“We are here,” Jay said climbing off Lock the Golem dog.

Rick found himself in an eerily familiar place. His elementary school was around the corner, but the area looked completely deserted. And before him was a forest that did not exist before.

“Didn’t this use to be-” Rick whispered unsurely.

“Yeah, the Rose Park. It’s the Rose Forest now.” Jay replied calmly. “Not a big deal. With Mana absorption, it’s happening everywhere.”

It was amazing to see the thick tree grow in the place where he used to come for picnics as a kid.

“Oh, I almost forgot. You don’t have a weapon,” Jay crouched on the ground at the entrance to the Rose Forest. A row of knives, swords, batons and spears appeared, cleanly arranged before him. “Which one do you want?”

“Do you have a gun or- or a bow?” Rick asked. He wanted to learn to fight from a distance now that he had golems with him.

“Hmm… Guns are not really of much use,” Jay shook his head. “Sam should have spare bows and arrows. I didn’t know you know to use a bow.”

“I don’t know yet, but I want to learn,” Rick grinned and added, “I will take the spear for now”

Jay shook his head and handed Rick the spear.

The metallic spear was a lot heavier than the wooden one he had before. He gave it a quick swing to feel out the weight.

“Okay let’s go,” he readied himself.

“Stay close,” Jay nod, looking over his shoulder.

Jay walked ahead, in a leisurely, while Rick looked around pensively. He held the spear ready to strike.

Almond-brown trees stretched away from the concrete. The forest rustled and creaking to the tune of the winds. The sun cracks through the lush canopy to light up the outgrown roots, wildflowers and fallen leaves that crunch beneath their bare feet.

“That’s nice,” Rick smiled. The further into the forest they walked, the abundance of Mana increased. The rich and thick Mana enveloped him into a soft blanket on a cold night.

They walked on the mossy ground cracking and snapping on the withered leaves and branches as they carefully trudged forward.

“Hey, over here. Silently,” Jay called.

“What?” Rick whispered, inching closer.

“See, by the big ass rock. There is a Needle Armed Beaver,” Jay said.

Rick looked over from behind Jay. It was not what he expected to see. The ‘beaver’ was the size of a car!

‘Lemegeton, get me the information on the Needle Armed Beaver,’ he instructed fishing out the grimoire. There was too much that he did not know!

[BEAST ENCYCLOPEDIA]

[Needle Armed Beaver: An evolution of the rodent Beaver.]

Much bigger than the ordinary Beaver. The Needle Armed Beaver can grow the size of ordinary horses...

It has a timid personality and only attacks when the feels threatened. It attacks by launching its needle-sharp detachable claws at the attacker. The projectile is as lethal as a gunshot injury.

Needle-claws have a Grade-I poison effect...

This information is relatively well-known.

“Can we take it on?” Rick gulped.

“It will just take a minute, wait here,” Jay grinned pulling out two scimitars from his sheaths by his waist.

“Be careful of its claws,” Rick warned before adding, “it looks odd.”

“I know,” Jay smirked as he ran at the Beaver.

The Beaver looked up in alarm. Sensing danger, it stood on its hindlimbs and shot its claws in Jay’s direction. Needles poured down, some hit the trees nearby, lodging in them. But Jay ran ahead undeterred. Not a single needle could touch him as he dodged some and blocked others with his scimitar.

Less than ten feet away now, Jay threw the scimitar on one hand at the beaver, hitting its shoulder. The Beaver squeaked and in the second’s time, Jay plunged the second blade through the Beaver.

The battle was over.

‘I am really weak,’ Rick gulped as he looked on, astounded. From the start to finish, it was like a rehearsed dance routine.

“Oi, it's done!” Jay waved.

Only then did Rick finally move, awoken from his daze. He looked at the Beaver’s Needles that littered the entire way. Jay touched the Beaver with one and it disappeared.

“I have a Storage Ring,” Jay said with a smug smile, showing him the ring on his finger. “You should get one if you can. It’s pretty useful.”

“Hmm,” Rick replied absent-mindedly. His mind was elsewhere as flipped open the Lemegeton and asked ‘Lemegeton, show me everything about the Beaver’s Needles?

[Beaver Needles (named by the host)]

Originates from the Needle Armed Beaver. It had a conical shape with a pointed edge…

Although coated with a Grade I poison when first used by the Beaver, it disappears within 1-6 minutes of launch…

It is a strong material with metallic properties…

There was a lot of other information about the speed at which the Needles are shot and the first victim which he ignored.

‘I should take them,’ Rick mused and walked over to one that was lodged on the tree. Although he did not want to be labelled a hoarder, he did not want to regret not taking something precious.

He walked over and wrestled the needles lodged in the trees and sprawled on the forest floor as well.

“What’s that big-ass book you carry around?” Jay asked as Rick returned back with the Needles in hand.

“I am documenting everything around, for historical purposes,” Rick shrugged. He had prepared the excuse a long time coming. After all, he could not go around telling everyone that he was the owner of an ancient grimoire.

“It looks-” Jay started when he noticed the Needles in Rick’s hand suddenly disappear.

“Oh ya, I have a storage ring too,” Rick replied. “Can we get going?”

“Show off,” Jay murmured as he led the way ahead.

Rick followed Jay as they walked deeper into the forest. Jay swiftly killed any animal they crossed path with, unfazed even when a pack of three attacked at once. Meanwhile, all Rick had to do was stick behind Jay and record every new creature that they came across.

“That makes it twenty, right?” Rick asked as Jay put the slain Irontail Cat into the Storage Ring.

“Ya,” Jay nodded, taking a sip of water. “We still have a good three hours before we need to leave anyway.”

Rick looked around the place as they stopped for water. It looked nothing like the way he remembered it. There were no stalls and no lights anywhere around. The vegetation around him made it feel like he was in a tropical forest. The mossy rocks were wet to the touch, the ground damp and the trees covered in vines.

Suddenly, both of them looked around, startled.

“Did you feel that?” Rick asked standing up.

“Yeah, the Mana in the air feels disturbed” Jay replied out the scimitars. “Get ready, something is coming.”

The ground shook and birds cawed and the leaves rustled from a distance away.

“Jay. What’s going on?” Rick asked.

“I don’t know yet. But whatever it is, we may need to run. Send Sam a message to back us up,” Jay replied.

Rick pulled out the Word Transmission Scroll and sent an SOS message to his sister. As the two looked on, it looked as the forest itself was marching on them. A humungous monster, as tall as the trees themselves walked towards the two. It’s skin scabbed and brown with branches and leaves growing off its body. It’s long legs, twice the size of a human left a rumbling every time it stepped. Long wirey arms whipped about as the trees in its path moved aside to let it through.

“Its- it’s a Treant,” Jay stuttered.

“Can you beat it?”

“We won’t make it even if we run. Sam better get here fast, else we are doomed,” Jay rambled.

The Treant stopped a distance before them and the rumblings of the grounds stopped. But only for a second. A moment later the earth shook harder as the tree parted way to left another dozen, albeit smaller, Treants pass through.

‘Treants,’ he instructed pulling out the grimoire.

[Treants]

Creatures that have existed since the old, Treants are sentient trees that can walk.

Treants speak the language of Rustle. The language was named by Jonnathan the Linguist who first discovered it in...

Ordinary saplings blessed a Spirit Tree grows to become a Treant. The Treants are led by an Ent-Lord that is larger and sturdier than the rest…

The Treants protect and serve the Spirit Tree. With their strong defence and sudden attacks, Treants are a formidable foe, especially in a woody environment …

The more Rick read the more he realized how doomed they were. There were a dozen Treants that stood before them.

“Jay don’t let-” Rick started.

Suddenly a branch flashed through the air at Jay. It came at him at such speed that there was no way he could block it. Jay fell back, with a deep gash on his abdomen and out of breath. Blood seeped out of his wound and soaked his vest red.