True fear.

Trees... trees... Why are there so many trees?!

Seriously, this jungle is baffling, why is it underground? And how did they grow? What a mysterious jungle...

Well, I should at least be thankful that it provides cover for me. I don't have to be constantly fighting and I can sleep on top of them. A win win for me. Eh? That isn't what the saying means? Doesn't matter as long as I am winning.

This great big root is getting closer and closer, but the monsters increased in number the more I got close, I don't know why I am getting closer to it. But I just have to.

The trees around me had finally started to thin out, the remaining trees here were a little bit scorched. Yeah that is definitely not suspicious.

What am I thinking going over there! Yeah, this is definitely a mistake. If I go over there it'll be like asking for death. But... I am feeling way too curious to know what's there. Who knows? Maybe the secret of life is there!

A peek wouldn't hurt. I'll just take a quick peek and then I'll run away if it gets dangerous.

I was getting really close to the root. Looking around me, I could actually see other monsters also approaching the root. They were gazing at it with a longing face and were trying to touch it.

Seeing these monsters made me finally stop moving towards the root, after all I don't want to get close to these monsters, I couldn't get a clear shot at them to appraise, but I could feel them.

[Skill "mind control resistance" lv. 1 was added.]

That announcement made me feel more dread than any other I had ever seen, did this root brainwash me to get closer to it? Or was it something else? I was know more aware of being manipulated, but it was hard to stop. Sort of like procrastination, I knew it was bad for me, yet it happens as naturally as breathing.

I couldn't stop myself from moving, but I at least slowed down, the trees around me had finally disappeared completely, and I see monsters approaching the root. Monsters of all shapes and sizes, I saw some hornet looking things climbing atop the root. Monsters were fighting all around the root, just to get closer to it. I don't wanna get closer, I wanna run! I didn't sign up for this!

["Fear resistance" leveled up to lv. 4]

["Mind control resistance" leveled up to lv. 2]

My self control is returning, I slowly start slowing down, and I was more aware of the loss of control, the voice in my head that made me think that, no longer sounded like me. I knew that I wasn't thinking that, but please body, move!

["Hard-willed" leveled up to lv. 4]

I force myself to stop. This is enough, I won't move, sorry root, but I'm gonna have to pass.

When I look at the tree root more, I see that it had some fiber looking things that came out and was absorbing the blood spilled by monsters here. Yikes, what plant has this root? It's friggin insane!

I forcefully turn myself around, when I hear a loud roar, I look back in fear. And what I saw was enough to make me tremble, a huge topaz colored dragon, with rock-like scales covering its body, and great amber horns on its head had come out from the opening under the root.

It was a full fledged dragon, not a weak little drake like me. The primal fear that I had upon seeing it was incomparable to anything I've felt in my life.

I was frozen in fear, too afraid to move, only able to weakly appraise it with what little sense I had left.

[Megalos.] Lv. 36.

Species: Earth dragon.

Sex: Male.

Stats:

Hp: 7123/7123.

Strength: 3162.

Defense: 4192.

No way... there is no chance.

I watch in horror, as faster than I could comprehend, Megalos had struck down a dozen monsters, spattering their crimson blood across the cave.

His strength was so overwhelming, that there was no bodies remaining from the monsters he struck, just a singular attack and then gone.

But his devastating attacks hadn't let up, for the other monsters were too brainwashed, they didn't run away or anything, only mindlessly getting closer to the root. Trying to cut down anything in their paths.

["Fear resistance" leveled up to lv. 5]

["Fear resistance" leveled up to lv. 6]

This scene was one of pure insanity, these monsters were heading towards their deaths, purely blood lusted. And in an instant, spikes had come out from the ground. Piercing the monsters and splattering their blood so far it had reached me from there.

The splatter of blood on my face finally returns me to reality, and I instantly force myself to move, driven by the fear of that dragon being there.

Suddenly as I started to run away, I felt chills in my spine, like death was gazing into me. Slowly I turn my head around, and see that the dragon was looking at me. It's face mixed with intrigue, pity, and arrogance.

His gaze was drilling deep into my very soul, no... I don't want to die... I.. I.. I'm afraid.

But the dragon does nothing to me, it just returns to fighting- no, toying with the other monsters. And I run, I ran and ran away, as far as I could.

The ringing sounds of battle were still in my ears, and the gaze of the dragons cerulean eyes engraved into my mind.

I ran until I had run across some land that had crumbled beneath my feet, dropping me far into the depths.

I kept falling, I didn't know what I was supposed to do, for no walls were near me to latch on to, I was falling into a large open cave, as I was falling, I see that the root didn't go down here. And that my mind was free of that brain washing.

I prepare myself for the impact, the ground was nearing me now, and for the first time in this world, I pray that I would survive this fall.

Crash.

I crashed along with rocks down on the floor, everything hurt, I felt my body was nearly broken.

But I had managed to survive.