137 Inside the forest

Dark.

That's one word that immediately came to mind as soon as I entered the forest.

It was unnaturally dark inside the forest.

It gave me a feeling of entering a trap, which I probably did.

The only consolation I had was the fact that being a Fiend enhanced all of my senses including my eyes to a very high degree allowing me to see in the dark without using the Advanced Vision.

Otherwise I would have to rely on that skill too much and I won't be able to use my mana properly anymore.

The advantages of being a Fiend are truly numerous once you go past the initial impression of them being a monster and what not.

As I stood in the dark and quiet forest I heard the soft movements of the roots from beneath the grass and leaves on the forest floor. I could smell them getting closer and closer. Like tightening a noose around my neck. Trying to consume. I could feel the roots closing in on me from a distance as I felt goosebumps rise on the skin, no doubt all the mutant trees are racing against one another to get to me first.

It's not a great feeling to realize that you're in a place where everyone and everything is trying to eat you.

'The things I do for family. The things I do for love.' I thought and shook my head with a bitter smile

The roots will no doubt try to attack me with their pheromones, capture me with their roots and then take everything from inside me, leaving me but a husk of my former self.

That can't be allowed to happen.

So first of all, I needed to understand the danger I was in.

The answer was pretty clear once I thought about it.

I was in a forest crawling with the roots of mutant trees and a momentary lapse in my concentration, a little bit of hallucination would end up with me being captured by these roots.

'Climb the trees. That would be safer.' Lily's voice ran in my mind.

'Excellent advice Lily.' I said with a smile as I was thinking along the same line.

Quick on my feet, I jumped up from tree to tree until I reached a safer place.

A high enough place where I won't be in heavily injured if I fall down but high enough so that it'll take the roots some time to get up to me.

But there's something unnatural about these normal trees as well.

I extended my claws and sunk them in the tree bark for proper holding.

'That should keep me safe enough for a while.' I thought as I observed the trees around me for a while before choosing to appraise them.

Tree (Hybrid)

Average Stat Point- NA

Mana- (15.5/15.9)

'A Hybrid. Interesting. This is the first time I've seen anything like this.' I thought with a smile as I appraised a few other trees and realized that most of them were Hybrids as well.

'Well, they are very large and their leaves are unnaturally dense their kind of trees. Is this because they're hybrid.' I wondered quietly to myself before I noticed that a few roots had already started to climb the tree that I was currently standing on.

'They give me the impression of the tenticles of an octopus.' I thought with a smile before I retracted my claws and jumped on another tree and held onto it with my claws once again.'

'No point in staying in the same place and give them a chance to get closer to me. I need to keep moving and find a safer place in the forest where I can rest for a while without the danger of getting wrapped by the roots in my slee…'

'Ashok.' Lily said, breaking my chain of thoughts.

'What is it Lily?' I asked.

'There's information on the B&S Worldwide about Hybrid Trees. The cost is 50 1st tier crystals.' She said.

'Let me guess. The writer is the woman known as Rose Valentine.' I said with a bitter smile at the high price.

'The one and only.' Lily said with a chuckle and I thought about it for a while before deciding that if I'm to be surrounded by these Hybrid Trees day and night, then I need to know if they're safe or not.

'Buy it.' I said and lamented the crystals I was about to lose.

I was not a miserly person but 50 1st tier crystals means 400 white coins which was not a small sum. Not for me at least.

Perhaps for Netra it is.

The thought of her brought warm feelings and good memories to me but I shook my head and dispelled those thoughts.

The sound of her voice. The softness of lips on my own. The touch of her body.

The way her face turned red whenever I pointed out one of her embarrassing habits.

The way she moaned and wriggled in my embrace whenever I kissed her neck or nipped at her ears.

The sound of her moans which sent me to…

'…ke up Ashok. Ashok. WAKE UP.' I heard Lily's shout from some distance place and focused on it, instantly realizing the trap I had unknowingly walked in.

Immediately I snapped my eyes open and jumped off the tree a moment before numerous roots closed around that place and crushed the trunk I had been standing on.

'That was close.' I thought as I controlled my hammering heart.

I had never considered that they would use my own feelings against me.

'These mutant trees truly are more advanced that the other mutant trees who only know how to make themselves look beautiful.' I thought morosely and shook my head.

'I need to keep my head clear from now on unless I want to die a quick death.' I thought and looked around the forest for any sign of danger before I felt something dripping in my claws.

I looked up and found my claws being covering in some sticky black liquid that seeped out of the…

The mutant tree opened it's eyes and looked into mine and I felt myself getting lost in a myriad of emotions.