Magnus thought over his next course of action. The Ent Sentinel looked quite a bit bulkier than the one he fought with last so taking it down would take more time. He wondered if he should attack now while the second Ent was still forming, or act defensively with his high Endurance. Deciding to damage it at least a little, he dropped the dead Ent’s mana and sent a probing attack without fully committing.

Even with its higher mass, it wasn’t any slower than the previous Ent and it managed to deflect Magnus’ punch to its stomach and wound up an overhead punch. Examining its hands he realized that it lacked the claws the lower-leveled Ent possessed. In fear of the punch, Magnus stepped back out of its range, while turning his [Mana Perception] on. Just as he predicted a green ball sat in the Ents’ body. Curiously though, this one had the ball’s position shifted into its chest instead of its abdomen. Probably due to its chest looking like plate armor.

Seeing Magnus retreat, the Ent dropped its tensed hand and started approaching. Magnus glanced behind the Sentinel to check on the other Ent and after seeing that it was still trying to disconnect itself from the tree, he decided to bait out the Sentinel’s heavy punch and get one good hit in.

Getting closer to the Sentinel and standing on its right side, Magnus waited for it to wind up its attack. The Sentinel wound up and punched with its right hand just as predicted, so Magnus dodged left and counter-attacked with a left hook to its armpit enhanced by [Vicious Blow]. He didn’t even try attacking the ball of mana directly through its armored chest so he decided to attack its hopefully softer armpits.

[Vicious Blow is now Level 4]

Using [Vicious Blow] was slowly becoming second nature as he had yet to find the limits of his Endurance. As his fist connected with the Sentinel’s armpit the wood splintered a bit, but not as much as Magnus would have liked. He sighed in disappointment while stepping back. This was going to take a long time. Perhaps he should have put more Stat Points into Strength after all.

Again, Magnus prepared to repeat his strategy. Sadly, things couldn’t always go smoothly. When the punch was rocketing at his face and he was starting to dodge, he realized he couldn’t. He looked down at his feet and saw the problem. His feet were wrapped up by thick tree roots and he budged to try and get out. It was a futile attempt however and the punch clocked him right in the face.

Suddenly, the roots weren’t so constraining and he fell on his back. While falling he saw where the roots came from.

[Corrupted Wood Mage – Tier 0] – Level 6

A thin, feeble-looking Ent stood on the other side of the tree, far enough that Magnus couldn’t reliably attack it without running. To his [Mana Perception] the Mage shone like a lighthouse, in contrast to the Sentinel which had no mana in its body except for its core. He could deal with the predictable Sentinel with time, but if the Mage continued to support it he had next to no change. It had to die and fast.

After rolling out of the way of an incoming punch, Magnus pushed himself up and started running toward the Wood Mage. It was only after he fell down again and saw a waterfall of blood gushing out his nose, he realized that his nose was broken. Surprised that he wasn’t in extreme pain right now, he managed to lean out of the way of another attack thanks to an early warning from [Danger Sense].

Even through the sudden dizziness he managed to get up and resume his approach toward the Mage. The Mage seeing him approach didn’t just stay idle and started gesturing with its hands. Green mana started slowly forming into the shape of a giant needle. Frankly, Magnus didn’t want to take a hit from whatever that was that was forming so he upped his pace.

He turned around to check on the Sentinel. Unfortunately, with the pace he set he wouldn’t make it to the Mage before the Sentinel caught him. While he was checking behind him his [Danger Sense] screamed. Magnus quickly spun his head to face forward and he saw a wooden spear floating in front of the Mage’s hands. Getting an idea, he started pushing his limits and ran faster. He glanced behind him again to see the Sentinel start to speed up more.

Smiling, he waited for the moment when the Mage struck. Finally seeing the Mage shoot the spear at his torso, Magnus threw himself on the ground. The spear flew over him harmlessly and stuck itself into the ground between him and the Sentinel. The Sentinel with its momentum couldn’t stop itself in time and tripped over Magnus’ prone body.

He had to act quickly before the Sentinel got up or the Mage charged up another shot. Not letting the fact that his wish for the spear to hit the Sentinel went unfulfilled Magnus still lying on the ground lunged for the spear stuck in the ground. After struggling to pull out the spear for a few seconds, it finally came free and without thinking he stabbed it towards the soft back of the knee of the kneeling Sentinel’s. The spear was very effective even with Magnus’ meagre Strength and went right through the Sentinel’s leg, impaling it to the ground.

He got up and started briskly walking toward the Mage while checking its progress on another spell with [Mana Perception]. His eyes were starting to hurt, probably due to him reactivating the skill again and again. It turned out to have some benefits, after all, he thought as he heard a Ding.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[Mana Perception is now Level 4]

Magnus didn’t have time to relish the Level up of his Skill as he could feel the mana growing stronger near the Mage. Getting close as soon as another spear manifested in front of the Ent’s hands. He tried to dodge out of the way of the wooden projectile, but he underestimated the speed of the spear and it stabbed him into the right side of his abdomen.

Groaning through the pain, Magnus used his remaining momentum from the run and hit a [Vicious Blow] enhanced punch into the Mage’s abdomen, where he saw its core. He felt the wood break under the force of his punch. The Mage went completely limp and the light of its formerly bright insides went out.

Touching the spear stuck in him, he inspected the damage. What caught him of guard were the thorny roots slowly growing out the spear. While trying to pull out the spear to stop the spread of the thorns, his [Danger Sense] warned him of an attack. Magnus turned and dodged. However, the thorns were slowly spreading to his right arm and leg and he dodged a little too late.

It felt as if a sledgehammer hit him in the head and he blacked out. When he came to, he was on the with the Sentinel sitting on top of him, preventing him from standing up. What disturbed Magnus wasn’t the fact that he couldn’t move but it was the slowly opening mouth of the Sentinel. Its helmet-like face was slowly unhinging itself, wood creaking and breaking. When the transformation was done a gaping maw with countless sharp wooden spikes stared Magnus right in the face.

He started to desperately dislodge the spear still stuck in his side. The Sentinel’s face was slowly nearing his, when he managed to pull out the spear while roaring wildly. Magnus stabbed into the Sentinel's already damaged armpit with the Mage’s spear. The spear was met with minimal resistance as the splintered wood couldn’t hold back his rage. The Sentinel’s core was penetrated and it instantly stopped moving and limply fell on top of Magnus.

[You are now Level 5. You have gained 2 Stat Points.]

[Uncommon Skill gained – Last Stand]

Let pain be your Strength. Gain increased Strength as your physical state deteriorates. Increase scales with Skill Level and Will.

Even with the exhaustion from the fight, he could feel it. Something was happening to the ball of mana inside him. He turned his attention inward. Just as he thought, something was happening alright. The ball was starting to spin, getting faster and faster. The mana stored in his veins that he nearly forgot about resonated and every part of it started spinning as well. It felt as if his blood was boiling and he started spasming.

Slowing his breathing Magnus realized that no damage was happening to his body. The pain shifted and he could feel it. Something connecting to his very limb, every blood vessel, every cell. He just had to endure.

A few agonizing minutes later, with his mana all spent, the pain subsided. After the pain came something else though. A feeling of wholeness. It was as if he was wearing a blindfold his whole life and he took it off just now. After basking in the feeling for a few minutes he opened his Stats.

Body

Strength – 2

Agility – 4

Endurance – 10 + (+10%) – 11

Vitality – 6 + (+5%) - 6.3

Mind

Intelligence – 3

Focus – 2

Perception - 4

Soul

Will – 5

Aura – 2

Might – 3

Magnus’ eyes bulged as he read the new additions to his Stats. So that was where the feeling of wholeness came from. He had a Soul now apparently. Scratching his head Magnus felt something. Not with his Body but with his new Soul. Something was tugging on it.

Before he could learn more, a sudden force pulled him away from his Body. He was standing over his hopefully unconscious body. It looked worse than he felt when he was still inside. Thorns covered a quarter of his body and blood gushed from the wound. At least it should have been gushing, but it wasn’t flowing. It was as if the time stopped. He tried to touch his body but his hand passed right through.

“Wait, how am I standing on solid ground then,” just as he thought that he started sinking. Magnus cursed and looked around. There was a kind of thread tied around his torso and it went into the cave ceiling. Perplexed, Magnus tried pulling on it to see what happens. Not even in his wildest dreams could he predict what would happen. Just as his arm made contact with the thread, he started getting pulled toward the other end extremely quickly.

Suddenly he was on the surface again flying away from a smoking and ruined city and soon enough he saw a blue ball quickly shrinking. He looked at the thread in the cold void of space again and still couldn’t see the end in sight. Countless stars turned into streaks as he started speeding up even more. The journey didn’t feel very long as after a few minutes he came to a sudden stop in an unassuming corner of the cold void.

Magnus looked around and saw nothing near him. Completely nothing. When he was starting to wonder if this was his fate for all of eternity, he felt another tug. It wasn’t the peaceful tug like before. No, this felt as if he was tearing at the seams. His very being was unspooling. He tried yelling but couldn’t even manage that as he had no mouth.

Magnus started falling, not in any direction he knew. He fell somewhere else. The space shattered multiple times beneath him. Sounds of glass cracking could be heard as he sped up. He was falling magnitudes faster than when he was moving in normal space. Magnus saw colors he didn’t even know existed. Tasted sounds never heard. He saw a universe ablaze and a madman cackling. The blinding radiance of an infinite divine army. Twelve crimson arms springing from an impossibly vast sea of flesh, a single ugly scar marking its surface. Countless horrifyingly beautiful eyes staring at him from an unfathomable abyss. A horizon filled with chains and then, a final crack and stagnation.

Magnus stood on a cold floor in a cold, medieval-looking dungeon, a single door right in front of him. Something called to him from beyond it. He opened it.

A single plain if haggard-looking figure sat on the ground chained to the wall. The figure opened a single eye and spoke:” Hello Magnus.”