Chapter 231

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 .