Chapter 226

226 – Little Treant

“Gaah gaah!”

After reviving the wight with a use of [Soul AppendmentFake Life], my partner starts to show interest in the remains of the abyss . I try to get her to stop, but it seems she really wants to try and eat it . She must be really hungry . I attempt to leave, but she resists, making it difficult to walk the way I want to, so I end up approaching it .

Fearfully, my partner brings her head close to the abyss’ corpse and sniffs it . Scrunching her eyes closed, she sticks out her tongue and gently draws her mouth closer to the abyss .

Then, just before her tongue touches it, her eyes open . Her eyes and the dead abyss’ eyes meet .

“Gaa…”

Her tongue’s movement stops . Letting out a lonely cry, she pulls her head back .

… As expected, no matter how hungry you are, this isn’t something to eat . That makes sense . If she sank her teeth into it, I didn’t know what I would do .

Trembling, my partner looks at me, looking like she is about to cry . I know you’re really hungry, but we’ll be able to eat something much nicer in just a bit . The tribute’s still waiting for us at the shrine .

I leave the abyss’ remains and continue exploring the forest . There’s no way that all the tribute’s meat is going to be as gross as that thing .

It would be great if there was an E or F-ranked monster to raise the wight’s level . That way should be able to cure its habit of falling apart all the time .

I glance back at the wight behind me . It looks up at me with its two empty eye sockets… I wonder if it’s able to eat anything? Nah, it shouldn’t be able to . It’s clearly got no digestive organs . It’s all bone, after all .

While searching, I come across a mole-like monster and an owl-like monster, but both run away too fast . The mole dives underground as soon as it senses me, and the owl uses a skill or something to hide its presence .

My impression is that, because of how dangerous the monsters in this area are, they are split between parasites like the abyss, and those that are fast at running away . Come to think of it, even though most of the manticore’s stats weren’t too high, its speed was something else . Does it need its speed to run away from something? … If something much stronger than the manticore is lurking around, it might be a hassle .

However at this rate, it’s looking unlikely I’ll find a monster I can safely make the wight fight . If it was just hunting for food, I’d be able to manage somehow, but capturing a monster without killing it and making the wight fight it would be… Yeah .

I stop and look back at the wight . Copying me, the wight also stops .

This forest might be a bit too high level for the wight… If only there was some quick-and-easy way to raise the wight’s level .

Looking at the wight, an idea suddenly strikes me . There is a way . I just need to create a monster the same level of the wight using [Soul AppendmentFake Life] .

A-although, controlling life and death with[Soul AppendmentFake Life] is… But then even if it moves, a lump of meat is obviously not alive, so I think it should be ok . If I transform it into a monster that looks nothing like a living organism it won’t be like I’ve blasphemed life . So it’s safe, yeah .

This way I can have the wight fight a monster around the same level as it right away, and if it looks like it’s struggling I can just step in . Wow, this really solves everything . I just need to find something that looks easy to fight . Something that won’t be strong even after transforming into a monster…

Peering around, I spot a small tree that can’t be more than a few years old . It’s the pleasant color of new growth, not yet having thick bark or many leaves . It looks suitable .

I rush over to the sapling and look down at the wight, indicating the sapling with my jaw . “Do you think you can fight this?”, I try to ask the wight . Understanding my intention, it nods its head .

“Guoh”, I cry, facing my partner .

“Gaa…”

She hungrily gnashes her teeth . A-after this, I’ll start hunting for real . You can even eat the next meal . The poor wight will keep falling apart at this rate, which is a bother for you too, right?

“Gaah”

My thoughts must have gotten through, because my partner turns to face the sapling and uses [Soul AppendmentFake Life] . A black light envelops the sapling .

【Normal Skill [Soul AppendmentFake Life] has risen from level 2 to 3 . 】

As the black light clears away, I see a face-like cavity on the sapling . It uproots itself, scattering earth around .

“Gi, higii!”

The sapling’s mouth tears open, letting out a war cry .

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

Species: Little Treant

Condition: Cursed

Lv: 1/5

HP: 7/7

MP: 6/6

Attack: 1

Defense: 2

Magic: 3

Speed: 1

Rank: F

Characteristic Skills:

[Dark Attribute: Lv -]

Resistance Skills:

[Physical Resistance: Lv 1]

Normal Skills:

[Take Root: Lv 1] [Clay: Lv 1]

Title Skills:

[Servant of the Evil Dragon: Lv -]

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

I-it’s a success . Wow, I really can just make as many followers as I want .

Its attack and speed are low, but its HP and magic are high . It looks like it would work well as a support-type .

Now that I look at it, I can’t help but become attached to it . I really want to know how it will develop as it gets stronger . Plus, it has that title skill, so it shouldn’t be hostile to me . It might be best to change our plans .

“Gao…”

By the time I call out to the wight, it had already begun to move . As the wight draws near, the treant swings at it with the downwards slash of a branch, but the wight dodges around behind it . Without pause, the wight embraces the treant . From the wight’s body, a black mist leaks out .

The treant writhes, trying to shake off the wight . But the wight clings on . Piece by piece, bones fall to the ground .

“Gii! Gii! Higii!”

Gradually, the treant’s movements slow, its body surface growing darker . Finally, it stops moving completely . As the treant stills, the wight stops releasing its black mist . It seems it was an HP-stealing skill .

The withered treant looks like it has been starved of water for a long time . Its leaves have changed color completely . and, as a gust of wind blows, its limbs fall to the ground .

Trapped in indecision, I had only watched over the fight in a daze . When I finally come to my senses, the wight is happily approaching me, dragging its missing body parts .

Y-yeah… n-no, this is where I should honestly praise its hard work . I just need a second to sort out my feelings .