The Dreamer's POV

[00 Months: 00 Days: 18 Hours]

~BOOOMM!!~

The impact my fist made with the Tree Demon was enough to send it recoiling back, finally halting in it's long march for my life.

It didn't stay motionless, however. Instead, it launched it's several vines toward me, most likely in an attempt to entrap me—or at least chop off my Life Force.

'Not gonna happen, buddy!'

In the end, I was still faster.

~WHOOSH!~

Slipping past the creature's vine attacks, I twisted my body to pass through it onslaught and clenched my fist to return the favor by hitting it once again.

~BAM!~

At the same time, my Energy Rock had built enough momentum, and also struck the tree Demon on its face, sending it crashing down.

I didn't have enough time to celebrate, however, considering the fact that the Tree had used vines to tie my legs to the ground, forcing me to remain in one spot.

It then sent a massive wooden spoke flying towards me at breakneck speed.

Thanks to the constraint it gave me, and the shock that assailed me, I wasn't going to evade the attack.

It meant certain death...

... At least, that was what <Visualize> showed me.

"Hup!" I swiftly left my position before getting trapped by the Tree Demon's constraints, sending my Energy Rock to do more damage as I danced past its several wooden projectiles, easily reading their direction thanks to <Focus>.

Since the Invisibility Cloak was useless in this fight, I had already stopped bothering with it. Instead, I was more focused on ending the fight as fast as possible.

'I'm nearing my limit already...'

~FWUUSHH~

Deftly closing the distance between me and the monster tree, I clenched both my fists and coursed the full power of <Sprint> through my veins.

And then...

"Ora ora ora ora!!!"

... I launched a maelstrom of punches toward the fallen creature.

My fist flurry kept it stunned enough to keep striking, ensuring every blow contained every ounce of my strength.

"ORAAAAAAAA!!!"

My Energy Rock kept pounding in the monster's head too, so it was a completely overwhelming onslaught.

'Come on, man...' I pleased as my rain of blows kept crushing it's wooden body and crushing it's hard bark.

'... Just die already. Please.'

My knuckles ached like crazy, and I was running out of stamina.

<Sprint> and <Focus> had just run out, and I didn't have any energy left for <Visualize>.

This was it!

All or nothing!

'So help me out here...' I desperately pleaded with the Tree Demon, donning a sympathetic smile.

'... Die for my sake!'

Clasping both my hands together, accompanied by the full descent of my Energy Rock, I sent my full powered attack crashing on the Tree Demon.

~BOOOOOMMM!!!~

The earth rumbled, and I felt shards scatter about me.

My body crumbled in exhaustion, and I fell off the Demon, completely spent.

'If this doesn't work, then... haaa...'

I felt everything turn blank, and my only sensations that coursed through me were pains permeating my aching muscles and throbbing bones.

Everything was slowly drifting away...

~DING!~

<You Have Leveled Up>

'For real? Seriously?!' My eyes instantly popped wide open, and I was back in the land of the living.

"Haa... haaa... I won? I won!"

Heck yeah! I knew I could do it! After all the running and hitting, I had to be the winner.

With heavy breaths, I watched the body of the monster fade slowly.

'But this thing really is tough. Was it really not a dangerous Demon? Or has the term 'dangerous' mean something different in this new world?'

Even with all the Skills at my disposal, I just barely won. If this was just a regular Demon, how would the other challenging ones be like?

'I dont even want to imagine that right now...'

The good news was that I was now Level 21, and with that... I just got a little stronger.

******

[00 Months: 00 Days: 19 Hours]

"Hmm... this is a bit surprising." Muttering to myself, my eyes were focused on two items before me.

One appeared to be a piece of wood shaped like an almond fruit—or more accurately, its seed.

The second item seemed to be a wooden vial. It had the shape of a potion, but it was completely made of wood, not the usual transparent glass.

'I don't know much about games and stuff, but I at least know this much.'

The <Shop> had lots of potions as well, and I bought an Invisible Potion during the Tutorials, so I sort of knew how they were supposed to be like.

I also saw them a lot of times in my dreams now that I thought of it. It wasn't clear though, so my recollection of then didn't really offer any advantages.

'I've been remembering a couple of things in my dreams recently. It's like being here slowly reminds me more of them...'

It was all too vague to remember anything concrete or useful, though.

I decided to wave away the distracting thoughts I had and focused once more on the Items in front of me.

'So the Demon had drops. That's great. Let's check them out.'

[Item Information]

Name: Demon Tree Sap

Special Effect: Grants temporary sturdiness and vitality upon consumption. {Note: Lasts for five minutes}

Combat Ability: Vitality Specific

Energy Level: None

Durability: One-time-Use

[End Of Information]

'This will definitely come in handy!' I grinned.

If I ever encountered a situation where I couldn't escape, and victory was necessary, I could just use this.

"What of the second one?"

[Item Information]

Name: Demon Tree Essence

Special Effect: The Essence of the defeated Demon Tree, and a catalyst for its revival. Can also be fused with other items.

Combat Ability: None

Energy Level: None

Durability: Sturdy

[End Of Information]

Upon seeing this, my eyes widened instantly. I had been so occupied with survival and so many other matters that I forgot to consider something so crucial.

My newly acquired Skill!

"This is perfect! It's finally time to use it." With a bright smile, I opened my Status Window, and my line of vision focused solely on one particular Skill.

"I finally get to try out <Fallen Foe>."

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[A/N]

I wonder what will happen next.

Will the MC succeed in obtaining a loyal Demon? Will it be a cute and hot Tree Lady, or will it be the same ugly monster he fought?

Find out in the next chapter!

Thanks for reading.

Cheers!