The creature’s attack range was sixty yards, and sixty yards behind them stood the Thorn Wall.

  It was a deathtrap.

  Hazel was slammed against the wall by a massive nut. While she lost over ten thousand health, she wasn't the one in the most immediate danger. Rena was. As a squishy mage, she’d be obliterated if the Fruiting Mawflower landed a hit like that on her.

  Until Hazel could get back to the front line, someone had to tank the Mawflower’s attacks.

  Without a moment's hesitation, Kael charged forward.

  The Fruiting Mawflower was a stark contrast to the Mirage Mawflowers they’d faced earlier. Beyond its different coloration, its entire structure was different. A central, massive bloom was flanked by five smaller vines, each tipped with a grapefruit-sized fruit.

  As Kael advanced, one of those fruits rocketed from its vine.

  Its target was Rena.

  She had nowhere to dodge, but her expression remained calm. At the last possible second, she activated her mana shield.

  -2637 (Health)

  -2637 (Mana)

  With her own thousand points of physical defense, boosted by Inner Fire and a Sigil of Warding, her total armor rating was a respectable 3500. It was enough to weather the Fruiting Mawflower's 9000-damage attack, leaving her with a decent chunk of her 8000 HP intact.

  Rena cast a quick heal on herself, her health bar shooting back to full. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Maybe this thing isn't as crazy as I thought.

  Her relief was short-lived. The Mawflower raised three vines simultaneously.

  Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

  Three fruits launched in a tight volley, streaking straight for her.

  -2442 (Health)

  -2442 (Mana)

  -2587 (Health)

  -2587 (Mana)

  -2566 (Health)

  -2566 (Mana)

  In an instant, nearly eight thousand of her health vanished, her bar flashing critical red. Her instant heal was on cooldown. Her only option was a desperate [Power Word: Shield], throwing up a 5000-point barrier around herself.

  It wouldn't be enough. To make matters worse, the Fruiting Mawflower was already winding up for another three-shot volley.

  The next hit would kill her.

  Orion’s revival sigil was spent. Kael, Lila, and Hazel were all too far away to intervene.

  Was this it for Rena? Orion watched the scene unfold. Not on my watch.

  He whipped a small scarecrow out of his inventory and lobbed it onto the field in front of Rena. The moment it hit the ground, it shimmered and reshaped itself into a perfect duplicate of Orion.

  [Effigy of Substitution]!

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  The decoy instantly fired a glyph that harmlessly struck the Fruiting Mawflower.

  -1 (Illusory Damage)

  The damage was fake, but the aggro it generated was very, very real. The Mawflower immediately swiveled its colossal bloom, redirecting its three-nut barrage at the Orion clone.

  -6826

  -6656

  -6519

  The effigy’s health dropped instantly to a single point, but it didn’t fall. It stood its ground as the Mawflower continued to pummel it. That was the opening they needed.

  Kael reached Rena’s side, activated his clone, and unleashed a torrent of damage on the creature.

  -47636 (Critical Hit - Kael)

  -7195 (Normal Attack - Clone)

  -22988 (Critical Hit - Clone)

  -7013 (Normal Attack - Clone)

  The Fruiting Mawflower’s physical defense was a paltry 1050 points. Against Kael’s furious assault, it was practically unarmored.

  Three seconds later, the Effigy of Substitution crumbled to dust, but by then, Kael had firmly locked down the Mawflower’s aggro.

  Rena was already back at full health. Not only that, but she’d also cast [Power Word: Radiance] on the approaching Hazel, granting her a powerful heal-over-time effect of 1500 HP per second.

  Kael’s physical defense was 3700. Buffed by Inner Fire and the Sigil of Warding, it topped 6000. Each fruit now only dealt around 3000 damage to him.

  -3194

  -3025

  -2988

  With over 17,000 HP, he still had 8,000 left in the tank.

  Suddenly, the Mawflower’s central bloom began to transform. The gray petals retracted, revealing a single, gigantic nut. If that thing hit Kael, he was almost certainly dead.

  Thankfully, Hazel finally reached the monster and immediately used her taunt: Roar.

  The Fruiting Mawflower turned its attention once more, locking onto Hazel.

  [Nut Blast]!

  “Agh—!”

  Another sharp cry. Hazel, having just made it back to the front line, was once again sent flying into the Thorn Wall.

  Rena ignored Hazel for the moment, focusing all her healing spells on Kael. From the looks of it, the Mawflower had about an eight-second cooldown on [Nut Blast]. But under Kael’s relentless DPS, it never got the chance to charge a third one. He shredded it to pieces.

  System: Congratulations on defeating the Fruiting Mawflower. You have gained 1,200,000 EXP.

  System: Lucky Bonus triggered! You have gained an additional 1,200,000 EXP.

  The monster dropped two items.

  [Nutcracker Helm (Legendary)] - Level 30

  Physical Defense: 1510

  Magical Defense: 550

  +310 Strength

  +205 Constitution

  Requires: 800 Strength

  .....

  [Boots of the Hardy Nut (Legendary)] - Level 30

  Physical Defense: 1020

  Magical Defense: 510

  +405 Constitution

  +7 Speed

  Requires: 600 Strength

  The stats were bizarre. The Mawflower was a magic-resistant, physically weak mob, yet it dropped high physical defense gear. And another pair of boots.

  Orion slapped his thigh. “I get it! These Mawflowers secretly want to run around, so they craft themselves boots!”

  The team gave him a collective eye-roll. What kind of logic was that?

  Undeterred, he dove deeper into his fantasy. “No, seriously, I bet there are mobile plants out there somewhere.”

  Seeing he was getting weirder, they ignored him.

  Hazel pointed at the two items. “Lila, you take these. My gear is good enough.”

  Lila nodded and equipped both pieces. Her health immediately jumped by 12,000, pushing her over the 20,000 mark, and her physical defense broke 5,000. She could finally deal damage without feeling like she was walking on eggshells.

  Meanwhile, Kael and Orion still hadn't gotten a single drop.

  After clearing the area, the group moved toward the next Fruiting Mawflower. With a solid strategy now, they adjusted their formation. Hazel took the lead, followed by Lila and Kael, with Orion and Rena bringing up the rear.

  The moment Hazel stepped within ten yards of the Mawflower, its giant nut fired off, slamming into her.

  -3024

  And just like before, Hazel was punted sixty yards back into the Thorn Wall. Kael stepped up to tank the follow-up attacks while Rena kept his health topped off. Orion supported them with his [Effigy of Substitution] and [healing sigil].

  Everything went off without a hitch. A dozen seconds later, another Mawflower fell.

  They repeated the process, carefully bypassing the colored Mawflowers to systematically eliminate all the gray Fruiting Mawflowers in the area. It took them the better part of half an hour.

  All that remained was the final, rainbow-colored plant.

  After a short break, the party advanced on the last Mawflower. Unsure of its abilities, they approached cautiously, eyes peeled for any new mechanics.

  There was no illusion, no binding vines, and no Thorn Wall to trap them.

  Suddenly, a deep chill washed over the entire group.

  Hazel shivered. “Damn, it’s cold.”

  Orion rubbed his hands together. “Yeah, and my feet feel… heavy.”

  Rena cried out in alarm. “I can’t move!”

  Everyone looked down. Their feet were encased in solid ice, rooting them to the spot. At the same time, five massive fireballs materialized in the sky above, plunging toward them.