Chapter 289: Bullying a Tree

Legends say that on Floor 23, there was a tranquil and serene forest. It was the perfect place to find inner peace and was filled with beauty. 

There really was one, but the peaceful atmosphere was shattered by the loud sound of an animal getting slaughtered violently—at least that's what it sounded like. 

— Screech!!— 

"Oh, c'mon! I barely touched you, and you know it! What kind of tree is this soft?! You're a disgrace to your ancestors!" Yes, Josh was currently bullying a tree. 

Hearing this was very peculiar, but seeing Josh in action was even more disturbingly memorable.

He was facing an onslaught of branches swinging his way akin to thousand of deadly demonic snakes! Anyone would have been livid, but not this man. He was fucking grinning! 

He had figured out the crux of this monster: 

1. It couldn't be cheesed solely with ranged attacks thanks to its defensive mode. It would just become pretty much unkillable and would regenerate its HP too. 

2. At close range, it was an impressive killing machine. It made one feel like they were facing an entire army. Not only did the branches move quickly, but their pattern would be highly unpredictable. 

3. Clearing this would usually require a party working together in harmony. Someone would attract its attention while the others would remain a distance away and blast it to oblivion, preferably with fire magic. 

All things considered, this was a hazardous monster to face solo… and yet Josh was having fun. He could be seen right in the creature's face as he chopped branches, poked its sturdy body, and …licked its bark?! 

Yes, the man was at blank range and was drinking the tree's sap in satisfaction?! Then, he would twist his body, evading sure death. Was such reckless behavior even worth it? 

But, the tree was far from done! It slowly elaborated a death trap for this pesky creature. It didn't know why, but it hated the man to the bone and understood that it had to rid the world of this evil— not that it could articulate its thoughts. 

Josh slowly saw it all coming. But, there was a difference between observing it and being able to react in time. The tree believed that its victory was close as its branches were about to pierce the invader. But then, something weird happened. 

Josh accelerated in a sudden charge! He had so much speed that he avoided all the attacks like a goddamn ninja! He couldn't help but laugh out loud as he felt his body go through the incredible motion. 

— ZOOOM!! — 

But, his fun was short-lived, for this thing was more complex than it seemed, and harder to control! Without being able to veer, he crashed right into a nearby tree, making it tremble. 

— CRASH!! —

For a few minutes, he lay on the ground, just trying to recuperate. Many of his bones were broken!

He couldn't but chuckle. If he were to write an autobiography, should he include this part too? Remember, kids, be careful when speeding— actually don't speed at all! 

As he got back up, he was ready for round two. This time around, he would make sure that his landing would be more graceful. After all, this faux pas had allowed his enemy to heal entirely. 

Josh and the tree both had a point in common: their healing capabilities. He would have to make sure to press the attack not to allow it to return to its peak form. Funny how back on Earth, this single ability would have been enough to join the X, Y or Z-Men. 

This time around, he engaged and disengaged promptly with great control. His challenge was to minimize the number of unnecessary movements. He felt like he was back on the rift, heading in and out of tower range to harass the enemy champions. 

It was all a question of distance, distance, and distance! Why was it so important? 

- The length of the branches was constant, and he had to remember the attack range. 

- The range at which it switched to defensive/regeneration mode was another distance to keep in mind. 

- Then there was the distance at which he could drink the delicious sap after every critical hit. It surprisingly reminded him of honey for some reason. Okay, maybe this one was a tiny bit less relevant. 

After a while of playing, Josh finally managed to take the creature down. It only took him so long because he trained his reaction speed with the unfortunate monster toward the end. Had the poor thing even realized how pitiful its ending had been? 

Now, what was he supposed to do? Josh inspected the corpse of the creature: there were many cords of wood in there! Sadly, it didn't look like anything was happening…

Just as he was lamenting his lack of luck, a green light rose up from the wood and flew toward the sky. Then a few seconds later, this showed up.

[Killed a protector. The player is now considered evil by the dryad faction.] 

[Temporarily acquired the status: the scent of evil.] 

[Mission: follow the clues and find all the dryads!] 

Wow. Why would it matter if they considered him evil or not? They already wanted to kill him thanks to that BS Greenwood Lord curse! Talk about ridiculous! Was the system expecting him just to take their onslaught lying down?

One could have argued that he could have been the bigger man and just left since a tree couldn't move. Yeah, screw this! He was still angry at being ambushed, but it was just a detail. 

Just as he was lost in his thought, he suddenly felt something! There was killing intent targeting his position?! No, many different intents! Chances were that there was a monster in the enemy's midst that could use scouting magic or something similar.

But then he had another surprise. Those angry newcomers were moving toward him as if he were a beacon showing them the light in the darkness. To put things into perspective, Josh was akin to a furry on an anti-furry board, aka a clear target! 

Except…why were they so slow?! He could only shrug as he resolved to take a nap. Luckily, the ground was full of luscious grass that felt soft to the touch and very comfortable. As expected of a Floor with dryads! 

He slowly closed his eyes, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere…

Creator's Thought

I really don't suggest drinking sap from the Tower trees directly, at least without possessing a gluttony bloodline. One could end up in a pretty terrible condition. But for anyone that is wondering, picture honeyed water, with berries and an aftertaste of mysterious grass.