I managed to survive using the Vegetative Regeneration. But my mana level was very low after splitting it among the spores. I couldn't even cast a single magic and being inside a spore meant I could be killed with a single touch. The good thing was that my spores had dispersed everywhere, and I could use them to attack as long as I gather enough mana inside that spore.
I sat still and absorbed the mana around me while organising my thoughts. The other plants including the bonsai also gathered their mana.
Casting many magic and fighting for a long time must drain a lot of mana. The bonsai must also be drained. It had an ability that could sense danger, so a sneak attack wouldn't work, and hiding is impossible. Moreover, it could also control the earth and dead bodies.
If I did anything, it could sense my presence. Even trying to grow myself out could be a useless endeavor.
When the announcement for the next day came, I still hadn't no idea on how I should deal with the bonsai, except attacking when it was drained of mana.
When the fifth day began, the 5 plants didn't begin attacking immediately. Then the bonsai started its move.
A wave of earthquake started and came towards a flower plant that looked quite delicate. Its pale green branches drooped under the weight of enormous, horn-shaped flowers. Each bloom hangs downward like a silent horn, long and flared, with smooth petals in shades of white, cream, or faint yellow.
But moments before the attack reached it, the earthquake disappeared. The flower plant still stood delicately without a hint of movement.
Suddenly lightning bloomed from the flowers of the plant and struck towards the bonsai.
However, the attack hit nothing. The moment the attack had started, the bonsai had already disappeared underground.
The flower plant shifted its attacks towards the other plants.
A wall made from magic appeared in front of the olive tree and blocked, while the grey plant reflected the lightning back towards the flower plant. The reflected lightning disappeared right before it reached the flower plant.
As the flower fought with the two, the two plants worked together perfectly. When it was lightning or darkness the grey plant reflected. But if it was an ice or an acidic gas the olive tree would conjure a bubble around them.
The attacks stopped. They were in a complete standstill. Neither side could do anything to the other, and the bonsai was nowhere to be seen.
The flower's petals and branches trembled as if they were a delicate ice sculpture about to break into pieces.
The olive tree and the grey plant, on the other hand, looked unfazed.
The flower raised its drooping branches, ice, lightning, and darkness formed in the air, growing into one big icicle. As the elements combined, the flower plant's trembling turned into spasms.
The olive tree erected a thick bubble around them at that sight.
Why is the flower plant going over its limit to attack those two? Was it not afraid because it had an ability that could protect it from attacks?
But even that wasn't such a safe bet. If the flower plant was physically attacked-
Wait, oh my god.
I'm so stupid. Why did I not think about this before?
The flower plant's magic finished completing. A mass of darkness covered by electricity floated on top of the plant. It looked menacing.
The moment the attack launched, I used wind magic to send half of my spores flying towards the flower plant.
Several things happened in the seconds that followed. The ground split open, and the bonsai's dark sphere shot towards the two plants at a faster speed than the flower's attack.
At the same time, my spores fell on the flower plant and activated parasitism and fast growth. But despite activating fast growth, I grew slower than I did back when the bonsai attacked me. Then the air began to sting due to acid, and the plant began flailing around on top of its spasming. Black liquid flowed down from its flowers.
The first attack to reach the two plants was the bonsai's, and it broke the bubble created by the olive tree without any resistance. Just as the olive tree and the grey plant began to crumple apart under the bonsai's black sphere, the flower plant's attack hit them from the front.
Without waiting to see who got the kill, the bonsai immediately sent another black sphere at the flower and me.
The sphere came fast at us, and moments before it hit us, it vanished without a trace, just like the previous attacks.
Throughout that short duration of time, I had been in a death struggle with the flower plant. Its sweet scent was intense, thick enough to melt, and the areas the black liquid touched darkened at touch. Healing magic flowed through me constantly. Melting vines regenerated as fast as it blackened and healed again and again. My mana dropped steadily, but stopping meant death.
My vines grew fast, it coiled around the plant tighter and tighter until I began crushing it.
Just a little squeeze, just a little.
It stopped moving completely, and the voice finally announced.
""Would you like to inherit the Angel's Trumpet's characteristics? **** interferes. Will proceed with absorbing poison, magic nullification, lightning, acid, ice, darkness, spore generation, irresistible smell, charm, antiwaterloss, perfect roots characteristics.'
At that moment, I felt a terrible pain in my mind. It was like someone was performing surgery on my brain while I was still awake.
I turned to look behind me.
The bonsai stood there, now no longer underground.
The two plants were dead behind it. But the bonsai didn't move.
I began twitching.
This pain in my mind was it because of the bonsai? Was this the reason why the flower plant had been twitching and spasming?
The bonsai must've gotten it just now from one of those two plants.
The bonsai disappeared into the ground, leaving me alone with the pain.
The pain intensified.
Was there anyway to stop this pain? Healing magic might work. But I didn't have mana anymore. There was no way to attack the bonsai to stop the pain. Even if I tried to escape by going to a spore, the bonsai can still locate me.
Someone was grinding my brain now, grabbing it, poking it, and slicing it to make a steak. I doubled over in pain.
I wanted to scream.
I was dead, there was no hope, no way, no escape.
Suddenly, a memory from my past life inside the hospital flashed through my mind. The hand that ruffled my hair whenever the pain became too intense, whispered to me again in the back of my mind to be strong.
I couldn't give up yet. I wasn't ready to die again.
Think, yun, think. There must be a way.
I left the small vine I was inside and switched to another spore. The pain disappeared then before it could return I switched again, and then again and again so that the bonsai wouldn't be able to locate me to attack with mental attacks.
In everybody, I lingered a few seconds before switching to absorb a single mana particle in every spore. It was a bit tedious, but that was okay. Because the moment I gathered all my spores together, the mana inside would gather together and become enough to use magic.
The bonsai can't stay underground indefinitely. We'll need to face each other before the 7 days are over.
A while passed, the announcement for the 6th day came, but still no sign of the bonsai. Even when the 7th day was announced the bonsai still hadn't come up. Time passed.
I began feeling worried that the bonsai wouldn't come out at all.
In fact, I had the higher chance of winning. I can nullify all magical attacks, so that leaves only mental attacks and physical attacks to the bonsai. On the other hand, as long as I can get close enough to the bonsai, I can still attack it using magic that can't be reflected.
Then the bonsai finally showed up.
The moment the leaves of the bonsai showed up the air stirred and shot towards it, sweeping my spores along.
The bonsai had created a bubble around itself using the olive tree's ability, but the moment I touched it, magic nullification crumpled the bubble without a trace.
The mental attack started, but it was bearable, and I didn't plan our fight to be long anyway.
Immediately, the moment I touched the bonsai, the place I touched began to decay from rot magic. It began dying and crumbled.
The bonsai did nothing to stop it and died.
""Would you like to inherit the Bonsai's characteristics? **** interferes. Will proceed with absorbing the earth, insight, necromancy, destruction, gravity, creation, blessing, curse, magic negate, and mental attack magic characteristics."
Insight activated almost instantaneously.
Right before it died, the bonsai seemed to look at me meaningfully. It gave me a very bad feeling.
It couldn't have died so easily. But the announcement did say its dead so that can't be it.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt something wasn't right.
But there was nothing I could do except sit and wait for the day to end.
The voice finally spoke.
"The 7 days have ended."
The figure draped in white appeared before me from thin air. Her face was hidden behind the cloak, leaving only her unsmiling mouth to be seen.
"You've finally finished." her lips moved.
She raised her hand slowly and gestured to the cave we were in. It had become a desolate and lonely place compared to seven days ago. The floor was covered with decomposing plants, and the walls were damaged from all the life and death struggle that took place.
"I have high hopes for you." the figure continued, "But, you might become a failure in the end and I might have to do this all over again."
Despite not being able to see her eyes, I was sure she was looking at me, "Do you want to know why?"
She didn't wait for me to respond before continuing and gestured to the bonsai, "You might not have paid attention to what you got after that one died, but she had fragments of my ability, curse and blessing. You're cursed by her and blessed at the same time."
So that's why I kept having a bad feeling.
"Now, I do want to help you..."
A cold aura seeped out of her.
Her cold and indifferent expression changed and suddenly turned gentle.
"But... don't let me down, okay?"
Her voice rolled like a gently flowing water that was colder than ice.
She snapped her finger in the next second and disappeared.
The mechanical voice of the system spoke, "You have been corrupted by the curse and blessing on you. Proceeding with an evolution to a spiritual being is impossible. **** has decided. The moment you complete the first floor of God's dungeon, **** will grant you an updated system that can contain your corruption. Will you accept this challenge?"
There isn't any room for refusal anyway. Yes.
"The door to the 1st floor will open in one day. Good luck, warrior."