Thanks to their inherent racial traits, the super-rare monster Mandragora can increase its functionality with just water, soil nutrients, and sunlight.
Mandragora is infamous for its Scream of Death.
The screams of Adult Mandragora come enhanced with various terrifying functions such as volume amplification, echoing, soul branding, and penetration defense, creating a merciless cascading effect.
“Haha. I did it. I successfully kidnapped the newly born baby Mandragora that my parents had planted in a sunny spot!!”
Just approaching a Mandragora can turn the surrounding area into hell, making it notorious among monsters.
Because of this, Mandragoras tend to monopolize the most fertile, dangerous places that a forest’s owner might occupy.
If caught by a 100-year-old Elder Mandragora, every monster in the nearby forest would fear Mandragora’s Voice Transmission and submit to its ecosystem.
“I’m not at the Elder level, but I found the habitat of an Adult Mandragora that hunts monsters while giving up sunny spots to raise its young. It was tough, but I finally found it. Hehe.”
After overcoming a life-threatening crisis through immense effort, Oknodie was genuinely happy to keep the baby Mandragora in the deepest part of the Club Greenhouse.
Just raising this one alone and controlling its growth rate could secure a top spot in the Fourth-Year Graduation Project!
But that happiness was stolen.
Although still in the Third Year, Oknodie was intoxicated with pride over their meticulously planned future, and while absent, their place was robbed.
All other club members’ plants were untouched, but only Oknodie’s Mandragora was stolen.
“Was it you guys? Who else would kidnap my Mandragora if not you?”
“Manager. Would we really raise a plant that could eat its own owner if we were crazy?”
“Such a rare creature would be hard to sell, so why steal it?”
At first, Oknodie suspected the club members but realized their excuses held weight. There was no reason for members of the Plant Club, aware of Mandragora’s dangers, to steal it out of necessity.
“Looks like it’s a First Year. A very small one at that.”
The expensive Fourth-Year student they had hired, who had taken a tour of the office, quickly pinpointed the culprit.
It did not take long for Oknodie to recognize that Oknodie was the thief.
Professor Bronze, the greatest in the world, feigned ignorance about his disciple’s actions, but Oknodie had already caught on that the mentor was trying to cover for the apprentice.
“No, this is actually a good thing. If they don’t sell it, I’ll just raise this dangerous creature for them.”
Oknodie quietly waited for the perfect opportunity.
The chance for the Mandragora to grow enough to just take its fruit could be crafted.
With Second and Third Year students at the ready, Oknodie even devised plans for many students with grudges against Oknodie to grab her feet.
At least three hours.
Oknodie wouldn’t be able to return to the dormitory.
As for the upper-class students living on the First Floor of the First-Year Female Dormitory, many also left to settle things with the guy named Dobi after losing their pet stone, Elizaveta.
“I’ll do it today. Today is the day! I will definitely retrieve the Mandragora!”
Oknodie sweet-talked and coaxed the members into joining the heist.
But a variable occurred.
“Is that really a six-month-old Mandragora? It’s grown like crazy—looks about nine years old!”
The Mandragora had grown so big that it barely fit in the water bottle.
Its roots were so strong that they retaliated at every advance.
While being overpowered is understandable, how could it have such reflexes?
[20. 19. 18]
The ominous countdown echoed in their minds.
Even with defensive spells activated in their ears, they were blocked by the baby Mandragora swinging its roots instead of hearing the screams.
“Focus your firepower!”
[Telekinesis Magic]
[Binding Vines]
[Accelerated Growth]
The three members unleashed their magic, lifting the Mandragora’s roots out of the bottle and binding them with vines, which they then grew tighter around it.
[Causing a Ruckus]
[Random Beating]
“Cough! T-the telekinesis magic is undone… Ugh!”
“Ugh!! The vines were overpowered!”
“Someone stop that root! It hurts so much!”
A Mandragora that defended itself by beating the intruders, not screaming like one would expect!
“Manager, this wasn’t mentioned! How can a Mandragora have this much physical power?!”
“I don’t know, damn it! Undo the defenses and increase the firepower!!”
“What if we end up getting screamed at?”
“Then we’ll be beaten to death first!!”
If they were to fall to the Mandragora’s scream, it would make sense, but being knocked out by its roots and emerging with bruises wouldn’t went over well either.
They didn’t want to become the laughing stock of the whole school, known as the club that got beat by a first-year’s pet plant.
[Unwind Mental Defense]
[Unwind Penetration Barrier]
[Soundproof Barrier Release]
[Vibration Absorption Release]
[Unwind Mental Awakening Mark]
As the defensive spells hung in the air were unleashed and mana flooded back to them, they threw the seed of the freshly pulled plant from their pocket, executing their spells in unison.
[Rapid Growth – Parasitic Flower]
[Vitality Absorption]
[Curse of Forced Weakness]
[Rapid Growth – Thorny Flower]
[Digging In]
[Thorn Explosion]
[Rapid Growth – Straight Flower]
[Kick]
[Stampede]
What once was a gentle pet plant grew wild as members swiftly executed the violent techniques of feral plant monsters from the seeds!
Like the upperclassmen who survived the harsh academy, their dexterity in handling plants was truly remarkable.
“Bite it!”
“Thorn-wave!”
“Stomp-stomp!”
“Goo!”
The baby Mandragora, once rampaging like nobody could stop it, faced a serious challenge.
One of its roots visibly wilted.
The fine roots oozed fluids from the thorns.
Even as it tried to block a kick aimed at the bottle with its body, it was trampled by the enormous feet of Straight Flower and had no resistance whatsoever.
It was almost pitiful how utterly dominated this baby Mandragora was!
“Why isn’t this thing falling over?!”
“It has too much stamina!”
“What do we do, Manager?!”
Despite being joyfully hammered, if it didn’t fall over, it was pointless.
[10. 9. 8]
Even the countdown raced toward its end!
Oknodie gritted their teeth and opened the pouch full of priceless rare materials.
“Everyone, hold your noses!”
[Paralysis Powder]
[Sleeping Powder]
[Confusion Powder]
With a handful of powders, Oknodie swiftly cast the linked spells.
[Throwing Flower Seeds]
[Designated Target: Powder Dispersion]
[Cursing Resistance Reduction]
[Enhancing Potency]
[Forced Amplification]
A technique that raises the likelihood of inflicting status ailments and mercilessly amplifies any that are applied!
Even facing collective oppression from four against one, the Mandragora’s roots finally drooped helplessly.
They did it.
Now, they needed to grab the bottle and all flee within five seconds.
Oknodie was certain of victory!
[AAAAAAAH!!!]
“UAAAHH!!! It’s the Scream of Death!!!”
“We fell for it!!! The physical force was a trap from the Mandragora!!!”
“Waaah!!! I don’t want to die!!!”
Members wept, howling with fear!
Oknodie was horrified, realizing something was off as their head began to spin.
If it were the real Mandragora’s scream, it wouldn’t have the leisure to scream as if the world were ending.
It would crash and foam at the mouth, fainting instead.
This wasn’t the Mandragora’s scream.
Did it sound oddly like a human girl’s scream?
“Wake up! This is Oknodie’s trick! It’s not Mandragora’s scream!”
“Huh? I’m not paralysed even after hearing the scream?”
“I’m not bleeding from my ears either.”
“Didn’t they say it would be a death scream? Why are we still alive? Wait, did someone steal my sympathy while I was asleep?!”
“Snap out of it, you crazy idiot!”
“Ah! I’m awake! Now that I’m aware, don’t hit me!”
Oknodie smacked the back of the confused member’s head, waking them up.
Without knowing the reason, if it wasn’t the true scream, they could just take the Mandragora and leave.
Reaching for the Mandragora, Oknodie suddenly felt a chill at the sound in their ears.
[Countdown zero. Activating lock mechanisms. Activating barriers. Activating multiple defensive devices. Activating voice message.]
The countdown ended.
At that moment, the intricate sigils inside the dormitory began to activate one by one.
[Hestia! Did you forget the security spells and come inside again? You really are a klutz! But if there’s an intruder, I won’t easily let you off the hook.]
[If it’s really Hestia, then you should remember the lunch menu on May 15 when we ate together, right? If you answer correctly, I’ll forgive you.]
“No way, I can barely remember what I ate yesterday! How the hell am I supposed to recall the restaurant menu from so long ago?!”
“Manager, what should we do?”
“When it comes to a First Year’s trap, we should just break through with force. If the scream was fake, so must the countdown and the spells now activating be fake too.”
“It’s not fake.”
“Eh?”
Oknodie’s hands trembled.
“Back in my clueless Second Year, I once tried to sneak into a professor’s lab to steal experimental materials. This security spell looks like something of that level.”
The intricacy of the spell exceeded even that of a Third Year.
This level matched that of a Fourth Year.
“I can’t undo the spell.”
“I don’t know the answer.”
The outcome was clear.
“What do we do?”
“What do we do? It’s too late now. We’re stuck here until the owner returns.”
“Ugh!”
Tears pooled in the members’ eyes.
