"And that other way is risk-free?" Kai asked as this was the only that mattered to him.
After all, this was his chance to live a life where he wasn't bound by any kind of illness. It was extrely important for him to survive in this world. Otherwise, things would go back to what they were before, and that was the last thing he wanted.
"Nothing is risk-free, I'm afraid. However, with this thod, your Monster Core has 0% of getting corrupted."
"So, what's the thod? What do I have to do?"
"Well, it's quite straightforward really. You'll have to purify the Corrupted Tree."
Kai wasn't sure what to think anymore as he was quite dubious of this whole situation. "And...uh, how am I supposed to do that?"
"By killing the beast residing inside the Corrupted Tree."
Isla noticed how much more relaxed Kai suddenly beca when she said the thod, however, she wasn't done with her explanation.
"Don't think for a second that killing the beast inside the Corrupted Tree is going to be simple. In fact, it's the strongest being in the entire village and there is little to no chance of you defeating it. Monsters residing inside those kinds of trees are extrely strong. They are known as Catalysts. Catalysts are known to have, at the very least, a Platinum-Ranked Monster Core, which is miles ahead of your Monster Core." She laughed. "Just thinking about it, the beast inside the Corrupted Tree must be five tis as strong as you."
"Then, how am I supposed to even defeat it?!"
"You can't." Isla smiled. "There's a reason I proposed the first thod over this one. Sure, it involves a risk, but at least you have a chance to survive."
Kai just shook his head. There was a lot to think about and honestly, he didn't want to take those risks. There was just too much to lose for him. This entire video ga was a chance at a second life for him, and that was the last thing he wanted to lose right now.
"Ok, let's say hypothetically, if I were to absorb the Energy from the Corrupted Tree. Just how much powerful would I get?"
"Ah...hard to say. With the amount of energy within the Corrupted Tree, you should have enough energy to reach a Gold-Ranked Monster Core, which would make you a lot stronger. However, if you were to kill the beast residing inside the Corrupted Tree and absorb it at the sa ti...you would reach at the very least your next Growth Stage, maybe two actually."
It was tempting; the rewards were definitely good. However, the real question was: Were they worth the risks?
Kai completely removed the first option from the equation as having a Corrupted Monster Core was out of the question, which ant he needed to think of a way to beat the monster residing within the tree.
"Isla," Kai suddenly called out in a cold and serious tone. "Are you sure there is absolutely no way to kill the beast inside the Corrupted Tree?"
"Well...there is one, but the risk of dying is extrely high. Do you still wish to hear it?"
"Just tell . I'll be the one deciding what I do next."
***
"Good puppy...good puppy," Thalos said as he tried his best to keep his distance from the monster standing before him.
The monster resembled a black panther. It wasn't big, however, it looked extrely muscular and agile.
-ROARR!
As it roared, Thalos was able to glance at its maw and his teeth were extrely pointy and sharp. There was no doubt that the panther could rip his head off if it decided to do so.
'W-Why did father send in here...w-why was I the one chosen to feed him?'
Thalos knew what feeding this beast truly ant, death.
There was no way out. He couldn't defeat the beast before him. Actually, no one in the village could. That's why, once a month, his father would send out soone to feed it since every ti it ate, it would sleep for an entire month, making it easier to deal with.
However, it also ant that soone from the village would get sacrificed every month.
"G-Get away from !" Thalos shouted as the black panther was slowly getting closer to him. Still, it was getting quite hard for Thalos to follow the beast's movents because of how dark it was inside the Corrupted Tree. After all, the black panther was a master of discretion and sneak attacks. It could be compared to an assassin, only it was a monster, not a human.
The black panther jumped onto him and pressed him against the cold, hard ground. Its claws left deep insertions onto Thalos' body as he squird in pain every passing mont.
"D-DAD! H-HELP ! I'M GOING T—"
He tried screaming as loudly as he could but before he could even finish his sentence, his head was ripped off from his body and the black panther enjoyed eating the rest of his corpse for the following hour.
After feasting on the body of Thalos, the black panther went back to his usual corner, lied down, and went to sleep in an instant. However, even if it was asleep, it was by no ans easy to kill; its instincts were still heightened, which ant that if anyone entered inside the Corrupted Tree it would wake up instantly.
***
Two people with different colored robes were flying in the sky followed by three individuals all wearing black clothes.
"Shing, are you sure this is the place where they arrived?"
Shing just sighed when he heard what ca out of Lady Myre's mouth. This was the Realm he was responsible for. He knew everything happening within that world without a single doubt. He obviously knew more about this place than anyone else.
"Ah...I still don't understand why you had to get involved in this whole thing. I could have handled this alone; it's not like those anomalies will be a problem for . I'm a Lord Class Mage, no one in the First Realm can even compare to my strength."
Myre just ignored Shing as the only thing he had been doing for the past hours was complain about her involvent.
"Just tell the real reason why you decided to get involved and I will leave you alone."
"I already said it at the council. It's because I wanted everything to go according to plan."
Shing just laughed as he shook his head. "Bullshit. You never care about anything other than yourself. Tell the real reason."
Myre just shook her head in response. 'It's not like saying my reasons to you would change anything. Still, I'll have to think of a way to ditch him before I find him.'
"If you're that annoyed with , you can just leave. The only reason I'm letting you stay with is because Lord Wyatt asked to involve you in this whole thing."
Shing continued smiling. "No, no. I'll stay; you're making curious over why you're really doing this."
Lady Myre just sighed as she waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "Whatever, let's just make sure that there aren't any anomalies within this area. Let's split up to make this faster."
Shing frowned as he turned around. "You three can split up. I'll stay with Lady Myre. Who knows? She might get in danger."
'Ah, why did Lord Wyatt ask to bring him with . Everything is now much more complicated with him around. I need to make sure he doesn't find out about him.'
"Let's go over to that small city over there," Lady Myre said as she pointed toward a small city right beside a massive forest. "Do you know anyone overseeing this place?"
"Of course. Follow , I'll show you the way."
Within seconds, they reached the largest building in the city and entered it without wasting a single second.
"Lord Shing!" An old, burly man practically shouted as he imdiately placed himself on his knees, showing absolute respect to both Lady Myre and Shing. "What can I help you with?"
"There was a report regarding anomalies within our realm and we are currently looking for the cause. Has there been anything out of the ordinary in the area?"
"Uh...I have no idea if it could be any help, but a lot of the new human arrivals have been searching for a man nad: Notamonster. A lot of them are describing him as so sort of God. I'm not sure why or how...but that's the rumor currently circulating around the city."
Lord Shing instantly frowned when he heard those words coming out of the man's mouth. "And where can we find this...uh, Notamonster?"
"That's the thing. Everyone talks about him, but no one has found him."
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