Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended [Part Two]

CHAPTER 212: Roots of the Unseen - A Fight Against Time

A barrage of razor-sharp seeds erupted, slicing through the air like bullets. Daisuke's daggers became a blur, intercepting the deadly projectiles midair. Sparks flew as metal clashed against hardened seed.

But there were too many.

He ducked, spun, sidestepped, deflected—his form a whirlwind of motion, each step keeping him alive.

In a moment of desperation, he yanked the Ironhide Bulwark shield from his inventory and slammed it forward. The shield absorbed the next volley, seeds ricocheting off its surface like gunfire.

But there was no time to breathe.

He wasn't safe yet.

The Treant roared, swinging its axe-arms with terrifying speed.

Daisuke vaulted over one, barely dodging the second. The air howled as he twisted, deflecting a vine strike with his shield while launching a single, large magic missile. The glowing projectile streaked forward, exploding into a cluster of Seedreapers.

A scream.

His heart lurched.

"KYAAAA!"

Tiphanna slammed into a tree trunk. Her wooden charm shattered against the bark.

She fell.

Desperately, she clawed for a branch—missed. Another. She crashed through it, her body tumbling through the air.

Why isn't she using wind magic to slow her descent?!

Daisuke's mind reeled.

But he couldn't stop moving. If he hesitated, he was dead.

Just before she hit the ground, a vine coiled around her torso—tightening like a noose.

For a split second, relief flickered in Daisuke's chest.

Then he saw where the vine led.

It wasn't the Treant's.

Something else lurked in the undergrowth.

"HAXKS!"

Tiphanna's scream shattered his thoughts. Her hands stretched toward him, desperate, pleading.

"Tiphanna!"

Daisuke lunged.

He slashed through another storm of bullets, shoved past a thrashing vine, and reached for her—

Their fingers brushed.

Then—

CRACK!

A vine the size of a tree trunk slammed into Daisuke's side.

The world spun.

He crashed through a tree, pain exploding through his body as he tumbled to the ground. His daggers slipped from his grasp.

Through the haze of dust and agony, he saw her.

Tiphanna—dragged into the shadows, vanishing into the dense forestry.

His breath came ragged. His blood roared.

He forced himself up, blood cascading down the side of his face.

The Treant loomed above, its crimson eyes burning. The battlefield raged around him—vines lashing, Seedreapers shrieking, axes gleaming with impending death.

None of it mattered.

Flames coiled around his daggers once more.

"You're not taking her. Not while I'm still breathing."