Asval had to endure the pain. The constant stinging pain gave him the idea of climbing a tree and moving on it. He suspected that the leaves could be the same as grass.

Before he could even enter the forest he got this feeling that someone was watching him. He looked toward the ceiling of the cavern but it didn’t seem like he was watched from above by gods. It was something else, something wilder than the gods but with enough intelligence to not attack him immediately.

“You'd love to wait for the right moment to attack me… Right? Well… Let’s play a game and finish it…” Asval stretched his arms and legs, almost forgetting about the blade-like grass. He took out both swords and got to a low position like an Olympic runner. “Let’s play a game of TAG!” He shouted as he dashed into the forest.

He ran past the trees looking around for the creature. He didn’t know its direct location but he limited the possible area and checked almost every tree to find that creature. He stopped confused, looking around.

“It should be somewhere around here… Is it invisible?” Asval thought as he couldn’t find the creature. “Where are you hiding…” He whispered, hoping to catch its interest by talking.

He felt something on his leg and looking down he saw a tree root wrapping itself around him, moving upward. The root held him firmly, forcing him to use the sword to cut the plant.

“Is my opponent a tree?” He thought looking closer at the trees around him. Once he turned around he saw a tree shaped like a massive man charging toward him. Before he was able to react the creature hit him and sent him flying into the crown of the tree.

He fell down bleeding all over as the leaves left cuts on every inch of his body. The roots began moving toward the man but he wasn’t dead yet. He stood up on all four of his limbs almost like a cat. He realized that he behaved like an animal so he stood up a bit ashamed of what he did.

“Tree should be a good punching bag for my first sparring.” Asval whispered, cracking his neck and moving his shoulder back to its place.

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He threw the blunt sword at the creature and ran after it. The tree blocked the sword with its arm. Once it lowered its guard, Asval was right in front of him and grabbed the sword stuck in its arm using it to get higher, closer to the creature's face. With a spinning force, he cut the monster’s shoulder and kicked it in the head.

The creature almost stumbled to the ground, Asval gave it one more push by ripping the sword away from the arm and kicking the leg. He thought that the creature would be an easy target once it would lay on the ground but his attack didn’t make it budge. The monster created branches under its feet to root itself to the ground.

The creature raised its fist to strike Asval, he guarded himself with the sword but then he lowered the guard and took the hit right to the chest. He knew that his body was immortal and would repair itself, unlike the rusty swords.

He flew for a few yards and landed on the ground. His chest was caved in, the ribs impaired most of his organs. He coughed out a lot of blood and tried to catch a breath but he couldn’t move his chest. The roots slowly enveloped his body and went inside him to use as a fertilizer. The pain was strong enough to make him faint.

He became one with the tree or at least could feel its presence without looking, hearing, smelling, or touching. His heart was beating and pumping blood but he felt something else like another heart that wasn’t his own.

“GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!” Asval shouted as he ripped the roots away from his body and freed himself with the strength he regained in his forced sleep. He ran forward to the swords he dropped once he was hit. He panicked and looked around for the tree creature, waving his swords around toward every sound he heard. “Come out and fight!”

The monster was no longer concerned about the man as he was “killed” with one hit. The creature no longer hid itself from Asval. It simply walked out in front of the man. The tree monster charged toward him trying to stump him into the ground. This time he was able to jump away before he could be hit. At the same time, he swung his sword leaving a small cut on the bark.

“Will they even be enough?” He thought as he looked at the blades.

This time once he felt something touching his leg he immediately cut it with the sword. Thanks to his reaction he could focus on the monster that was charging toward him once again. He decided on a reckless move. The man took one step to the side and stuck his blade into the creature’s leg. He held on to it as the monster was running. He used the short swords to climb the beast. It screamed with every stab and tried to pull him away but it couldn’t reach him.

He got on top of it and raised his sword, ready to stick it deep into the creature’s head. Before he could even land a hit a branch rapidly grew from the monster’s head and stabbed him in the stomach.

“You think that would be enough!” He shouted as he threw the attack but he was surprised once more. The branch grew and made more branches in his body with leaves as sharp as a blade. He spitted out a lot of blood and lost strength to finish his attack.

He fell to the ground with a huge hole in his stomach. His vision was blurred, he was on the verge of fainting but he looked at the monster, gritting his teeth and cursing “Just you wait! I’ll kill you the next time…”