Chapter 87

“—Wh-what?!”

“What on earth—”

The faces of the two team members near me turned pale.

Their gazes were fixed on the Drain Dryad behind me. I reluctantly turned around as well.

What I saw was the Drain Dryad, who had been wearing a gentle smile, now with its eyelids wide open. However, its eye sockets were empty—just two dark holes.

I wanted to pat myself on the back for not screaming.

The hollow voice that went “OooOOOooo” resounded from its pitch-black eye sockets. Indeed, the lips below them were tightly closed.

“What is this… it’s creepy!”

I can’t believe that I was just feeling awe for this monster!

“OooOOOooo… IiiiOOOooOoo!!!”

The branches extending from the trunk of the Drain Dryad were writhing noisily.

If one looked closely, it was not just the Drain Dryad; even the trees growing around us were making a strange rustling noise.

“…Is it just me, or is the atmosphere getting really ominous?”

“Ugh…!”

“Hey, what’s wrong!!!”

Then, a team member next to me let out a moan and crouched down.

Another team member hurriedly leaned over to check his face, but he seemed unable to stand up.

I also knelt beside him to assess the situation. The man’s face appeared pale, drained of all color, and his lips were quivering.

Looking around, I realized it was not just him. Several other team members were also kneeling on the ground, moaning.

What the hell is happening!!

It’s as if they’ve suddenly…wait, is this some sort of status affliction?

Remembering something, I took out a bottle of Elixir from the belt around my waist and pressed it to the lips of the crouching team member.

I then tilted the bottle and forced him to swallow the liquid.

“Ugh…Hah! Cough, cough.”

He coughed, as if some of the liquid had gone down the wrong way. However, color returned to his once-pale face, and he regained consciousness.

“Ah, thank you, Takumi-kun… For some reason, I felt faint and couldn’t stand… cough.”

“Ah, it seems to be the Drain Dryad’s skill.”

“Skill?”

“It’s called Howling. It’s a status effect skill that has a certain chance of causing the enemies to panic and lose their will to fight. The strange roar we heard earlier was probably that.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard about that skill in training! But to think that a Drain Dryad could use such an advanced skill!”

Quickly putting the empty bottle back into my belt, I stood up and shouted to Felix and the others.

“Felix, everyone! The crouching team members are suffering from a status effect due to the Drain Dryad’s skill! Potions won’t work; give them an Elixir!”

“Understood!”

Hearing my call, the team members who were able to resist the skill quickly administer Elixirs to those who were crouching.

“OooOOOooo!!!”

“Damn it, again…! Those who can move, retreat now!”

As we tried to regain our footing, the Drain Dryad released another Howling to disrupt us.

The voice vibrated piercingly in my eardrums.

The surrounding trees seemed to be applauding the roar, rustling noisily.

“Ugh…!”

My knees soon buckled.

It looks like I was lucky to resist the Howling the first time, but not the second.

My vision started to spin, and I felt nauseous.

Negative emotions like not wanting to fight or do anything well up within me.

So this is Howling… it’s really intense!

It was a troublesome skill in the game, but experiencing it in real life is something else entirely!

“Hah, ah…!”

I had already used up my Elixir on a comrade earlier, so I had none left. Moreover, the Drain Dryad seemed to be in full attack mode.

It turned its pitch-black eye sockets toward me and slowly lifted its tentacles. The size and girth of these tentacles were at least twice as wide as my body. These were no mere tentacles; it would be more accurate to call them logs.

Then, the Drain Dryad swung its tentacle down through the air, aiming at me.

“Haaaah!”

Just before the tentacle could hit my head, Felix, who had rushed over, sliced it off with the tip of his sword.

The severed tentacle thudded to the ground.

I looked up at Felix in surprise. In response, he lifted me up with the arm opposite to the one holding his sword, and pressed something hard against my mouth.

Even without asking, I knew. It was an Elixir.

As the slightly viscous liquid slid down my throat, the nausea and fatigue filling my body disappeared instantly. It felt as if a refreshing breeze had blown through me, making me feel lighter all at once.

“Can you stand, Takumi?”

“Yeah, thank you. I can manage on my own now.”

Although I could now stand by myself, the situation had not improved. The Drain Dryad was violently swinging its numerous branches overhead.

Even without understanding its language, the message was clear. It was saying, “I’m getting serious too.”.

“Ooooooh…!”

Emitting a hollow sound from the black holes that were its eyes, the Drain Dryad continued to wave its tentacles. Felix shot it one last resentful glare before ordering the troops to retreat.

***

“Why didn’t the Elixir work, I wonder…”

I muttered to myself.

Afterward, we retreated from the forest and returned to the village that served as our temporary base—Tomi Village, which I was visiting for the second time. The innkeeper seemed to remember me and welcomed me warmly, telling me to take it easy. The other villagers also seemed grateful for the last time we saved them from a Drain Flower attack, and they welcomed the arrival of the Black-winged knights.

After dinner at various inns, we borrowed the village square to hold a debriefing for the day. Unfortunately, no good ideas were presented, and we decided to revisit the Drain Dryad the next morning.

“Hmm…? This is really weird. When I fought the Drain Dryad using ‘Change the World,’ I don’t remember struggling like this.”

Pondering this, I lay on the bed in the room that had been assigned to me. Unlike my last stay at this inn, the mountains visible through the window had lost their leaves and looked desolate. A magic stove that had a Flame Magic Stone incorporated into it was in the room, but my feet were still cold.

Well, I’m reminded of my memories from the original world—the memories of the RPG ‘Change the World.’ In the game, the Drain Dryad was not a regular quest monster but appeared in a special event battle. It was a monster blocking the path in the ancient ruins that the protagonists visited.

Being a plant-based monster, it was weak against fire magic and physical attacks. The problem was its large tentacles that it would slam down and its ‘Howling’ skill. It was a hassle, but that was only the case the first time we fought it. From the second playthrough onward, it wasn’t a formidable opponent. From then on, we could use potions and elixirs freely, and besides, the Drain Dryad was never that fast to begin with.

So, if you had a lot of elixirs, you could debuff and seal its skills before it even used Howling. 

‘It’s true that in the game, I never had to worry about collateral damage and could freely use fire magic. But that’s weird, why didn’t the elixir work the first time?’

Not only did the elixir not work, but there was something else. 

Actually, I couldn’t see from where I was, but it seems that when the Drain Dryad activated its Howling skill, several team members tried attacking it with their swords.

However, their attacks didn’t go through at all. It was as if they were covered by some invisible barrier; they couldn’t feel any resistance.

‘Hmm… What could it be? I must be overlooking something… How did we fight in “Change the World”?’

There must be some reason why the attacks didn’t work and why the elixir had no effect.

Besides, according to the records of fights against adventurers, they were able to successfully defeat the Drain Dryad. They had to set the entire surrounding forest on fire, but still, they could do it. There must be some trick to it. But I have no idea what that is!

In fact, it didn’t bother me when I saw it on the game screen, but seeing the Drain Dryad in person, it’s really creepy.

Even thinking about its facial structure gives me the chills.

“Takumi, do you have a moment?”

While I was grumbling on my bed, someone lightly knocked on my room door.

And the voice that followed was one I recognized well.

“Felix? Ah, come in.”

“Yes, excuse me.”

I quickly got out of bed, fixed my messy hair, and then nonchalantly responded. After a beat, the door quietly opened, and Felix came in.

“I apologize for coming so late, Takumi.”

“No, it’s fine.” Felix, who had entered the room, was dressed casually in a beige shirt and navy pants, wearing a loosely knit cardigan over it.

I was wearing something similar, but there was a vast difference in sophistication between Felix and me. Even in simple clothing, Felix looked like he came straight out of a fashion magazine.

In contrast, I just looked like I was in pajamas. Is it because of the difference in facial aesthetics? 

“Anyway, what’s up? Don’t tell me the Drain Dryad has started moving again?”

Given the time he’s come, it must be something significant.

“No, it’s not about the Drain Dryad. I’m worried about your health, Takumi.”

“Me? If it’s about the Howling skill I was hit with, there are no aftereffects.”

“Not that… Well, you have some status abnormalities after the fight, right? Like paralysis or… should I say, a state of arousal?”

…Oh, crap!!!

I completely forgot about that setting! That’s right, I did!