“Gah!”
All the air in his lungs escaped as he landed, leaving him dazed. He stared unfocused at the thin pillars of sunlight that peeked through the foliage, momentarily forgetting where he was.
A scream sounded from what seemed like far away, “Watch out!”
He was still trying to figure out what exactly to watch out for when a large green and brown blob filled his vision, another large tree branch. The rough, knobby bark and sharp twigs that stuck out in all directions seemed quite uncomfortable if they were to make contact with his face again. His mind still foggy, he covered his head with his arms and instinctively rolled to one side.
Zachary rolled several more times, gaining clarity with each roll. Aside from the rough ground, he did not suffer from any other sources. After rolling some more for good measure, he finally sprang to his feet. His thoughts were calm, his eyes were sharp. He summoned Onkie and Arrow in quick succession, with the furry pig as his vanguard and the poison frog atop his head as the long-range attacker.
The enemy before him was a single creature. It didn't look like any beast, more like a part of a tree that had sprung out from its original host. Its body was made up of bark and vines that twisted together tightly. It had two thin legs with feet that splayed out like roots. Its two long arms extended almost to the ground, with many twigs still covered in leaves. Curiously, this creature had an obvious head; with sunken, empty sockets for eyes and a gap in the bark for a mouth.
"Arrrr." It groaned and moved towards him, swaying its arms like clubs.
It looked like a walking tree. Its speed was not slow but not fast, about walking pace. Its height was a bit shorter than the average person.
"Arrow, poison spit, target its face!" Zachary said.
Arrow opened its mouth and blobs of green spit shot out in a steady stream. They formed a perfect arc in the air and landed on the creature.
"Arrrrr!" It groaned loudly as if in pain and anger.
It extended an arm that quickly started to stretch towards him. A twisted mix of vines and branches grew rapidly, becoming thinner and longer. The attack was fast and closed the distance in a single breath. Zachary didn't expect such an attack and only dodged at the last moment. However, this slow reaction allowed the creature's hand to catch his foot, sending him crashing into the ground. It then twisted several vines around his ankle and started dragging him back.
"Marble, slash it!" Katherine said, joining the battle.
Marble disappeared from her bosom and reappeared atop the long arm of the creature that was stretched out toward Zachary. The little black and white swiped its paw downward, its sharp claws making several visible cuts. But nothing else happened. It wasn't clear if the cut was too shallow or if this Ensouled just didn't bleed. Either way, the tree creature's wounds quickly started to mend back together at an astonishing pace. Meanwhile, Zachary was still being steadily pulled towards it, unable to escape no matter how he struggled.
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"Onkie, bite through it!"
The pig let out a brave cry and rushed over. It landed atop the extended arm, covering a section of it with its fur. Soon, the sounds of crunching and munching emerged as it used its formidable teeth to chew through the tree's arm.
"Arrow, keep firing at its face!"
The poison frog, which had landed a short distance away when Zachary fell, hopped forward and resumed spitting poison.
At the same time, Katherine also ordered her own summon, "Marble, attack its ankles, quick!"
Marble dashed forward, dodging an attempt by the tree to stomp on it and starting clawing around spindly legs.
The battle continued like this for a while. The first to achieve a breakthrough was Onkie, successfully chewing through the arm that had grabbed Zachary. Marble soon followed with its own success, using formidable claws to cut through the creature's legs which were a lot thinner than its arms. Arrow had also done significant damage with its poison and the tree's face was now a misshapen mess of green goo.
"Aaaawww." The thing let out a long groan as it fell over stiffly.
It wasn't able to get back up and seemed to have lost its fighting spirit. However, as this happened, a series of creaking sounds came from all around them. More of the same Ensouled appeared, uprooting themselves from the surrounding bushes or peeling themselves off from larger trees where they had been camouflaged. It was as if this whole place was its territory.
"We have to go!" Katherine cried out, already starting to retreat.
"I know, but let's take the wounded one with us. They're slow, they can't catch up to us if we run." Zachary said as he grabbed the Ensouled's stump of an arm where Onkie had chewed it off.
"Fine!"
She didn't sound happy but did so anyway, grabbing the tree's other arm which had been flailing around randomly. Together, the two humans kidnapped this hapless Ensouled from its brethren and ran. Blue flew above their heads while Arrow hopped onto Onkie’s back which was running beside Zachary.
The motley group retreated all the way to the river before finally stopping. Behind them, the jungle was silent. Nothing chased after them, even after waiting apprehensively for a while.
Zachary let out a sigh, "Damn it, I didn't expect a whole forest of those things. We couldn't sense them at all."
"Yeah, they blended in with the surrounding trees. We'll have to be careful, if there are small tree creatures, then there are sure to be larger ones as well."
He nodded, "Mmm. I think that's why the seagulls only hunt in the open and don't dare fly into the trees."
"So, what do you want to do about this one? Do you want to kill it or capture it?" She asked.
The Ensouled in question was still thrashing around weakly, unable to get back up or escape. Zachary glanced at it only briefly as he had already made his decision.
"It's a humanoid type. That in itself makes it special. It would be a waste to kill it. Will you capture it for me?" He asked.
Ensouled came in many types. In addition to beast and plant types, there were elemental, demonic, humanoid, and even artificial types. This tree creature was a combination of plant and humanoid type. Similar ones were called treants in the Old World. They were versatile, powerful, and very expensive, costing five to ten times as much as beast or plant Ensouled with singular typing.
He felt that this treant would be able to contribute greatly to the challenges ahead. This place was its natural habitat, giving it all the advantages and none of the drawbacks. Even if its killing power was somewhat low, its ability to ensnare opponents was a healthy addition. He also hoped that it would be able to sense other treants and help open a safe path through the dense jungle.
"Please?" He added.
Katherine smiled, "Alright, since you asked so nicely."
She twirled a knife in her hand and walked over to the treant. It tried to struggle but Onkie and Marble kept it at bay. She hacked away at its chest until it stopped moving. A short while later, she stood back up and held up a summoning card triumphantly towards the sun. The small leafy-green crystal in the center of the card sparkled with brilliance.