Empirica #9

Their journey around the island continued and they had collected various things ranging from undiscovered herbs, carnivorous plants and many different types of unique things growing from the trees.

The bungee grass along with some other plants had built up various kinds of resistances and the bungee grass was in fact resistant to fire but was not dangerous if exposed to a flame as Alyssia had warned.

It truly was a place that was full of rare and beautiful things but had many dangers within that were not within the realms of normal.

Many strange plants had been encountered and were dealt with and they had made their way to the bottom of a mountain.

There was no human made slope or steps to aid them so they had to navigate the natural landscape.

Some more difficult areas required mountain climbing so they each had a difficult task ahead of them.

After resting up at the bottom of the mountain, they had started to climb together which was a great bonding experience.

If anyone was falling behind or had made a mistake, there were others to catch them and wait for them.

When they had failed to ration their supplies, there were some that shared a small portion of their own with them.

When the cold was too much, they shared a blanket or huddled together.

They had reached halfway and still had a long way to go.

The mountain peak seemed to disappear past the clouds and it seemed like they had travelled a long way but still had a long way to go.

Val played the biggest role as she had many different features built into her for all kinds of different roles so she had been fast to catch anyone that lost their grip when they were climbing.

Even mountain climbing gear was included within the tools as there were some tools that were similar to picks, wires, ropes and other useful things.

They did not know that their first part of the journey was nothing compared to what they would experience next.

Alyssia was surveying the area and had come across many tangled barbed vines which were not connected to anything.

They had a very strange appearance that it almost looked familiar to her. "Does such a strange thing really exist?"

She had seen a couple of small animal bones which were around some of the barbed vines which showed how strong and deadly they were if they wrapped around anything.

They were only small to medium sized animals which were not that strong or could compare to those with her but she quickly realised the impending danger that was coming if her thoughts were in line with what she had briefly imagined.

Her gaze became serious as she spoke. "You guys should really be extra careful once we start approaching the peak. Even the smallest thing can put your lives in danger when you are up in such a high place. A single mistake could mean your end."

Alyssia came to realise why the Green Cloaks had sent them to various places very quickly and it was actually very obvious.

Anyone that entered those areas died and it was very rare for a survivor to make it back.

Even if the Green Cloaks did have some information from those that survived, they did not have the confidence and enough information to provide their safe entrance and exit.

Alyssia and the others were sent to their deaths so that the Green Cloaks could live on as they had done before.

It was their duty to keep out outsiders and remove any threats so that was all they were doing by giving her the task.

They had kept their end of the deal to preserve the lives of their group and to stop word from spreading about there being outsiders on the island.

It would never be truly known if there were spies from within the walls among them so it was not safe for them to let word spread among their people and they had to prevent another appearance of Alyssia and her group.

They were about two thirds of the way up when a big change had happened on the mountain.

Those with Observation Haki were faster to notice it and Alyssia had given up climbing naturally using only her body and no tools then jumped into the air to get a better look.

Once she saw the strange scene, her eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my god.. this is crazy! How dangerous! Who thought of making this must have been a lunatic and if it had been a natural thing then that is so silly.. ahem! Guys! There are some things coming down your way. Do not let them touch you!"

There was a very warning and stern tone in her voice as she spoke to them due to the danger they would be in if those barbed vines had wrapped around their bodies which they were trying to climb the mountain.

Anyone without tools to secure them in place or the ability to use Moon Walk would soon fall to their deaths and even those with the most sturdy of bodies would suffer some kind of injury.

They were not Kaido who had an inhuman physique, Haki and a mythical type Zoan to boost their endurance so that they could remain unharmed when they fall from great heights.

Even Archie who had the toughest body which had been further improved due to his Sulong bloodline limit being unlocked would suffer some harm from falling from such a height.

There were strange spring like noises which came from above their heads and there were many which were approaching at a fast speed as if they were descending the mountain at a fast pace without halting a single moment.

What came into their view were many barbed vines which were shaped like a spring.

As they had begun to appear in the sight of everyone, Alyssia begun to hum to herself as she sung some lyrics in her mind. "Hm. Hm hm. Hm hm hm." 'Who walks the stairs without a care. It shoots so high in the sky. Bounce up and down just like a clown. Everyone knows its Slinky.'

Chaos descended upon them as the newly identified vines had begun to fall off the edge of the mountain side and headed towards those that were climbing up the side of it.

It very closely resembled the helical spring toy of her old world which was known to perform a number of tricks including travelling down a flight of steps as it would stretch and re-form itself with the aid of gravity and its own momentum, or appear to levitate for a period of time after it has been dropped.

The only difference was that the vines had tiny barbs on them that cut into the flesh the more they tangled anything.

Once the slinky vines had become tangled and disordered, they would be difficult to put back to once they once were unless someone knew how to fix it just like the original slinky but nobody would have enough free time to free themselves and untangle it when they were so high up.

A seemingly harmless slinky vine which could hardly he used to harm an animal or human in ordinary circumstances.

Right away as they had appeared, everyone gripped onto the rocks and swung their bodies to the nearby places they could grab ahold of as they moved out of the way.

There were some pieces of rock which had been knocked loose and had rolled down along with the slinky vines.

There was a lot of variety in the sizes and thickness of each of the Slinky Vines so they were difficult to adjust to right away as they fell.

Yvie had been slower than the others and was scratched on her leg a little as it passed by her. "Ugh.."

"Wow.. that was troublesome but that should be over right?"

"Hah.."

"So annoying."

Alyssia interrupted them. "Look alive maggots.. you have not seen anything yet."

They began to gulp as they heard those words and then another wave of them had come afterwards as they climbed a little higher.