Chapter 23: Genocide

"So, this place's owners are these bats, huh?"

"Yes, they are supposed to be just normal bats but living in this cave and being saturated by the mana exuded by mana crystals changed them. Ones you just killed are just babies. Adult ones will be much more challenging."

"Those were just a baby? Well then, let's go meet the adults."

After resupplying my mana reservoir, I go deeper down the cave. More I go more bigger the cave becomes. Full of crystals jutting out from beneath the ground. I really wonder how these crystals are formed.

Ceilings are interesting too. Blue stalactites jutting down from the ceilings. Looks cool. Problem is something seems to be slithering along the stalactites. Not sure what it is. Maybe a snake. I don't know.

I see a biggest crystal I saw since coming down here in front of me. This one I gigantic. Almost thirty meters tall. And I see bats, hundreds of them, much bigger than the ones I just killed on the other side of the crystal. I've always thought bats slept hanging from the ceilings. But apparently these ones sleep on the ground. Some are sleeping, some are hovering over them. Lucky for me they are not invisible.

There is another cave mouth behind the sleeping bats. And I feel something dangerous from that cave. I think there is something bad inside.

But first let's get rid of the ones outside. As I look at my left arm I suddenly get an interesting idea. Let's see if it will work.

I thrust my arm into the ground beneath and pump more mana into it. As I pour mana into my arm it starts to grow and branch out beneath the ground. Bahahaha. This is going to be fun.

I will my arm to branch out under every sleeping bats heads and wait until my arm reach every single one of them. And since there is hundreds of them this is quite tiring and requires tremendous amount of mana.

But luckily there is a giant battery right next to me. I grow single branch from my shoulder and puncture the mana crystal with it and absorb mana with it. And pump that absorbed mana into my arm to extend it to beneath every bat.

And I can feel my control over my arm and mana increasing more I use it. It may be tiring but I think it's worth it. More my arm branch out and extend more my range of vision increases and that makes it easier for me to target all the bats possible.

Making sure I targeted all the bats while making sure they don't hear my branches growing under them took me almost hour. And those flying rats sure sleep deep. Well, little do they know their impending doom. Mwahahahahaha. Shit, I sound like some B-rate villain.

Now that I targeted the ones on the ground, what about ones airborne. I suppose I can only try my other idea.

For my last preparation, I fill my mana vessel with more mana and prepare myself for a genocide that I'm about to commit. It is little concerning that concept of committing a genocide doesn't bother me.

Well, that's for later. For now, let's see a firework. As soon as I finish my preparation I start pumping mana into my branches. Right at that moment sharp branches start to grow out from beneath the ground and start skewering sleeping bats' heads killing them even before they realize it.

As soon as this happens ones in the air goes invisible and searches for me. Unfortunately for them, they can't see me from behind the giant mana crystal while I can. After killing the ones on the ground, I pump even more mana into my arm and making it grow at even higher pace. Making it branch out so fast vicinity of almost two hundred meters around the giant crystal suddenly becomes trap made out of sharp branches.

Bats in the air gets skewered like their brethren on the ground too. Since I'm connected to every single branch my perception is enhanced to scary level. I can feel everywhere. As bats in the air screeches as they get skewered by my branch trap, suddenly even louder and deeper screech comes out from the cave mouth.

I think I disturbed the boss. As I wait for the boss' entrance not just one but two giant bats coming out of the cave. Almost ten meters long with wingspan of thirty meters. Ooh. Shit I don't think I can kill them.

So, let's be reasonable and run like hell. I disconnect my arm from rest of the branch and turn around run like hell around the giant crystal and head to the right zone of the cave. I hope my trap can delay them long enough for me to get out of their echolocation's range.

And I can already feel my branches getting smashed to smithereens by them. As I feel the danger I increase my speed even more. Only after running for almost kilometer do I stop and dive under a mana crystal. Now let's hide and observe. And let's pray they won't find me.

While waiting I still grow a single branch from my left arm and absorb the mana in the crystal to fill my mana vessel and nurture it.

Hour of waiting. Finally, I'm sure they didn't find me. Woo. That was close. If they found me I think that would have been the end. Now that it's over. What should be my next course of action.

"What to do now then?"

"Keep going deeper."

"Holy Crap. It's like you are omnipresent in here."

"I'm omnipresent where ever my roots are."

"Keep going deeper? Are you crazy you saw these bats, right? Who knows what's deeper in there."

"Don't worry, there isn't anything bigger deeper into the cave. That giant crystal is the only one in here, that's why those giant ones nest near it."

"So, are only bats in here or something else is in here too?"

"Of course, there is something else too. For example, ones slithering between the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Those bats don't hang from the ceilings because of those slithering ones. If they get near the ceilings, they get devoured."

"Hell, that's scary. But they won't come down here, right?"

"So far, none of them fell."

"That's reassuring."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"You are very perceptive for a tree, you know."

"Just keep going deeper, and you just might find something interesting."

"I would put in more effort if I knew what that is."

"What? Tell you and ruin the surprise, I don't think so."

"Tsk, I hate surprises."

Stupid firewood, acting all mysterious. This is getting on my nerves.