The group of revenants jogged along the path through the forest. The half-Giantess Rhea took one step for every two of the others while she set the rhythm in a loud voice: "Rangers sneak through thorny weed...".

The others completed the verse in chorus:

"...because it is too cold to sleep."

The quality of the verses only continued to decline over time until the group came to a halt, giggling and snorting. The half-Anubian held his stomach. His whimpering jackal laugh was the last to die away. He straightened up and pulled a vial from one of his many belt pouches, flicked out the cork and downed the contents in one gulp. He shook himself briefly like a wet dog. "Well, enough of a break. Let's march on."

Rhea looked at him sternly from above: "Chigaru, how many stamina potions have you drunk today?"

"Three. Why? I've bought enough for a whole week."

"Have you never heard of elixir poisoning?"

The half-Anubian scratched the fur on the back of his head thoughtfully. "Not that I know of."

The half-giantess held her hand to her face: "Every elixir, every alchemical product also contains poisonous ingredients. Too much and you'll fall ill with elixir poisoning."

"Ouch. That doesn't sound good. What are the symptoms?"

"Nausea, vomiting and ultimately death."

Gronk, the half-orc grimaced so that his canines protruded even further: "I swallowed five healing potions in a row during the battle in the cave. Kept me alive."

The half-elven sorcerer snorted, "Yes. That really worked a treat."

The half-orc looked at him in confusion: "Why do you sound like you're not serious?"

"Don't you remember how that ended?"

Gronk shrugged, "I fell under an onslaught of undead."

Rhea seemed to look down from even higher up: "Seriously? That's the last thing you remember?"

"Yes, of course."

"A zombie cut off your arm with an axe. You fell back while we shielded you. While we fell one by one, you poured yourself a healing potion and went down puking."

The sorcerer nodded as Gronk looked at him questioningly: "Actually, I think you choked on your own vomit. We were too busy to help. No one wanted to take a close look."

The half-Anubian whimpered, "I thought they got him with a poisoned arrow."

"Nope. Fifth healing potion. Couldn't have gone well."

Gronk protested: "They were all weak healing potions, the cheap ones."

Rhea sighed: "Gronk, the poorer the quality of the potions, the more toxins they contain. Next time, take a closer look at the label. There's a value for toxicity. If you consume more toxicity per day than you have constitution, the symptoms of poisoning will start. You'll be dead by the time you've doubled it. Depending on your constitution score, you may take damage even earlier.

The small, beer-bellied barbarian who had been running at the back of the group and had been struggling to keep up shouted a warning: "Attackers! Konnroot twiglings." He pointed to some bundles of twigs that had crept out of the forest on twig legs. Once they had been spotted, they rushed off, creaking and cracking.

The group formed up in a flash. The sorcerer hurled fireballs and Rhea blew mightily into her bagpipes. The bag filled up with shrill whistling. Before the first opponents came within melee range and were greeted by BamBam's mace and Gronk's rapier, she began to play a magical bard's tune. The movements of her companions became faster, while the twig lings were visibly unsettled. Instead of running the heroes down with their charge, they bounced weakly against their legs, where they were picked apart by weapon slashes.

Rhea put down the bagpipe and laughed: "That was easy. I thought it would be worse. For a level 6 quest, I would have expected bigger enemies."

Gronk had cleaned his rapier with a cloth and was just about to put it back in its sheath when he hesitated. Three human-sized bundles of twigs emerged from the forest. Gronk grinned: "That looks better. Second round."

The Konnroot whirled around with their twig arms and pointed sticks flew through the air towards the group. The heroes scattered wildly. Rhea was too slow and a stick dug into her thigh. She yanked it out and looked at it briefly before saying again, "Damn. Wooden throwing knives. Now wait!" She tossed the projectile carelessly over her shoulder and reached for the bagpipe's flute again. A loud, multi-toned sound rang out. The air around the group shimmered and shook, then began to move in a whirl. More pieces of wood flew through the air, but were now whirled aside. Two more Konnroot stepped out from behind trees and hurled branches. The half-brothers clustered close around Rhea as more of the wooden knives flew in. The Konnroot went into a frenzy when their attack was unsuccessful. The wooden knives flew faster and faster. Where they hit the wind barrier, however, they were hurled away without effect. The meadow in front of the group began to fill with projectiles stuck in the ground and lying around.

BamBam hit the floor with his club: "By all the gods, Rhea! Without you, we'd look like wooden hedgehogs now. "When I consider that I made fun of your bard songs at the beginning, because you can't throw fireballs..."

Gronk raised his open hand to the right height for the halfling to strike. The battle at the border forest had been exciting and dramatic, but losing in the end still left a negative taste. A quest that was a little too easy due to their combination of skills was now just the thing... He narrowed his eyes. Had the tree further into the forest just leaned against the wind? Yes. It had. As had the next one. Something was pushing its way between the trees. Trees that weren't really close enough to make that necessary for normal-sized monsters. The fur on the back of his neck bristled. "Ey guys..."

Before the others understood what was going on, the human-sized Konnroot stormed out of the forest and ran in an arc around the group. Two to the left and the other two to the right. A dozen or so bunny-sized bundles of twigs charged straight at them like the first attackers.

The half-elven sorcerer pointed the red crystal tip of his spear staff at one of the larger Konnroot and concentrated: "Curse of burning!"

A beam of red-yellow light connected the spearhead with the Konnroot. The light disappeared sparkling in the tangle of branches. Nothing happened for a moment, then the creature flared up from within. Flames flickered out in all directions. Twigs whirled in all directions and a few twig knives flew away, glowing. The creature collapsed on the spot.

The half-orc thief gripped his rapier tighter and stepped towards the smaller attackers. Rhea took the bagpipe from her mouth and slid her squeaking instrument onto her back by its leather straps. The wall of wind was dissipating, but for the moment at least, her opponents were refraining from ranged attacks. She guessed they couldn't move and throw at the same time. Bardic music was what she enjoyed most in the game, but now it was time for a more direct approach. "Hey, Gronk! I need my weapon!"

The half-orc did not look up from his fight, but continued to stab at the small bundles of branches: "Don't you have your hand axe on your belt?"

"I need a real weapon."

Gronk thrust his rapier straight through one of the creatures, causing it to flinch. Then it collapsed. He kicked another creature three steps away through the air and then took a few quick steps towards the half-giantess. There, he turned his back to her so that she could reach his backpack. One section contained a Bag of Holding effect, from which she pulled out a halberd. She twirled the polearm once, then leapt forward and swung it two-handed at one of the large Konnroot s. Pieces of branch flew out and amber-colored resin splattered across the area. To her surprise, however, the creature stopped and struck back with a tangle of branches that cut deep gashes across her forearm.

A crash from the forest made her look away from her opponent briefly, which immediately earned her another set of cuts to her other arm. But the brief glance had been enough to see the next opponent approaching. Pushing trees aside, a troll-sized creature of arm-thick branches became visible, cracking and crackling as it reared up and braced spurs against the ground, no doubt ready to sprint now that it had a clear path.

The sorcerer had just ignited his second opponent and also whirled around at the noise. "I can still use the curse once! Stay away in case he takes a while to die. A burning monster can be dangerous." Then he cast the curse and red-yellow light connected his spear staff with the monster. The light shone into the tangle of branches. Nothing happened. "Guys, my spell isn't working!"

Gronk defended himself from a group of three Konnroots who had surrounded him: "Then do something else, I'm busy right now!"

The last of the ranged fighters chose this moment to stop and throw branch knives again. Gronk saw the swarm of projectiles flying towards him out of the corner of his eye and threw himself to the ground. Right in front of one of the small creatures, which unfolded almost completely and then snapped. Countless branch ends dug into his ear and scraped across his cheek.

The pain was only a faint echo. As always, he was glad that he had set his pain sensitivity to the lowest level. Otherwise it would have been really unpleasant. He had no problem keeping his presence of mind to draw his dagger with his left hand and ram it into the creature. The pieces of branch dug deeper into his flesh. He poked around in the tangle of branches. His rapier had found a target in the middle of the creatures. A core or some kind of heart. He would find that again now. He felt resistance with the blade and thrust.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The creature's grip loosened. Gronk took a few deep breaths, carefully removed the remains of the Konnroot from his head and then straightened up.

The situation had changed considerably in the short space of time. The smaller Konnroot had gathered and pounced on the sorcerer, who was struggling to defend himself with his spear staff and could no longer cast spells.

Rhea charged towards the largest Konnroot with her halberd swinging wide. The first opponent she had encountered so far that was bigger than herself. The Konnroot did not roar, growl or bark. They made no sound other than the soft crunching and cracking of their branch tentacles. The troll sized Konnroot formed six leg-like extensions and came towards her. The halberd struck the body with full force. Branches cracked, but the halberd remained stuck in the tangle. She tried to pull her weapon out. The branch tentacles tightened around the tip of the halberd and held it fast. Rhea braced herself against the ground. The creature leapt towards her, but the halberd was stuck. Wooden tentacles extended from its body. Hands with sharp wooden claws unfolded and lashed out. Then the Konnroot struck from both sides as if in a vicious embrace.

Rhea let go of her weapon and fell backwards. A claw drew three scratches across the chest of her leather armor. She fell onto her back and pushed herself away from her opponent on her hands and feet. Before she could get her not inconsiderable mass upright again, the huge Konnroot was already on top of her. The mass opened up and pointed branches opened into a wooden mouth, while the tentacles with claws were already reaching out to grab her and pull her inside the creature.

Before Gronk could move to help her, he felt a pain in his leg and lost his balance. As he fell, he saw two more ranged Konnroot emerge from behind trees and start throwing knives. Another branch knife pierced his upper right arm more or less by accident. He sighed and slumped back. At least he wouldn't have to run back to town.

A loud roar brought him back from his fatalistic thoughts. Splinters of wood and pieces of branch flew through his field of vision. Closely followed by a half-naked and completely furious halfling barbarian. BamBam broke through the middle of the largest Konnroot with his club and raced towards the edge of the forest. Branch knives smashed into the ground around him. Some hit him too, but bounced off, leaving only minor flesh wounds.

Rhea took advantage of the moment when her opponent was distracted by the barbarian's attack and went back on the offensive. She grabbed a bundle of branches and dragged it out of the creature while kicking more pieces into the ground. "Ha, take that!"

Her shout of triumph died away. She could not tear the bundles of branches out of the creature. They gave way, lengthened and coiled around her hands. Held her tight. The kicks pressed parts of her opponent into the soft meadow ground without doing any significant damage. More branches whipped around and wrapped around her legs. Pushed higher and higher. Pressed down.

She needed help. Someone with an axe or a saw. Which, of course, no one had. She cursed herself. She should have prepared the quest better. They had strolled off faithlessly, not inquiring about their opponents' abilities or adjusting their equipment. She looked around. The sorcerer fell under an onslaught of small Konnroot. Gronk lay badly injured on the ground. The only one of the group who could still fight was BamBam. He ignored the attacks and savagely beat two human-sized Konnroot. He used his barbarian rage to ignore his wounds. The little bundle of strength had put everything into physical strength and constitution. Now at level 6, his constitution was at 18. She had noticed that he was taking less and less damage. But his mace hardly did any damage to the Konnroot either. It was only a matter of time before he fell. The whole group would die and lose another full level. If this continued, even the youngest noobs would overtake them and snatch up the best quests.

"Holla, half-brothers. Could you use some help?"

Rhea wheeled around. On the path behind the group, a group of adventurers came riding up. Rhea had to look twice before she was sure she was seeing correctly. They had horses? They also had a tame troll with them. She had once asked a trader how much a troll had cost for his troll cart. An investment that would hardly pay for itself in ten years. However, the trader was of the opinion that it had been worth it for him. Very few highwaymen attacked a troll wagon. The danger of the troll going wild was too great. Trolls could pull far heavier wagons than any ox or group of horses. Their stamina was almost inexhaustible.

At the head of the troop rode a knight in dark armor, his helmet in his arms and his orange hair blowing in the wind.

Next to him was a woman dressed as a mage, an Anubian in a black robe and a group of fighters in chain mail. A troll and horses. Who had they killed to get so much gold? She shook herself and concentrated on the question again. Having only 10 points in intelligence had its disadvantages at times like this. She could feel how the system occasionally disturbed her concentration.

"Any support would be most welcome!"

The knight stopped his group. "Then please share your quest. We came a little too late to accept it. It fits perfectly with the skills of our group."

Adventurer group "Harbingers" would like to share the quest "Konnroot Decimation". Should you accept, all rewards and XP will be shared by all surviving participants. Considering the combined strength of both groups, all rewards will be reduced by 30%.

Rhea hastily agreed. The knight nodded with satisfaction and put on his helmet. He remained calmly seated on his horse and waved his group forward. Armed with machetes, the warriors charged towards the edge of the forest.

The troll stomped towards Rhea, a barrel in his hands. Rhea sighed. The adventurers didn't seem to have the creature under control after all. It almost seemed as if he wanted to intervene in the fight. With the beer supply or whatever he was carrying in his hands. A barrel as an improvised weapon. She had seen crazier things.

The druid rode up to the sorcerer Furoras, who kept tripping over his tiny opponents and threatening to fall down. Once he was on the ground, he was doomed. The druid came within five paces and stopped: "Ho, sorcerer! Is that a focus wand for fire magic?"

"Yes!" Furoras kicked a rabbit-sized Konnroot away from his foot. "Not much use to me right now!"

"Throw it over. I can do more with it."

The sorcerer did not hesitate. He threw his wand to the druid. He reached for it, almost dropped it with clumsy fingers and then grabbed it at the last moment. He placed the wand in a holder on his saddle and then pointed to the Konnroot Horde with his right hand: "Viriditas Interfectorem!"

Black smoke formed over the ground around the sorcerer. The Konnroot bundles began to tremble, then they crawled away. Smoke was now also rising from inside the plant creatures. They lay twitching a few meters from the edge of the forest.

Meanwhile, the fighters of the Harbingers had pulled light crossbows from their saddlebags and were riding forward in single file. They raised their crossbows and took aim at a spot at the edge of the forest. A Konnroot came flying out from between the trees. Closely followed by BamBam. Remnants of branch tentacles hung from its limbs, resin and blood covered its chest. His club was just a splintered stump with which he continued to beat a Konnroot.

Rhea shouted a warning: "The Konnroot are almost immune to crossbow bolts. The best you'll hit is our barbarian!"

The distraction proved to be her undoing. A branch tentacle wrapped around her foot and pulled her over. The giant Konnroot threw itself over her. Tentacles wrapped around her from all sides. She didn't panic yet. The troll was almost there and was already swinging his barrel. With a mighty blow, he thundered it against the Konnroot from behind. Wood cracked and she threw her head to the side to avoid getting splinters in her face. A few still pierced her cheek. Liquid splashed against her. She froze. Was the Konnroot bleeding?

A shimmering red liquid dripped viscously down onto her as she looked up. The barrel had shattered into a thousand pieces. The troll stepped back. Probably surprised that his weapon had broken so quickly. Where had he gotten such poor quality? Barrels of this size were normally unbreakable. Unless someone had made them that way...

Furoras shook the last opponent off his boot and turned to the mounted druid: "Thank you. It was about time. I just don't understand what you used my staff for."

The druid grinned down at him. "With the current loot system, you can never be sure you'll get anything useful."

A woman on horseback appeared out of nowhere in front of the sorcerer. An extremely good-looking woman. He was taken aback. He remembered that she had been there the whole time. How could he have ignored her? She waved her hand and the world around him suddenly seemed to flicker. His sense of balance was disturbed. He swayed. The clatter of hooves. Something was coming closer. Quickly.

OrcSlayer rode past the sorcerer, using the mass and speed of his horse to add power to his sword strike. The sorcerer's head flew off in a high arc, then his body disappeared with a shimmer. Only a pair of cheap shoes remained.

The druid pulled the flaming wand from his holster, pointed it at Rhea and shouted: "Ardeat!"

Flames leapt out of the Konnroot. Then the alchemical substance with which the troll had soaked him and Rhea ignited. The bard and the Konnroot went down together in a blazing inferno. The troll stomped back a few steps: "Umblai not like fire!"

The warriors fired their crossbows. Not at the Konnroot, but at the halfling barbarian. BamBam, already badly battered, did not see the attack coming. His back turned into the imitation of a hedgehog before he disintegrated.

Gronk, meanwhile, had long since fallen under the hail of missiles.

OrcSlayer looked around with satisfaction: "Good work. Collect the loot and clear up the last of the root creatures. After all, we want to get the XP for the quest."

He called up his menu as leader of the group and scrolled through the messages. His expression changed to irritation. The mage Shannara noticed the change in his mood: "Everything all right?"

"No. Not at all. We don't get XP for the defeated players."

Shannara blinked and then asked incredulously, "What?"

"Look at the message."

Furoras, Sorcerer, level 6 defeated.

Bambam, barbarian, level 6 defeated

Rhea, Bard, level 6 defeated.

Minimum loot release.

No XP granted.

"Nemesis, why are no XPs granted here? We beat them fairly!"

No XP allocation for players within the same alliance or while participating in the same quest.

"This is unacceptable! I want to file a complaint!"

Complaint was registered. Moderator requested for mediation.

The Dark Paladin looked around impatiently for a while. The others went back to wiping out the remaining Konnroot. Shortly after the success message appeared, there was a golden flash a few steps above and beside OrcSlayer. A glowing figure was hurled through a crack in reality, striking OrcSlayer directly and knocking him off his horse. As OrcSlayer struggled to his feet in confusion, the figure flickered and the next moment stood upright and straight beside him.

The moderator swept non-existent dust off his shoulder, "Great Admin, what in the Name of the NEMESIS have you done? I got yanked out of the middle of the break room. It's been a long time since anyone has managed to really annoy the AI."

OrcSlayer looked around worriedly. Then he pulled himself together and straightened up to his full height. Before he could begin to speak, the moderator grew a head and looked down at him calmly. The Dark Paladin sighed. Of course he couldn't impress a moderator. He changed his planned tone, "I have a legitimate complaint! The AI is denying me XP for defeated opponents. That's an outrageous injustice."

The admin looked into space for a moment while he read the log files of recent events. Then he shrugged his shoulders: "That's all perfectly correct. You should read the game rules more carefully. Since the restart, PvP no longer gives XP for defeated players who belong to the same alliance. The same applies to players who share a quest. There are quests that are meant for competitions between players, but they are worded accordingly."

"That's just..." OrcSlayer spoke into the void, as the moderator had already disappeared.

Unjustified complaint was rejected. All players -100 XP.

The Dark Paladin's face darkened to a deep red as he gasped: "You can’t do that! I'm going to..."

Would you like to request a moderator for a mediation?

The world voice could not show any emotions. He was sure it had no emotions. It was a neutral operating system for the VR. But by God, he could feel Nemesis mocking him. OrcSlayer clenched his mouth and stared at the sky with a murderous look. He huffed to himself for a while as he struggled to calm down. He turned to the other members of his group, "Pack it all up. We're leaving."

He gave the forest one last look as the group rode away: "If it wasn't fireproof, I'd just burn the damn forest down. But well. Back to the guild and then we'll get the most bloodthirsty decimation quest they have."