The party was fighting hard when Jack suddenly felt the tree's aura change. It was hard to explain, but it felt sinisterly…happier?!
"Jump!!!!" Jack shouted.
He had no clue what was happening but he felt that something was off. His instincts were ringing alarm bells in his mind.
"Woo!" (Jumping!)
The little wolf instantly reacted as it lept far from its current location, glancing back as it landed. Out of nowhere, it saw its chicken brother getting shattered to pieces. What?!
"There's an invisible branch! It's just like the deer earlier, but you can hear it coming!" Jack had finally realized what had tipped him off: the sound!
It was the kind of low whistle that his subconscious mind would pick up. Still, his experience had been enough to save them from a catastrophe.
Once again, it was only he and Moon Moon versus the world. It was just like old times…well, recent old times.
"Branches and even more branches? We got this: burn this bastard to ashes!" Jack cackled as he could already see the path to victory!
Still, the tree had one last trick of its branches. Its purple glow intensified as it used a summoning ability. In the background, the fairy was already freaking out.
"Oh no, oh no! They're all going to die! There's no way they can survive this!" She was shaking.
The ability summoned bunnies: a shitload of them!
< Savage Horned Rabbit Lv 17 🍃>
< Savage Horned Rabbit Lv 17 🍃>
< Savage Horned Rabbit Lv 17 🍃>
…
They were everywhere! Instantly it turned into an incredibly tough battle. The tree couldn't control the creatures, but they wouldn't attack it either.
Soon they had to multitask like crazy. They barely had time to dodge between the white fluffy creatures and the thorny branches!
Their only saving grace was that the sea of branches made it near impossible for the monsters to use their charge ability.
This, however, did not necessarily make them easy to deal with. They could still easily skewer them with their horn or bite their throat with their sharp teeth.
At this point, the tree seemed to radiate a gloating aura. It looked down on the annoying mortals as their bodies would soon turn into fertilizer. From their deaths, it would become even stronger!
It was only a matter of time as they would grow weary and feeble. Their efforts only served to delay their inevitable doom— or that's how it should have been.
As Jack somehow felt the tree's mood, he couldn't help but chuckle. The creature had seriously screwed up!
At first glance, it did seem like they didn't have any energy to attack it. But Jack was actually spamming his ghoulish touch over and over, waiting for the perfect timing.
This time he made sure never to kill the bunnies. He was simply filling them with the perfect amount of Demonic Energy, a task that required godly focus.
He was cycling through his mana and HP like crazy, drinking potions. Blood magic had been nerfed but still remained extremely good for sustain, and abusing it was art!
But eventually, everything was set up. Dozens of rabbits all over the place only needed one last hit to turn into Macabres (potentially).
"Ready Moon Moon?"
"Woo!!!" (Hell yeah!)
Along with that howl, their counterattack started. Jack ran from rabbit to rabbit, turning plenty of them into zombified versions.
– Macabres would attack anything near them.
– Branches were flying all over the place.
– This meant that the tree was generating an unbelievable aggro!
Not a single one even went toward their creator. They all charged at the trunk or the branches, biting it as if they were rabid!
The tree was now faced with a choice:
1. Focus on Jack and pet.
This would mean leaving the demonic creatures be. Their every bite would add damage and even potentially kill it.
2. Focus on the Macabres.
Without the pressure from the branches, they would be able to allocate 100% of their energy to burning the tree.
At this point, even Jack wasn't sure which one was better. Actually, neither was the tree. It tried a bit of the two strategies, getting burned and relentlessly bit in succession.
What was supposed to be an impossibly powerful and deadly protector was now the embodiment of sorrow. This poor tree was being bullied: by its own summons too!
Jack could feel the monster's regret as life finally left it. Only a charcoal-colored tree stump remained, with a purple flower sticking out of the remains.
— Acquired Quest Item! —
[ Congratulations! Destroyed the Ancient Tree! ]
[ Acquired Leaf Whip!]
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Rare Leaf Whip! 🍃
Rank E
IF Life Affinity 15
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[Attack] 6-8
[Speed] Fast
[Range] Variable
[Durability] Mostly High
[Passive] + Growing
[Active] + Tree Summon (1/h)
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Jack grinned as he checked the specs of the weapon.
Growing made it so mana could be used to make the whip longer, extending its range significantly.
The tree summon was akin to placing a turret down. It would remain in place until destroyed.
Overall it sure was great! He reckoned that Pumpkin Girl would look pretty sick with it. But his happy moment was shattered by a high-pitched voice.
"W-what the hell?!" The fairy stared at the scene flabbergasted.
"What? Never seen a dead tree before?" Jack nonchalantly replied.
She was at a loss for words as her gaze went from the incredible destruction to the duo. It wasn't that they were that strong. Their power was simply so goddamn perverse!
Jack quickly re-summoned Chicky, the skeleton clucking in anger and searching madly for its killer.
It clucked in realization upon noticing that the fight was already over. It then proceeded to strut on the ashes, akin to a conqueror having defeated its nemesis…
"Cluck?! Shriek?!" (Not so tough now, are you!!)
"Woo?" (Inquiring!)
The little wolf didn't care about this small victory. After all, it still planned on eventually defeating dragons. It simply wanted to know when their rat brother would come back.
"Can't bring it back in this dungeon. That's the downside of this type of item-based pet. It will take at least a day of gathering Demonic Energy to revive it." Jack explained.
"Woo!" (Nodding in understanding!)
"Now, how many more protectors do we still have to face?"
"The last area of the Fairy Garden is right there!" She pointed toward an empty grassy area. "Go there and dig!!"
The tiny flying creature led them to a stone tablet buried in the vegetation. It was inscribed with a few symbols that glowed in soft blue light:
ተረት መንደር
"These are magical runes. One has to read them for the way to open! It just happened that all fairies are proficient in it!" She seemed so proud.
She expected the human to request her help. She would then bargain for her freedom: it was a genius plan!
Jack did no such thing: he simply drove mana in the runes as he read them aloud.
A second later, a blue light engulfed all of them: a noble wolf, a resilient chicken, a stern human, and a shellshocked fairy.
[Welcome to the Fairy Village!]
[Try not to Cause a Mass Genocide!]
[Find Out What Happened to the Residents!]
"Y-you, who are you?! You know runes?! How—"
"Shhh— We have bigger problems right now…."
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[A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! 🔥