Green Vines

"What's wrong? What happened?"

Moyun quickly covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, warily surveying everything around him.

"We have to get through this fog quickly. It can make people lose their senses. If we don't hurry, we might never get out of here."

Olvia's exposed dark green eyes were filled with intense wariness.

Kuina was still a step too slow. She inhaled a great deal of the mist when she landed, and her legs had gone weak. She could barely stand.

"Are you all right, Kuina?"

"I-I'm having trouble standing."

Seeing that Kuina was about to collapse, Moyun hurriedly caught her. Olvia tore off a piece of cloth from her own clothes and covered Kuina's mouth and nose.

"We should keep moving for now. Kuina probably won't wake up anytime soon in this condition."

"Okay."

Moyun had a constant feeling that something was wrong. This island really was full of danger.

The three of them slowly felt their way forward, only to discover that they could not escape the fog no matter how far they went.

"Is the entire island covered in fog, or have we simply not made it out yet?"

Moyun was carrying a girl who was not exactly light on his back, and they had already been wandering around for an unknown amount of time.

"We probably haven't gotten out. I remember that this fog only covered the outskirts of the island."

Olvia was getting anxious as well. Even though they had covered their mouths and noses, they were still inhaling some of it.

As a result, they could barely even tell which direction they were going.

"Don't worry. We'll get out eventually."

Ten minutes later, they still had not escaped the fog.

"What on earth is going on? We should have gotten out by now."

Olvia was beginning to lose patience too. Since they were already somewhat exhausted, they decided to rest where they were for a while.

"This island is really strange!"

"Yeah. It's even more complicated than when I came here before."

"Interesting."

Moyun did not feel particularly concerned. He was only worried that the fog might harm people's bodies as well.

Kuina had been unconscious for quite a while. If she inhaled too much fog, what would they do if she still could not wake up even after they escaped?

"Olvia, watch out!"

Moyun's pupils suddenly contracted. He noticed a green vine suddenly appearing behind Olvia.

The vine was covered in sharp thorns.

Olvia rolled away from its attack and landed beside Moyun, warily watching the place where she had just been standing.

"What was that just now?"

"I don't know. I've never encountered anything like it before."

Olvia spoke with lingering fear.

"There are more!"

Two vines suddenly emerged from behind Moyun and attacked the two of them.

Fortunately, they had been on guard and managed to dodge.

The place where they had been standing moments ago had already been smashed into a sizable pit. It was clear how much force the vine possessed.

"Not good. Kuina's still here!"

Moyun had placed Kuina on the ground. When the vine realized it could not hit Moyun or Olvia, it began attacking Kuina instead.

"It's pretty clever!"

Moyun darted to Kuina's side and seized the vine with lightning speed.

"Get over here!"

Moyun curled the corner of his lips. He exerted force with his hand and yanked the vine over. At the same time, a small figure was revealed.

This should be the vine's true form.

"Now I want to see what's been causing all this trouble!"

"Help! Help! Don't kill me!"

A small green ball was dragged in front of Moyun.

The ball looked as though many vines had been twisted into a single mass, but it also had a pair of big, dark eyes.

"What kind of thing are you? You were the one causing trouble for us just now, weren't you?"

The Little Dumpling's vines withdrew and transformed into a tiny hand.

Moyun grabbed the hand directly. The Little Dumpling suddenly rose into the air, frightening it into shrieking.

"Put me down! I don't know anything! Please, don't kill me!"

"Quiet!"

"Waaah, I'll never do it again."

The Little Dumpling silently sobbed, looking pitifully at Moyun.

Moyun had inhaled quite a lot of fog while dodging earlier. At this point, he was holding on entirely through sheer willpower.

"I won't kill you. Cough, cough. But you have to lead us out. Otherwise, I'll throw you into the sea in a moment!"

"No!"

The moment it heard about seawater, the Little Dumpling shrieked. It quickly hopped down and looked at Moyun ingratiatingly.

"I'll lead you out. Just please don't throw me away."

The green Little Dumpling stretched one of its tiny hands. It slowly extended it toward Moyun and Olvia, signaling for them to hold on.

"Follow me. I'll take you out."

Moyun and Olvia exchanged a glance before finally choosing to trust the Little Dumpling.

As long as they could leave this place, that was enough. They could not find their way out on their own anyway.

Once the Little Dumpling felt the two of them grab its hand, it darted into the fog. Soon, Moyun and Olvia could no longer see it.

However, they could feel the vine constantly tightening, so they simply followed the Little Dumpling.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Moyun felt that he was nearing his limit as well.

"Damn it. It couldn't be tricking us, could it?"

"I don't know, but I can feel the fog around us slowly thinning."

Olvia did not dare lower her guard in the slightest. She warily watched their surroundings, afraid that something else might suddenly leap out.

Moyun's steps became unsteady. A few minutes later, the fog around them had gradually dispersed.

"Phew. We're finally out."

The place beyond the fog was no different from an ordinary forest, but they still did not dare move around carelessly.

Moyun planned to stay there for a while. At the very least, they had to wait for Kuina to wake up.

Otherwise, what if it became even more dangerous the farther they went in?

Moyun looked at the vine in his hand and sensed that its owner seemed to be trying to escape.

"Come back. I still have some questions for you."

He applied a little force with his hand, and the Little Dumpling was yanked back by Moyun.

"Hey, I already led you out. Just let me go."

"Why are you in such a hurry? We still have some questions for you."

Moyun coughed and slowly took a deep breath. His hazy mind had become slightly clearer.

He smiled at the Little Dumpling. Ignoring the fact that it was prickly, he grabbed it from both sides and lifted it into the air.

"Tell me, what exactly is going on with this island? How did you end up in that fog? And how can someone who inhaled the fog wake up?"

"Um, I'm not telling you!"