I’m not well-versed in MMORPGs and VRMMOs like Zac, but I remember he told me about how different was in terms of gameplay compared to other games. The first thing was the [Mastery] system itself. It run on the skill system-type gameplay; namely, we have to use a special ability or defeat a monster with the right weapon to gain experience. As you level up, you could gain more abilities as well as a new evolved skill. And that's where the second subject comes in: the monsters themselves.

Usually, in tabletop RPGs, there are levels on every character including NPCs and monsters that determines just how strong they are compared to the player characters. And without a traditional leveling system in , the game substitutes it with a [Total Leveling System]. With it, it determines the strength of the player by adding and rounding up the [Mastery] levels to the total of a single number. For me, if I add the levels I've gained so far and round them up, my [Total Level] would be 15. I have to admit, it's not a perfect system, but it does a good job of measuring our skills and strength against other monsters we faced. And because of this complex system, some of our skills in either [Magical Affinity] or [Hunting] can only be learned on higher levels, which is a mixed bag for me considering I only have a limited amount of info via my [Mastery] skills.

So just seeing the [Total Level] of the [Black Willow] in front of us is a complete shock. If what the reading said is true, then we are completely underprepared to face off against this twisted tree. Because of our current surroundings, we can’t exactly come up with ways to escape this battle without using our items and abilities. And there’s no way to reason with the tree either. Because what we were facing now is the source of the plague, and its descriptions alone make me guess that they don't have any consciousness to listen to our pleas. At this point, we’re trapped and incapacitated.

"W-Wind... W-What are we going to do?!" Kazu groans as I watch him trying to escape his bindings in vain. I have explained to him what we're up against, but even with my [Investigate] ability's enhancement, it’s not enough to tell me how to stop this monstrosity.

"I-I don't know... This tree beast is too strong for us to beat and we're sitting ducks here!"

Unlike Kazu, I have given up my struggles to set ourselves free from these vines. If I continue, it’ll just decrease my [HP] even further. To be honest, I don't know what to do next. Those trees are too strong for us to beat and even if we try to get Bai Hu's help if we die, I doubt he could help us stop these things either after hearing his stories about confronting the source of the plague. At the moment, I’m twiddling my mental thumbs right, now awaiting the inevitable death that was com-

“M-Mana that aids me..."

Huh?

"Create a blade that is sharp enough to defeat my enemies! [Arcana Blade]!"

Just then, an energy scythe-like blade suddenly swoops past me, which cuts the vines trapping me. I fall to the ground and quickly land on my feet in a move you can only see in an action movie. To my surprise, it actually works! Well, it’s a half-success since I start to feel pain in my legs. Ow...

However, just as I can look up, I hear Kazu's voice once more.

"Spirit of Sylph, I call the gale to my growing aura and allow me to manipulate the air all around me! [Wind Sickle]!"

I quickly feel a gust of wind blow right past me as I look up and see the [Black Willow] and its minions' screech as if they’re in pain. Not only that, but their vines are also cut down completely before they disappear in white bright light.

"W-What the heck?!"

As I say this, Kazu suddenly drops from above and uses a small tornado to cushion his fall. And in his usual oblivious fashion, he then asks, "Sorry about that. Are you okay, Wind?"

I’m too speechless to say anything at this point. One minute, we were trapped in an unbreakable grip from the strongest tree monster we ever saw and the next thing I know, he’s managed to cut their vines down like they were nothing! Thankfully, I manage to regain my composure quickly enough to reply to him.

"Y-Yeah... But how did you break through your bonds like that? I thought you couldn’t reach your staff because of your arms being tied up, too."

"I know. But the staff is nothing more than an amplifier, so I did the next thing I do: Cast a spell without it!"

Cast a spell... without his staff?! Okay, I’m used to his crazy antics in this game by now, but just learning that he can cast his spells with just his bare hands is complete a shocker for me.

"B-B-B-B-B-But..."

And yes, that’s the only word I can say at that point.

"Come on, Wind! Keep up with your fantasy novel knowledge, will ya! Sure, you can use magic with any type of magic wands, staffs, and spellbooks, but a great mage knows that you can do it with just your hands if you have the right words and imagination. Besides, didn’t you cast a [Wind] spell without any [Magical Gear] a few months ago?"

I open my mouth... and close it as I realize what Kazu means. I’d used [Wind] spells without any staffs or wands, so realizing that I’ve forgotten such important details causes my face to go red.

"G-Good point."

Kazu just sighs in dismay over my small mistake. Man, just seeing your very own little brother be disappointed with you, a mature and responsible teenager, was so embarrassing.

"Although the site did say my spells will be weakened if I use them without my staff, so I had to use it as a last resort just like you did before with the [Wild Bear]. You're just lucky that those vines can only handle two of my spells before they go down completely."

Of course. He’d used the same strategy as I had before to escape our powerful bindings. But from his previous description of this virtual world’s magic, most of the spells we cast can be completely weakened if we use them without any aid of a [Magical Gear]. Maybe I should reconsider my arsenal after we deal with this mess.

However, our conversation is cut short as the trees begin to screech again before sending out several vines in our direction. Most of them are [Malevolent Vines] with the [Corrupting Vines] lagging.

“Geez, just when I thought we’d have enough time to chat,” I complain as I draw my sword. “I’ll take care of the Malevolent. You take care of the Corrupted.”

Rhyming order aside, Kazu smiles as he draws his staff. “You got it, Wind!”

With that, both of us split up to take care of our enemies. Because my sword has a power advantage in melee combat, cutting down several [Malevolent Vines] is easier than their poisonous counterparts. It’s no sweat for me thanks to my first evolved ability: [Intermediate Sword Mastery]. With it, my [Swordsmanship] has become more polished than before and most of my strikes are faster and more accurate. Heck, just using abilities like [Parry], [Counter Slash], and [Clash Block] becomes much easier for me to do. Thanks to this, I manage to take care of these vines with ease.

As for Kazu, he also takes care of some of the [Corrupting Vines] with the magic that he’s mastered so far. But unlike me, he has some trouble since most of his spells deal low damage compared to what I’ve done to the [Malevolent Vines]. As I have suspected, not only have most of his spells failed to do much in cutting down the vines, it’s also more difficult to dodge their attacks as they have a bigger chance to poison him if he isn’t careful. Yet for some reason, his [Thunder] spells seemed to be a lot more effective than the others. Though, it still doesn't compare with their own since he was only using [Lightning Bolt]. Did he even think about using other spells from his element?

In any case, we manage to erase many more vines before Kazu ran up to me just as I slashed the last [Malevolent Vine].

"The [Corrupted Vines] are gone at my end!"

As I see the vine fell into literal pieces, I smile as I turned to face my little brother.

"And looks like the [Malevolent Vines] are no more here. All that's left now is the [Black Willow] and its cronies." I shifted my attention towards the said monster and pointed my sword's blade towards it. "As for you, your weapons are gone, Willow. It's time for you to face your punishment!"

I cringe a little bit as I say those words to an enemy A.I. Thankfully, neither of my friends are present, so I won’t have to face any embarrassment about my attempt to make Kazu happy. Regardless, it’s time to finish this.

"Kazu now's your chance!"

"Right!" Kazu then points at his staff towards the monster as I back away to avoid any collateral damage like with that [Wind] spell earlier. “Mana that aids me, create a blade that is sharp enough to defeat my enemies!”

As he chants the spell, I took this chance to switch my sword with my bow and prepared several arrows for my upcoming turn.

"This is for what you did to Bai Hu's home! [Arcana Blade]!"

With one swing of his staff, he releases a mana blade towards the monster while I release the arrows up in the air. Just passing through some of the Willow's branch arms causes them to be cut down as it screeches in pain again. Once that's done, I step in as I shouted to the sky, "My turn! [Arrow Shower]!"

With those words, the two arrows start to multiply once they reach the sky before they all quickly fell and hit the tree monsters, causing more of their [HP] to decrease. Unfortunately for them, we are not done with our counterattack.

"Spirit of Sylph, I call the gale to my growing aura and allow me to manipulate the air all around me! [Wind Sickle]!"

"[Corkscrew Pierce]!"

"Energy waving around the elements around me. Gather to me and create the force against my enemies! [Mana Blast]!"

"[Tracking Aim]!"

“Spirit of Sylph, hear my call. Create the wind that is gathering all around me. Help me release the gale to push back my foes! [Gale Force]!”

Spell after spell, attack after attack, everything we throw at the [Black Willow] weakens him more and more as I continue firing my arrows and Kazu keeps using the same spells in order. To be honest, we don't have an actual strategy for this. All we’re doing is attacking and incapacitating the monsters as much as we can. However...

[Black Willow]

[Level: 25]

[HP: 672/800]

Just seeing that the Willow's [HP] is now down to about 670 means that it's working. But something’s strange... We’ve managed to kill its vines and do big damage to it. Yet, it still maintains its creepy smirk? And then, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I don't even ask if it's Kazu as I turn around to see who it is. But to my horror, I find myself face to face with another [Malevolent Vine] right in front of me.

"Oh, shoot..."

Just as it rears to attack me, I quickly aim my bow towards it and fire an arrow at point-blank range. At first, I’m relieved as it convulsed from the pain. But then, it just shakes the arrow off itself and continues to swing at me, causing me to duck away from its attack. However, in the process, I accidentally crash onto Kazu as we simultaneously fell on the ground.

"Ow! Wind, what the heck is wrong with you?! Can't you see I'm busy?!"

I wish I can explain what's going on, but another vine is about to hit us. Without any thought again, I shield Kazu once more just before it could reach him. Like before, I feel the same sting on my back, and I grit my teeth in an attempt to endure it. Judging by the coloring of the vine, I figured it has to be another [Corrupting Vine]. And just when I thought I was healed from its [Poison] earlier!

"Hey, leave my brother alone, you creep!"

Before I can feel more [Poison] in my body, I heard Kazu chant another [Gale Force], and another gust of wind blew towards my face as I turn around and see the vine pushed back from the spell.

"Nice job, Kaz," I say as I switch weapons once more, and with two swings and two abilities, I manage to cut down the monster once more.

"Thanks. But are you okay, Wind? You don't look sick this time."

Now that I think about it, I don't feel pain in my body this time. I would say that I got lucky, but I quickly check through my stat page just in case. There, I notice an ability that might be related to my strange good luck.

[Minor Endurance Enhancement]

[A basic [Physical Enhancement] skill that slightly enhances the physical defense and status resistance. Increases the [DEF] by +3 and all [Status Resistance] by 4%. Can be activated passively by the user’s will.]

With this ability, I can resist any negative status condition. But like before, it relies on chance and all I can do was pray that I won’t be afflicted by [Poison] or anything else.

"I don't know. Maybe I just got lucky this time," I say with a smirk while staring at my stat window before turning it off. It’s much lamer than our declaration against the Willows, but I do want to lighten the mood a little bit to keep Kazu’s spirits up. However, my smile disappears when I turn around and see the remains of the [Corrupting Vine] start to convulse once more. As I watch, my eyes widen as I see it starting to grow back to its original size. "W-What the f-"

I don't know whether I’m relieved that I didn't finish that curse or not, but all I can feel in the moment is so much pain as both of us find ourselves flying through the field before we hit the ground a few meters away from the monsters.

[HP: 338/590]

[Condition: Healthy]

[Party Member]

[HP: 190/340]

[Condition: Healthy]

Oww... That's going to leave a mark. We’ve already endured several monster attacks before, but never like this. I guess that underestimating the [Black Willow's] strength is a definite mistake on our end. I look at my little brother's back and saw his eyes open slowly.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I can see scars and dirt on his face, which reminds me of a lot of his past self. Yet, he manages to get back up with some difficultly and answers, "Y-Yeah. Guess I won't chastise you for being overprotective as usual right now, huh?"

"Heh... Does that mean you won't complain about my brotherly antics as often?" I ask with a smirk.

"Y-Yeah... Don't count on it..."

As much as I want to joke around with Kaz some more, I know this isn't the right time. I watch the two living creeping plants rise from the ground with several more joining them. This is not fair! We’ve fought so hard to get rid of the [Black Willow's] "weapons" and yet, he has managed to one-up us by hiding the fact that they could regenerate themselves even if we cut them up! No wonder why Bai Hu couldn't finish them off despite his strength as the forest's guardian.

Thinking quickly, I grab Kazu and ran away from the vines. We hide behind another nearby tree before the [Willows] and vines can attack us. I begin to regret hiding there, however, because if another one of those [Malevolent Willows] comes around, we have to go back on defense if we want to survive this fight. I’m down to nearly half of my [HP] and if I hadn't jumped in and shielded Kazu in time, he would’ve sustained enough damage enough to either kill or mortally injure him. Even worse, the Willows are heading straight in our direction with the vines in tow, and after that last attack, we still need to recover our strength to run away from them. However, Kazu appears to defy his condition as he struggles to stand up, using his staff as his support.

"Kaz, stop it! You can't take another hit!"

Despite my pleas, he ignores me and continues his struggles to stand up. "Oh, yeah? Let's see about that."

I want to stop him, but all I can do was watch him as he raises his staff and begins to chant a spell.

“Aura of Arcana, hear my call. Aid me to create a barrier to protect my allies from harm! [Mana Barrier]!”

He then releases two balls of mana up in the air, and as they hit both of us, they created a single energy barrier that envelopes both of us. I’d been expecting an attack spell, but I’m slightly relieved that he used this instead. However, I don't know how long it will hold against the trees' attacks as they continue to close in.

"Great idea, Kaz. But I doubt it can keep us safe for too long," I point out to my brother.

"I know it's temporary, but we have to use this chance to come up with another plan. I know we're getting somewhere with the [Black Willow], so all we have to do is to keep fighting until it's down and out!"

I just sigh out of dismay in response to his suggestion.

"But you forget, those vines can regenerate and there’s a good chance they’ll ambush us if we run in there blindly again. If we don't stop them first, then our time in the will be over!"

"I know. If we die here, then the whole forest is gone. But we're completely under-leveled and we have no means to stop the vines' regeneration abilities. We have no choice but to give up and retreat for now."

I frown and look at Kazu. He doesn't get we're already losing to this battle. He doesn’t even know how long his barrier will stand, as some of the vines reach us and begin to break it all down. "If we die here, we‘ll take a harsh penalty. But if we can convince Bai Hu that we have to prepare back in to eliminate this problem, we might have a better chance of winning. I know this is hard, but we need to fall back and regroup. And if it is destroyed, then I will take responsibility and take whatever punishment Bai Hu will give us after his recovery. So why do-"

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU SAYING, WIND?!!"

I become startled as Kazu yells at me in pure anger. This is a surprise... He’s yelled at me so much due to my protectiveness of him, but this is the first he has ever been truly enraged at me. I’m so shocked, I fail to notice that some of the vines have reached our current area.

"Giving up and committing suicide by those monsters?! That is not like you! This is more than just a training ground for adventurers! This is the home of Bai Hu and we promised we would fight together until the plague is gone!" he chastised me as he picked up his staff and struggled to keep his balance as he stood up, facing the monsters coming right at us. "And I... I am not leaving here without a fight! I will keep my promise and I will save this forest!"

What’s he saying?! Can’t he see that I’m trying to protect him from getting himself killed by his recklessness?! I know he won’t able to stop the trees, and it’ll be a hopeless kamikaze attack if he tried. Without any hesitation and ignoring the pain I’ve endured so far, I grab his wrist just as he starts to cast a spell against the monsters to stop him from doing anything stupid.

"W-Wind, let me go!!!"

"No, I am not letting you die right here! You will lose your life to those monsters!"

"But if we don't try, we will die along with the forest! I can't just let it disappear because of this stupid plague! Besides, you even try to sacrifice yourself because of me as well!"

"Because, I'm your big brother, and I am not going to let you risk yourself getting hurt and traumatized from all this!"

At that point, we start to fight over his staff as if we’re playing a tug-of-war over a remote back home. However, I fail to notice that the staff's gems have begun to glow and a large amount of mana gather at the top of it, as well that the barrier that was protecting us is starting to crack. And just as I yank the staff away from him, the barrier shatters and the vine quickly smacks the ground between us, causing both of us to fly off into different directions from the blast. Thankfully, I manage to get up and recover quickly as I rubbed my head in pain. But when I look around, there’s no sign of Kazu anywhere. Where did he...

"Wind, behind you!"

Upon hearing my brother's voice, I turn around. But instead of seeing Kazu, all I can see was a large vine about to come down right on top of me.

Current Quest: Destroy the Plague *** [Special Quest]

Status: In Progress

Party Members:

[Wind]

[Kaz]

Wind's Masteries

[Archery] Level 15

[Woodcrafting] Level 7

[Swordsmanship] Level 15

[Cooking] Level 7

[Wind] Level 10

[Physical Enhancement] Level 12

[Hunting] Level 13

Kazu's Masteries

[Arcana] Level 19

[Thunder] Level 12

[Wind] Level 14

[Alchemy] Level 12

[Magecrafting] Level 10

[Magical Affinity] Level 16

[Scribe] Level 4