Chapter 5: The Treant’s Demise and a Budding Talent

Elara had no time to break free. Her twin blades crossed before her chest, forming a desperate guard.

“Clang!” The blades met with a dull, heavy thud.

The impact forced her back half a step, but the roots clung stubbornly to her ankles, throwing her completely off balance.

The second wolf’s attack followed swiftly. Elara desperately twisted her body, attempting to dodge.

Still, a wolf’s claw raked across her shoulder. Her leather armor tore, leaving three gashes on her left shoulder from which crimson blood welled.

“Master!”

Hilvyn’s voice cut through the air, sharp with panic.

From behind the demon wolf, Elara glimpsed a small figure. Hilvyn burst from the bushes, her steps stumbling as she charged toward Elara.

But what good would that do?

‘Perhaps I really am going to die…’

A wave of pessimism washed over Elara. The moment this thought surfaced, the surrounding air seemed to plummet several degrees.

The next instant, a translucent wall of ice erupted from the ground between her and the demon wolves.

It stood three meters high, a fist’s width thick, and utterly rough.

“This is?!”

“Master, run!”

There was no time for further thought. Elara quickly raised her right hand, slicing through the entangled roots with her blade. She rolled backward, finally breaking free of her restraints.

‘You two were quite fierce just now, weren’t you?’

Elara glared intently at the two demon wolves, her eyes practically spitting fire.

Unleashing her full magical power, she dismantled the two demon wolves into Lego pieces within mere moments, rendering them deader than dead.

Elara spared them no second glance, rushing to rendezvous with Hilvyn.

“Master… sniffle… are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Hilvyn stared at the shocking wound on Elara’s shoulder, her words faltering. She continued to sob while continuously casting ‘Healing Wind’.

“Don’t cry. I’m clearly alright, aren’t I?”

“Oh…” Hilvyn mumbled in response, yet her tears continued to flow uncontrollably.

Elara felt the pain in her shoulder recede, replaced by the itching sensation of healing. Gradually, her brow unfurrowed.

She looked down at the little one, who had somewhat managed to compose herself.

More importantly, Hilvyn’s magic had spontaneously upgraded during the battle.

It was the Intermediate Magic, ‘Ice Wall’, an upgraded version of ‘Ice Shield’.

Typically, intermediate magic spells like this are learned, with self-enlightenment being exceedingly rare due to the high difficulty and perceived lack of necessity.

‘Could she truly be a genius?’

“Thank you for saving me.”

Without that ice wall, she might very well have died.

Hilvyn immediately stopped crying upon hearing the praise.

“Master, I saw you fall and get surrounded by the wolves. My mind went blank, and I just rushed over without thinking anything.”

She gesticulated wildly as she described the situation: “Then I just did this, *wham!* And the ice wall appeared! How was it, Master? I helped, didn’t I?”

“Yes, yes, Hilvyn is truly amazing.”

Elara forced a smile, then quickly composed her expression, observing her surroundings with seriousness.

“What’s wrong, Master?”

“I wasn’t merely tripped just now,” Elara explained in a low voice. “My feet were entangled by something.”

As if to corroborate Elara’s words, the tree trunk, splattered with wolf blood where it had been struck, began to convulse violently.

Roots of varying thickness spontaneously emerged from the soil, writhing like living creatures.

“It truly is…”

A shriveled, sneering human face materialized on the tree’s trunk. The wolf blood splattered across it made it appear exceptionally grotesque.

“A Treant,” Elara said, tightening her grip on her twin blades.

“Ugh, Master, that thing is so ugly,” Hilvyn instinctively leaned closer behind Elara.

“Indeed.”

‘This was the very thing that almost caused my downfall just now.’

Treants are typically B-rank. When dormant, they do not emit magical power, making them almost indistinguishable from ordinary trees.

Given the unique nature of the Whispering Woods, the strength of this particular Treant…

Elara estimated the scattered magical power.

“It must be very close to A-rank.”

And this was merely a Treant roused from its slumber. If allowed to grow for a few more days…

“Should we run?” Hilvyn whispered.

Elara remained silent, merely downing two magic potions, almost fully replenishing her mana. As a mortal enemy, this was a sign of ample respect.

She tightened her grip on her twin blades, her fighting spirit surging.

“Run? We’ll kill it.”

Hilvyn nodded. “What should I do?”

“I’ll be giving commands constantly.”

“Okay!” Hilvyn clenched her tiny fists, ready for a major battle.

“Haste Enchantment!”

“Alright! ‘Haste Enchantment’!”

‘Shadow Concealment’ + ‘Shadow Blade’.

Elara charged towards the Treant, her twin blades continuously slashing. The roots that emerged from the ground to block her path were severed cleanly, one after another.

The dark glow from the severed points slowed the roots’ self-healing.

The withered, ugly face on the tree trunk let out an unbearable shriek, and the branches thrashed wildly in the air.

“Ice Lance!”

Before Elara’s words had fully left her lips, she leaped upwards.

Hilvyn, behind her, had already conjured eight ice lances, firing them at the Treant.

As the Treant was hampered by the ice lances, Elara twisted in mid-air, swinging her twin blades and lopping off large sections of branches.

She landed without pause, cutting through roots as she swiftly circled to the Treant’s rear—where the cracks in the trunk concealed the Treant’s core.

Treants possessed a peculiar characteristic: the less damage their body sustained, the harder their core became.

Suddenly, the Treant’s withered face vanished from its front, only to reappear at its back. The core’s position simultaneously shifted from its rear to its front.

This was the Treant’s second characteristic: in a solo fight, it was incredibly difficult to get behind it.

The roots and branches that had been at its rear, completely unharmed, now converged on Elara from above and below.

But how could Elara not have anticipated this?

“Quick! Ice Wall!”

Hilvyn immediately conjured an ice wall for Elara, blocking the assault.

Even Hilvyn held her breath for her.

In just two strikes, the ice wall was shattered by the Treant, but Elara’s figure was nowhere to be seen behind it.

“I’m behind you,” Elara’s contemptuous voice echoed from behind the Treant. “You unthinking fool.”

Elara plunged her blade into the Treant’s core, then twisted it with force.

The roots, which had been thrashing wildly just moments before, instantly drooped to the ground. The tree trunk, its root connections severed, leaned askew, propped on the earth.

“We… we won!”

Hilvyn had witnessed Elara vanish from behind the ice wall, only to instantly reappear on the other side.

This was Elara’s Intermediate Spatial Magic: ‘Return Anchor’.

It allowed her to set an anchor point at a previously occupied location. Within a certain range, she could instantly recall the anchor and teleport back to its position.

Spatial magic spells were typically of a high grade. This intermediate spell’s mana consumption was already comparable to a high-grade spell. Maintaining the anchor continuously drained mana, and it had a six-hour cooldown.

Its sole advantage was its intermediate rank, which required a lower affinity, allowing for earlier mastery.

“We succeeded! Master is amazing!”

Hilvyn skipped over, her azure eyes brimming with adoration.

“You contributed a lot too. I couldn’t have won without Hilvyn.” As she spoke, Elara ruffled Hilvyn’s hair.

“Oh, my…”

≧∇≦

Hilvyn’s eyes were practically squeezed shut from the petting, and she couldn’t suppress the smile on her lips.

Elara wasn’t merely being polite; Hilvyn had indeed made a significant contribution.

This was her first time killing a Treant, a type of monster quite rare on the frequently traveled outskirts of the forest.

Releasing the little head, it was time to collect the spoils of war.

Elara removed the Treant’s most valuable asset: its grinning face-hide.

‘Appraise!’

[Name: Grinning Treant Face-Hide]

[Effect: An excellent material for crafting magic tools, wood-element potions, amplifying staffs…]

‘Amplifying staffs?’ Elara glanced at the novice staff in Hilvyn’s hand.

‘It’s time to get a new one.’

Next, the two collected the demon wolves’ fangs before returning home.

Elara, covered in wolf blood, decided to take a bath before submitting the quest. Otherwise, it would be too unsightly for the city.

“Oh, right. How much mana did you have left after fighting the Treant?”

Hilvyn blinked. “Hmm… about half.”

Elara fell silent for two seconds.

‘Elves are truly incredible…’