Chapter 30: The Glaring Treant and a Change of Heart

The adventurer suspended in the tree seemed barely alive, their breath a faint wisp, as if life could depart at any second.

Just as Elara drew her knife, a thick vine snapped the adventurer’s head clean off. In the next instant, their body was torn into pieces.

Surprisingly, no torrent of blood gushed forth.

“Master…”

“This person was already dead.”

The Treant’s method of digesting its prey involved tightly wrapping them in vines, directly extracting organs and blood, and then dismembering and consuming the muscle.

Sensing Elara and Hilvyn’s presence, a furious, wide-eyed human face materialized on the fruit tree’s trunk.

A colossal roar shook the heavens as countless roots surged from the earth, causing the ground to tremble violently.

Elara clapped her hands over her ears. “It’s a Glaring Treant.”

The two retreated together, observing from a safe distance.

This monster should have been a B-rank creature, but due to the unique properties of the Wind Whisper Forest, it appeared with A-rank strength in an area designated for B-rank adventurers.

Elara glanced at the scattered fragments of clothing and equipment on the ground.

‘Poor B-rank squad,’ she thought. ‘They must have been lured by the verdant fruit in the vicinity, only for the most succulent-looking tree to be a disguised Treant.’

The information provided by the guild had indeed mentioned that Treants in the dungeon could sometimes mimic the form of surrounding trees.

However, upon seeing the Treant, Hilvyn seemed rather eager.

“Master, shall we fight it?”

“We shall!”

First, though, they needed a strategy.

Unlike the Grinning Treant they had encountered previously, that one was specialized in wood-element abilities and had only recently awakened from dormancy, making it relatively weak.

This Glaring Treant, however, possessed an aggressive desire to attack. Its most obvious traits were the numerous roots buried underground and the abundance of offensive vines on its trunk.

Conversely, its defenses were rather weak.

Elara already had a plan forming in her mind.

After finalizing their strategy, Elara remotely conjured a `Shadow Clone`, controlling it to swiftly approach the Treant.

The Treant detected it, roaring as it unleashed a mass of roots from the earth, instantly ensnaring the clone.

At that moment, Hilvyn unleashed her fusion magic, `Ice Tornado`, sweeping up both Elara’s clone and the massive network of roots.

The Ice Tornado acted like a giant weed-whacker, severing every root in its path.

“As expected, a monster utterly devoid of intelligence.”

This time, fighting the Treant was far less chaotic than before. They used the `Shadow Clone` to draw out the underground roots, then Hilvyn unleashed a barrage of magic, destroying both the roots and the vines on the tree.

After several rounds, the Treant was reduced to a bare trunk.

“(A roar of impotent rage)”

Finally, Elara and Hilvyn, one after the other, effortlessly destroyed the Treant’s core.

“Yay!” They high-fived.

Elara approached, peeled off the Treant’s face, and stored it in her spatial ring.

“Master, what about these?”

Hilvyn gestured to the six storage pouches she had neatly gathered—the belongings of the unfortunate squad.

“Should we keep them?”

Hilvyn wanted to claim them, as the people were already gone.

“We can take them,” Elara said, placing the pouches, staffs, and weapons into her spatial ring. “But we must return them to the guild once we’re outside.”

They had only found two identifying emblems; Elara presumed the others had been buried by the earth churned up when the roots erupted.

“Why shouldn’t we keep them? We don’t even know them.”

“Ow!”

Hilvyn’s head was lightly tapped.

“It’s simply not right.”

Elara found it difficult to explain. If she were to be brutally honest, it was simply a personal unwillingness.

After walking for a while longer, she managed to formulate her response.

“Hilvyn.”

“Hmm?”

“These adventurers might have families waiting for them outside. The items here could hold sentimental value for their loved ones. What we’re doing is the right thing.”

“Oh…”

“While there are villains in the world, like the Hyena Squad, we must not commit evil. We should strive to be good.”

Elara’s words were slightly disingenuous. Her personal standard was: act kindly within her duties, but outside of them, it was not her concern.

To put it plainly, she disliked trouble. She had no obligation to people unrelated to her. However, if she could easily do good, she would. For instance, this situation was convenient, so she acted.

Ultimately, she committed no evil, which aligned with her words. Her primary intention was to guide Hilvyn’s thoughts. As for the future, Hilvyn would develop her own moral compass.

Hilvyn nodded, still somewhat bewildered, processing the information.

This layer of the dungeon held nothing of high value, only some minerals and monster materials. However, they lacked the tools to mine the minerals.

The two found a spot beside some well-lit ore and set up a temporary camp to rest.

“Is it ready yet, Master—” Hilvyn stared eagerly at the stew in the pot.

Their meal consisted of store-bought roasted bread and the vegetable stew.

“What’s the rush? It’s barely been set on the fire.”

Elara glanced at the stew—it hadn’t even boiled yet—and continued to spread jam on her bread.

“Have some bread first.”

She handed a piece of bread to Hilvyn, then took out two handfuls of the previously gathered starberries.

“Thank you, Master.” Hilvyn took the bread, bit into it heartily, and a look of pure satisfaction bloomed in her azure eyes.

“Call me Sister.”

“Yes, Master.”

Elara raised an eyebrow, not entirely pleased.

“Call me Sister.” This command carried the power of the s*ave contract.

Hilvyn felt a sudden warmth spread across her back, then reluctantly uttered, “Sister… what is it?”

It still lacked that genuine, willing tone.

Truth be told, Elara had given up hope. Although the s*ave contract stipulated that Hilvyn should call her Sister when others were present, it was always due to the contract’s influence. Hilvyn was truly stubborn and never called her that otherwise.

At this thought, Elara pressed down a little harder as she spread the jam.

“Why must you always call me Master?”

Hilvyn blurted out, “Because Master is Master.”

“Then, once we leave the dungeon, I’ll take you to break the s*ave contract.”

Upon hearing this, Hilvyn’s hand, holding the bread, froze.

“Ma… Master.”

“Hm?”

“I… if there’s anything I’ve done wrong, I can change it. Please don’t abandon me!”

With that, Hilvyn’s tears began to plop onto the ground.

Elara gasped, quickly explaining, “Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! I’m not abandoning you.”

Hilvyn looked up, wiping her tears. “Then why… (sniffle) did you say you wanted to break it?”

Seeing the little crybaby’s expression, Elara’s heart inexplicably ached.

This silly child had interpreted breaking the s*ave contract as parting ways.

She put down her bread, moved closer, and gently stroked Hilvyn’s head to soothe her.

“That way, I won’t have to be your Master, and you can openly call me Sister.”

“You’re really not abandoning me…?”

“Really. If I’m lying…” Elara thought for a moment, then blurted out, “…I’ll turn into a Treant and be killed by Hilvyn.”

“Ah, no, no! Master, don’t turn into a Treant! I hate Treants the most!”

Hearing this, Elara’s heart warmed considerably.

She knew why Hilvyn hated Treants the most.

“Alright, then… if I’m lying, I’ll take care of Hilvyn for the rest of my life.”

“Okay~” Hilvyn burst into a tearful smile, burrowing into Elara’s embrace.

The stew in the pot began to gurgle and bubble.