Ch 13: Tree Monster (1)

Node Shift!

Emrys disappeared, reappearing above the wolf's head. Strong fluctuations of Soul Force emerged from his body as he thrust the knife right at the back of the wolf's head.

The wolf, however, was a Bronze Soul Beast. The moment Emrys vanished, it sensed something amiss and halted abruptly before veering to the side. Emrys's knife grazed past its head, slicing one of its ears and embedding it into the ground.

"Roar!"

The wolf bellowed in agony, its eyes ablaze with fury. Even as Emrys remained airborne, the wolf leaped, aiming to sink its teeth into him. Sensing the impending attack, Emrys hurled his backpack at the wolf's head before disappearing once more.

By the time the Emrys disappeared, the backpack had already obstructed the wolf's vision. Reappearing on the ground, Emrys swiftly retrieved his knife and charged forward.

The backpack landed on the wolf's head, forcing the wolf to balance the angle of his body as it landed. Right at this moment, the wolf sensed a threat and tried to dodge it, however, it was already too late.

The neck of the wolf might seem like the weakest part of its body, but cutting it was not a feasible idea at this moment. After all, Emrys wasn't sure if he could sever the wolf's neck entirely with just one attack.

That's why, rather than aiming for the wolf's neck, he thrust his weapon at the back of its head, driving the E-3 Alloy Knife deep into the wolf's skull. In this attack, he had given his 100%.

"Roa...r!"

The wolf was stunned for a moment and tried to turn, glaring fiercely at Emrys. However, it was unable to do anything and fell to the ground helplessly.

The wolf wasn't dead yet, it was still alive. However, it could no longer muster any strength, and its life force was rapidly fading away. It could only gaze at Emrys with a mix of sorrow and resignation.

Emrys was gasping for breath at this moment. He continued to watch as the wolf took its last breath about a minute later. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief.

Emrys was exhausted, but he still dragged his tired body to the wolf's corpse and extracted the Soul Force.

Surprisingly, he obtained 100 Soul Points from the Iron-furred Wolf.

Then he proceeded to dig out the Soul Orb from the wolf's corpse. Just like that, he obtained an Ordinary Green Soul Orb.

.....

[Name: Emrys Frazier.

Cultivation: Eighth Order Soul Apprentice.

Soul Mark: Walker of the Blue Sky.

Soul Point: 162.

Unique Skills: Soul Orb Enhancement, Soul Force Extraction.]

.....

Emrys closed the information panel. Then he once again hid himself beneath a thick canopy of trees, surrounded by dense foliage, spending the entire night safely. Other than the Iron-furred Wolf, no other Soul Beast came to disturb his sleep.

However, due to the appearance of the Iron-furred Wolf, Emrys remained alert throughout the night. He slept lightly and was cautious enough to wake up immediately at the slightest sound or fluctuation of Soul Force in the surroundings.

Actually, the lower-leveled Soul Beasts are no different than ordinary beasts. They only show their terror after rising to a higher level.

The next day, Emrys continued his journey, but he avoided delving deeper into the forest.

Yesterday, he had unknowingly wandered slightly deeper into the woods, where Bronze Soul Beasts were known to roam. That is also why he ended up meeting the Iron-furred Wolf.

Aware that venturing further would only expose him to stronger Soul Beasts, he opted to travel diagonally instead of proceeding straight ahead. He did not choose to retreat. This place can be said to be a boundary where both Ordinary Soul Beasts and Bronze Soul Beasts roamed. It presented an ideal training ground for Emrys at his current level.

As he continued his journey, he suddenly sensed some relatively strong Soul Force fluctuations faintly coming from ahead. Cautiously walking forward, he saw a half-meter-tall Soul Beast leaning against a boulder at the edge of a gray-black tree in the distance ahead.

This was a Soul Beast with only two legs and its whole body seemed to be made of charred-black stone. A pair of fiery-red pupils were observing the surrounding environment cautiously.

Seeing the appearance of this Soul Beast, Emrys's eyes suddenly lit up: "It is a Two-legged Lava Beast, a Ninth Order Ordinary Soul Beast!"

Emrys quietly retrieved the E-3 Alloy Knife, but to his dismay, he noticed the blade had been significantly damaged, rendering it unsuitable for a tough battle. It seemed the blade had suffered this fate during the battle with the Iron-furred Wolf, likely during the final confrontation where he pierced the blade into the wolf's head. He did not notice the damage on the blade maybe due to the darkness.

"It is only a practice weapon after all," Emrys sighed.

E-3 was not a name, but the grade of weapons. At the same time, this blade can only be used by Soul Apprentices. Simultaneously, this blade can only be used in battle against Ordinary Soul Beasts.

When facing Bronze Soul Beasts, a Soul Master should ideally wield a weapon of at least E-2 Grade. For encounters with Silver Soul Beasts or Silver Soul Masters, an E-1-grade weapon would be the minimum requirement for effective combat.

"Fortunately, it's still usable in a fight," Emrys muttered, examining the damaged E-3 Alloy Knife. As long as he wasn't facing a Bronze Soul Beast, the knife could still hold up. However, against a Bronze Soul Beast, there was a risk of the weapon breaking during combat.

"Roar!"

While Emrys was still examining the damaged knife in his hand, a loud, pained roar echoed through the air.

Startled, Emrys looked up in the direction of the sound and was met with a startling sight. Before him hung the Two-legged Lava Beast suspended mid-air, its body pierced by several thick roots. These roots belonged to the gray-black tree next to the boulder where the Two-legged Lava Beast had been resting.

"A Tree Monster! And it's an Elementary Bronze Soul Beast!"

Emrys suddenly remembered something important. Hastily setting down his backpack, he unzipped it and retrieved the Simulation Scroll. With eager anticipation, he scrolled through the information related to the Tree Monster.

His expression shifted several times as he read, from contemplation to surprise, until finally, an excited gleam lit up his face. It was evident that the information he found had sparked a series of excitement within him.