Death… And Me

Chapter 3621: Cocoons

”So, who knows anything about this region?” Werkel asked their group as they moved forward.

A man with a blue hair raised his hand. His name was Consedu, an expert of F951. ”I have. I don’t know what this region is called, but I know what we have to do to cross it. These many roots are all connected to a cocoon of energy. Well, not only one, but many of them. These cocoons are what keep growing these roots. They are a kind of source of energy, but their energy is useless for us.”

He continued. ”Anyway, once we find one of those cocoons, we have to destroy it. The energy inside should be strong enough to create a portal into the next region. Don’t think it is an easy thing to do, though. There is nothing protecting those cocoons, but they are really damn resistant, nearly impossible to destroy.”

”However, not all cocoons are like that. There are some rare ones that are slightly weaker. It will still be ridiculously hard to destroy it, but it is possible if we join our strength. Fortunately, it is easy to identify these cocoons that can be destroyed. They have different colors. The ones that we have no hope of destroying are the Dark Green Cocoons. As for the ones that can be destroyed, they are Light Green instead. It goes without saying that the Light Green ones are much, much harder to find.”

”Last but not least, we can simply try to cross this region normally. However, at the crossing point between this region and the next, the roots won’t just stay still anymore. They will attack us, trying to prevent us from entering the next region.”

”Back when I crossed this region, my group first reached the area where these roots attacked those who got close. We could even see the next region far in the distance. However, of the twenty-one experts, seven died trying to cross that patch of roots. The remaining fourteen retreated, several with terrible injuries, and we tried to find another way to cross.”

”That’s when we finally bumped into one of the Light Green Cocoons. We obviously noticed the difference. We had tried to attack the Dark Green ones before, but even with all twenty-one joining hands, we could barely scratch it, let alone destroy it. The Light Green was different. It was hard, but after a barrage of constant attacks from the remaining fourteen experts, we managed to destroy it, and a portal appeared.”

Roan confirmed the guy’s words were probably true. He and Royer checked their medallions to read the information available about this region, and it said a similar thing.

-Strength, unit, and luck. Force your way through, or unite to get an alternative path. Luck will play a big factor here. Which one will you select?-

Well, it always talked in riddles.

That wasn’t all the message, though. There was a little bit more.

-However, perhaps, just perhaps, you might have what it takes to select neither.-

What did that mean? No one knows. What mattered was that they knew Consedu was really here before, as his words matched the words in the medallions.

It actually didn’t take long for the group to find the first cocoon. Obviously, it was Dark Green, just like Consedu mentioned.

”Are they really indestructible?” Werkel couldn’t help but ask. Then, he approached it with care, and seeing that nothing attacked him, he attacked the cocoon instead. He took out a saber from his Spatial Ring, and the Fifth Stage of Saber Intent followed. Using all his strength, he attacked the Dark Green Cocoon.

*Swish!*

*Tik!*

He put his all in that attack, Elements and Divine Origin Energy burst everywhere as the Saber Intent concentrated at the point of the attack. When things calmed down, the group looked at the Dark Green Cocoon, and all they could see was a tiny scratch... which healed itself in a few seconds. Destroy it? That was obviously an impossible task for everyone there at the moment.

Royer glanced at Roan’s group. Sure, Werkel’s attack was strong, but would it be as strong as the attacks these four can perform? Definitely not! ’Are you going to try?’

Roan glanced at him. ’There is no need at the moment. First, we are stronger, but that doesn’t mean we have the strength to destroy this thing.’ Roan touched the Dark Green giant cocoon and sent his Dark Element inside. Yet, it had such resistance that it could easily eliminate Roan’s Dark Element, even with its corrupting properties. ’Since even my Dark Element doesn’t seem that strong against it, if we fail, we would just be showing our real strength to these guys around. It is not worth trying. At least, not now.’

Royer shrugged. ’After showing your speed in the previous region, I don’t think anyone here would underestimate you at this point.’

’Not underestimating us is different from knowing what we really can do,’ Rean commented, smiling. ’Roan is right. It is not worth trying it for now. If we get stuck or never find one of those Light Green Cocoons, then we can consider giving it a real try.’

Seeing that they couldn’t do anything to the Dark Green Cocoon, their group moved away. However, Rifindio looked at the Dark Green Cocoon as they left, feeling something different.

’What is it?’ Kentucky noticed his expression, contacting him through Divine Sense.

’I’m not sure,’ Rifindio shook his head. ’I just felt like we were doing something wrong.’

Kentucky then looked at Rean, Roan, and especially Celis. However, even Celis didn’t seem to know anything. ’It’s not because they are plant-related that I’m capable of doing something. That thing is very well protected, and even draining its energy is out of the question. If it was that easy, someone would have figured out a way to destroy it already.’

’That’s true...’ Rean and the others nodded. ’For now, let’s just ignore it and try to cross this region normally or find the Light Green Cocoon.’