"Do you see any tree monsters, Cliff?"
"Surprisingly, none. However, It is most likely a trap."
The two men whose specialty is scouting exchanged their opinions with each other. No matter how young or old they may be, their expertise is what must be trusted. The Archer class has more WIS than the Rogue class in terms of status comparison.
"Sir–"
"Call me Riyu, for convenience's sake."
That easy? I guess we did talk a lot these past few hours.
"Riyu, those flower beds… I believe that they are hiding underneath it."
"Elaborate." Riyu inquired. With both daggers prepared for an ambush, he continued to stare at the large room before them.
"Trearios are intelligent creatures. We might've underestimated their wits, as a rookie adventurer… I want to lead them out of there."
Cliff proposed a plan. This is no longer the Infinite Dungeon he knew where he had to constantly fight random encounters of monsters and explore caves. There are stakes here, especially since this isn't a game but his reality. One mistake could ruin countless people's lives, and he doesn't want to do that.
His goal was to find baby trearios to obtain the so-called flower cure for the alchemist's sister. He planned to do it alone, but there were minor adjustments that happened. The addition of the three allies that have expertise in adventuring and conquering these dungeons.
Cliff has to worry about them now, and how he could use them to his advantage to achieve his goal, but also not putting them in danger at all. There are so many factors, but the result could save a lot of people's lives.
"Do you have anything that I could light on fire?" Cliff asked, looking at Riyu.
Surely, a rogue class adventurer like him has some item that could produce or light a fire. It is unfortunate that he couldn't use that Book of Fire, but there is no time to mull about that fact.
"A flask of oil, I use it for my daggers for maintenance. It is extremely flammable. Are you seriously thinking about what I'm assuming you want to do?" Riyu kept his eyes forward, not looking at the archer at all but his voice clearly expressed that he wasn't sure about the archer's plan at all.
"I'm not an arsonist. I was planning on coating my arrowhead with the oil, shooting it at a distance where trearios might be hiding, and luring them out using their weakness."
Cliff pulls out a silver-tipped arrow out of his quiver and shows it to Riyu. The arrow is of high quality, the system rewards him with exquisitely maintained items for some reason.
"...If I were to make a suggestion, shoot three flaming arrows at the back."
Cliff tilted his head, a sudden suggestion from the rogue. Either way, it's best to hear it out. The more organized the plan is, the more we can execute it perfectly.
"If we are going to lure them out, we must eliminate other escape routes and make this new entrance their only route to escape."
That makes sense. The only thing that will make this worse is an army of trearios running in their direction.
Shit, thinking about that possibility makes me shiver.
"Cliff, here's the oil. Coat three of your arrows with it from tip to bottom." Riyu brought out a small flask containing oil out of his small bag. He places it on top of a rock, where Cliff's arrows are placed.
Cliff pulled out two more arrows and started coating it with the rogue's oil. From tip to bottom, it has been coated with a flammable liquid that will last for 1-2 minutes before turning into charcoal and dust.
That's enough time to lure the enemies out. Right? If not, then…
"Cliff, your heart is beating fast. Calm down."
what...?
Cliff listened to his own heart and it was indeed beating faster than usual. He held his chest and started breathing profusely as if realizing it made it worse. He attempted to catch his breath but failed.
Am I having a panic attack? Right now? Calm down, dammit!
He smacked his chest, but a hand reached out and stopped it mid-way. It was Riyu's hand, grasping his arm tightly and looking at him.
"If you cannot do it, then let's leave."
What? No, no!
"No- I can do it, I just need to relax.."
"I'm afraid too, Cliff."
Huh?
"This isn't my first time, I know what you are feeling. Doubt, restlessness, and overthinking." Riyu confesses, he pulled down his mask and revealed his face. He has scars all over his face, yet he looks so young.
"These are the result of not being prepared to fight. Do you want to end up like me, a scarred criminal?"
Is this a trick question? What am I supposed to say without disrespecting him?
"Look, kid. Don't you have a motive? That's why you came down here, no? Remember your goal, and ask yourself… who am I doing this for?"
Cliff pants, he thought to himself…
Why am I exactly doing this? Cliff wasn't supposed to return here, yet you did.
Why?
Because you wanted to help the siblings? What a shallow reason, you wanted to be praised, right? You wanted to be acknowledged by everyone because of the new life given to you.
But this isn't your life. You don't deserve this at all. You had no worth. Cliff had one. Finish what you have started, do it for the people around you, not for yours.
Protect everyone, and use your body to serve others.
Cliff breathed deeply, before releasing all of the air inside of his lungs. He closed his eyes and held his head with both of his hands, and he slapped both of his cheeks before opening his eyes, determined to finish the task at hand.
His heart calmed down, it returned to its natural state. He held three of the coated arrows and sighed.
"I'm ready." Cliff stated.
"Good. Now, fire!" Riyu ordered.
And Cliff followed. With a single spark of flint and stone being struck together, flames roared out of the arrows. The archer picked it up and pulled it on his bow's string. He lifts it upward, aiming for the skies before releasing the arrows.
He shot three arrows, they landed in the left and right direction near the trees and in the middle, where the tree lies. Fortunately, it did not reach the tree but it reached the bed of flowers near it.
The flowers burned, and a small wall of fire roared and burnt through the small parts of the garden in each direction.
Then, out of nowhere, a wooden sword came out of the soil. Then, it slowly removed itself from the ground before fully revealing its figure out in the open.
"A…knight? made out of…wood?" Cliff mumbled, he started thinking of enemies that could resemble the figure from the game itself. Yet, none appeared in his mind.
Suddenly, a red holographic interface appeared right in front of his face.
[ Knight of Flowers, Dendron Lvl.40 ]
[ You have awoken the legendary knight that had been laid dormant for centuries. Prepare for his wrath for destroying the peace inside of his garden. ]
I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD DO THAT, WHAT THE HELL!?
"Cliff…! Retreat!"
Before he could even move, the wooden knight disappeared from his position and appeared right above them. With his wooden sword pointed toward the ground, he aims to stab the one who burned his garden.
Riyu's reflexes and intuition made him grab Cliff and throw him towards his other party members, but he got flung away to the side due to how powerful the wind it generated from falling.
"Augh…!!" Cliff felt his body become light as he got thrown at the back. He landed on the solid ground but rolled to lessen the damage from the impact he got from falling. He knelt on the ground before looking forward, the warrior's back was the only thing he could see.
It seems that the warrior had come as backup.
"Cliff, ready your bow!" Esther shouted.
Shit! I'm being targeted, I should distance myself away–
Without even a second, he felt the air push him backward. The sound of wood clashing with metal reverberated throughout the entire cave. Cliff looked forward and saw Enrid blocking an attack from the knight of Flowers.
"Ha! How'd you like th–"
In an instant, the knight spun its body and kicked him to the side of his right rib cage with ease, sending him flying in the left direction. The warrior's body landed on the ground like a rag doll, bouncing off the stone ground as he tried to stop himself from rolling any further.
"CLIFF, FOCUS AT THE FIGHT!" A voice can be heard from the right direction, a female. The air became cold, and everything grew chilly.
Esther unleashed countless icicles before sending them towards the Knight of Flowers, each hitting the body and limbs. However, it didn't pierce its body at all. Not a single crystal landed on it, it shattered upon impact.
"S-shit…!"
The Knight looked at the mage who wielded a staff, its feet moved and was about to lunge again. But an arrow pierced through its foot from the front.
"Look at me, you trunk-ass bitch! I'm what you wanted right?!"
I have to lead it far away from them! I can't let these people get hurt because of my mistake!
With an arrow to the foot and a taunt, he managed to get the attention of the knight. The wooden knight executed a stance, holding the wooden sword with both of his hands and lifting it near its head while the blade was pointed towards the archer.
He's gonna lunge and slash!
In the blink of an eye, it vanished and appeared right before his face. With its blade slashing upwards, it is about to perform a rising slash that would slash his head into two from below.
Fuck! It's faster than I thought…!
I'm screwed…!