(Finally here!)
Tike's eyes focused. He saw a blurry dark figure sneaking close to a tomato plant, extending a bizarre arm formed by countless twisted roots entangled together, grabbing at an unripe greenish-red tomato.
The moment it was touched, the skin of the green tomato twisted and deformed rapidly, turning into a peculiarly shaped green pepper!
"Stop!"
Tike jumped out on the spot, simultaneously forming hand seals quickly, condensing a crystal-clear water prison, trapping that bizarre dark figure inside.
"Water-Make: Water Prison!"
Trapped in the water prison, the dark figure not only didn't struggle but emitted a few weird "glug glug" sounds. Like a dry sponge, it began to frantically absorb the water prison suppressing it!
In the blink of an eye, the entire water prison was sucked dry by it. Its body also swelled visibly by several degrees. The tattered cloth originally wrapped around its body slipped off, revealing its true appearance hidden underneath—
It was a bizarre creature, entirely emerald green, barely maintaining a human form, with facial features twisted together. Its limbs appeared exceptionally thick and sturdy, and root-like structures could even be seen at the joints. The whole thing exuded an indescribable grotesqueness and distortion!
"Green pepper! Green pepper!"
That green monster shook its noticeably thicker limbs, hissing that monotonous syllable even more excitedly, obviously very satisfied with the "drinking water" just now.
(Tsk, actually able to absorb my water magic directly... more like a plant than an animal?)
"Looks like water magic is ineffective on you, but I don't just know..."
Tike was about to try Maker Magic of other attributes when he suddenly thought of something. He put down the hand he just raised, turned his head, and shouted toward the periphery of the field:
"Wendy! This guy is immune to my magic! You come up and try first!"
"Eh? M... me?"
Hearing Tike's call, Wendy poked her small head out from her hiding spot subconsciously.
When she saw clearly the emerald-green figure emitting a strong pungent smell in the center of the field, she couldn't help feeling timid, her small hand clutching the corner of her clothes tightly.
(So... so scary...)
Seeing Wendy delaying action, Tike shook his head.
(Sure enough, this is still too much for her. Find something similar for her to practice on next time.)
"I'll solve it this time."
He waited no longer. With a slight movement of his hand, magic power began to condense at his fingertips—
"Wood..."
Whoosh!
Alice, who had been guarding Wendy's side, grabbed her shoulders and soared into the sky, flying directly above that Green Pepper Monster in a few breaths.
The blue-haired little girl condensed Sky Dragon magic power on her right fist. Borrowing the momentum brought by Alice, she unleashed a punch descending from the sky!
"Sky Dragon's—Crushing Fist!"
Bang!
A muffled impact sounded. Wendy's fist hit the Green Pepper Monster's body solidly.
The Green Pepper Monster swayed its massive body slightly. A faint crack, so subtle it was almost imperceptible, appeared at the spot hit.
Seeing this attack had little effect, Alice immediately took Wendy and retreated rapidly, landing beside Tike.
Wendy panted lightly, looking at that almost unharmed monster again, obvious frustration appearing in her eyes.
"So hard."
Tike gently held her slightly trembling small hand. Soft green light lit up at his fingertips, smoothing the redness and swelling on her fist caused by the violent impact.
While treating her, he asked softly: "Wendy, did you use Enchantment Magic to strengthen your power when attacking just now?"
"I enchanted Arms to increase attack power..." Wendy lowered her head somewhat ashamedly. "But still useless."
"Don't be discouraged, Wendy." Tike held her hand. "Try again. I'll help too this time, just like when we trained before."
Listening to the boy's encouraging words, Wendy didn't want to disappoint him. Trying hard to dispel the frustration and fear in her heart, she concentrated again.
"Arms that tear the sky!"
Simultaneously, Tike activated Magia Booster, enhancing the efficiency of Wendy's Enchantment Magic.
"Again!"
Alice grabbed Wendy's shoulders again, rushing toward the Green Pepper Monster still swaying in place at a speed far exceeding just now!
This time, there was no trace of timidity in Wendy's eyes. Her small five fingers spread abruptly, the air in front of her fingertips rotating at high speed, emitting a sharp whistle!
"Sky Dragon's—Claw!"
Rip—!
Invisible wind blades easily tore apart the Green Pepper Monster's body. Emerald-green fragments mixed with pungent juice splashed all over the sky, and that indistinct babbling also stopped abruptly.
Alice spread her wings lightly, bringing Wendy to land steadily on the ground.
Wendy slowly raised her hands to her eyes, looking back and forth in disbelief.
"So... so powerful."
Under the boost of Magia Booster, the attribute enhancement brought by Enchantment Magic was several times higher than when she used it alone, so much so that she could easily kill the Green Pepper Monster, whose defense she could hardly break just now, with just one strike.
Tike walked to Wendy's side and ruffled her hair to show approval: "Well done."
"No, it's not my credit; it's Brother Tike's magic boost that is too amazing." Wendy really didn't want to take credit. "If it were just my own power, I absolutely couldn't have defeated it."
"Well, the result is you defeated it with your own hands. It's okay to be a little proud of this, right?" Tike withdrew his hand and said encouragingly, "Besides, being able to muster the courage to stand up and fight is already great. Although it seems just a small step now, for the future you, it is a crucial step."
"But... I..."
Wendy knew this victory relied more on Tike's power, so it made her realize her own insufficiency even more clearly.
However, being praised by him made her really happy inside, and the corners of her mouth couldn't stop rising.
Tike raised his hand again and patted the top of her head gently.
"Anyway, keep working hard. You have great potential and will become stronger in the future. I'm still waiting for you to treat my mom later."
Wendy paused, then nodded firmly: "Mm!"
Tike smiled, turned, and walked to where the monster's remains scattered. He cut a piece, brought it to his nose, sniffed, and frowned slightly.
He had felt it strange since just now. The request clearly stated it was a magical beast, but this monster didn't have a trace of magic aura on it; instead, it was filled with some intense negative emotion.
Besides this, it was also mixed with a scent not belonging to this world.
Tike knew the source of this scent.
"Edolas..."
(Was this monster transported here from Edolas by someone?)
(But I didn't see this kind of monster when I was in Edolas either?)
Just as Tike was trying to sort out the current situation, a huge black vortex appeared in the originally calm night sky without warning!