PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Desmond and Aisha were cautious, probing the ground for any threat as they approached the flower. The reddish grass was soft and a bit bumpy, creating a slight sinking feeling when stepped on. The occasional wildflowers radiated a slightly uncomfortable warm field to Desmond. Still, they showed no reaction to being provoked by him.

Having experienced more than one underground ambush, Desmond and Aisha weren’t relaxed by the lack of visible danger alone. They knew that in this place, threats could come from the floor, the ceiling, and the walls. Seconds passed, but nothing changed, not even a tiny tremor indicating danger.

Desmond and Aisha could be pretty sure that the only thing placed here with them was a huge flower. The flower gave off a slightly intoxicating sweet aroma as if honey would come out if one pinched its petals a little. But neither Desmond nor Aisha would be stupid enough to approach the flower. They still had to remember why they were here. The flower was the most suspicious thing in the absence of the gem they were looking for.

“What do you think?” Desmond asked Aisha. Aisha pondered for a moment and replied. “The flower should not be part of the phenomenon created by the gem but a mutation caused by the gem. I’ve heard that there are carnivorous flowers in some regions of the mine, especially places that were affected by other gems that gathered certain types of mana in the area. According to the map, this area should have a small ecosystem with some flora. I guess this flower mutated with the birth of the gem while the rest of the flora was eradicated by fire.”

Desmond looked at the elephant-sized cocoon and couldn’t help but comment with some wryness. “Somehow, it doesn’t even surprise me. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve encountered a case where even the flowers aren’t trustworthy. Still, this flower seems to be in a dormant state. Should we search for the gem without disturbing the flower?”

Aisha looked at the magma streaks on the flower’s petals and nodded. “I don’t know the capabilities of this flower and the reasons behind its dormant state, but I didn’t think we should take the initiative to provoke it. I feel my magma hammer won’t be very effective against him.”

Beat* Beat* Beat*

As Desmond and Aisha spoke, an intense heartbeat interrupted their conversation. The earth itself reverberated from the force of the beat. And as if they both had the same bad feeling, Desmond and Aisha turned stiffly to look at the flower again.

.....

“Of course, this would be the case.” Desmond commented in exasperation as he watched as the flower bud rose a dozen meters from the ground, now supported by a black, volcanic-looking stem. Not even stretching his arms out to the fullest would Desmond be able to wrap around the flower’s stem. Given its rocky appearance, it wasn’t hard to imagine that it wouldn’t be easy to damage.

“You got to be kidding.” Aisha said, seeing how the huge bud opened. The petals spread like a huge mane around a red core where a bright magma-like gem could be seen.

A deadly premonition suddenly flooded the duo, who, following their instincts, ran in different directions. Desmond and Aisha barely moved a couple of meters before seeing how the red core of the flower glowed brightly. A second later, the flower shot a bolt of magma at the place where Desmond and Aisha were.

“You can not be serious.” Desmond and Aisha exclaimed in unison, seeing the huge crater left by the flower’s attack. Even Aisha felt that she wouldn’t necessarily be immune to such an attack no matter how high her fire resistance was.

Although cautious, Desmond was not one to take a passive approach. Wanting to at least get an estimate of the flower’s capabilities, Desmond attempted to probe it with some ranged attacks. Desmond didn’t use any particular technique; he simply doomed a sphere of sharp wind currents and shot at the flower.

“It’s pretty slow.” Desmond commented, seeing how the flower reacted to his attack but was clearly a second too late to defend itself. Seeing that his attack didn’t even scratch the white petals, Desmond added. “Despite its appearance, its defenses are very high.”

Aisha jumped up to the mane of petals with the hammer in hand, stimulating her muscles with Aura. The flower reacted a little faster to Aisha’s attack, twisting its stem to back up a bit, gather momentum, and lunge at Aisha. The flower’s elongated petals turned into an iron fan that sought to crush Aisha.

As if powered by rockets, flames erupted from the back of Aisha’s hammer, taking the power of the blow to a whole new level. The result? The shock waves caused even Desmond, a dozen meters away, to take several steps back. From Aisha’s side, she felt like she had hit a metal wall before being brutally repelled.

Aisha could barely hold her hammer, her hands were shaking, and the area between her thumb and forefinger seemed to have a bloody tear. A line of blood trickled from Aisha’s lips, but the emotion in her eyes betrayed how much she was looking forward to this battle.

Desmond didn’t dare hold back anymore; the flower was much stronger than he expected. Desmond strengthened the flow of aquatic mana pouring out of his heart, and soon blue flashes and explosions covered the right side of the flower’s body. Desmond fired more than one , but the flower’s defenses barely shook from the impact.

Danger alarms went off in Desmond’s mind seemingly out of nowhere, and he could quickly see why. Desmond jumped more than a dozen meters into the air with a burst of wind, but his reaction was still a bit slow. A huge geyser of fiery steam erupted where he stood, reaching to burn part of his legs.

Desmond endured the pain, clenched his teeth, and clung to his awareness, but the flower took advantage of his brief weakness to try to crush him. All the flower petals contracted, covering its core, and turning its body into a huge hammer that slammed into Desmond.

Desmond wasn’t completely helpless even in his wounded state, but the flower’s body was too massive. There was no way for him to dodge it in time, and blocking it was even less viable. But Desmond did something that seemed suicidal; instead of defending or dodging, he clenched his right fist and activated the ring, .

As if it was planned beforehand, Aisha appeared from the side, propelled by a massive torrent of flames, turning her into a fiery meteor. Aisha’s colossal magma hammer emitted a blinding glow, absorbing the residual fire around Aisha and accumulating destructive power during the flight.

The fiery meteor that Aisha had become slammed into the side of the huge bud before it managed to reach Desmond. All the fire absorbed by Aisha’s hammer was converted into explosive power upon impact, magnifying the accumulated kinetic force. The result was more complex than adding two plus two.

The clash between the hammer and the bud created a horrible shockwave that devastated the surrounding area. Desmond gritted his teeth as he felt his eardrums rip; it was like having a thousand brass bells ring right next to his ears. Ignoring the pain, Desmond released one of the four abilities stored in the ring.

“I wouldn’t be called Astrid if I let some stupid flower kill me. Fuck you, .” Although Desmond couldn’t hear his words, he still yelled to vent.

The legendary serpent was brought into the world through aquatic mana, charging at the flower bud. After being crushed by Aisha’s hammer, the flower bud lost almost all its momentum. The flower bud bounces to the side, with many of its petals visibly injured to a lesser extent. While the bud was still receding, the serpent’s jaws engulfed it completely, sinking its deadly fangs into the petals.

Sensing the danger, the flower burst into flames, the magma veins on the petals glowing brightly. In an attempt to free itself from the serpent’s jaws, the flower tried to open its mane of petals again but found itself unable to fight off the serpent’s enormous bite force.

As expected, the flower relied on its ridiculous size, weight, and defenses to use itself as a demolition weapon. Still, it didn’t seem to have much physical strength to speak of. Its petals just didn’t have the strength to fight off the snake.

Desmond pressed harder, using his intent to command the snake. The giant snake, , advanced, using its size and weight to subdue the giant flower, trying to rip it from its stem. A terrifying screech erupted from the flower’s core; sensing the danger, the flower poured all the power it had at its disposal to intensify the flames that covered it.

The flower turned into a massive pillar of fire that reached the cave ceiling, and even the mighty water snake could not withstand that kind of power, collapsing within a few seconds. Aisha emerged from the crater she had been buried in after colliding with the flower a few seconds ago. She was just in time to see the sea of ??fire and magma around the clearing dry up and go out. A closer look revealed the fiery mana flowing through the ground toward the flower’s roots.

Seeing the pillar of fire in the center of the cave, Aisha couldn’t help but comment. “Isn’t that cheating?”