"DON'T!" Alaric shouted desperately but it was too late.
The moment the man but into the fruit bursted open like a balloon.
Black thorns came out of the fruit and pierced through it the man's tongue shredding it.
It then moved and pierced through his cheeks growing as it moved down into his throat.
The man struggled desperately clawing throat and trying to pull out the thorns despite them piercing down his body.
He fell onto the floor as he started to convulsing blood and clear plant sap flowing out of his torn mouth.
Alaric eyes met the man's blood shot eyes pleading for help but he was frozen in fear unable to move. He looked as the light disappeared from his eyes.
The tree moved, its roots detaching from the ground and slithering eagerly towards the body.
Someone vomit. Another fainted. And small muffled cries could be heard. Alaric stumbled back, shaking Soo hard he could barely stand.
His heart hammered against his chest as the realization of the situation came. This wasn't a dungeon, it was more of a feeding ground. And they were the unlucky prey.
No one noticed at first but inside the flowers something moved.
" What's that," a girl pointed out her hands shaking.
" The roots they are moving towards us," the older man said his voice shaky.
As if a switch had been flipped, they started to move faster as they slithered towards them. Everyone ran trying to out do the other but the garden wasn't that massive.
Roots shot out from the ground and wrapped a girl's waist yanking her right of the ground. The girl had been near Alaric. Her scream vibrated through the garden.
The girl clawed on the roots here manicured nails breaking and her fingers rubbing raw against it.
"PLEASE HELP! HELP ME ..."
They tried, they seriously tried but the roots were so secured around her that they couldn't pull it off.
Alaric tried to pull her hands and another joined but the vines only tightened.One of them tried to cut it with his sword but nothing.
" Fire, try fire. Where is are the fire mages," the older man shouted his voice commanding.
Three awakened ran back they threw balls of fire to the plant but it seemed unfazed. It only tightened.
It seemed to mock them as it started to shake the girl vigorously. Her screams becoming lesser.
Then another root shot from the ground and punched through her spine. Her blood splattering on them like a fountain.
Her scream cut off abruptly. There was this short uncomfortable silence as everyone looked on in shock.
Then her body started to violently convulsing. They watched as the roots started to move around her body creating distinctive bumps as they moved.
A huge rose bloomed through her open mouth. It would have been the most beautiful rose Alaric has ever seen except for the blood dripping down it like a river.
Alaric fell backwards, hends slippery with her blood. His breath come in sharp wheezing gasps.
" We are all going to die.... What dungeon is this...." The huge guy who had knocked over Alaric said holding his shield close to himself.
His sentence came to an end when a root shot down from the ground and and pierced through him. He didn't even have time to struggle. His voice ended in a wet choke as flowers bloomed from his mouth. He fell to the ground struggling.
Alaric though he had seen the worst of it but no, the flowers on the ground around the man opened revealing mouths filled with razor sharp teeth.
They swallowed him fast , dragging him under with a sickening crunch.
Alaric vision blurred. Tears wixed with sweat covered his face. He could feel a panic attack coming as his lungs refused to breath in air.
No..
No, no ,no ..
He wasn't ready to die.
He looked around through his blurred vision seeing more people being swallowed up by the plant, statues and the flowers.
" Alaric!"
He turned towards the familiar voice . It was the girl who had talked to him at first. He ran towards her stumbling over the biting mouths of the flowers.
When he reached her, he noticed the gapping hole in her stomach, blood dripping continuously and disappearing into the ground.
She held his hands tightly, her grip shaking and her eyes wide in terror.
" Don't let it touch your heart..... ah....if it reaches your heart...it ..will...take..it .."
A vine shot out and pierced through her chest mid sentence.
Her body arched once, then twice then it went limp. Flowers blooming in her mouth. Another rose bloomed from the wound around her stomach dripping blood.
Alaric screamed.
He knew he would be next, but he didn't want to die just like that.
A pink interface appeared before his face , error messages flashing.
(HOST PANIC LEVEL CRITICAL)
He could feel his blood moving to his head making him woozy.
His hands couldn't stop shaking as he watched the roots and flowers moved towards him.
His mind was so clouded with fear that he didn't even notice the system.
His knees buckled. He folded over clutching his chest . In his barely visible vision he was different kinds of women walking towards him, but he knew better.
They were merly illusions created by the statues for him to move towards them.
No..
No..
His terror something clicked that he had forgotten. It was a last desperate attempt to buy time and find a way to escape .
A warm current flooded his body before it radiated outside. The flowers and roots around him came to a stop slithering back from him as though afraid.
He tried to stand up and move forward. Every where he moved the plants would move away from him. They didn't even try to attack him.
(SKILL USED)
( Soothing precense)
He looked at the interface and smiled. His guess was really right. Soothing precense helps reduce hostility. He had thought it only happened to the ones he was planning to sleep with but it seemed to work against the none human.
He looked around. Only five of the thirty who entered remained among the awakened.
He looked around trying to find the exit since the others were too panicked to even do anything.
Then he noticed it, weapons. On the statues he could see different weapons. Each of the naked statues had different weapons on them.
He ran towards the nearest statue still releasing his skill. He could feel his energy draining due to its continuous use but he powered on.
Blood started to flow from his nose but he just wiped it and moved forward.
He picked the weapon from the statue his hands still shaking from fear. It was a whip. The moment he touched it a system prompt appeared.
( Weapon detected)
( Combat instinct awakening)
His heart was racing so hard , but not from courage or happiness but from the sheer desperation. He knew soothing precense was almost coming to an end and the moment it happened he was toast.
This was an S class dungeon and his meager skills would soon loose it's effects on the plants after they adapted .
A vein lunged at him. Alaric flinched and stumbled backwards, scrambling on his hands and back dragging his body across the ground.
Alaric swang the whip towards the vine . An instinct from pure survival and fear. He swang it with no skill whatsoever. The force pushing him to stand up.
The leather cracked through the air and a red light emerged creating an arc in the air. It moved towards the roots and sliced clean through, the pieces shriveled like it had been burnt.
Alaric stood there looking at his results in shock hands still trembling.
The System notification appeared
( New offensive skills acquired)
(CRIMSON LASH)
1. Converts fear and stress emotions into destructive energy.
2. Whip attack releases a crimson light that drains a small amount of vitality from enemies.
Alaric stared at the whip in his hands, panting. His hands were trembling so hard that the whip was shaking with them.
" Did I just do that?" He asked himself half in awe half in bewilderment.
His legs buckled under him the stresss from the situation overwhelming his body. He fell to his knees , still gripping the weapon.
A scream tore through the air getting him out of his reverie.
He staggered to his feet, legs barely holding him up.He looked around another had died. Bodies were all over the garden, the flowers feasting on them and absorbing them.
He forced himself to move, his barely there soothing pprecense keeping most of the plants away, but those that managed to adapt were cut down by him swinging his whip.
At the edge of the garden a white light appeared. An exit, Alaric knew instinctively.
His body quickened driven by the remaining adrenaline.
" Please help me! Don't leave us here!" A voice said. Hr turned to his right and saw the gld man who had led the team.
He had been pierced by the roots but still alive. Others were scattered all over the garden looking at him with hope.
Hoping he would turn back to save them.
He turned back to the exit assuming them. He was an ordinary person how was he supposed to help.
He stumbled into the light, just as the garden finished off the remaining awakeners.
....
The moment he stepped out of the dungeon he was meet by a group of people looking at him in surprise.
Seeing this relief flooded him, he was safe . He felt the last adrenaline draining exhaustion replacing it. His eyes closed involuntary.
" One is out! The dungeon is closing."