I've just evolved into a stronger version of myself. I flex one arm— this one shall be called "Power". Then the other — "Order".
"Master, let's test out my new 'power' and 'order'. I want to see how strong I am now."
Long Fei raises a brow, barely amused. He walks up and flicks down my "Power" and "Order". Ow! One finger and it feels like I've been pummeled.
"It looks like they need a bit more work."
I rub my arms. They're already bruising. Yep, walked right into that one.
"Ling Yue, have you decided which quest you want to take? Do you need me to go with you? Or are you happy to try it alone?"
"Oh, come with me, of course! It'll be fun doing a quest together."
"You do realize that I will only be observing."
"What happens if I'm in a dire situation?"
"You shouldn't be. The quests are tailored to your current level."
This would probably be too boring for my master as a quest, but I just want him to keep me company.
"Well, while I'm battling mighty foes and getting pummeled to a pulp, you can always read your book."
"Perhaps you should try the quest you had before you evolved, just for a warm-up."
"Oh, let's see... it was to extract the essence of the Venus flower."
He raises a brow, looking at me expectantly.
"Wait, you mean the Venus flower is actually on this mountain?"
He nods slowly, looking at me as though I should have figured that out a long time ago.
"Are you telling me that I ran past it?"
He plucks his book from his sleeve and starts reading.
I'll run my hand down my face. I have to go back into that sea of floral monsters. What happens if I have hay fever?
I quickly scan the room. I know that I came through one door. Are there any other doors?
I look back to my master, ready to ask him another question, but he has already disappeared. How does he do that?
Great, so while he enjoys his book of blank pages, I have to search for a Venus flower. What does it even look like? I'm just going to ask the largest monster here.
I shake my hands, roll my shoulders, bounce on my feet, stretch to one side, stretch to the other side, balance one leg up, balance the other leg up. I approach the door that sliced the heads off the man-eating flowers. It's still writhing on the floor. I shiver in disgust.
There's no handle at the door. There's an arc with runes. I channel air in it, but nothing happens. What? I came in with air! I shoot a water tendril, and it remains unresponsive. Okay, now this is weird. I try a combination of both. Nothing.
That only leaves me with one option. I jump up and kick both legs at the door. It breaks off and zooms away.
It hits an unassuming humongous flower monster in the head. Of course, it would hit the target. I totally meant that...
The monster snaps its head back at me and gives a resounding roar. Its saliva sprays everywhere. Dissolving whatever it touches. Acid spit! I need to learn that.
It roars and charges at me in slow motion. Throwing a water tendril at it made it grow. Oh, tides! Wrong elemental.
Hmm, I remember the Crown Prince sliced that cherry blossom tree in half. I wonder if he used an air technique. I'm going to try sharpening my air tendril and see what happens. I take a deep breath, focus on sharpening, condensing the air, forming an arc, and blast the air blade at it. It sliced off a large leaf from the monster. Green ooze gushes out, dissolving the floor. That's acidic too. It seems like any liquid from this monster is corrosive.
I scream, "Are you the Venus flower?"
It replies with another roar.
"Say it, don't spray it."
I dodge as its saliva pours through the entrance, corroding the ground, and wall. I don't think this body can handle acid. How am I going to extract its essence if everything's acidic?
I close my eyes, focusing as I press my back towards the wall, sensing my surroundings. I sense the ugly flower monster approaching me. It's a green blob, but there's a yellow-pink orb glowing in its head. That must be where the essence is hidden.
I pop my head out, taking a peek. Does it have any weakness? It crawls to me as its roots slowly shuffle along the ground. It's not the fastest monster. I can probably outrun it, but the problem is if it starts spraying its acid rain, I won't be able to avoid that. Water makes it grow, so water is definitely out of the question. I remember when I was a tiny whale trying to navigate through my master's basement. I closed off a poisonous gas by creating an air bubble. I wonder if I can wrap an air bubble around myself to protect me from its acidic saliva.
I really don't want to try it out though. If the rocks are corroding like that, this would really hurt if my theory's wrong. I grab a dead plant on the floor, wrap an air bubble around it, and toss it to the monster.
The beast roars again, and its spittle engulfs the dead plant, completely dissolving it. Well, there goes that theory.
I'm sick of hearing it roar. I may as well test out my roar and see what happens. I take a deep breath, jump into the entrance, and roar my lungs out. The air blast tears away its petals, and leaves, stripping it bare. It starts to whimper, head cast down, and moves away.
"Wait a minute, it's shy?"
Now that it's all shy and blushing, I don't have the heart to kill it. But wouldn't taking the essence mean that I am killing it? I close my eyes and sense my surroundings again. The aura has changed. All those leaves and petals were the source of its power. Now it's just a plant with the yellow-pink orb still in its head. The only thing I could think of is, besides killing it, is actually just asking.
"Uh, Venus Flower? I don't want to hurt you. If you give me your essence, I'll leave you alone."
It whimpers and cries. Strangely, its tears are not acidic.
Let's try to be gentle this time. I don't want this whole place to disappear and make my debt larger, just in case it's a source of income for floral arrangements. I survey the damage my air blast caused. Everything looks like it's shredded. The petals, the leaves. It looks devastating.
I summon the air to gently gather all the petals and leaves, then shape them into a robe. I used water elements to wash off the dirt and grime, but to my surprise, it fused everything. I stop the water so it doesn't get overgrown and gently place the floral robe on Venus Flower. It looks at its new garment, tongue sticking out, happy, and smiling. A smile that sends chills down my spine. Then an ethereal light engulfs it, as it turns into a beautiful flower fairy.
She smiles serenely and floats towards me, handing her glowing essence to me.
"Are you sure? Don't you need it?"
She shakes her head, nodding, encouraging me to take it.
I pluck out a glass vial from my mystical satchel. Pop open the cork, and let her put it in herself. I close the cork and tuck it away in my satchel.
"Thank you!"
She graciously smiles, sending warmth into my heart. Okay, I better leave before I get sappy. I fly off, waving to her and she waves back. As I fly further I can see her hands sprinkling fairy dust around her and everything regrows.
I should double-check that I did the right thing.
I pluck out my quest list, and that quest disappears.