The second day began with a bowl of fruit, a plate of vegetables, and a large cup of water. Hadorix devoured it all. He greedily consumed the water. Even such brief battles could be dehydrating. He knew he would be battling again soon. He spent the rest of his morning resting and considering how to get out of his situation. He guessed the only way to make it out alive would be to become the champion of the arena. After he came to this conclusion, Junifer again came to retrieve him. She bound him in her vines and knocked him out with the gas. Hadorix again awoke in the arena with his axe in his hand.
When Hadorix woke up, he looked across to see his opponent. To his surprise he saw not one but many humans surrounding him in the arena. By his estimation there were at least 25 humans in the arena. They each woke one by one. Each with the same confusion showing on their faces that Hadorix had.
The voice of The World Tree boomed out across the arena, "Time runs short. 25 enter the arena only 1 will leave. This is a battle to the last human standing."
Hadorix noticed it said next human standing, not last human living. He hoped to again be able to keep some of his opponents alive.
The combatants around Hadorix began to fight. As Hadorix was in the center, he was able to watch the others battle. No one had yet come to him, and he had no desire to go after the others. He would be patient and only attack the ones that came to attack him. 15 minutes later, Hadorix was still watching the battles around him. It appeared no one had even noticed he was there yet. Slowly the battles began to wrap up. A lady to the east side of the arena happened to glance towards the center and saw Hadorix. The woman stood 194 cm tall and weighed 98 kg. She charged in, red hair flapping in the wind. By the time she arrived at Hadorix she was already somewhat winded.
This gave Hadorix the opportunity he needed. He swung at her leg with the flat of his axe instantly breaking it with a loud popping sound. The woman screamed loudly and dropped her trident. Hadorix reared back and struck her in the head with the flat of the axe. He hoped he knocked her out and did not kill her. Unfortunately, he did not have time to check as his next opponent was coming up from behind him. Hadorix rolled to the left to avoid the attack from his back. He moved by reflex, had he not, his back would have been shattered by the impact of the mace that struck where he had just been laying. Hadorix came up swinging his axe at the opponent's ankle. They had fully committed to the attack on Hadorix and were still recovering. The axe hit their right ankle, completely removing the foot. As they fell, Hadorix rose and struck them between the eyes. The impact of the axe sliced through like hitting a melon.
He then began to look around the arena. Only 4 opponents remained. After seeing Hadorix take down the 2 he had, they were hesitant to approach him alone. Feeling he was the biggest threat to all of them, they began making hand signals to each other and charged in, almost at the same time. Hadorix picked up the trident, and threw it at the man on the west, the trident pierced straight through his chest and pinned him to the ground. Hadorix then charged at the man to the east. He took a big swing, the man carried 2 daggers and was no threat to Hadorix unless he could get close. Hadorix's axe pierced his skull and he fell like a log.
The woman to the north and the man to the south charged at Hadorix when he charged the man at the east. They would arrive at around the same time. Hadorix continued to move to the east. He hoped to get the two near enough together that they would not be able to get behind him and flank him. He then ran to the north. He passed the man that was to the north. He had succeeded in putting the man between him and the woman to the south. The man continued to run after Hadorix. He was armed with a mace flail. Hadorix stopped and turned toward the man. The woman continued to run toward them both. The man raised his flail to strike. He fell forward before Hadorix could fully raise his axe. To Hadorix's surprise, the man had a dagger sticking in the back of his head. She had hit him from around 23 m away. She then stopped running and spoke, "I saw you spare the other woman's life. If you promise to knock me out as you did her, I will allow you to. Though I would prefer if you do not break my leg before you do. I am great at throwing daggers, but I do not think I could survive another group battle like this. This is my best chance at surviving until the end."
Hadorix walked to her, and replied, "I will be as gentle as I can. Thank you, if we were to fight, you could have killed me easily." He then struck her with the flat of his axe. Knocking her unconscious.
Junifer again entered the arena and spoke, "You managed to keep 3 alive this time. Do not worry about the broken bones. We will heal them. 1 other lives on the side, do you wish to keep him as a slave also?"
Hadorix replied, "Please do. I wish to spare as many as I can."
Junifer replied, "All of the items they have obtained will be transferred to your storage. You will also be gifted with a set of armor. This came from a great wolf that recently died. Should you become the champion, the wolf's spirit will also be transferred to you to be used as a weapon. We will teach you how."
Hadorix thanked Junifer before she bound him with the vines and knocked him out. When he awoke, he was again in the cell.
A bowl of fruit and a plate of vegetables and a large cup of water were again placed in his room while he slept. Hadorix devoured them all and patiently waited for the next battle. He enjoyed these moments of peace and rest.
Soon Junifer came. She wrapped Hadorix up in her vines and knocked him out with her gas. As Hadorix passed out he began to wonder if there would be any permanent effects from being gassed so many times…
Hadorix awoke in the arena with his axe in his hand. He prepared himself and looked across. To his surprise it was not a human that he saw. Instead, he saw a tree. It appeared to be a great oak. When Hadorix rose, it opened its great eyes and began to move towards him. Hadorix did not need the announcement from The World Tree to begin the attack as the tree had already begun to move towards him. He charged at the oak. Trees were something he knew how to battle, though admittedly they were not usually trying to fight back…
When Hadorix arrived in range of the tree, it swung its mighty branches and caught Hadorix in the chest. He flew a good 20 m before landing with a loud thud. The wind was entirely knocked out of Hadorix. He could barely move, yet he knew if he did not, he would die. Hadorix rolled over slowly and regained his footing. He allowed the oak to come to him this time. When it arrived in range it swung its branches.
Hadorix swung back, severing the branch from the trunk. The mighty oak screamed in pain. Hadorix took this opportunity to charge in. He buried his axe in the oaks left eye. He struck again and again. The oak tried to get him off it, but he had moved in the area the limb had been cut from. The oak could not quite reach him. Again, and Again Hadorix struck the tree. Pow, Pow, Pow. Before long, the mighty oak fell. Senani backed away from the creature, he was unsure if he would be punished for its death.
The voice of The World Tree boomed out over the arena. "You have killed Oakbeard. While young, he would have been a mighty tree in a few centuries. As you killed one of my children and became the champion of my arena, now you will become one of my children."
The handle of Hadorix's axe disintegrated in his hand. The axe head fell to the ground with a loud thump. To Hadorix's surprise the body of Oakbeard also began to change. It shrank and formed an axe handle. It then moved into the axe head and expanded. The newly completed axe then flew into Hadorix's hand.
The World Tree spoke again, "This weapon will aid you after your transformation. You Hadorix will become my champion. Prepare for your change."
Hadorix then rose into the air. He could feel a power entering his body. After what felt like forever, "Level 1 Archdruid" Crossed his eyes.
The Great Tree spoke again, "You are now bound to me human. You will control The Mystic Orchard. I expect you to revive the Druid Order there. As my champion you will be the head of the new order. You see a great threat has awakened. The dead again roam the earth. The balance must be restored. You will be my champion. You will destroy the undead and their master. You will restore the balance."
Hadorix then saw more notifications.
· Gained Archdruid Staff named "Tree Slayer". "This is a unique axe/staff hybrid the Great Tree created just for You. Any axe head attached to this staff will become a full grade higher than it originally was. This is a Silver grade weapon, also known as a legacy weapon and will increase in capabilities as you improve your strength. It can only be wielded by you and if lost will eventually materialize in your hand. Once you reach a higher grade, you will be able to summon it at will."
· Chipmunk Familiar granted. "Whether you treat him as a pet or your best friend, your familiar will be irreplaceable as an ally. If he dies, you will permanently lose 10% of all of your stats."
· Basic Shapeshifting granted. "Many forms will belong to you in time Archdruid."
· Lion Form granted. "Shapeshift into the form of a lion at will."
· Basic Spellcasting granted. "As an Archdruid you will have unfathomable spell casting abilities primarily in the field of nature. However, as you have yet to pick up a book, you have yet to learn how to use a single spell.
· Wisdom +5 "Wisdom is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, and common sense. This is the primary statistic for an Archdruids spellcasting abilities.
· Intelligence +2 "Intelligence is the ability to perceive information and retain it as knowledge. The higher your intelligence the faster you can learn from your spell books."
· Strength +1 "Strength is your physical power. Archdruids do not typically specialize in strength. As such this class will give you few strength bonuses."
· Dexterity +2 "Dexterity is a measure of your agility, balance, coordination and reflexes. This will directly affect how well you move as well as how hard you are to hit.
· Constitution +5 "Constitution is a measure of your endurance. This will directly affect your hit points."
· Charisma +1 "Charisma is a measure of your persuasiveness, leadership ability, and attractiveness.
· Energy +100 "Energy reflects the number of times you can attack or cast a spell. The higher it is the stronger you will be and the longer you will last. This can be improved in a variety of ways."
· Hit Points +100 "Hit points are your life force. When they hit 0, you die. This will be known as HP from here out."
· Power level has reached 364. "To be considered a Grade F super, power rating much reach at least 1,000."
Junifer again entered the arena. She spoke to Hadorix, "Hadorix, you are now the Archdruid. The place in which you first found me is The Mystic Orchard. The Great Tree commanded me to give you this soul stone he bound to you. You will need it to claim The Mystic Orchard as well as the spirt of the wolf you were promised. The spirit of OakBeard will belong to you as well. The Great Tree also granted you the soul stones of your slaves. They will be brought along with all your supplies to your new home. I have also been tasked with giving you this ring. It is a dimensional storage space. It will allow you to store a great many items, in this way you will be able to carry many things without the fear of encumbrance. I am sure you will find many uses for it. Inside you will find many books on Druids, as well as instructions on how to train your slaves to be druids should you desire. There are also several sets of leather armor. You will need these for any individuals you decide to allow to be a druid and join your grove. I advise you to read as much as you are able. The faster you learn about what you have become the faster you will level.
They say Knowledge is power. That is true for the druids. There are many other ways to increase your power. The Great Tree wants you to defeat the undead before they corrupt the entirety of our world Pax. If you are successful, all the Dryads will owe you their thanks."
Hadorix responded, "If the others are to be made druids will they get enchanted weapons made from living trees also? Or was that awarded to me purely because I am now the leader of the druids?"
Junifer replied, "You're the leader, the axe you hold is also the staff that shows your status as Archdruid. In all my years, never have I heard of an axe being used as a staff. Count yourself lucky. The Great Tree made that decision. Your system has been altered a bit to enable you to use it. You can change the head of the axe as you like. But you will not be able to get a new handle without the approval of The Great Tree or your system. It must have the properties and capability to be a Druid staff. Otherwise, you will not be able to cast your spells. Your basic spell book is in your ring. For that matter, all your druid spell books are in the ring. Including your master spell book. Also, do not get too excited. You are not done with me yet. I am the guardian spirit of The Mystic Orchard. I will be traveling with you, and I will be the only other creature there. It will be up to you to recruit beasts or spirits to join you. You may even find more humans, though I do not know how well you will be received by either the humans or the spirits. Most of the humans do not trust the creatures of this world. Many have been enslaved already. Most of the spirits have turned away from The Great Tree. They have enslaved the beasts and creatures of this world. They may attack you on site."
Hadorix replied, "So if I am understanding you correctly, I am to revive the druid order and bring other creatures and sprits into The Mystical Orchard, which I now command. But most of the creatures I see will most likely attack me on site or try to make me a slave. The humans I meet will likely do the same as I no longer look like I am from Earth or for that matter human due to the armor I have and weapon and powers I wield."
Junifer replied, "I forgot to tell you the beasts will attack you too. At least until you learn some intermediate spells and can talk to them. If you shapeshift into a lion, you might be able to at least speak to the lion prides. Of course, even if you do talk to them, they will probably kill you, your too weak to be worth anything to the prides. Humans have appeared in great numbers recently. There have been very few on Pax in the past."
Hearing Junifer's response, Hadorix decided it was best to just ask to go to The Mystic Grove. Every time she spoke the task seemed more impossible. Once there he could talk to the other humans and get a feel for what they wanted to do. Even though technically they were his slaves, Hadorix wanted to get their input. He did not have any desire to keep slaves. He felt everyone deserved to make their own decisions and for their own path in life. If they did not want to be druids, he would not force them to.