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"So enthusiastic."

Randomly stepping on a vine, he retreated to Ivan's side, his short sword drawing several silver trajectories in mid-air, severing the approaching plant tendrils.

There is poisonous fog in the middle, vines below, and an endless swarm of insects on the outside.

The 'tumor' clinging to the withered tree throbbed more and more merrily, as if it were jumping for joy at the little snack it would soon be able to eat.

"Click click..."

Its outer shell peeled away, revealing a bulging sac underneath, as if it were pregnant with something even more terrifying.

There's no time to waste.

"Should we retreat?"

Nathan looked at Renyi.

With Aurora's purification and the rekindling of the previously spilled oil to create an opening, the chances of a successful escape are still quite high.

The young man moved nimbly among the vines, each strike precise and swift, but under the relentless onslaught, his figure appeared exceptionally frail.

He casually stepped onto a broken vine, sheathed his short sword, and a flash of blue light appeared in his hand—

【Energy Core β】

"You guys go first!"

I'll just try out the reverse skill of Flesh Symbiosis 2.0.

But no one responded.

The three of them continued with what they were doing. Ivan was still cosplaying Garen with his axe, while Aurora quietly approached them and reduced the range of her purification to save energy.

Nathan changed the magazine on his gun, and without turning his head, he joked:

"Boss, if we leave you here alone, you might get strangled by some braised mermaid with your hair when we get back, or skewered into a candied hawthorn by some engineer with a speargun."

"..."

What are you saying?

Renyi had a bit of a headache. This wasn't a movie or a shonen manga; there was no plot where teammates were sacrificed to gain superhuman power...

He was truly confident!

However, he was too lazy to explain.

"Buzz—"

The [Energy Core β] he held in his hand glowed with a faint light.

at the same time......

His short, black hair began to fade from the ends, turning into a dazzling silver-white. Two glaring spots of light suddenly lit up deep in his eyes, and an intense sense of oppression spread out invisibly!

"I haven't fully figured out how to use it yet, and the power is a bit... hard to control. So, to avoid workplace injuries like losing limbs later, I suggest you run faster."

"How far?" Ivan asked decisively.

"The farther the better."

Silvery-white light flowed upwards from the hand that held the energy core, illuminating every blood vessel beneath the skin.

"You have...one minute."

That was... an aura that no longer belonged to humans.

"sixty."

The moment the digital output was displayed, Nathan was moved.

Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his hand and fired a shot, hitting the oil slick precisely.

"call!"

Sparks flew, and the viscous liquid was instantly ignited!

"call--"

Flames shot skyward, forming a scorching wall of fire.

The insects crackled and popped as they burned, and the impenetrable insect wall continued to collapse from the heat.

"Fifty-nine."

"Walk!"

Nathan grabbed Aurora, who was still in a daze, and Ivan swung his axe, smashing a larger gap in the insect wall before rushing out.

"Fifty-eight..."

A steady countdown sounded behind them, like the death knell of the Grim Reaper.

He no longer dodged the frantically rushing vines.

"call out--"

A vine wrapped around his waist, dragging him toward the withered giant tree.

Seeing that he did not resist, more vines, like puppet strings, wrapped around his limbs and neck, as if trying to wrap him up like a rice dumpling.

They were tightly packed...

It was as if it wanted to squeeze him into its own flesh and blood, to make him a part of this plant.

"...Forty-five, forty-four..."

The arbitrary sound abruptly stopped.

It seems to be blocked or obstructed by something.

Deep in the forest, Nathan, who was running wildly, felt a pang of anxiety, but he didn't turn back, silently picking up the broken rhythm:

"Forty-three!"

"Forty-two!"

Aurora and Ivan cleared a path for him.

"...Twenty-one! Twenty!"

"......nineteen!"

They had run a long way and the wall of fire behind them was no longer visible, but the familiar and unsettling energy fluctuations grew stronger and stronger, so strong that the air itself began to tremble slightly.

"three!"

"two!"

"one!"

It was too late; Nathan instinctively threw himself behind a glass tree.

"zero--!"

The moment he shouted, the whole world fell silent.

This was their first time experiencing the [Flare] skill firsthand outside the ship's cabin.

Nathan wished he would never have this experience again!

A beam of white light engulfed everything in its path, chasing after them from behind. Dead trees, hearts, vines, beetles... everything silently melted away in this extreme light and heat.

In situations like these, Ivan is always the quickest to react.

He threw the axe on the ground, pulled out the Sea Soul Stone dagger hidden in his boot, and slashed it at his forearm to activate the Deep Sea Force Field. Then he pulled Nathan and Aurora in front of him to protect them.

The next second, the three figures and the glass tree behind them were swallowed up.

There was only pure, pristine white.

A tremendous force came from his back, and he groaned as he was slammed to the ground.

Then came the excruciating burning pain.

The light wasn't just light; it also carried terrifying heat, and he could even smell the burning flesh on his back—

It smells a bit good...

Damn it, I'm actually hungry X﹏X

How long did this solar flare last?

It might take a few seconds, or it might take a few minutes.

Anyway, by the time Ivan's consciousness struggled out of the chaos, the white light in his vision had already faded.

"Cough...cough cough..."

Nathan coughed a few times, pushed Ivan off him, a trace of blood on the corner of his mouth, and staggered to his feet, seemingly also suffering from serious internal injuries.

Aurora's situation is slightly better.

She immediately activated her remaining power, and a shimmering white light enveloped the three of them.

Ivan struggled to turn over, but the movement aggravated the wound on his back, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Your injuries are quite serious," the nun quickly pressed him down, "You'll need to wait a while before you can move!"

You know it without even looking.

He felt as if his back had been skinned and branded with a hot iron, and it was burning with pain!

"As long as he's not dead..." he gritted his teeth, his neck bulging.

It wasn't because of the pain, but because the rapid healing of my skin was so itchy!

"Where's the boss?"

The three of them looked in the direction from which the light came from.

The sight before him made Nathan gasp in astonishment.

When we were running from the giant tree, it was an obstacle course, but now it's an open map!

Both the huge, withered glass tree and the parasitic 'tumor' had vanished without a trace.

But it wasn't just the visuals that left them speechless...

The game's announcement rang in everyone's ears at the same time—

Now, a news report says the virus has been detected:

[You have defeated the Shattered Light Beetle...]

You have killed...

[You have defeated the Shattered Light Beetle...]

You have...

[...kill...]

【You...you're so wicked, you've given birth to a thorny vine...】

[Gaining evolution points...]

You have...

[Strike...the...insect...]

[Kill! Kill ...