You have slain [Slime Lvl. 17]. Experience will be awarded. Level difference detected. Bonus experience will be awarded.

[Species: Unregistered]: level has increased from 8 to 9!

Another slime burst out of existence, leaving its immediate surroundings dead and destroyed. It was only one of many that had died today, but it was the one that finally brought me to level 9.

After the first slime I had killed for the tree, it kept guiding me towards places where slimes were destroying parts of the forest. One of the slimes that I unalived was in the middle of dissolving the corpse of some kind of animal, which was, honestly, quite interesting to watch, but it also reminded me of my foot, so I did the only reasonable thing and eradicated the pest.

Why the tree kept sending me out to murder the slimy was bastards was still unclear, but since I also earned experience simultaneously, I saw no reason to deny my assistance. It was a win-win situation. I leveled—even if it took almost a dozen slimes—and the tree was spared from the nasty acid the slimes were made up from.

Taking a step over a small puddle of acid, I removed myself from the death site of the slime. If there was one thing that was annoying me the most, then it was the fact that the acid seemed to persist, even when the slime was dead. Water, for example, would be absorbed by the ground and for a consistent puddle to form, there would be a lot of water. In case of the acid, even the smallest drops just remained were they landed, peacefully corroding whatever they touched. I could say with frustrating certainty that there was a high likelihood of stepping onto a small drop of acid. A most unpleasant experience that taught me to take caution with my steps.

Finding my way back to the tree was easy as it all the places where slimes had been very close to it. The tree’s root joined me on my way back and I was prepared for receiving yet another direction. I was not planning to keep killing slimes for this thing, but considering it functioned as practice to help me familiarize myself with using mana as a weapon, it was good training for me. And increasing my level was not detrimental to me at all.

“So… another one?” I asked the root beside me. Watching it carefully, I waited for response, like a nod, but nothing of the sorts came. Instead, the root slightly raised the speed at which it was moving forward. Speeding up my steps, I matched its pace at it wriggled through the forest, taking turns that definitely wouldn’t lead us back to the tree. There was something off about its behavior, but I followed along. It was probably just going to show me yet another slime.

I watched a rodent climbing up a tree, a deer turning tail after spotting us, birds flying from tree to tree. The forest was getting livelier as we moved along, which surprised me. I had not know that this forest was so… alive. I suspected it, naturally, but seeing it for the first time was still somewhat fascinating. It was a shame that the quickness of these creature, matched with my incompetence to remember my own skill hindered me from identifying even a single one of them. It would have been nice to get a grasp on the strength of the inhabitants of the forest. Given I was walking with a level 100 root, my expectations could be said to be quite high. Even if a disappointment of said expectations would be very welcome.

As we advanced further into the woods, my uneasiness was growing. We were now walking for several minutes, which was more than ever before. The river was also long out of sight and I could not even hear the water flowing.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we reached a place that convinced me that the root was not leading me to yet another slime. Before me stood a wall, build from trees, branches and roots, interwoven into a solid fortification of wood. It stood dozens of feet high, and denied any attempt to see what was on the other side. To the left and right, it stretched as far as my eyes could see. Which was, given the dense vegetation of the forest, not that far, but still impressive.

Looking down at my silent companion, I was met with a root extending towards me. It proceeded to wrap around my stomach.

“What are you doing?” Panic tinged my voice as the hold of the root around me tightened. Starting to feel worried, I tried to pry myself free, but it was no use. I was trying to overwhelm a level 100 root with a measly strength of 2.

I did not say anymore and did not have the chance to as the root lifted me into the air. I screamed as my body was dragged along. Iron Will helped me to relax, but did little about my worry. I was sane enough to not struggle for my freedom, because even if I did, I was now high in the air and while I had apparently done so in the past, I was sure a fall from that height would kill me. Looking down all the way was terrifying, so for my own sake, I closed my eyes and entrusted my body to the root.

My eyes only opened again when I felt solid ground under my feet. Opening my eyes, the wall was now behind me. For whatever reason, the root had brought me to the other side of the wall. Still, it could have warned me before it did so.

After catching my breath and my heartbeat calming down, I turned around, ready to argue with the root, but it was not there. Well, there was a root, multiple of them, but not the one I was looking for. The root belonging to the Bloodriver tree was nowhere to be seen. It was gone.

Realizing what it had done, I balled my hand and directed a glare towards the top of the wall. I wanted to yell, but restrained myself. Clicking my tongue, my anger subsided slowly, enabling to think this over rationally.

The tree and I had a favorable relationship. It saved my life and offered me opportunities to grow and train, even if only briefly. Maybe it was too early to draw a conclusion. There had to be a reason why it brought me here. It is weird that it did not communicate with me before though.

Well, then let’s see what this is all about.

I turned around and my eyes widened as I craned my neck. Before me stood a single tree that was so massive that it filled my entire vision. The thing was easily as wide as a Bloodriver tree was high, which must be more than a hundred, no, two hundred feet. And I could not even tell its height. Its canopy pierced the clouds above, its branches, thicker than trees carried hundred of smaller branches. Its bark was a light brown, completely different from the grim coloring of its smaller relatives and it lacked the creepy veins pulsating beneath. The brownish-golden leaves danced gracefully in the soft caress of the breeze. Despite its abundance of leaves and branches, its gorgeous foliage allowed for sunlight to permeate through. If the word “majestic” had to be put into a single picture, it would be that tree.

Snapping out of my daze, I tried to identify the tree, but there was no result. The tree was just a tree. A big one, sure, but not one that had leveled and developed a kind of sentience. Disappointment and relief conflicted each other in my mind. But there was more to the tree, that much was obvious.

The reason I thought so was simple. Nestled in the center of its trunk, a fissure ran through the lower parts of the tree. As if someone had cracked its shell, revealing a dark interior. The tear was big, almost splitting the lower part of it in half. It was as worrisome as it was astounding to see. The crack looked far from natural. As if something had torn into the wood. An irremediable damage that threatened the tree’s existence. Maybe that was the reason a wall had been constructed. To protect it.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

There was definitely more to the wall. The way it was constructed by roots, trees and branches intertwining into a solid structure was not normal. Not only that, but from the other side, I had not seen the massive tree, but this tree was not something that could simply be covered by a wall and a few trees.

Moreover, within the perimeter of the wall, the vicinity of the tree lay barren. Not a single plant, tree, or creature existed here. The ground was covered in grass, and scattered sporadically were a handful of stones. It was as if someone wanted to keep the rest of the forest out, not allowing a tiniest ant to approach the giant tree.

There was something peaceful about this place, but at the same time a feeling of unease remained in my chest. As if the peacefulness was covering something else up.

In the end, despite the slight feeling of unease building in my chest, curiosity got the better of me and my steps carried me towards the split in the trunk.

What could possibly cause such a gash onto this giant of a tree? What had the strength to cause such damage. And more importantly, why had the Bloodriver tree brought me here. There must have been a reason for it.

Drawing closer, I sighed. Now that it had pulled its root out of here, I was on my own and wouldn’t get any answers from it. It was now in my hands to decide what to do next.

As I approached the tree, the fissure in the bark loomed larger than before. From my closer vantage point, it stretched several dozen feet wide at its broadest section, where it converged with the ground. Upon closer inspection, the inside of the tree was hollow. The darkness that veiled my view inside already caused me to suspect something like this, but being up close just confirmed it. The fissure was an entrance into the tree.

For some time, I stared into the vast sea of nothingness, trying to discern anything of interest, but no matter how much I strained my eyes, there was only blackness. My fruitless effort left me dissatisfied. Now that my curiosity had been piqued, I wanted to satisfy it.

I am just going to take a look. If there is any danger, I can simply back out.

As I approached the fissure, it became clear that the darkness really was not normal. It colored the ground inside black as if the entire texture and material had changed. Exhaling sharply, I took the first step into the fissure and when both of my feet stood on the black ground, something strange happened. My surroundings changed, the darkness was slowly dissipating. A system notification appeared in my vision.

You have entered the Lair of Veraxia, Nature’s Enforcer.

Warning! This lair is contaminated.

Lair of Veraxia? Nature’s Enforcer? Veraxia sounds like a name. Then Nature’s Enforcer is a title?

It seems I had unknowingly entered someone else’s territory. A territory that has been contaminated, whatever that meant. Whatever, my instincts told me to leave, so I turned around, but there was no fissure in the wall behind me. As a matter of fact, all of the darkness was gone, and I found myself in something like a cave. The walls wooden appearance suggested that I was still inside the tree.

I was not the type to lose my cool over something like this, but this was definitely making me uneasy. Without a way out, I was forced to explore the inside in hopes of finding an alternative. The problem was, I knew for a fact—thanks to the system—that this tree…cave was inhabited.

With that thought in mind, I finally looked around the interior of this “Lair”.

The first thing to take note of was that it was not dark. I was in a kind of cave inside the tree, so no sunlight was reaching this place, yet, the walls were covered in vines and roots, which emitted a dim light. It was not very bright, but enough to allow me to see the entire interior.

As far as I could tell, the room was empty with the exception to a few roots growing out of the ground here and there. It was a relief to know that at least, I was not trapped with some deadly creature.

As I walked around the room, looking for anything moderately interesting, my head suddenly started aching. A weird sensation followed. As if something was forcing itself into my mind. All the alarms in my head went off as I frantically looked around for anyone messing with me, but there was no one. Clutching my head, I knelt down, trying to resist the invading thing, but I was powerless. My mind slipped and my consciousness started to fade, when it suddenly… stopped. No headache, my mind clear as day and no force trying to invade my mind.

“What the fuck?” I spat, still clutching my head even though the pain was gone.

What was that?

“That was me.” My thoughts replied.

Wait, what?

…

Was I just imagining things?

“You were not.” Another thought of mine, outside my control, replied.

I flinched at the uncomfortable feeling that came with thinking not my own thoughts.

What is happening?

“Not much, you are simply talking to yourself. In your mind,” my thoughts chimed. “Not weird at all,” I… my thoughts giggled happily.

These thoughts belonged to me, that was certain, yet something felt amiss. There was an unsettling feeling, a sense of discord. While they were my thoughts, the words themselves felt foreign, as if they were not truly mine.

No. That’s not me. Those words, thoughts, whatever they are wrong. Who are you?

“What are you saying, it’s me. I am you. Yourself…myself, I mean.”

Assuming I don’t believe you or me or whatever, who are you?

The strange thoughts went silent, then a sigh echoed in my mind.

“Alright, you caught me. My name is Veraxia, Nature’s Enforcer and helpless maiden in need of rescue.”

The voice of my thoughts changed in the middle of the sentence, getting a higher pitch and a more playful tone. My eyes widened hearing the name of the Lair’s owner coming from my own thoughts. Was she here to punish me for entering her domain?

“Oh? There are a lot of thoughts going through your tiny head, but you needn’t worry, I am not mad that you entered my lair, no quite the opposite actually.”

At first, I was shocked at her seemingly reading my mind, but figuring that she was basically one of my thoughts, it made sense. Kind of. Not really, but I did not really bother to try and understand it.

You are not?

“No, I am not. Normally, I might have been, but my situation right now is not exactly normal and I could use a hand or two to help me out.”

I remembered the warning the system gave me when I entered the lair.

The contamination?

“You are a quick thinker, good. Then, let me cut to the chase. How about you help me get rid of the parasites threatening my life and in return, I will reward you?”

It was strange to communicate with my thoughts, especially since, technically, even Veraxia was now part of my thoughts. At this point, I didn’t even try to understand how it worked.

Me? Helping you? I don’t know if I am fit for that. I am weak and lack a fundamental understanding of basically everything.

“Not a problem. It’s not like you are going to be in any danger. Well, technically there is a… let’s say seventy percent chance of you and me dying.

I gulped.

Can I decline?

“You can, but—and I am not trying to threaten you here—then you will die.”

What? I frowned.

“If you decide to let this innocent, helpless me die, then you will share my miserable fate.”

Why?

“If I die, the plague contaminating my lair will break out and spread throughout the forest. Looking at your status, even if you started running now, you would be dead in three, no, two days.”

Hearing a prediction of my own death was disturbing, especially since it was conveyed through a thought of mine, so it already registered as an unshakeable truth. There was no point in attempting to refute it; the truth had taken root in my perception of reality. Tree pun unintended.

Would have been great if you started with that information.

“Probably, yeah, but I am kinda being eaten alive right now, so constructing coherent chains of thoughts can be quite challenging.”

I decidedly ignored the part about her being eaten alive. It did not sound like something pleasant to talk about. Anyhow, my answer was already set, but before agreeing, there was one last thing I was curious about.

You mentioned a reward before, what kind of?

“There are many things I can offer, but for a start, how about information regarding the system, the world itself or … your species?”

My eyes widened, a single thought crossing my mind.

I’m in.