Chapter 81 — A Cry for Help

Chapter 81 — A Cry for Help

"So this is the dungeon boss?" I asked, after hearing Sherial’s words.

"Yes, but it was supposed to appear in a Rank 5 zone, not here. It’s far too strong for a Rank 3 zone," Sherial replied.

A mana potion appeared in Rem’s hand. She quickly drank it, and dozens of magic circles began forming around her.

From them, one after another, eight-meter Rank 5 golems emerged.

Sherial also prepared for battle.

So it really was a dungeon boss. Judging by Rem and Sherial’s reaction, it was pretty strong. I prepared for battle too.

But the dungeon boss simply stood in the center of the clearing.

Well, considering it was a tree, that made sense. Though, since it was a monster, maybe it would start moving soon—pulling its roots out of the ground and using them like legs.

"Be very careful," Sherial said.

"Yeah," I replied.

However, nothing changed.

The dungeon boss and the monsters surrounding it were far enough away from us—at least two hundred meters.

Suddenly, I felt a vibration beneath my feet, as if something was moving underground. I don’t know how I sensed it, but something was wrong. And it was very close.

Instinctively, I jumped.

At that exact moment, something sharp burst out of the ground where I had been standing.

It was a root. Yes, a root… but its tip was sharpened like a spear.

Sherial and Rem also leapt aside—they had been attacked the same way.

Damn!

I know the situation is deadly and all, but what the hell?

What if I hadn’t jumped? If it had hit me? Damn… that could’ve seriously injured me, maybe even killed me.

But dying like that, getting impaled from below…

Damn, what am I even thinking about? I need to kill this boss.

Sherial fired an arrow straight at the tree in the center of the clearing.

But the arrow never reached its target.

Just before impact, hundreds of roots erupted from the ground, instantly forming a wall.

Sherial’s arrow slammed into it and exploded. Some of the roots shattered, revealing the tree—but the tree itself remained completely unharmed.

We need to distract it.

I rushed forward. Rem must have thought the same. She was the first to charge toward the dungeon boss, and her eight-meter golems surged forward with her.

In less than ten seconds, I was already there, cutting the first monster in half, then the second.

But how do you attack the tree itself?

Rem reached the clearing moments later, instantly destroying several monsters and unleashing a glowing wave from her sword. It struck the tree—but left only a shallow scratch on the bark.

In response, the tree emitted a sound like a beast’s roar.

Right… it was a monster.

More monsters began to appear.

Damn.

I jumped aside—and a wooden spear burst from the ground.

A root spear, to be precise.

Then another. And another.

It started chasing me with those attacks. Rem too.

Finally, the golems arrived and joined the battle, crushing the monsters. These creatures were noticeably stronger than the ones we had fought before, but still not strong enough to pose serious resistance to us or Rem’s golems.

I have the perfect weapon for this fight.

I teleported into the training room and switched to a flaming sword. Good thing I could teleport there without any issues. If we can’t do this… we have a safe way to escape quickly.

I returned to the battlefield, pointed the sword at the tree—and a stream of flame burst from the blade, instantly striking the trunk.

But within seconds, I was deeply disappointed: it did absolutely nothing.

I kept moving, never stopping, keeping the sword aimed at the tree. Wherever I ran, sharpened roots erupted from the ground like spears. If I stood still—even for a moment—I’d be impaled.

Somewhere I definitely didn’t want… or anywhere at all.

Damn it! Why am I not taking this fight seriously?

Alright. The flaming sword is useless.

I teleported into the training room again, switched weapons, and returned—this time very close to the tree.

I dashed forward and struck.

KRRANG! … KRRACK!

Damn… it felt like hitting a stone cliff, not a tree.

But the blade still cut through the bark, leaving a deep gash.

The dungeon boss let out a loud, heavy roar that made the ground tremble.

I jumped back, flying about thirty meters.

At the spot where I had stood a second earlier, hundreds of roots burst from the ground—sharp as spears.

"Fall back!" I heard Rem’s voice, and I immediately dashed away toward Sherial.

Rem retreated as well, but her golems remained behind, continuing to fight the monsters.

When I reached Sherial, her arrow began to glow.

Within seconds, the light grew even brighter—I realized she was preparing her most destructive attack.

But instead of firing directly at the dungeon boss, at the last moment she abruptly turned to the right and released the arrow in a completely different direction.

Immediately afterward, she drew another arrow and began firing at the boss—first, second, third, fourth, fifth.

In rapid succession, arrows shot toward the target.

Of course, each one was met with a wall of roots that appeared with incredible speed to intercept the shots.

A bright flash—and a deafening explosion followed a moment later. The shockwave pushed me half a meter back, but I managed to keep my footing.

[Dungeon Boss defeated: Primeval Treant King (Lv. 175)]
[Reward: +38,892,660 EXP (+194,463,300 bonus EXP)]

Level 175—that’s the maximum level of Rank 5. One more level, and it would’ve become a Rank 6 creature. Quite a strong opponent. Though the battle seemed to end fairly quickly. Dust and chunks of earth thrown up by the explosion settled back to the ground after a few seconds.

Oh… there was nothing left but a crater. No monsters, no dungeon boss, no golems. Everything had been completely destroyed. Then again, monsters and golems don’t leave bodies behind after death, so that was expected.

Oh… something’s appearing again. Chests? Three treasure chests? Now that’s interesting.

Looks like one for each of us.

I don’t know why, but right now I feel like a child receiving a Christmas present, eager to open it.

"Hey, hurry up! I can’t wait to see what we got for defeating the dungeon boss," Sherial said cheerfully as she walked toward the chests.

"Hopefully there’s something useful for us," Rem added.

We approached the chests. Each of us chose one, but we opened them one at a time—not simultaneously.

Sherial opened hers first. Inside were several dozen magic stones—apparently from Rank 5 monsters. There were also twenty health potions and mana potions each, along with one experience potion. Of course, I couldn’t determine their rank.

"Not bad," Sherial said, though her tone made it clear she was disappointed.

Rem’s chest was almost the same, only with more magic stones.

Finally, it was my turn. I opened my chest eagerly… and froze.

Inside was a box. Wooden. Old.

What the hell?..

No. Don’t jump to conclusions. Maybe it’s some kind of magical tool. And if I’m lucky—very high-rank.

Even if this box is worthless… it doesn’t matter, since the others didn’t get anything particularly valuable either. Still, it was a little disappointing.

Alright, I can at least check the box.

I picked it up and opened it.

Inside… nothing. Just an old wooden box.

And suddenly, the box emitted an incredibly bright flash of light.

The light was so intense that it completely blinded me for several seconds.

"What was that..?" I muttered, hoping for an explanation.

I thought of Rem or Sherial, but no answer came.

When my vision finally returned, I was no longer in the clearing.

This was a completely different place.

I stood in some kind of room. Wooden walls. Simple, old furniture.

Looking out the window, I realized—it seemed to be a village hut.

A trap?

Was this some kind of trap?

"No, please, let me go! I don’t want to go there!"

I heard a loud child’s voice, full of despair.

I immediately threw the door open and stepped into the corridor.

And right away, I saw two bodies—a man and a woman lying on the floor.

I turned the other way and saw two men and a girl.

One of the men was holding the girl by the hand.

Her face was covered in blood, her body beaten, one side of her face swollen and red. It looked like she had been hit.

The realization instantly filled me with anger.

All three stared at me in silence. My appearance had clearly caught them off guard.