MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

"W-what did those bastards do to you?!", Jack cried out.

Pumpkin Girl was in the middle of the room, but she was a prisoner! Her body was stuck in a large wriggling mass of seaweed-looking things….What the fuck was that?!

She was in a coma with a large gemstone in her chest, the whole thing looking extremely unnatural!

"Woo!" (It's eating her!)

The little wolf instantly realized what was happening. They had to quickly act while she was still alive! Without regard for its safety, it rushed toward her.

At its side was his master. Fueled by sheer rage, he even overtook him! Never had Moon Moon seen its master as angry as he was now.

"Get off her, you weird plant abomination!"

But as they approached, the mass seemingly came alive. Whatever the thing was, it didn't want to share its snack! It was hellbent on stealing all her life force.

He finally reached the damn thing.

< Sentient Seaweed Amalgam! LV 55! :droplet::leaf_fluttering_in_wind:>

Level 55?! He would have expected it to be stronger, but this was good news. He generated a sharp wind blade, sending it flying toward the creature.

The thing seemingly realized what this was, suddenly grouping tons of seaweeds together to form a protective shield. The attack landed, and…nothing. No effect whatsoever!

With this shield, it'd easily be able to block ranged attacks. But this simply meant they had to get even closer! "Moon Moon, close quarter! Make sure to dodge!"

That's when they entered the monster's range.

— SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! —

It made deadly whips out of seaweeds, swatting at them. Getting caught would mean suffering the same fate as Pumpkin Girl. Mistakes were utterly unforgivable!

Jack ducked, flipped over the vines, and even slid alongside them. Since the floor was covered by about a meter of water, sometimes he'd downright surf!

The two could sense the creature's aura: it was as angry as puzzled. How did the invader keep avoiding its strikes?!

"Bitch please, you have the same attack pattern as our bushes at home!"

Of course, that was quite an exaggeration, but it worked well as a taunt. Jack wanted to make sure it kept focusing on him as it had so far.

He made it farther and farther….just a few meters away from the enemy. But the last meters were the most challenging. There was absolutely no time to dodge!

It wasn't a matter of skills but raw specs. He simply couldn't compete with the plant's multiple appendages, and the thing freaking knew it.

But it had forgotten one vital detail….

"WOO!!!!" (DIE!!)

A fiery sun suddenly pounced at the creature's back. Moon Moon's sneak attack landed straight on the seaweed, burning large chunks of it. Success!

Now all that remained was to….SLAP! The poor wolf was bitch-slapped away, but it had left an incredibly huge dent in the creature's defenses! Perfect!

Jack raced forward, reaching the monster, slicing the last tendrils in his way. She'd be safe and— No! Something was wrong, hella wrong!

Just as he was about to save her, his face distorted, horror flashing on it. He didn't linger and retreated at full speed.

That's when he began mumbling as if having lost his mind. "Why? Why?! Why!!"

"Woo?!" (What happened?!)

The little wolf was utterly confused: its master had been about to succeed! An invisible barrier, perhaps? It looked at Jack for answers….

"It fused with her. That bloody thing fused with her! If we recklessly cut her out, she'll die." He solemnly explained, the little wolf gasping and whimpering.

How cruel! What kind of sinister tragic plot was this? The hero rushing to save the princess in distress, only for his ignorance to be her downfall…

Jack glared at the empty air with killing intent.

[T-This System Is Totally Innocent!]

[Bonus XP Awarded! Bonus….!]

Whatever. He had more important business to attend to. What could he even do in such a situation?! A few ideas flashed through his mind:

1. Pull her out of it incredibly slowly

2. Use a magical artifact to supplement her lost vitality

3. Have a man-to-plant discussion with the seaweed abomination

4. Trap her soul with a necromancy spell, sending himself on a crazy resurrection mission

There really were many options…but they were all equally fucking bad! He was lacking time, resources and had already angered the damn thing!

As for the necromancy option? It was perhaps the worst! He could have tried it for anyone else, but her specialty was Life Magic! Her very existence would resist the spell!

What kind of shitty challenge was this?!

Actually, there was one last option, one he had unconsciously ignored at the beginning. He could always do nothing.

They could simply walk away, leaving her to be feed for the seaweed monstrosity. Given her Life Magic potential, the bloody creature would probably take an eternity to milk her out.

It would slowly savor every last drop of her vitality while she remained trapped and unconscious. She'd remain alive…but for how long? And could this even be called living?

"Woo?!" (What should we do?!)

"I don't know, Moon Moon, I don't know…."

The little wolf could sense the sorrow in its master's voice. This feeling of helplessness was the worst, especially given how close they were! This freaking sucked…

To add insult to injury, the abomination began to sway as if to taunt them happily. A second later, it started humming as if a crystal resonating. It was alerting the guards!

They had to leave, and now! As soon as the guards came to investigate, they'd be detected, and it'd be the end. Either they'd increase security or move Pumpkin girl entirely!

Jack reluctantly turned his back, ready to leave…but then he stopped. His head told him it was the best course of action, and yet…

"No. If we leave now, there's no guarantee we'll be able to save her later. She wouldn't want to live like that…." He sighed heavily.

"Woo?!" (Yes, for sure!)

"Here's what we'll do…."

The more the little wolf heard and the crazier the plan sounded. This was less of a rescue plan and more of a suicide one, leading to permanent death!

As a loyal companion, Moon Moon had no choice but to advise its master… They were freaking doing it! Danger? Death? Calamity? It was Pumpkin Girl they were talking about!

Without her, who would cook?! Who would pat their heads?! Who would play fetch with them?! No one! No one would! Pumpkin Girl > Infinite

"Woo!" (For Pumpkin Girl!!!)

For a second, even the creature was baffled by their recklessness. But then it fought back even harder than before. This time it knew to watch out for the wolf!

Every meter they managed to cross was fraught with their sweat and blood, the monster slowly but surely chipping away at their HP.

At this rate, they'd die way before they could accomplish anything relevant! Actually, what were they even trying to do?! Had they finally decided just to kill her?!

The two kept going, and just as they were entering the killing zone…

— BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! —

Jack threw countless consumables at the thing. It would barely do any damage, but the explosions would be enough to disrupt the enemy's weed swinging.

"Now, Moon Moon!" Just a little more!

A geyser of fire erupted from the ground. The wolf's finisher move was used to clear the remaining last shreds in the way, Jack finally reaching her.

But even now, he couldn't take her out. What was even the point?! The monster sensed his struggle, bringing its vines back to slaughter him.

All he did was embrace his lover's soft body…That was it?! This was the task he would be perishing for?! What kind of bullshit was this?!

But instead of panicking, he began whispering in her ear.

"I know you're in there somewhere. This thing fused with you, and it's way too powerful, but you can do something about it from the inside…."

"Can you hear me? Follow my voice, and rip that fucker's sentience to pieces. I believe in you. You got this…."

"…But if you don't, I can't imagine a better place to die. Well, I would have preferred you not in a coma, you know, but still…."

His motivational speech quickly turned into incoherent ramblings. This was the last attempt of a madman that couldn't let go… as beautiful as pitiful.

"I can't do much, but hopefully this will help…." Resplendent purple energy traveled from his heart to his hand, soon sinking into her.

Jack gave a bright smile… and turned lifeless, his soul entirely gone.

[S-Soul T-Transfer D-Detected?! This Shouldn't Be Possible?!]

[This Won't Just Affect the Game!! Error! Error!]

[Booting Up Emergency Protocol! Failure?!]

Jack was gambling, the craziest gamble of all. He was offering his existence to his beloved for her to use as a weapon.

He had set everything up for one crazily violent inner consciousness fight. She'd have to go against the psyche of a creature many times her level…her chances were slim at best.

Were she to fail, the consequences would be disastrous for his account. He was sure of it! But so what? This was his choice, one made possible by his latest "soul" transformation.

The seaweed monster watched with stupefaction, the system kept generating error messages, and a little wolf peacefully watched it all happen.

Why worry? This was Pumpkin Girl they were talking about! It happily coiled on the ground for a nap.

But an hour later, it was suddenly awoken by a mighty roar. The monster was back and even stronger than before, its vines extending in all directions.

A lone tear streamed down Pumpkin Girl's cheek, and then…KACHA! The gem embedded in her chest shattered into thousand pieces.

Did this mean they had failed?!

"Woo?!" (Oh, Crap!)