Chapter 9: A Different Kind of Test

Chapter 9: A Different Kind of Test

Kai kept his sword sheathed as he sprinted the remaining distance. Understanding the battle could be more important than entering it, especially because he couldn't be certain the humans were his allies. Four candidates about his age, all looking local to Monskon City. No, five - another one had been smashed into the ground, unconscious or dead.

His spiritual senses were a bit overwhelmed with all the rapidly moving fighters, but he could pick up a few things. Three out of the four had awakened their Classes, probably that very morning. The fact that they were having so much trouble against this monster was a bad sign.

That monster made him pause. From a distance he'd just seen branches and vines attacking them and figured it was some sort of monster tree. Now that he got up close, he could see that the humanoid form was merged with the center of the tree. It looked like the upper half of a voluptuous woman with bark-shaded skin and green hair. He still couldn't identify her, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was controlling the tree, even before she waved a hand and sent out another fist of branches.

One of the candidates was running toward the trunk, shielded by some sort of shell of blue mana. Whatever the shell was, the wooden fist punched straight through and sent him flying. Since Kai still hadn't drawn his sword, he was able to catch the man before he hit the ground.

"Thanks." The other candidate wiped some blood from his face as he briefly examined Kai. "I don't know who you are, but if you help us, we'll share the reward."

"Just what is this thing?" Kai asked as he drew his sword.

"No idea, but it's guarding a chest there. Look out for the vines, and it can also make roots grow from anywhere..."

Though the other man kept talking, Kai stopped listening to him when he saw the treasure. The wooden chest by the base of the tree looked like it could have come out of a children's story book. Nobody he knew would keep anything in a chest like that... now that he looked closer, it didn't even have a lock. Most likely the leaders had placed it as a reward for overcoming the challenge, but the oddity made Kai hesitate and look at the creature more carefully with his spiritual vision.

Name: ???

Total Power: 39

Dryad Class: 10

Soul Level: 3

>

For one second he was puzzled, then the next he realized that he'd been an idiot. He looked up to try to call to the others, but the person he'd been talking to was already running in again. Vines immediately lashed out at him, but that had only been a distraction.

A young woman in red robes leapt over her ally, both her hands burning with dark mana. It looked like she'd intended to grab the humanoid in the trunk, but she didn't get close. Several of the upper boughs bent lower, sweeping her out of the air and into some of the other fighters.

Kai spotted one of the others remaining at a distance, gathering mana. It was the man who had reached the shrine before him the previous day and become a Flamecaster, and it looked like he had developed his control significantly since then. Before he could fire, Kai ran in his direction.

"Wait!" he called. "Use your spiritual sight!"

"Probably not. You know what's south of Goralia?"

"I thought it was just wilderness."

"More or less, but some of us live there. I'm from far, far to the south." The dryad let out a long yawn and pushed herself up a little to look at him, which made clear that she was wearing nothing but leaves. "Humans are always running around, hacking and burning things. It's very disruptive."

Kai swallowed, unsure where to take that. Eventually he glanced down toward the chest. The treasure chest. "If we weren't supposed to fight you, then what about that treasure? Was it just bait?"

"Oh that. You only have to ask for it without attacking me. Why don't you go take a look?"

He approached the base of the tree carefully, expecting to be swatted at any moment, and knelt down next to the chest. Now that he looked up close, he saw that the wood had an almost identical appearance to the rest of the tree, but wasn't attached to the dryad. There was an ordinary enough hinge, so he opened the lid. All that it contained was a cushion with three pills atop it.

No, seeds. The pale green spheres radiated mana like strengthening potions, but he felt certain that they were alive. So there was a reward after all.

"Do I take one of these?" he asked. The dryad looked over his shoulder and blinked a few times.

"You know, I'm not sure. If you take them all, I can go to sleep, so why don't you do that?"

"Thank you." Kai took the three seeds carefully, but even up close he couldn't make anything of them, with spiritual or normal vision. "Can you tell me what these are?"

"Mana seedlings." The dryad answered as if she expected him to understand that, and when he obviously didn't, sighed and went on in a lower voice. "They will enhance your growth, but only under specific circumstances. You should eat one of them before you enter a dangerous situation. If you're having trouble developing, it could help you over the obstacle."

"Should I save them for when I get stuck, then?"

"They'll probably grow less effective the stronger you become. These are for seedlings, after all." She patted him absentmindedly on the head and then settled back onto her branch. "I guess you aren't so bad, but I'm tired of talking now."

That seemed to be the end of the conversation as far as she was concerned. Kai thanked her a few more times and backed away. The seeds burned in his palm the entire time, emitting huge amounts of mana. He'd heard of items like this, and it wasn't surprising that they'd be placed within the Hunter Trials, but he hadn't expected to find any so soon.

As he walked away, Kai considered his options. He placed two of the mana seedlings into a very secure pouch within his sack, where they'd be safest. The last he kept in his hand, both in case it was necessary and to think about it. His gut instinct was to save them, but the dryad had said they'd be less useful that way. Picking the right time to use them would be difficult.

He'd lost several hours in his early travels, but the majority of the second day still stretched before him. It probably made sense to use all three mana seedlings during the Hunter Trials, so he just needed to figure out when the most "dangerous situations" would be. The trials were intended to push them to their limits, so opportunities were sure to come up, he just didn't want to waste the seedlings on a trick like the dryad.

Less than an hour later, Kai spotted a cloud of dust on the horizon. He shielded his eyes and made out a group of the monster boars: only about half the group, and not including the largest. They weren't moving toward him, so he could simply let them run on.

Instead, Kai swallowed the first of the mana seedlings and ran into battle.