Lost

Alan's POV

The forest was dangerous. Much more dangerous than I had expected.

I only survived due to my enhanced physique. And due to the constant and stable regeneration of energy. I was able to deal with unexpected situations due to it.

It has been two days since I was given a mission. And I found out that the mission was a lot harder than expected. I had to cover a lot more ground if I want to complete this mission.

'Sigh…'

Today, I also found out that one of my team members was eaten by a variant of rodent type monster after a nut fell down on her head and knocked her out. Poor soul.

'Sigh. Sigh…'

Getting eaten by a rat or dying due to a fallen nut is not on my wish list. That was why I was travelling by jumping across trees. Maybe I would just straight-up fall down and die. Like last time.

'Sigh. Sigh. Sigh…'

My sigh was getting deeper and more frustrated. And the thing that made me even more frustrated is the fact that whenever I tried absorbing energy from trees. I would feel a large presence behind me. It was as if something very powerful was looking at me.

I was so frightened that I completely stopped trying to be a tree vampire. I took out my little notebook from my backpack and scratched Tree-Vampire from the getting-strong plan.

—----

Night.

Yesterday, I did go home to sleep.

But today, I was unable to return before the sunset. So, I made a camp on one of the tallest trees I could find. It was larger than any trees that I had ever seen with a girth of a house.

The branches were flat enough for me to sleep on without a problem. And I couldn't find any blood-sucking bugs nor any predatory animal near it. It was a safe place.

Or at least that was what I thought before the ground shook and the tree began walking.

The tree that I was nesting on was a monster. A plant that could walk. When did I reach a treant forest and why didn't I notice it? It was obvious from how safe the forest was. No, large animals would risk getting trapped inside a treant forest.

Treants were C ranked monsters that feeds on mana and mineral resources in the soil. They relocate themselves after the soil gets infertile.

These monsters were once called gentle giants, but after realising that if there is enough mana, they would even prey on large carnivorous and herbivorous beasts alike. The gentle from the giants was removed from the encyclopedia.

No wonder why I felt a presence whenever I tried to absorb energy from trees. And the moment I tried to escape, the branches curled up towards the centre trapping me inside. The treant was curling up its branches to easily move across the thick forest.

It was dark inside the dome made out of tree branches and it was night. Even if light could penetrate the dome, all I could see was pitch black. Even my energy sense couldn't penetrate the dense branches of the treant. And my night vision became useless with only and range of 20 meters correlating to my mind attribute.

The treant moved fast, unlike what I expected. Was it flying, I thought. There was no shakiness or unsteadiness at all.

With how magical the world is, I would not doubt if someone said a tree monster could fly.

I was sure that the treant didn't even consider me a threat. It might have not even noticed me at all. My first encounter with a C rank monster turned out like this. I felt disappointed in myself.

I didn't even bother trying to burn the branches or even try to scratch. I would not be in my right mind if I really antagonised it.

It was allowing me to live, and that was a big plus in my book. I don't want to turn into a human shape plushy. One squeeze and I would turn into a meat patty.

'Hey system, scan the treant, please.'

[Treant

Energy-level: 8096

Threat-level: C

Note: Run at sight and never camp on its branches or else it would trap you inside.

]

'What is with the note. Hey System, are you trolling me. I am you host you energy sucking parasite.'

[System is not a parasite, the host is.]

System answered me seriously.

—----

Next day.

Morning came and unsurprisingly the curled branches opened up releasing me from the death grip.

But, only one problem remains. The treant was moving the whole night and I don't know where I am now.

I expected a large tree would leave behind some traces. But, it seems that it flew most of the time instead of walking. Other than some broken trees along the way, All I could see was a vast plain in front of me and the vast forest behind me.

I think I can put off returning to base a little longer. Let's enjoy nature for a while.

In this expansive plain, I could see animals grazing and monsters like goblins moving in packs to hunt them.

A rising sun and under it, monsters and beasts of all kinds. Now, it really feels like a fantasy to me. This world never ceases to amaze me.

'Ok, beautiful! Let's go kill them. Hey, system! Are you ready to suck?'

[No host, The system does not suck. The host does. The system only absorbs.]

'Ok, Ok.'