The Ember Rift-Sprites surged forward. Their throats ignited, and flames intensified as they prepared to use their fireballs.

The first wave dove into the pollen cloud surrounding the fungal creatures. Fire erupted in expanding spheres, consuming spores and vegetation alike.

The mushroom humanoids released high-pitched shrieks as flames washed over their bodies.

The fungal matter blackened and curled, releasing smoke that mixed with burning pollen and released an acrid and nasty scent.

But they didn't die easily. What their attributes lacked in the F.L.A.I.R. department was more than made up by their S.H.I.E.L.D. They likely also had some regenerative skills, as their bodies regenerated, with new mushroom caps sprouting from damaged tissue.

<It would have been cool if I could've killed these things. This regeneration ability would have been good to have.>

Unfortunately, Reidar was killing almost nothing during this raid because of the quest's directives. The more he helped, the worse his rewards were going to be. Frankly speaking, he didn't even know if Skill Sharing was already too much, but it wasn't like he had other ways to help the raid without intervening too much.

If he didn't give them summoning skills, the raid was bound to fail, because the monsters were stronger than they expected and surely stronger than the raid members, although they were leveling up nicely.

More Rift-Sprites used their skills. The overlapping flame projectiles created walls of fire between the raid and the advancing creatures. The temperature spiked. The survivors at the front raised their arms to fight the heat that started consuming the surrounding vegetation.

The fungal humanoids stumbled through the flames, their bodies burning. Three collapsed, as their regeneration got overwhelmed. The others pressed forward, releasing fresh clouds of venomous spores.

Many other Spectral Knights dissolved. Then more. The clouds ate through mana armor and flesh like acid through cotton candy.

"Focus fire!" Helga roared. Her Ironsides unleashed a volley of mana javelins. It was weird for these guys to have something so ranged, but it was clear Helga wasn't stupid enough to only ask people to buy stuff to fight melee since that was dangerous.

The projectiles punched through fungal bodies, pinning several creatures to the ground. But they didn't stop moving. Their arms clawed at the earth, pulling themselves forward even as flames consumed them, and bringing both the pollen and the clouds closer, which, in turn, killed more and more of the summoned creatures.

Reidar wondered if he had to step in at that point. In the meantime, he kept spamming summon feral pack.

Aldric's mages worked together, firing off lightning that crackled through the air and slammed into the mushroom creatures.

The blasts made some of them explode, sending burning bits flying everywhere. Then came more fire skills, scorching the remains before they could pull themselves back together.

The venomous clouds spread despite the fire. Wisps of colored gas drifted toward the formation's edges.

The survivors were forced to back away, covering their mouths with cloth. Those with wind spells used them to repel the cloud, but it wasn't that effective since most of them had wind blade skills. The others tried to summon more Wind Rift-Sprites so that at least they could help keep the noxious cloud away.

One of the fungal creatures broke through the line of fire. It lurched toward a cluster of Aldric's people, releasing waves of pollen. A spectral knight intercepted it, shield raised. The knight lasted three seconds before dissolving into mana mist, but it gave them time.

Lena moved, taking advantage of the barrage of wind blades to get close to the monster without touching the cloud.

She was fast, faster than anyone there, maybe aside from Jake. Her blade cut through the creature's torso, separating top from bottom. The halves fell apart, matter spilling across the ground. She didn't stop.

Her daggers swept in a wide arc, igniting with pale fire as she channeled mana through the blade. The flames consumed the remains, preventing regeneration, and she got away from the corpse fast enough to avoid the corrosive cloud once again.

"Don't do that again," Reidar said. "I will simply give you some skills if you want to join in the action."

Lena said nothing.

The remaining mushroom creatures fell quickly after that. Attacks from multiple groups overwhelmed their regeneration.

Fire and lightning reduced them to ash and charred fragments. The toxic clouds dissipated quickly thanks to the wind attacks and were carried away by the forest's breeze.

Silence returned. The survivors coughed, clearing their lungs of residual spores. Several collapsed to their knees, exhausted from having used so much mana.

"Report," Seraphine said.

"No casualties. Some respiratory irritation, but nothing the healers can't handle. The summons that got destroyed are being recreated in this moment."

"These monsters are getting worse the deeper we go," Jake said between coughs.

He was right. The prairie predators had been straightforward threats. The vines were ambush predators.

Now the fungal monsters had area-of-effect skills. The Crimson Briar Patch's defenses were layered, each deeper layer more dangerous than the last.

Reidar checked his mana. 6200 out of 8570. It was enough, but it was dropping faster than he'd like. The constant summoning was taking its toll.

The raid reformed and continued. The trees grew denser, their trunks wrapped in thicker shades of crimson. The ground became spongy; organic material replaced the soil. Walking produced wet, squelching sounds that set teeth on edge.

Aldric stepped to the front of the group, his gaze sweeping over the canopy. He lifted a hand, and everyone halted.

"What is it?" Helga asked.

Aldric pointed in front of him. "There. Through the trees."

Reidar followed his finger. Between clusters of trees, shapes emerged. Geometric lines. Flat surfaces. Structures, and human at that.

They were almost completely swallowed by vegetation. The crimson vegetation covered walls, roofs, and windows. Trees had grown through foundations. But the basic shapes remained recognizable. Houses, stores, and what might have been a community center.

"There was a town here," Seraphine said. "As we thought."

"Before the apocalypse," Aldric said. "The Briar Patch claimed it though, and I doubt people survived it."

Human homes swallowed by those hungry vines. Reidar's mind flashed to the people who might've been trapped inside when the world twisted. Had they fought back, or did the thorns take them before they could run?

<Don't think about it. Focus on the mission.> Reidar thought.

"Do we investigate for survivors?" One of the survivors asked.

"No," Reidar said. "We're here for the Elder Thorn-Lasher. Searching buildings wastes time and exposes us to ambushes. We keep moving."

Helga nodded in agreement. "He's right. Stick to the plan."

"No," Lena said. "We need to go through it to reach the target."

"Fuck… Are you for real?" Helga asked.

"As real as the monsters…"

Reidar turned to her. "Are you sure we can't avoid this?"

Lena shook her head. "No, if we don't go through this, we will go through a hell of a problem."

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