Now, Magnus usually wasn’t one to listen to mysterious voices in his head, but he saw an opportunity and took it. He decided to help the defending side because those Ents curiously didn’t have Corrupted in their name. That probably meant they wouldn’t be hostile to him. Also, there was the issue that they were higher leveled so attacking 5 of them wouldn’t be such a good idea. Magnus, deciding not to piss off any more monster factions attacked the Corrupted Ents.
Using his Level 4 [Stealth], he slowly sneaked closer to the attackers’ backline. The defenders seemed to be holding their own for now, but it was only a matter of time before they took down the single Level 9 defender Sentinel which was fighting against 2 Sentinels and also taking wooden spears from a Mage. The attackers didn’t bother with having their back protected so that’s where Magnus would strike. The fact that Mages were physically weaker also helped
[Stealth is now Level 5]
Magnus felt a rush of energy enter him, making his steps quieter and his senses sharper. With the attackers focusing on the attack and his [Stealth], they had no chance to spot him slowly sneaking closer to their Mages. He would make sure that that would be their last mistake. Getting into the punching range of the 2 Mages, Magnus struck the one that was focusing on the poor Sentinel in its neck. While the Mages were weak, he learned that striking their neck was a sure way to get them out of the fight for quite a while. These higher Level ones were quite resilient, but their flexible necks weren’t. Their heads were probably their center of thinking, just as it was with humans. The similarities with humans ended there, considering that they would recover quite quickly from what would be lethal wounds in humans. Magnus learned that the hard way when a Mage he thought was dead shot him in the back and grazed his spine. That was coincidentally the time his [Danger Sense] went up a Level.
Just as predicted the Level 8 Mage crumpled to the ground with its neck broken and Magnus switched his attention to the other one. Grimacing as he heard the other Mage cry out, he saw a single Sentinel disengaged from the fight and come to help the vulnerable Mage. That wasn’t so bad though. It meant that the defending Sentinel would win its fight in time and maybe help Magnus.
But he wouldn’t take any chances, so he hurried closer to the Mage. He would try his best to at least get it out of the fight it in the few seconds that it was alone. What wasn’t happy with his decision was the Mage itself, especially the spear between its hands. It shot for his stomach. Magnus couldn’t dodge out of the way completely in time, so he decided to take the hit and punch it in the neck. Their attacks hit at the same time. The Mage’s spear penetrated his ratty shirt and cut his side, not managing to impale him thankfully. His punch missed its intended target and only managed to hit the place where a human’s collarbone would be. Magnus, with his hand close to the Mage’s neck, grabbed it so he’d have an easier time hitting it.
He couldn’t break its neck with his meager Strength, but he could very well hold the physically feeble Mage in place. Just when he was ready to start pummeling it down, he got a loud warning from [Danger Sense]. On instinct, he spun around and threw the struggling Mage in the way of the Charging Sentinel. It managed to break its charge, but it didn’t trip as Magnus hoped. The charge wasn’t the only thing broken as the poor Mage lay on the ground, its weak legs snapped in half like twigs. Safe to say, it wouldn’t be moving from that place for a while.
He looked over at the skirmish between Ents still going on and smiled. Two attacking Ents were broken on the ground, their vile green eyes slowly losing their sickly shine. Only the Level 8 Sentinel stood tall against the defenders. That made both sides even in numbers and with Magnus distracting three of them, that meant that it would only be a short while before they won.
Shaking his head to get back into the fight, he saw the Sentinel sending a powerful haymaker towards his head. Magnus was tough, especially for a human, that much was true. But taking that thing head-on wasn’t such a good idea. At best it would give him a concussion and that wouldn’t be very pleasant. Stepping backward, out of the idea something unexpected happened. He couldn’t move. Looking down he saw the crux of the problem. Thorns were wrapped around his leg and they were binding him to the ground, making him unable to move. Following them with his eyes, he arrived at the point of their origin. The Mage with the broken legs was touching the ground with both its arms, a smug tint in its eyes. Magnus didn’t even know they could express emotions. Or was that a trick of the eye?
Thinking of eyes, he closed his and braced for the impact. It never came. Instead, a sound of creaking wood sounded out and Magnus opened his eyes. A spear was lodged in the Sentinel’s side, making it stumble and miss its punch. Thorns were sprouting out from the spear’s stuck tip. Not being one not to take an opportunity while it was dangling right in front of his nose, he pounced. The Sentinel, not paying attention to Magnus and looking over to the fighting Ents, couldn’t notice Magnus’ punch in time and it struck the Sentinel’s relatively soft neck. It splintered a bit but didn’t break yet.
Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, Magnus wasn’t hurt much and couldn’t rely on the power of [Last Stand], so he followed up with another punch, this one a left hook. Paying more attention to him now the Sentinel tried to block with its arm, but Magnus instead of hitting grabbed it with his hand. Smiling, realizing he won, Magnus punched out with his main hand. Its head didn’t fall off as Magnus hoped, but instead, it hung on a thin branch. It would’ve looked pretty gruesome if the Ent was flesh and blood.
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With the Sentinel’s being the way it was, it didn’t notice the kick sent for its chest. Now lying down, the Sentinel could only await its end and Magnus would bring it to it. He started stomping down, where the core was, not bothering to kneel and make himself immobile. That was when he learned that [Vicious Blow] worked on his legs as well.
[Vicious Blow is now Level 8.]
Even with the Level up it took him nearly a dozen stomps to finally destroy its core. But boy was it satisfied. Even the System seemed to think so as it sent Magnus another message.
[You are now Level 7. 2 Stat Points gained.]
“It was about time,” Magnus thought and looked over to where the two Mages lay. To his surprise, they weren’t alive anymore. An imposing figure was standing over their corpses. Instinctively, he used [Identify].
[Ent Spearman – Level 10]
What he suspected was the former Level 9 Sentinel stood above one of the lifeless husks with an ornate-looking spear. It resembled a work of art but not one made by mankind, but the kind of art that was flowers blooming on a spring day or a sunrise after an awful night spent huddled in a cold abandoned building.
Shaking away his reverie, Magnus looked the Sentinel in the face. On a closer look, its eyes didn’t shine with the sickly color of the Corrupted Ents but instead radiated a vibrant, healthy color. The other Ents, except for the one Mage which was sitting down on the ground, seemingly resting, were all dragging the corpses of the defenders closer to the tree. The corpses of the attackers were curiously, left alone.
Walking closer to the imposing Ent, Magnus asked it,” Were you the one that cried out for help?”
It probably wasn’t. The voice sounded recognizably feminine and the Sentinel was anything but that.
The Sentinel shook its head and raised one of its sharp fingers toward the tree it fought to protect with its life. Magnus walked up to it and held out his hand to touch it. Suddenly stopping himself to not anger the Ents, he looked over at the Spearman and it motioned with its free hand for him to continue. He touched the tree.
A familiar voice spoke out in his mind,” Thank you for your help. Stranger. My name is Cardys. What is yours,” it, no she asked eagerly.
Magnus, confused scratched his head. The damn trees were talking now. He was starting to doubt if this really wasn’t just a dream brought on by blood loss.
In the end, deciding it was safer to answer, Magnus did so,” My name is Magnus. Though if I may ask what are you? I have never met one of your kind before.”
Cardys laughed softly, like silk,” I would be surprised if you met a Dryad before. The fact that we are on a newly Integrated world and your Mana is way too feeble for you to have had it for long. Your presence here is unusual though. How did you get into a Dungeon so early during the Integration?”
She was talking way too fast for,” A Dungeon? I have no idea what you’re talking about. And what even is a Dryad, are you a monster?”
Magnus got the impression that the tree was scratching its nonexistent head, “You didn’t get the message from the System about the Integration?”
“No, after I lost consciousness from bleeding out, I just woke up in a cave full of spiders, with a voice in my head talking about a Multiverse or something..”
“You were bleeding out when this world was Integrated? Maybe that affected the place where you reappeared. Very well, I will answer your questions as a reward for aiding me,” the tree giggled,” Just kidding, talking all seriously like that is annoying. I would have answered your questions anyway.”
“Let’s start with what a Dungeon is. A Dungeon is a pocket realm separated from the Universe it’s connected to. Or that’s what my older sisters said. I don’t know anymore, didn’t listen. As for what Dryads are. We are a race of Spirits bound to a tree of our choice. Groups of us are closely tied together by magic. The oldest of us acting as a kind of leader,” sadness was slowly taking over Cardys’ speech as she added one last sentence,” I guess that’s the way things are supposed to be.”
Magnus, sympathizing with a tree of all things frowned and asked,” What happened?”
With sniffles getting through their mental connection Cardys answered,” My sisters are dead. One day a strange sickness started affecting the spiders we shared this cave with. They started attacking us but we held on. It wasn’t long before the first of us succumbed to the very same sickness as the spiders. A rot spreading through the soil we feed upon. The matriarch told me to cut our connection and I listened. I think she’s dead now as well. I’m probably the last one left,” the sniffles turned into full-on sobbing.
Magnus sighed. He would probably come to regret this. But what could he do when someone was crying in front of him, even a tree?
“What can I do to help?” he asked.
Cardys perked up, newfound hope shining through her melancholy,” I guess you could put my sister out of their misery. They are too far gone. Already attacking me and my Spawns.”
Magnus smiled, “Yeah sure I can do that, I was already planning on doing it anyway. Though a few reinforcements wouldn’t hurt.”
The Dryad, with her fully sobbing over answered, “I would like to send Caridus with you,” the Spearmen waved as the Dryad pointed at him with one of her branches,” but I wouldn’t know what I would do without him. I would be vulnerable. I guess I could send one of my Mages though. Take one when you’re leaving. But you can rest for a while. I feel safer with you here.”
Holding out his hand Magnus said,” Let’s shake on it then.”
The Dryad somehow managed to look puzzled but soon figured out what Magnus wanted, brought down one of her branches, and shook it.
“Thank you,” she giggled softly, her mood a little better already.
Unbeknownst to both of them, a silent watcher observed their whole interaction from the dark cover of the forest.