Everything had gone well the past week. I had sent my Gejan out to level, mostly during the night. During the day, I found it was rather dangerous for them to hunt and kill. Day monsters and beasts of the forest tend to be large and quite powerful. They had evolved to be large in size while having quite a resilient defense in the form of exoskeletal skin or dense muscles. Acceptable enemies for some Gejan, but horrible for most thanks to the sheer amount of blunt damage they were able to dish out.

The Gejan are naturally resistant to piercing and slashing damage thanks to their scales. Even better is the fact that they have some serious resistance to poisons. Their bodies seem to be able to fight practically any nocturnal monster available.

Their innate night vision allows them to fight extremely well in the night. In addition to that, the monsters that roam the forest by night tend to be smaller, and often lack good physical defenses. They generally focus on sneak attacks and poison to kill their foes.

As you can see, perfect Gejan hunting grounds.

Unfortunately, problems seem to always appear when everything is going great.

“We should avenge her. You will only be going to your death if you go alone.”

Zorren voices aloud angrily, his arms folded together as we all sit around a bonfire, debating the recent news.

“No! Thorous must be saved. They said she will die if Quasi does not speak to Alba,” exclaims Tessa exclaims in panic and anger. Her emotions are out of control from the possibility that she may lose her close friend.

“So you would let him die?” Zorren exclaims, pointing at me like I’m some kind of thing.

Well, out of everyone, Zorren has been the least helpful. More like a dead weight than anything else. I wonder if he still hates me over using him as a meatshield for the minotaurs…

“I agree, there must be some way to save her,” says Lilly with a frown.

I sit and look, listening to my elites talk about what should be done, but lacking any ideas on how to do it. Except for Zorren, he seems to have convinced himself that Thorous is now a lost cause and that we should focus on vengeance.

I look to my left, finding a nervous looking Jessica sitting next to me. She seems to be thinking about what to do as well, but like most, doesn't have an answer either.

I then turn to Darrow, a Gejan who had physically grown with his levels. So much so that he towers as tall as Zorren now. Darrow is relaxed, smiling as though everything will somehow work out.

I cough into my hand and silence descends upon all present. They turn to me, waiting for my answer.

“Darrow, mind sharing your thoughts?”

The spotlight now changes to Darrow who looks surprised before giving his goofy smile, followed by a shrug.

“The commander will save Thorous. The only reason this Alba is even threatening us is because she doesn't understand how amazing the commander is.”

Some chuckle, Lilly and Tessa nod, while Zorren rolls his eyes in annoyance. A hint of anger ripples through his face before disappearing just as fast.

So that's what bothers you. The blind devotion I get from everyone. Jealousy? Annoyance? Fear? What drives you to act the way you do...

“Well Darrow, you are completely correct. I am going to save her.”

Smiles cross faces as I hear a breath come from my side. Even jessica was curious of my choice.

“And how are you going to do that?” Zorren says, his mood seemingly soured.

I smile at the man, showing my teeth, “Easy, by doing exactly what Darrow said. I’m going to show them how amazing I am.”

At my words I stand up and stretch, watching the morning light start to shine upon our camp.

“Alright, wake everyone up. Nobody sleeps today. If we are to save her, then I am going to need everyone's help. I want an army armed and ready.” I chuckle, smiling as hundreds of plans are made and discarded in my head. Thousands of possibilities, and I choose the one which I believe has the highest chance of success.

I turn, heading towards my carriage, my mana ready and waiting for what I am going to need to do next.

____________________________________________________________________

“She is about two hundred meters down that direction,” the scout informes me, pointing towards a cluster of trees.

I nod. “Good, now get back with the group. I will handle the next step.”

She swallows sleepily. Like for the others, her day had been hectic and busy, which is why rest is now so very wanting.

I watch her run back before turning towards the cluster of trees.

Level 121 Treant

Treants are predators that instead of hunting, wait for prey to come near before quickly grasping and entangling them with poison spiked vines and roots. They are effective and powerful, but lack the ability to move quickly from locations.

A Treant’s body is resistant to fire, having evolved in this way due to certain predators being able to set them on fire.

Tamed by Alba

It's funny, but Treants are trees, except that they don't grow like trees. Where trees will grow towards the light, Treants seem to grow around. Clearly, a diet of meat changes the physiology of what is normal.

Which is why it is so easy for me to notice them in this forest environment. The moved dirt, no branches intermingling, leaves seem to serve more as decoration than anything else.

I start walking in that direction while relaying mental commands constantly. My eyes partially focused on walking while a large birdlike monster circles the area far above where I am going. Through its eyes, I can see my plan coming together.

It’s annoying that I can't use my mini pigeons. Yes, that's what I am calling them, even though they look like hummingbirds. Unfortunately, they are at the bottom of the food chain, which means I can't use them because everything else that can fly keeps fucking eating them.

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Probably explains why they are so numerous. They have to procreate faster than they die.

My feet take me within range of the first Treant and the point in which my plan could fail.

Thankfully, nothing impedes my path as I walk through the night until I enter a circular clearing with a massive Treant in the center. Thorous is splayed on it, held tightly by the tentacles of the Treant.

But my vision moves towards the bottom, towards the centauress named Alba. She gazes at me expectantly, her hand petting the giant cat next to her.

She is slightly taller than her younger sister, but still much smaller than the average centauress. Her features are that of a half-goat underside, and I noticed a sheen of red in her eyes.

“So you came,” she says, which I take as my cue to stop moving. I am only five meters away from her now, which is more than close enough for me to take a good look at her appearance.

Pure white from head to tail. Even her short horns are white.

“And you are an albino.”

She looks at me up and down, gazing strongly. After a moment, she tilts her head,” Albino?”

I nod, sending mental signals as I strengthen the grip on my staff while keeping my mind and body ready to move and react.

“Indeed. Albino’s are people without pigmentation.”

She looks at me confused.

“Pigmentation refers to a body's ability to add color. Your body is not able to do so which is resulting in you looking completely white.”

Her petting stops as she digests my words, “Is that bad?”

Huh, this is easier than I thought. I’m almost in position.

I shake my head, “no, albinism is not necessarily bad, at least not here,” I point towards the crystal in the sky, “the crystal, your light source, does not produce any heat which would have easily burned your skin.”

A smile forms on her lips, “heh, you are the third person to say something like that.”

Shit… why am I feeling like she is also preparing something? She is too relaxed. Something is wrong.

I ignore her statement and instead point towards Thorous hanging limp on the tree.

“Is she alive?” I ask fully knowing that she is alive. Sensing if something is dead is one of the perks of the [Necromancer] class that doesn’t come in the form of a skill.

My question causes her to pout as she twists her head and gazes at the form of Thorous.

“She is, though barely. I may have exhausted her a bit too much in the morning.”

Exhausted… what? Torture? Something doesn't seem right.

I take a good look at Thorous and find her to be in rather good health, albeit lacking any clothing.

She was stripped? It makes sense though. Thorous could have had a weapon hidden in her clothes.

“If she is alive, then return her to me,” I state aloud, my plan ready and waiting. Now I just have to see what she does.

“If you do, I will spare your life,” I add. As long as Thorous isn’t permanently harmed, then I really have no reason to fight or kill her. People can be reasonable occasionally.

To my threat, her smile widens.

“Truly amazing. Volpe was completely right. If one day you did the unthinkable,” she mumbles, shaking her head, eyes glazed, smiling with a hint of madness.

She steps towards me, and I am forced to step back because my subconscious is screaming at me, yelling at me that I just fucked up and had fallen into a trap.

It is also screaming internally that it was too late to do anything about it.

The ground begins to rumble.

Shit. It's now or never!

Attack!

Like a mental onslaught, I send my command towards the several thousand undead monsters waiting just outside the range of the treants. Sounds of screaming, yelling, growling are heard from my horde as a full on charge begins towards my location.

Unfortunately, that little voice in the back of my mind. Those instincts of mine. They are telling me that I am too late.

“Fuck,”

One word is all that I am able to say as the ground trembles, and a hundred treants burst out of the ground where they had been hidden. They grow and expand, roots rising at the entrance to the clearing. They rise far up and towards the center. In mere seconds, the light is completely blocked and I am trapped inside a thick wooden dome.

I swerve my head forward but am unable to see anything at all. Without even the smallest bit of light, then my night vision is useless.

I hear something soft tap on the floor in front of me. And then I hear the hoofsteps and her voice.

I know where she is. I can smell her scent. I hear her move as well as her hardened breathing.

“An army. You built an army in a day. Volpe was so right about you.”

She speaks, her voice coming closer. I grip my staff and focus on my hearing as well as my mana. I prepare my [Corrosive Fog] spell with enough strength to melt everything around me.

I am a complete idiot. She fucking hid a hundred treants under the dirt. I walked in with an army to scare her into submission. But I fucked up and now it looks like my only choice is to end her in one strike.

“Mmmm, I can smell it. You have a spell ready. I wouldn't use it though. If I die, the girl behind me dies and every monster under my control will go into a frenzy to avenge me.”

FUCK!

I am surrounded by over a hundred treants. My monsters are barely making any progress on the dome and Berosus’s slow ass will take forever to get here. It has been a long time since I had messed up this badly.

“What do you want?” I ask while gritting my teeth.

I hear her move closer, her body near my own. I can hear her breathing. She smells of dirt and flowers and ...something else. Something I have smelled before.

And then her hand glides past my waist as her body relaxes into mine. She had taken off the covering from her chest and now I can feel her hardened nipples poking me.

Her face moves next to my head, her breathing tickling my ear as a feeling I try to suppress washes over me.

“I want… a child.”

**************************************************************************************

“He has been in there for several hours now. Shouldn't we go in and try to save him?” Jessica exclaims while pointing at the wooden dome which had sprouted out when Quasi’s army had started to charge.

Darrow snorts while taking a moment to glaze at the zombie undead army waiting unmoving around the dome. They had initially been very aggressive and started attacking the dome when it first rose up, but stopped moments after.

“Quasi is still alive, and he said not to interfere unless specifically ordered to,” Darrow says while his butt relaxes on a log. He is tired, but not nearly as tired as everyone else.

Jessica, hearing Darrow, swerves to look at Tessa who looks as worried as Jessica. Her eyes look bloodshot but her posture is ready and waiting.

Unlike Lilly who is snoring up a storm on the ground. Her body is completely prone and making a dent into the dirt.

“But what if he is injured or unconscious? What if he needs us now?” Jessica continues,” What could he possibly be doing in there for so long? I can't hear anything.”

Then she frowns and turns towards the rather uncaring member who had even refused to assist in the hunting all of the monsters and bringing their corpses to Quasi.

Her hands move to her hips as she glares at Zorren, ”What about you? Can’t you do something?”

Zorren looks at her, snorts, and continues resting with his back to a tree while staring at the army of monsters.

If Jessica is being honest with her thoughts, she would think that Zorren is jealous.

“Jessica, he will be fine. He is the commander. He never fails,” Darrow exclaims with absolute confidence. The thought of the commander losing has never crossed his mind.

Jessica opens her mouth to retort but stops as a sizzling sound is heard from the dome.

All eyes turn and watch as a small section seems to melt and burn with a purplish fog. It takes about a good thirty seconds before a human sized hole is left.

Quasi walks through, his clothing disheveled, a huge frown on his face as he looks around.

“Quasi,” Jessica starts and takes a step forward but stops as her eyes adjust enough to properly see his expression.

Annoyed, angry, confused, exhausted, bewildered… content.

It is all on his face.

He takes a deep breath.

“She was not a screamer.”

The words escape his lips as he begins walking back towards camp while completely ignoring the questioning looks pointed towards him.