While he didn’t know exactly what to expect, it was still surprising when the entire hunting pack of gnolls froze in place for a moment, growling to each other in their guttural language. He would have honestly expected a more bestial response in the form of either immediate flight or an aggressive attack. Then again, they were sentient creatures even if it was hard to remember that when they looked and acted like little more than hunting beasts.

  There was clearly more intelligence to them than wild animals would have, but in the end either hubris or ingrained instinct won out. The pack of gnolls resumed moving forwards with a good deal of caution, spreading out as much as they could even though the bridge would restrict their avenue of attack again in short order. Xander smiled behind his mask and backed up a few paces while directing his minion to stand between him and the oncoming gnolls.

  He was surprised that along with the hint of fear there was an edge of excitement as well. The old Xander from Earth would have definitely been shocked by his willingness to fight and kill, and probably also by his ability to follow through on that decision. With a loud howl, two of the attackers lost their nerve or patience and sprang forwards, leading with their spears. The reach of their weapons did nothing to stop them from stomping on the seemingly innocent patches of mushrooms.

  

  Toxic Spore Colony: Create a small patch of mushrooms that release a cloud of poisonous or psychedelic fungal spores when sufficiently disturbed.

  The gnolls hardly seemed to notice the sickly yellow cloud of spores that plumed up and coated their fur, continuing to charge the last couple of feet with their spears thrusting forwards into the chest of the vine minion. They did some minor damage to be sure, but only enough to cause the minion’s left arm to fall away as the vines holding it to the body were severed.

  Meanwhile, Xander had a new trick up his sleeve. While ‘hiding’ behind the minion, he had rested the tip of his scavenged spear on one of the back ribs about halfway up the ribcage next to the bottom of a shoulder blade. Now, he thrust it through with all his might, vines moving out of the way just in time for the weapon to plunge into an attacker's chest. The wound was shallow because it had to go through his minion first, but before anything else could happen, vines curled around the haft of the spear and drove it forwards another six inches and into something vitally important.

  That gnoll dropped to the ground spasming, but the other hadn’t been idle. With a snarl it let go of its spear and ripped a wicked short sword from its belt before slamming it into Xander’s side. Pain was not new to Xander, but he still cried out as the serrated edge bit deep into him. The gnoll cackled and grinned, assuming its victory. If Xander had been human, it might have even been right. He wasn’t.

  “Fuck… off…” Xander ground out through gritted teeth, the other part of his consciousness controlling the minion’s arm wielding a plain short sword. Overriding the default commands that kept the minion functioning as if cartilage still existed, the weapon snapped around at an impossible angle. Mobile vines extended and the blade whipped through the smug gnoll’s throat, killing it instantly. The bleeding body dropped dead next to its pack mate.

  

  You have killed a Gnoll Hunter (Level 11). Your experience modifier has been reduced for defeating an enemy below your level.

  You have killed a Gnoll Scout (Level 12). Your experience modifier has been reduced for defeating an enemy below your level.

  The other four gnolls who had been advancing more cautiously and waiting to see the result of their pack’s attack froze, and fear visibly rippled through them. Xander took the opportunity to activate Reclamation and then Control Plants, causing vegetation and mana to burst free from the first dead gnoll as another system disk popped up.

  

  Notice: Your Intimidating Aura (Passive) has instilled fear in multiple creatures. Your infamy grows. Experience has been awarded.

  The shock and fear caused by his passive and the swift deaths was only magnified by the brutal melting of the corpse in front of him. Another new minion rose even as blood and viscera dripped from its cavities before fading entirely into motes of floating mana. Xander himself was no longer horrified by either the process or the death. In many ways, it actually fit his preferred aesthetic, and was even beautiful in some ways. These creatures were here to murder the villagers and do who knew what else besides, and now they would be returned to the cycle and spawn new growth. The system disk that popped up gave him a bit more pause, however.

  

  New Achievement: Dangerous Presence

  You used your Intimidating Aura to instill fear in nine or more sentient beings at once by boosting it with an inherently intimidating act. Congratulations, you are on your way to becoming a true terror on the battlefield.

  Reward: Scent of Fear

  Scent of Fear: While Intimidating Aura is one of your passives and is affecting one or more creatures, you can smell the fear of any creature within the radius of your aura.

  “What the fuck do you mean nine or more-” Xander started to shout, but was then flooded by new magic. It wasn’t just a smell, it was an entirely new sense. He could pick out multiple sources, and each conveyed direction, strength, and flavor. The four gnolls in front of him were scared/angry, but the multiple scents coming from the inn were frightened/alarmed/panicked.

  There were multiple flavors of fear to consider, including a few more scents coming from another building across the street from the inn, but the experience was disorienting enough that it was now Xander who was frozen in place. Having an entirely new sense shoved into you could have that effect, especially when it was clamoring alongside magical links, the pain of a dagger shoved into his side, and the residual wash of mana from Reclamation.

   came another distracting input over his magical link in a very rough and gravelly voice with a weird accent. Xander looked away from the inn he hadn’t realized he was staring at just in time to see his newest vine minion go charging into the oncoming gnolls. Apparently, while they were still afraid, they were also pissed enough to try their own hand at taking him down.

  It took a few moments to realize that he was still in direct control of his damaged minion, which had frozen in place after nearly beheading the second gnoll. Gritting his teeth against multiple sensations, he tried to focus on his healing magic. He was once again topped off on mana, but by this point the residual benefit of Reclamation was fading. Still he pushed the green mana of Nurture Vegetation into the damaged minion first, causing the vines to regrow and pick up the dropped arm bones.

  Before he could turn his attention to either healing himself or making another minion, his four remaining opponents dismantled the fresh vine minion. Their fear impeded them, but even so their tactics won through. One gnoll blocked the attacks of the minion, while the other three circled to new angles and repeatedly stabbed it with their spears, targeting joints and vital areas. There were no organs to strike, but the joints were an excellent target. While shaky hands weren’t as accurate as they could have been, repeated strikes still had the intended effect.

  In the space of a few seconds, his new minion had been torn apart. On the other hand, the various bushes, flowers, and grasses that pushed through the cobblestones of the bridge would make it difficult to get through. The gnolls remained cautious and their fear of him made them hesitate again. They understood that trying to get through the random vegetation would give him another advantage and were reluctant to do so. Having just seen his opponents’ efficiency when working together, Xander also really didn’t want to charge the gnolls and hand that same advantage over to them instead. He might get lucky, or he might get dead.

  Letting his eyes hunt for any other advantage he might be able to find, he noticed a few splashes of yellow staining the gnoll’s bare feet. Behind his skull faced mask, a malevolent smile grew as he poured even more energy into Nurture Vegetation. This time it wasn’t to heal himself or his plant minion though. No, this time he poured every drop into the last few patches of mushrooms that remained just behind the gnolls.

  They were standing close together in the limited space at the end of the bridge, but his goal wasn’t to hit them directly since the toxins were slow acting. Instead, the mushrooms rapidly grew to unnatural proportions, blocking off their escape. In a drawn out fight, the toxins would have been more helpful, but his fights against the gnolls had been fast and brutal so far. Having them boxed into a space only about the size of a small living room severely limited their options, and gave him time.

  Xander grinned as he smelled their fear shift from scared/angry to scared/flee. He staggered a bit as the last dregs of his mana pool finished boxing in the gnolls, but lifted a hand towards the second downed gnoll while activating Reclamation again. “Gaellus, claim your due” he intoned. More chilly mana flooded into him, more vegetation sprawled out, and another vine minion arose. He didn’t stop there though, and sweeping the same arm towards the gnolls, he used the increasingly frigid power in his core to cast Control Plants. Two thorny bushes ripped themselves out of the ground and advanced like creepy spiders alongside the two bone armored minions.

  Naturally, this was when pain exploded through his chest. Xander screamed in agony and dropped to his knees, the thick wooden shaft of a crossbow bolt protruding from his armpit. The arm he had lifted dropped uselessly, hitting the shaft and causing it to wrench around inside him. More pain fogged his mind as the foreign object scraped against his insides. Toppling over onto his unwounded side, he could only stare up in the direction the bolt had come from.

  

  Warning: You have fallen below 10% HP

  He dismissed the unneeded information disk out of habit and saw a terrified looking green face peeking out from one of the windows of the inn. His gaze flicked down to his ruined side where golden blood leaked from both the bolt and the gnoll’s dagger still embedded in his side.

   He wasn’t dead yet, but the situation had gone from dangerous to dire.

  

  Warning: You have fallen below 25% MP

  Oh right, since he wasn’t in his dungeon his mana regeneration was lower, meaning he couldn’t sustain as many minions as he was now used to. That was a fine cherry to top off this shit-sundae. He watched as the goblin was pushed aside, and a human with a crossbow who looked only marginally less scared poked the weapon out and aimed again. Xander thought.

  There was no time to lie around and wait to be shot again. One short sword and one bolt had already put him within whispering distance of being killed. Another hit would finish the job. With a groan he used even more mana and had one of the nearby bushes grab him by his good arm and drag him underneath it. The second bolt was deflected off course by the various branches and slammed into a piece of fruit that looked like a blue apple.

  

  Warning: You have fallen below 10% MP

  The accompanying wave of exhaustion from his rapidly draining mana pool would probably have told him the same thing, so the system disk disappeared as quickly as it appeared. If something didn’t change soon this fight was going to end poorly for him.

   came the jubilant and not at all disturbing cry of one of his minions. Sharing its vision for a moment, he saw a gnoll gripped by a thorned bush with a spear buried in one eye. “Come Gaellus… Reclaim what is yours…” Xander wheezed raggedly. The System responded, and an icy cold crawled through Xander’s veins and core for the third time that fight.

  Power surged, motes flew, magical links pulsed, pain danced, plants chattered, fear smells assaulted him, and exhaustion fenced with a tide of magical energy. His attention was yanked every which way under the sensory overload. He tried to cobble thoughts together, but it was soooo hard. He just wanted to go home and sleep in his tree. A gentle presence stirred at that thought, and then a blanket fell over his mind. The sharp clarity of a myriad overloading links and senses stabbing into his mind seemed suddenly more distant and muted, though not gone.

   whispered the presence. A trusted voice. So Xander did just that. Reaching muzzily towards the green magic of his core yet again, he pushed it into his aching body. There was some relief from the pain, but not as much as there should be. He was confused by that for a moment, and focused on why that might be, letting the other things recede for now. Oh yes, now he remembered the weapons lodged in his body.

  That wouldn’t do, but neither arm responded. With a hazy mental shrug, he reached out to the bush that sheltered him. he asked, and it responded to his desire. Branches reached down, wound around a handle and a shaft, then pulled on them. Pain bloomed once more, drowning out everything else for a few moments before the green magic knitted his gaping wounds back together.

  As the pain subsided, so did the blanket on his senses. Blinking away colorful dots from his vision, Xander found himself in a sticky pool of amber blood underneath a very excitable bush.

  His returning senses reported more problems however. The mana from Reclamation was fading fast, but the mana he had spent healing himself had drained most of his pool again and resulted in another low mana warning. The bigger problem was that without direction, his plants weren’t nearly as effective and he had lost several while laying there. He was down to a single damaged bone clad minion and the bush he was lying under. Meanwhile, there were still two gnolls left, one injured and one uninjured.

  Theoretically, he could use Reclamation on the fourth dead gnoll, but his mind and spirit balked at the very idea. Xander was already shivering with the icy feeling gripping his core. The third had already overwhelmed him, a fourth would probably make him pop like a balloon or freeze into a solid block of ice. For that matter, he still wasn’t actually at full HP. Something about the whiny tone of his own thoughts frustrated him, and he grimaced.

   He would do whatever it took, but it was still probably a bad idea to use Reclamation again if there was literally any other option.

  Groaning, Xander crawled out from underneath the bush and pulled himself to his feet, already observing the situation through the very same plant. It wasn’t looking good, but he had managed more with less. He gritted his teeth and squared his shoulders, watching and waiting. Catching sight of the crossbow wielder appearing in the window again, he hopped to one side. Unfortunately, it is remarkably difficult to gauge flying projectiles while your attention is still split.

  The bolt slammed into the side of his mask, right at cheekbone level, and split the thin bone before careening off with a healthy chunk of his ear. The impact wasn’t fun, but the mask had done its job as a piece of armor and reduced the damage to something manageable. The pieces of fractured bone fell to the ground in front of him while more thick blood oozed down the side of his face.

  Xander shook himself free of the ringing in his missing ear, but didn’t bother wasting mana to heal it. He refocused on the fight in front of him instead. The wounded gnoll had just taken another hit, but was still somehow on its feet. Its last remaining pack member was covering for it, making it difficult for the damaged vine minion to land a hit. Both hyena-men were showing signs of weakness and exhaustion, thanks to the yellow spores from the mushrooms. That was likely the only reason there was a stalemate at all.

  Seeing his chance, Xander pushed a sliver of mana into the minion to take control over one small portion. Unseen by the other combatants, a small section of vine silently removed the lowest rib from its own ribcage and grasped it like a dagger. Quick as a viper, he willed the vine to strike at a downward angle to get beneath the gnoll’s armor. That angle caused the bone to slam into the uninjured gnoll’s crotch.

   he thought, trying not to wince as the gnoll dropped its weapon and sank to its knees with a final whine of pain. Just before he could check the inn to make sure he wasn’t going to get shot again, a thick beam of silvery blue light came screeching through the night and lanced through his minion and the last remaining gnoll, obliterating both of them.