Ryo sent roots flying from the ground towards the Umichron, attempting to pierce its chest. The Monster, around four metres tall in height, jumped above, landing on his nature magic, using it as a pathway to get to him. Ryo, anticipating this, set the roots alight, the air becoming alive with the crackle and flames. Fire spread up the Umichron's legs, but it didn't seem to care. It kept making its way toward him, reaching him in under a second. The Umichron slammed itself into Ryo's chest, sharp hairs piercing through Ryo's clothes like a knife through butter. 'I really need to get some armour if I'm going to keep doing this.' Ryo thought to himself as he flew backwards into a tree.
His spine made an audible crack as his body curved around the oak tree. He quickly used healing magic in an attempt to quickly patch himself up as he fell to the floor, but the Umichron wasn't going to give him the mercy to do such a thing. He felt his chest get pierced once more, blood coating the Umichron's previously white fur. Ryo quickly healed himself, aware that the Umichron still had its fur in his chest, but he was going to try something.
First, he created a sphere of water, drenching the Umichron with it. Its fur being wet did not change how sharp it was, but it didn't matter to Ryo. Then, he placed his hands on the Umichron's body, an electric charge running from his mind to his palms. He grasped tightly, electrocuting the creature while preventing it from escaping. It moved away from the tree, running around in order to try and shake Ryo off. It flicked its head wildly, unholy screeches releasing from its mouth as it desperately attempted to throw Ryo off.
Ryo's left hand lost its hold, meaning that Ryo was now barely holding on due to the rocks in his right hand. The fur that had been embedded in his body was slowly sliding out, blood leaking more and more. Ryo decided to let go, sending himself backwards, creating a descending ramp of roots to soften his landing whilst moving away from the Umichron. His legs hit the roots, sliding down them smoothly as he healed himself, dried blood clinging to the holes in his shirt. "Aren't you just a tricky little bugger?" Ryo asked himself, staring at the Umichron with determination.
The Umichron vanished from his vision, reminding Ryo of how the Goblins in Aragoth's dungeon were faster than the eye could see. He saw impact marks on the trees around him, meaning that the Umichron was planning some form of high-speed assault on him. However, Ryo had developed a special skill just to think faster. His mind accelerated faster, his eyes looking around for any sight of the Umichron, but there was none. He turned his head around, slower than he would have wanted due to the fact he still hadn't learned how to speed up his body, a mall of sharp fur almost on top of him. His eyes widened, and he knew he had to do something.
Ryo teleported behind the Umichron, barely scraping a bit of skin off his forehead. He slowed his mind back down, noticing that the Umichron hadn't planned for if it missed, slamming into the ground at the other side of the forest clearing. Ryo used Psychokinesis, picking up a tree from the floor, roots covered in dirt emerging from the soil like an unholy resurrection. He sent it flying at the now-incapacitated Umichron, tearing a hole in its side. However, this was not enough to take care of it.
The Ummichron stood up, purple blood leaking from its ribcage. It was visibly struggling, but it refused to give up. Ryo admired the dedication it had. Monsters were definitely a lot more willing to fight than any Human he had seen before. It tried the same trick again, but due to its injury, it couldn't manage the same speed. Ryo was able to see where it was going each time it jumped, and when it rushed over to him, he had time to raise his hands, palms outstretched.
His gloves that he was wearing, the relics from Aragoth's dungeon, had the name "The Barrier Gloves". They possess the ability to create a near-impenetrable barrier made of condensed mana in order to defend the user, with the caveat that they can only apply to the hands. It's a Relic that would invariably suit a Fighter much more than a Wizard like Ryo, but he found them, and was going to use them.
His hands caught the Umichron mid-air, pushing him back slightly. If he was stronger, he could have held his ground, but he wasn't. His feet dug into the grass beneath, leaving small trenches where his feet had dragged. He contemplated using roots to keep him still, but he decided against it. Once his body stopped moving backwards, Ryo slammed the Umichron down, a small screech escaping its throat as its body sent bits of dirt and grass in all directions.
Ryo used Psychokinesis to pick it up, straining with the size. He lifted it around ten metres into the air, belly-up with it unable to move. Ryo created a large spike made of roots, shooting it up from the earth like a pyramid that had just been discovered by adventurers of times before. The spike ended with an indescribably sharp tip, looking as if it could pierce through the heavens itself. He dropped the Umichron onto it, staining the ground purple with its blood. The roots dripped with fuschia, the smell of destroyed flesh filling Ryo's nose.
The Umichron's legs twitched as its life left its body, a purple crystal dropping from its body. It bounced off the spike, hitting the ground near Ryo's feet. He picked it up, pocketing it as he lowered the corpse to the ground, the root spike descending into the dirt from which it came. 'You know, if a Human had the willpower to fight with a hole in their side, they'd probably be unstoppable.' Ryo thought to himself, looking down at his clothes, which had collected more and more holes over the last two days. He hadn't even noticed it while in the bar. 'No wonder those guys gave me a weird look at first.'
Ryo looked around, noticing Monsters surrounding the border of the clearing. Their eyes were locked onto him, but none of them had dared to make their way into it. Ryo heard a grunt-like noise behind him, noticing that a group of Kobolds were trying to push one of their own into the centre. Ryo noted that they were short, bony humanoid creatures with no hair. Their skin was blotched and marked, showing recesses in their skulls with almost jaundiced flesh. The last time he'd seen one of these Monsters was on Mask's face, as he wore a Kobold mask. He began to make his way towards them, slowly, as he didn't want to interrupt what they were doing.
The Kobold being pushed into the centre was desperately trying to crawl its way back in, but each and every time, it was pushed back out by its brethren. It reminded himself of him and the Rising Sun. He was used to being excluded, so this Kobold reminded himself of him, with the others being Kevin, Andreas, Kyoka, and Arthur. A Kobold punched the excluded one, sending him flying into the centre, landing on the floor, looking up at Ryo. It stared at him with an almost human expression. Fear.
Ryo created a cage made of roots, four bars on each side with a volume of two cubic metres, around the group of Kobolds, trapping them. He pulled the formation forwards, placing them right beside their excluded brethren. They slammed their jaundiced hands against the roots, to no avail. Kobolds were some of the weakest Monsters on the planet, compared to others. They were only just barely stronger than Slimes. They cowered in fear from Wolves, from Goblins, from Achrons. Yet, these ones had the gall to try and sacrifice one of their own to see what'd happen. Either they were just as stupid as they were weak, or they didn't like this one.
Ryo began closing the root cage slowly, compressing its space. Grunts, squeals and screams escaped the prison, and all the Kobold on the outside could do was look. At least, that's what Ryo thought would happen. The Kobold began punching at his leg, only barely hurting him. It tried pointing at the root cage, making panicked noises, grabbing Ryo's attention. "Even after they kicked you out, you still intend on saving them?" Ryo asked himself, expanding the cage slightly. "I wonder why. You don't possess the empathy of a Human, according to books, so why? Why don't you take the chance to run away?" Ryo inquired, trying to imagine himself in the place of the Kobold.
Ryo removed one of the bars, pulling it into the cage's structure, allowing one of the trapped Kobolds to stick their arm out. The excluded Kobold slowly made his way over, seemingly wary of his family — at least that's what Ryo assumed they were — despite begging for their freedom not moments ago. It was right to be wary, as the Kobold with its outstretched hand grabbed it, trying to pull it into the cage with them. Ryo brought the bar back, piercing through the outstretched arm
"Even when given a tiny bit of freedom, they still tried to pull their own member down with them. They do remind me of certain Human adventuring parties who were known to sacrifice new adventurers to escape from Monsters." Ryo commented. The Kobold looked up at Ryo, almost expectant. It pointed at the cage again, but this time it didn't make any panicked noises. Ryo began compressing the cage once again, the sound of screams once again bringing life to the air. Crunches, cracks, squelches and splats. No crystals dropped from the Kobolds, which should indicate just how weak these guys are.
The Kobold looked back up at Ryo, a sparkle he had never seen before in his eye. It nodded at him, and began walking away. It confused Ryo somewhat. It was as if the Kobold was thanking him for what he had done. Ryo decided to just leave the Kobold to its own devices, as, after all, it was the weakest Monster in that forest, besides a Slime.
Ryo looked around, watching Monsters of all types slink back into the forest. Usually, they'd have all tried to rush him, but he could almost feel an air of begrudging respect or fear. He had killed something they were all afraid of. So, they gave him mercy. Not that he felt like he needed it, but it was nice for his peace of mind.
Ryo teleported back to the library, moonlight shining through the windows. He sat down on his throne, moving his magic book "A Comprehensive Guide To All Things Magical: Spells, Techniques, And Downright Devious Destruction" back to its central position on the lectern that was built into his desk. He considered reading the page about Sensory Manipulation, but it was dark, and he figured that tomorrow was another day.
He teleported down to the core of the library, the almanac opening to the Compendium as if it could read his mind.
{Summonable Monsters}
{Your DP - 1}
- Goblin - 80% Normal, 20% Glittery - 3 DP
- 50% Bronze, 30% Silver, 10% Gold, 5% Red, 3% Blue, 2% Black
-Walleye - 5 DP
- Umichron - 30 DP
- Achron - 1 DP
-- 50% Horned, 50% Not Horned
- Hollowkind - 450 DP
Ryo contemplated summoning an Achron, just to see how the whole Monster Summoning thing worked, but he refrained, as he wanted to make sure that what he got was worth it.
Ryo teleported back up to his throne, sitting back down in it once again. His eyes fell closed, and his mind quickly drifted off into sleep. He would read the Sensory Manipulation chapter tomorrow.