Encounter with the krypto vines

"Well all the more reason to not to get exposed huh" Rick thought to himself. Just when he was convinced that Lyod's test of his powers had ended he heard him say 'Since we are already her let us check your ability with the vines too. There is always a possibility of a miracle haha'. Rick sighed in his mind, this old guy was hell bent on analysing his mana talent throughly. He persuaded himself tht worst to worst he will have to fake it once more. While he was mulling over all this the old man moved towards the only shabby looking bed in the room, and pulled out a dull metal case from under it. Bringing it to Rick he explained 'This is a piece of restrained vine that I was able to capture a few years back. Normal vines die off if they have been detached from their parent vine and they are not given the chance to establish themselves in the soil onec more. But this little guy was special in that case, it simply refuses to die out even though its path of nutrition has been cut off for over years.'

He carefully opened the lock on it with a key in his neck. Opening it's lid, Rick can see a black piece of thick vine pulsating like a human vein. That was truly a disgusting thing to watch but, he was curious enough to keep analysing it even as he can feel the contents of his stomach churning. 'This is a part of a vine from the innermost section. I don't want to scare you but it took around 10 earthly mages including town chief himself to suppress it and at last destroy it forever. And to top it all, every single one of them got injured in the process. Now you need to touch it and try to inject your mana in it. We need to make sure that your powers work on them or not, since essentially it's a type of plant itself.' Watching Rick hesitate he had motivat him some more 'Don't worry kind this old man is present here so you need not feel threatened. Also this is just a small leftover from the huge vine that was destroyed.'

Still Rick had multiple reasons for not to touch this creepy vine. First was definitely how disgusting it felt, like it was still alive with black blood pulsating inside it. And second and most important reason was if this thing reacted to his powers he was definitely going to be exposed. There was no way he was going to fool this old guy once again. If he tried to employ the same trick again, this time he will certainly notice it. All would be good if there is no reaction from the vine after he releases his mana, but what plans he had if it does have a reaction. Even after employing his full mentel aptitude he had no credible solutions. Closing his eyes he prayed to whatever gods he can remember. Taking a last look at the hope filled eyes of the old man once, he gradually touched the vine with his finger and released his mana to it.

Instant blackout. That's how Rick would describe his situation. Once again he found himself surrounded by pitch darkness. This was very similar when the dragon used to pull his mind in the mental space or somewhere he still was not sure of. Rick knew from his previous experience that moving around and shouting was not going to help him. If someone has dragged him here he can only wait to let them stablish the communication. Till then he can only meditate and try to get out of this space. But before he can put any of his plans in action he can very vividly see a red circle forming in mid-air. Intense murderous intent that was trying to take over his mind, that was the first thing that happened to him. The symbol was no auspicious sign that he can confirm.

Apply his all his faculties rapidly he came up with the idea. Chanting the mantra told to him by the dragon to keep the demon in check, was the only thing that saved his mind from being completely overwhelmed. This bloodlust was on an entire different level then the demon himself. He might even feel like a kid infront of this deity. That's the only term he can come up with at this point as this person was no mortal for sure. At first he felt this guy might be even more powerful then the dragon itself but then he dismissed this thought. Dragon has certainly either been injured or had some unforeseen event happen to him otherwise Rick believed he can counter this guy. The flickering symbol in the air stabilised Rick heard a hideous sound 'Hmmm?? A kid??'.

That was in itself enough to bring Rick to his imaginary knees. "Damn it.. How did I managed to get myself into this... Fuck fuck..." He can only shout in his mind. Given another chance there was no way in hell he was touching that thing again. Doesn't matter whom he offends. Right then the voice spoke again 'Hmm strange a mortal mage should have lost his mind already.. Interesting'. Rick was now brought down to the floor as he fent an immense pain in his head but he still did not stop his chanting. He knew once he stopped, that will be the time he was going to lose his mind and regress to a vegetable. But anyway he was not able to handle the situation anymore as his mind blacked out once more.

'Looks like he was not able to maintain it any longer... But a mortal was able to establish this link. I would have never thought it to be possible. Strange. I have a feeling we will meet again boy haha haha hahaaa' The hideous voice continued in a soliloquy. And like that Rick was kicked out of the mental plane once his own mana was exhausted. In the real world only a few seconds had passed when master Lyod watched in pure delight as the vine died down once Rick poured his mana in it. Slowly it's pulse began losing its vitality and ended up pretty dead in a shriveled state. The miracle he was hope for happened right infront of his eyes. But before he could celebrate it the boy facing him fell down towards the ground. Hurriedly catching him he brought him to the bed. Taking a careful look at his condition he realised the boy just collapsed with mana deficiency. Just an hour of sleep will bring him back to normal.

'I need to let chief know of this discovery.' In truth he had not much faith in the boy but considering that they got a plant manipulator after so long he might as well wanted to give it a try. So as to not leave any regrets for later. There were two key facts he had kept hidden from the new trainees. First was that there was no status quo with respect to the vines. Each year they were losing more ground then they were wining. And the second fact was that there has indeed been a fatality in the fight with the vines. The victim being none other than his own wife. This fact was suppressed by the orders of chief and no one protested it since the news of a death in the farms will send the moral of the general public tumbling. What he didn't told Rick while explaining the origin of the vines was that there were not 10 but rather 11 earthly mages who fought together to defeat the vines but right when they thought they had managed to defeat it, it took his wife down in a last ditch effort.

From then on he had a personal reason for this vine extermination work. His last wish before he closed his eyes on this life was to get rid of this plague. But the situation was not getting better rather only worse. Chief Eric had recieved information from his trusted sources in the capital that most of the plantations under the control of humans are now facing the challenge from the krypto vines. Their health at different levels of deterioration. He was the only other person in whole of Korua with whom Eric had shared this depressing news. But Lyod saw hope in the kid. The vines was simply unable to resist under the assault of his mana. It looked very much like he sucked the life out of them. "Surely it looks like goddess Gaia had decided to respond to our prayers at last." Lyod told himself.

The trainees saw master Lyod coming out of his hut alone. They were all unaware what had transpired inside the hut. 'Ryu will be taking some rest inside for an hour or so. I will award him a rank of an exterminator.' Everyone gasped at the announcement. Although Ryu was powerful and had put up a much better show on the ceremony day then themselves but they had a hard time believing this fact. Why? Because his ability was nothing that can be employed in extermination rather it was the exact opposite of that. Not caring about other a three of Ryu's friends were ecstatic to her this news. The commoners will keep the questions to their hearts but that was not the case with noble ones. Especially the guy who had fucked Suna. He refused to believe that a commoner can become an exterminator and he, despite being from the nobility can only work as a scout. So he voiced his displeasure at the decision 'Can you tell us the basis of you awarding that rank to that commoner master Lyod'. He tried to remain respectful but the reply he got made him seethe in rage 'No, I don't want to tell any of you.'