes of the soldiers who had just taken their positions to face the beast tide.
They stood wide-eyed, watching the massacre unfold. The beasts' corpses flailed in the air, strung up by the roots like sausages on a barbecue stick.
[+7 Exp][+7 Exp][+7 Exp][+7 Exp]...
A barrage of system notifications hit Alex the moment the slaughter began.
"Huh?" he exclaimed.
"Isn't that root killing those beasts? How come I get the EXP?!" He couldn't help but shout.
"What did you say?"Amanda turned toward him, stunned.
"Um... I'm getting EXP from its kills." Alex pointed toward the root.
"That explains a lot," she nodded with a knowing expression.
"... Please explain, Senior." He looked at her with his usual wry smile.
"I don't know what kind of skill that was, but it nurtured a plant that devours living creatures. According to summoner class mechanics, you're likely receiving a portion of the EXP through a shared link with every kill." Amanda flicked her hair with a "You know what I mean" expression.
"Damn!" Alex screamed internally.
"Thank you for your guidance. I'll take my leave now." He left immediately.
"Hehe~~"Her eyes sparkled as she watched Alex's retreating figure.
Who knew what was going on in her twisted mind?
Alex walked toward the still-massacred field and began using his skills repeatedly on the dead beasts.
To his surprise, the former flower bud had quietly appeared near his leg, following him wherever he went.
The flower bud had grown to 2–4 inches and would occasionally sway for no apparent reason.
"Doesn't this feel like... walking a dog?" Alex muttered, glancing at the swaying bud.
Unbeknownst to him, a figure watched him quietly with wide eyes.
It was Cecilia. She had witnessed the massacre of the entire Abyssal Beast tide consisting of hundreds of beasts with an expression of deep thought. Though this wasn't even a real tide—the real ones had hundreds of thousands of beasts at least—it was still impressive.
"Looks like we still have a shot..." Cecilia spoke softly, a small smile forming on her icy face.
If anyone saw her face at that moment, they would die without regrets.
Meanwhile, Alex was overflowing with joy, barely able to contain his manic laughter.
[Skill used on....]
[Skill used on....]
[Received 0.09 stamina...]
[Received 0.16]mana...]
[+7 Exp]
[+7 Exp]
Looking at the constant stream of system notification...
"Heheheheheehehe""Hahahahaha"
Well... he couldn't hold it in any longer.