Velastra

The forest was deathly quiet, with no creatures daring to make a peep. This was Treant territory, and most creatures had learned to fear the monstrosities plaguing the land. Even birds and critters avoided the zones that had a thick coppery smell of blood. The atmosphere was so oppressive that even scavengers dared not enter to feed on the remains of the Treant's victims. Velastra didn't like this place. She had travelled to distant lands and seen different types of forests. But this place reeked of nothing but death and decay. They had spent the entire week scouring the area, but it was the same everywhere. Most forest creatures had fled, and those that were left were diseased and dying. The source of the malignance was the biggest problem though.

Treants were creatures most adventuring parties feared but also respected. They were a kind of defense mechanism for ancient forests and only acted when the forest was threatened. If the enlightened races didn't actively harm the natural balance, the creatures were content living their long lives as dormant trees. On rare occasions, an adventuring party or two would accidentally provoke the silent sentinels, evoking a strong response. But for the most part, it was an unsaid rule to avoid fighting the neutral entities. For said creatures to be the very source of death, was an anomaly.

In fact, a dungeon dedicated to Treants was an anomaly. Only monsters who were susceptible to Corruption were sealed by the System in dungeons. But something or someone had managed to Corrupt these Treants—whether by accident or by design.

But this entire area had been the focal point of weird and unexpected. Someone was trying to influence all the dungeons in the area, and even though she didn't know the overall scheme, she knew enough to attribute this to the Lightseeker House. She was about to carefully step over a fallen branch when she was startled by a loud laugh from behind her.

"Bahahaha. That be one way to do it," said one of the dwarves as the other was hunched over in laughter.

They were having a jovial conversation with the red head, who was also laughing at whatever they were discussing. Velastra rolled her eyes and looked ahead, trying to hold her temper and not chew them out. Of all the wild and unimaginable things she had witnessed, the girl's transformation was by far the most shocking. Her personality shift was grating by itself, but the unbridled confidence she now sported irked Velastra the most. She glanced at her husband only to find him looking towards the girl with a smile, like a proud uncle.

"You know she could get us in trouble again," she said crossly to the brutish man.

"Bah. You have seen the girl in action. She has been navigating around potential fights quite well," Ignar argued, not even looking her way. "Besides, she is an Awakened too."

"You think I didn't notice your subtle hints to make her see the obvious signs she overlooks," Velastra asked grumpily. She didn't hate the girl anymore, but the trauma from last time was hard to forget.

"Signs that become obvious with experience, my love. She doesn't have that, but is a quick learner if I have ever seen one. She has a sharp nose, and a strong drive. I'm telling you, she will go far," Ignar said as he crossed his arms and observed the girl poking and prodding some tracks on the ground. "Besides, I told you that it is what Lord Fenrast wants."

"Yes, but you never told me what the instructions are," she grumbled incoherently. If not for the instruction from their savior, she would have ditched the troublemaker before they left town. Moreover, all she knew was that they were to accompany Jenny. She was sure that there was more to it, but her husband was tightly lipped about it.

Velastra was about to try asking her husband about the secret instructions yet again, when she heard a sharp whistle from the girl. Jenny made some wild gestures with her hands that made absolutely no sense to anyone. Velastra was about to demand an explanation when 4 wolves jumped out of the girl's shadow and ran in different directions.

The creatures were much smaller than Lord Fenrast's but looked just as deadly. When Velastra looked at the girl's face, her demeanor had shifted drastically. The carefree jovial expression was replaced with a professional calm that she saw on some of the more experienced greenhorns from the Guild.

"Treant up ahead," Jenny's voice sounded in her head.

Velastra was momentarily shocked that the girl had the ability to communicate telepathically, but the shock wore off quickly as her battle-hardened instincts kicked in. She raised her hands and conjured some flames, only to feel a hand on her shoulder.

"Not yet," Ignar said. He too had a serious look on his face, but he flagged down the dwarves to pull them back.

"This is not the time to be observing Ignar. I don't want a repeat…," she started to say but held back when he gave her a fierce gaze, a look she knew well. For now, the man beside her wasn't her loving husband, but her party leader whose words were absolute. She looked away in defeat and observed what the girl would do next. And what she saw left her speechless.

Jenny drew her sword and shield from her inventory and took a battle stance. It was amateurish at best, but she made up for it with her next moves. She started slashing the air wildly, leaving trails of a faint icy mist. To the untrained it would look like random slashes, but Velastra knew that the girl was methodically freezing the spores the Treants used for Space Manipulation. How the girl was able to detect said spores was a mystery, but the effects were undeniable. Within minutes, the entire area was covered in a layer of frost.

SCREEEEEE

The Treant bellowed in rage as it started moving and aimed a claw at the girl. Three projectiles flew across the field, only to be deflected by the shield effortlessly. What followed was an irrefutable proof of the girl's genius as she systematically dismantled the tree's offense. Each time, an unavoidable branch or projectile headed her way, she would whistle sharply in a different tone. A wolf would then pop out of the shadows, either pushing her out of the way or devouring the projectile.

But at other times, the wolves hounded the Treant from opposite directions. Leaving minor cuts and scrapes on the bark or breaking off branches on occasion before disappearing into the shadows. The tones of the whistles had some meaning, cause the wolves would change their attack pattern with it. The Treant tried going for the wolves, but each time the girl would intercept or redirect the wolf. The battle continued unabated for a whole hour, with a dumbstruck Velastra, and cheering dwarves standing on the sidelines. Ignar on the other hand observed silently with a broad smile.

The wolves and the girl did get injured on more than one occasion, but it was never fatal or too debilitating. And to her credit, Jenny was the one receiving most of the injuries, as a tank is supposed to. Injuries that never seemed to slow her down or break her concentration as she planned her next move.

But the most striking was the girl's Aura. Even though it was not directed at them, Velastra and the other felt its oppressive effects. Like a bone chilling cold that crept up your arms at a glacial pace.

Velastra still wasn't sure what her end game was, since although the coordination was good, they weren't exactly doing much damage to the Treant. But it finally made sense when the red head focused a ridiculous amount of mana in her sword and unleased a kind of mid-range attack. The attack stuck true, and was at the center of the pattern of scars the wolves were leaving on the Treants bark, which shattered the armor to expose the Treant's core. All the girl now needed was to land a few attacks to damage the core and the Treant would be dead.

But the entire party backed up after that, the wolves standing behind the girl obediently. She unequipped her weapons and cupped her hands to her mouth.

"You are up, Nocthrya," she yelled loudly.

Thick vines erupted from the ground and bound the Treant with ease. It shrieked and tried to break free, but to no avail. One vine shot out and wrapped the core in a thick knot. The Treant struggled for a minute but then fell still. Jenny stretched her arms and patted the wolves one by one.

"Good job, pups," she said cheerfully as one by one each of them licked her face and dissolved into her shadow, only to be replaced by an adult version who inspected the girl's injuries and licked her too, making the wounds heal at a visible rate.

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Velastra stared slack jawed at the scene before her. She turned to her husband who had a knowing look on his face. He was no doubt going to rub this in her face for months to come. He headed for the exhausted girl, with a serious look. It was his instructor face he put on when dealing with young talent within the Guild. He spoke in a domineering tone and started pointing out all the mistakes Jenny made during the fight. Because despite the impressive display, she had made several rookie mistakes.

"The lass is still rough around the edges. But she'll get there," one of the dwarves said from beside her.

"Hehehe. That will be a sight, won't it," the other dwarf said while retrieving his weapons. "If the big oaf is right, it is our turn now."

"What?" Velastra asked in confusion but froze when she heard loud cracking sounds from afar. Ignar returned to the group with Jenny in tow, who had a deep introspective look on her face.

"Lord Fenrast specifically asked that I not reveal his instructions to you till the time was right, my love. And looking at what is heading our way, I'd say it is time," Ignar said with a smile. He continued with a more serious expression, "Jenny and her pack are to be the vanguards of our extermination quest. We are the backup support when things get out of hand."

"We are the support?" Velastra asked incredulously.

"Wait, I am the vanguard?" Jenny asked in confusion.

"Yep. Doubt the lass can handle that by herself," Ignar said as he drew his great sword and stood tall while facing towards a roiling mass of trees.

To everyone's shock, three Treants burst out into the clearing, making everyone including Jenny assume battle formation. But this time, Ignar stood a step behind Jenny. The girl had a nervous look on her face, as was expected. But Ignar merely smiled and tapped her shoulder.

"Remember your Path, Lassie. No looking back," Ignar said with an encouraging smile as he transformed into his berserker state.

The dwarves too smiled and drew their weapons, conjuring sharp earth spikes that floated around their heads. They stood a step behind Ignar, on either side of his shoulders. And with Velastra at the rear, the formation looked like a spear point, and Jenny was the tip.

Velastra finally started to piece together Lord Fenrast's plan. What the girl lacked was training and experience. And what better way to provide that than training with the elites in a life and death struggle. Not to mention this would simultaneously clear out the diseased Treants. Velastra smiled as she conjured up a fiery tempest of flames behind the party.

"We got your back," Velastra stated as she was finally on board with the plan. Even though she couldn't see the girl's face, Velastra knew she was smiling. She saw the girl's stance relax as 4 dark creatures emerged once more and surrounded Velastra in the rear.

"Well then. Let the hunt begin," Jenny said as she led the charge towards the towering behemoths.

* * *

Aenon

Deep underground beneath the anthill entrance, another battle was taking place to eradicate a different type of scourge. The desperate ants were backed into a corner by their mysterious enemy who seemed to appear out of nowhere. Aenon flexed his fingers as the gauntlets flowed like liquid metal and covered his entire forearm. He retracted the claws with a thought and set them up like MMA style gloves. He wanted to test how good they were as blunt weapons, rather than slashing. He could have set up an ambush and taken out a few of the ants with a surprise attack. But after staying cooped up for so long, he was itching for a good physical work out. Besides, he wanted to test and hone his close combat skills further.

The swarm in front of him was closed off from any escape routes, which meant his prey was cornered. But he knew from experience that cornered prey was the deadliest thing for a predator. But unlike Jenny's opponent, Aenon wasn't taking this casually, or for sport. He had a clear end goal and a formulated plan in mind, with backups if things didn't work the way he intended. He took a fighting stance that felt natural and analyzed his quarry.

There were about two dozen Fire Ant Workers, and a dozen Soldiers. The moment he unleashed his Aura, the Soldiers gathered to protect the noncombatants and screeched violently. It was deafeningly loud, and probably travelled all over the tunnel system, since he heard replies a few seconds later. His timer to clear out the mobs had officially begun.

He charged in towards the closest foe and dodged the projectile streams of hot liquid coming his way. He weaved around as he kept closing the distance, making the Soldiers more furious, and the Workers agitated. The group in the back line started to dig faster in hopes of getting out of the deathtrap they were in. Unfortunately for them, they just didn't have enough time.

Aenon managed to reach the Soldier at the forefront of the group and ducked to avoid the monstrous mandible. Ever since he had observed Ignar fight, he wanted to replicate something. He didn't just dodge; he repositioned himself for a follow up counter. He hadn't learned any fancy footwork or advanced martial arts, making his moves sloppy compared to experts like the Berserker. Therefore, it was no surprise that his attack failed miserably, earning him a face full of steaming liquid which his Physical Barrier Spell blocked.

But he wasn't deterred, resolving himself to try repeatedly till he succeeded. His System weapons skill gave him a lot of hints, but without the corresponding muscle memory it was tough to carry out the moves. He had been getting by mostly using his inflated stats up to this point. But he knew his future opponents wouldn't be as simple-minded as a Goblin or a Fire Ant. He needed to learn feints and counters if he was to stand a chance. And what better way to hammer out that weakness than a life-or-death struggle.

He spent several minutes moving around his opponents, never truly landing a strike. Many times, he pulled his punches because it just didn't feel right. He could have accessed the martial arts books in the library, but he wanted more. He needed a fighting style, one that was truly his own, and not an imitation of someone else.

BAM

Finally, after several failed attempts, he managed to land a blow to the ant's carapace. He had concentrated a thin layer of mana on his hands and mixed in some gravity wisps as an afterthought. He was expecting a minor force multiplication, or perhaps some pulling or pushing effect. Instead, his punch had left a spiderweb of cracks in the previously impervious armor, making the ant screech indignantly as it retreated. Unsure of what he had done, he too backtracked a few steps to avoid any retaliatory attacks from the ant's allies.

He looked down at his gauntlets, which were soaked in the scalding liquid of the ant's innards. But the liquid harmlessly dripped to the ground. The other Soldiers made a wall around their injured comrade, hissing and spitting liquids to keep Aenon at bay.

But Aenon ignored them and used his Mana Sense to observe his hands. He could clearly see the gravity wisps interacting with his mana. But he noticed another wisp type he hadn't interacted with in the past. It was fleeting, but he saw faint trails of something sticking to the surface when he moved his hands.

But before he could analyze it further, he heard a loud explosion and a sharp screech from down the tunnel behind him. It looked like reinforcements were on the way, and they had triggered one of his traps. He turned back to the ants to his front who were now in a defensive formation, no doubt stalling for time. He needed to end this fast, or risk being surrounded from both ends of the tunnel.

"Sorry, I got to end our dance early. You all gave me a lot to think about," Aenon said humorlessly as he started channeling mana into his hands. He used Overcharge and cast a Spell he had only used once before – Blooming Earth.

Whether it was due to his higher mana control, or the fact that he was underground where earth wisps were everywhere, the spell was even more devastating this time around. The spikes erupted from all surfaces and skewered the shocked huddle of ants. The tunnel ended up looking like the gullet of a monstrous worm with thousands of sharp teeth. Aenon only had to channel the spell for three seconds for all the ants to be pierced or crushed. He received a level up notification, but he suppressed it for now.

He used his Sovereign's Eye to make sure all the ants were dead, noticing a single soul signature. But it was too weak to be considered a life form. When he manipulated the earth to dig his way to it, he noticed that it was an egg. Remembering the penchant of these things for violent explosions, he approached with extreme caution. The other ants had huddled together to keep it safe, thus leaving the delicate thing unscathed.

He gingerly placed a hand on the surface while keeping his barrier spells active. When nothing happened, he carefully picked it up for a closer inspection. It was roughly the size of a football, and its surface was… squishy. But that wasn't what caught his attention. It was the tiny red tendril that was coming out of it that was visible in his Mana Sense. He got the same oily feeling as before when he interacted with what everyone seemed to call the Corruption. Despite his best efforts, he was unsuccessful in finding any books on the subject.

The tendril was flailing about wildly, trying to latch onto his gauntlet unsuccessfully. Aenon used his Sovereign's Eye to see what was inside the egg and was disgusted with what he felt. If the tendril gave him an oily feeling, the creature inside was downright repulsive. He focused on his hand and used the gauntlet to form the black claws he had used against Gorin. He was certain this ability was linked to his void affinity. And even though he didn't find information in the books about its properties, he knew of one. The ability to erase things from existence.

The tendril—as though feeling danger—immediately retreated into the egg. But it had nowhere to go as Aenon started pumping the black mana inside. He heard a series of distant screeches as the unbroken surface of the egg turned black and started to decompose at a visible rate. But unlike regular decomposition, nothing was left behind. The thing just melted into nothing, leaving Aenon's hand completely empty within seconds. He still didn't have complete control or understanding of the void element, and neither did he know why no Spell showed up on his System interface when he used it, but he was starting to piece together a few things.

Unfortunately, he did not have the time to test his theories further as he heard a loud rumbling sound getting closer. He went invisible and ran towards an adjoining tunnel before the Queen's Guards burst out from the way he came. He stayed still and observed the fuming bugs as they went about sniffing the remains from his most recent carnage. One of them looked heavily injured and was probably being used to scout ahead for the numerous traps.

Aenon slinked away down the tunnel without a sound. He didn't want to take on the Guards till he had eliminated the other group first.

After all, the hunt had just begun.

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