Day Three #2

Deeper into the forest, there was a single tree shaped monster slowly wandering around.

It possessed a little wisdom as it was aware of its surroundings and was very cautious in the way it acted.

It continued walking until there was a slight movement nearby and it seemed to slightly lower its body closer to the ground.

Once it was rooted in place, it remained still and looked like an ordinary tree with some strange looking carvings on it which looked similar to a scary face.

Four small creatures walked past it and seemed to be busy hunting because they carried some bone weapons in their hands.

Just as the four small creatures had walked past the tree, several branches and vines shot towards them.

Some branches could pierce their bodies while the vines could restrain them so the tree shaped monster was happy to gain some additional fertiliser for itself.

It had grown from a single treant seed from another treant then had grown very quickly due to the connection to the earth and water sources nearby.

Upon gaining sentience, it started to learn how to move and then hunt within the forest.

It had tricked many with its appearance alone then killed who ever fell into its trap.

The four creatures were the next prey and they had turned around while showing excited grins on their faces.

It was not that big in size which meant that it was not very old but it seemed to already be used to surviving in its environment but it had been confused why the four creatures were grinning when they were about to die.

The vines were already close to them so there was nowhere for them to escape in time.

The moment that the tree monster had almost achieved a flawless attack, the smaller creatures started attacking the vines with their bone weapons.

It held them back a little but when up against a tree monster that did not tire out, they would be the first to make a mistake and be captured once they were worn down a little.

A bone axe cut at a branch while another small figure ran around avoiding the vines and stabbed a bone dagger towards an approaching branch.

Another held up a bone shield and blocked an incoming branch while another hid behind and threw out a bone spear.

They all tried to fight it off but the vines and roots closer to the ground slipped towards them unnoticed and tangled around their ankles.

They were each pulled in while they flailed around and tried to free themselves.

The final attacks were coming and the tree monster had unrooted itself while preparing to impale each of them but a figure had creeped up behind with two curved bone blades in their hand.

It jumped up towards the back and aimed both curved blades towards the location where the opposite side had the human like face showing on the tree monster.

It was Inis who had been using the others as bait but was also testing their ability to survive without her.

The two curved bone blades pierced deep into the tree monster's back then there was a strong resistance as if something was blocking the path of them.

Inis grit her teeth and pushed them both with all her strength until she heard something within break.

The tree monster stopped its movements suddenly and the four small creatures were released.

It did not take long for many of the branches, leaves, roots and vines to wither up leaving behind the appearance of a tree that had withered and died.

Inis walked towards one of the small creatures then took the bone axe, she started to swing it towards the tree monster.

The location where she had stabbed was cut around then revealed a strange object which was known as the heart or core of the tree monster.

It was the core of its life and it had been damaged which ended its life.

Inis observed the strange wooden object then bit into it. 'Treant hearts have a high amount of vitality so they can be used to make medicines and potions that can heal or boost a person's vitality. Of course back then.. most humans had to wait until a decent potion maker had appeared in the world.'

She continued to bite into it and swallowed down every bite which contained the life essence and vitality of the Treant while not caring about the others nearby. 'Although the heart has been damaged, it still has a lot of vitality remaining in it.'

Aiming for the heart was a way to kill one but the heart would not be in a good condition once it had been harvested so many chose to take other approaches.

Most obvious methods to deal with a tree type monster was to use fire or wood diseases and rot while there would be some who would use the simplest method of chopping off the limbs and anything connecting it to the nearby earth and water to replenish its energy.

In a forest environment where it could stay rooted, it was dangerous to attempt to cut off everything on the Treant when it was just a small group of Gremlins even if they were armed.

The strong vitality within the Treant heart was filling her body which was what a normal human would be able to handle.

Inis sat crosslegged and breathed in and then out as she circulated her energy while introducing the energy and vitality together. "Hu…"

The two energies met and then after a little resistance, they both were introduced to each other and mixed as the new energy was being refined.

The growing energy in her body circulated through her body as it washed through her skin, muscles, bones and internal organs.

With every circulation, Inis could feel her body strengthening and feeling more lively.

Once the energy had been controlled snd refined enough, Inis stood up and stretched her body a little. 'That was much better than the meat so there are things which are more beneficial to me. I need to watch out for any monsters parts or natural resources which can be used to make potions and special elixirs.

She took one final look towards the Treant then turned towards the four Gremlins. "We go. More kill."