Master Of Astral Summoner
Chapter 54: Trace

Chapter 54: Trace

Shaan quickly turned around and scanned the area, but Chelsie was nowhere in sight. Damn it. The plant’s roots must have grabbed her, and that meant her life was in danger.

"We have to find Chelsie, Shaan," Nalira said as she brushed off the remaining roots clinging to her body.

"But where should we look?" Shaan once again cast his eyes around. "This place is very dark and we have absolutely -"

’Snap!’

Nalira snapped her fingers, and a burst of flame sparked from her fingertips. She grabbed two stray branches lying nearby and quickly turned them into makeshift torches. Thankfully, the forest no longer felt as oppressively dark.

"Hold this." Nalira passed the torch to Shaan. "Now we need to find Chelsie. She’ll need our help now."

"Uh... okay." Shaan took the torch from Nalira. "Wait, but is it safe to light a fire in this place?"

"It’s not," Nalira replied flatly. "But we don’t have time to worry about that. We need to find Chelsie before something worse shows up."

They walked around the area where Chelsie had last rested, trying to find anything that might explain her disappearance. At first, Shaan couldn’t see anything unusual—until he turned to the side. That’s when he noticed a long groove carved into the soft, damp soil. The trail started just a few steps away from where Chelsie had been lying.

"Nalira, look at that." Shaan pointed toward the trail leading into the trees. "I think this might have something to do with Chelsie."

"Yes. We should follow that trail."

As they moved along the path, Shaan kept his eyes locked on the line on the ground. He didn’t want to lose the only trail that might lead them to find Chelsie.

"Shaan, wait a moment." Nalira immediately stopped walking.

"What’s wrong, Nalira?"

She slowly raised her finger and pointed toward a cluster of trees not far from them. "Over there. I think I saw something." Nalira drew her sword cautiously. "Be careful. We don’t know what it is."

Hearing Nalira’s words, Shaan slowly raised his torch and pointed it forward, and saw a strange figure crawling out of the tree. At first glance, his body looked like a human, but the way he walked was quite strange. For some reason, the way it walked when it came out of the tree was jerky and completely unstable.

’What... what is it?’

When the creature turned around, a chill ran down Shaan’s spine. The figure looked grotesque. Its skin appeared deathly pale, its fingernails long and sharp, and its head—its head looked like a hard, opened mushroom.

Shaan instinctively shook his head. So his gut feeling had been right all along—something had been watching them from the shadows of the forest, and now he finally saw it.

’Damn. It turns out that this thing is hiding in a tree. No wonder Carmen was completely unaware of this creature’s existence.’

"Shaan, we have to hurry-"

The hideous creature suddenly let out a strange sound that was extremely shrill. It was so shrill that it made her eardrums ache more and more. Even worse, the shrill sound attracted the attention of other creatures of darkness, and he had to defeat this creature as soon as possible.

"Argh! Damn it!" Shaan grumbled in pain. "We have to-"

’Slash!Slash!’

A slashing sound was heard, and not long after that, the strange sound was gone. Shaan immediately saw what was happening and was surprised to see that the slashing sound was coming from Nalira, who had managed to cut down the creature with ease. Amazing. Nalira was indeed very good at fighting.

"Wow, very good attack, Nali- Oh, crap." Shaan instantly widened his eyes when he saw the creature’s body suddenly move. "Nalira, watch your back!"

Nalira whipped her head around just in time to see the creature lunge at her, its arm swinging in a heavy arc. Thankfully, her reflexes kicked in—she twisted her body and dodged the powerful blow with grace.

"Bam!"

The impact crashed into the ground where she had just stood, shaking the nearby trees around Shaan. Dear gods. That was close. If Shaan hadn’t shouted in time, that attack could’ve killed her instantly.

"Damn, this thing also has generational abilities." Shaan bit his lower lip, his face tightening. "We have to be careful with this thing, Nalira. This thing is no ordinary creature."

"Yes, I know." Nalira nodded her head. "We must quickly finish this creature before-"

A strange tremor suddenly shook the ground around them, and without warning, thick roots burst out from the soil. Even worse, the roots lunged straight toward Shaan and Nalira.

"Argh, damn it!" Shaan slashed at the roots in front of him. "They just keep coming—and there’s more of them every second!"

[That’s right, Shann.] Robin shot several arrows at the roots, which were trying to attack Shaan and Nalira. These plant roots will keep popping up as long as that damn thing is alive. We need to get rid of that damn thing before these roots catch up with us.]

"But how?!" Shaan growled, narrowing his eyes. "They keep blocking me—I can’t even get close to it."

"Fire. I’ll burn through these damn things." Nalira slashed a root that had shot up beneath her. "Once I clear the path, use your power to finish that thing off, Shaan."

"Got it!"

Without wasting a second, Nalira unleashed her flames. Fire erupted from her hands and scorched through the writhing roots, clearing the way. The creature let out a shrill, agonizing shriek as the flames licked across its body. Perfect. Sensing the moment, Shaan bolted forward and delivered a clean, brutal strike.

’Slash! Slash!’

Shaan’s strike cleanly severed the creature’s head, and its body collapsed lifelessly. All around them, the roots that had burst from the earth instantly turned black and withered into dry husks.

[You have defeated: Mycoflorar]

[You obtained: Dark Crystal Shard ×7]

[Your bond with Robin Hood increased by +4]

[New skill unlocked for Robin Hood: Explosive Quiver]

’Gosh, it’s a good thing I managed to kill it.’ Shaan let out a deep breath. ’Hmm... New skill? Good. Let’s see what this new skill is.’

[Explosive Quiver: An arrow that produces a loud explosion when it hits any surface. This explosion will produce a blinding effect on dark creatures that can confuse the dark creatures’ vision for a few minutes."]

"Very interesting skill. This way Robin Hood will be even stronger and I’m sure he’ll be able to-"

"Hey, Shaan! Come over here and look at what I just found!"