Dozens of red irises are fixated on me. The atmosphere tenses up as they wait for my reaction to the monument, this having been an obvious trap from the start

I'm not considered a person in the eyes of the usually so pacifistic dryads.

Prey, that's all I am.

'Sounds kinda kinky...'

'Right?! Man, I thought that I was the only one. I'm kinda glad that you're in my head now...'

'Yeah, fuck you. I still want my body back.'

'Way to ruin the moment.'

The dryads slowly encircle us, while Risa still doesn't have a clue on what's going on, her lack of experience keeping her from sensing the sudden bloodlust the representatives of the forest give off.

The odd dissonance of their usual, peaceful nature with the threat in front of me makes me somewhat suspicious of the current situation, rarely having seen something like this before.

Nonetheless, my interest is piqued by the monument scarcely illuminated by the bonfire. Even if it has been several million years since I last tried to decipher such writings, it's like riding a bicycle for me.

Something I'll never forget.

At first, the son of God was righteous.

"Oh, eat my ass. Just say directly it's about me." (Me)

With slight steps, I approach the monument, wanting to get a closer look at it. But after a few meters, the dryads get in my way, revealing their real goals.

"We're very sorry, but you will have to-" (Lana)

Abruptly, I hold both of my hands up.

"I already got it. We're in a pretty... precarious situation right now, so we should just give up and lay down our weapons, right?" (Me)

The circle of traitors slowly gets tighter around us, their intentions clear to anyone nearby.

"Yes, that would be appreciated." (Lana)

"Wait, are we in danger right now?" (Risa)

'Really a matter of perspective.'

'Should I pass a message or something?'

'...yes, please.'

"If you consider being surrounded by enemies proficient in plant magic while in a forest dangerous, then yes. But if not, then no. It's a matter of perspective really." (Me)

'Thanks.'

'You're welcome, buddy.'

Not really sure if I'm serious or not, Risa studies my expression to the best of her limited abilities. Only after I clearly gesture that I'm serious does she start looking around in panic again.

And again, the dryads come even closer. Suddenly, claws sprout from their hands, completely unnatural for a tree-tribe like them.

"1 SECOND! POP QUIZ GUYS!" (Me)

Confused, they stop.

"What?" (Lana)

I take one of my hands down and shove 2 fingers right in Lana's face. I gently boop her nose with one of them, but she doesn't react, making the whole atmosphere even more awkward than it already is. Her red irises are just continuing to tear me apart internally.

"2 questions. I just have 2 questions before you capture me and rape us,-" (Me)

'LET'S GO, BABY!'

"-use us as dung for your trees or whatever. I'm not really picky about my way of dying." (Me)

Now Lana tries to slap both the fingers away, but my hand doesn't budge. Despite the apparent modifications they went through, their strength doesn't seem to have increased much.

"Why should I answer those questions?" (Lana)

"Good question!" (Me)

'Way too many fucking questions, by the way.'

Heat spreads through the imminent environment around my hand, "Ember" posing as one of their biggest weaknesses.

I grab Risa's hand as well with the other hand and put it up for show.

"Cause those two questions will decide if we just give up peacefully or burn some of your beloved trees down, going down in a blaze of glory." (Me)

'HA! Fire.'

Risa got the clue and activates her black flames.

Instinctively, Lana distances herself from such a dangerous source of fire, cause... well... she's a fucking tree.

Fire burns trees. Trees don't like fire.

"And also, I think it's pretty fucking rude to just deceive your guests like that. Have some common fucking decency at least and answer our questions." (Me)

Bewitched by the beautiful black flame, the now sweating Lana nods, the gears in her head turning with a plan to subdue us. The advancing of the circle seems to have stopped as well, but they're still much too close for comfort.

"QUEEESTION NÚMERO UNO!" (Me)

I let go of Risa's hand and go back to showing off my index finger. The grey armor stands in contrast to the green horde of dryads around me, so I stand out a lot, now that I think about it. The fact that I'm a human doesn't help either.

I like being the center of attention but there's a limit to even that, you know?

"Dryads and every single one of their subspecies are commonly known through the realms to be extremely peaceful creatures. They won't attack anyone until they endanger their own "Tree of life". So why would you guys be the first ones to attack us now?" (Me)

As a completely reasonable question in my books, I expect an equally reasonable answer. And, without even the slightest bit of hesitation, Lana answers.

"Ever thought about the possibility that we're doing this because you killed our only male?" (Lana)

"Nope." (Me)

The dryad is taken aback by my sudden retort. She must've thought my knowledge about their species is superficial at best, not expecting that I was part of their creation.

That's right.

Meanwhile, Risa decided to take preventative measures, preparing flames behind her back. It doesn't help much to hide them there, as we're still encircled, but it was worth a try.

"You dryads don't reproduce with males. There might be some subspecies of some distant branches that still do, and you clearly still have your reproductory organs,-" (Me)

Which is veeeery important by the way. It might be for personal interest at best, but still.

Very important indeed.

'I concur.'

"-but y'all don't need to have sex to get children. You reproduce like normal trees, which is much more efficient. It would generally be a contradiction to your whole existence, being trees and doing photosynthesis and shit." (Me)

To this, Lana doesn't manage to answer immediately. I can see how she's trying to come up with another answer, just not the truth. Any further interrogation will prove to be futile, as she's just gonna keep her secret the best she can.

"The fact that you can't say anything now is enough for me." (Me)

So I leave the question alone. Her silence at least gave me a hunch.

'Fuck is this Sherlock Holmes shit?'

'You couldn't imagine what I'd do for a pipe right now.'

My second finger spreads out from my fist. I twiddle them around in front of her face, just to really get the point across.

"QUEEEEEESTION NÚMERO DOOOOOS!" (Me)

'Why are you saying that in Spanish again?'

'Dramatic purposes.'

"Y'all guys have passed level 50, right?" (Me)

No one of them wants to answer, looking at their leader for any kind of confirmation. Dodging this question would be much smarter than evading the previous one, but they don't know that.

Just Lana nods once.

"Well then, thank you very much for taking part in this interview! It has been a pleasure to talk with you and this will be the last mistake you have made as my enemy! Good day!" (Me)

My index finger retracts, leaving the middle finger just there for show.

Right. In. Lana's. Face.

"Suck it, hoe." (Me)

Quickly, I take one of Risa's flames and spread it all over my body, the urge to look as sexy as possible repressed. My armor holding on much better than I expected, showing its durability, but my skin under the armor starts to disintegrate nevertheless.

"WHA- AGAIN?!" (Risa)

In a few seconds, my HP decreases by 60%, which just shows the absurd damage of these flames. I pride myself in my tenacity, but it all goes to shit in front of the flames that were millennia ago just as big of a threat for me.

I activate "Berserk".

My initial stat boost is now 149%.

"BUT THAT AIN'T THE END OF IT!" (Me)

The dryads slowly realize what is going on and become more aggressive. The circle that just ceased any kind of movement now encroaches on us again.

They swing at me with the claws I don't remember giving them, but I easily dodge their melee attacks since dryads are incredibly weak and slow physically.

But the ones in the back row are way more dangerous.

The title "Tough lil' cunt" has been activated!

+10% to all current stats!

Your class "Hellfighter" has been activated!

+10% to all current stats!

The "current" in those buffs means that they don't add to my base stats, but actually increase my already buffed stats by the specified amount.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

'Which just makes it fucking beautiful.'

My strength stat has now passed 300. But that doesn't mean that I'm just as strong as thirty men, even though the base stat for a grown human is 10.

The raw strength that I could put up now can be roughly compared if you double my strength EVERY time I get above a certain threshold in a certain stat. It grows exponentially.

Right now, I have about the strength of 1000 men.

'Stop fucking bragging, you cunt.'

'It's my narration. Piss off.'

I put Risa on my shoulder again, which happened a lot of times in the few hours I've known her now. I won't complain, it's just something I noticed.

'I wanted to try something for a while now.'

Continuing to dodge the numerous attacks left and right and preparing for a magic surprise attack, I jump a few meters up in the air. Risa doesn't seem to like my sudden idea as much as I do, holding onto my armor for her life, but that's just the kinda guy I am.

Spontaneous.

"Y'all guys wanna know how it feels to chew 5 gum?" (Me)

"What the fuck is 5 gum?" (Random dryad)

Before I land, I put every ounce of strength I have into my right leg. With one big stomp, I get the earth around me in a 20-meter radius to shatter and break, sweeping all the dryads off their feet.

And now it seems like Risa suddenly became much more fond of my spontaneity.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" (Risa)

"I KNOW RIGHT?! THIS TIME I DIDN'T JUST PUNCH SHIT!" (Me)

"YEAH! THE GROUND WENT ALL BOOOOOOM AND STUFF!" (Risa)

I give Risa a high five, which looks a bit funny since she's still on my shoulder, and then start to dance around a bit. I've been known far and wide for my dancing expertise, and the joy of having a cool attack for once just awoke the absolute beast in me.

Unfortunately, the dryads don't give me enough time to do the full choreography of the L*cky St*r intro, being way too quick back on their feet.

"Whoops, gotta go." (Me)

But before leaving completely, I jump once more to the monument to get a better look at it.

The now revealed picture shows the silhouette of an angel being worshiped by a group of humanoid beings. The manic smiles on their faces betray the faction they belong to, showing how happy they are to cower in front of him like cattle.

Times I curse play in front of my inner eye. Times I was deceived in, playing in every little game the cunt above wanted me in.

'It's you on that picture, right?'

'What do you think? Did he get my chocolate side?'

'...Why are they smiling like that?'

As Trick already deduced, their happiness isn't something done by free will. Ignoring the sudden nausea setting in, I'm forced to remember how many unlucky souls were forced to act like this for eons.

'Nasty and spooky stuff. No need to talk about it right now.'

I leap away, wondering how and why such an old caricature of me would be in a place like this. There shouldn't be any reason for something like that to appear here, considering the only people who would remember that are locked out of this world by a barrier.

Thoughts race through my mind, but this is sadly not the right atmosphere for a good think.

The already ridiculous distance that I'd be crossing with my stats now became even bigger with "Leap". Hundreds of meters are easily crossed in a second, the fresh, cold air freshening up my slightly jumbled thoughts.

Nonetheless, the distance isn't a sign of safety.

"Risa? Care for a little lesson on monsters?" (Me)

"Hm? Ah, yes." (Risa)

I descend from my last jump and hide inside a nearby bush.

Both of us lay down on the slightly moist ground, side by side, and observe our surroundings, watching out for anything that could attack us at a moment's notice.

"S-" (Me)

But before I can even start teaching, I notice something much more important than some puny attacks.

'Her skirt.'

'Hail Satan, I love my life.'

Her black skirt, which has been loyally hiding her privates-

'Which I'm not a fan of, by the way. Whose fucking idea were clothes anyway? And where was I to prevent them?!'

-got stuck on a twig, and is now revealing her panties.

'For this alone, it was worth to escape hell.'

On her pure white undergarments is a childish bear-head depicted, surprisingly showing a lot about her personality. Who knew you could judge a person by their underwear?

I did.

There's only a slight curvature to her petite figure, teasing me with the El Dorado where no sun shines.

Her petite... derriere (?) (I'm still trying to make it sound as classy as possible while I'm being a degenerate) gets covered by the silky cloth completely, but it just gives off this charm. As if it's full of hopes and dreams.

'FBI! OPEN UP!'

I continue to stare at it, while the owner of the treasure chest-

'OR RATHER BOOTY!'

'HA!'

-looks out for any possible enemies.

"Do you feel this breeze? It's kind of chilly." (Risa)

"Nope, must be your imagination. So, the dryads in the real world differ a bit from mythology." (Me)

"And how do they differ?" (Risa)

Not caring how I know this peculiar bit of information, Risa's head turns to me suddenly, forcing me to get my eyes off my clear center of attention. Even though she seems to be a bit afraid of monsters, the theory around them interests her, much to my dismay.

"The dryads in the real world have something I like to call a "Semi-Hivemind". They're all connected to one tree, which pretty much lets them live their life. The tree is their consciousness." (Me)

The whole forest is completely in chaos right now. Animals are trying to flee from every corner while the dryads try to find me with their plant magic. As the representation of the forest, their state of mind influences the whole ecosystem, for the better or worse.

"And since it's the most precious treasure in their lives, they always fall in panic when it's in danger." (Me)

She nods repeatedly, eager to know more. I've got a sweet spot for teaching others, especially if they're this compliant, so her reaction makes this whole situation just that much more fun.

A few of our pursuers have already found their way to us but didn't find us quite yet. Even if we're inside a bush in their territory, they don't have control over the whole forest simultaneously.

"That's why we'll set the whole forest on fire." (Me)

'Damn it, again?'

'It's twice as fun the second time!'

Risa's nodding stops and is replaced with a semi-cool expression. She has her hand cover her face in an attempt to cover her excitement, which might seem a bit pyromaniac-like, but I swear it comes from a good heart.

"Fu fu fu, so it's time for my special move "Forest of Hell"..." (Risa)

'Well, yes, except that the real forest in Hell generally only has trees that rape you brutally.'

'Sounds like a very nice place. Can we go there on vacation?'

'Have you been a good girl this year?'

"If a forest fire starts, the dryads will immediately go to their own heart and try to protect it with all of their power. That's when we'll follow their traces and steal their most precious thing in the world." (Me)

'...'

'What?'

'Traces, huh...'

'...don't you fucking say it.'

'What do you mean?'

'I know exactly what you're about to say. You're in my fucking head and we share one thought process to a certain degree.'

'I'm...'

'NO! BAD TRICK!'

'I'M ALREADY TRACER!'

'That's it, vacation canceled. Say goodbye to your x-box for a week!'

'NOOOOOO!'

I proceed to break every twig around us (not including the twig that revealed us the booty, since I wouldn't fucking sabotage myself) and put them somewhere far away so the fire won't spread near us. Carbon-Monoxide, fortunately, doesn't have to be one of my concerns as the magic flame doesn't burn in the truest sense of the word.

"Flame on, Risa." (Me)

With much more excitement than I had expected, Risa ignites a little flame on top of her index finger. No matter how many times I see that flame, it still fascinates me to a certain degree.

It might look like something that would just burn fiercely, but the real concept behind it is much more interesting. It's also the source of Purgatory's sudden ascend in ranks among the celestial factions, seeing how overpowered it really is.

That tiny flame is more than enough to set the tree next to us on fire, giving off a glow that swallows the spare moonlight around us.

The fire jumps to every single connection in its vicinity, devouring everything in an endless hunger. Despite that, the air around us doesn't heat up but rather becomes colder the more it spreads.

My gaze switches over to the little panties again, my worldly desires getting the best of me again. I didn't try to stop them in the first place, so that might've been the reason for the quick defeat.

A tiny sweatdrop of nervosity travels down her back, glistening in the glow of the flames around us. It goes on a journey, adventuring down into the land of happiness, never to return.

'The world is so unfair.'

A little tear rolls down my cheek.

Finally, the dryads around us have noticed the fire spreading quickly. Even if it's unable to fly very fast on its own, Risa still being a bit too inexperienced with it, it makes up for it in transmission.

They run away in panic, all of them in a certain direction. It's clear now where I can find their heart.

"Well then, up we go." (Me)

With deep-rooted reluctance, I stand up from our hiding place, knowing that this would be the end of the incredible sight behind me. Something that I've learned over my years, nothing good lasts forever.

Risa stands up with me and we leave the bush together. That's when she finally realizes that something got stuck.

She stops midway through the thicket and looks behind her.

"*GASP!* " (Risa)

She looks at me quickly, making sure I'm not seeing anything I'm not supposed to, and tears at the skirt with all the force she can muster. Not the best idea in these situations, but who am I to correct her?

"D- DON'T LOOK!" (Risa)

I'm looking.

Trying to get the skirt off the branch it got stuck on, Risa starts to blush, embarrassed at the fact that she can't pull it off no matter what she tries. I might've been the reason for it with a few knots here and there, but there's no way of really telling.

The little bear on her behind sways from side to side, taunting me.

She's way too embarrassed to think about how she should do it, so she just yanks the skirt from side to side until the weak fabric gives up.

*RIIIIPPP*

"NOOOOO!" (Risa)

Half of the skirt is now gone, rendering the sole purpose of such low-level cloth useless.

'Saw it coming, still not disappointed.'

'We need a camera or something.'

She tries her best to cover up what she can, but to no avail. The bear broke out of his cage and is now rampaging outside.

"No need to be embarrassed, Risa. Wearing a cute bear on your panties is nothing to be ashamed of. I do it myself sometimes." (Me)

'Come again?'

"T-This is not a tiny, cute bear! It's a ferocious monster that I've sealed inside this piece of fabric! Yeah!" (Risa)

"So you've sealed a monster inside your panties?" (Me)

I didn't want to render her speechless with that, but that was pretty much inevitable. She doesn't nearly have the social skills to talk herself out of this situation, nor can she accept things as they are. Even Jess would have problems with this situation, no matter her slightly better collectedness.

Nonetheless, the desire to savor this moment as much as possible is sadly contradicted by the situation we're in.

I put Risa again on my shoulder, this time with her butt facing my face-

'Cause I'm a fucking degenerate.'

-and I start running in the direction the dryads just fled in.

I follow every single trace of the dryads, using every skill as a tracker I have, catching up to them as quickly as I can. A few twigs sometimes slap Risa's butt a bit and leave slight marks on them, but she tries to not let out any reactions.

Tries.

Following their mana signature and footsteps in the dirt, I get a general direction I follow.

'By the way Nith.'

'Right here.'

'Why aren't you just punching them into smithereens? I mean, they seem to be connected to Heaven, so I thought that you'd be a bit pissed.'

Another twig slaps Risa's butt, and I yearn for it more with every sound she makes.

'There are actually a few reasons.'

I see another turn from the footsteps and adjust my direction.

'First of all, the dryads most likely aren't connected to Heaven. The tower might be, but not the dryads themselves.'

'oH bOy, wHAt dO yOU mEaN bY tHaT?'

Nice transition.

'The dryads were only born and raised here, while the monument is part of the tower. Dryads themselves have never joined any faction, their nature not exactly fit to be aggressors of this degree. They were most likely forced to comply in some way. And I'm not such a monster that I'd just kill them for something that they're not responsible for...'

An elephant stomps in my way out of panic, which I send several dozen meters up in the air with one hand.

'Ignore that.'

'And the other reason is that you can't-'

'-let such a valuable source of waifus get away. Exactly.'

Brilliant minds think alike.

This time, a pretty big branch whips Risa on her ass and makes it quiver a little. The pure white skin has for the most part turned red already, as she struggles not to make any weird sounds. More than her butt, her feeble sense of pride seems to take more damage in this situation.

'HEHEHEHEHEHE!'

'HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!'

At that moment, I sense a big group of dryads surrounding one tree in front of us. It seems like we arrived at our destination.

With a stern voice, Lana commands her squad, doing her best to keep their race alive. She's apparently realized the severity of the situation with me as their enemy, skillfully trying to watch all her corners.

"Scan the area! Don't let the intruder get near our heart!" (Lana)

I put Risa and her red ass down and get into a sprinter position. All of my buffs are still active, so my speed is nearly equivalent to my strength.

"Dang it, that hurt." (Risa)

She rubs her behind gently. I would feel sorry, but I don't.

I jump off with every bit of strength I have with my hand stretched out right in front of me, a clear goal in my mind.

Nearly instantaneously, I appear by Lana's side with my hand buried inside the tree they're trying to protect.

"WHA-" (Lana)

I look at my hand, which just penetrated their most precious place, and back to her.

"Oh wait, should I have taken you out for dinner first?" (Me)

I can understand the sudden shock, considering how she tried her best to prevent this exact situation, but their physical abilities really weren't enough to stop me from getting what I want.

Grasping something round and pulsating inside the tree, I rip it out, knowing full well that this action alone wouldn't damage it for the moment.

A golden, pulsating heart greets me with a radiant glow.

All of the dryads look at me in shock. My speed was way too fast for them to comprehend it with their limited physical abilities, so to them, it must've looked like I teleported.

I make another round back and get Risa to my side, who is just as surprised at my speed. She still enjoys it, but she's surprised nonetheless.

Now we're both standing in a group of dryads, with their heart in my right hand.

"Well, well, well, well, what do we have here?" (Me)

Lana already snapped out of shock and looks at me with more anger than I deserve. They were the first to attack me, for fuck's sake. Why am I the bad guy here?

I stuff the heart in my wrist.

"Seems like I've got the ace of hearts up my sleeve, eh cunts?" (Me)

'HA!