The sky had turned a dusky purple as Sylvia set foot in the southwestern region of the forest. The towering shadows of trees reached toward the heavens like giant hands clawing the sky. She moved swiftly, her footsteps nearly silent as Shadow Piercing carried her from tree to tree.
But her steps halted. Standing before her was a tree or rather, something that looked like a tree.
It towered over all others, its trunk as wide as a small house, and its bark was etched with twisted patterns resembling faces frozen in agony. In the center of the trunk was a crack, shaped like a closed eye.
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. "What is this…?"
Curiosity moved her forward. But as soon as her foot stepped near the tree's roots—
CRAAAK!!
Long branches lashed toward her like thorned whips!
Sylvia barely dodged, her body moving before her mind could react. With extraordinary reflexes, she ducked, rolled, then leapt behind a nearby tree.
"An ambush?"
From behind cover, her dark-red eyes glowed as she activated her skill.
Appraisal!
[Ancient Treant – Rank 3]
"Treant, huh…" Sylvia muttered, unfazed.
If gods, demons, and legendary beasts could exist, then a creature like this was only to be expected.
She tightened her grip. Her claws glowed darkly.
"If you attack first… don't blame me."
Shadow Piercing!
Sylvia's claws elongated, cloaked in dense black aura. In an instant, she appeared before the massive trunk and slashed—
CRACK!
The Treant's bark tore deeply. Thick green sap dripped like the blood of plants.
A low rumble echoed from within the trunk, and the eye-shaped crack... opened.
And stared at Sylvia.
Roots erupted from the earth, trying to ensnare her. Sylvia leapt into the air, twisting midair and slicing the pursuing branch. In one slash, it split in two. She landed, then dashed forward, bombarding the trunk with a flurry of claw strikes.
Shraak! Crack! SHRAAKK!!
The sound of wood echoed through the forest.
Each attack drew blood. And Sylvia smiled, slightly smug. "You're strong, but you're slow. Your attacks… I could dance through them."
The Treant roared. Its branches whipped wildly, attacking everything nearby, but Sylvia was like the wind. Darting, leaping, evading, countering. Her body flickered like a shadow untouchable.
But that was when she let her guard down.
BOOOM!!
Something shot out from the Treant's trunk—seeds the size of baseballs, hurled at breakneck speed.
DUAAAGH!!
One struck Sylvia in the gut, another pierced her thigh, two more hit her shoulder and left chest. Black blood spurted from her body.
"Ghhkk!!"
She was flung back, crashing into a tree hard enough to crack its trunk.
Her HP dropped drastically.
[HP: 3,000 / 21,600]
She coughed. Blood dripped from her lips.
"Stupid…" she hissed, clutching at the pain that rattled her body. "Just because I leveled up once, I thought I was a queen…"
She rose slowly. Her hands trembled, but her eyes were calm now. "Alright, Treant. Let's get serious."
The battle flared again. The forest rang with the sounds of combat:
TING!! CLANG!! CRASSH!!
Sylvia deflected the deadly seeds with her claws. Each slash sparked. One missed and shattered a massive boulder behind her. But she pressed forward, step by step.
Yet every time she prepared a heavy attack, the seeds forced her back.
She frowned. "Why… why is its HP still dropping?"
Her eyes glowed again as she activated appraisal.
[Ancient Treant – Rank 3]HP: 27,400 / 38,000Status: Infected with deadly poison
"Ahh... my claws are poisoned."
Her smile returned—thin and cruel.
She changed tactics.
Instead of trying to cut or destroy, her attacks now merely scratched. Like painting on wood, she left shallow wounds all over its trunk and roots.
The Treant roared.
Its branches attacked faster, but Sylvia danced among them, constantly slashing, slicing, infecting.
And finally...
The Treant trembled violently.
Its trunk began rotting from within.
Leaves fell.
Roots tore from the ground, then went limp.
CRAAAKK!!
The tree collapsed, crashing to the ground with a thunderous silence.
[DING!!]
[Level Up: 30/30]
[Quest Complete – Reward Granted: Chain of Abyss – Weapon Class: Living Weapon]
[Evolution Options Available]
Sylvia took a deep breath, blood still dripping from her body. But her smile was satisfied.
Something caught her eye among the remains of the trunk.
A glowing red crystal, nestled near the heart of the tree. Sylvia approached it with a passion like hunger, then without hesitation—swallowed it.
[DING!!]
[Wood Element Acquired…]
[Element Incompatible…]
[Recalibrating…]
[DING!! Element "Wood" has become "Netherwood"]
Sylvia finally came to her senses when she received a notification from the system.
"Huh? Netherwood element?? And why did I feel like I lost control earlier… like I had to devour that red crystal? Whatever… maybe it was just my instincts."
But as the pain from her wounds faded, Sylvia regained her composure. She opened her status window.
[STATUS]
Name: Sylvia Hortensia
Race: Noctira (Rank 2 – Evolved Zombie)
Element: Death, Netherwood
Level: 30/30
Stats
HP: 21,600 / 21,600
MP: 0 / 0
STR: 2,540
VIT: 21,600
INT: 120
AGI: 600
LUK: ERROR
Active Skills
~ Infectious Bite (9/20)
~ Razor Toxic Claw (27/40)
~ Shadow Piercing (18/40)
~ Void Steps (4/10)
~ Appraisal (1/10)
Spell
~ Gravebind – Forbidden Death Spell (Rank 4) – 1,500 MP
Passive Skills
~ Killing Stroke - +3 agi/kill max 10 stacks
~ High - HP-Regeneration (20/40) – Restores 650 HP per second
~ Toxic Affinity - Nerve, bleeding, corrosive
~ Blood Instinct - 5% stat boost for 10 sec, max 5 stacks
Titles
~ Reincarnated
~ First Evolution
~ Second Evolution
~ Blessing from Goddess life and death (Persephone)
At the bottom:
[MAX LEVEL REACHED – EVOLUTION REQUIRED]