I don't know how to feel about this. Kazu's suggestion of using his staff's ability to burn down the vines is pretty risky considering that we were surrounded by a wall of trees, but the fact it's power can nullify the vines' regeneration will allow us to get through the [Black Willow's] defenses and charge in with a full-frontal attack. Regardless, I decide to go through it not only because of our limited time here but also for Kazu and Bai Hu's sake as well. We have endured everything that crazy tree has thrown at us in this battle and right now, it's payback time!

> I mentally asked through the game's whisper feature as a precaution to avoid getting any attention from the monsters.

>

>

We’d done some tests not long before while we were concealed in another [Mana Barrier] and right now, the monsters are still looking for us due to Kazu destroying most of their vines. We use another [Smoke Bottle] to cover our tracks and to ensure that we can split up and get into our positions for this phase. After that, it's all up to our old lady luck to see through this fight's climax.

>

With Kazu prepared, I figure it’s time to teach those tree monsters not to mess with the Palmer brothers. Of course, I need to get their attention.

"Hey, you dumb vines! Everyone says that you're tough enough to beat Bai Hu. Yet you can’t even kill a kid and a teenager in just a few seconds? Just how slow are you?"

I don't know if I should cringe at this or slap myself for that lame insult, but it provokes them enough to charge at me and begin trying to break through the barrier. As they do that, I take out my bow and two arrows and aim towards the sky. And once the barrier breaks after a few seconds, I unleash another [Arrow Shower].

"Kazu, now!"

Using one of the [Physical Enhancement] abilities, I take a step back away from the vines just as the arrows from my [Arrow Shower] rain down on the [Malevolent Vines] right in front of me. But that’s not the only attack we used against those monsters. Once the last arrow strikes one of the vines, several bolts of lightning flash and shocks them all from behind before setting them on fire, causing them to flail in pain. However, not all of the vines caught on fire as some of them quickly charge at me, at which I quickly run. Unfortunately for them, I head straight towards Kazu who is standing at the ready.

"Did any of the vines escape your attack?"

"Yep," I reply. "Guess we're moving on to Phase 2. This means..."

I take out another arrow, but instead of loading it into my bow, I hand it to Kazu and say, "It's time we set them ablaze."

Kazu nods as he takes it and taps it against his staff. Once he does, its stones begin to glow as it gives off a small spark on the arrow, and ignites the tip with a small flame. Once he hands it back to me, I quickly load it into my bow and with precise aim, I release the bowstring, letting the fire arrow fly towards and strike through the vine, setting it on fire as the vine flails and thrashes wildly.

"Hah! It's working!" I exclaim and smile at this.

"Yeah! I know trees burn easily, but I never imagined my staff’s power could disable its regeneration abilities as well!" Kazu adds. "But this is our chance to strike back!"

"Right! We've come this far and we're not letting you monstrosities run amok in this forest anymore!"

With that, both of us continue our crusade against the vines. Using Kazu's staff as a flint, I continue to ignite the tips of my [Wooden Arrows] and turns them into makeshift fire arrows. And to make this slightly more confusing for the [Black Willow], we continuously switch places so that Kazu could cast his [Thunder] spells towards the vines, at which he takes advantage of his newfound ability to cast spells without incantations to use each of them in quick succession. Eventually, after a few minutes, most of the vines are burned to ashes, and we rush in front of the boss monster itself, ready to take on the haunted tree.

"It's over, [Black Willow]! You have no more vines left! Give up and face your destiny!"

Unlike the previous one, I don't cringe when I hear his declaration towards the tree monster. To be honest, it might’ve been for the best since I can see how mad the twisted tree was upon seeing its weapons destroyed by us. Before it can attack though, I quickly aim my fire arrow at it and shout, "[Corkscrew Pierce]!"

Once I fired it, the arrow starts to spin in mid-air before it pierces the monster’s lower area, causing it to screech in pain. The attack's effects allow the arrow to pierce through its defenses, both statistically and figuratively in this game and the tree flails around even more. I quickly move out of the way as Kazu aims his charged staff at the Willow.

"My turn! [Lightning Scatter]!"

Once more, several lightning bolts scatter around the area as the trees' flames begin to increase. At this point, I start to become a bit worried. Due to Kazu's abilities as a magician, his spells are much more powerful than my [Wind] skills and that means there was a chance he might unknowingly spread the flames to other unaffected trees. So it’s up to me to let him know when to stop.

As this whole battle is unfolding, Kazu and I manage to deal heavy damage to the [Black Willow] and its cronies. But I’m surprised that we have managed to turn this into an equal battle against the monsters. Not to mention his ability allows him to switch between spells during each cooldown, allowing him to shoot down any stray vines that the Willow summons.

And as time passes, I see its stats via my [Investigate] ability.

[Black Willow]

[Level: 25]

[HP: 419/800]

[Condition: Burned]

[Burned]

[The person afflicted with this condition will cause their [HP] to decrease over time and incapacitate them at random times. The damage will increase if the afflicted is weak to Fire.]

Nice. Not only is their health half-gone, but the effects of this status condition will increase the ongoing damage due to its weakness. It might be a monster, but it’s based on an ordinary tree before and retains all weaknesses. The Black Willow might know this as it continues to screech painfully as it sprouts more living vines from the ground to attack us.

"Kazu, switch!" I quickly take a step back as he raises his staff and powers more electricity into it.

"Right! We already know your tricks, [Black Willow]! So give it up already!"

As he releases several more lightning bolts, I draw my sword and charge in with several slashes on the burning vines before I turn to the boss monster next. This causes it to strike back by spitting out several seeds and throwing the hard apples towards me. However, I quickly react by using my sword's blade as a shield to block them before I shout, "[Counter Slash]!"

As the ability states, I quickly swing my sword in a circular motion, which not only deflects the other seeds but also cut down several small branches that are attached to the Willow. What's more, another bolt of lightning strikes the tree again as I jump down from it, causing some of the branches to burn, and preventing the [Black Willow] from regenerates them.

"Nice job, Kazu!" I call out to him. "Perfect timing and execution!"

"Thanks! I should say the same for you with your awesome sword skills! I never seen anyone cut down seeds and apples like that before."

I doubt anyone seen has seen anyone cutting an apple with a sword at all. But still, our recent attacks have caused much more damage to the monsters. I even see one of the [Malevolent Trees] fall to the ground and burn to ashes with one last screech. Guess it wasn’t strong enough to survive the intense flames, unlike its boss.

[Black Willow]

[Level: 25]

[HP: 320/800]

[Condition: Burned]

Once I see the latest stats on the Willow, I know we’re getting close. With one of its minions dead, it’s only a matter of time until we defeat the plague's source once and for all. And with Kazu using more spells to damage it while taking care of the now weakened vines, I feel we will win this bout. But then, before I can fire another [Arrow Shower], the [Black Willow's] screech somehow changes its pitch from high to slightly low. The sound reminds me of a monster whale noise that I’d heard from a B-movie once. Something’s not right. It's [HP] is almost at its critical health, but it has started to change its attack pattern a little bit. I think that might be normal here since it’s trying to use everything in its power to kill us. But just as I finish off another [Corrupting Vine], I hear something breathing down behind me and before I can turn around, I hear Kazu once more.

"Wind, heads up!"

I widen my eyes as I hear my brother shout. Knowing his warnings are not to be taken lightly, I quickly turn around and prepare my blade as the menacing tree prepares to spit something. I figure it’s his seed attack, so I prepare a [Counter Slash] along with a [Parry] to negate it. But once it spits, I raise my blade... and noticed that it just missed completely.

I’m confused. Why had their attack missed? Did the burns somehow affect its accuracy? Or did it target someone...

Oh no... Kazu’s right behind me and that strange yellow seed passed by my shoulder. So that means...

"Kazu, look out!!!"

Unfortunately, my warning doesn't reach him in time as I watch him get hit by the seed, which to my surprise, it bursts into a cloud of yellow dust around him. To my horror, Kazu begins to cough as I watched him drop his staff and fall towards the ground. I-I can't believe it. I know it was strong enough to hurt us, but I never expected that it’s able to target someone else. At that, I remember that Arthur had mentioned that if you deal a lot of damage to a monster, you will gain a lot of [Hate] from it and it will see you as its next target. And while Kazu has damaged it a lot, he mostly focused his spells on the vines and the [Malevolent Trees] to nullify any ambushes. So why did it target him despite my attempts to draw its attention away from him?

Regardless, I shout his name as I rush over to him and cut down the last of the burning vines to save him. But once I reach him, I noticed that his movements are rigid and he seems to be struggling just to move his.

"W-Wind..."

I quickly shush him as I look over his body. "Don't move. That seed did something to you and there is no way I'm leaving you alone for one second!" He seems to be weakened from the attack, but I don’t see any signs of poisoning. However, I can hear him grunt as he tries to raise his right arm, but he eventually gives up and lowers his arms again as he groans.

"Easy for you to say. I-I can't move my arms or legs at all!" he exclaims. "I can't even reach my staff to cast more spells against that jerk tree!"

Seriously?! Just what kind of seed or fruit has it spat on Kazu? I quickly open up his stats to check on his condition.

[Party Member]

[HP: 132/340]

[Condition: Paralysis]

Wait?! That's the same condition I had during our battle with Bai Hu! We don’t have any medicine to cure it, so that means Kazu would be out of commission for a while. But why him? I was right in front of the [Black Willow] and yet, it had just ignored me and targeted my little brother instead. I turn around to face the monstrous tree, but to my shock, it flashes that creepy smirk and cackles at our predicament as it shakes out the last of the flames around its body. At first, just seeing it made me shiver in fear. But after what it did to my little brother, I can almost feel something burning inside of me. Rather than fear, worry, or hopelessness, I feel like wanting to rip its twigs out and chop its torso in half. Usually, whenever I face one of Kazuki's bullies, I’m able to hold back most of my strength to avoid really hurting them physically. But considering this Willow is more ruthless than those bullies, I’ve decided to make an exception this time. Besides, hurting Kazu right in front of me and laughing at us is a big mistake.

"W-Wind..."

I hear Kazu groan behind me as I stand up and prepare my sword and bow. Just seeing him injured reminds me so much of that day, and I refuse to let it happen again in this virtual world.

"D-Don't... Y-You can't beat it... alone..."

"I know. That's why I'm going to end this once and for all," I say as I raise my sword right and face the boss. My brother is paralyzed from that last attack and his [HP] is already at red. I’m not gonna let him die by that tree monster. "If I’m going to die for your sake, then I'm taking that Willow down with me!"

Yeah, I know it’s totally reckless, but it was the only way. So I raise my sword and...

“S-Spirits of thunder... g-give me a meager of your power t-to paralyze my enemies...”

Kazu?

"[S-Static... Stun...]"

Before I know it, a small bolt of electricity suddenly flies past my shoulder and hits one of the branches on the [Black Willow]. Was that... Kazu's...?

"I-I told you, W-Wind..." I turn around and gasp to see Kazu weakly aiming his staff at me. I guess I had been blocking the aim at his real target. "W-We have to beat that thing together... T-That's why... I won’t let you fight it alone...!"

"Kaz..."

I'm speechless at this. What he did might’ve injured him further, but he refuses to let his condition stop him from finishing what we had started. This is a far cry from the Kazuki I knew and yet, I’m touched by it. I can’t say that he’s only doing this to remain useful no matter what, but I can tell that he refuses to let me go on alone. The [Black Willow] is already on its last legs and if we want to beat it for good, then I have to borrow his magic one more time for this battle.

"Man, you really are a pain when it comes to this stuff. But then again, the characters you've made in our RPG campaigns seem to share your determination as well. Guess you're starting to become your favorite character, huh?"

Kazu's face turns red as I give him a small grin, at which I guess my compliment (and a little bit of teasing) gets through to him. Teasing aside, he does seem to be like a shonen hero a lot thanks to the bravery behind his shy disposition, not to mention the stories he’s read have inspired him to break out of his cowardly nature. But all that aside, since he’s still paralyzed from the [Black Willow's] attack, there was still a chance that it might shake off its [Burn] condition once more. So if we want to defeat it, then we have to act fast. Luckily, I had one more trick just for this situation.

"Well, you do what you need to do, Kaz. I'll try to incapacitate that monstrous pile of twig from up close!"

"B-But how are you going to that? You might... get poisoned again..."

That’s true. Even if we find a way to stop the vine's regeneration ability, that Willow might find a way to grow back its [Corrupting Vines] and poison us once more.

"That's true. But that just means I can't let it get the first strike on me."

As vague as that sounds, I decided that actions speak louder than words. With my sword in hand, I take a few steps forward as I glare at the [Black Willow], and as it screeches as the ground starts to quake, I quickly ran towards it. I knew this is my only chance. With Kazu paralyzed and the boss on its final legs, I know that this next attack has to count. First, though, I need some leverage, and that vine growing out of the ground is the perfect stepping stone. I jump onto and then from the vine before it can attack me and raise my sword towards the Willow. Unfortunately, when I jump, I realize that even with the vine increasing my jump, I still can’t reach the willows’ height in the process. But...

“Spirit of Sylph, hear my call," I whispered as I put my left hand behind me. "Create the wind that is gathering all around me. Help me release the gale to push back my foes!”

As I say this, I could feel the wind blow behind me as it gathers in my left palm. Once that’s done, I take one good look towards the [Black Willow] before I shout, "[Gale Force]!"

With one full black of air behind me, I find myself being blown towards the Willow. I do my best to keep my and once I have gotten close enough, I raise my sword and swing it several times at the tree's face before using the remaining blast of air from my left hand to blast myself away from it before it can retaliate.

"Kazu, now's your chance!" I shout as I try my best not to lose my balance from the second blast and avoid any problems landing. Once I regain balance, I can hear Kazu's voice from below.

"I-I call the thunderous spirit of my aura. L-Let my small spirit dashed through my staff with this power! [Lightning Bolt]!"

As soon as he says the last word for his incantation, I quickly spin myself away from the line of fire and sheath my sword once more, at which a bolt of lightning passes me and makes a clean hit in the monster's face. And because of the spell's special attributes, the [Black Willow] quickly explodes in flames and screeches in pain again.

“Spirit of Sylph, hear our call. Trap our enemies into the gale of storms and imbue our weaponry with your blessings!” I then chant as I aim my right hand towards the burning tree in front of me. "[Tempest Blow]!"

With that, the whole domain becomes enveloped in a small tornado and a strong gust of wind blows by my face, and I start falling slower now. However, something else begins to happen. Fire needs oxygen and with this strong gust containing more oxygen than the usual air around our atmosphere, I knew it’ll either blow most of the flames away or...

FWOOSH!!!

It will fuel the fire around the Willow. And with its body made of wood, I know it’ll burn within minutes. Unfortunately, there is one aspect of my plan that I’ve overlooked.

BAAAM!!!

"Yeowch!"

The landing...

"Ow... I hope that didn’t hurt me as much as the Willow has..." I groan as I try to get up, and I see Kazu right next to me on the ground. Thankfully, I’ve only been dealt about 30 points of damage from that fall thanks to my [Wind] magic. But once I recover, my eyes widen at the new scene right in front of me.

[SKREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!]

What is once a horrifying monster plaguing us has become a burning shell of its former self. The Willow screeches and flails around as it tries in vain to put itself out. I watch its [HP] drop rapidly. And despite how strong the tornado's gust was, it continues to fuel and spread the flames around the Willow. It tries to attack us once more with its vines, but the vines just end up caught in the fire and end up flailing about to extinguish the flames. Even more, many of both the dying and healthy trees are also caught up by the flames, which I wanted to put out immediately, but I know the growing flames might be too much for us to handle at the moment. As we looked on, the final [Malevolent Tree] succumbs to the flames as its trunk and branches break down in ashes, now screeching to its final breath.

"Whoa..."

That’s all I could say as I found myself utterly stunned at this horrifying, yet beautiful scene playing right in front of us. When I turn back to Kazu and help him back to his feet, I notice his reaction was the same as mine. We watch as the [Black Willow] is consumed by the flames and, after a few more seconds, it lays there silent.

[Black Willow]

[Level: 25]

[HP: 5/800]

[Condition: Burned]

It still had about 5 [HP] left, yet the tree remains motionless as their body crumbled in ashes. As we watched, I notice something glowing in the ashes. With the [Tempest Blow] about to expire, it blows most of the ashes away, which allows us to see what’s glowing within the remains of the boss monster. To our surprise, it’s a purple seed. I guess it must’ve been the heart of the [Black Willow]. I think about stabbing and killing it, but then I remember what Bai Hu said about how it could regenerate with time, which he learned during his previous attempts to destroy it and the plague. So maybe...

"Kazu."

"H-Huh?" Kazu weakly spoke up. "What is it?"

"Do you have enough [MP] to cast one more spell?"

It was a sudden request, but we need to finish this boss once and for all. And right now, Kazu is the only one who could eliminate it for good. Thankfully, he silently nods “yes” as he narrows his eyes and tries to raise his staff at the seed. But as he does, he suddenly stops, drops his staff, and groans in pain. I guess his [Paralysis] has seriously impeded his movements a lot. I’m not about to leave him to his own devices in that state, though, so I pick the staff up and hand it back to him.

"D-Don't worry... I-I can do this...," he mutters as he tries to keep his grip on my shoulder. "W-We need to finish this... For Bai Hu..."

I don't say anything else because we both already knew what to do next. I help him aim his staff towards the seed and no sooner does he declare a [Lightning Bolt] spell than the seed becomes consumed by fire.

[Black Willow]

[Level: 25]

[HP: 0/800]

[Condition: Dead]

[NOTICE]

[You have defeated true boss, [Black Willow]!]

Finally, it’s over. The monster that has almost destroyed the whole forest, the source of the plague that kills everything in its wake, the one that almost killed me, my brother, and the guardian of the , is gone. The [Black Willow] is dead, this time for good.

"I-It's gone... The [Black Willow] is gone!" Kazu perks up despite his condition.

"Yeah. It's all over." I mutter. "Looks like we can rest easy now."

To be honest, that fight was pretty tough considering our current levels. But because of our teamwork, we’ve managed to win.

[NOTICE]

[Because of the [Black Willow's] death, the mysterious plague has finally disappeared.]

Once that notice appears in front of me, the poisonous fog that is enveloping the wall of trees starts to disperse, while the vines wrap around the trees begin to rot and crumble into dust. It looks like everything is going back to normal.

That is until I notice that the flames on the previously unaffected trees that are leftover from the fight were still burning.

"Oh no..." I mutter in panic as my eyes widen after seeing the fire start to spread. We’ve been so focused on the fight that we don’t notice the remaining flames that have been scattered from Kazu's spells were now spreading around the unaffected trees. If we leave them burning, they can start a forest fire, and just after we’ve gotten rid of that plague too!

Even worse, I turn around as the white tiger himself appears right behind us, and notices the fire.

"U-Uh... We can explain..."

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

Status: In Progress

Party Members:

[Wind]

[Kaz]

Wind's Masteries

[Archery] Level 16

[Woodcrafting] Level 7

[Swordsmanship] Level 16

[Cooking] Level 4

[Wind] Level 12

[Physical Enhancement] Level 14

[Hunting] Level 13

Kazu's Masteries

[Arcana] Level 19

[Thunder] Level 15

[Wind] Level 14

[Alchemy] Level 12

[Magecrafting] Level 10

[Magical Affinity] Level 17

[Scribe] Level 4