Reincarnated As A Plant Life

Chapter 274: Minecrawlers [XIV]

*[Ghost]

For a few seconds, Ghost stood silently looking towards the battleground where Pagan and Ursa were still fighting.

~They need help,~ she thought to herself, before taking a step in their direction. However, a hand grabbed onto one of her auxiliary legs... it felt warm.

"Y-You need to stay here and take care of them. As- as you can see, I'm not in the best shape," Lucius said, coughing and laughing in between words.

She looked down at him and couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt. Why did it always end up like this?

She had promised herself that after what happened during the fight against the necromancer, she would never allow Lucius to fight alone. Yet here she was, staring at him all beaten and bruised, while she stood and did nothing in the backlines.

She looked at the battlefield once more; Ursa and Pagan seemed to be doing okay, but still, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being useless.

"Okay," she replied, before sitting beside Lucius.

After all, what could she do? She wasn't Pagan… Lucius didn't trust her that much.

*[Lucius]

"I-I know you want to help Ghost…and you are helping. You're the only one here with the nece-necessary skills to protect these guys. And we both know we can't trust Pagan not to kill one of them on a whim," Lucius said in between laboured breaths as he leaned against the wall.

His eyelids were growing heavy, he needed rest.

~Not here. I can't sleep... not right now,~ he thought to himself.

Who's going to protect everyone? What if something happened to them while he was asleep?

No, even if his body felt like it was being held together by string, he had to fight to stay conscious.

He looked to the side -even this small movement caused blistering pain- and found Ghost looking up at him.

~I should- I should just let her take care of it. If I don't rest… I might slow the group down later,~ he thought to himself, before focusing his attention on the battlefield.

He would only allow himself to lose consciousness once the fight was over.

However, his body had other plans for him, and the world darkened only a few seconds later.

*

"When did I... fall asleep?" Lucius whispered to himself as he slowly regained his senses. It took him less than a second to remember where he was.

He instantly shot up from the soft 'cushion' he had been sleeping on and looked around him.

Everyone was here, all around him, staring... waiting.

Pagan was at the forefront, and everyone else was seated behind him as if they were about to have a photosynthesis session.

"You're all… fine," he whispered to himself, the realization calming him down quite a bit.

"How long was I out?" he asked, now regarding Pagan.

"Not too long, Lighted One," Pagan replied, before gesturing towards someone behind Lucius.

Lucius turned to see what was going on, and found that the 'cushions' he had been lying on were actually Furtongs.

He would've liked to have a word with Pagan about using the other creatures as furniture, but now was not the time.

Sure, he had managed to eliminate one of the more powerful enemies within the cave, but a handful still remained. And if they had any ability to sense energy whatsoever, they more than likely felt him use his powers earlier.

~If we're going to get the Aternite, it has to be soon,~ he thought to himself, before turning to Ursa.

"How are you feeling? Can you continue fighting?" he asked, turning his attention to Pagan as well.

"I am yet to use my mystic mantle. Rest assured, I will be at your side during the coming battles," Ursa replied, somewhat stoically. It seemed that the battle had sharpened his focus.

"Yes, Lighted One," Pagan replied, though he looked a little worse for wear. Lucius could sense the heat resonating off him, he was reaching his Rena limits and knowing Pagan, perhaps he already had.

"You need rest. You should fall back to guarding duty," Lucius said, before patting him on the shoulder. Pagan was just about to say something before Lucius added- "And good work."

Pagan stood there frozen still, staring off into the abyss.

"Ghost, you ready?" Lucius asked, still looking at Pagan to see if he was okay.

"I've been ready since we came in," she replied in a low voice, it seemed that she was still upset over being put on the sidelines for so long.

"Good. Time to show me just how much you've grown," Lucius replied. He was interested in seeing how Ghost scaled in comparison to Pagan at this point.

It was obvious from their earlier battles that Pagan had grown quite a bit, if not in his magical ability, then in its raw potent power.

With a thought, he quickly opened up her stats screen.

?????????????????

??????? Creature Details ???????•

[Ghost Elwood ]

[Level 16: 0/1600]

[Leaf-Arachnid {healthy-hybrid} [83%]

??????? Stats ???????

[Agility: 550]-Maxed

[Strength: 450]-Maxed

[Stamina: 330]-Maxed

?????????????????

~She's grown quite a bit,~ he thought to himself, a little proudly. ~Though I still need to evaluate if she's at the level I can properly rely on her.~

Even though they were all his children, Lucius couldn't help but rely on Pagan more than the others. He was the closest in power level to Lucius, so it went without saying that he was the wisest choice for any dangerous missions that Lucius could not do himself.

However, if Ghost proved to hold her own, the commune would be better for it. Though Lucius couldn't say he was too excited for his daughter to prove she could go on more dangerous missions alone.

After taking sighing and shaking his head, he turned to Ursa. "Did you already loo- I mean search the fallen enemies?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Pagan ordered that they only be touched once you awoke," Ursa replied, taking a quick glance at Pagan -who was still frozen.