Becoming an adventurer by copying monster abilities

Chapter 117 The Incarnation of the Forest's Will

Luke's sudden attack startled everyone present.

However, when you see "Said" with his neck twisted, his skin begins to dry and sag rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Beneath the rotting skin was a dense clump of dark red plant roots intertwined together, just like the huge fused tumor from before.

The members of the Undying Heavy Sword Squad instantly realized that the strange creature in the forest was not quite dead yet!

Lena reacted the fastest, stomping her toes hard on the ground and instantly widening the distance between herself and the survivors.

And those survivors who had originally followed behind "Side" and charged forward together.

After witnessing firsthand how Luke's "comrade," who had just been alive, suddenly turned into a horrifying pile of plants, a look of horror also appeared on his face.

They screamed and backed away, seemingly unaware of what was happening.

Among the remaining group were commoners dressed in coarse cloth and low-ranking adventurers covered in blood.

None of the team members knew Luke, and they couldn't distinguish between the real and fake guys just by looking at them or by their senses.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

Then, a sharp and mournful woman's cry suddenly rang out among the survivors.

She was a woman who looked to be in her early thirties and had a haggard appearance.

Judging from their clothes, they are not adventurers, but ordinary people who have come here to collect luminous moss.

In her arms, she was tightly holding a middle-aged man whose body was beginning to grow cold.

When the space suddenly trembled violently, they helped each other as they rushed out of the dark rift.

However, the man's earlier sprint seemed to be a final burst of energy before his death.

The life force in his body had long been almost completely drained by this space.

At this moment, he was lying on the woman's lap, barely breathing, and his pupils were beginning to dilate.

Within a few breaths, the man's arm fell heavily to the ground, completely lifeless.

"No!"

The woman broke down in tears.

She slowly raised her head, and her eyes, which were originally filled with fear, were now filled with resentment and anger.

She stared intently at Lena, Luca, and the others not far away, hysterically roaring, "Aren't you professionals? Didn't you come to save us? If you had arrived sooner, John wouldn't be dead!"

You are all accomplices!

The woman cursed wildly as she scrambled to her feet like a shrew.

Her sanity had clearly been destroyed by immense grief. She spread her grime-covered fingernails and scratched wildly at Akash, the orc closest to her, with an almost morbid madness.

Faced with this innocent woman whose face was covered in tears, looking utterly pitiful.

Akash didn't say anything.

He simply raised his thick thigh and placed one foot on the woman's chest.

"Bang!"

The power of high-level adventurers is beyond the capacity of ordinary humans to withstand.

With that kick, the noisy woman's chest instantly caved in.

He was kicked more than ten meters away, fell to the ground, twitched twice, and then died instantly.

Soon, the woman who had just died, like "Said" before her, began to have her human skin rapidly rot and peel off.

It turned into a clump of rotting plant tissue, softly scattered in the soil.

Karan looked at Akash in surprise, and asked with curiosity and admiration, "How did you know that woman was also a ghostly plant in disguise?"

Unexpectedly, Akash stood there, scratching his head in a somewhat bewildered manner, and asked in a muffled voice, "What illusion?"

'

""

The body of that "heartbroken" woman turned into rotting plants on the ground.

The expressions on the faces of the other "survivors" who had been huddled together at the back, trembling with fear, had completely vanished.

Their pupils instantly turned a dead fish gray, staring blankly at the members of the Undying Heavy Sword Squad.

Before these people could make a move, Lena, who was already on guard, kicked up the heavy sword.

He gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands and swung it horizontally, cutting several people in half at the waist.

No blood or internal organs were spilled out.

As these remains collapsed, they went limp and turned into a pile of rotting plant fibers.

Having narrowly escaped being tricked by these things, Lena breathed a long sigh of relief, still feeling a lingering fear.

She looked at Luke and asked, "Just now... how did you figure that out?"

"Just go with your gut feeling..."

""

Luke threw the rotting plant in his hand on the ground and shook his hand.

He was just testing the waters, just to be on the safe side.

After all, it's quite suspicious that an ordinary human could survive in the wild for so long without any change in physique and with such a strong voice.

Most importantly, Luke's "Miracle Fantasy" still failed to materialize the projection of the fallen plant giant.

It can be said that this so-called "will of the forest" is the most cunning enemy he has ever encountered.

However, these few dummies made from rotting plants seem to be the last resort the other side could pull out in their death throes.

As the plant clones disguised as survivors were completely destroyed, the black space finally collapsed completely.

The scene before everyone's eyes cleared up from the illusion, and they returned to the original Mossy Forest.

Not far in front of them, on the muddy ground, the black space that had just collapsed and crumbled gradually condensed and compressed into a huge egg-shaped plant sphere.

Although it was formed by a large amount of plants and soil, it did not feel vibrant at all and looked like a dead thing.

But a faint sound came from the area below, similar to the "lower abdomen".

Lena and Luca exchanged a glance, stepped forward, and each of them made a cut on the surface with their swords.

"puff!"

As a large amount of viscous tree sap gushed out, several limp humanoid bodies slid down the cut and fell to the ground.

Some had been dead for a long time, while others still had a glimmer of hope.

These people look exactly like the survivors we saw in that hidden space earlier.

However, his whole body looked even more gruesome.

The plant was covered in sticky sap, which seemed to be food stored up by the plant and ready to be digested at any time.

Among this group of people, Luca once again spotted Said.

This man, who was already thin, was in extremely poor condition at this moment.

His cheeks were deeply sunken, and he was so thin that he was almost a skeleton.

However, the other party was indeed very lucky and had a strong will to live; it was still breathing faintly.

Even when faced with Seid's miserable state, Luke did not approach him rashly.

Instead, he first activated [Miracle Fantasy] in his mind again.

[The Miracle Fantasy successfully materialized the projection of the "Incarnation of the Will of the Mossy Forest"]

[Gained Specialization: Forest Affinity]

Forest affinity: Experiencing nature's kindness in the forest.

Only when lines of text appeared on the panel did Luke finally feel relieved.

His mind immediately started working.

Despite all that effort, all I've gained is a passive skill like a specialty.

Moreover, the description called "Forest Affinity" seems quite vague.

What is "natural goodwill"?

However, Luke's original goal for this trip was simply to find a trace of Seid.

Being able to obtain the ability to project is already a pleasant surprise.

Therefore, he was not disappointed because he did not draw a combat skill.

Let's set aside the explanation of expertise and skills for now.

Luke slowly stepped forward, reaching into his robes as if rummaging through a hidden pocket in the lining of his black armor.

In reality, it connected to the storage space of the ring on her hand and took out a bottle of well-stocked healing potion.

He knelt down and poured the liquid into the weak Said's mouth.

The already high-quality healing potion is so effective for treating ordinary people that it can only be described as a miracle drug.

A moment later, accompanied by a violent cough, Saide's eyelids drooped and he slowly opened his eyes.

Upon seeing the man's face clearly, his eyes first showed confusion and disbelief, then surprise and joy. His voice was weak and hoarse as he asked, "Mr. Luke? What are you doing here? I..."

""

Luke shook his head, signaling to Seid not to speak yet.

Seeing the other person's current weak and miserable state, he was really afraid that he might get agitated and just walk away.

Besides Said, several other unconscious survivors were also extracted from that giant "egg".

The chances of them surviving if left here are extremely low.

Therefore, Lena called upon the orc Akash and found a huge burlap sack used to hold materials from large monsters.

Akash shoved the remaining survivors into the bag like potatoes, hoisting them onto his broad shoulders, ready to carry them out of the forest.

It's not that their moral character is particularly noble.

However, after this fierce battle, the Forest Will left behind nothing but rotting plant roots and stems, and no treasures to be found.

Among these missing people, some will inevitably offer high rewards for their whereabouts.

Lena felt that every little bit of money she could earn was a good thing.

And so, the team cleaned up the battlefield and, under the moonlight, began to head back along the path leading to Youtai Village.

Halfway there, Luke, relying on his memory, found Ratul, the squad member he had "dealt with," deep in a secluded thicket.

This wanderer had long since broken free from the control of the forest's will.

However, all four of his limb joints were destroyed, leaving him completely unable to move.

They could only look at the moonlight in the sky in despair, waiting for death to come.

Unexpectedly, after the sound of light footsteps, Luke's face came into view again.

That handsome face that looked harmless, and even had a strong allure for women.

In Latour's eyes at that moment, it was as if he had seen a demon lord of an abyss.

He thought Luke had come back to kill him and silence him.

His lips trembled slightly, and he explained hastily, his voice muffled, "Just now...it wasn't my intention! I swear!"

Before Luke could speak, Karan had already walked over.

Seeing his teammate's utterly miserable state, the warlock laughed with a wicked sense of schadenfreude: "Alright, Latu, we fought so hard, and you're just lying here basking in the moonlight!"

Hearing his teammates' voices, Latour realized that the crisis was over.

After drinking a bottle of medicine, his pale face regained some color.

After learning the general outline of what had happened from Rena, Latour apologized to Luca once again.

He held no grudge against the other party for breaking his limbs.

He understood that in that chaotic situation where it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe, the other side had already shown enough leniency.

Upon returning to Youtai Village, the group did not rush to leave.

First, Lena needs to deal with and handle the missing persons who have been brought back, and try to earn more bounty money.

After all, knowing how to treat people differently is a skill, and she wants to make up for all the costs incurred in this battle as much as possible.

Moreover, both Said and Latour were very weak and needed to rest temporarily at the village inn before they could withstand the arduous journey ahead.

After settling everything in for the time being, Luke, having nothing better to do, did not stay at the inn to rest.

Instead, under the cover of night, they once again ventured into the edge of that mossy forest.

The forest was very quiet at this moment, and the commotion just now ensured that no one would dare to disturb them.

Luke stopped under an ancient tree and decided to check the results of this "card draw".

Although the specific challenge level of the so-called incarnation of the forest's will is unknown.

But given the ferocity of their previous battles and the monster's cunning and unpredictable nature, it was impossible to defend against them.

It shouldn't be lower than a level 6 Wyvern or Banshee.

Therefore, Luca is very much looking forward to the projection ability he has just acquired.

The image of that colossal, decaying plant giant flashed through his mind, and he activated [Imaginary Manifestation].

In an instant, Luke felt as if something had appeared in his senses.

Those were natural elements and magical particles floating around him.

Luke followed his instincts and tried to communicate with these elements using his mind.

Soon, countless dark red giant thorny vines grew before his eyes.

These vines grow extremely fast and are incredibly lush, resembling dancing tentacles.

In the blink of an eye, they had already intertwined and tangled in mid-air, weaving into a large plant net that was more than ten meters long.

Luke drew his half-sword and attempted to cut the vine roots in front of him.

Even the broadsword with the "sharpness" attribute felt incredibly tough when cutting, as if it were cutting through the thick hide of an owl-bear.

These thorns lost their magical power after about ten minutes.

It slowly shrinks, rots, and falls into the soil.

The number of times it is activated remains once a day.

Luke sheathed his sword and quickly considered its practical applications in his mind.

This wide-range control capability is excellent for containing groups of enemies or large enemies, and has great tactical value.

At the same time, he looked at the new perk he had just acquired, [Forest Affinity], on the panel.

He was quite puzzled by the so-called goodwill of the forest.

He looked up, glanced around at his surroundings, and tentatively spoke into the deserted forest, "Hello?"

>