The duo wandered deep within the forest, the corruption grew denser in the surroundings the further they traversed. The stones even started to gain a purplish hue from the sickening taint.

  The air grew thicker and more infused with rot and death. It gave one a nauseous feeling that thankfully passed the longer they remained—getting somewhat accustomed to it.

  There were no changes to his health thankfully, so the air wasn’t immediately poisonous. It wasn't something he'd want to spend forever in to find out however. He decided to quicken their pace.

  Beasts got fewer this far into the forest for some reason. It was eerie, setting them both on edge as they progressed. It felt as if something would jump out at them any moment.

  As if summoned by that thought, a large branch snapped out in front of Leo, slamming him hard in the torso as he was sent flying backwards into the mud. It knocked the wind clean out of him and a good chunk of health with it.

  HP: 195/300

  Holy fu- That hurt, Leo thought as he coughed trying to breathe.

  The impact had rattled him, it most likely would have killed or close to killed anyone without the same Vitality. Leo raised his head to find out what it was. What he saw was not a beast, but a sentient tree. He quickly identified it.

  Corrupt Hollow Treekin - Level 11

  It was a large, sentient husk of a tree. It appeared to have been rotting in places touched by corruption. Its branches slithered and flailed independently of each other, striking all around it. It reminded him of a certain magical tree from a book, the Whomping sort.

  It didn't look very mobile and it seemed both him and Ashley were currently out of its reach. Unfortunately it blocked any progression forward, like some sort of gatekeeper.

  “Are you okay?!” Ashley said, running to him.

  “Yeah,” Leo coughed, “could do with a quick healing though.”

  Ashley began healing him as he stood. The restoring sensation mending his ribs and making him feel a whole lot better. His breathing steadied. The question was now, how to deal with this thing?

  The tree seemed to realise it wasn’t hitting anything and ceased its wild flailing. Dark sap dripped from its hollow looking eye sockets, it almost looked as if it was crying.

  Leo could feel the sorrow and anguish coming from the tree, like the emotions were palpable on the wind, or perhaps the mana. It was an uncomfortable feeling.

  Gritting his teeth, he decided to put the Treekin out of its misery.

  Leo raised his hand to fire an Ice Spike, the small spike then launched towards the Tree. It impacted its trunk with a thud, causing some visible damage to the bark. It felt a bit wrong to prolong its suffering, but if the Tree couldn't hit him from here then why wouldn’t he just fire these until he was out of mana.

  So he did just that.

  A spike fired out every three seconds at the tree. It managed to hit a few with its branches, but most of the time it took the hits with wailing cries of anger. His mana was dropping fairly quickly but he could just keep doing this until he was out, regen, and continue.

  “This is a bit sad,” Ashley said quietly.

  “I know, but it’s the safest way to deal with it. I just want to get this over with,” Leo replied darkly.

  After a well placed spike in its eye socket, it seemed to slouch over for a moment before wailing extremely loudly. Leo and Ashley had to cover their ears to stop them from rupturing.

  The mana became visible as it formed into purple motes of light and flowed down into its wood from the air. Its bark thickened and its branches turned from wild and far between to more condensed.

  Almost looking like arms…

  It pushed the branches down into the ground with a resounding thud, crunching stone and wood beneath it. The next moment, it raised one of its roots out from the ground and it landed with a stomp that shook the ground.

  “Is that… a leg?” Leo asked aloud.

  Its other root leg hit was wrenched from the ground as the creature now stood. Its size almost doubled as it towered above them.

  It seemed to test its movement for a moment before locking its sole, remaining eye on the pair. It stomped towards them in angry steps. It wasn’t able to pick up much speed, but the power and weight under the steps were not something to recklessly tango with.

  “I’ll try take it down, shield me if any branches come from my blind spots,” he instructed.

  Running towards the Treekin, Leo ducked a massive branch swing from above in an attempt to get close to its rootlike legs. He figured if he could topple it over it would be much easier to deal with.

  Another swing, but this time overhead, came out from its other hand, Leo had to jump to the side in order to dodge that one. He fired an Ice Spike mid air, it hit the legs but didn’t cause much more than a slight chip of the wood. Not worth the mana.

  Leo’s body started to give off a little steam as he began pumping stamina into his Fire Essence skill, his body feeling empowered and strengthened. The drain was immense when he used it to power up more than just his fist, immediately feeling the strain. Concentrating, he willed for it to just focus on his hands instead.

  Now up close, Leo struck out at its leg, slamming a Mana Strike into it, hoping to knock it off balance. The impact sent waves of strain up his arm, a tree wasn’t the softest of targets to punch, somehow tougher than the antlings.

  The wood of the leg splintered, buckling it and causing the Treekin to stumble onto one knee. It swung out with its branched arm at him in return in a sweeping strike, the dirt being wrenched up as it tore the ground apart. Leo wasn’t able to dodge in time but through multiple combats with her, he trusted in Ashley’s shields and braced for impact.

  Just in time, a golden barrier formed over his torso where the tree struck him hardest and he was knocked back, but not as far as before—the damage was negligible.

  Finishing its strike, it placed both its hands down to try and stand. Leo didn’t let it.

  Powerful Haymaker, glowing with mana, slammed down on its back as he descended from a full powered jump.

  The treekin toppled, face into the dirt. Leo still hadn’t gotten a notification so he kept punching, trying to burst through the wood.

  It moved its branches behind it in an attempt to swat him off, but Ashley was on point, shielding him from most of the damage, resulting in only glancing blows at best.

  Glancing blows didn’t sound too bad but this wasn’t an antling claw, it was like a whip of razor sharp wood in the arms of a beast. There wasn’t enough force behind the swings to knock him off the back of the tree entirely with Ashley’s shields holding, but the damage was mounting.

  After burning through a lot of his stamina and Ashley's shields starting to wane, he finally broke through the tough bark exterior. His hands were red raw from punching. The Mana Strikes innate defense on his fists was not nearly enough to shield all of his punching power from Powerful Haymakers hit one after another. Making a fist at this point was agony, his bones damaged, tendons likely torn apart.

  But he kept punching. He had to.

  When Leo’s fist finally entered the tree, the thick bark splintered everywhere. He felt around as it screeched and flailed, its panic rising.

  Inside he felt a small orb-like shape. He immediately grabbed it and the tree froze in what seemed to be intense fear before it started flailing even harder on the ground trying to get itself up again.

  With a roar of effort, he crushed the orb in his hand with all the strength he had left, his hand screaming from all the damage. The tree lay down on the ground, unmoving. It was suddenly no more than a dead log.

  You have Slain: Corrupted Hollow Treekin – Level 11

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Experience increased for defeating a higher-level enemy

  + 30 Store Credits

  Your Pugilist class has reached Level 10

  Stat points distributed

  +1 Free Point

  Level 10 Pugilist class skill selection available

  Leo collapsed on top of the treekin before rolling onto the ground facing the purple hazed sky, his stamina basically bottomed. His breaths came like desperate gasps, hands shaking.

  That thing was a beast of defense. The bark on its body somehow became thicker and denser when it stood up, more than he could have imagined.

  Thankfully its legs were weaker roots, which didn’t make a lot of sense, but he was glad for it. If not for toppling it, he may have had to just run.

  Ashley wasn’t doing so hot either. He had been watching her mana when he could and it had almost bottomed out when he finished the tree. Any longer they may have been in trouble.

  Leo did notice she reached level 9 from the fight however, so that was great news.

  Speaking of great news, he had another class skill selection available to him. He decided to rest for at least a little before he dove into that decision paralysis. Thinking straight was way too difficult right now.

  Ashley stumbled over to where he was. “I can’t heal you yet, I can barely stand with this pounding headache.”

  “Headache?” Leo croaked in question.

  Ashley nodded, the motion causing her to wince. “Yeah. Using all my mana too quickly gives me a really bad headache. It seems to be getting worse as my mana increases in total.”

  “That sucks. If it happens in a fight you’d be crippled on top of having no mana.”

  “It seems to be fine when the fight is happening, just as soon as it ends then it hits me like a ton of bricks.”

  “Weird, must just be some kind of System shit.” Leo groaned as he tried to move. “Let's rest up a bit. No way we are in any condition to fight, I can barely make a fist.”

  “I’ll heal it in a bit, I’m gonna try and nap.” Ashley lay down next to him, fast asleep a moment later.

  Leo didn’t sleep but the rest was enough to regain his stamina to a point he felt comfortable again after about an hour.

  He decided now was a good time to get into his skill selection. Ashley was still conked out.

  His first option appeared before him and it was certainly something.

  Clinch Mastery (Common)

  You take close combat to a whole new level, in close range you own the space.

  Increases control and strength of grappling your opponents. Small bonus to damage while grappling based on Strength and Agility

  This was… different.

  Leo had never practiced grappling or throws in Boyd’s gym, it wasn’t his thing, despite Boyd’s words telling him it could be useful. Useful for what, he hadn’t said. It maybe had potential but it was highly unlikely he would pick this over something else.

  Although the idea of suplexing a giant ant couldn't be wholly ignored…

  Onto the next.

  Body Hardening (Common)

  Your body is your shield, every hit you take lets you take hits better. Gives increased damage reduction per hit blocked or taken in succession without striking back.

  Scales with Toughness

  Cooldown: None

  Getting tougher from taking hits. He would become pretty tough with his increased Vitality. But would he just be a punching bag? That wasn’t his style whatsoever…

  He glanced down at his torn apart armour, basically just rags protecting his decency.

  Maybe I’ll consider it…

  The second to last option was a bit different but also quite simple.

  Low Kick (Common)

  A low kick can have many uses, to damage, to topple, to deflect. The choice of how you use it is yours. Gives you an increased chance of staggering your enemy when using Low Kick.

  Scales with Strength and Agility.

  Cooldown: 5 Seconds

  Thinking back, he likely was offered this skill thanks to his fight against either the tree or the wolves. Both enemies had been easier once toppled or crippled. The skill just felt a little… basic. It was a skill that he could already do. If he used Fuel the Fire and Mana Strikes it was usually enough. Not good enough to pick it, although it was still higher than the body hardening.

  Time for the last.

  Please be cool, please be cool, Leo inwardly chanted, eyes closed.

  Iron Repetition (Common)

  Each blow refines your rhythm, letting the next strike hit with greater force.

  Continuous blows against the same target increase damage, up to a limit of 40%

  The bonus fades if no strikes land for a few seconds or upon taking a hit.

  Cooldown: None

  Now that is a skill. Leo whistled internally.

  Iron Repetition was a really solid skill. It almost felt overpowered when Leo considered its uses. Landing a bunch of hits would just make him hit harder. He didn’t have to keep a real track of it, just keep fighting and enjoy the benefits. As long as he didn’t get hit of course…

  Dodging attacks was Leo’s preferred fighting style—in his head at least. In actuality he tended to just hit things harder than they hit him, taking advantage of both his higher Vitality and Ashley’s capabilities.

  Note to self: practice dodging hits instead of just letting them hit because Ashley will shield them.

  He chose the skill without worry, there wasn’t really a better option than it.

  You have unlocked the Pugilist class skill: Iron Repetition (Common)

  “Did ya get anything good for hitting level 10?” Ashley asked with a yawn.

  “Sure did, but I’m not telling you about it,” he replied flatly, trying to shut down the conversation before it could start.

  She raised an eyebrow at his words, clearly not thrown off by it. If anything she looked more intrigued.

  “I bet you got another punching skill, huh?” She wiggled her eyebrows with a smirk.

  “Nope,”

  “Then why won't you tell me?”

  Ashley used puppy dog eyes, they were super effective.

  “Fine,” he relented. “It's a skill that increases my damage, the more strikes that I deal in a row without being hit” He spoke really quickly, hoping she would just accept and let it go.

  Her eyes narrowed at him as she thought it over. She smiled a predatory grin that made sweat appear on Leo's brow.

  “So you punch harder the more you punch something?”

  He sighed, conceding the point. “Yeah.”

  She burst into laughter, the gloom of the forest not stopping the warm sounds.

  “The next skill I take I swear it's not going to be a punch skill.”

  “Sure, sure,” she laughed.

  Her smile faded. “We still have like ten hours before we can leave, do you think we are near the end? I don’t know how much more we can do if we have to fight more of those trees.”

  “It was a bad match-up for me,” Leo explained, “I thought it would be easy when I was just shooting it, but it got so much tougher when it stood up. Some kind of evolution, or maybe it could always walk. We can still handle the wolves and deers with no issue as long as it’s one at a time. Although I could probably handle two deers.”

  She mulled it over for a moment before speaking. “Okay. I’ll trust you. How are your hands?”

  He smiled and made some test fists. “Much better—thanks to you. Let’s get moving.”

  As they walked, Leo kept a close eye on the trees, waiting for any of them to make a move. He’d much rather not get smacked by another branch.

  Further in, the canopy of the trees became more densely clustered. The sun, or light of this place, was all but cut off from where they were. It was enough to see, but not much else.

  Shadows danced across his periphery, quiet and eerie. Nothing could be heard but their footsteps. Crushing small leaves, sticks being snapped, and echoing from every direction. This was a true nightmare land.

  Yet they continued on all the same, tracking the corruption. Leo followed what he guessed was the path and the feel of the mana he was becoming more sensitive to. After another hour of trudging through the shadows, Leo spotted a large metallic dome in an open area. It shimmered in the dimming sunlight that broached through the trees.

  “What do you think that place is?” Ashley asked.

  “Not sure,” Leo replied, “but whatever it is, it’s giving off a really bad vibe. Let’s check it out.”

  “You know, usually one would not check out the place that was giving off a “really bad vibe”” Ashley said flatly.

  The two approached the dome. A clear entrance of sorts was almost directly in front of them, so naturally they walked to it. They were about half of the way towards the door when Leo held his hand out in front of Ashley and pointed to the left.

  Coming around the perimeter of the dome was a pair of wolves, both with maws dripping ichor with too many teeth. Random spikes came from their claws and body, like growths. Whatever was corrupting them was stronger here. Thankfully not reflected in their levels.

  Corrupted Dire Wolf - Level 9

  Corrupted Dire Wolf - Level 10

  The two beasts lowered their heads and growled deep, this would be Leo’s first time fighting two wolves at once. Excitement nipped at his heart while he let his clear intent for fighting seep out from his body.