As Lixin approached the colossal tree, he could barely take his eyes off it. It was an impressive sight, and Lixin couldn't help but feel a bit of trepidation at the prospect of climbing it. If he were scared of heights, the thought would have been too much for him.

 

'Lucky for me that I'm not,' Lixin murmured as he looked up into the branches. A thought crossed his mind—was it even possible for him to do so?

 

After all, his Persona didn't come with any climbing skills. He next considered whether there was another way to get the leaves from the tree. However, given that there were none on the ground near it, or anywhere else, it seemed doubtful.

 

"Well I will probably learn the skill as I climb up the tree," he said, stretching his arm toward the trunk's bark.

 

However, he barely touched it when the ground beneath him rumbled ominously. The bright blue starflowers around him started to pull themselves out of the soil one by one as if obeying some invisible command. Lixin gasped in surprise and quickly pulled his hand away from the tree trunk.

 

Frozen in place, he stared at the Mienless that had unearthed themselves from the ground. After being chased by the 'danger kitty' earlier, he thought that would be the scariest experience he would face today. However, looking at these monsters he knew he was wrong.

 

These creatures were terrifying. While the blue starflower they were connected to was beautiful, they were exactly the opposite. Their bodies were shaped like round, folded onion bulbs, and in the center of their bulbous bodies was a large eye. Their iris was a dazzling, vivid yellow, and their pupils were white and undulating. It flitted left and right, trying to locate its prey.

 

Lixin was aware that he was the prey, but he couldn't move. He knew he should, but his flight or fight response hadn't been awakened. He could only stare as their gaze fixed on him.

 

Once they spotted him, they immediately turned away from him. Lixin was perplexed as to why they did this, but he was happy that they would not harm him. He should not, however, have counted his eggs before they hatched.

 

When the creatures turned around, a giant mouth appeared on their bodies with sharp, sparse teeth, each at least two inches long. He could only stare as the monster emitted an ominous sound, saliva dripping from its mouth. 

 

However, when the group of Mienless started pulling their hidden root tentacles out of the ground, he snapped out of his fear-induced state. He knew he needed to act fast, especially when he saw how those appendages dripped with unknown fluids.

 

'Yeah, whatever this hentai is, I want no part of it. I had enough of that type of stuff to last a lifetime,' Lixin thought, moving backward trying to create some distance between the monsters and him.

 

A broad green root flew toward him before he could even move, barely missing him. Fortunately, he spotted it in time to avoid being hit. But given how slow the root was, he shouldn't let that small victory go to his head.

 

He wondered if it was because these were low-level monsters that their hit speed was so slow. Lixin thought it probably was given their green auras.

 

Green auras around a monster meant players would have the same type of stats and skill set. So he should have no trouble defeating them. This gave him confidence that, despite these monsters being terrifying, he could handle them.

 

[Cora:] [You have entered battle! Voice mode is activated!]

 

Ignoring the system prompt, his eyes were glued to the three starflower blades careening through the air toward him. He leapt out of the way with a roll, but two of them still grazed him lightly. The force sent him skidding back and pain shot through. The system beeped twice to signify he had been damaged and he saw -10 HP appear in the corner of his vision.

 

Lixin scrambled to his feet, before sprinting behind the Mucuna Prurien tree. It was only a semblance of protection but it worked in creating distance between him and the Meinless. If this wasn't a game he bet his heart would have been racing as he made his escape.

 

As he prepared himself to climb the tree to get out of the monster's reach, he was surprised to find that the creatures hadn't come after him. His brow furrowed in confusion as he peered around the trunk. He could see the monster's eyes swiveling around in the sockets searching for him.

 

'Could they only locate him with their eyes?' Lixin wondered. But that didn't seem right. They had been attacking him fine when their backs were turned. 'What was going on?'

 

Suddenly an idea occurred to him, and quickly glancing at the ground he spotted three rocks and grabbed them. 

 

Taking careful aim at the bushes opposite him, he threw one of the rocks toward it. He watched as the Meinless immediately launched an attack against the area where it landed.

 

Lixin repeated this action two more times before finally understanding that these creatures could only use their sense of sight and sudden movements to detect their prey.

 

Knowing he could use this to his advantage, he picked up a couple more rocks. In an attempt not to alert the creatures, he stealthily walked until he was at the edge of the tree trunk before throwing a rock.  

 

When Meinless was distracted, he jumped into view and thought about which skill he wanted to use before extending his arm, and saying, "Steep!"

 

As soon as he gave the command, a tea cup with a bleeding heart floral pattern appeared in his hand. After a couple of moments of staring at it in surprise, he turned to look at the monsters. He saw a red tea tag appear on top of one of the Meinless heads he was looking at that would move if he glanced at another one. 

 

Lixin assumed it was there to help him aim, but he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he used an AOE skill. Would the red tag multiply to show how many mobs the AOE would affect? 

 

Deciding to explore that question later, Lixin yelled, "Serve!" 

 

Suddenly, the teacup floated up in the air before shattering spectacularly above him. Lixin could only watch in awe as the shards floated outwards before dissolving into nothingness releasing the Rósastóll tea from its confines.

 

As soon as it was free, the red liquid which made up the tea surged toward the Meinless. But on its way to its intended destination, it began to undergo a transformation.

The liquid changed from seed to bud to a bleeding heart flower in bloom in mere seconds. Even though it happened so fast that Lixin could only catch glimpses of the time-lapse evolution, he still found it wondrous.

However, Lixin knew he had no time to be awestruck, so quickly, in succession, he sent the Rósastóll tea towards the other six monsters before the Bleeding Heart flower could even hit the first Starflower monster.  

It was only when the liquid zoomed toward the last Meinless did he see the full effects of the Rósastóll tea.

Lixin watched open-mouthed as the now transformed Bleeding Heart flower planted itself into the target as if it had found fertile soil. And like a flower planted in fertile soil, it thrived.

Not even a second had passed before long vines erupted from the area the flower buried itself in. These vines surrounded the monster tightly before thrones emerged from their thick brownish-red stems. 

These thorns dug themselves deep into the monsters, causing them to struggle. When Lixin checked their HP bar, he saw that it was dropping by 20 points every second.

However, what Lixin hadn't realized was that some of the monsters' life force would nourish this strange flower; new blossoms sprouted from each vinelet, and the original bloom quickly grew to 50 times its previous size. 

 

If it wasn't for the battle raging on, Lixin could have easily believed they were standing in a picturesque garden. This is how fragrant the air became with floral scents. 

 

'It is oddly beautiful,' he thought as he stared at this peculiar sight. For a second he could have sworn he saw the flower-shaped hearts beating.

 

~

Author Says:

 

Lixin: Wow, that was exhilarating!

MomoCatt: I bet, I thought you were a goner for a second there.

Lixin: Me too. Luckily, I found the Meinless weakness.

MomoCatt: And now they just dried up husk.

Lixin: It makes me want some jerky.

MomoCatt: You're in luck, I made some jerk chicken.

Lixin: Yum.