[Yotain Village]
On the other side of the Damrin Mountain Range, there are a lot villages, though they are mostly used as a checkpoint to the mining facilities right on the mountain range. It's very fortunate that Priya City is located right where the mountain range stopped at the coast. Yotain Village is one of the many villages on the other side of the mountain range. It's a simple village not so isolated from the rest of the world. Ahko finds herself outside of the Yotain Village. Near the gate, she finds a man who seems to be waiting for someone. She goes to the gate, and the man's eyes light up upon seeing her arrival. He then sprinted towards Ahko, grabbed her hand, and shook it.
"Welcome!! You must be one of the adventurers the guild sent, right!?" The man asked in excitement.
"Uh.. Yeah... I am..." Ahko forcefully let go of her hand.
"O-Oh... Sorry.. I was so excited to see someone can finally solve the missing villagers!" The man scratched his head.
"The villagers just go missing?"
"Yeah! I'll tell you when we go to the Mayor's house." Once the man finished speaking, he looked around, confused.
"Uhm... Where is the rest of your party...?" The man asked.
"I don't have a party, I'm doing this alone." Ahko answered.
"W-What!?" The man yelled.
"Can't you see the mission are only A ranks and above!? That's only for a party!! And you are alone!!" The man shouted in anger and confusion.
"Oh, believe in me, I can confidently solve this mystery." Ahko crosses her hands.
"... Let me help you out here... 44 adventurers have vanished ever since they took this mission... So if you want to get out now, it's the best time..." The man whispers.
"And those adventurers' ranks were...?"
"U-Uhm... O-Originally it was supposed to be D ranks, but then... It goes to A..." The man sighed.
"I'll tell you right now, this will never happen again." Ahko put her hand on the man's shoulder.
The man jolted for a moment, seemingly in a daze, when Ahko put her hand onto his shoulder. She then pulls away when she realizes what's going on and the man's stepped out of his daze. Ignoring what just happened, he guides her to the mayor's house. Unlike the guy Ahko met earlier, who was excited about Ahko's arrival, the mayor seems a bit scared and keeps on looking at Ahko while sighing many times.
The mayor explained that a couple of months ago, the villagers started to go missing one by one with no trace of them going somewhere or leaving any note. It was slow at first, only one person at a time within a week or two, and it's usually children that went missing. The mayor and most of the villagers think that the children are a bit too adventurous and got lost somewhere. The first place they thought about lost children was the Lopia Forest. It's where most villagers go, maybe to gather berries and hunt some rabbits. There are also a lot of things they can do inside the forest besides the basic necessities. It's a popular spot for children too, they can go play and hang out with their friends.
Some of the stronger villagers went inside the forest and searched for the missing children, but they never saw or heard any children inside the forest. The forest itself is neither small nor big, and it's not very dense, so it's a little easy to see people even from far away. But nothing, as if the children just vanished from thin air. The mayor also added that parents of the missing children never heard any door cracking, so it can't be the children going out in the middle of the night. The windows are also closed, everything is closed, and so there is no way the children can go out of the house. It only happened in the middle of the night, and some parents even stayed up late just to make sure their beloved child was safe, but when the time they were off guard, their children vanished.
Then the missing children went even higher, up to once or twice per day, and even women went missing with no explanation. Now, the mayor suspects the husbands of the families may have something to do with this, but there's no evidence. Right now, almost all the village has gone missing with the exception of the males, and only some women are left. There's nothing they can do about it, the women will just vanish out of thin air inside a room made out of bricks and a sealed door.
2 months ago, there was a sighting of monsters inside the Lopia Forest. One of the fathers of the missing children went out to find his child but was met with a never to be seen monsters. They look like giant flowers with a huge mouth big enough to eat a whole person alive, The men dubbed them as The Man-Eating Flower. It wasn't just him, all of the villagers, even the mayor, have seen the monsters getting close into the village but then go back into hiding as if they are scared of the village. The villagers conclude that the man-eating flowers may be the source of the missing children and women. In the worst-case scenario, the children and women are eaten alive by the man-eating flowers.
One of the men, filled with anger, tried to attack the man-eating flower, but he was immediately swallowed whole by it. They don't know where they come from, they don't know how they are multiplying. They were scared that the man-eating flowers would come to the village and start a feast on the villagers, and there was nothing the mayor could do anything about it. Just hiring a guard strong enough to keep them away was already very pricy, and there was no way a guard would be able to keep all the man-eating flowers away unless the guard was S rank, and they couldn't afford that. So far, there haven't been any recorded cases of them going to the village or any near the village, which makes them very relieved about the safety of the village.
The mayor then set up a mission to eradicate the monsters, hoping that the missing children and women were still alive somewhere inside the forest, but the adventurers that accepted the mission never came back from the forest. The mayor saw what the adventurers were capable of. They could kill the man-eating flowers easily, yet they never came back. It has been 44 adventurers who have gone missing, half of whom are B rank adventurers.
Ahko were tasked to solve whatever is inside the forest that keeps kidnapping children and women. Ahko immediately goes inside the forest, no plan in thought, just using brute force to solve the puzzle. Along the way, she finds a lot of man-eating flowers. They are easy to kill, but when they die, they self destruct, and their acid blood seeps into Ahko's skin and clothes. Her skin is intact, but her clothes aren't, so she either has to traverse carefully and not kill any man-eating flowers or kill everything but use her speed to dodge the acid blood. She chose the latter, but she can't dodge every blood, so a few of her clothes have been dissolved.
A couple of hours went by, yet she couldn't go deep enough to see who or what caused the missing villagers. When she tried to traverse, more man-eating flowers stopped her way, and their numbers seemed to be getting larger and larger. Her stamina couldn't keep up with these rising numbers of man-eating flowers. Then, an idea came to her mind. Killing one last man-eater, she goes limp and closes her eyes as if indicating that she was out of stamina and couldn't fight anymore.
The man-eating flowers seem to have stopped attacking Ahko when they see her condition. A howl can be heard, and vines emerge from the ground and tangle on Ahko's body. The vines send Ahko to the deep forest. After a moment, the vines stopped and gently put Ahko on the ground, releasing her from their grip. Ahko quickly opened her eyes and attacked the vines. A loud screech could be heard behind her as she turned around to see a giant flower open up, filled to the brim with nectar, and a Dryad standing on top of it, closing her eyes and holding her heart in pain.
The dryad then looked towards Ahko in anger. She extended her hand, and multiple vines came to take her. Of course, Ahko dodges them all and cuts all the vines coming towards her. While the dryad was distracted by the pain of her vines getting cut by Ahko, Ahko jumped into the pool of nectar but then realized that she couldn't move her legs inside of the nectar as if the nectar was some kind of glue that immediately hardened. The dryad grinned wickedly when she saw Ahko's struggle. The dryad walks towards her and holds her chin.
"Well, well, well~~ Aren't you a cute one~?"
"Huh? You can talk?"
"Why, of course I can~~ I'm not like the other monster~~" The dryad chuckles.
"Were you the one who caused the villagers and adventurers to disappear?"
"Hmm? Oh yeah~ they were so innocent and so weak~"
"Is it to grow stronger?"
"Mhm~ you are smarter than most humans~"
"... The vines earlier... When I cut them, did that take a life force out of you?"
"... Huh... Quite a guess,.... It's Close, though~ But now... You can't go anywhere~ You'll be my next meal ~"
"Well, too bad for you. You are still dumb enough not to notice my dagger is already behind your neck."
The dryad's eyes widened when she felt a sharp pain on the back of her neck as it slowly but surely sank into her flesh. She tried to move away to the side, but Ahko's arm already held her waist tightly, and her strength couldn't be ignored. The dryad then uses her vines to try to stab Ahko, but it is already too late. The dagger has separated her neck from her body. The head fell into the pool of nectar, but the body was still intact and tried to pierce into Ahko's heart with its sharp claws. The claws barely scraped on Ahko's skin, then the body turned into ash as the giant flower crumbled until there was nothing left but ash. At the same time, the man-eating flowers around the giant flowers also turned into ash.
Meanwhile on the otherside of the forest. Something began to emerge. A faint green glow flickered through the forest floor. Slowly, a small seed pushed its way through the dirt. 4 Vines on the corner of a small area began to emerge very fast and closed the seed into a cocoon shape. The glowing green never stopped but instead became brighter until a final flash of green light finished off whatever was inside the cocoon.
The vines then break off into pieces and reveal a green woman. Her hair slides down to her waist. Dark green silk, thick and slightly wavy, with tiny flowers and leaves tangled here and there as if they had always been a part of her. Layered leaves covered her chest and hips, arranged in a way that felt both modest and natural, like they knew exactly what to hide and what to show. Her arms and legs were mostly bare, but little leafy cuffs wrapped around her ankles. Not only that, the leaves also wrapped around her hand as if it formed a glove. Her face was calm and relaxed, with a hint of anger and frustration. She opened her eyes, which were a deep green, clear, and steady. She clicked her tongue in frustration and angrily stomped her feet.
"How the fuck that human killed me so fast!? I am the perfect dryad, and she just killed me with a single dagger slash!!"
"How dare she throw me off guard like that!!" It took a moment to calm her down, and she didn't rant about how Ahko was able to kill her so fast.
"Once I regain my powers, I will kill her with my bare hands, just you wait..." She sighed deeply and looked at her feet.
"Now I don't have to worry about the pool of nectar that kept me stuck. I can freely go wherever I want, and I will find that girl..."
She turned around to see her worst nightmare has showed up, and she's eyeing her down like a vulture waiting for the prey to be dead. She tried to run away, but Ahko already had a firm grip on her arm. She grabbed her chin and forced her to look at her sapphire eyes. The anger and fear turned into some kind of admiration in her eyes.
"Buying this dryad monster for 100000 coins?"
"Accept."
The dryad stepped out of her gaze when she suddenly felt a jolt running down her spine, and her resistance crumbled. She fell to the ground after Ahko let go of her. She tried to run away but couldn't, as if some kind of force was keeping her in place. She looks towards Ahko and feels a connection between her and Ahko. She tried to be angry but couldn't, as if the same force was also making her numb and could only make her feel fear.
"Y-You... W-What the hell did you do...?" The dryad asked, confused and in fear.
"Nothing... Just so you know, you are my slave now."
"W-What!? The hell I'm not! I will never become someon-"
"Shut up." Ahko flicks her fingers.
"... Understood, Mistress."
"Stand up."
"As you wish, Mistress.."
The dryad stood up, bowed towards Ahko, and held her own hands neatly in front of her, resting calmly in her lap. The once-angry and fearful expression faded and was replaced with a gentle, subtle smile or a neutral, composed look as she waits for her mistress's order.
[Status] Abilities
Name: Nameless
Level: 1
Exp: 0/10
Hp: 420/420
Mp: 67/67
Stamina: 99/100
Rank: F
Species: Dryad [Monster]
STR: 32 VIT: 42
SPD: 12 STA: 17
DEF: 21 AGL: 10
INT: 53 MPC: 67
Status [Abilities]
Abilities
- Vines [Level 1] [Common/Uniquely Dryad Ability]
The monster is able to control a set amount of vines. In this case, it can only control one.
- Reincarnation Seed. [Rare/Uniquely Dryad Ability]
When the monster dies, it can reincarnate to a seed that will form that monster's appearance. It will not retain the monster's ability, but it'll retain the monster's intelligence. Reincarnation will not happen if the monster didn't put any seed.
Skills
-
Spells
- Prickly Leaves [Level 1] [Common/Uniquely Nature Species Spell]
Shoot out a set of leaves that is sharp and can hurt any being F rank and below.
- Vine Trap [Level 1] [Extra/Uniquely Nature Species Spell]
A vine emerges from the ground and tangles the target firmly until the target breaks it itself or someone else breaks it. [Can easily broken by E rank above.]
- Spore Bombs [Level 1] [Rare/Uniquely Nature Species Spell]
Cast 3 bombs that go horizontally into an opponent. When it explodes, spores will come out and poison the opponents. [Won't work against any target E rank above.]
- Nature's Blessing [Level 1] [Rare/Uniquely Nature Species Spell]
Cast a beam of green light that can heal a single target. [Only heals 5% of the Hp]
Passive Abilities
- Dryad Enchantment [Uniquely Dryad Passive Ability]
Gained, 20 STR, 5 SPD, 10 DEF, 10 STA, 40 INT, 30 VIT, 5 AGL, 50 MPC
- Awakened Monster [Rare Passive Ability]
Gained the ability to communicate with humans, increased intelligence, and monster's potential go to SS ranks.
- Poison Blood [Level 1] [Rare Passive Ability]
The monster's blood is poisonous against any beings except if they have poison resistance. [Effective against any being F rank below]
- Nectar Blood [Rare/Uniquely Dryad Passive Ability]
The monster's blood tastes very sweet and can be very addicting if consumed a lot.
- Life Force Vines [Extra/Uniquely Dryad Passive Ability]
The monster's vines are its source of life. If one of the vines is cut by something or someone, the monster will lose a level. Each vine determined the monster's level.
DING!!
User has gained the following abilities from buying slaves:
- Passive Abilities
[Dryad Enchantment] [Uniquely Dryad]
Gained 20 STR, 5 SPD, 10 DEF, 10 STA, 40 INT, 30 VIT, 5 AGL, 50 MPC.
[Poison Blood] [Rare]
User's blood is poisonous against any beings except if they have poison resistance.
"Not a bad stats you have here~"
"Of course, my abilities are for Mistress to enjoy.." The dryad put her hand on her chest.
"Martha, your name is Martha."
"Understood, Mistress. My name is Martha." Martha bows.
"Why don't you tell me what happened to those missing villagers?"
"Of course, Mistress.."
A couple of months ago, Martha was just a weak and small dryad that had just awakened. There's no source of power that she could extract and make her own, it's all just a forest with small animals like butterflies. Fortunately for her, there's no other monster beside her in the forest so she can't be killed by stronger monsters. And more luck was on her side when she noticed that the forest was near the Yotain Village. At first, she thought there were powerful humans inside the village, but after a couple of weeks, she figured there were no strong humans inside the village.
And so, she kidnapped one of the children by going into their house at night when their parents were asleep, then she inject some of her poison Blood into the child's arm, so they couldn't wake up when she kidnapped them. Since she's still a weak dryad, she has to go into the village directly and go behind the house in order to get what she wants. After successfully kidnapping the child, she brings them to a ravine inside the forest. She extracts their Blood into her own, making her slightly stronger than before. After the child is dead, she began experimenting with their dead bodies. She put some of her own Blood into their dried body, and after some time, their bodies became a man-eating flower that has been terrorizing the village.
Not only that, the man-eating flowers can multiply rapidly and on a large scale, which is why even after Ahko killed so many, more came, and their population never dwindled after Ahko's massacre. Their children are the man-eaters, but the women aren't. They have been kept inside the ravine to make more perfect dryads like herself. She has planted a seed inside of them, hoping that they grew and became a dryad just like her. It's only been a month or two since they started kidnapping adult women, but there is still no sign of them becoming a dryad like her.
The adventurers who were tasked to eliminate her didn't survive because she's simply too powerful for them and because of their lack of stamina compared to Ahko. They are easy to kill, and their Blood is absorbed by her, making her even more powerful than she already is. Even if an A rank party were to come to take her down, they wouldn't survive.
After Ahko destroyed her main body, the man-eater should also perish along with her main body, but she can't guarantee that, so she has to check first if they are still alive or have turned into ash. Martha explained that her previous rank before Ahko killed her was around A+ rank, and if she didn't come and destroy her main body, she would continue growing by the second. Martha also explained that every time Ahko cut one of her vines, it also destroyed her main body little by little. The passive ability Life Force Vines is more of a disadvantage rather than an advantage.
Martha guides Ahko to the ravine where many women's arms and legs have been tangled by Martha's vines from the main body, which should be perished soon. Ahko questioned Martha why their legs have to be so open up and why are they naked, which makes Martha blushed for a second and explained that she has putted her seed into the women's genitals. She concluded that the faster and the stronger effects have to be from their womb. Ahko looks at Martha with a slight of disgust then tells her to remove her Blood and seed from the women's bodies.
It took a while, but Martha successfully extracted all of her Blood and seed from the women's bodies. Martha quickly tells Ahko to bring them to the village before they wake up. Ahko, with no choice, has to do it herself since Martha is very weak and couldn't lift a single adult human. After Ahko brings them to the surface, she tells Martha to keep a low profile, and if the man-eaters are still here, she has to make them slow their growing population. Martha nods her head and disappears into the forest as Ahko stacks the women's bodies into 8 and then carries them into the village.
The men were shocked to see Ahko carrying 8 women stacked on top of one another. Most chuckle to see the comedic scene going on while also relieved by the fact that their wives, girlfriends, mothers, or crushes are still alive and well. Ahko put the women down and then continued to bring more women from the surface of the ravine. This sparks some scene, even the mayor is shocked to see Ahko casually bring many women in less than 8 hours after she's gone into the forest. After she brings out all of the women, she tells the mayor that the children have not survived the monster because of their fragile bodies. The adventurers are too weak to take care of the monster, so they, too, die.
The mayor and the others are saddened by this statement, but at least the women are safe from the monster. Though not few are quick to note that the women survived clearly far more weaker than the adventurers that come here but they survived but the adventurers didn't. They quickly forget that when their loved one started to wake up from their deep slumber. The mayor thanked Ahko for everything that she had done and promised that if she were returned to this village, anything in the village would be free for Ahko to consume.
Ahko nodded and left the village. After the village is gone from her sight, she goes around the village and into the forest where she met Martha sitting and waiting for her Mistress to come. Martha quickly stood up and both of her hands gently clasped together in front.
"I'm done with them."
"As expected for Mistress." Martha bows.
"I can't really make you show anywhere since you are a monster rather than a beastkin, so here's what you gonna do. You stay here and grow your strength, but don't ever, and I mean ever, kidnap the villagers. Got it?"
"Understood Mistress.."
"Goo-"
"ATTENTION"
"There is no sign of life coming from Kate!"
User has lost the following abilities:
[Sky Step] [Level 1] [Rare Ability]
[Fox Enchantment] [Uniquely Foxes Passive Ability]
"There is no sign of life coming from Alya!"
User has lost the following ability:
[Feline Enchantment] [Uniquely Feline Passive Ability]
"... Be a good girl... You got it...?" Ahko's tone changed.
"... U-Understood Mistress." Martha quickly bows.
From Martha's eyes, her Mistress has just vanished from thin air, and she can feel the rage filling inside of her even after she's gone from the forest. Ahko in mere seconds have appeared in front of the city gates, panting and her round sapphire eyes has turned into a slit and red eyes that can kill a human if she stare for a short period of time.
"System, where are their corpses?"
"The system isn't advanced enough to track their location, system has to be evolved once."
"... What's the requirements?"
"Here's the requirement for the next evolution of the system:
> 2766 / 10000 Monster kills
> 608 / 500 Human Kills
> - / Reached the next evolution of demonic."
"System didn't include the 2355 Man-Eater Flowers Level 15 and the 12 men ranges from level 7 to level 13 that user killed, so this is the updated requirements and the amount of exp user gained."
User has killed
2355 Man Eater Flowers Level 15 Exp: 70650
12 Humans Level 7 to level 13 totaling Exp : 2658 [Human Bonus]
Total Exp: 73308
Shop coins received: 146616
DING!!
Congratulations user for leveling up to level 19!
All stats +1
Hp and Mp are automatically full.
Exp: 42626/90000
The updated requirement for the next evolution of the system:
> 5121 / 10000 Monster kills
> 620 / 500 Human Kills
> - / Reached the next evolution of demonic."
"... How about the next evolution of demonic?"
Requirements for the evolution
- Kill 10000 monsters [2921/10000]
- Kill 1000 Humans [620/1000]
"Oh you little shit..."