A lush forest but with sparse vegetation was the setting of the new floor. The sun in the sky, or what passed for it, seemed to set slowly in a late afternoon caressed by warm winds. Many plants were a green that tended towards blue and astonishing multi-colored flowers dotted the bushes as well as the climbing plants that surrounded the trunks of trees larger than three men side by side. All this gave a more striking impression than other times of entering a new world, although this landscape could perhaps be found in some exotic corner of the Earth.
Quest rank "F"
"Forest Purge"
Success Condition: Destroy the Corrupted Dryads (0/50)
Reward: 100 XP per person and 1 Mystery Chest.
Failure: Transformed into compost
The twenty-two humans watched the landscape warily, gripping their weapons tightly in their hands. A few discussions broke out, mainly between Luc the barbarian and Louis the archer, the former being in favor of dispersing into several groups, the latter wanting everyone to stay together. Arthur Lailu tried to calm the argument by proposing that they stay together for now and then decide what to do next, depending on what they discovered about this new ordeal.
Jules noticed that the women who had accompanied the warrior-mage were staying close to him. In contrast, his own group had blended into the anonymous crowd, as if by dispersing they could forget their weeks of suffering.
Suddenly, a cry rang out. A shape had just moved in the woods, then a second.
Immediately, the warriors and tanks formed a human wall protecting the scouts, healers, and mages: the last ordeal had nevertheless instilled a certain distribution of roles. This time, with everyone level three or higher, the classes would be more meaningful.
“Wait!” the archer ordered, squinting to better distinguish the approaching creatures.
Then, a soft melody filled the air. Slowly, gracefully, strange creatures cautiously emerged from the woods.
They were visibly women, although certain details like their small pointed ears marked them as non-human. Their skins ranged from a wood-colored brown to a light green that evoked sap. Their clothes were made of leaves and bark that, oddly enough, seemed to be held together. Several of the creatures carried large trays filled with unknown fruits, while others twirled nimbly while blowing into small flutes with odd shapes.
Arriving at a respectful distance from the Humans, the first ones put down their baskets and moved a few steps away. Jules focused his Observation skill on the graceful creatures:
Dryad, Level 1 [Rank F]
Hit points (HP): 54/54
Energy Points (EP): 20/20
Vigor: 4/4
Armor: 3/3
Abilities:
Strength: 3
Agility: 6
Stamina: 4
Intelligence: 4
Mana: 5
Armor: 3
Attributes (1):
Bear Fruit (Natural Modifier) Can only use her magical powers through the fruits she produces. The power is doubled. Can produce fruits instantly.
Skills (3):
Bark Skin [F] (Natural Power) Increases armor by 3.
Magical Healing (F) [Magic Power, allows you to convert 5 Energy Points to heal 1 Hit Point]
Dance (E) (Natural Power) [Dance divinely well.]
After a moment of pause, apparently distraught by the wary attitude of the newcomers, the creatures began to dance to the sound of their instruments, forming two columns framing the arrival of one of them, also carrying a basket of fruit. Daring to go further than her sisters, she approached the human wall as much as she could, timidly holding her basket out in front of her.
Splitting through the crowd of Humans, undecided in the face of this unexpected spectacle, the barbarian Luc advanced towards the dryads, carelessly playing his axe. Worried, Arthur, Louis and the fencing master joined him. Looking up hopefully at the powerful man who was approaching, the dryad emitted a few thin and harmonious sounds, probably a greeting in her language. With a mocking grin, Luc raised his axe and brought it down.
The axe vibrated ominously as it clashed with the crossed swords of Arthur and the fencing master. Furious, Louis also addressed his reproaches to the barbarian:
“What's wrong? What do you think you're doing?”
“Get lost, you losers! I'm just completing the quest. We have to kill dryads, right?”
“Corrupted dryads, you oaf! Just because all the creatures we've encountered so far have been hostile doesn't mean we should slaughter everything that seems strange on sight! If the world of the Tower is some kind of video game, we can suspect that there are also NPCs who give quests, NPCs to save, and all that sort of thing.”
The barbarian sneered contemptuously, but he removed his axe from the amalgam of weapons and walked away. Glancing at the trembling tree-woman and stammering a few mysterious words, he grumbled:
“Quest givers? My eye[1]! We should still have to be able to understand them. Come on, ask them where the corrupted dryads are… I say, we kill one and see what’s displayed in the quest summary, that way we’re sure of what we have to kill…”
Once the barbarian was out of the way, the exchanges improved with this mysterious people that were the dryads. Through a set of gestures and sounds, the three adventurers who were gradually taking command of the group were more or less able to communicate with the creatures.
Jules wasn't sure he really appreciated the preeminence that these guys were taking. However, not seeing himself in their place, he was content to follow the movement.
The dryads took the group to a small village built in the forest... No: it was more than that. It was a forest that was becoming a village. A place where trees grew strangely to give birth to real houses and well-ordered paths where real hedges of flowers grew. It seemed like a mix between a well-ordered garden and natural savagery, a harmonious mix that no human gardener could ever create. In the center of the village, a gigantic tree, more massive than all the others, seemed dead. The inhabitants - there were only women - seemed to treat this place with respect because it was more maintained and more surrounded by flowers than all the others.
The fruits offered by the dryads were delicious. Their unknown aspects and a completely natural paranoia had initially made the strangers hesitate. However, after a few courageous or unconscious tests, it was proven that these fruits, far from being harmful, brought with them an invigorating impression. Small wounds, inflicted by possible brambles or bark’s scratches, disappeared instantly. Jules supposed that if he had previously lost a few Hit Points, they would have been returned to him.
Despite the impossibility of questioning the dryads about the location of eventual problems, even with the help of crude drawings on the ground, the adventurers told themselves that they could wait until the next day to solve this enigma. Strange luminescent vines and multiple fireflies clearly lit up the night, as did a large flower on the village square whose multi-colored petals evoked a disco ball. The calm and harmonious dance of the dryads surrounding the plant and their joyful and tinny music contrasted completely with the atmosphere of a discotheque.
Jules leaned peacefully against a trunk, enjoying this break in the middle of the nightmare. He saw a dryad approach him, presenting in a very humble attitude a tray on which a single blue fruit sat.
The warrior smiled, amused to be treated like a sort of nobleman of yesteryear. And then, the dryads were very beautiful in figure and form, which made his heart beat slightly faster each time one of them addressed him in their strange and melodious language. He accepted the fruit and thanked her, although she did not understand his language. Of all those he had eaten so far, this fruit was undoubtedly the best…
Jules blinked, surprised. His body ached. Looking around, he saw the chaos of a fight, not understanding who was fighting whom. His wandering gaze met that of a young woman dressed in a large white dress. Despite his confusion, he recognized the "priestess" Françoise Dubois. Before he could question her, she was already answering him, in a clipped voice as if she were delivering a speech she had recited many times:
“You have been bewitched. It's the fruits, certain fruits. The dryads are our enemies, but others are still bewitched: avoid killing them but try to repel them. There are two ways to free someone: hold them so that I can touch them and use ‘Purification’, or kill the dryad responsible for the spell. Come on, pull yourself together!”
Still a little surprised, the warrior began to have a better view of the battlefield. A man was near him but was moving away to go and face the threat: he must have been the one who held him as best he could to allow the priestess to heal him. The man was bleeding slightly and the tip of Jules' sword was reddened... He only hoped he hadn't killed anyone.
Pulling himself together, he moved towards the dryads: they represented the certain targets. Their gaze, previously so tender, had turned into a hysterical mask while the veins in their bodies stood out like a lattice of vines of the darkest green. He used his skill to observe them again, discovering their true nature:
Corrupted Dryad, Level 1 [Rank F]
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Hit points (HP): 47/54
Energy Points (EP): 7/20
Vigor: 2/4
Armor: 3/3
Abilities:
Strength: 3
Agility: 6
Stamina: 4
Intelligence: 4
Mana: 5
Armor: 3
Attributes (2):
Bear Fruit (Natural Modifier) Can only use her magical powers through the fruits she produces. The power is doubled. Can produce fruits instantly.
Corrupted (Magical Modifier) [Prone to perform hostile actions. Grants 1 Skill beyond limits, related to corruption.] [Vulnerability to the “Good” and “Law” properties; Resistance to the properties "Chaos" and "Evil" and possibility to add them to attacks at the cost of 1 Energy Point.]
Skills (3+1):
Bark Skin [F] (Natural Power) Increases armor by 3.
Magical Healing (F) [Magic Power, allows you to convert 5 Energy Points to heal 1 Hit Point]
Charm (F) [Magic Power, takes control of the actions of a living target, transforming it into a servant. It is impossible to give a directly suicidal order or to personally perform an action visibly hostile towards the target.] [Costs 10 Energy Points to activate, then 1 Point per minute to maintain. It is possible to consume up to 10 additional points to strengthen control against a recalcitrant target.] [Each point of Intelligence above the target increases the chance of success, each point of Intelligence below decreases the chance of success. The hidden characteristic "Charisma" increases the chance of success.]
Falsification (F) (Supernatural Power) Allows you to falsify the information that other users of the System can obtain about you.
Rushing towards the nearest one, he took her by surprise, striking vigorously with his sword against her flesh. The blade sank with difficulty and produced a strange noise, as if it were cutting into wood, but not the hardest wood. The creature let out a terrible cry, turned towards him… and tried to escape desperately. Surprised for a moment, he rushed after her.
A man suddenly stepped into his path; his eyes strangely glassy. Before he could realize the situation, the man struck, cutting slightly his forearm. With a few hit points less, Jules put himself on guard, or what he assumed was a guard posture from movies he had seen in the past. The fight was going to be tough, since he had to keep his opponent occupied while the priestess could approach and touch him… Did she still have enough Energy? Was she even on this side of the battlefield?
A quick glance around didn’t tell him anything, so he decided to opt for the second method. Shoving the opponent, he took his blow through his protected shoulder but then continued on his momentum and went around him. The dryad watched the scene, not expecting to be put in danger again. Jules struck her repeatedly with his weapon. Apparently more inclined to manipulation than to combat, the creature perished as she tried to flee again.
The man, who had continued to attack him until then, suddenly stopped, looking in astonishment at his own sword slightly embedded in Jules' side. He clumsily withdrew it and looked around with a confused look.
Jules quickly explained the situation to him, as it had been explained to him previously, then the two of them deployed to protect each other and scout out enemy positions.
Suddenly, the ground shook. Turning in the direction of the noise, Jules discovered that the immense dead tree in the center of the village had come to life. Spreading its roots and compacting them like feet, it used its multiple branches like whips that were surprisingly flexible despite the dead wood they were made of.
Treant Corrupted Guardian
Treant, Level [Corrupteddata] [assumed rank F]
Assumed rank? Corrupted data for the level? What was this thing? His "Observation" didn't give him any more information.
Several people were fighting the monster. The barbarian had apparently attracted the monster's attention and they were trading powerful blows without seeming to weaken. The treant was able to fight several other opponents at the same time.
Jules saw one of the women accompanying Arthur fly into the air, thrown by a branch that had caught her. Before she hit the ground, she was caught by the warrior-mage and landed without damage. The fighter then went back on the attack, joining in particular the weapons master who was trying to make his way through the tangle of branches. These formed a barrier that seemed to protect something…
Yes, in the middle of the branches, protected by all the power of the monstrous Treant, was a strange dryad with a decrepit air, like dead wood.
Third Floor Boss
Sylvana the Lost
Corrupted Ancient Dryad, Level 3 [Rank F]
Hit points (HP): 62/62
Energy Points (EP): 50/90
Vigor: 12/12
Armor: 3/3
Abilities:
Strength: 3
Agility: 6
Stamina: 4
Intelligence: 6
Mana: 5
Armor: 3
Attributes (2):
Bear Fruit (Natural Modifier) Can only use her magical powers through the fruits she produces. The power is doubled. Can produce fruits instantly.
Corrupted (Magical Modifier) [Prone to perform hostile actions. Grants 1 Skill beyond limits, related to corruption.] [Vulnerability to the “Good” and “Law” properties; Resistance to the properties "Chaos" and "Evil" and possibility to add them to attacks at the cost of 1 Energy Point.]
Skills (4+1):
Bark Skin [F] (Natural Power) Increases armor by 3.
Magical Healing (F) [Magic Power, allows you to convert 5 Energy Points to heal 1 Hit Point]
Charm (F) [Magic Power, takes control of the actions of a living target, transforming it into a servant. It is impossible to give a directly suicidal order or to personally perform an action visibly hostile towards the target.] [Costs 10 Energy Points to activate, then 1 Point per minute to maintain. It is possible to consume up to 10 additional points to strengthen control against a recalcitrant target.] [Each point of Intelligence above the target increases the chance of success, each point of Intelligence below decreases the chance of success. The hidden characteristic "Charisma" increases the chance of success.]
Plant Control (F) (Magical Power) Allows you to manipulate vegetation and multiply its abilities. Power varies according to level and Intelligence. [Costs Energy…]
Falsification (F) (Supernatural Power) Allows you to falsify the information that other users of the System can obtain about you.
Class Skills (2+1):
Curse [Characteristics] (F) (Magical Power) Gives a +1 penalty to a target, to the main characteristics (Strength, Agility, Stamina). [5 Minutes = 10 Energy]
Blessing [Characteristics] (F) (Magical Power) Grants a +1 bonus to a target, to the main characteristics (Strength, Agility, Stamina). [5 Minutes = 10 Energy]
Summon Corrupted Treant Guardian (F) (Magical Power) Calls a Corrupted Treant Guardian of theoretical rank "F" to fight at his side. Costs 10 Energy Points to summon it [corrupteddata] minutes and [corrupteddata] Energy Points to maintain each hour thereafter.
The third boss he encountered… This creature was much less impressive than the gigantic treant. However, it was precisely her ability to control the monster that made her the greatest danger of this floor. He saw a warrior being pierced from all sides by the branches, pointed like spears.
Jules swallowed as he considered the bloody corpse: the monstrous tree seemed to be pumping his blood… Several dryads ran up and stuck their fingers into the body. Immediately, their veins began to pulse with a red color as they also absorbed the blood of his comrade.
With a furious cry, accompanied by others, he rushed at these vampires and struck into the heap…
As the controlled earthlings were gradually freed, their victory was no longer in doubt. A great cry of agony, like the sound of a sawmill, burst into the air as the gigantic Treant crumbled into dust. Arthur's blade had pierced the heart of the ancient dryad while the remains of the barrier that protected her finished burning, apparently carbonized. Bound to this dryad, the monster was also losing its life...
Jules withdrew his blade from the lifeless body of one of the monsters and wiped the curious green blood that covered it in the grass. Catching his breath, he observed the battlefield. A few dryads still remained but, curiously, were trying to protect their trees as best they could instead of fleeing.
The "heroes", as the few exceptional men who rose above the rest could be called, did indeed seem to attack the trees when they could not catch up with the dryads and the others had followed suit. Apparently, trees destroyed by fire caused the dryads to die, while hitting their trunks caused the monsters to scream in pain. The dryads were probably connected to the trees in some way.
"Forest Purge"
Quest Successful
Reward: You receive 100 XP. A mystery chest will appear.
Floor 3 cleared
A portal appears. There are no more hostile monsters left.
You gain a level!
Current level: 4
Current experience: 502
Experience needed for next level: 498
Class Skill gain
As you progress in your mastery of your class, you can choose one additional class skill from the three skills below:
Rush (F) (Supernatural Power) Allows you to move very quickly towards a target, in a straight line. Temporarily increases Agility and Strength by 1, costs 10 Vigor.
Crushing Blow (F) (Supernatural Power) [Special attack that costs 5 Vigor and has a 50% chance to reduce enemy armor by 1 Armor Point]
Weapon Mastery (F) [Sword (F)] (Natural Power) Increases mastery of a weapon category (Sword). Each weapon category mastered has its own mastery rank. [Attack and damage bonus: +1. Increases sword attack speed by 5%.]
Jules hesitated for a moment: all these options were very interesting. He ended up opting for the first skill because of the possibility of moving faster, rejecting the second for its high cost and the last for its limitation to swords: who knows what weapons he would be led to use later. A spear would be a good idea to attack without putting himself in too much danger…
He also defined his bonus point in “Intelligence”. Why? Maybe to better understand things, or whatever this characteristic could mean? Apparently, this increase did not allow him to know if it was really a good idea.
As he made his choices, a glow illuminated the entire ravaged clearing. It was not that of the blue portal that had just appeared, which was much dimmer in brightness. The light came from the large flower, on the square of the dryads whose beautiful flower paths were now trampled.
The flower, the one that had looked like a disco ball earlier in the night, opened completely and its petals, now illuminated again, revealed a large chest. It was made of a strange wood and decorated with fine interlacing of a kind of green vine as strong as metal.
The adventurers rallied around this promise of loot and, after an argument between those who were slowly becoming the leaders, it was Arthur who opened it.
The chest contained a large pile of gold coins that served as a bed for some wonderful objects. If these were shared between the main participants in the fight against the boss, all the others received a share of coins. It was even discovered that some dryads were carrying coins on them and that by ripping them open, mana stones were also discovered, as for all the other monsters.
Once the slaughter was over and the stones were sold on the market, it wasn’t that many coins per person… Jules, for his part, was at 345 now.
There had been two deaths among the adventurers, one pierced by the tree, another cut in two by an axe… Apparently, the barbarian had fought back quickly before learning that those who attacked him were controlled…
After burying the dead in the old location of the dead tree, they took the portal to the next test.
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[1] The English expression may be “My foot!”