Intense Distress Signal

She completely let go of Rina Chu!

Loop by loop, the Vine Spirit untied her.

But the part caught in Grace's hand didn’t budge at all.

"Huh? Why did it let go?" Rina Chu turned her head in puzzlement, nervously eyeing the vine.

It stayed perfectly still in Grace’s grip, even its thorns drooping down, looking lush, adorable, and utterly docile.

"Grace, did you use some kind of potion?" Rina Chu leaned in, whispering sneakily to Grace.

Grace stiffly shook her head. "Nope!"

"Then what’s up with this Vine Spirit?"

"No idea. You go down first. When you’re safe, I’ll let go..."

"Okay, be careful!" Rina Chu hurried off the tree.

Once Rina was in a safe spot, Grace said, "Um, dear Vine Spirit, my friend meant no harm. She’s just playful. Please, be generous and let it go, alright?"

The vine still didn’t move.

So, Grace slowly let it go.

As soon as she did, Grace realized her hands were covered in thorns.

The vine still didn’t react at first, but then it slowly leaned toward Grace.

Grace tensed up, debating whether to jump off and call Big Red to catch her, when suddenly the vine’s leaves gently brushed across her hands.

A flash of green light—and, magically, every thorn was swept away, not a single one left...

Then, it slowly retreated, curling back onto the tree like an ordinary melon vine.

There was even a little melon growing on it, looking just like a tender green pumpkin...

Grace let out a sigh of relief and hugged the tree trunk.

She thought, when I get down, I must warn Rina Chu not to mess with anything on this King's Spirit Tree ever again.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t even know how she died.

Then, Grace got ready to climb down.

Suddenly, she froze, her whole body trembling.

This tree... this King's Spirit Tree... seemed to be calling out to her for help.

That’s right—it was asking for help.

She wasn’t like Rina Chu, always monkeying around.

Since coming here, she’d never really touched the King's Spirit Tree before.

This was her first time.

And now, she could feel an overwhelming, crystal-clear distress signal.

Stronger than ever before.

"Grace, are you coming down or what? Why are you spacing out?" Rina Chu called from below.

Grace glanced at her, then climbed down.

Then she said, "Rina, give me your hand."

Rina Chu held out her hand. "What for?"

Grace took her hand and placed it on the massive old tree root in front of them.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Rina Chu rolled her eyes, looking a bit nervous.

"Focus and see if you feel anything," Grace asked.

Rina Chu concentrated, then grimaced, "My hand's full of thorns! Can you stop pressing so hard? Are you trying to kill me?"

Grace quickly let go and flipped her palm over to check.

Sure enough, her hand was full of tiny golden thorns—the very ones from that vine.

Grace shook her head and started pulling them out one by one, making Rina Chu yelp and holler in pain.

Once she was done, Grace pressed Rina Chu’s hand onto the tree root again.

"Now?"

Rina Chu’s expression was the definition of "confused": "What exactly am I supposed to be feeling?"

"Like, do you feel like the tree is trying to tell you something?" Grace asked.

"Tell me something?" Rina Chu blinked. "Hmm... Yeah, I do!"