[Lloyd H.K.: It was huge. Its mana was tremendous as well. I could feel how powerful it was, even though it was so far away.]
[Prince Altania: Isnât it just a big creature? I think I could take itâŠ]
[Yasunori Akira: Why donât you go over there then? I wouldâve gone myself if I was nearby. Oh well.]
Itâd truly been a long time since the other heroes had entered the chatting channel and they were excited in a different way. After Shino Rendu died, the channel had become stagnant, but because theyâd discovered a new elite monster, they were all starting to come back.
[Lee Shin Woo: Is the monster so powerful that even you (seniors) wouldnât dare face it?]
Lee Shin Woo leisurely cut that powerful monsterâs outstretched branches, and spoke in the channel. Heâd fought the Tree Golem for a few days now and had become bored, so he entered the chatting channel to increase the effectiveness of his training!
[Erian Ruparte: We donât know. Since we havenât gotten close and personally ascertained its level. However, if it truly was created in the âMelting Forestâ, one of the renowned areas of the EmpireâŠ]
[Ethan Cruz: Oh my god. Youâre talking about that forest in the northwestern outskirts of the Empire, right? Once you enter, youâre helpless as your gear starts to melt right away, and letâs not talk about your body.]
[Prince Altania: Heng, a forest? Then itâs simple. I just need to use my special fire magic from afar and burn it to a crisp!]
Prince acted conceitedly and Erian snorted.
[Erian Ruparte: Unfortunately for you, Sir Altania, I believe thereâs a strange energy protecting the forest. You would likely be unable to burn a single tree before you completely remove that energy.]
[Prince Altania: What? A stronger force can overcome a weaker force.]
[Erian Ruparte: What Iâm saying is that itâd be difficult for you, Sir Altania, as thereâs quite a bit of that energy there.]
[Prince Altania: UghâŠ]
[Lee Shin Woo: What do you mean by a strange energy�]
She was definitely talking about the Dryads, but Lee Shin Woo feigned ignorance! It had the feeling of âoh, thereâs a place like that? I wouldnât even dare going there!â, so Erian replied satisfyingly.
[Erian Ruparte: I believe theyâre corrupted spirits. They were called Dryads in my world. If theyâre really Dryads, then⊠itâs truly miserable and depressing. Dryads treasure trees, and love anything that is aliveâŠ]
âSo what youâre saying isâŠâ
[Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]
At that moment, it seemed like the golem couldnât take any more of this slow paced battle, and wailed loudly. Thousands of tree branches rose into the air and fused into one! That completed giant tree hammer fell upon them like an arrow. Jin was startled, moved his body, and evaded it.
But then, the hammer impacted the ground with a âkwang!â; following that, the hammer transformed into an immense concentration of Acid Poison and thickly spread everywhere. That powerful acid, which looked like it would melt any type of equipment like Ethan Cruz had said, covered Lee Shin Woo and Jin simultaneously.
[You are being affected by the High Rank Acid Hammer! Intermediate Acid Resistance reduces the damage by about 60%!]
âKuhek⊠I really want to stop doing this! I did enough⊠Shin Woo, we can stop now, right? Right?â
âBear with it a bit more, Jin. We canât stop now!â
It was only for a instant, but Lee Shin Wooâs armor was completely melted away, as well as half of his arms and legs. It was the same for Jin as well. Although he possessed intermediate level 9 resistance, he couldnât avoid taking a significant amount of damage from the poison; that was the golemâs power.
âI canât, Iâll die. Iâll really die. See you later, Shin WooâŠâ
âYou wonât die. Donât worry.â
And it went exactly as Lee Shin Woo said. His hastily activated Regeneration skill restored not only his own body, but Jinâs melting body as well. Of course, this was all due to his Assimilation skill, which had grown to intermediate level 5!
[Erian Ruparte: That acid is much too powerful for us to endure, and will not only melt through metal, but our bodies as well. Even if you can use magic well, youâd have to sacrifice both your skin and muscles to block it. You must not recklessly approach the forest.]
[Yasunori Akira: Haha, it certainly is interesting, but you canât throw away your life just because youâre curious.]
While his seniors laughed with a âhahaâ or âhohoâ, and forbade entrance to the âMelting Forestâ, Lee Shin Woo completely healed his body. Jin, who was unable to finish this fight, sighed and asked Lee Shin Woo.
ââŠWhat level is your Regeneration skill?â
âIntermediate level 7.â
âIt leveled up by 5 levels!â
âWell, weâve both been melted so many timesâŠâ
Since he could absorb a portion of the acid as mana, he was overflowing with mana. He used all of that mana for Regeneration, and after repeatedly using it on himself and Jin, his skill grew quickly.
Skills always grew quickly in extreme situations, and objectively assessing the situation the two were in would result in something like this: âtheyâre fighting a seemingly unbeatable foe and have miraculously endured for three whole daysâ!
[Erian Ruparte: I donât know how that monster was created, but the only thing we can do is either wait for it to calm down, or⊠wait for it to leave the forest.]
[Lloyd H.K.: Lee Shin Woo, werenât you around there? Are you ok?]
[Lee Shin Woo: Iâm ok since I took Senior Erianâs words to heart and went in the opposite direction. However, even I can see its head from where I am. Itâs quite frightening.]
[Yasunori Akira: âŠDonât overdo it, Lee Shin Woo. Since youâre growing rapidly, even now. You said you passed 2,500 stats?]
[Prince Altania: You monster. I have to get to level 7 before you catch up.]
[Lloyd H.K.: Youâre west, right? Are you finding any dungeons?]
[Prince Altania: Ah, donât know. Stop acting like youâre concerned about me and enjoy dating that granny elf!]
[Erian Ruparte: Granny? Granny!? What did you say Sir Altania!?]
Ah, the chatting channel is filled with lies! Lee Shin Woo would feel bad if he lied anymore, so Lee Shin Woo stopped listening to his seniors and left the chatting channel. Over the past three days, the Tree Golemâs body had shrunk significantly, so he could see it all with a single glance.
âIâve been continuously cutting the branches, so itâs been shrinking.â
But no matter how many branches he cut, the mana in its main body wouldnât diminish, and the smaller its body became, the sharper and tougher its branches became.
Lee Shin Woo had given up on cutting all the branches, and was in the middle of picking out its weakest branches and cutting them with his three axes, but perhaps that wouldnât even be possible soon.
âIf that happens, then Iâll really have to take down the main body.â
Since theyâd been fighting the Tree Golem for three days already, Lee Shin Woo already knew all of its special characteristics. He was also aware of the difference in stats between them. Lee Shin Woo and Jinâs teamwork was good enough to overcome that stat differential. It filled in all the gaps that the Rebellion skill couldnât cover.
Therefore, he wouldnât hesitate when his resistance went up to the high rank level. He would cleave through its body and burn it to a crisp! Lee Shin Woo inwardly made that decision. However, a problem occurred before he could make that happen.
[Ah⊠Ah.]
âHmm?â
He cut the golemâs fired branches with his flawless axe technique, and absorbed as much of the spewed acid as he could; then, Lee Shin Woo heard something that made him flinch. He thought it might be an illusion, but it wasnât.
[How is this⊠possible?]
âHuh!?â
In the center of the Tree Golemâs body, where countless screams had been emitted, one of the voices suddenly changed to that of a young girlâs. Was that all? A portion of the branches coming towards them stopped midair as well! Lee Shin Woo realized this and stood in shock; the small, but distinct girlâs voice continued.
[Ah. In the end⊠In the end, we became like thisâŠ]
[Gguaaaaaaaaahk!]
[Donât come!]
[DieâŠ! Please dieâŠ!]
Her refreshing voice was accompanied by the other old womensâ voices, which actually made the mood even gloomier! Lee Shin Woo cleared the branches flying towards him and yelled.
âHave you gotten a hold of yourself now?â
âHeâs actually acting like someone whose original plan was to awaken the Dryads!â
He was always ready to act anywhere and anytime depending on the situation at hand, which was why he could respond so quickly. Because he acted so naturally, the Dryad didnât find him suspicious and replied.
[I remember everything. You didnât attack us ever since entering the forest. In the end, you protected us, even going so far as to risk your lifeâŠ!]
âI just couldnât harm you Dryads, the protectors of this forest! I didnât have a good way of saving you, and I was just being foolishâŠ!â
âBleh.â
Jin retched at Lee Shin Wooâs despicable acting. Even while doing so, he skillfully avoided the branches that came flying at them. Heâd become skilled enough that he could dodge them in his sleep.
[That mysterious ability of yours to absorb the curse⊠I see. Itâs because of that ability of yours that Iâm briefly able to regain my sanity⊠It must be because of that ability that youâre able to remain sane even after becoming a skeleton.]
âYeah, youâre right.â
So this all happened because of Jinâs ability to absorb the curse! Lee Shin Woo acted calm and replied, but was actually astonished on the inside. Then again, they had fought the same opponent for three whole days while Jin remained in contact with the nearby mana the entire time, so it wasnât very strange that they made this new discovery.
He needed to look into this more in the future. He thought it was just a skill that revived him, but this was proof that there was something more tremendous that lay hidden within Jinâs skill.
[Thank you for your efforts and sincerity. However, itâs much too late now. I didnât think weâd be corrupted to this extentâŠ]
ââŠâ
[I have a shameless request for you, who risked your life to protect us Dryads. Could you please listen to my request?
Right after regaining her sanity, she had a request? It must be considerably urgent. If not, then she must deeply trust Lee Shin Woo, as he was the one who âprotectedâ them. Either way, this was the result of Lee Shin Wooâs Acting skill.
[Is it⊠too much?]
ââŠNo, go ahead.â
Lee Shin Woo felt slightly conflicted, but ultimately nodded his head. Then, the Dryad spoke happily, as if she knew he would do that.
[Please seek out the General, Dana Von Etliber. She should be safe from all of this, as sheâs loved by countless spirits. Please tell her where we are⊠and please give her this.]
Suddenly, something shot out of the golemâs torso and fell before Lee Shin Woo. Lee Shin Woo cut through the branches without much difficulty and picked it up. It was a crystal radiating a pale green light.
[Spiritâs Spring Key Fragment]
[A precious artifact made of pure mana that is only given to the worldâs spirits. It can only be given to someone approved of by a spirit, and is also a token of friendship. Using this and a few other materials, you can open a passageway that allows you to enter the spiritâs spring.]
âThis isâŠâ
[You just need to give that to her. As soon as possible⊠If you do that, sheâll take care of everything. And with that, our kind will somehowâŠ]
She spoke with a lighthearted voice, as if she had just let go of a heavy burden. The Dryad wouldnât have imagined that Lee Shin Woo could see the crystalâs information as he was a hero.
[Please go find her. Hurry! Thereâs no hope for us. Iâll lose my sanity soon; please run while I can still maintain control over this golem! Run away and give Dana Von EtliberâŠ!]
âHey. Hey!â
Lee Shin Woo called the Dryad with a sincere and refined voice akin to a Skeleton Knightâs, but she couldnât respond, as she used the rest of her energy into stopping the golem! At that moment, he thought it might, but the Acting skill did indeed level up.
[The Acting skill has become Lv13! Who are you an ally to, and who are you an enemy to? Perhaps you yourself do not know the difference anymore.]
âShin Woo, what do we do?â
Jin used his connection through Lee Shin Wooâs Assimilation skill to speak. Lee Shin Woo replied seriously.
âLetâs act like we canât run away and take it down. Sheâs trying to not tell us anything.â
âYeah, you really are the worst.â
âCanât you just call me the winner of our battle of wits?â
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They acted as though the Acid Poison prevented them from escaping; ultimately, the Dryad wailed, telling them to run away, and lost consciousness.
He worried that the crystal sheâd given him would disappear as well, but after confirming that it was safe, Lee Shin Woo smiled in satisfaction and raised his axe once more.
âThen, shall we begin training again!?â
âLetâs give it a rest, you demonâŠâ
Jin weakly replied, yet moved as Lee Shin Woo wished. Truthfully, he didnât want to finish off the golem yet either! There was still some time before their battle with the golem came to a close.