Half a day later, Shane and his group arrived at their first destination.
"Is that the Bloodsucking Vine?"
As Shane stepped off the carriage laden with a stifling atmosphere, the first thing he saw was their target for this journey—the Bloodsucking Vine.
It grew across the road leading north, acting like a barrier that completely blocked the path with a dense tangle of vines.
The vines were a glaring blood-red color and grew extremely lushly, intertwining tightly like an intricately knotted tree, forming a low and expansive wall of plants.
However, it was not something to admire.
Because Shane could clearly see that the vines, resembling blood vessels, were not only pulsating and contracting repeatedly as if transporting something, but they were also constantly writhing, appearing quite nauseating.
If he had seen such a scene when he was first summoned to this world, Shane thought he would have started vomiting.
"Is this also a demon?"
Shane muttered with some disgust.
Beside him, Vivian, pulling the carriage, approached and responded to Shane's self-talk.
"No, that's not a demon, just a type of plant that grows in places that have been bathed in a large amount of blood. Although it looks like a sentient demon, it's actually no different from other plants. The only difference is that it never absorbs water to grow, but only absorbs blood. So if you accidentally get caught, you may never escape, pierced by those vines and drained of all your blood until you die. For many, these Bloodsucking Vines pose the same threat as demons."
Moreover, these Bloodsucking Vines had extremely strong life force and tenacity. Once they grew, they would proliferate at a rapid pace until they absorbed all the blood elements in the soil before stopping. Ordinary blades couldn't even cut through their outer skin, and getting too close risked being ensnared and drained. Therefore, in many places, these Bloodsucking Vines caused quite a bit of trouble.
"It's very difficult for ordinary people to remove these Bloodsucking Vines, so once a large number of them are detected near any town, the town's management will dispatch troops to clear them or delegate the task to adventurers from the adventurer's guild to remove them to prevent excessive damage and obstruction."
Vivian explained patiently.
"This time, the Bloodsucking Vines have grown on the main road to the northern towns, causing considerable losses to many merchants and creating many inconveniences for exchanges and trade between the two towns. Let's clear them out as soon as possible."
Saying that, Vivian looked toward Merica.
"Is it okay, Merica?"
Vivian asked.
"N-no problem!"
Merica tightened her grip on her magic wand, glanced imperceptibly at Shane, and then stepped forward.
Seeing this, Shane raised an eyebrow.
Because he seemed to have a good idea of how they would get rid of those Bloodsucking Vines next.
"It's very difficult to clear Bloodsucking Vines with ordinary blades, and getting too close is dangerous." Vivian smiled when she saw Shane's faint look of anticipation, stating, "The best way is to start a big fire, burn them all up, and then slowly dig out the roots buried in the ground to prevent them from sprouting again."
However, due to their extremely high life force and tenacity, a normal fire would burn for a very long time.
Unless...
"Directly use magic to burn the Bloodsucking Vine away in one go."
As these words fell from Vivian's mouth, Merica began to move at the front.
"—This is the breath of the heavenly wheel—"
Merica raised her magic wand and chanted a solemn spell from her enticing red lips.
"—Oh scarlet Fire Spirit, O transparent Ultimate Truth, use this prayer as tinder, rise here—"
At that moment, the tension and anxiety previously held on Merica's face dissipated, and she seemed to transform into a natural fairy, swirling magic power around her as she shouted loudly.
"Heavenly Fire Rain!"
The crystal embedded at the top of the magic wand Merica held high shone brightly.
Instantly, a surge of heat emerged from above Merica, transforming into countless flames that rained down on the patch of Bloodsucking Vine.
The flames turned the surrounding area scarlet, as if summoning the glow of sunset, while causing the temperature of the air to rise continuously.
"Boom boom boom!"
In the next second, the endless rain of fire fell upon the Bloodsucking Vine, erupting like explosions, unleashing waves of fire that completely engulfed the Bloodsucking Vine.
The blood-red vines succumbed to a sea of flames, burning fiercely.
"—!"
As if emitting silent screams, the vines writhed frantically in the fire.
That scene made anyone who saw it suspect, just like Shane, that these were more than mere plants—they were demonic in nature.
Sadly, unlike demons, which at least knew to flee or counterattack in moments of life-and-death crisis, the Bloodsucking Vines could do nothing but writhe helplessly in the sea of flames, as if making one last struggle.
Before long, under the intense burning, the vines turned to charcoal and were burned away completely.
The air was filled with the high temperatures and scorching heat of fire.
"Is that magic...?"
Illuminated by the firelight, Shane watched the scene, unsure if he felt touched or emotional.
Even though he had seen monsters spewing fire and lightning in the Monster Forest more than once, witnessing magic like this was undeniably a first for Shane.
Shane fixed his gaze on Merica's back, the one who had unleashed this magical spectacle.
Not until all the Bloodsucking Vines had been burnt away did the fire vanish like an illusion, as Merica withdrew her magic power, gradually extinguishing it.
The Bloodsucking Vines had been reduced to ash, leaving only scorched earth.
"Phew..."
Only then did Merica, like she was breathing a sigh of relief, put away her magic wand.
"You did well."
Vivian stepped forward to commend Merica.
"Still as powerful as ever."
Tielle also made a mild remark.
"As expected of an Elf..."
Lu Muya, holding Tielle's arm, gazed at Merica with adoring eyes.
In response, Merica merely shook her head and said, "I didn't do anything special, just used magic as usual."
As she said this, a smile bloomed on Merica's face.
Clearly, in the company of these companions, Merica's emotions were no longer stretched and tense, allowing her to slightly revert to her original persona.
Seeing this, Shane, initially intending to step forward, halted.
Looking at Merica's genuine smile, Shane discarded a budding idea.
"It seems I can't convince her to teach me magic."
Regrettably, that was the case.
However...
"Magic, huh?"
Feeling the abundant magic power flowing within him and thinking about his Magic Guide skill, Shane thought he should find an opportunity to learn magic.
Otherwise, it would be a waste of his abilities.