After dealing with those annoying vines, Jill Young nimbly climbed to the top of the Man-Eater Bloom. Peeking through the gap in the still-unclosed flower bud, she saw Max Easton soaking in what was probably digestive juice.
"Don’t you feel like a flower fairy right now, living inside a blossom? Honestly, I think this place suits you!"
"Cut it out, Your Majesty! Even flower fairies wouldn’t live in a Man-Eater Bloom!" Max Easton flailed wildly, splashing the digestive goo all around. As the liquid churned, some freaky 'remains' floated up, making Max’s scalp tingle. "Oh man, look at this nasty stuff—is that bugs? I swear, I’m about to hurl! Get me outta here, quick!"
Max Easton stretched his hands desperately toward the sky, jumping and flailing around like a cartoon character on fast-forward.
But Jill Young was totally unmoved up above. "Just so we’re clear, there’s no way I’m touching you while you’re covered in all that sticky, slimy green stuff."
"Then give me the big knife!"
"Nope, not a chance."
"I think I’m about to get digested," Max Easton was practically on his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I swear I’ll never beg for a hookup again, no more dirty thoughts, no badmouthing behind your back—whatever you say, I’ll do it! Just save me, I’m begging you!"
Jill Young finally nodded. "Alright, hang tight. I’ll attack the flower from the outside. You just try not to get accidentally squashed, okay? If you die from friendly fire, that’s on you."
"Friendly fire... Wait, Your Majesty, how exactly are you planning to attack this flower?"
"Anyway, there’s no way I’m using Jill's Greatbow on this goo, so obviously—" Jill Young whipped out Jill's Greatbow from her back. "I’ll shoot it with arrows! I tried it earlier, and Jill's Greatbow’s got enough power to punch right through the flower bud."
"A bow...?" Max Easton's mind flashed back to Jill Young's sharpshooting skills, and he forced a nervous laugh. "Your Majesty, please aim for my spot. Seriously, don’t try to avoid me and hit somewhere else. I’m begging you!"
A moment later, Jill Young stood ten meters away, pulled arrows from her storage space, and took a deep breath as she drew Jill's Greatbow back.
"Your Majesty—" Max Easton's voice echoed from inside the bud. "I’m standing dead center, right in the middle! Aim for me, Your Majesty!" He sounded like he was volunteering to be cannon fodder.
"Well, since you asked for it, your wish is my command!" Jill Young aimed for the center, pulled Jill's Greatbow back till it was tight as a drum, and let an arrow fly. It shot out like a streak of lightning and sank straight into the bud with a squelch. Green liquid oozed from the hole, and the giant flower bud gave a little shudder.
Jill Young’s eyes flashed as she fired off three more arrows in the blink of an eye, each one aimed at the bud’s weak spot. Thwack, thwack, thwack—green goo splattered everywhere, and every arrow buried itself deep. Jill's Greatbow might look old-school, but man, it packed a punch. After that barrage, the bud twitched, and one side of the petals finally collapsed, dumping out a flood of green digestive juice.
Right at the center, Max Easton strutted out, patting himself all over, absolutely delighted. "Oh, Your Majesty, you’re a rock star! I didn’t even get a scratch! Uh, Your Majesty, what’s up? Why do you look so bummed?"
"Don’t mind me. It’s gotta be the bow’s fault. Definitely the bow’s fault..."
A moment later, Max Easton grabbed a leaf and scrubbed himself all over, but Jill Young still kept a solid two meters away. He carried a weird smell—a real hate-magnet kind of stench—that made Jill want to walk over and deck him.
Seeing Jill Young’s hostile glare, Max Easton quickly raised his hands and explained, "Uh, Your Majesty, that’s a special scent the Man-Eater Bloom secretes to attract animals. Don’t give in to your instincts, okay?"
"Oh, please, I’m not the one acting on instinct! Where was all that science talk when you were screaming for help like a banshee?" Jill Young shot him a look. "You’re supposed to be a professor, Max Easton—think for a second. Did you see any mammals in this jungle? Any big animal bones in the flower’s digestive juice? It’s all bug remains, right? So this stuff’s clearly made for chitin. And you were hollering like you were in a bad sitcom!"
Max Easton scratched his head, suddenly embarrassed. "Now that you mention it... yeah, I guess you’re right."
"But still," Jill Young mused, eyeing the remains on the ground, "the bugs in this jungle are huge. Look at this mystery bug—it’s at least a foot long. That’s wild."
"Oh, speaking of which, I only ended up here because a swarm of those giant bugs chased me!" Max Easton patted his chest, still rattled. "Thinking about it, these carnivorous plants must be their natural enemies. No wonder the bugs cleared out."
"How unlucky can you get?" Jill Young squinted at him. "I walked over here with zero problems—made a fire, roasted some meat, took a nap, not a single bit of danger. But you? It’s like you’ve got a target on your back!"
By now, Jill Young had already eaten the meat she’d snagged from the Leviathan. Leviathans really are a cut above. If eating Shadow Wolf meat was like gasoline for her martial arts, then Leviathan was like rocket fuel—her Titan Spirit Method jumped by a third in no time. She was almost at the third level now.
Guess I need to find more weird stuff to eat. Oh, right—everyone in those novels says rare flowers and herbs boost your powers. This Man-Eater Bloom’s gotta count as a rare flower, right? No way I’m eating the whole thing, but maybe I can try extracting something from it for the Titan Spirit Method.
Jill Young walked up to the bud and pressed her right hand against its outer wall. After a moment, she shook her head and lowered her hand. Nope, the Titan Spirit Method is strictly for carnivores—doesn’t do squat for plants. But she’d used herbal supplements before, and those did help, so maybe it’s not all useless. Just seems like her extraction method only works on animals.
"Huh?" Just as she was about to walk away, Jill Young spotted something inside the bud, hanging near the top—a fruit-like thing, bright red, about the size of a small watermelon but shaped like a dragon fruit. There were twelve of them in a circle. Looked promising.
They say the Man-Eater Bloom only produces a single red fruit every hundred years—a miracle cure that’s supposed to make you unstoppable in every way. Not sure if this is the real deal or just urban legend. Jill Young plucked one from the top of the bud and held it in her hand, sensing a surge of life energy.
"Let’s give it a shot! Wait, how do you eat this thing?" Jill Young peeled it like a dragon fruit, and sure enough, the inside looked just like watermelon. Forget all those horror stories about 'too much energy making you explode'—she took a small bite. Hey, not bad! Sweet, juicy, and flavorful. Plus—whoa, it actually boosts the Dragon Elephant Technique!
Okay, it’s not some mythical miracle drug, but it works way better than Shadow Wolf meat!
She polished off the whole thing in a couple bites, then picked the other eleven and stashed them in her storage space. Good thing, too—stuff in there never goes bad.
"Alright, let’s roll. We’ve got two days left, and it’s already getting hot in here, so let’s get moving." Jill Young checked her compass. "Should we keep heading east?"
"Yep, Your Majesty, east is the way to go." Max Easton glanced up at the streaks of sunlight. "This rainforest isn’t super huge—we’re already close to the eastern edge. When I was dangling up there, I even saw the cliff wall."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s move!"
The two-person adventure squad set off again. This patch of carnivorous plants formed a circle around the Man-Eater Bloom. With Jill Young watching out for him, Max Easton managed to dodge all the attacking vines and made it out in one piece.
"Whew, finally out!" Max Easton caught his breath, straightened up, and flipped the Man-Eater Bloom the bird. "Screw you, big ugly flower! You’re not the first thing that’s tried to eat me, and you won’t be the last! Ha!"
Right then, Jill Young clamped a hand over Max Easton’s mouth. "Quiet."
Max Easton’s eyes went wide and he nodded. Once Jill Young let go, he whispered, "What’s up?"
"I hear something," Jill Young tilted her head, listening closely. Her hearing wasn’t what it used to be, but it was still way better than Max’s. "It’s the sound of insects flapping their wings—a lot of them, and they’re getting closer."
No sooner had Jill Young spoken than Max Easton caught the buzzing, too—like a swarm of bees, but with a deeper, punchier sound. Whatever was coming, it was way bigger than bees.
"Oh no, those demons are back!" Max Easton’s scalp tingled and he bolted. "Run—they’re coming straight for us!"
Jill Young took off right after him. Looking back, she saw a horde of giant green flying bugs charging after them.
"Seriously, what did you do to make them chase you like this?"
"I didn’t do much—just fell into a pit while I was looking for you and, uh, kinda squashed their queen."
"Wow, your ability to attract trouble is next-level!"
As they sprinted, the jungle suddenly opened up—they’d made it out, and right ahead was a towering cliff. The problem? It was just a wall of rock, nothing else.
Behind them, the buzzing grew louder—the giant bugs were right on their heels.