Having been told to find another intelligent species within the forest, he stopped before approaching the first tree, noticing movement among the leaves. Watching them he waited for some change, for a monster to lash out and attack him. Instead, he heard a strange chirping noise, followed by what he thought were words. It wasn’t in a language he had ever heard before, but he could vaguely understand what was being said. He got the feeling that his inhumanity skill was letting him communicate with these creatures.

“What is he?”

“Talk?”

“He kills the Asters.”

“He speaks to ~~~~”

Mash heard what sounded like a vague debate. Unable to make out what was talking, he tried his own hand at communicating with them. The creature’s intelligence, startled Mash and made him think about the other monsters he had killed. How many intelligent beings had he killed already? How many other humans have massacred monsters indiscriminately? How many people knew? He didn’t doubt that there would be others who knew the truth. He still felt a lack of regret, of sadness at the thought of killing these monsters. Was that an influence of the classes? How many others thought the same way as him? How much of that was choice? He meditated slightly, forcing the questions away so that he could respond to the creatures. Trying to sound harmless, he talked as quietly as he could manage while still being heard.

“I do not want to harm you, just looking for my friends.”

He started taking a few steps back, not wanting to get into another fight without more energy. The leaves rustled, before parting as a few small creatures emerged. He expected birds, but they were not animals at all, instead they reminded him of fruits. Several creatures were peeking out of the leaves, a mix of bright colors. Their skin was oddly smooth, but their bodies were strangely triangular. Their bodies were long, with the broadest end being around their head. They hung along the branches with two long arms that sprouted like stems on an apple. It was not the shape that bothered him; it was the overall style of the creature. They moved like worms, using the narrow end of their body and their long arms to push themselves forward.

He didn’t think they were dangerous, easily being small enough to crush under his feet. Plus, the World Carrier from earlier had told him to find these creatures. He didn’t really want to waste time with them but expected that he would have too. In this scenario, he expected to receive some job or demand and waited for the little creatures to come up with their response. He ended up standing they’re for several minutes, before realizing the discussion would take longer than he expected. He took the opportunity to allocate his stats.

Name: Mash Class: Scale Wood Devourer

Level: 33→38

Health: 900 / 900

Energy: 1690 /1690

Fortitude: 77 → 90

Endurance: 67 → 69

Strength: 62 → 70

Agility: 62 → 70

Intelligence: 100 → 100

Wisdom: 61 → 65

Charisma: 32

Free Stats: 25 → 0 (10 to Fortitude, 7 to Strength, 6 to Agility, 2 to Wisdom)

Skills: Persist, Mana-wood Creation, Inhuman Hibernation, Mana Territory, Unnatural Energy, Inhumanity, Wooden Body, Carnivorous Tree

He was surprised to see that he gained five levels from the last few fights, it seemed like fighting alone was more beneficial than he expected. Guessing that the last monster he fought had given him the biggest contribution, he considered looking for another one. However, he pushed that thought aside, it had almost killed him, and his priorities were elsewhere currently. He was happy with the changes to his stats, even if they weren’t very large. However, he was able to fix that by using his free stats. He was tempted to pour most of it into intelligence again, but decided he needed to start raising his other stats. He didn’t want to let them lag too far behind.

Realizing that his hunger was starting to rise, he pulled out some of his rations, eating them while he waited. They did stop as soon as he pulled out the food, quickly swarming down the trees around him. At first, he thought they were interested in his magic storage device, but their expectant gazes told him otherwise. He tossed them a piece of meat, but it was rudely thrown aside, as one of the creatures spoke aloud.

“Sweet.”

Realizing what they wanted, he tossed them some of the sugar cubes. They eagerly caught them out of the air, reminding him of the fishes from back home. Their weird worm—like bodies made the gestures more horrific, and he realized that the arms he saw earlier were wings of some kind. They didn’t fly though, using the wings to help drag their bodies across the ground. They seemed satisfied, and he prompted them once again.

“My friends? Can you take me to them? They are in the mountain, near the top.”

Seeming far more agreeable after the sweets, the creatures responded easily to his question.

“Yes, but need kill Ligar first. It blocks path through mountain. We know way.”

There was an unquestionable amount of eagerness in their voice, but he also noticed a hint of fear as they spoke the name. They were speaking in unison now, their voices intertwining into a serenade of sounds. The musical tones didn’t match their disfigured faces, a single empty eye bulged in the center of their heads, and he noticed no openings for mouths. Wondering how they even talked, he trailed behind them as they led him deeper into the forest. He expected to be taken to the mountain and grew a weapon for himself as a precaution. He disguised it as a walking stick but didn’t think the creatures cared. It seemed like he gained their trust and found himself smirking slightly. Red would get a laugh out of this story. Sugar has always been the fastest way to gain someone’s trust.

He tried asking them where he was going, and what the Ligar was, but received only vague or obvious answers. “Where the Ligar is” or “a horrible monster” were the only responses that he got. He was frustrated slightly but figured he could observe it alongside these creatures. They avoided the pointy rocks along the trail, and he noticed the smaller ones running away from a falling leaf. It turned out that he was right, as he was brought in front of a clearing, a nest of bushes was visible in the distance. He could vaguely make out several shapes stirring within the brush but couldn’t get a good grasp of the creature.

“What are they?”

He asked the little creatures again, not really expecting an answer, but received more information than he had before.

“Long neck and sharp teeth. No attack with magic.”

Well, that was more than he expected, but the information let him relax a bit. He now knew that magic wasn’t everything, but at least it meant the fight would be relatively simple. If the creature relied on brute strength, then Mash would be able to handle it, like he had the chicken monster when they couldn’t access snow. Filling with confidence, he stepped into the clearing.

He thought about taking the time to grow an extremely large weapon and try to kill the creatures in a single attack, but he remembered that he was technically on the back of the World Carrier and didn’t want to risk attacking it. This would just be another monster, another fight. With that in mind, he stepped into the opening, surprised when he felt the creature’s mana lingering across the entire clearing. Realizing that the creatures said it wouldn’t attack with magic, didn’t mean that it didn’t have any of it. With his mana territory he knew that this was mainly for detection and watched as the creatures moved. They pushed past the leaves, and cursing inwardly, he found himself staring down two creatures. The little guys had made it seem like there would only be one, but maybe that had to do with his translation. It didn’t matter, it didn’t change what he needed to do.

The creatures were identical, looming several feet taller than him. They were certainly strange, as it had the body of a wolf, but its fur was thin and short, and shone a faint golden brown. Its neck outlined by a thick mass of hair, seeming to separate its head from its body. Though it was the creature’s head itself that was the most jarring. Extending outwards, it was a long snake like limb, with scales covering the outside. The creature’s neck was easily six or seven feet long, and its head was almost like a snake, but sprouted a sharp curved beak where the mouth would normally be. The strangeness of the combination made it seem more like an unnatural nightmare than a real being. Though the shaking of the ground as it ran towards him, told him the truth.

He braced for the impact, changing his staff into a spear, planning to impale it the same way he had done thus far. The point of the spear thrust into the creature, but the rest of the weapon broke as it plowed through it. He was able to role to the side and avoid the tackle, noticing that the spear head had entered its body, having broken along the weapons shaft. His weapons would work.

As he rose from the roll, he could see the other creature’s swing coming from behind him through his mana territory. Attempting to jump out of the way, he blocked with a new spear, but the creature’s head bent around the weapon, its beak jabbing into his thigh. A sharp pain shot through his leg, and he could see blood leaking around the creature’s beak. It didn’t stop its motion, flinging him across the clearing with a wide swing of its head. He didn’t take the hit for free though, forming a mouth on his hand to rip a chunk of the creature's flesh out.

As he crashed into the ground, he immediately shoved the piece into his mouth, swallowing without even chewing. Almost large enough to choke him, he coughed as he rose to his feet. He pressed the wood around his leg tighter, both to stop the bleeding and give him better control of the leg. He knew that it was the inhumanity skill that was letting him focus on the fight, but he stumbled when the food empowered him. It improved his stats significantly enough that his speed changed instantly. Though there was more too it than just that, there was a new connection in his mind, something in the distance tugging at him ever so slightly. He almost thought that he heard a voice but gave up trying to hear it quickly.

The monsters didn’t ignore his pause, both attempting to slam him with their beaks. With his improved speed he managed to roll out of the way of one but took a hit to his side as the other’s neck extended. It grew several feet longer, and caught him unready, its beak breaking through his armor. It didn’t stop though, forcing its mouth open slightly to release something into his body. Needing to strike back, to push the creature away, he separated from his armor, turning it into the shape of an open mouth and slamming it down on the creature’s neck. With his new stats, he used his hands to push the mouth closed. It tried to tear itself away from him, and he let it, but didn’t let go of his creation. Instead using it to drag himself away from the other monster’s next attack, its head swinging just behind him as he moved. All the while, he grew the teeth on the mouth longer, trying to bite through the creature’s head.

It started swinging its head wildly, and Mash could feel the wound on his side worsening. He regrew the armor there, but thickened it and tightened it, trying to mix it with his skin like he had done with his neck. He wanted to hold everything in place, while stopping the bleeding as much as possible. The swinging got more violent, and he was starting to see tiny black dots appear at the edges of his vision. He was losing consciousness but didn’t know why. His injuries weren’t bad enough, his inhumanity skill would inform him otherwise. He needed to kill this one but falling unconscious would mean certain death. He separated himself from the creature, leaving the mouth in place, it would blind the creature. Flying far faster than he expected, he crashed into the bushes from where the creatures had come, hidden by the thick shrubbery. The bush had probably saved himself from a more serious injury, but still found it hard to move. There was no point in trying to hide from the creatures, and he charged out of the wall of leaves.