"Hey! You there! Are you a player?"

Ren looked over at the group of players. There were . . . many of them. At least, more than fifty if he was counting heads.

They were from Great Dynasty, and he even saw Roni amongst the group. The guy seemed like a distant memory, but since Ren was petty enough, he wouldn't just forget about Roni's debt.

However, Ren had other matters that were more important, so he wouldn't bother with Roni right now.

Besides, based on Roni's gear and constipated face, he looked like he was already suffering without his intervention.

"Hey! I'm talking to you," said Hugo, the leader of the Great Dynasty.

Ren didn't have the time for this. He went on his feet, and Pii curled around his neck. He was about to leave when the group surrounded him.

"I'm asking you a question. Are you a player or NPC?"

"He looked like an NPC?"

"Is he a herbalist? He's carrying one of those bags those guys wore when foraging grass."

"Do you have a quest for us?"

"Rather, we're lost. Do you know the way? Our hunters couldn't seem to find the way out of here."

"It was odd because their beast companions should have sniffed the right paths."

Ren was contemplating whether to kill them all and just get it over with when something piqued his interest.

Beast companions?

Looking around, Ren saw that the Ravagers within their group all had beast companions already, most in the wolves, lizards, and birds category. He was even surprised that they already have Rangers in their ranks, the evolved class of a Ravager.

Ravagers were an advanced class that could now use range weapons like a [Bow] and [Throwing Knives], while a Ranger could set traps to ensnare monsters and beasts. Usually, they were the best class for poaching beasts and sold them to other Hunters as a beast companion.

Ren guessed that there were a lot of things that changed from his one-month absence from the game.

Another thing that piqued his interest was the thing they said . . . their beast companions couldn't sniff out the right path. But they had Rangers in their ranks. Those players should have an advanced tracking set of skills already.

And before Ren could further dissect his hypothesis as to what was going on, they heard rustling sounds around them, and all the plant life that their eyes could see was moving, alive, and making gurgling noises.

They were Numian Plants when Ren used [Probe] on them. They vary in shape and size dependent on the environment in which they grow in. Some were formed of twisting vines cast in a sticky mucus to trap their prey; others grew pitchers with digestive enzymes inside to devour the unwary.

Upon successfully killing them, they would yield [Numian Dew], a liquid that Numian plants use to trap and digest their prey. Due to the dangers that came alongside of gathering it, it was highly prized by botanists and herbalist. Its mildly acidic properties made it a valuable component in many potions.

But one thing was for sure, all Numian plants had one thing in common they were hungry.

Ren equipped the [Monarch Sovereignty] scepter when the Numian plants emitted an alluring scent that could charm any creature within a twenty-meter radius for one minute. But since they were surrounded then, everything was enveloped with pinkish smog, and for a time, none could see what was going on.

It looked like this was an area trap. One in which the Numian Plants attacked in waves and annihilated players if they didn't have any protection against [Charm].

Pii.

"I don't blame you." Ren chuckled and rubbed Pii's chin. Pii was leading him on the right path. That was for sure. But something was hindering the beast's and the Ranger's detection abilities.

"What's going on?"

"What's this?"

"Help!"

"Don't panic! Stay calm! Healers . . . !"

There was utter silence after that. Ren knew that Great Dynasty had succumbed to the Charm spell. Even a mighty army of fifty players strong could be annihilated if they didn't have at least someone who was immune to [Charm] and healed the others.

But it looked like even that strategy was futile since every five seconds or so, another batch of Numian Plants were dancing and puffing out pinkish smog on their carnivorous mouth.

It looks like the only way to survive here was total immunity against [Charm] since even a White Mage wouldn't be able to keep up casting [Cure] to the affected players. They would just be [Charmed] again after seconds.

It was the case for Great Dynasty. They were unprepared, thinking of exploring deeper into Maze Forest without proper research and preparation.

They thought that their Ranger's acquired immunity to different status effect was enough, but they were only two of them in the group. What would they do about the rest of the party? They could either kill the plants or heal the others. There was no in-between and they would suffer the consequences of their action.

Being [Charmed] was akin to being [Stunned]. The only difference was that once charmed creatures could move and attack each other. They could also easily recover when someone attacked them hard enough to wake them up from being charmed.

However, due to the constant puffing of pink smog in the air by the Numian Plants, it was impossible to recover, even if they slapped themselves silly until their cheeks bled.

Dozens of vines burst forth from these plants and grappled every player they could reach. Upon contact the players suffered bludgeoning damage and additional acid damage.

The damage was minuscule against the ATP of the players right now, but once the plants used [Plunge], the grappled players would be dragged into its mouth and lurched them into its acid-filled pitcher-like stomach. Inside they could recover from being charmed because of the acid attack, but it was a whole story if they could get back up or escape its stomach before their HP continuously drained at a fast rate because of its acid.

That was how this plant became deadly. They could reduce a player's 1000 HP to zero in mere seconds.

Now, what to do? Ren thought to himself.