Maximilian waited until he was sure they couldn’t see or hear him. He scanned the tree line to make sure before he changed directions. There was a part of him that wanted to search the forest for more creatures to fight. Especially since there wasn’t a timer for the quest. He might level up several times like that, assuming there was an unending amount of enemies. There was a good reason he hadn’t done that, though. He couldn’t heal. After their battle, the harpies were battered, and he didn’t know when they would be ready to continue. He didn’t want to risk that for himself. Even with Prismatic Barrier, he didn’t want to risk it. All it would take was one wrong move and he would die or at least be unable to move.

  He was also pretty sure he knew where the item was. He had traveled south while the others took west and north. Which meant east was either the correct option or the others had already found it. He headed east. The journey through the forest was uneventful. Not only wasn’t he attacked the flowers were less interesting. Less vibrant. At first, he thought it was the Network’s way of telling him he had made the wrong choice. He decided against it. It made him think more of a beast’s hunting ground. He thought he was on his way to the apex creature, which meant either it killed the others or others just didn’t grow here. Either way, he wanted to see what he would find.

  He had traveled for what felt like thirty minutes before it happened. A wall of stench hit him. It was an acrid mix of blood and rot. He had to brace himself against the wall as he dry heaved and every part of him wanted to turn back. He didn’t. He already knew what he would find if he continued, but there was no other option. He stiffly pushed forward until he was in a large clearing. On one side was a massive oak tree, and from its branches hung three people. Impaled through their hearts like deranged tree ornaments. He looked away from the macabre display, but the image was burned into his memory. They had died in a fight with the tree, from what he could see. He prepared to activate his skill, but the tree hadn’t moved. He checked out the rest of the area before he engaged.

  The first thing he found was the group’s weapons. The bow and staff had been shattered, while the saber was fine. Its edge was chipped, but other than that, it should cut just fine. His gaze shifted to the tree, and he found a few broken pieces of bark and what could be serious injuries. It was hard to tell with a tree, but the trio hadn’t died without a fight. The only question was whether he could win on his own or if he should go back for the others. The rational part of his brain said to get help, but another part disagreed. He had gotten a title for fighting an enemy five levels above him on his own. What reward would he get for this thing? Ambition and anxiety warred in his mind as he considered what he should do.

  After several minutes, he decided. This was a chance to reforge himself. A chance to differ from what he had been. A chance to become someone who could make the world better. Wasn’t that what he wanted? Wasn’t that why he ran for mayor in the first place? Sure, this wasn’t what he thought would happen, but there was no congress, no bureaucracy to slow down change. All he had to do was seize it. He hyped himself up for a moment as he made a plan. He needed to get the saber. After that, he would grind it down from a distance and use the sword to block what he couldn’t dodge. He bounced on the balls of his feet and mapped out the route he would run.

  Spiritual energy surged into his legs as he pushed off with a speed and force that would’ve made an Olympic sprinter jealous. Just as his hand wrapped around the sword’s hilt, the forest clearing exploded. Maximilian’s eyes widened as he realized he had made an assumption. An assumption that might get him killed. The tree hadn’t killed all the other plants. It was all the other plants. His mind raced to come up with a solution as the ground exploded with an incomprehensible swarm of roots. Each one was a spear sharp enough to punch a hole through steel. Each one wanted to kill him. He imbued his hand and swung the saber to counter a tree branch that tried to catch him. No sooner had that one retreated did two roots shot for his legs. He imbued his right leg just in time to leap out of the way. As soon as he landed, he broke for the treeline. A distance that might as well have been a boundless chasm with the number of attacks.

  He wasn’t fast enough. He wouldn’t get away. Treacherous thoughts sprouted like weeds as he avoided one attack only for another to cut into his right arm. The earth drained the blood like nourishing rain. The sight was almost enough to destroy his resolve. If not for the voice in the back of his mind. He couldn’t outrun it, which meant he had to attack. He had to kill it before it killed him. He spun to avoid another spear-like root and then shot for the tree. He abandoned all thoughts of survival to focus on victory. Electricity slammed into the tree with enough force to scatter tree bark and vines in all directions. He couldn’t remember activating the skill, and he didn’t care.

  Another near miss stopped him before he could get to the tree’s trunk. He activated Prismatic Barrier just as Five Roots tried to end him. The barrier held just long enough for him to move. His swings were clumsy and were akin to a mace than a blade weapon, but it worked. He split two more vines and unleashed Static Bolt. This time the electricity blasted a three-inch hole in the tree trunk. An emerald-green liquid oozed out as the wooden spikes resumed their assault. He avoided several more attacks and unleashed another electrical blast. This time, several tree branches moved to block the skill. “Damn it.” He exclaimed as he retreated.

  He tried to count how many roots and branches were still around but had to give up. There were too many, and he had no way to differentiate between them. Electricity arced between his fingers as an idea came to him. One that seemed obvious in retrospect. He had been activating the skills one at a time as if they were bullets that needed to be fired. He avoided another attack and forced energy into Static Bolt only this time he didn’t cut the flow energy. Instead, he released the skill as soon as it was ready. The area filled with electricity as he burned through his spiritual energy. His channels burned as if his energy had turned into fire, but he didn’t stop.

  The tree splintered under the relentless barrage, but it still wasn’t enough. He had to abandon the attack after a root pierced his side. He split it in half before the tree could rip him away, but the pain forced him to his knees. He activated the array on his robes just in time to avoid a follow-up strike. The barrier shattered seconds later. He countered another strike and then reentered the storm of limbs. He felt like he was at the core of an impossible storm, but excitement replaced his fear. He waged his battle with the tree for what felt like an eternity when something changed. The tree’s attacks slowed. It was slight at first — so slight that he wasn’t sure if he was imagining it or not — but it was real. His sword had become little more than a blunt piece of metal, but he gripped it and rushed forward. He split another three branches on his way and then unleashed a final Static Bolt. The electricity tore through the tree trunk. The forest seemed to spasm for a moment as all branches and roots shot for him.

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  His blood ran cold as he prepared to run. He brought his hands up to block his head and throat. When everything stopped. The tree’s limbs collapsed like a puppet that had its strings cut. Maximilian stood worried that even the slightest movement would cause the tree to resume the attack. He stayed like that until his dantian surged with energy. It felt like ambrosia as he stood in front of the remains of an enemy. A powerful enemy. One that he had conquered on his own. The feeling was indescribable. Even the kill energy felt better. He was about to look for the herb when he received a notification prompt.

  Prime Hunter: First to Kill A Boss Ranked Enemy in the World. Reward: All Attributes +10, All Attributes +10%

  He stared at the words in mute incomprehension before a storm of power surged into him. If his level-ups felt like a cup of coffee, then this was an adrenaline shot to his heart. He felt like he could split a mountain in two if he wanted. Like he could fight off two more of the monstrous trees. As the sensation passed, he relaxed. Despite how good he felt, he wasn’t in any shape for a new battle. The kill energy was enough to let him fight again, but his body ached. He couldn’t be sure, but he had either bruised or broken a few bones. His robes could repair themselves if he waited long enough, but his body could not. He decided to take some time to recover before he sat out. He braced his back against one tree and closed his eyes.

  It was the voice that woke up an unknown amount of time later. Panic surged through him as he bolted up. At first, he was worried that they had taken too long, or that they had failed some hidden part, but that was wrong. He had to review the voice said twice before it clicked. Someone else had found whatever the herb was, and the quest was over. It annoyed him. He had fought the monster while someone else got the credit, but he got over it. Chances are the title was the proper reward. The greatest title until now had given +5 attribute points not counting the one that could be upgraded. He had just doubled it. Even that sold the title short. A percentage boost had to be much better than an attribute boost. He looked around for the broken bit of sword and left it. The blade was chipped so badly that it couldn’t be considered a weapon anymore. Not really. He would be better off if he used it like a saw, but that seemed stupid. A wave of dull pain shot through him as he stood up. The voice returned, and this time he was engulfed in a familiar white.

  The Network’s healing energy spread through his body as he sat in the endless white space. He tried to look at his body, but he still couldn’t see it. Which only made him more curious. *Was he physically here or was it some kind of mental thing?* Either way, there wasn’t anything he could do about it. A few moments later he received the notification he waited for. His tutorial title had been upgraded.

  Quest 3 Complete. Quest Grade: A. Reward Distribution has begun. Tutorial Title has been improved.

  Tutorial-3rd Quest: Complete the Third Quest of the Tutorial. Reward: All Attributes +10.

  The surge in power was less than the last one, which confirmed something for him. The title didn’t provide a new attribute, which meant it was more accurate to say this title gave +5 compared to the last. It wasn’t a new ten. Which sucked but made some sense. The power would’ve been ridiculous if it stacked. He didn’t think the Network cared for balance per se, but there had to be some rule it followed. After all, why not just give hundreds of points all at once? He knew he wouldn’t get any information here, so he ignored it for now. After all, he still had his reward to choose.

  Choose Reward: High-Grade Intelligence Fruit, High-Grade Agility Fruit, High-Grade Constitution Fruit

  He wished it were a harder decision, but Intelligence was the obvious choice. His offense and his defense relied on the attribute. Agility would be cool, but so far, imbuing his body was enough to compensate for his speed. Not that he was slow by any means. Constitution was the least interesting. He didn’t like the idea of getting hit, though the stat had its usefulness. He made his choice, but the box didn’t appear. Which wasn’t too much of a surprise. It would likely be in the apartment when he got back. It was difficult to tell how long he had sat there before the world shifted. His feet hit solid ground, and a moment later he was back. Sure enough, there was a box on the table.

  He looked down at the rest of his body in awe. He didn’t know how the Network had healed him. His skill was impressive, but that was more so. He wondered what the limit of the healing was. Could restore limbs? What about sight? Could it give a person something they never had? If the Network had been there before... The thought caused him to sigh. There was no use in that line of thought. It had happened, and there was no one and nothing he could do about it. He went over and took a seat in front of the box and opened it. The “fruit” inside was strange. It was spherical and about the size of an apple. It was covered in dark blue and green swirls that spread through it from top to bottom, which made him think of hypnotism. There was a light brown stem that connected to the bottom of the fruit. That reminded him of a grape stem, only it wasn’t connected to anything. The whole thing was beautiful but made him think of poison. Like the Network had handed him something not natural. He searched the box for a slip or anything that warned him against eating it but there was nothing.

  As soon as he took the fruit out of the box, a wave of hunger slammed into him. It was the worst hunger he had ever felt. He bit into the fruit before he could stop himself. It was the sweetest fruit he had ever had. He finished the fruit as a familiar surge of power spread through him. It was stronger than his usual level-up but much less than the +10s to his attributes. He closed his eyes and relished the sensation for several long moments. When he finished, he pulled up his status screen and was beyond pleased. His intelligence had increased by six points. One fruit was worth two levels. He leaned back in his seat and hoped that the next few quests would have the same reward. He would become even more powerful. If they had. He wouldn’t hold his breath for that, though. The way he saw it, the Network was giving them the equivalent of a starter pack.

  He figured they would get either a new skill or more clothes soon. He didn’t know what the standards were in the rest of the universe, but his robes likely weren’t at the top. He would find out either way. With his reward dealt with, it was time to take a shower and get the blood, sweat, and whatever else off of him. He stood up and made his way to the bathroom. His mind flashed to the trio he left behind. The ones he couldn’t save. He wasn’t sure what he felt toward them. It wasn’t anger. He understood their thought process well enough. “I hope you rest easy. Wherever you ended up.” He entered the bathroom and left it at that.