What the hell is the dungeon's boss doing outside? How is it possible for it to leave the dungeon?
Riva was at a loss when she saw the dryad exit the dungeon's gate together with Troikin.
The dryad gave the boar that stayed behind to guard the gate a signal and it went back into the dungeon.
Time to introduce myself. Riva got up and headed towards the pair.
Before she reached them she already lifted her hand in greeting and said "Hi, I'm Riva, I heard about you from Troikin." Riva directed her words towards the calmly smiling dryad.
"And I heard about you from Troikin as well." She dryad replied, "And I must say, he is right, you smell of death."
A root shot from the ground and pierced straight through Riva's chest impaling her heart. There was no time to react. Purple blood spilled out from the wound and Riva's mouth.
"What gives? I promised Troikin that I wouldn't harm anyone from this dungeon and you pierce my body as a greeting?!" Riva was once again thankful, that she no longer felt any pain.
She tried to pull out the root with her arms but to no avail.
"And why would I trust a thing like you? You might be good at hiding your fangs, but there is no hiding from us!" the dryad had continued to smile throughout the entire exchange.
Troikin had stepped back and was seeking cover behind her back. He was staring at Riva with eyes full of fear.
Riva continued to struggle, her life energy was gradually decreasing.
"Hey, I won't deny that I'm somewhat undead but I never meant any harm." She defended herself.
"I know your kind, you live to kill and kill to live! You have no regard for the value of life!"
"Many animals aren't vegetarians either. Especially not monsters. Is it so bad that I need to eat? I don't kill for fun. I want to live, goddammit!" Riva knew she had to act soon.
The dryad had continued to summon more roots which had started to form into a big drill-shaped cone aimed at her head.
"This is this and that is that! You have a smooth tongue but I won't be fooled."
It's useless, she's stuck in her impression of what an undead is supposed to be like. Riva tightened her grip on Rocky 1.
"Hey, Troikin, it might have been foolish but I believed in you. I was really happy to have a travel companion! I regret that the feeling wasn't mutual." Riva screamed and threw Rocky at the root drill.
It was an incredible sight. The rock hit the drill and instead of bouncing off as Riva would have expected, the stone pierced straight through the drill. It exploded into countless plant scraps.
From there the stone continued and hit the dryad in the center of her head. It looked almost funny. The smile was finally gone, replaced by a look of surprise and horror. Once hit the dryad simply fell over, similar to a bowling pin.
"Rocky 1, you rock!" Riva shouted happily.
She then sank her teeth into the root that had pierced her body. It took less than a second for it to crumble into dust ultimately freeing her.
Riva worriedly looked down at her chest. She could see the gruesome hole left by the attack but it was closing rapidly the process draining her life energy. She estimated that she had lost around half of it.
Riva pulled out Rocky 2 and aimed it at the dryad which was staring at her dumbly.
"Can we talk properly now? I meant no harm and you refused to listen to me! Of course, when you attack me I won't take it lying down. Now I'd like to avoid adding a hole to your beautiful head!"
In truth, Riva was somewhat bluffing. She was almost sure that despite her surprisingly overpowered stone throws, she would have a hard time killing the dryad.
This was a dungeon boss. She had caught her off guard with her first throw. The next time would be a lot harder and even if she hit, it was unlikely to kill her. She doubted she had a chance once the dryad took the fight seriously. Worst case she would have to risk losing control.
The dryad simply stared at Riva. Troikin was trembling behind her. Riva kept her throwing pose and waited. The silence stretched unbearably long.
In the end, it was the dryad that broke the silence with a sigh.
"Very well, you have my attention. I can see that you are different from a normal undead. I will listen to your side of the story." She withdrew the remains of the roots back into the ground and approached Riva.
Riva reacted by putting more strength into her throwing stance "Stay back! What if you attack me out of nowhere like you did the last time?" she narrowed her eyes.
The smile resurfaced on the dryad's face "Very well, we'll keep our distance until we're both satisfied, agreed?"
Riva simply nodded.
"I begin, why would you attack me?" Riva asked the dryad.
"There are several reasons. First off, I have lived long, very long, and I have seen countless undead, yet none could resist their desire for the life of others. I have seen the friendliest most harmless of creatures turn into mindless predators. That is undeniable nature of those who defy death!" The dryad began explaining, Riva could see a hint of pain and sadness within the dryad's deep golden eyes.
"But I'm not like that. I never harmed Troikin and I never had any intention of harming you either!" Riva protested.
"The dryad simply smiled. Have you ever heard about vampires? They disguise themselves and live amongst the groups of their prey. They are more talented and intelligent than their brethren but in the end, they too only follow a single goal, to hunt the living!" She directly stared into Riva's eyes.
Riva returned her stare "I won't deny that I have to eat to survive. That is the way of life. But I promise you that I have my hunger under control! I won't let it control me!"
The dryad kept staring into Riva's eyes as if she was looking for something.
"Very well, I believe you. I can see no hunger in your eyes. There's only determination. I noticed it during the fight. You devoured the root, yet stopped your attack right after. That should have been an impossible feat."
The dryad was truly perceptive. At the moment Riva had suppressed most of her instinct with her 'Self Control' by shifting the importance towards the emotion of determination.
"There were other reasons why you mistrusted me?" Riva thought back on what the dryad said before.
"Correct, Troikin told me about most of it but I have to agree your aura is that of a bloodthirsty predator, despite your unusual controlled nature. To us, you smell of danger, power, and death."
"I didn't get to shower for a long time but that's no reason to be rude!" Riva pouted.
"You misunderstand, it is not your physical smell, it's your magic aura. The other thing is, that we can perceive that wherever your feet touch, life is dying!" The dryad pointed to the ground below Riva.
That was when Riva realized that everywhere she stepped she left a barren patch within the grassy ground.
"Fuck!" She cursed. "I knew it, having life-absorbing feet was a dumb power-up!"
The dryad raised her brows waiting for Riva's explanation.
"It's a random ability I awoke a short while ago. I had no idea it would cause this kind of destruction!" she grumbled with an annoyed grimace "No wonder Troikin was afraid of me when I literally caused death with every step. Might as well go by Rizilla!" Riva stomped in a circle imitating a certain gargantuan city-destroying beast and watched the grass destruction left in her wake.
The dryad observed her with obvious concern and confusion.
Riva stopped her antics. She had successfully made a fool of herself. She stared down at her bare feet in shame and tried to divert the attention.
"Ah, that brings me to why I came here, I need some new clothes. Can't keep running around like a zombie during the apocalypse! And if you got any weapons, that'd help too!"