小嫂子的味道

My hand reached for my waist, flipping aside the cloak, I snatched a blade that had been hanging inside a baldric. I bought it close to my face and checked the blade's sharpness and let myself get used to its grip.

It was a dagger I'd bought before coming to the labyrinth. Shorter than a sword, it had a blade of about 12 centimeters in length and was slightly curved from the tip—just like the ones you get in the online FPP games in my former world.

The vines came whipping at me but with my [Foresight] activated, stepping aside from their path, I swished the dagger in the air and smoothly incised the vines into two parts.

"Hey, that was a good one, Ichigo; didn't know you can handle a blade too," Spene exclaimed as he forcefully drilled his sword into a big cherry-colored flower which happened to be an Ent's head.

"Well…" I replied as I cut through multiple vines that were aiming for me. "I have to have at least one way to defend myself. I can't say what'll happen in the future."

"Yeah, that's true. You can't predict the way of the labyrinth; there are just that troublesome."

"Will you two stop chatting for a while and care to help me? I'm sorry, but I'm not good against these types of monsters," said Favian, looking at us with a face full of sweat; some of it was even dripping inside his eyes.

"I can't leave this side…not, for now, I think. These things are just so annoying; they are coming back no matter how much I cut them. I can't move from this place until I clear the horde on my side, otherwise they would get an opening and can attack us from behind," Spene stated.

He was right. Due to Favian being pushed back, the triangular formation on his and Xara's had already broken. For now, I was holding back the monsters coming from that opening but if Spene moved from his place, then the formation on both sides—between Spene and Xara and between Spene and Favian—will fall apart, and then Ents will come from all the three sides. That'll be a pain.

"Ichigo… I hate to ask this, but can you please help Favian? We are in a really tight situation right now," Spene requested.

"I don't know how much I'll be able to help…but I will try," I responded after cutting another one of the vines in half.

I pulled Challes chain and pulled him close to myself, "I'm going to release the chains for a bit of time, don't try anything funny." The chains binding him turned to dust and vanished, but the handcuffs and leg cuffs still remained.

Can't take too much risk, after all.

Then I dashed to Favian's side and stood beside him. "Thanks for the help; though I know we should be the ones providing it, keeping you safe," he apologized.

"Don't worry, I agree with Spene here. We're not in the situation to care about such things," I said as I clenched the hilt of my dagger and stretched, taking a fighting posture.

I'd barely gotten above average in fighting with the sword, and here I am switching to a dagger.

The difference in weight is huge, and I'm having trouble balancing my body to it; sometimes I apply too much force behind the attack that it puts me off balance, or I apply too less force and the attack never reaches the target.

Maybe if it weren't for the [Foresight] skill, then I think I would've gotten hit by a vine or two.

But I don't have a choice other than getting used to this and picking my moves accordingly.

"They're coming from your side, it's a group of three," Favian warned as he shot an arrow at one of the Ents in front of him.

I looked to my side and saw that three 8 to 9 feet plants were charging toward me. I turned and bent a little forward, I focused my [Foresight] on the three monsters and predicted their movements.

The monster on the right slaps the air with his hands and sends multiple ones combined into a thick one toward Zero, at the same time the middle one comes close to Zero and hurls forward his branch-like arm that had sharp needle-like arms. The remaining monster does nothing.

'So that was it, the attacks they will perform in the next 0.1 seconds. Okay, got it.'

I was able to see their upcoming attacks as translucent images, so tackling them shouldn't be a problem.

I darted toward the monsters; Ent A—the one on the right, combined all of its vines and propelled the newly formed intertwined vines at me. I stopped in my tracks, tilting my chest to the back and side I missed the vine, and then quickly grabbed it with my left hand.

As I pulled the vine with all the force I've got, the monster also got pulled and flew toward me. I aimed my dagger and as the Ent came close I compelled my right hand inside its mouth—which was a big hole at the center of a flower or his head.

The dagger, cutting through its insides, came out by drilling a hole in the back of its head. Lots of green, slimy substance flowed from the newly formed wounds. Maybe I'd closely gotten a few cuts from its teeth, since there was a tingling sensation in my arm.

'It ain't finished yet!'

My hand was still stuck in its mouth when I forced his huge body in front of mine just before Ent B arrived at a hand's distance from me and projected his bran-like hand at me.

Its hand crashed with the body of Ent A and instead of harming me the attack busted a hole in its stomach—if Ent A had survived my blow, this one sure killed him.

Ent B's arm was stuck inside Ent A, seeking this opportunity I pulled out my hand from Ent A's head, dashed to the side, and while moving in a perfect circle I smoothly connected my dagger to Ent B's head and pierced a hole; the slimy substance coming out again.

The vital spot of the Ents in loli_pop's novel was their head, that was the only part where their lives resided, hence destroying it was the easiest way to kill them.

"Phew… I'm getting better at this," I mumbled as I hauled out my dagger from Ent B's head and flicked it in the air to get the slimy substance off it.

Then I looked over at the remaining Ent—no, wait! He wasn't alone now; five more monsters were standing by its side.

I sighed as I saw them getting all worked up to charge at me. "Well, well, what can we do about this?"

Dealing with all of them was a drag, but at least I wasn't wasting my mana; I need to save it at all cost.