A resounding tremor rippled through the dense forest, accompanied by another in rapid succession. Each impact sent violent shudders through the earth, rattling the canopy above and dislodging loose leaves that fluttered like dying embers. The very air thrummed, charged with the weight of each colossal step, the reverberations akin to the rhythmic tolling of a war drum.

  Then, from beyond the receding mist, it emerged.

  A gargantuan, arboreal colossus, its towering frame stretching over ten meters into the sky. Its bark-covered body coiled and twisted in unnatural motions, each shift of its massive limbs producing deep, groaning creaks. Gnarled appendages protruded like jagged armor, their forms latticed with luminescent green veins pulsing with a rhythmic cadence—an eerie facsimile of a heartbeat.

  Hollow sockets, void of flesh yet brimming with an insidious will, locked onto them.

  Beneath its hulking form, the splintered remains of Brambleguards lay strewn like discarded remnants of a battle already lost. The sight of its fallen kin sent the Treant into an uncontrollable convulsion, its massive body quivering as if the very fabric of the forest lamented their demise.

  Then, it roared.

  A guttural, resonant bellow, ancient and wrathful, reverberated through the trees, carrying with it the grief of centuries past. The surrounding foliage recoiled in response, their branches shuddering in eerie synchrony. The primal wail rippled outward, displacing birds from their perches as they scattered in frenzied flight. The earth trembled beneath the weight of its sorrow and rage.

  And then, it struck.

  A limb, thick as a centuries-old oak, descended with the weight of an avalanche.

  “Move!” Yun Jin’s command cut through the air, his body already in motion before conscious thought had even fully formed.

  The Treant’s limb met the earth with a cataclysmic force.

  BOOM.

  The impact obliterated the ground, sending a violent shockwave outward. Jagged fractures spiderwebbed through the soil as the very terrain was reshaped by the force of its wrath. From the ruptured ground, an explosion of serpentine vines erupted—whipping, coiling, and writhing like predatory creatures given life.

  Yun Jin acted on instinct.

  With a sharp motion, he seized Merlin by the collar and launched backward, the mage weightless in his grasp. Mid-air, he twisted, narrowly avoiding the surge of spined tendrils lashing hungrily toward them. The wind howled around him, the sharp scent of freshly upturned earth filling his lungs.

  Pain lanced through his side.

  A vine, preternaturally fast, had slipped past his defenses, piercing through his Magic Armor and slashing across his arm before recoiling. A warm trickle of blood stained his sleeve.

  Damn it.

  His boots found solid ground, and he released Merlin near the dungeon’s entrance. With a controlled exhale, Yun Jin steadied himself.

  “Regain your strength,” he ordered, voice steady despite the persistent throb in his arm. “Breathe. Focus. Just like I taught you.”

  Merlin, still gasping, clutched his staff. “Maybe… maybe we should just leave. If we hurry, we can—”

  “No.” Yun Jin’s response was immediate, calm yet immovable.

  Merlin hesitated, his expression flickering between desperation and uncertainty.

  “This,” Yun Jin exhaled, rolling his shoulders as the familiar thrill surged through him, “this is exactly what I’ve been waiting for.”

  The Treant let out another rumbling groan, its vines constricting like sinew over muscle, coiling for another devastating strike.

  “This is a real fight,” Yun Jin continued, his pulse steadying. “I refuse to walk away.”

  Merlin clenched his fists. “But you’re injured—”

  “I understand now,” Yun Jin interjected, his smirk laced with unwavering confidence. “I’ll be fine.”

  Merlin exhaled sharply. He had traveled long enough with Yun Jin to know arguing would be pointless.

  “…Fine,” he muttered, settling back to regulate his breath. He had no choice but to trust him.

  Yun Jin twisted just as the Treant’s limb came crashing down.

  BOOM.

  The battlefield erupted. Earth split beneath the sheer magnitude of the blow, sending trees snapping and debris rocketing into the air. Serrated roots surged forth like skeletal appendages, grasping hungrily. The concussive force alone sent shockwaves through Yun Jin’s frame, but his balance remained unshaken as he skidded to a stop.

  His gaze locked onto his target, sharp and unrelenting.

  Where’s the core?

  Every plant-based construct had one. The Brambleguards had theirs buried deep in their chests. If the Treant was similarly designed, Yun Jin needed to locate it—and destroy it.

  Gathering Qi, he expelled it outward in a controlled pulse.

  There.

  A faint glimmer of concentrated mana pulsed from within the Treant’s chest, obscured beneath thick layers of bark.

  Reaching it will be the real challenge.

  Yun Jin propelled himself forward.

  Light Blade Sovereign Style: First Form – Arc Lightning.

  A streak of blinding motion. He surged toward the Treant’s core, sword radiating Qi in crackling arcs of light. The moment his blade met bark—

  CLANG.

  Barely a mark.

  “Tch—” Yun Jin clicked his tongue, flipping backward an instant before the Treant’s retaliatory strike obliterated the spot where he had been.

  This one’s different.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The Brambleguards had been durable, but this? This was an entirely different entity. Even with Aura Blade and Arc Lightning, its defenses remained unyielding.

  A shadow loomed above.

  A fist, wreathed in twisting vines, plummeted toward him.

  Yun Jin pivoted midair, evading by a hair’s breadth. He landed against a tree trunk—but rather than halt, he sprang off immediately, weaving through the chaos like a specter of light.

  He wasn’t retreating.

  He was studying.

  The Treant lashed out once more, its massive limb sweeping across the battlefield like an executioner’s blade. Yun Jin didn’t waver—he pressed forward.

  A calculated step—then a leap.

  His boots found purchase on the Treant’s arm.

  His feet barely met bark before he propelled himself upward, dashing along the creature’s limb with relentless precision. Each movement was deliberate, defying gravity as he scaled the monstrous form.

  The core was too deeply embedded. If he wanted to end this fight, he needed to disable it first.

  He reached the elbow joint.

  Light Blade Sovereign Style: Second Form – Thunder Break.

  Unlike Arc Lightning, which thrived on speed, Thunder Break was sheer destructive force.

  Qi pulsed through his blade—

  One clean, decisive stroke.

  CRACK.

  The Treant lurched, a deep fissure rupturing through its massive limb. For the first time, its immense form shuddered under the force of Yun Jin’s strike. Wood splintered, a violent ripple coursing through its body.

  Yun Jin twisted in midair, descending with flawless control, landing gracefully below.

  His grip on his blade tightened, his grin widening in exhilaration.

  Now we’re making progress.

  The Treant staggered, thick sap-like ichor seeping from the splintered wound. But its glow intensified. The shattered wood began to reknit itself.

  Yun Jin’s eyes narrowed. Regeneration?

  --

  With one arm severed, the Treant staggered, its reverberating bellow echoing through the dungeon chamber. Its movements became sluggish, its vast frame struggling to recalibrate balance in the wake of sudden dismemberment. Yet Yun Jin pressed forward, his momentum relentless.

  The right leg.

  Weaving through the writhing chaos of flailing vines, he maneuvered with effortless precision. The Treant, despite its diminished state, attempted to counter, its roots curling upward in a desperate attempt to ensnare him. But Yun Jin had already calculated the timing.

  At the precise moment the creature shifted its weight for a defensive stomp, he struck.

  Light Blade Sovereign Style: Second Form – Thunder Break.

  The concentrated burst of Qi coalesced into a single, devastating slash—

  CRACK.

  The leg fissured instantly, deep fractures spiderwebbing through its bark-like skin. A tortured groan resonated through the battlefield as the Treant’s balance shattered, its colossal form collapsing to its knees with an earth-shaking impact.

  Yet Yun Jin was already in motion.

  His instincts propelled him forward, scaling the deteriorating frame with the grace of a seasoned predator. The last remaining arm swung wildly in a futile attempt to swat him from its torso—but he was beyond reach.

  Too slow.

  BOOM.

  The Treant’s final limb crumbled beneath its own weight, rendered utterly useless.

  Now entirely incapacitated, the ancient entity lay beneath him, its broken form writhing with residual tremors. Yun Jin stood atop its broad chest, his blade pulsing with luminous intensity as [Aura Blade] coursed through its edge, condensing Qi into a single point of focused lethality.

  The Treant quivered. Its severed limbs exuded thick, sap-like ichor, the once-imposing titan reduced to a fractured husk of splintered bark and dissipating magical essence.

  Yun Jin exhaled slowly, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword. The weapon hummed in response, resonating with the sheer energy pouring through its form. He could sense it now—the faint, flickering pulse of the Treant’s core, still clinging to existence deep within its ruined chest.

  [You have unlocked a skill: Mana Eyes (Rank D)]

  The system notification barely registered. His vision sharpened instantly, revealing an intricate lattice of pulsating mana filaments threading through the Treant’s broken frame. Every network of arcane energy, every hidden conduit fueling the dying entity, was laid bare before him.

  It’s still trying to regenerate.

  A single tendril—thin, almost imperceptible—extended from the creature’s severed joints. It wasn’t retreating. It was reaching, groping blindly toward its lost limbs, tendrils of residual mana weaving together in an attempt to restore its body.

  Yun Jin narrowed his eyes. So that’s how it is.

  The ambient mana thickened.

  A subtle tremor pulsed through the air, an unmistakable ripple of foreign energy brushing against his senses. Faint—distant—watchful.

  He didn’t need to turn to know.

  The Dryad was observing.

  Through the heightened clarity of [Mana Eyes], Yun Jin traced the ethereal thread of mana extending beyond the battlefield, vanishing into the depths of the dungeon’s unseen expanse.

  But it’s too far to intervene.

  A smirk ghosted across his lips. "You can watch all you want," he murmured, voice barely above a whisper. "But this one’s done for."

  His blade lifted, the glow of [Aura Blade] intensifying, radiating with condensed lethal intent. The world contracted to a singular focus—his sword, his will, and the fading heartbeat of the Treant’s core beneath him.

  No wasted movement. Just one perfect strike.

  Light Blade Sovereign Style: Thirteenth Form – Vector to Heaven.

  A single cut.

  For a moment, the world itself seemed to hold its breath. The only sound was the whisper of air slipping through the trees, a faint hush in the aftermath of motion.

  A thin, precise line of radiant Qi traced its way down the Treant’s chest.

  CRACK.

  The entity convulsed, its entire structure trembling as a deep, resonating groan emanated from within. Veins of luminescent Qi spread outward, fracturing its bark-like flesh from the inside. The vines that had been desperately stretching to restore its limbs seized mid-motion, their regenerative connection severed in an instant.

  Then—

  BOOM.

  The Treant collapsed inward upon itself, its core annihilated at the source. The immense structure imploded, the sheer force of its disintegration sending shimmering motes of dissipating mana into the air like scattered embers.

  Silence.

  Yun Jin exhaled, lowering his sword. The battlefield stood eerily still, the oppressive presence of the Treant vanishing as its lifeblood was finally extinguished.

  Then—the earth trembled anew.

  The severed vines quivered, their dying embers twitching in defiance.

  From the forest floor, thick roots convulsed, bursting outward in one final, desperate grasp, seeking to reclaim the fallen remnants of their master.

  "Oh no, you don’t."

  Yun Jin moved.

  A single, sweeping arc of Qi lacerated the intruding roots, severing their last vestige of defiance. The dungeon groaned in response, an eerie, spectral wail resonating through its hollow expanse.

  The surviving vines recoiled, writhing as though in pain, before retreating into the unseen depths of the dungeon.

  Yun Jin’s smirk returned.

  So that’s where you are.