Lan stared in wonder as the very forest seemed to come alive to stop the intruding Beast. Despite the Core not spending even the tiniest bit of mana, roots emerged from the ground, trunks twisted and branches coiled.
It was then that he felt a tug on one of his mental links, which usually meant that one of the lifeforms connected to him wished to speak to him, like a phone call. But such a thing happened only once before, during the forest fire. And it seemed that the 'caller' this time was the same too.
It was the Tree. The giant Tree that towered atop the entrance to his Dungeon.
Lan 'accepted' the call, though it was more akin to simply 'reading' the sent contents.
What he received was... A bit difficult to put into words. The Tree sent a series of feelings and images through the connection and not coherent words. It was like sending emojis in the chat.
Long story short, the message could be summarized as such: The Tree felt the intensity of Lan's emotions through their link, and once the target of his animosity entered the forest, it decided to help Lan, to attack the enemy with all its might.
Understanding this, Lan was kind of touched, as this was the first time someone helped him directly since his 'Awakening'. Plus, the Tree, which he concluded now had the intelligence nearing that of a 10-year-old child, in his opinion, was kind of cute in its way of expression.
'I swear I will Name you once we deal with this fuc-, uh, enemy.'
Lan even unconsciously suppressed his cursing when sending a message back, like an adult in front of a child. But after this short digression, he turned his attention back to the Beast, which was rampaging through the forest, cutting everything in its way to shreds.
The closer it got to the Dungeon's entrance, and by extension, The Tree, the fiercer the resistance it encountered. The vegetation grew sturdier and more resilient, roots hardened and branches became sharper.
As for the reason for such a phenomenon, well, it was all related to The Tree. As it was emitting Life Mana, this Mana seeped into the growing forest, granting the Lifegiver some control over it. One could say that the Tree was developing a domain similar to Lan's but concentrated only on living things.
Also, considering that it was in a symbiotic relationship with Lan, it would grow alongside him, expanding its influence evermore. And looking at how the forest was in close proximity to it...
The Tiger, after avoiding a wall of interwoven branches, could not avoid the next attack in time. A giant root emerged from under the ground, being greater than any he had previously encountered. Like a whip, it whistled through the air before slamming into his side, sending him tumbling across the ground.
...Lan could only guess just how frightening it would grow over time, considering it currently had developed for just over a month. He would not be surprised if trees started to come alive and walk with their roots as if they were feet in the future.
Despite all the obstacles in his path, like a protagonist of a story overcoming adversities, Khan adapted and overcame them one by one. He was forced to slow down his pace, depriving himself of earth-shattering momentum, instead focusing on the incoming attacks. Whenever he saw the ground crack, he dodged beforehand the root that would whip out a second later. And whenever he heard the whistle of the branch slicing through the air, he would duck, jump, or do whatever else to avoid it.
He gradually realized that he could not brute force through the obstacle this time, taking a cautious approach instead. And it was in this caution and a state of heightened attention that led Khan to notice a curious detail.
Thanks to the sheer amount of vitality pervading the forest, he felt his wounds recover slightly faster. Such a thing brought a hint of amusement into his mind, as it would seem that the enemy that was trying to kill him was unconsciously healing him too.
But the wounds could be healed, but the fatigue was a whole different matter. Since Khan discovered such a benefit, he decided that he could afford to be a bit more reckless, speeding up once again.
Such a small detail such as ambient Life Mana was long since noticed by Lan, but he was helpless to do anything about it. It was like a higher oxygen content, it would be extremely challenging to remove the Mana from the area in a short amount of time, plus such a move would probably cause great damage to the flora and fauna of the area.
Khan advanced rapidly through the undergrowth, sometimes not even bothering to use his claws to tear away the flora that clung to him, tearing it apart with the force of his momentum instead.
Under such a pace it did not take long for him to advance towards the treeline standing right before the clearing where the entrance of the Dungeon stood. Khan, feeling the intensifying density of Mana, naturally sped up.
But The Tree would not make it easy for him, and the trunks of the trees on the edge of the clearing began to twist and intertwine with each other, forming a solid wall of wood. The Tiger was undeterred, however, only speeding up even more, fire beginning to blaze on his claws once again. And then, he leaped.
Khan's fiery claws carved through the wood quite easily, Heat Mana burning away Life Mana that was present in the trunks, giving them no chance to regenerate. Just as he carved through and was in the middle of leaping through the newly created gap in the wooden wall, his pupils narrowed as he felt a sudden surge of mana around him.
The burnt trees suddenly began to grow rapidly, closing up the opened gap... With Khan that was mid-leap through it. The tiger was halted in midair, the front half of him having reached the clearing, and the other half remaining in the forest. Quite an interesting image was created.
Despite this being quite a serious situation, with each side of the confrontation being determined to utterly destroy each other, Lan couldn't help but chuckle due to the similarity of the image in front of him to some 'videos' he vaguely remembered.
'How did it go?.. Help me, bro, I'm stuck!'
Nevertheless, The Tree didn't seem to get Lan's (dirty) humor and continued the assault against its foe. Now that the tiger was immobilized, it continued the manipulation of Mana, causing the wooden growth to proliferate further, beginning to envelop the restrained Beast.
The twigs and branches began to spread from the tiger's middle section outward, gradually covering his skin in a wooden 'suit'.
Khan felt a moment of horror as he realized what was happening. At the same time, he felt the vegetation that was enveloping him start to burrow under his skin like roots burrowed into the ground. He understood that if he did nothing, only a wooden statue of a tiger would remain in this place.
He immediately used his ignited claws to try and tear away the hostile vegetation, but to no avail, whatever he cut away was quickly replaced by new growth. And as he struggled, he was being encased more and more by the encroaching wood.
It was then that he understood that his usual tricks wouldn't work, and his fiery breath couldn't reach the target without harming himself greatly.
"Damn it! I will not fall here! I, Khan, will not be buried by mere plants!"
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
The mere notion of such a disgraceful end made anger burn within his heart, or rather the Heart Core that was in place of it. The fiery crystal within him pulsed and resonated with his emotion. Mana surged through his Circuits, making him feel as if his entire being was burning.
Meanwhile, Lan observed the whole situation in surprise and annoyance. Firstly he was annoyed because he couldn't interfere much without hindering The Tree with his Mental Mana, and also surprised that The Tree could force the tiger to such a state while Lan himself could not.
Suddenly he noticed the tiger's mana circulation speed up rapidly, and the mana output of his Heart Core also greatly increased. Such a change was quickly reflected in the material world as well.
Within moments, the Beast's entire body was enveloped in flames, burning away the vegetation that was clinging to it. The wooden restraints were set ablaze, freeing the flaming tiger. At such a sight, Lan wanted to curse.
'What the hell?! How many times is this tiger going to get lucky?! Am I fighting against a protagonist who has sad flashbacks and sudden power awakenings?!'
It was truly annoying to be on the verge of victory, only for your enemy to pull out some new move that nullified your progress.
'I swear to god if he is later going to suddenly evolve mid-battle...'
Lan wasn't given much time to curse or lament the unfairness of this world, as the Beast charged out, still on fire, out of the forest, stepping into the clearing. As grass burned under the tiger's steps, the Beast continued to charge, its gaze dead-set on the opening among the Tree's roots, the entrance to the Dungeon.
And then the ground began to rumble once again. The tiger nearly lost its balance when an enormous root suddenly erupted from under the ground like a burrowing sandworm. The earth tremored as if an explosive was detonated, and the root that emerged was now descending towards the Beast.
Khan sped up once again, hurriedly evading the threat, trying to ignore the shockwave unleashed by the attack. It would seem that while he was ablaze, he was even faster and stronger than his usual state, somewhat easing such an action.
As he was getting closer to the entrance, roots erupted from below one after another. Khan twisted and turned as he ran, evading to the best of his ability. The roots, like wrathful serpents, were all intent on vanquishing him, slamming into and cracking the ground, it was as if the tiger was running under an artillery barrage.
He was rapidly closing in on the entrance though, as the clearing wasn't really that big, the only reason he hadn't reached it yet was the need to maneuver to the sides in order to not get turned into a meat patty.
Just as he was about to reach it, being fixated on the entrance, he lost his concentration for a brief moment, causing a stray root to slam into him.
Khan felt the breath knocked out of his lungs as he was propelled forward, coincidentally being launched straight towards the entrance. The tiger rolled across the ground before briefly skidding across it with his claws upon regaining his balance.
He felt mana concentration around him rise rapidly, causing him to take a deep breath. Khan felt his wounds close even faster, at the same time feeling that a couple of his ribs that were cracked from that impact gradually beginning to mend too.
"Hahahaha! Is that all you've got?! Coward! Not daring to show your face before me, throwing such nonsense in an attempt to kill me! And yet here I stand!"
Khan laughed rapaciously, the exhilaration of survival and the feeling of power permeating his being.
"You cannot escape me! As I will come into your lair, I will be stronger than I am no-"
The Tiger was suddenly forced to evade once again, as he witnessed the roots that he had grown to fear and loathe in that short period of time erupt from the ceiling and twist towards him. Rocks fell from above, quickly forcing Khan to begin charging once again. Though his wounds were healing rapidly in such an environment, it would be useless if he died.
While he was running through the First Floor, causing every living being who heard the commotion to hide, Lan was in the midst of a 'discussion' with The Tree.
'Alright, I told you it is fine as long as we kill this fu-, ahem, our enemy. Don't worry about it.'
The reason for this was that The Tree was feeling unwilling and apologetic regarding damaging Lan's Dungeon with its roots. Lan instead convinced it that he was going to repair everything and that the two of them should focus on getting rid of the intruder.
At the same time, Lan grew worried because the mana-rich environment benefitted this tiger just as much as it benefitted any residing Beast. If he stayed on the Floors even without advancing downward, he would rapidly grow stronger. Not that Lan would allow such a thing, but dense mana also accelerated the healing of wounds, and fighting this tiger could be said to be a race against time.
If the Beast were to regain its full strength, Lan would have a hard time killing it all over again.
As the tiger was close to the end of the First Floor, Lan occasionally tried creating 'environmental hazards', such as dropping rocks from above or trying to make the Beast fall into a spiked pit, but the tiger seemed to be on guard against such things, often avoiding them in advance.
The Core felt really annoyed at this point, as every 'trap' missed meant a waste of Mental Mana.
'In the end, it comes down to the Floor Guardians I suppose... There's a limit to what I can do by myself.'
He decided that he would try and support his Guardians in their fights instead of futilely trying to ambush the tiger that could see through most of his tricks already.
Just as Lan was thinking that, Khan arrived at the wall of fog. Such a sight perplexed him for a second, but he felt that more Mana, and the one who was attacking him, was somewhere beyond it. This alone motivated him to move forward into the unknown.
After taking a few steps, Khan suddenly felt a force of wind blast at him out of nowhere. He quickly crouched to the ground, though he still slid backward, his claws leaving deep grooves in the stone floor of the fog-filled corridor.
"Petty tricks."
With a sneer, he advanced once again, being blasted with wind two more times, this time being ready and remaining in place when such a thing happened.
As for the reason those blasts of wind happened even though Lan explicitly stated that he would not try and attack the tiger with just his own capabilities, the Core himself wasn't sure either. He certainly didn't give out any commands, so he was pretty confused.
After asking The Tree about whether it was its doing, Lan received a negative response as well. In the end, he had no choice but to put it into the back of his mind.
'Another mystery to be solved. But certainly not now.'
The reason for this was that the tiger advanced past the wall of fog, entering the boss room.
Though Khan saw no opponents, his sensitive nose and perception already knew that he was not alone. He was a predator, and anything weaker than him was prey. Living in the wild taught him that much. And he sensed prey to hunt.
"I was just getting tired of fighting against a foe with no body... So you came just in time..."
Khan's ear twitched at the movement of the wind behind him. A wolf shimmered into existence behind him, lunging to bite into the tiger's nape.
"...Little dogs!"
Khan rapidly turned around, causing the white wolf who realized that he was caught, to try and evade.
And yet the tiger was simply... Faster.
Khan's burning claw slashed into the torso of the attacker, cleaving through the skin like a hot knife through butter. The white wolf that was in mid-air was cleaved cleanly in half without a chance to react or do anything.
As the scarred tiger was focused on the wolf that was already turning into mist, a black shadow emerged from his blindspot, aiming to tear into his neck, a wrathful glow surging into the shadow's crimson eyes.
However just as the shadow, which turned into a black wolf, was about to reach her target, instead of feeling her jaw close around the enemy's neck, she instead found herself staring into the eyes of the ferocious Beast.
"Weak."
Khan felt the wolf even before she attacked. And with only a small movement, he evaded and the tables were turned. The black wolf did not even have time to yelp before the tiger's jaw closed around her neck instead.
With an audible *crunch*, Khan's jaws closed, decapitating the black wolf, and leaving behind a gruesome scene that quickly turned into a mist made of mana.
Lan, who was observing and ready to assist in battle, could only stare in shock at the battle that concluded in seconds, giving him no opportunity to do so. Due to the pitiful look of the tiger when he could only run from Lan's and The Tree's attacks, Lan had briefly forgotten that this tiger was a truly fearsome Beast, one who had gone through many battles, as evidenced by the many scars on its hide.
As for the tiger in question, it was as if he was not interested in the battle at all, instead moving to the crystals that were left behind, swiftly picking them up and swallowing them. These two wolves were not the first Mana Beasts he had slain.
Khan felt his mana surge and replenish rapidly, his sore muscles feeling invigorated, his fatigue receding. The wounds that were still bleeding gradually closed, a newfound strength coursing through his veins, the flames on his skin burning even brighter.
Khan laughed loudly, before shouting out.
"Do you see this, coward? The paltry minions you send out to stop me only make me stronger! Your efforts are futile!"
Lan could only look at such a display, making a stone spike try and impale the anger-inducing tiger in his annoyance. It was easily evaded, however.
Lan mentally massaged his nonexistent temple as he now had to deal with a newly discovered problem.
"...Is this how bosses feel in video games after the player heals after whatever they throw at them? Ugh..."
And while Lan was rethinking his plans, the tiger advanced past the other wall of fog, beginning his descent toward the Second Floor. The feeling of power coursed through him, he was looking forward to the prey he would find below.