An arm that looked like a tree’s roots tore the elf’s chest open, and it grabbed Roy’s right hand. The dim light from the sconce illuminated them, revealing the crimson fluid on the arm, the ferns on it, and the tough husk that looked like it belonged to a root.

Roy’s heart skipped a beat, and he grabbed a bolt with his left hand and tried to stab the elf’s ear, but the hand slammed him in the chest, sending him flying back. Roy tumbled down and rolled around, pain spreading from his chest, and it felt as if his insides had shifted. He struggled to sit up, and to his horror, the hand that had torn the elf’s chest pushed against the ground, forcing the elf’s body to sit up at a terrifying angle.

As the moon’s light sprinkled over the forest, the elf’s body dislocated its jaw, and inside its mouth, an eye peered straight at Roy. A ball of cold flame danced inside it —  a flame that was devoid of any life. A moment later, the elf that had sat up was torn in half, revealing the gigantic leshen in its entirety. After the fight with Letho, the leshen had shrunk to half its size, and it was only standing at five feet tall. Tiny antlers protruded from its head, and a mask made out of a white skull covered its face. Its eyes looked more like eerie blue lanterns, and looking at them sent a chill down Roy’s spine.

Its body and limbs were made out of tree trunks and vines, and they were covered in blood and bodily fluids. More than anything, it looked like a baby that just broke out of its mother’s womb, albeit in a grotesque way.

‘Ancient leshen

Age: 272

HP: 80 (Weakened)

Mana: 120

Strength: 12 ↓

Dexterity: 4 ↓

Constitution: 8 ↓

Perception: 5 ↓

Will: 7 ↓

Charisma: 12 ↓

Spirit: 12 ↓

Skills:

Vine Control Level 6: Expends a small amount of mana to hasten the growth of seeds. Summons durable, strong, and fast vines to attack the target.

Ground Spike Level 6: Elementary level earth spell. Expends a small amount of mana to attack the target with ground spikes.

Beast Summoning Level 7: Charms nature’s beasts with great charisma. The beasts can be summoned at any time to help the user.

Camouflage Level 7: The user may blend itself with the forest if in the required terrain. Allows the user to hide completely.

Mark of the Leshen Level 6: An ancient ritual of blood. A strengthening totem can be constructed after the necessary sacrifices are made.

The Forest’s Murmur Level 7: The user can charm travelers who are lost in a forest, showing them an illusion, brainwashing them into devotion through great charisma.

Child of the Woods (Passive): The user is the guardian of forests and loved by nature. Nature blesses it as gratitude for its service. As long as the user is in a forest, its stamina, mana, and wounds would recover twice as fast.’

***

All the color drained from Roy’s face after reading the details. This is an ancient leshen? Wait, it’s weakened? But it’s still stupidly strong! It’s the strongest monster I’ve seen until now! How am I supposed to fight it? Roy was about to hurl a dimeritium bomb at it, but he realized he used it in the fight against the sorceress.

Shit! He cursed quietly and shot a bolt at the leshen, but as expected, it got stuck in the monster’s hide. Aside from drawing some blood, it did nothing. ‘Leshens are afraid of fire!’ Letho’s reminder rang in his head, and he quickly tossed a bottle at the leshen, coating it in oil. The leshen was still groggy from the recent resurrection, and it didn’t stop Roy. 

But when Roy went for the torch on the wall, the leshen glared at him and put its hands together. “Hontala…” it chanted, and in the very next moment, a thick vine sprouted from the ground and pounced at Roy from behind, coiling his leg. Then it pulled Roy up, suspending him in midair, effectively taking him out of commission.

The blood rushed to his head, stunning Roy, and everything around him spun. To his horror, the vine was already coiling around his whole body, turning him into a cocoon with nothing but his eyes exposed. He was also suffocating from the tightening vine around his neck, and then he was reminded of the nightmare he’d had before coming to Mahakam. That felt oddly similar. Was it trying to tell me about this?

The leshen awkwardly stood up among the flesh and blood, and then it slowly went toward Roy. At the same time, three dwarves showed up behind the monster. Drew and Dave were dragging Kaerwen along by his arms, and when they noticed the monster outside the cave, the dwarves held their weapon tensely.

And when they saw Roy being suspended in midair, they flew into a rage and charged toward the leshen, abandoning their hostage along the way. The leshen was fully focused on Roy, obviously trying to do something to the boy, and so, it was oblivious to the dwarves’ ambush.

When the dwarves’ greataxe and hammer slammed into the leshen, it howled terribly and stumbled forward, but it didn’t fall. However, the leshen’s tough body was injured, and green blood gushed from its wounds.

The leshen’s howls turned into a guttural growl, and it whirled around, slamming the dwarves with its mangled arms. Even though the dwarves were stout and covered in heavy armor, they could move as nimbly as a calico could. They ran around the leshen once, and the moment the leshen’s attack was weakened, they held their weapons before their chest, blocking the attack.

They followed their defense by moving their weapon downward, sliding across its arms, and sparks flew. A moment later, their weapons connected with the leshen’s chest and back, slamming hard into the monster. Two giant cracks formed on the leshen’s body, and blood spurted. Nobody could see it, but Roy noticed the leshen’s HP taking a dip, leaving it with only sixty points.

Roy tried to shout, but all he could do was let out a muffled scream, for the vines were still coiled around him. The dwarves’ attack finally enraged the leshen, and it started chanting once again. It could cast spells at a terrifyingly faster speed compared to any normal sorcerer, and all it took was a split second for it to launch an attack. Most people would fail to find an opening under those circumstances.

The dwarves thought they noticed the leshen’s weakness. It might’ve had great strength, but its reaction and movement speed were slower than a tortoise’s. They circled it with their weapons in hand, their shadows almost a blur. The dwarves looked like a pair of hyenas hunting their prey down on a meadow, waiting for a chance to give the leshen another blow. However, unbeknownst to them, two vines shot up from the ground, ambushing them from below.

The vines coiled around their feet and pulled them back, suspending them in midair. And then, just like Roy, they were turned into a cocoon, but the leshen wasn’t as kind to them this time around. A cruel gleam shone within its eyes, and it raised its hands before putting it down.

The dwarves were suspended further up into the air before slamming headfirst into the ground. A loud thud later, the vines uncoiled the dwarves, revealing Drew and Dave who were out of commission.

***

“Dave, Drew!” Roy shouted, but only muffled sounds came out, and he teared up. “Goddammit!”

An arrow soared through the air, hitting the leshen in the face, embedding itself into the mask. Reagan came out of the dark, but he looked like a mess. His hair was billowing in the air, and his right thigh was bleeding. He was obviously injured in the battle against the elves, but he showed no panic. After the shot hit its mark, he quickly reloaded his crossbow, ready for the next shot.

The torch illuminated the cave, and Roy could see the shadow of a dwarf running toward them, and out came Barney, roaring and raring to fight. He swung his warhammer and slammed it into the leshen’s head. And it howled. Forty HP remaining.

“Mo, ning, ta…” The leshen covered its face and directed its spell at Barney. The air was filled with the stench of soil, and as dust and debris flew into the air, a ground spike higher than ten feet shot up from the ground, forming a wall before the leshen. Barney’s attack was stopped, but he slammed into the wall, failing to stop himself in time.

The ground rumbled, and Barney was taken out from the recoil. He let go of his warhammer, and it fell with a thud. The leshen blocked Reagan’s arrow with its hand, and then it summoned another vine to suspend him in midair.

And with that, the battle was brought to an end. The ground was littered with corpses and the injured, and the only one standing was a relatively petite, bleeding leshen. An arrow was buried in its face, and its chest heaved as it panted. The leshen slowly came up to Roy, only to stare at him in silence. Roy smelled the scent of nature coming from it, but also the stench of blood and the soil.

That’s the smell of a graveyard. Roy closed his eyes and trembled reflexively. Every inch of his body, every vessel, and every vein shivered uncontrollably as he waited for the leshen to pass its judgment. But then he thought about his friends, and a flame of fury welled up within him, trying to consume him. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he struggled to break free. A few moments later, the vines around him uncoiled, but his head and back was pressed down by the leshen, forcing him to bend down with his face touching the ground.

The leshen hunkered down and raised his head, staring into his eyes. Roy saw pity in his eyes, and that pity sucked Roy’s soul into it. “Kneel before me, worship me, make me your god.” Roy heard hundreds of people singing praises around him, and everything around him changed as the leshen showed him an illusion.

Time passed, and Roy left Mount Carbon without Letho by his side. Eventually, he left Mahakam and settled down in a beautiful village, in the middle of nowhere. There, Roy lived his life as a simple farmer who toiled the fields honestly. After he was done with work every day, he’d worship a deer-headed god in the village.

Thanks to that deity, the village enjoyed years and years of prosperity. He lived a satisfying life, and eventually, he got married, had children, and lived a quiet, peaceful life, but one thing never changed. His wife, his children, and his children’s children started worshipping the same god he did, and it went on for generations, even after his death. 

“No! This is all in my mind! It’s fake!” Roy bit his lip, the sharp pain and metallic taste waking him up, and then Letho’s reminder rang in his head again. ‘Leshens will mark its believers so it can revive every time it’s killed.’

Is it trying to mark me? Once that ludicrous idea popped up in his mind, Roy’s struggles became fiercer, but the leshen’s strength proved stronger still. It held Roy down, pinning him deeper against the ground.

A moment later, Roy gave up, his eyes turning unfocused, as if he had relinquished all control, letting the leshen do as it wanted. The leshen felt the change within him, and it lessened its grip on Roy, allowing him to sit up a bit. Then it held Roy’s shoulder with one hand, creating a protrusion with the other. Then it tore through Roy’s clothes, pierced his skin, and started etching its mark with Roy’s blood.

Am I really going to bow to him? Am I really going to be its slave and food? No witcher worth their salt will bow to a monster! Roy’s confusion turned into resolve, and he remembered something sleeping in his inventory space, something he hadn’t used ever since he got it.

I still have a chance! A blob of yellowish, cheese-like stuff appeared in his hand. That was the vomit of the childhunter, an item with the effect of a dimeritium bomb, and even Letho praised the substance.

Roy clenched it tightly and looked up into the leshen’s eyes. His face was contorted with rage, and he broke free of the leshen’s grasp, pushing himself up, slamming his hand against the arrow in the leshen’s eyes, betting everything on that single blow. Roy buried it deeper into the leshen’s head, wanting to crush it and turn it to a pulp.

The leshen stopped etching the mark, and it took a step back, roaring into the heavens. White smoke billowed from its face, as if acid was biting through it. Its body trembled, not unlike branches buffeted by a gale.

Roy finally had complete control of his body, and he stood up before quickly taking the torch from the cave’s wall and tossing it to the leshen. The fire spread throughout the monster’s body once it came into contact with the oil, turning the leshen into one big bonfire. It spread its arms, jumping around the place, howling, begging for its life.

Roy looked at it coldly, his crossbow in hand, his bolt in his mouth, and then he reloaded the crossbow and shot the leshen. Once he was done, he switched places and did the same thing all over again.

The leshen couldn’t get out alive from the flames, for it was weakened, and its magic was sealed. A simple flame could spell the end of it, and a short while later, the leshen’s charred, lifeless body fell with a thud, countless arrows buried in its body.

‘You killed a leshen. EXP +200. New character sheet unlocked.’

But that wasn’t the end of the ordeal. Roy had just heaved a sigh of relief after reading the message, but an impending sense of doom filled him. He bristled and spun around reflexively, grabbing an arrow that appeared out of thin air. Then he used the momentum from the swing to stab backward, and it felt like he pierced something.

Kaerwen held his neck, but he couldn’t stop the blood from gushing out of the wound. His beard was dyed crimson, and he was slowly dying. Kaerwen stumbled backward, but his eyes never shifted from the boy. He hated the boy… No, he despised him, and he felt nothing but rage toward him. Why’d I lose control of my body at the last moment? And what’s that crimson light behind that boy? 

“Y-you s-scum!” Kaerwen murmured, and those became his last words. His short sword fell from his hand, and his expression froze as he fell with a thud.

He didn’t want to die that way, but fate had dictated otherwise.

‘You killed Kaerwen Hoger. EXP +20.’

***

Roy plopped down onto the ground. His body and soul were ravaged by exhaustion and pain, but he had a job left to do, and he tensed up. “Barney! Dave! Drew! Reagan! You guys okay?” He stared down and started to sob, but a moment later, someone stirred.

“Relax.” Reagan coughed. “We’re tough, so something like that can’t kill us.” It took all he had to push himself up.

“Get them up for me.”

They quickly checked on the other dwarves and heaved a sigh of relief.

“They’re alive. Unconscious, but still alive.”

“But Kaerwen’s dead. This could be a problem.” Reagan held Barney up and pressed against Barney’s philtrum.

“I killed him, so I’ll take the blame,” Roy decided. “I’m not a resident of Mount Carbon, so it’s not like Elder Brovar can do anything once I leave.”