The vines slammed down again, inches from my face. The ground split beneath the force, clumps of wet dirt erupting around me. I scrambled backward, slipping in the mud as the creature's roots burrowed forward, dragging its massive, tangled form closer.
Think. Think, Agnes.
I didn't have iron (Fe) prepared. I didn't have sharp stone. I didn't have a weapon at all.
But I had mana.
Not much. And not enough to form a full blade. But… maybe enough for something else.
I grabbed onto the air—mentally, instinctively—and felt the particles swirl toward me. Thin strands of oxygen (O₂), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and faint traces of nitrogen (N₂) drifted together, clinging loosely like dust gathering into a shape. It wasn't enough to create matter by itself, but it was enough to… concentrate.
If I couldn't change the elements, maybe I could use them.
The creature lunged again. This time, its vines curled like claws, sharp thorns dripping with slick sap. I rolled to the side, a guttural cry escaping my throat as pain shot up my wounded arm. My fingers slipped through mud, and I dragged myself upright just in time for another attack to miss me by inches.
I flung my hand out—not to strike, but to push.
I shoved mana outward, forcing the air molecules to compress, squeeze, tighten—
Heat sparked.
Not flame. Not enough to burn. But enough to create a momentary shock of warmth, like static igniting between two metal plates.
The creature jerked back, vines recoiling from the sudden change in temperature. It let out a sound—horrible, guttural—like a tree groaning under the weight of its own collapse.
It wasn't pain.
More like surprise.
"Yeah," I hissed, gripping my chest as I forced myself upright, "I'm full of surprises, you overgrown salad."
The creature didn't hesitate. It lunged again, faster this time. The vines twisted in midair like serpents, several striking simultaneously. I ducked the first two but the third hit my leg, wrapping around my calf with an iron grip. Thorned barbs dug into my skin. I screamed, grabbing at the vine with both hands.
Its surface was rough, slick with sap, and pulsing like a beating heart.
If it's alive… it has mana.
And if it had mana, I could—
I reached forward mentally, grabbing onto the threads within the vine. They spun wildly, chaotic and knotted. Plant compounds. Thick cellulose (C₆H₁₀O₅), chlorophyll, and some compound I didn't recognize—twisted and dark, pulsing with unfamiliar energy. A mutation.
I tried to separate the pathways.
They resisted. Hard.
The creature yanked its vine upward, lifting me partially off the ground. My breath hitched, my wounded side screaming with pain. My vision blurred.
"Neo—" I gasped, "give me something—anything—weak point—"
"I cannot determine a weak point," Neo replied, infuriatingly calm. "However, the creature's core appears to possess higher mana density than its outer extremities."
"The… core…" I hissed, struggling for breath. "Where the hell is the core, Neo?!"
"In the center of the thorax," it answered. "The cluster emitting amber mana."
Then I saw it.
Inside the mass of vines, in the hollow at the creature's center, the amber shard pulsed like a beating heart—thick sap surrounding it in slow, rhythmic waves.
There.
That was the core.
The vine around my leg tightened, lifting me higher. My hands slipped as wet mud and sap smeared my grip. I reached for the mana again—harder, deeper—and forced it to shift. The vine spasmed, tightening as if resisting the intrusion.
"Let go of me—!" I snarled, and yanked the mana thread sideways.
The vine snapped open, exploding outward in a spray of sticky sap. I dropped to the ground, landing hard on my shoulder. Pain exploded up my arm, and I bit down on a cry.
No time.
No room for screaming.
Move.
I pushed myself upright and lunged. The creature reared back, vines flaring outward like a defensive bloom. Its hollow chest opened wider, revealing the amber core glowing like a molten gemstone.
I grabbed a sharp shard of concrete from the ground—one of the broken fragments scattered through the forest—and squeezed the mana inside it. Its compound structure showed silica (SiO₂), traces of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), and embedded iron sand (Fe₂O₃). Enough for—
A weapon.
A crude one.
But enough.
I bent the mana, forcing the shape of the shard into a jagged blade. It wasn't elegant, but it didn't need to be.
The creature struck as I rushed in—a flurry of vines slicing the air. I dodged left, rolled right, and then ducked beneath the final vine, sliding on the wet ground right under its main body.
The amber core pulsed above me.
I swung.
The improvised blade struck the core dead center.
A crack echoed through the forest like splintering glass. The amber glowed brighter—then burst. Sap flooded outward, splashing over my face and chest. The creature convulsed violently, vines thrashing in wild, uncontrolled spirals.
I scrambled backward just as the entire mass collapsed, collapsing inward as if its strings had been cut. The vines curled, twisted, then went limp.
Silence fell.
Even the rain seemed to soften.
I lay there panting, soaked, bleeding, and covered in god-knows-what. The concrete blade dissolved in my grip as the mana pattern fell apart, reverting to useless rubble.
Slowly, I pushed myself upright.
"Neo," I whispered, my voice hoarse, "don't ever let a red dot sneak up on me again."
"Understood," Neo said. "Though it was not sneaking. You were simply not paying attention."
Despite everything, I barked a weak, humorless laugh.
"Great. Insult me while I'm dying."
"You are not dying," Neo replied. "Not yet."
"…thanks," I muttered weakly.
My knees shook. My vision blurred. The pain in my torso flared again, hot and dull.
But I was alive.
For now.