The answer is a lot, I’m halfway through dismantling my eighteenth trap when I’m roused from the monotony of this task by a loud scream.

I remain relatively certain the scream isn’t from my creator since I can’t feel any pangs of pain or fear through the link, it also just feels faint, so she’s probably still next to that knight.

But even if all that really matters is my creator, what if the scream is from one of our scouts or soldiers? It is my duty to keep her safe and the more soldiers we have on our side the safer she should be.

I find myself briefly thinking that only works if they’re on our side but then I cast away my doubt and dart in the direction of the scream, leaving the spike trap half dismantled.

I swing from tree to tree, a few of them creak under my weight but it’s still faster than if I rammed my way through the forest.

Plus it should let me get the drop on any Rovers, that is if there are any Rovers to fight.

There’s been no further screams and I can’t hear any sounds of battle so maybe there isn’t anything to worry about?

Still, I keep going and in just a dozen seconds I arrive at the source of the scream.

It’s a small clearing populated almost entirely by bright red and yellow flowers, it’s actually quite scenic with a faint breeze blowing leaves and petals around.

The only thing out of place in this small utopia is a patch of the clearing where all the flowers have been ruined, jumping out from the treeline I zig zag my way there, just to be safe.

I know it doesn’t matter but it still makes me feel strangely sad to see the destroyed flowers, unfortunately by rushing towards that ruined patch I’m also tearing up the unharmed flowers.

Once I reach the desecrated flowers, I spot a series of skids in the dirt, marking where two combatants had a fight no doubt.

But upon closer inspection, the overturned flowers are wilted, they had to have been displaced far longer than just a few minutes to look so dead.

There are also no traces of blood or anything else, it’s just like two people had a sparing match and then peacefully left.

Yet despite everything pointing towards this being a trap nobody darts out to attack me, so I slowly back away, inching towards the safety of the treeline while scanning my surroundings.

Just as I make it back to the treeline I’m attacked, as something launches itself out of the ground and slams into my exposed back, pushing me over into the mess of flowers.

It failed to account for my flexibility however and I manage to rather easily squeeze my way out from underneath it.

Turning around I expect to see a summon opposing me but instead, I’m faced with a large stone human.

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It has comically large rocky fists but apart from that it’s a picture perfect human, its face even has a nose

Granted it could still be a summon of some kind but that seems rather unlikely, we weren’t modelled in humanity's image we were constructed out of subconscious desires and souls.

If lots of people loved turtles for example, then they would create a turtle like summon, it would require some souls to form as well but I’m not too sure how that works.

But the dreams and prayers of turtle lovers hardly ever find each other in large enough numbers to form a proper turtle summon, so they have to merge with other things.

And then once that’s all finished, you get a turtle yak goat monster hybrid, so unless this entity was a summon created by a singular person it would be impossible for it to be an actual summon.

Regardless of its origin, it’s an enemy and I will destroy it.

Carefully, I wait until it lurches forwards before whipping my tendrils towards it, trying to hit any vulnerable weak points.

Yet I fail, my tendrils don’t even slightly wound whatever this thing is, they just bounce harmlessly off it.

If anything I’m left worse for wear by my assault, the rock tearing little chunks out of my tendrils with every impact.

Before it can lunge at me I leap away and start scooping up the dirt and flowers to chuck at it, I don’t have time to care for nature when I’m fighting tentacle and tendril to get rid of a dangerous threat.

Throwing them directly in its face doesn’t even hinder it slightly, at least I’ve learned that those eyes are fake, or at least non vital.

The question is, how do I beat it?

It keeps on trying to tackle me and I for my part, keep on avoiding these rather clumsy charges but the longer this goes on the more likely it is that I’m going to slip up.

And well I’m not at any risk of feeling hungry, I’ve still been manifested for well over an hour now, so my creator was probably going to dismiss me any minute now.

I need a weapon to kill this thing, something heavy and strong, I’m not strong enough to rip out a tree and use that as a weapon but surely I can grab a hold of a couple of large branches?

Skirting forward I feint an overextended attack and it completely falls for it, trying to tackle me and missing entirely in the process.

It even slips over thanks to the mud we’ve created in our battle.

Taking advantage of this perfect opportunity I rush to the tree line and start to tear off a couple of hefty branches, it surprisingly takes a lot of effort to rip off even a single branch.

Almost a supernatural amount of effort but maybe these were just really strong trees, I’m not a herbalist and my creator knows equally as little about them.

Still, I manage to get myself an improvised set of clubs just as the giant stone man starts charging at me again.

It’s risky but instead of charging out to meet it I wait, trying to time what should hopefully be a perfect or at the very least an acceptable dodge to the side.

And I succeed, managing to just barely avoid it in the nick of time, unable to halt its momentum it goes barreling into a tree.

I can’t tell if I’m just getting lucky or if this opponent of mine is lacking in terms of brainpower but I take this chance to attack it in the back with a series of club blows.

My impoverished clubs shatter and splinter but not before breaking off equally large chunks from the giants back.

Yet despite its grievous injuries it gets up, pulling itself free from the tree it had lodged itself in with its foolish charge and it turns around to face me.

Moreso out of a desire to see if it has morale than any actual attempt to damage it, I swat at its head.

I don’t accomplish much but I do manage to chip off a part of its nose, plus I imagine it would be pretty humiliating to have this happen to you.

Before I get a chance to witness its reaction though, I’m promptly desummoned and begin to rapidly disintegrate.