Chapter 22
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Dryad
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"Huff... huff... How many did I take down?"
Current Contamination Level: 91.2%
Before taking down that Trent, the contamination level was around 93%, right? So maybe about eighteen? No, it doesn't drop a guaranteed 0.1% per kill, so probably more than that...
I hadn't planned on hunting this many, but every time I took one down and watched the contamination visibly drop, I lost my head a bit.
Still, thanks to that, the contamination's way down, and I racked up a ton of points. Hunting those things counted as 'cleaning,' after all. Should be enough points to cover food for a while.
"M-Master..."
After slogging through the Trents and approaching that big tree from earlier, Erzsebet—who still hadn't shaken off the branches—called out to me pitifully.
"Still can't get out?"
"Nngh... This tree. Something's off about it... Every time I try to use blood magic, it latches on like a leech and sucks up my blood..."
"Your blood?"
As if to demonstrate, Erzsebet barely managed to twitch her finger and activated the [High-Pressure Cleaner]. A huge gush of blood sprayed out. But before she could even control it, the branches stuck to the puddle like straws, sucking every last drop into the tree.
"Huh? What the hell. Is this one like a Trent too?"
It looked just like when the Trents had absorbed the water earlier. The only difference was water then, blood now.
"Nngh... If I used my pure blood, I could probably sever it..."
"Then use it."
"Is that okay? It'll slow down the recovery of those memories you want."
...Tch. Right. She said memories come back the more blood I consume. Burning through it like this would set that back. If there's no other way, sure, but I've cleared out the approaching Trents for now. No rush. Let's think it over.
"Rio."
"Yes!"
I called over Rio, who'd helped me fend off the Trents just now.
"Try lighting up these branches like before?"
"Yes!"
"...Just a little. Don't start a fire."
"...Yes!"
Rio scampered over and conjured a fireball in her hand, just like earlier. Doesn't that burn? Then she pressed it right against the branches.
-Roar...
"......"
"...It's not catching."
"Eek..."
Maybe not enough heat output, or maybe this tree's special somehow—no matter how close we held the flames, it wouldn't ignite. I knew fresh wood doesn't burn easily, but... this is ridiculous.
I even tried the [Omni Shears] on the branches again, but the same system message popped up, and they bounced right off.
'Next up...'
The [High-Pressure Cleaner]. Gotta aim carefully or it'll hit Erzsebet too... Eh, she'll regen. It got blocked pathetically by the Trent earlier, so I'm a bit uneasy...
This time, the water blasted out with force, like it was different. With [Range Set] minimized, it focused on one spot with insane pressure and hit the trunk.
-Slurrrp...
And not a drop left—it got sucked straight into the tree.
"...Damn it!"
The Trents did this too—what's with these trees? They look different, but is this giant one just another kind of Trent?
Stubborn now, I kept firing the [High-Pressure Cleaner], but every stream just got helplessly absorbed.
"Tch. Need another approach..."
"Hm? Master. Can you do that again just now?"
"That what?"
"The water magic. If possible, make it sustained, not a single burst..."
Erzsebet's sudden suggestion puzzled me, but figuring she had a plan, I activated the [High-Pressure Cleaner] again. This time, I held the handle down hard for a continuous spray.
-Sploooosh!!
"...How long do I keep this up?"
"Just a bit longer, Master."
Three minutes of spraying, and the tree showed no change. From the outside, it just looked like watering a houseplant...
"It's moving?"
"Hm... As expected."
Finally, a change. One of the branches binding Erzsebet tightly shifted, stretching toward the water spray like it wanted more.
And as I kept pouring, more and more branches turned this way.
"Phew... Now I can breathe."
At last, freed from the branches, Erzsebet let out a sigh of relief and walked over.
"Care to explain?"
"Hm. Of course, Master. But keep the water going for now."
Even after being freed, she insisted on the water, gathered her thoughts, and spoke.
"The reason this tree latched onto me... It was after nutrients."
"Nutrients?"
"Yes. Sticking its tendrils into me and sucking blood... It was probably after my pure blood. Not to brag, but my pure blood is the ultimate nutrient for plants and animals alike..."
She glanced in the direction the Trents had come from.
"Trents rarely attack people directly. Being rotten trees at their core, they usually cling to fresh trees and suck nutrients to survive."
"Nutrients?"
"Yes. But given the number of Trents earlier... and how they all swarmed the moment we touched this tree... It seems they're feeding off this massive tree. So when its nutrients ran low and I showed up, it grabbed me by force to drain me dry."
Bonus: The Trents must've sensed the disturbance on their food source and come running, she added.
"What kind of tree does that?"
Nutrients low, so it grabs nearby lifeforms and sucks their blood? Even if it's 'pure blood' or whatever...
"Not a tree. Well, in a sense, it is."
"What?"
But at my words, Erzsebet shook her head. She raised a finger, pointing at the woman embedded in the tree's trunk that we'd spotted earlier.
"This is a Dryad, Master."
Dryad. A demon race that dwells in trees. Sometimes the tree itself is called a Dryad, other times just the human-like avatar that emerges from it.
"This... is a Dryad?"
A familiar name I'd heard in games back on Earth. I looked up at the massive tree. More precisely, the green-haired woman stuck in its middle. But Dryads are demons?
Back home, Dryads were tree fairy types...
"No normal tree could restrain me. And look at her—half-assimilated into the trunk itself... Definitely a Dryad. But it's odd. Normal Dryads live in forests... Not hibernating inside ruins like this."
"You were sleeping here too. Know her?"
"Hmmm..."
To my question, Erzsebet stared up at the woman with a vague expression and shook her head.
"Doesn't ring a bell, Master."
"Hm..."
For now, I kept up the water. According to her, the tree—Dryad—grabbed her for nutrients, so flooding it with enough water should distract it.
"But Master, aren't you tired? Generating that much water..."
"Nah?"
I don't get the mechanics, but the [High-Pressure Cleaner] has infinite water. Arms hurt a bit, but that's it.
"...Impressive."
She was getting some weird idea about me again, but I let it slide. No harm in her thinking highly of me.
"How long we doing this?"
"Water alone might not cut it... Why not feed it those Trents you took down as fertilizer?"
"Fertilizer? How?"
"Plenty of ways... Just burn them. Rotten wood at core—they'll go up easy. Burn the Trents, scatter the ashes at the Dryad's roots. That'll return some of what the Trents siphoned, so it won't indiscriminately drain nearby life anymore."
"Hm."
Can't keep hosing forever, so I went with her plan. Only I can use [High-Pressure Cleaner (Lv. Max)], so I had free Erzsebet gather the Trent corpses while Rio lit them up.
'Incinerator no good?'
Tempted to just chuck them in, but no ashes that way. Just item materials.
"Rio. You got this?"
"Yes!"
Who knows how many fireballs this made today—Rio ignited the Trent pile Erzsebet gathered.
-Roooar!!!
"Hmmm. Still a child, yet remarkable. Red Demon Tribe handles fire well, but nailing that Trent earlier... That Rio girl's got serious talent."
"Yeah?"
Come to think, I'd heard she could use fire, but first time seeing it in action? Avoided the topic to spare her bad Red Demon Tribe memories...
"How do you know?"
"Knowledge pops into my head when the situation calls. Nothing on these ruins, though..."
Hm. So not just blood—triggers bring some memories back?
"Don't let the fire spread."
"Got it, Master."
While we talked, flames roared up from the Trent pile. Rio, who made them, panted like she was a bit drained.
"Good work, Rio."
Without her stopping their regen earlier, it'd been way tougher. Petting her head for today's efforts, a system message appeared over her.
You can promote Employee 'Rio'!
'...Huh?'