The dungeon's entrance is a complete mess; only a few of the traps hadn't collapsed under the weight of ranbi bodies, two of the five bone towers had been knocked down, and there was blood everywhere.

In the middle of it all, Bomber stands underneath one of the collapsed towers with the club in paws.

Since I had last seen him, he suffered multiple wounds. Cuts on his chest, bruising on his back and arms, and a wobble to one of his legs. A quick check of his sheet shows his SP is already at zero. Even if his breathing wasn't so ragged I could hear it even at the end of the circle, I would have known that he hasn't been having an easy time while we were playing in the water and making a Landmark.

All of that was just before looking at the cause of it: a ranbi almost as large as a dog with glowing eyes. Like all the other natives, it was green. Its ears were long and floppy like Ivy's, yet its glowing eyes swirled with magical power not that different from my own.

Never in my entire existence did I ever think I could squint harder.

[Notification] Level of Omega Ranbi is roughly 6-8.

Omega Ranbi? So... an evolution of an Alpha or Beta Ranbi?

... Either its level was a lot higher than ours or just marginally.

I don't like that at all.

The way this huge fucker is staring down Bomber makes me think it's possibly the prior... but its wounds make me assume it's the latter. Multiple bruises and even a strand of mana-DCT dangles from its shoulder and a bloodied wound. Although it's in better shape and condition, it's obvious that Bomber had been beating the living hell out of it with either the club or his feet.

As hard as he had been fighting, though, there hadn't been any true progress for the Ranbli Kid.

Bomber, I'm taking the lead. Support me.

My summon's stature immediately relaxes despite the larger ranbi glaring down at him. The Omega lets out a war-squeal and rears around, sliding its rear legs across the ground and kicking out at Bomber.

He ducks and the kick slams the tower with so much force the remaining upper half flies outwards, collapsing the whole thing and cracking multiple bones.

I worked too hard on these pathetic structures to let some huge bunny ruin everything.

Thornshot!

For the low price of a single MP, the shot sails through the air and hits the intruder in its right foreleg. The creature stumbles and turns its head toward me.

It bounds almost five feet with its kick-off, closing the distance on me far faster than I thought possible.

Thornguard!

Dodging this thing isn't an option... and it's better to not exhaust all of my mana with a Thorntwist in this situation. Spending 11 MP so quickly isn't enjoyable but I won't waste more than that.

The Omega Ranbi tackles into me and most of the spikes covering my body absorb the shock. Despite that, its sheer weight carries it through those thorns and slams into me.

User Kaden has sustained 8 HP damage.

The best way to explain eight damage to my current body is simple: HOLY FUCK THAT HURTS! As large as the fucker is, he probably hits me with more momentum than any Bomber's kicks could ever dream of hitting. Thorns shatter and blood gouges out of him, yet my branches snap and sends pieces of my body flying.

I don't like to imagine what getting fingers or smaller parts of the body cut off feels like but that's probably what I'm experiencing right now. The pain is so intense that my vision clouds white and some of my broken branches spew sap, sticking and trailing between myself and the aggressor for a few seconds. The mess reminds me of just how real this is.

It's not a game. It's my new life.

Moving in the air isn't easy, yet I still muster my branches forward and toward the smug beast.

Thornburst.

Like a flechette shotgun, the thorns burst forward into reality and slam the huge rabbit in the face. One of its eyes gouges, forcing it to jerk its head aside from pain.

One of its ears flat-out looks like swiss cheese now, the ranbi turning and squealing cursingly my direction.

But it already let its guard down.

Bomber, attack!

Without any visual cues, there's no sign to my signaling to Bomber to intercept or give us away.

The bruised ranbli throws his club. Overhandedly, too. The bone and bladed wire smacks into the ranbi's body and the serrated tips bite into flesh with the weight and toss behind it.

Omega didn't like that but he isn't going to like what's coming right behind it.

The beast turns its head just as Bomber dives after his weapon, planting his foot and spinning around to deliver a kick right to the one-eyed hare's neck.

Taking out one of its eyes had been completely on accident yet now it was a boon; Bomber barreled out of the way mere seconds before the sight-addled creature could stomp at him.

[Notification] You have improved your summon Bomber's trust in you.

Condition Met: Granting title.

These notifications are in my way! Why do I care about a title right now-

New Title: Protective Summoner Summons can be replaced, yet no summon should be treated like fodder!

Passive Effect

+ 3 Maximum MP

+ 2 INT

+ 1 Max Summon Capacity

Equipped Effect

N/A

Nevermind, thank you based notifications. It's just a shame that I'm about to immediately do something that's counterproductive to this title you just gave me.

Summon: Creeper Thorn!

Bomber is still dodging and stalling for time but I can't hope that we can hold out until Ivy gets here. I need something to make this one-eyed Omega asshole get tangled... and there's nothing better than a Creeper Thorn.

It also helps that Summon is an Ability.

That means that unlike my spells, it costs me nothing personally to summon it. It does cost my dungeon half a mana point but I have a small stockpile to cover this.

My new Creeper Thorn arrives but not in the way any of us expects, though. Bomber finally gets knocked off balance by the larger ranbi's stomps, barreling into its vision.

But he's not alone. A vine of Creeper Thorn explode out of the ground near my dungeon's entrance and right into the rear thigh of the Omega Ranbi.

It squeals loud enough it makes my possibly concussed plant head hurt.

It spins around and bites onto the penetrating vine, yet the Creeper Thorn doesn't relent its burrowing in our defense. Even though it's only level one, there's a significant mismatch between the predatory plant and the ranbi. The same one that all ranbi would have.

It draws back and tries biting again, yet this time the Creeper Thorn flexes itself outward and dodges.

Creeper Thorn bodies are vines that can be thrown around in a moment's notice.

The vine snaps back and coils around the intruder's neck, trying to keep it held.

It won't last long. Bomber, the Creeper Thorn, and I all know that.

Bomber, attack its front legs!

The bunny barrels in and under the wrapped up large hare, sliding over the ground and delivering a kick to the back of its knee. A single loud crunch echoes out and the Omega Ranbi nearly falls right down onto him as it squeals and struggles in the Creeper Thorn's hold.

Summon Creeper Thorn has sustained 15 HP damage.

Thorns and sections of the Creeper Thorn clatter into the sandy clearing of my dungeon, yet still it keeps its hold tight. Bomber crawls his way clear of the large and struggling beast, giving me a clear shot.

Sorry friend. I know you just came into this world... but I have to defeat this thing. I'm sorry.

I know that, my Master.

The voice in my mind isn't my own.

My summons... they aren't just plants and animals.

They're alive, too.

Hesitation makes me give the Omega Ranbi a chance to catch its breath, though; it starts shaking its body and lifts itself back up, straining the Creeper Thorn again.

This time, the Creeper Thorn reacts.

It grows.

Not just any normal growth, either; the damage on it mends and the glowing light embracing it makes it grow an inch longer. The struggling Omega Ranbi clearly didn't expect it to strengthen when it started fighting back yet now it's completely caught off-guard.

My Creeper Thorn can't die. I won't let it. I-

Wait a moment, is that Ivy sneaking up on the-

Ivy, whom had been behind me all this time, has finally arrived. Not only that but she snuck in and positioned herself, waiting for the right moment to strike.

This large ranbi didn't have more reinforcements. Ivy hadn't merely been catching up, but had been killing the other ranbi likely coming to save this big bastard.

And now she strikes, leaping over the stumbling monster and spreading her arms wide. The garrote swings outward and she throws her arms down, hooking the wire under the bound beast's forcibly raised chin. With the Creeper Thorn taut, she can only complete a partial grip... but that doesn't stop her from curling her thighs around the upper end of the Omega Ranbi's neck whilst pulling the wire and twisting it by crossing her arms.

The garrote snaps hard inside the ranbi's mouth, rending through his mouth and hooking around the back of his sharper front teeth.

When Ivy pulls, blood pours out of its mouth and she throws all of her weight back in synchronization with the Creeper Thorn. Both of their combined constrictions slow air flow but combined?

Together, both of my summons have not just immobilized the evolved Omega but started strangling it. The Creeper Thorn keeps trying to tighten its hold and snaps tighter as it bursts through the other side of the thigh.

Creeper Thorns burrowing into something looks horrifying but nothing could be more joyous than what I'm seeing.

Particularly that nice and wide body of the Omega. Its blindside is completely exposed right to me.

Thornburst!

My barrage flies forward, crashing into the beast's side... and it lets out a final cry of agony.

All around us, squeals and squeaks of ranbi can be heard echoing from miles away.

A final attempt to doom us: a squeal to let everything around here know there's a threat big enough to kill it that must be stopped.

But I'm going to make it a warning.

Both of my summons holding the beast don't stop their efforts, whilst Bomber circles back and into the beast's still-present vision. The beast's head is too high to kick with one of those rear kicks.

So Bomber delivers a pinpoint accurate front high-kick right to its remaining eye.

[Notification] Detected skill use by Summon Bomber...

Granting skill High-Kick. High-Kick Learned General-type An Attack skill; although unorthodox in a fight, this well-trained kick's accuracy and low-power aren't popular. Normally best for showing off or catching an ill-prepared opponent off-guard.

Costs 1 SP.

The kick rocks the Omega hard enough that it falls down.

And this time, the mushed eye and silence confirms it.

We just killed the big boss around here.