SML Ch 28

Chapter 28

Could it be a nutrient issue? That was about the only guess Reynald could come up with. Typically, if even the usually stationary roots were actively participating in attacks, it meant there was an abundant supply of nutrients.

Perhaps in the other fields, the plants didn’t receive enough nutrients, so only the tentacles and flower buds moved. But in this particular field, with its rich supply of nutrients, the plants had grown more vigorous and active. Logically, that explanation made sense, but…

“Volant, did you secretly fertilize your field without telling us?”

“Would I do that?!”

“…This isn’t a matter of using fertilizer or not! For these plants to be this active, it would take an amount of magical energy far beyond what fertilizer could provide!”

Reynald shouted this to the youths. There were clear limits to how much fertilizer could aid in growth—so for plant monsters to become this robust, a certain amount of magical energy was essential. These types of plants didn’t just draw nutrients from the soil; they also fed on mana.

In Reynald’s experience, most of the man-eating plants he’d subjugated were those that had explosively grown and reproduced after a sorcerer had poured vast amounts of mana into the ground with malicious intent. The problem was, the young men in this rural village still thought magicians only lived in the royal capital—there was no way they would’ve infused magical energy into their crops. Even standard mana-activating fertilizers couldn’t cause this kind of excessive growth.

Something’s off. What in the world is supplying them with magic energy?

If they could cut off the mana supply, the plants’ movements might slow down. While considering this, Reynald suddenly noticed something glowing at the top of one of the swollen tentacle vines.

At first, he had vaguely assumed that was the main body, but upon reconsideration, it seemed more likely the main body was at ground level rather than way up high. If that’s the case…

“I’ll have to climb up!”

“W-What are you saying, my lord?!”

“If we leave it like this, it’ll never end! It’ll be tough, but I have to get up there and see what’s going on. You all clear me a path!”

“But isn’t that the main body you just mentioned, my lord…?!”

“It might not be the main body after all! You all, stay safe!”

“My lord, it’s dangerous! My lord!”

After stomping down a tentacle trying to wrap around his foot, Reynald dashed toward the towering column of tentacle vines. His movement was entirely different from when he was acting defensively to protect the other young men.

Technically, Reynald was now in a far more dangerous position than the others—but naturally, he didn’t worry about himself. Instead, he glanced sideways to check that the others were still safe.

Even with age, I can’t seem to shake this reckless habit of charging into the front lines, Reynald thought briefly, but quickly brushed it off as he launched himself up the vine tower.

“Hey, lower your crossbows!”

“Stop shooting! Don’t shoot! That’s the lord up there!”

As the youths shouted in a panic, Reynald ascended the tower of tentacles with light, agile movements. In fact, “climbed” didn’t quite describe it—it was more accurate to say he leapt from point to point at high speed.

Worried that a stray arrow might hit Reynald, the youths were horrified. But to him, the arrows lodged in the leaves and stems actually made the climb easier. The bolts from the anti-monster crossbows were thick and sturdy enough to support Reynald’s weight without issue.

“My lord! You’ll fall! Please be careful!”

Their voices echoed from below, but Reynald didn’t pay them any mind. He had once climbed the slick, scaleless back of a dragon, which offered no handholds whatsoever. Compared to that, this was easy. It wasn’t overconfidence—it was a precise understanding of his own abilities.

And honestly, falling from this height wasn’t the thing he should have been most worried about.

“Not so fast…!”

Kicking at a tentacle trying to slither up the leg of his pants, Reynald launched himself upward. Before he could even worry about falling, another tentacle tried to coil around his waist.

With a nearly acrobatic motion, he swung the sword in one hand and severed the tentacle’s head, then left the flailing appendage behind and grabbed onto another one. The tentacle still intact squirmed in an attempt to shake him off, but Reynald instead used it like a rope to climb higher.

The real problem was these disgustingly-shaped tentacles kept interfering with him. Here and there, flower buds bared their teeth and attempted to bite him—another annoying obstacle in his climb.

Avoiding their attacks wasn’t the hard part; the issue was that they kept reducing his available handholds. If not for their interference, Reynald would’ve scaled the vine tower long ago.

“My lord, to the left!”

As Volant’s voice rang out from below, Reynald grabbed a tentacle with one hand and threw himself sharply to the left. Thanks to that sudden movement, a flower bud that had been exposed took a direct hit from a crossbow bolt.

Although shouts of alarm rose from below at the danger of his move, Reynald didn’t care. The firmly lodged bolt now served as a foothold, making things even more secure for him.

Gripping the struggling tentacle even tighter, Reynald searched for his next path upward. Only about a meter remained, but the constant interference made it feel much further.

Still, by now, he could clearly see the light flowing from the top of the vine. There was definitely something up there—something that was feeding these plants magical energy. If he could rip that out, it would likely weaken their activity…!

But as Reynald became absorbed in identifying the source of the light, he failed to stay aware of his surroundings. That was his mistake. A tentacle came up from behind and suddenly coiled around his waist.

“Be careful, my lord!”

Reynald heard the scream from below, but it was already too late. Despite believing he had secured his waist gear tightly, he could feel several tentacles slipping in through the gap.

Damn it, did I let my guard down?!

He managed to slice through a few of them with his sword, but his balance was already shot. Just as he was about to fall, several more tentacles wrapped around his waist again. If he cut those, all his effort to climb would be wasted, but if he didn’t, his movements would be completely restrained. It was a dilemma.

But it wasn’t a situation where he could just leave them alone. Beyond personal danger, there was something even more important—he didn’t want to be seen in an embarrassing state by the young men shouting in panic below. No matter what, he had to protect his pants. Well, even if the pants were lost, he couldn’t let everything below the waist be exposed.

“Don’t shoot, you idiot! Do you want to drop the lord?!”

“Still, we have to…!”

The youths were frozen in indecision, not knowing what to do. Those who had rashly considered using crossbows to sever the tentacles hesitated at the insistence of their companions.

A few brave ones tried to emulate Reynald and approached the tentacle tower, but most of them were terrified before climbing even a meter and had to retreat. At this rate, someone’s going to get hurt, Reynald judged, and shouted with gritted teeth:

“Don’t act rashly! I’ll handle it myself!”

Thankfully, he hadn’t dropped his sword. Reynald ultimately chose to take the risk and slashed the tentacles. Without their support, his body faltered and began to fall—but luckily, he was able to grab hold of a crossbow bolt Volant had fired earlier. Still, the situation didn’t improve much. A chill crept around his waist as slimy tentacles slithered into his underwear.

“You bastards…!”

Because it was happening behind him, he couldn’t even swing his sword properly. He barely managed to slice the tentacles while clinging to the bolt, but the dead ones inside his underwear couldn’t be removed. With both hands occupied, there was nothing he could do. Shivering at the slimy sensation of sap-coated tentacles brushing against his rear, Reynald grit his teeth and continued his climb.

The higher he climbed, the more frenzied the tentacles became. Reynald repeatedly fought off moments where his pants were nearly pulled down. He had the sinking feeling there were holes in his trousers, but he chose to ignore it. He’d deal with that problem later. There was nothing he could do about it now.

After a long and grueling struggle, Reynald finally reached a position close enough to touch the light at the top of the tower. This time, he had to stay focused and not miss the opportunity. Cutting away the surrounding vines that blocked the light, he finally uncovered its source.

A necklace?

Reynald hesitated for a moment, surprised by the unexpected object. What had been glowing inside the vine was, unexpectedly, a necklace. Of course, it wasn’t just any ordinary necklace. Though it was caked in dirt and brittle old leaves, even at a glance, it was clearly not a normal item.

The bluish gem embedded at the center of the necklace appeared extremely rare, even to Reynald, who knew little about gemstones. A glowing magical circle engraved inside the gem was radiating a clear light. That was the glow Reynald had seen earlier.

Protective magic? I can’t see it clearly, but it looks familiar…!

Reynald didn’t know much about jewelry, but he did know about magic circles. They were often used in subjugation missions, and more importantly, he had a mage friend who had taught him a thing or two.

Protective magic was neither difficult nor uncommon—it was used in many places due to its versatility. If Reynald’s guess was correct, then the necklace was something akin to a talisman.

Protective magic only worked on humans, so fortunately it hadn’t affected the plants—but the mana stored in the gemstone to maintain the magic seemed to have caused the plants to grow excessively.

In other words, Volant’s field had become this nightmare… because of that necklace.