15

Flames burst from the other side of the tree as it lashed out. It's branches stretched further then I thought possible. Flames leaping from it's body as it lashed around angrily. The other trees took notice of this, and their eyes opened as well. It was the first time they'd really taken notice of me. 

I laughed like the maniac I was as they all turned their attention to me. Those eyes were such lovely targets. I enjoyed the flames on my back as they warmed me. I hadn't realized how cold I'd gotten until that warmth hit me. The closest trees flinched back away from the inferno behind me. 

I refocused, and launched myself again. They were unprepared for what was coming. Flames erupted from the soul fangs as I landed on the nearest tree. Taking full advantage of the damn thing's confusion. It only had time to narrow it's eye before my blades plunged in. 

That narrowed eye shot flames like a flame thrower. Heating me far beyond what could even be considered comfortable. I didn't care. I was too busy moving on to the next tree. These trees burned much hotter then regular wood, and any trees that caught fire were abandoned quickly. 

The flames from the two had now spread to five. It was only a matter of time before the whole forest was ablaze, but many of the trees had realized that as well. The forest was moving away from the blaze as fast as they could. Slamming into each other as they struggled to find clear ground. The problem was all the flaming trees were trying to run away from the flames as well. 

All I could do was laugh at the absurdity of it all. Something as stupid as fire could kill all these powerful monsters with ease. I'd never wanted to set the world on fire before. I'd never thought this kind of destruction could be so fun. The fire was getting more, and more out of control as time went on, but I didn't care. 

I rushed into those flames with little to no hesitation. Chasing down the trees as they ran. I wouldn't allow them to escape. Not now that I was having so much fun. The world had come alive with the screams of the trees, and the cries of beasts. 

Then I heard it. A cry much louder then any I'd ever heard before. It was so loud that my ears rang, and felt as if they were bleeding. The ground shook, and split. Roots of a frighteningly large tree tore through the ground as it's massive eye opened up. 

It's eye was like a green sun shining down from the sky. It wasn't looking at me yet. I knew that somehow. Some of the first trees had burned out by now. I rushed away from the cracks, and hid beneath one of those burned out trees.

It's massive roots pulled out from the ground, and started tossing aside the trees that were on fire. It's focus was on the flames, and not me at the moment so I wasn't too worried yet, but it's massive size was a huge problem. How was I going to get to that creatures eye? I couldn't really fly, and it would see me when I got close. These things had built in weaknesses that we could exploit when we figured out what those weaknesses were. 

If every floor of the dungeon was like that then eventually I'd manage to beat them all. Floor by floor. One by one. Until there were no more monsters to fight. I could do that. 

It would take some time, but I was willing put in the time. It had only been three days since I'd last seen my boys. I waited patiently for my mana to recharge a bit. Observing that big monster tree as I looked for some sort of opening. Dashing from burned out tree to burned out tree so that I wouldn't be noticed. 

Just like the other smaller trees the big one seemed to be able to move freely when it wanted using it's massive building sized roots. It slammed it's massive roots, and branches down to snuff out the forest fire I'd started. Seeming not to care that it was killing it's own kind. I didn't care too much about that since it was making things easier for me. Not having to deal with all the smaller trees cleared the path for me. 

That still left the big one to deal with. I needed to get to it before those big eyes of his closed. He was incredibly strong. Strong enough that my first instinct was to run not fight. That only made me want to kill it even more. 

The thought of killing that beast was exciting. What would I get from killing a monster of that size, and strength? There was no way I wouldn't get some sort of bonus reward for killing that monster. I really wanted whatever reward I would get for killing that thing. I just couldn't see a good way to get through it's defense. 

Wait? Wasn't there another way to get through his defenses? They had two blind spots that I could see from dealing with the smaller ones. Directly above, and directly below. Didn't that big guy just tear huge trenches in the earth?

The paths it had in the ground for it's roots would work for me to get through it's defenses. The whole beast wasn't moving that far from where it had uprooted in the first place. I would be able to move all the way over to the base of the tree fairly easily. The problem was that the ground might collapse on top of me as I tried to get through to the tree. Now wasn't the time to think about what would happen if I failed. 

Failure meant death. Hesitation meant death. If I was to face monsters like this everyday then I needed to act not think. I moved. Jumping down into one of the crevasses that the large roots had left behind.