GLITCH

Not this Sensation

DRYAD’S FOREST

13th day of December 2500

9:47 AM

“This one’s tough, sissy. My attacks are barely enough to cut it all.”

I wasn’t able to respond with words as a thorn shot out from the ground in front of me. Seriously, this Glitch might be tougher in using vines and thorn attacks rather than that crystal in Silver Island.

I have no time to dawdle about and compare this and that. What I need to do is to finish it fast!

I crouched to evade an incoming whip and rolled towards my left to evade a thorn that’s about to hit me. I did evade it by a slight margin, but it hits the incoming vines that were approaching me at incredible speed. One could relax if that were the case, but not me. Since I knew about its [Regeneration] ability is in effect, that damage is dealt with itself is just trivial.

Tch. I’m at loss. I have my [Soul Read] (I guess I’m still not used to using my skills even though), after looking at it as two separate bodies, but I have mistaken the other soul I read as a separate and is the one attacking us. It turns out that after this long duration of fighting, it’s just merging with the Dryad, it’s not from the one who controls the vines.

It’s even getting darker from here.

That orange mist, and that orange crystal that’s been slowly encasing the Dryad, is no other than a Morph’s Essence.

Morph’s Essence is a luxurious item in the black market that rarely appears once every couple of months. I knew about its existence when I followed that merchant that’s been my Ma and Pa’s rival for years. I saw him buy a couple of slaves, which is illegal, and some smuggled items. During that time, I don’t know what “smuggled” meant but when I told my Ma and Pa, they quickly asked me for the black market’s location and they reported it to the authorities.

Back to the item, Morph’s Essence could only be produced by extracting the “Core” of the Morph. And it could only be produced with greater quality when extracted to a live one. I know it’s not something that I would be concerned about, as I’m not a Morph. However, I can’t just afford to leave it like that since there are good ones out there, like Wenn.

This item could be modified to whatever the owner desires. That’s how magical that item is. When the owner wanted to use it as a healing item, he or she would just mix it with a herb and the quality of the result is way better than most medicines available for purchase to the public. In this case, though, I think the owner used Morph’s Essence with the desire of “corrupting anything it touches” or something that goes like that.

“Burst Shot!”

I blast it with my Tech Gloves. A puff of smoke appeared. However, I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t do the trick. From the smokes emerges some more vines, thicker, and faster than before. And its color is a bit darker than usual. I tried to move sideways and hit it with a blast but I didn’t realize that it was aiming for my leg. It grabbed me and pummel me to the ground.

That hurts…

Huh?

My lab coat isn’t working normally. Does that mean…?

“Watch out, Wenn!”

“What the…how did it hit me?”

Wenn shifted back to her body after getting hit by a vine, despite her shift form. Just as I thought, this creature is adapting to our attacks and defenses. It’s been a while since the battle started, and it has already torn my lab coat. Ugh, I need to strengthen the durability of my clothing next time.

Whatever.

“Sis, are you all right?”

“M-more or less. Urk…”

This isn’t good… Of all time, why now?

My body started to numb, just like what happened after I fought with that grotesque beast.