Chapter 28: Murder spree

It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. On days like these mandrakes go on murder sprees.

Well, not every sunny day and not every mandrake, I think.

But that’s the plan for today; killing monsters and testing out my new skills.

I leave my home and head towards Sairal’s dryad heart thinking that he might have returned in the night. Even with whatever went on in the inner forest, he should return any day now.

I wave towards the two guardians who are gnawing on the bones of their kills while playing rock, paper scissors again. Nothing much has changed, so I head out of the clearing searching for some monsters

Now that the surprise and awe of my new evolution has worn off, I realised that by some evil twist of the system, all the modifications I made to my body have gone back to normal. That cost so much Stamina to get right. Now I’ll have to do it again. At least I have a bigger resource pool now.

While I walk through the forest the human army and the arm the guardians somehow got tumble through my mind. It only took a day for me to evolve and somehow the humans decided during that time that they should head back into the forest.

Half an hour later I find one of the human groups that are now roaming around the forest, killing any monster they come across. They talk to each other while one of them slashes monsters apart with a flick of his sword, the weapon fast enough that I only see the blade raise out of the scabbard with each flick.

“The monsters here are weak.”

“Shut up Samson. We are in the literal outskirts of the outskirts of the forest. What did you expect? Monsters strong enough to be able to hurt you?” a woman’s voice snaps back.

She continues, “We are here as a distraction and for the weaker soldiers to gain levels. Not for our own leisure.”

The man, Samson, sighs, “I know. It would have been a lot more fun if we joined the forces that are now actually fighting proper monsters instead of this.” He hammers on the point by slashing one of the now common green rabbits into bits.

A third voice rings out, “The other forces are getting wiped as we speak. Do you really want to be a part of that?”

“…maybe. It certainly is a lot more fun than wandering here, looking for dryad trees to destroy.”

I imagine the woman rolling her eyes, “I agree that it is rather dull, so let’s head back to camp for a break.”

The voices keep bickering on as they pass. I mull over what they said. A distraction? Other forces? This only seems to be getting worse.

Slowly, I peek at them from behind a tree. One, Samson, keeps killing all the monsters around him with a single slash. The woman holds an arrow in her hand, ready to nock it into her bow. The third is flicking through a book that floats in front of him.

[Human: Mistweaver] lvl ??/?? (D)

[Human: Ethereal huntress] lvl ??/?? (D)

[Human: Acidic swordsman] lvl ??/?? (D)

I move back behind the tree again, hoping that they haven’t noticed me.

In the distance, I still hear the two bickering. Those humans actually have decent-sounding classes. Maybe the system gets more creative at the higher ranks?

I wait for a few more minutes and head in the opposite direction, thinking that there might be fewer humans there with the camp being on the opposite side.

After an hour of walking while changing my hands back into claws with my skill, monsters have become a bit more abundant around here. However, even this far out there are still traces of the humans.

I pass butchered carcasses of monsters. Sometimes there is a limb of a human laying close to the corpse, though never with a sword.

Two hours later I finally find my first victim for my murder spree. It’s a Segriad snail at the peak of (I) grade, probably searching for a safe place to evolve.

It’s a bit sad, looking at the creature as it notices my presence and tries to flee to no avail, with it being a snail.

When I first came to this world, I called these snails opponents. Now I look down on them, literally.

It uses a basic skill that they all seem to have. With a short burst of speed, it tries to get away from me. Before it takes off, I pick it off the ground and make sure that I don’t touch the underside. Honestly, I don’t think the acid can affect me but it never hurts to be careful.

Gently, I scratch at the shell with a finger, testing my new claws. The yellow specs come loose under my finger with ease.

The snail shrieks in alarm.

I make a fist with the hand I’m holding it in. The snail makes one last sound before the shell cracks and crumbles. The insides leak out and I curse when my bindweed starts to sizzle.

After wiping my hand on the grass to get all the acidic slime off, I move on to my next target. This one hopefully a bit stronger.

Not that long later I find a monster that I’ve only seen once before at the stream on the day that I came to this world.

The orange lizard and I lock eyes and we size each other up.

[Orange saurian] lvl 2/20 (G)

A level below the Chimera. I can take this monster on. Let’s start with Claw Infusion first. The feeling of the skill is mostly the same, only my hands feel less rigid than before.

As the last point of Stamina flow into my claws, I speed towards it.

The monster shoots out some weird blue globs that I evade with ease. I move through the barrage, the strange bullets far too slow.

The lizard reels back before I can cut through its scales.

I take another step forward and lash out with my claws, not holding back.

Before I reach the monster’s flesh, its tail hits me in the chest and sends me flying backwards.

I slide over the grass, claws scraping over the ground. I look up and see the monster flying through the air after me its jaw filled to the brim with teeth. I roll to the side but the monster manages to grapple onto my shoulder, tearing into my bindweed with its maw.

With a follow-up attack, the Saurian’s tail gains a metallic sheen.

My hands reach out to stop it from plunging its tail into my neck and push the spiked tail out of my face.

Pain flares up and I realise my mistake.

The monster keeps tearing into my shoulder and I feel Mandrake Scream build up. But as much as I want to test that skill too, this is not the moment for that.

I keep looking at the monster in shock. Almost all of my fights have been kind of comical and not real. At least not to me. That chimera was real, it was a real threat but now this stupid lizard too?

The Saurian jerks its head back, tearing more strands of bindweed loose as it digs in with gusto.

The pain pulls me out of my shock.

Stamina flows into my claws until they start to hurt.

The monster, so enraptured in its dinner, doesn’t notice me shifting under it.

I skewer my hand into the monster’s stomach, fingers outstretched. They pierce skin and are slowed by flesh.

The stupid lizard lets out a muffled scream, its mouth still filled with my bindweed. It tries to pull away now, but I keep it close to me as if I’m hugging a friend.

The beast is incapacitated, giving me all the time I need to test out Claw Infusion as I move around my claw in its body while I push more stamina into it.

To make matters worse for the monster, I get creative and activate Bindweed of Nature sharpening my claws on all sides, making them barbed.

The beast manages to free itself from my hug and screams out in pain as its insides are turned to mush by my claw.

It tries to scrabble away pulling me along thanks to the tail that is still stuck in my stomach.

I grin evilly as I get ready to repay the monster for all the pain it dished out to me. With my claw I haven’t made barbed, I cut into the base of the tail where the metallic sheen ends.

Needless to say, with all my points in Strength, my skills and my enchanted body, I cut straight through it, only slowing slightly as I cut through the bone.

The lizard flees from me and comes to a stop a good dozen metres away from me.

It appraises me again. For extra effect, I pull the tail that is still lodged in my stomach out of me and throw it towards the Saurian.

The monster’s eyes flicker to its tail and back to me.

Instead of moving towards me for a second attempt, it circles me as if it is trying to find a blind spot. Honestly, why do so many monsters do this? I guess that it’s better than moving in for a second round but still, so damn predictable.

A grin appears on my face. This is the perfect moment to try out my other new skills.

The overgrown, orange lizard circles me a few more times while I hold eye contact with it.

It makes up its mind and moves towards me again. The beast opens its jaws wide, ready to take another bite out of me.

I push Stamina into one of my new skills. It takes a bit of effort but the creature stumbles, one of its hind legs tripping over a sudden a strange vine that grew in its path.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I laugh in wonder at my new skill. In the low levels, it takes a lot of effort but with some handy applications, I can do a lot already. Just conjure some bindweed in your opponent’s path and they trip.

Before the creature gets up, I let the Mandrake Scream I’ve been holding back free and listen to the sound that bellows past my lips. It’s something more akin to a yell now than a shriek and it’s all the more terrifying for it.

I stare at the lizard, the strength of the scream strong enough to make the monster's ears bleed.

It tries to stand up, but thanks to its wounded legs and the stun effect of my scream it finds itself in a bit of a bind, pun intended.

I finish it up by puncturing its eyes and going for the brain.

*Congratulations. You have slain [Orange saurian] lvl 2/20 (G).

*Congratulations. You have gained a level. You are now level 1.

+10 HP +15 SP +2 Strength +2 Agility +1 Perception +2 Constitution +2 Endurance +2 Mind +4 Unallocated stats.

*Mandrake Scream (Un) lvl 4/20 -> Mandrake Scream (Un) lvl 5/20.

*Bindweed of Nature (R) lvl 6/20 -> Bindweed of Nature (R) lvl 7/20.

*Claw Infusion (C) lvl 1/20 -> Claw Infusion (C) lvl 2/20.

*Bindweed Conjuration (R) lvl 1/20 -> Bindweed Conjuration (R) lvl 2/20.

That are some good gains for a single fight. I should hunt more of these lizards. On second thought, it was also weak for its level. Sure it mauled me almost to death. But compared to the Chimera it’s weak.

Maybe it had a bad evolution? The deeper I get into the grades and the more I look into the system, the more grim it all seems. I really need a notebook to keep track of everything, but as it stands now the stats a monster gains per level doubles in each grade with the right evolution. And with the needed level to evolve doubling every time, it shows a grim picture of just how strong a (D) grade is, let alone a (B) grade.

I flex my claws, feeling the dregs of Stamina still course through them. It’s time to continue my murder spree.

***

Somehow, (G) grades seem a bit rarer than I thought. The only real challenge I find is a group of Cave crawlers all at the peak of (H) grade tearing leaves from any tree they can find. Out of interest, I keep watching them, curious what they will do with the leaves.

In less than an hour the group of five has stripped bare an entire tree. A group of weaker Cave crawlers comes along and carries all the leaves to the nearest entrance to the depths.

Anger flares up at me as I continue to head further south, more and more trees entirely plucked bare of any leaves around me. I almost want to take down all the (H) grade cave crawlers, however, that’s just sheer hubris to think that I can take on five at once.

But who says that I have to fight them all at the same time? I only need to lure a few away, dispose of them fast enough that the others don’t have the time to notice and continue to pick them off.

I stay close to the ground, waiting for one of the Cave crawlers to peel off from the group.

A bit later one finally does. It starts to look around for trees with more leaves to grab. It scurries to the nearest tree and taps its mandibles on the trunk, listening to something. Not satisfied, it moves on with its search.

Claws infused with stamina, I sprint towards it.

The monster stares at me for a single second before taking off towards the rest of the group.

I falter in my steps. Aren’t they supposed to attack anything on sight?

We near the other Cave crawlers and instead of warning them, the one I’m trailing speeds past them towards the nearest cave.

The other Cave crawlers stare after it perplexed before resuming their work.

I repeat the tactic with another one, this time killing it because this one was stupid enough to try and fight me.

A few repeats later, the harvesting group has thinned out enough for me to take them all out at once.

After my successful culling, I look up at the sky. It’s already early evening. I head back to my home, just enjoying the walk back as birds sing their melodies up in the trees.

I think I can stay out at night by now to fight some of those creatures. But my mandrake instincts tell me that the night is bad and filled with terrors. Maybe I’ll just get a few more levels and go do some hunting at night then.

The gains from exterminating that group of Cave crawlers are small, only being a single level in Claw Infusion and Hide.

It seems that the amount of experience required for each level is closer towards exponential rather than linear, especially between the grades.

On my way back, I kill any monster that is in the upper reaches of (H) grade, not wanting to get that experience, but instead focusing on getting more familiar with my new skills.

Sadly, most of the monsters can’t stand up against a single fully infused slash of my claws. I have to hide from a few groups of humans too. Though, none of the groups are (D) grade, rather most being in (H) grade and a single one being in (G) grade.

Finally, when I near the lake I let down my guard, being more tired than I thought. I listen to the birds as I stand in the sun photosynthesising.

And naturally, a group of humans walks out of some foliage behind me. “Mandrake!” multiple voices yell at once.

I whirl around and meet the eyes of three humans. They all wear the golden armour that Zulis seems to provide each soldier. The only difference between the normal humans and these ones is that they are young. Not the age of child soldiers, but certainly not fully into adulthood.

With a quick use of Identify, I see that all of them are (H) grade.

Surprise is written all over their faces, that by some stroke of luck, they found the fabled mandrake that is said to roam these parts of the forest.

The girl with the sword breaks the moment. She elbows the other teen in his side, “The name…sacrilege.”

The third and oldest starts to chant a spell. The air around him shimmering with purple light.

Instincts take over, the fear of humans suppressing rational thought as I feel the arm that the other human cut off burn with phantom pain.

All my skills activate or power up at once as I feel like I’m close to my death with them having seen me.

Bindweed bursts out of the ground, wrapping around the legs of the chanter with clear clumsiness. He falls over on the ground, the chant getting interrupted and the magic fades.

The other two come to life after looking at their comrade. The woman unsheathes her sword and cuts the air. It ripples like water and I duck, already sprinting forwards, claws outstretched.

Behind me, I hear a crash of her blow impacting something.

She grits her teeth and meets me halfway. I parry her sword with my claws. The blade is sharp enough to pierce my skin and draw my blood. We lock eyes as she screams insults at me.

I push back with more force, ignoring the golden sap rolling the blade. In return, she pushes back as if it is a game tug of war.

My hand wraps around the blade and I pull. She gets dragged forwards and trips over a vine that I conjured up just before her feet.

Automatically, I take the blade out of her hands as her grip loosens. I grab onto the hilt instead of the blade and thrust it into one of the seams of her armour.

With a faint gasp, she crumples to the ground.

I turn to the other two, only now realising what I’ve done.

The same shock is on her face. “How? A Mandrake?” she manages to say between painful sobs.

I turn back to the other two humans, seeing that the one who was trapped has freed himself and is shielding the younger man behind him. Tears roll down his face as he starts up his chant again. The air once again ripples with the same purple energy, far stronger than before.

Blood begins to leak out of his nose, clearly straining himself and his skills.

I pull the sword out of the woman and hurl it at him. To his and my surprise, it strikes true and cuts through the protective robes into his stomach.

He touches the wound, fingers coming back, slick with blood.

He doesn’t see me coming up on him, nor the claws swiping at his neck. They cut through flesh and stop at bone.

Something screams in the back of my mind. I ignore it.

I pull my claws out of his neck, push as much Stamina into the skill as it allows and swipe again. This time the bone breaks and his head falls to the ground.

I look at the youngest man, laying on the ground, screaming at me as tears roll down his face. What must he think? That I am a monster. Something evil that is killing his friends?

I go over my announcements and realise that I only have one for the mage.

With a third of my Stamina remaining, I push it all into Bindweed Conjuration, vines rise from the ground around him. He yells and stutters another chant, failing each time as he lets out a sob. I pull some leaves from a nearby tree and shove them into his mouth and let the bindweed wrap around it like a makeshift gag so that he can’t spit it out and resume his chant.

I move over to the woman that’s crawling towards the camp over the ground. It seems that (H) grade humans are more resilient than ordinary humans back on Earth. It doesn’t matter anyway. She’s too strong to take as a prisoner. I make quick work of her, not wanting to prolong the suffering.

I pick up the sword and head towards the last human and lower it into his neck. He’s still trying to scream, turning his head every way as he tries to free himself from the bindweed.

Why doesn’t he use a skill to get free? Seeing no sword at his hip, he probably is another chanter. With the gag in place…he can’t resist. He’s harmless now, completely incapacitated.

Like a worm, he squirms on the ground, trying to free himself from my bindweed. I just sit next to him, the sword in my lap.

I should kill him. Who cares that he is a human? I’ve killed intelligent monsters before. That Cave crawler queen was smart. Cognisant even. So why would there be a difference between her and this human?

Maybe because I was a human before? Maybe because I had friends that looked like him?

The more I think about it, the more frustrated I get. I should care about this. I killed two people in cold blood. I fucking beheaded someone. Why don’t I care about this?

Is this the system again messing with me? This is just like my family back on Earth. I should care about them but all I feel is a cold detachment. It must be the system. It can only be the system.

But what if it’s just me?

No. I reject the thought. I reject that I can just kill people without feeling guilty about it.

I look at him, still struggling with the bindings, muffled screams coming from him.

I can’t kill him. Not when he looks so…so weak.

But what do I do with him then? I can’t keep him tied up like this forever. I can’t let him go, he will tell the army where he met me. They’ll find Sairal’s dryad heart. They will find my home.

He needs to die.

I bring the sword to his neck again, digging into the skin and drawing blood. His muffled screams growing louder.

I pull the sword back, raising it above my head to end this with a single swing.

The human stops screaming, his eyes that overflow with tears looking at me. Seeing me as a monster. Seeing me like the bringer of his death; the ender of his life.

He didn’t cast a single spell against me.

I…I can’t kill him.

With frustration, I throw the sword against a nearby tree, the weapon clattering harmlessly against the tree. I let out a scream of frustration that turns into a growl. Why is this so damn difficult.

I shake my head at myself. I’m going to regret this.

I conjure more bindweed around him, so much so that a spider would be impressed, and I drag him towards Sairal’s tree where there are always mushroom guardians around.

Nothing is different at the tree. Only the mushroom guardians standing close to the lake. They take turns throwing pebbles in the water, watching the tentacle monster writhe below the surface, searching for what entered its home.

I wave at them. They wave back until they see the human.

“Don’t kill him!” I yell as they rush towards me, fists raised.

The two of them slow and look confused at each other, then at me, at the human, and back at me again.

I look back at the human who has paused his attempt to escape, instead looking at the two mushroom guardians in fear.

“You two never seem to sleep. Can you two guard him for a night? No. No. I know he is a human and therefore the enemy. Yes, he is dangerous, but look at him. He can’t hurt a fly, much less a mushroom guardian.” With some effort, I hand him over to the guardians.

I take a look at the bindweed that is wrapped around him. Already it looks starved. I touch it and pour Stamina into it so that the bindweed grows lively again. I continue and the vines thicken and begin to sprout flower here and there.

*Bindweed manipulation (R) lvl 2/20 -> Bindweed manipulation (R) lvl 3/20.

It seems that Rare skills are far more complex than they seem at first glance.

I make a mental note to test them out outside a combat setting and see what I can do with the bindweed I conjured up.

“Okay with that settled. There are two human corpses that way,” I point in the direction. The mushroom guardians look happy at that, probably thinking of the free food, “We need to get rid of them so the other humans don’t find the corpses and decide to have a look around these parts and stumble upon Sairal’s dryad heart, do we?”

One of the two guardians nods. He waves his hand and a few smaller mushroom guardians rise from the moss, coming out of hibernation. It kind of looks like the walking dead meets nature documentary with a bit of fantasy thrown in for the thrill.

I used to be as large as the smaller mushroom guardians but now I tower over them like an adult does with a child.

I lead them back to the area where I killed the two humans. Like gentle, behaving children, they disassemble the bodies and bring them back in parts to the dryad tree and stuff it under the moss to snack on later.

With a shudder and a shrug, I grab the sword and head to my own home for a well-deserved rest.

Now I just need to figure out what I will do with that human.