Chapter 18: Twisted and Corrupted Monsters

Two days of walking through the wilderness had taught Reidar that the world’s expansion was worse than he’d thought.

Roads that should have led straight to Creamont now curved and twisted through terrain that hadn’t even existed before. What should have been a 2-hour drive had become an endless trek through thick forests and steep hills, which made the journey impossibly draining and mentally exhausting.

His scouts flitted between the trees ahead, reporting how the environment was still changing. This time because of either the monsters or something else not related to terraforming, as it did during the first day.

<These fucking areas are getting on my nerves.>

Not even the map function the system so graciously gave him was of much use. It was pretty accurate wherever Reidar had been, but it was blank everywhere else, meaning everywhere. The only silver lining was that at least he could use the compass rose to understand where he was going.

Reidar slammed his fist against a tree in rage. “Fucking useless piece of shit system!”

He pulled up the map interface again, watching the holographic map flicker with static where unexplored terrain should be.

“Summon an army? Sure. Burn down a forest? No problem.” He kicked a stone and sent it flying twenty meters away. “But ask it to show me where the nearest creek is so I don’t die of thirst? Suddenly it’s goddamn Schrodinger’s topography.”

The wind sprites chittered nervously as he stormed ahead.

“I really hope the vendors will have a solution to this. Maybe they sell maps.”

Reidar paused beside a massive oak tree that couldn’t have been there two days earlier. According to his mental math, he should have reached the halfway point to Creamont by now, but he should also have come across another gas station, which should have been 50 kilometers from the previous one where he was.

It was during his mental gymnastics that the Wind Sprites returned with urgent chirping. Reidar learned what that meant in the past two days. There was danger ahead.

He summoned his full squad again since their 30 minutes were almost down to 0. Five portals opened, and his level 11 Rift-Sprites stepped through them.

A hundred mana points left his body as usual with five hundred remaining, but his Arcane Leech was going to replenish a lot of mana in the battle that was going to come, so he wasn’t worried.

Besides, while the monsters were slowly getting stronger, the speed wasn’t as fast as it was during the first day, most likely because there were few people to eat around now with most of them gone or hiding.

He turned to his summons.

“Ok, we have rehearsed this. Ok? Go into defensive formation. Do not mess up!”

–Corrupted Grove Guardian—Level 9–

–Corrupted Grove Guardian—Level 9–

–Twisted Bark Behemoth—Level 11–

The first creature, the Corrupted Grove Guardian, that burst from the undergrowth was seven feet tall.

The Corrupted Grove Guardians lurched forward. Reidar’s eyes tracked its digitigrade legs and root-like claws digging into the earth with each step. The thing’s bark-like skin pulsed with green veins, and its long and large arms ended in hands tipped with thorns that looked like obsidian blades. Its head kept an unsettling human shape, with hollow eye sockets burning with amber light.

Reidar snorted. “Oh, fantastic. Walking compost heaps with built-in Christmas gifts for hands.”

The second kind of monster, the Twisted Bark Behemoth, couldn’t have been more different. Where the guardian was lean and agile, this behemoth was a walking fortress. Nearly ten feet of interwoven tree trunks and branches creaked and groaned as it lumbered forward; its barrel-shaped torso was wider than Reidar was tall.

Its arms stretched far beyond human proportions, ending in massive club-like fists embedded with stone and metal debris.

The creature’s head was a grotesque fusion of multiple tree stumps, amber sap leaking from crack-like eyes. Moss and small plants grew directly from its wooden hide, making it look like a mobile piece of the forest itself.

The guardian moved like a hunter. The behemoth moved like a siege engine.

His wind sprites darted into defensive positions as the Twisted Bark Behemoth slammed its club-like fists together.

“Defensive formation! Fast, you idiots!” Reidar said, already channeling mana into a Fireball.

It was the first time Reidar had met something that was different from the Rift-Sprites. However, they were still weaker than him, although to reach level 11 already, it meant they grew faster than the rift sprites did, who at most reached level 9.

The first Grove Guardian charged toward Reidar’s Stone Sprite, injuring the creature.

[Corrupted Grove Guardian strikes Summoned Stone Rift-Sprite for 45 physical damage.]

The Ember Sprite launched a fireball that struck the charging guardian in its chest. The creature’s bark skin, thick as ancient wood, ignited with a roar of crackling flames.

[Summoned Ember Rift-Sprite strikes Corrupted Grove Guardian for 78 Fire Damage.]

Reidar wasn’t staying idle either.

[Arcane Leech effect has been triggered. 19.5 damage points converted into mana.]

The Wind Sprite darted between the enemy’s legs, its blade attacks severing tendons, or whatever this thing had that worked as tendons, but still causing the guardian to stumble. Both Aqua Sprites flanked the second guardian; their water projectiles hammered it with tremendous force.

It seemed smart to use Ember sprites in this fight, since Reidar was facing wood creatures.

The problem was that the fire would have also destroyed the forest, and Reidar didn’t want to risk dying suffocated by smoke. Besides, there was a weird misconception about wood and fire.

<Wood doesn’t burn easily. It takes a long time to catch fire because wood is fire resistant. That’s why fires can last so long—wood holds up against flames really well. Meat, on the other hand, burns quickly and easily.>

Reidar raised his hand and channeled mana into his Fireball skill. He aimed for the largest threat, the Bark Behemoth, that was advancing toward him.

The fireball struck the creature’s chest and exploded in a shower of sparks. The behemoth roared, a sound like breaking timber, but continued its advance.

[Your Fireball strikes Twisted Bark Behemoth for 97 fire damage.]

[Arcane Leech effect has been triggered. 24,25 damage points converted into mana.]

His Arcane Leech perk activated once again, returning nearly twenty-five mana to his reserves. It felt like drinking liquid energy, or at least a very powerful energy drink.

<Weird comparison here…>

Regardless, thanks to his summon, the battle was over in minutes. His Rift-Sprites overwhelmed the forest creatures with his superior tactics, and the elemental attacks did the rest. Plus, they were all at level 11.

The Ember rift-sprite had a particularly smug expression.

“Why are you laughing? If it wasn’t for the aqua sprites, you would have killed us too!”

The rift-sprite’s shell cracked a little, and its glowing amber core seemed to dim. Its limbs gave a small, frustrated twitch. Reidar watched closely, noticing how the sprite’s energy flared with annoyance before settling into a quiet, simmering anger.

“You fucking dare to be hungry? You almost turned my ass into steak!”

He let out a quiet sigh—it wasn’t loud, but one could feel the weight of it. His shoulders slumped a little as he glanced from the smug sprite to the fallen behemoth.

As predicted, the guardians fell first; their bark skin provided too little protection against Reidar and his summons’ spells.

The behemoth held out a little longer—its higher level gave it more fighting power, but it couldn’t handle all that firepower. Reidar probably could’ve taken it down by himself, but not nearly that fast.

[Corrupted Grove Guardian defeated.]

[You have gained 20.62 C.L.A.S.P. Points.]

[You have earned 15.42 Survival Points.]

[Corrupted Grove Guardian defeated.]

[You have gained 20.62 C.L.A.S.P. Points.]

[You have earned 15.42 Survival Points.]

[Twisted Bark Behemoth defeated.]

[You have gained 25.2 C.L.A.S.P. Points.]

[You have earned 19.62 Survival Points.]

The fallen guardians sprawled across the cracked ground, their massive wooden bodies splintered and still.

Reidar watched the nearest one, its barrel torso split wide like a toppled oak.

The second guardian slumped on its side farther out, one club arm stretched in a rigid swing, stones lodged in it glinting amid snapped branches.

The behemoth loomed in the clearing’s heart, its ten-foot bulk collapsed in ruin. The head—a twisted clump of stumps—lolled back at a sharp angle; amber cracks faded to thin lines in the gathering dusk.

It wasn’t the first time Reidar had seen monsters like these. The corrupted ones. Though he never saw the Twisted version.

<More evolved monsters. The system wasn’t lying about escalating threats. It’s just that it looks too much for corrupted monsters to appear after just two days.>

Clearly, Reidar had no kind of reference to say this. It was just that it felt the progression was too steep in difficulty. But again, this was reality and not a game.

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