"I've been expecting you guys," I said with a smirk as I watched the ghostly wood type spirit beasts approach, their branches and leaves glowing eerily. At that moment, the system notified me of my success.
-Sub-quest has been completed. The user will be awarded fifty regular spirit contracts and three Mystic ranked spirit contracts. –
"Just in time!" Grinning, I swept my gaze across the Phantom Stumps and Tree Revenants to take note of their peculiar characteristics.
The Phantom Stumps were a ghostly spirit beast that resembled a floating tree stump. Wisps of black fog exited from the holes on either end of the tree stump, with the holes on the wood itself displaying glowing red eyes. It even had a small hole in the middle to assume the role of a mouth. Two branches extended from the tree stump like body, sporting several leaves.
The Tree Revenants were much larger than their pre-evolved forms, taking the shape of slender, brown trees with desiccated bark. Amidst the withered trunk, a shadowy black silhouette could be seen underneath cracked gaps, and like the Phantom Stumps, large holes on the trunk served as eyes and mouth, with a ghostly pair of red eyes glowing fiercely in the dark. Unlike the Tree Revenant I saw in Divine Path University, these Tree Revenants were at full strength, their branches and crowns filled with lush leaves, and the two largest branches on either side served as arms, their tips curling into claw-like fingers ringed with leaves. Roots extended from the base, functioning as legs that allowed the huge spirit beasts to lumber forward.
"I know you guys are responsible for the illusions in Chaotic Heart Forest," I said, meeting their spectral glowers evenly. "Ghost type spirit beasts are capable of creating lifelike illusions to confuse the minds of their prey. What is this, the Forest's Curse?"
The ghost and wood type spirit beasts stared at me blankly. Well, at least I had their attention. Only for a few seconds before they decided to dismiss the human words they didn't understand and coordinate an attack upon me.
The first Tree Revenant launched a phantom force attack on me, while the other hammered me with wood. I dodged them, and then found myself surrounded by a bunch of Phantom Stumps that tried to astonish me with their near ghostly forms. Drawing Azure Dragon, I sliced them apart. In my left hand, I summoned Azure Frost and began twirling both blades about, turning into a whirlwind of rage that cleaved any Phantom Stumps that drew near to me.
The little fellas retreated, suddenly aware that they were no match for me. The Tree Revenants limbered forward to hammer me with phantom or wood attacks, but I weaved through their thick branches and shadowy strikes, retaliating with slashes from my swords.
"Ugh!"
Even so, one heavy wood hammer strike sent me crashing backward, where another of its brethren slashed with its shadow claws. I deflected the dark claws aside with my Azure Frost, only to parry a horn leech with Azure Dragon when a third Tree Revenant struck from a different direction.
Cornered by so many Mystic ranked spirit beasts, I felt myself slowly giving way and crushed by the pressure. The Tree Revenants were at least advanced Mystic rank, and had the potential to reach peak Mystic rank if nurtured correctly.
Yeah, I couldn't forget that my main goal was to capture them. To subjugate them and make them my contracted summoned spirit beasts. It was a lot more difficult than outright killing them, though I doubted I had the strength to slay them anyway.
"No point holding back…"
I shoved aside a thick branch and leaped on top of a Tree Revenant when it swiped its trunk-like branch at me. Landing on top of the wooden appendage, I then jumped up and higher, from branch to branch while it flailed wildly in an attempt to smack me. Its brethren paused, aware that they would hit their comrade if they tried to attack as well.
Excellent. I could make use of this chance.
Avoiding the multitude of branches, I ascended high up and propelled myself into the skies above the forest. Keeping Azure Dragon, I drew Obsidian Drake. Fitting Azure Frost to my black bow, I fired it while still sailing in the heavens, directing the projectile at the Tree Revenant I had just scaled.
An explosion blossomed out of the forest, engulfing not just my target but everything in the vicinity. The Phantom Stumps were caught in the shockwaves, buffeted and sent sprawling on the ground. Even the other Tree Revenants reeled from the tremendous impact, frost expanding rapidly across their roots, trunks and branches.
Yet, I was still far from done.
Still high up in the air, I took aim with my bow. This time, instead of generating a new Azure Frost, I conjured hundreds of arrows and unleashed them in a fierce, freezing barrage that turned the forest into snow. It was almost as if winter had descended, the azure projectiles slamming into the targets below and covering them in ice or snow.
Even the venerable Tree Revenants couldn't withstand such a bombardment. They didn't die – I wasn't that strong – but they found themselves frozen and immobilized in place. Undaunted, they plunged their roots into the soil and began ingraining themselves to the earth, absorbing nutrients and spiritual qi to heal their wounds.
It wouldn't be enough. As I said, I didn't want them dead. Right now, after suffering my bombardment, they had been weakened enough for me to capture.
Landing on the ground somewhat ungracefully, I stumbled before fishing out my system. "Use the spirit contracts on the Phantom Stumps and Tree Revenants!"
And just like that, I had fifty Phantom Stumps and three Tree Revenants. They were bound by the spirit contracts, bright lights flashing and coalescing into circles of runes that descended upon their bodies and branded them before disappearing. They then dropped to their roots and lowered their heads in submission.
"Thanks. Head over to my dungeon and create a forest for yourself there. I've already informed Long Wang beforehand, so he should have arranged everything."
They nodded and vanished, leaving vengeful, non-contracted Phantom Stumps and Tree Revenants behind. These were glaring at me balefully, slowing breaking free of their ice, but that was fine. I raised a hand and snapped my fingers.
Xiao Huo and Xiao Huo Long materialized. The former was still a three-tailed fox, but she had already reached peak Yellow Rank, and Xiao Long…who I had taken to calling Xiao Huo Long sometimes – had evolved into a Charred Salamander, a bigger Salamander who ran around on two legs and resembled a dragon without wings. A fire burned at the tip of his tail, which was why I called him Xiao Huo Long now. At least he was a Yellow Rank like Xiao Huo after all that training in the dungeon.
The Phantom Stumps and Tree Revenants immediately retreated, recognizing the danger of my newly summoned spirit beasts. As wood type spirit beasts, they were vulnerable to fire, and they recognized the blazing qi that shrouded the newcomers.
One Tree Revenant – the one I had used as a stepping stone earlier – plunged forward, but Xiao Huo raised her three tails and released triple torrents of fire that incinerated it. Even though it had a higher rank than her, it had been wounded by my Azure Frost arrow earlier, and to top it off, it also had a weakness to fire attacks.
Xiao Huo Long was determined not to be left behind, following the lead of his senior to set an example of the Phantom Stumps reckless enough to swamp forward, thinking that their numbers would be able to overwhelm us. Opening his mouth, he unleashed a flamethrower attack that bathed the surrounding forest in flames, setting dry grass alight and burning everything within range. The Phantom Stumps simply vanished, their bodies reduced to ash in an instant.
The surviving Phantom Stumps and Tree Revenants retreated immediately. While I watched them, as well as the charred remnants of those my fire type spirit beasts had killed, I wondered how the system chose which spirit beasts to do contracts with. Normally, I just did it with all of them, but this time, I was limited to three Tree Revenants. Fifty Phantom Stumps were a lot, but there were a few hundred earlier. So how did the system decide which of them to bind to a contract? Was it random?
-This system chooses the spirit beasts most amicably and willing to form spirit contracts with the user and submit to him. –
"Oh, that's good."
-Unfortunately, this system doesn't choose the strongest or most powerful or most talented of the spirit beasts. This system relies on positive feelings and the potential of developing affection for the user. Loyalty and obedience, in particular. –
"That's totally fine." This wasn't a game where I only looked for the best and most powerful spirit beasts with the highest stats. Even if it was, I wasn't a power gamer. To a certain extent, I did want to do well in games, but I wasn't ultra-competitive to the extent where I would look for all sorts of items or skillsets to min-max my captured pocket monsters. Nor would I grind them to get extra value stats or whatever. If I played a game, I wanted to enjoy it, not stress over being the best. Sure, everyone loves winning and nobody likes to lose, but turning games into a grind fest or making leveling up a chore was putting the cart before the horse.
Personally, I preferred being rewarded for working hard instead of having cheats handed to me at the beginning, and I liked having a challenge because easy games weren't satisfying. At the same time, if the game was too competitive, the atmosphere became a little toxic and unenjoyable, which defeated the purpose of playing it in the first place.
The system knew me best. Right now, I preferred to build up a happy and harmonious family of spirit beasts in my dungeon, as opposed to being the strongest. I wasn't naïve enough to dismiss strength totally because I was aware we would need to defend ourselves from rival dungeon masters and their armies of spirit beasts in future, and we needed the power to protect ourselves from such threats. But what was the point of focusing solely on strength to the point where everyone was unhappy? If my dungeon was filled with ultra-competitive spirit beasts backstabbing and killing each other in order to climb their comrades' corpses to the top, then I didn't want that dungeon. I hated such toxic environments. My goal, and the reason why I accepted running my dungeon in the first place, was to provide a safe haven for my spirit beasts where everyone could be safe and happy. I knew it would come with its own risks and dangers, which was why I fortified it and trained everyone, but we didn't need ruthless, try-hard edgelords whose objective was to become the strongest at the expense of everybody.
We were working toward a cooperative community where everyone got along. That was the ideal, and I knew there would inevitably be friction between several spirit beasts, and cliques, but by and large, we were all happy in my dungeon. Hopefully, the Phantom Stumps and Tree Revenants in there would enjoy a safe, new habitat where they didn't have to employ their Forest Curse and deathly illusions to survive. Okay, that was naïve of me. We would probably need those abilities to defend my dungeon, but other than that, they can live happily and freely, without being subject to the Long family's scrutiny and restrictions.
"Thanks, guys." I nodded at Xiao Huo and Xiao Huo Long. Then I cocked my head at the Phantom Stumps and Tree Revenants, who all backed off and gave me a path back outside the Cursed Heart Forest. "Thank you too. I'm not here to have a meaningless conflict with you guys, so as long as you guys don't attack us, we won't fight back."
With my fire type spirit beasts by my side, I exited the Cursed Heart Forest. Long Shou Shi and the other participants of the trial gasped when they saw me emerge unscathed, and the latter began cheering. The Long family guardian, on the other hand, scowled, as if his plans had been foiled.
"Congratulations." To my surprise, the heartfelt compliment came from Long Fan Xue instead of her guardian. She lowered her head, her long black hair falling like a silky curtain. "You did well to complete the first trial, and it's clear that you're the best among the participants. As such…"
"It's not over yet!" Long Shou Shi interrupted his lady, hastily coming forward. He jabbed a finger in my direction. "There's still the second and last trial. You need to pass that before the Long family acknowledges you as the winner of the trial!"
"And what's the second trial?" I asked, tired of his bullshit and hostility. What was this guy's problem? What did I ever do to him? Why did he harbor such a grudge against me?
"Isn't it obvious?" Long Shou Shi grinned and poked his chest with his thumb. "It's a combat trial. Your opponent will be me. If you can defeat me, then we'll recognize you as the overall winner of the Long family trial."