Chapter 231: Natural Enemy

231 – Natural Enemy

I head towards the human presence, slowly advancing while being careful to not make a sound. It might just be for my own peace of mind, seeing as body’s so massive, but it’s a matter of feeling. That’s why, when my partner swings her head to and fro, it doesn’t bother me. It absolutely doesn’t bother me.

“Gaah! Gaah!”

…This girl, is there no way for me to separate from her? If I remember correctly, if you cut an earthworm in half, both halves can keep moving. Can’t we do something along those lines? After chopping off her neck, I’ll use [Soul AppendmentFake Life]… Nah, I don’t really wanna try it.

As I get closer, I am able to distinguish two human presences, as well as the faint presence of something else. I sense excitement from the two humans. Could they be fighting a monster? If that’s the case, I need to hurry.

I don’t want to see humans get slaughtered in front of me, and I still owe the Lithovars for their tribute.

I look behind me. The wight, who’s been following along, suddenly stops.

“Guoh…”

I point to a spot on the ground, trying to convey “wait here” to the wight. She looks in the direction of the humans and nods her head. I don’t know if it’s thanks to the [Servant of the Evil Dragon] skill, but I’m glad that all it takes is a gesture for my intention to get through. Though I’m a little nervous about leaving the wight by herself…

I scratch a nearby large tree with my claw. I don’t want to use [Soul AppendmentFake Life] meaninglessly, but it’s necessary to use it to make a guard for the wight. The little treant had the [Servant of the Evil Dragon] title skill. If I gave it an order, it would’ve had to obey.

Hey partner, can you turn this tree into a monster?

“Guah!”

She nods her head and cries out. A black light covers the tree… But after the light clears, the tree hasn’t changed.

So far we’ve only tested it on flesh, bone, and saplings… A fully grown tree is probably a bit too much. It might be a problem of the skill level.

…Just leaving the wight here would be a bit too dangerous. I haven’t got the time to experiment everything, so should I go with hiding the wight in my mouth? But then, in the worst case scenario, if the wight were to be seen it would be just begging for a huge misunderstanding. If someone were to see me spitting a skeleton out of my mouth and then I were to say “It’s a mistake! I wasn’t eating them, it’s for their protection!”, there’s no way anyone would believe me. I’d run away crying.

But yeah, if it becomes a serious incident, I’d definitely regret it. For the time being, I’ll make sure to never open my mouth. It’ll be ok, right?

“Gaaaah!”

My partner lets out a much more powerful roar than before. A flood of black light smothers the entirety of the tree.

The tree’s bark distorts, transforming into a face. Its thick roots pull up, cracking the ground. As expected, the scale of it is way greater than the saplings.

“Gishaaaaah!”

The tree smashes the ground with two of its branches, letting out a loud shriek. Several of its leaves tear off and scatter into the air.

To turn something massive into a monster, you need a corresponding amount of magic power it seems. With my amount of magic power, that shouldn’t be a problem… So I think, anyway.

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

Species: Lesser Treant

Condition: Cursed

Lv: 1/25

HP: 25/25

MP: 20/20

Attack: 15

Defense: 22

Magic: 20

Speed: 10

Rank: D

Characteristic Skills:

[Darkness Attribute: Lv -]

Resistance Skills:

[Physical Resistance: Lv 2]

Normal Skills:

[Take Root: Lv 3] [Clay: Lv 2] [Rest: Lv 1]

Title Skills:

[Servant of the Evil Dragon: Lv -]

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

It’s stronger than the wight, but will this be enough? After making a stronger monster, I’ll…

The wight pokes my leg. Hmm? What is it?

I bring my head closer to the wight’s. She points in the direction of the humans.

The Lithovar people were the wight’s friends when she was alive. She might have clued into something about them instinctively.

“Guoh”

I look away from the wight and focus on the newly-created treant. I’m counting on you with the wight.

“Gishaaaaah!”

That got through… right? Its branches shift, but it doesn’t attack.

I start moving towards the human presences, repeatedly looking back behind me. As I get closer, I start to hear the sounds of people battling a monster. A feeling of cold runs down my spine. Somehow this sensation feels familiar. I quicken my pace.

“Rei, Guvei, Jesu!

“Haih! Iyaaah! Seyah!

The humans were without a doubt, Lithovars. There’s a man with a long, decorated spear and one of the shrine maiden girls who brought me the tribute. The girl closes her eyes and chants some sort of incantation.

It seems my hunch was right. What the large man was fighting was indeed one of those mysterious bugs, an abyss.

“VeeEEE!”

The abyss wriggles its eight irregular legs, circling around the large man. As always, it’s body is unpleasant and it’s movements creepy.

The abyss is a C-rank monster; they’ve done a good job keeping up with it. It should be a bit stronger than Hagan, but a lot weaker than Adofu. I thought that spear looked a bit strangely long, but it might be just the right length for fighting an abyss.

From what God’s Voice has told me, abyss eat by hunting prey smaller than their self. If their numbers are high, they’d be a major threat to the Lithovars.

“Kuvei! Kuvei! Reitsu!”

With the shrine maiden-like girl’s shout, the abyss pauses unexpectedly.

Just as I thought the abyss is going to make a run for it, it suddenly appears behind the large man. The man swings his spear in a large arc. The tip of the spear strikes a fang of the abyss with the full centrifugal force of its movement. I might not have been able to react in time if I was in his place.

“Jesu! Jesu!”

Together with the girl’s voice, the man repeatedly stabs his spear into the the taken aback abyss. The abyss quickly distances itself from the man with zig-zagging movements and disappears into the undergrowth. As ever, its movements are disgusting. Perhaps relieved by its retreat, the man thrusts his spear into the earth. Behind him, the abyss silently appears.

“Guveih!”

Alerted by the girl’s shout, the man reaches for his spear in a panic, turning around. This was dangerous timing. I leap out from the forest and crush the abyss under my forefoot.

“Vebuh…vu”

An ochre-yellow liquid spurts from its mouth, its limbs flailing wildly. The sensation of it wriggling beneath my forefoot is gross. I press down with more weight. Its legs stop moving, more liquid spurting from its back.

【126 experience points have been acquired. 】

【Due to the Title Skill [Walking Egg: Lv -], an additional 126 experience points have been acquired. 】

… I did it with my bare hands.

“Gaa…”

My partner lets out a sorrowful cry, sounding as if she were lamenting the end of the world. I also want to cry. I rub my hand against the ground, trying to remove as much of its body fluids as possible.

Damn it, damn it, it’s not coming off. It smells like boiled stink bugs.

“D-dragon-god-sama…?”

The man looks up at me with his mouth hanging open. His spear falls to the ground with a sound. Startled by the sound, he opens his eyes wide and stoops into a bow, fumbling for his spear.

I-if you humble yourself that much, I’ll be the one put on the spot. Rather, I’m starting to get nervous.