Chapter 436: The Correct Way to Use Plant Magic (1)

「C-Class Dungeon. Tomb of Ancient Trees, Area A.」

The dungeon of memories, which I entered after a long time, greeted me with a musty smell as soon as I stepped inside.

This place really has a dampness that makes one feel strangely no matter when they enter.

Even as the seasons changed, the dampness and stickiness felt throughout my body didn’t exactly create a pleasant atmosphere for a dungeon.

Of course, that’s probably why it became an unpopular dungeon that hunters rarely visit.

‘Thanks to that, I had sex with Cha Yuri until I was sick of it here.’

Recently, I’ve had more opportunities to get intimate in other dungeons rather than the Tomb of Ancient Trees, making this a space I visit relatively less.

It was the place where I first met Cha Yuri and the place where Cha Yuri and I first had sex, and beyond that, it was a place filled with all sorts of memories as it was a dungeon we consistently used together until right before I transferred to the company.

‘Maybe it wouldn’t be bad to have a date with Cha Yuri here again soon after a long time.’

It might seem absurd to some that an A-Class Hunter and a B-Class male Hunter would use a C-Class dungeon as a date spot, but since the act itself within the dungeon was the main objective, there was nothing wrong with it being safe.

Furthermore, since it’s an unpopular dungeon with little foot traffic and we’ve visited so often, both Cha Yuri and I have become familiar with the geography of this complex forest.

While lost in such trivial thoughts, I moved deeper into the dungeon, and soon a slightly open space within the forest appeared.

A moss-covered rock bed and a few monsters came into view simultaneously.

“First, let’s roughly check the power.”

Even spells of the same Circle could vary in power depending on the magic’s attribute or the characteristics of the opposing monster.

First, I summoned ‘Plant Branch’, a 1st Circle plant magic spell, towards the nearest tree-shaped C-Class monster, ‘Tris’.

-Paak!

‘Geuuk?’

A thick branch that sprang from the ground flew directly towards the C-Class monster, a spell that promptly struck the monster’s body.

As expected of a C-Class monster, its reaction speed wasn’t great, so Tris inevitably took a hit from my surprise attack.

The small, tree-shaped monster flew slightly into the air and tumbled backward.

‘Geu, Geugeuk….’

Naturally, a single blast of 1st Circle plant magic couldn’t take down a C-Class monster.

This isn’t exclusive to plant magic; most spells don’t exhibit their true power at the 1st Circle.

To briefly explain the attribute of plant magic, it had a distinct difference from pure attribute spells like fire or frost magic.

The biggest difference was that it exerted almost its full power even against monsters of the same attribute.

It’s called plant magic, but it’s essentially a spell that relies mostly on physical force using plants.

In terms of principle, it had a structure quite similar to the earth magic that woman Do Yehee used.

Nevertheless, the reason Tris didn’t fall was simply because ‘Plant Branch’ itself was a low-power spell.

It’s a spell whose power isn’t sufficient to kill even a D-Class monster in one hit, so there was no way it could kill a C-Class monster in a single blow.

-Pabak! Pak! Paak!

‘Geugeuk…!’

Since I had to finish the battle I started, I summoned about five or six more Plant Branches around it.

The creature, struck back and forth by the branches sprouting from the ground, collapsed and died.

“So, that’s one down.”

It was a relatively manageable request requiring materials from ten Tris and one Woodrello, so completing the conditions wasn’t too difficult.

Therefore, rather than focusing on completing the request itself, I should concentrate more on properly utilizing plant magic.

『Plant Magic Lv. 1 → Lv. 2』

Since 1st Circle plant magic was too inefficient for practical use, I invested points to upgrade it to Level 2.

I had points earned from getting intimate with Eunyoung Noona yesterday, and using about 100 points right away seemed like it wouldn’t cause any particular problems.

‘Geuuk, Geuk….’

‘Geugeuk….’

Starting with the death of one Tris, a swarm of Tris began to gather around me.

This time, I immediately tested its practicality by using several 2nd Circle plant magic spells.

Summoning cacti from the ground and launching them at the monsters – ‘Cactus Shot’.

Summoning flowers that create explosive seeds among the monster pack and causing small explosions to attack – ‘Seed Burst’.

And summoning roots and vines from the ground to bind the monsters’ limbs – ‘Vine Bind’.

As it was an attack executed using multiple spells simultaneously, it dealt quite effective damage against the C-Class monsters.

The Tris that had been rushing at me soon collapsed and lay scattered on the ground.

‘Geugeuk, Geu….’

“Hmm…”

Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting flashy and dramatic spells like the fire or frost magic I’d used before, or Cha Yuri’s wind magic.

Besides, these were only 2nd Circle spells at best, and if I were to use them effectively in combat, I’d need to upgrade them to at least the 3rd or 4th Circle.

However, it was unavoidable that I felt a bit reluctant to spend points, which might be needed elsewhere, on raising the level of plant magic.

Since most plant magic spells focused on physical force rather than elemental attacks, frankly, it wasn’t a part I felt particularly lacking in.

I already possessed three means of physical attack besides plant magic.

Swordsmanship, spear techniques, and shield techniques.

Of course, the only time I actually used shield techniques for a real attack was during my last duel with Do Yehee, but the fact that it worked even against a summoned creature made by an A+ Class Hunter meant it could certainly be utilized in actual combat.

At this point, I didn’t feel a strong need to supplement my physical capabilities through plant magic.

For a mage who can only wield magic of the same type, plant magic might have high value as a supplementary tool, but that certainly didn’t apply to me.

“Still, I guess I’ll try taking down the Woodrello with plant magic for now.”

Regardless of whether this magic is practical in combat or not, it was necessary to at least raise my proficiency in plant magic itself.

That way, there’s at least a chance to use it properly if the situation calls for it.

And more importantly, physical force that can be utilized while both hands are free might be useful in unexpected ways.

‘Geuoohhhh….’

Speak of the devil.

As soon as I mentioned the Woodrello, a giant tree monster approached me, shaking the ground.

Noticing my presence, the Woodrello initiated a surprise second round of battle with me.

‘Geuooh…!’

From the start, it swung its massive arms made of sturdy branches at me.

For some reason, the memory of the day I first met Cha Yuri came to mind, but it was certainly not the time to leisurely reminisce.

Since I had decided to take it down using only plant magic, I had to focus entirely on the current hunt.

If it got too dangerous, I’d resort to my spear or other spells, but for now, I wanted to face it solely with plant magic.

Perhaps it would be best to subdue its annoying movements first.

-Hwiik!

‘Geuooh…!’

The Woodrello had one arm bound by the vine restraints that sprang from the ground.

While it was flustered by its suddenly bound arm, I used Vine Bind on its left forearm as well.

Next, its two legs were also immobilized by my plant magic….

-Chwaak!

‘Geugoohhhh…!’

…or so I intended, but with a slight twist of its body, my Vine Bind was thwarted far too easily.

Well, that’s usually how it goes.

If a B-Class monster like the Woodrello could be easily subdued by mere 2nd Circle plant magic, why would it even be classified as a B-Class monster in the first place?

Vine Bind only works on monsters up to C-Class, at best. Exceptions might exist, but it was best to gauge its approximate limit around there.

If immobilizing it with C-Class magic is difficult, I guess I’ll have to invest a bit more points.

『Plant Magic Lv. 2 → Lv. 3』

I invested another 200 Awakened Points from my reserves to raise the level of Plant Magic to 3.

This time, instead of the 2nd Circle spell Vine Bind, I cast the 3rd Circle spell ‘Root Bind’ on it.

-Pajjeujeuk….

‘Geugooh…?!’

The Woodrello showed a slightly bewildered reaction to the even firmer binding.

Although Root Bind was a relatively slower attack compared to Vine Bind, it was still fast enough to keep up with the Woodrello’s movements.

The stems, composed of much tougher fibers than those in Vine Bind, strongly bound the Woodrello’s limbs.

Of course, that too was merely a temporary immobilization, not powerful enough to finish it off.

To kill the Woodrello, I needed to blow its head off with another spell.

Using fire or frost magic would make it infinitely simpler, but I had decided to defeat it using only plant magic today.

If possible, I wanted to finish it off properly utilizing plant magic until the very end.

“When it comes to powerful 3rd Circle plant magic… there’s really nothing quite like it.”

Recalling a suitable spell that just came to mind, I placed both hands on the ground.

Chanting the 3rd Circle plant magic spell ‘Rapid Growth’, I aimed precisely at its head.

-Paahak!

As soon as my chant ended, a thick tree trunk surged from the ground.

The single tree that rose from the ground shot towards the Woodrello’s head at high speed.

I continuously poured magic into the ground to ensure this ‘Rapid Growth’ wouldn’t be interrupted.

The most fundamental concept of plant magic is ‘growth’.

The basic principle of plant magic was controlling it by using the keyword ‘growth’ on magically created plant seeds.

Like earth magic, it’s a spell executed based on the ground, so it’s naturally limited by space. Furthermore, plant magic had one more characteristic.

That is, plant magic is cast by drawing upon the magic within the earth, ‘earth power’, rather than the ambient magic in the air.

This is a useful trait in environments with little ambient magic, but conversely, it’s difficult to utilize in deserts where there’s almost no earth power.

The Tomb of Ancient Trees, where the dead ancient trees had absorbed most of the earth power, was also an environment where expecting maximum output was somewhat difficult.

That’s why I was supplementing the lacking earth power for Rapid Growth by pouring magic into the ground.

-Pabaak!

‘Geuoohhhh…!’

The thick, massive tree trunk that rose from the ground grew diagonally, extending towards the Woodrello.

Before long, the tip of the magically created tree trunk pierced straight through its head.

-Kwajijik!

‘……!’

With a death-cry-like sound, the Woodrello’s corpse collapsed, its head severed.

Although it cost 300 points to raise the magic’s level to 3rd Circle, being able to take down a B-Class monster was, all in all, a reasonably good outcome.

“For immobilizing movements, it seems usable occasionally.”

I still wasn’t sure if it could be utilized in other ways.

After concluding my own assessment that it was a bit mediocre as a primary spell, I collected the Woodrello’s core and materials from the fallen body.

With this level of utility, I figured it wasn’t a complete waste after all.