Chapter 148

  Jake watched as over a dozen bizarre figures advaoward him from various angles. Much like the wood golem, these beings didn’t appear to be mutants. Instead, they seemed to be magical structs—twisted forms shaped by nature itself. They stood tall and bore a resembo human figures, but instead of flesh and blood, they were formed from gnarled branches and pnt matter. Tangled vines coiled and iwined, f their torsos and limbs, creating beings that looked like something straight out of a waking nightmare.

  Although their bodies resembled those of humans, their features were disturbingly distorted. Their arms were long and spindly, extending beyond natural limits. Some of the pnt creatures sported hands that culminated in elongated cws, each fiapering into a sharp, thorn-like tip that gleamed ominously. Upon closer examination, he saw that the tips of their fingers oozed a viscous fluid. It had to be some sort of poison.

  This observation made Jake pause for a moment. Could he be affected by it? After all, his body was vastly different from a human’s, seemingly posed solely of some obsidian-like material and infused with mana. Then he recalled that there oisoance listed in the menu of his resistances, which currently stood at zero. So, he could indeed be affected by poison after all. If any of those pnt creatures mao nd a hit with their poison-dripping cws, it would likely have some ive effe him.

  Not all of the pnt monsters had cws, though. He noticed that some of the creatures closing in on him from every dire didn’t have hands at all. Instead, their arms terminated in long, whip-like thorny vines, which looked quite menag. Had he still been human, he definitely wouldn’t have wao be shed by those whip-like tendrils. They looked powerful enough to rupture human flesh all the way to the bones.

  The pnt monsters tio approach him from every dire. Leaves of various shapes and sizes sprouted from their bodies, but there was no life iheir faces, if they could be called that, were a patchwork of bark-like skin with hollow eye sockets, in which hovered emotionless eyes simir to those of the wood golem—ethereal orbs emitting a deep crimson glow. Uhe golem, none of these minions possessed a mouth. With the creaks and rustles of their vine-like limbs, the pnt monsters kept closing in on him. These creatures couldn’t truly be sidered living beings. Instead, they were made of various pnts, shaped to resemble human figures and animated by dark magic.

  Jake used Enemy Appraisal on one of the pnt moo learn its weaknesses. He discovered that they were vulnerable to fire. While this piece of information was useful, none of the ons he possessed could deal any elemental damage. If he had access to fiery ons, he could likely have dispatched the pnt monsters pretty quickly. Without any fire-based onry, he figured his only option was to tear through their pnt-like bodies with his regur ons.

  One of the creatures finally closed in, raising its poison-dripping cws. Jake ducked, feeling the whoosh of air as the pnt monster’s talons swept over him. Just then, Feral Instincts triggered an arm, warning him of another impending attack from behind. He threw his body sideways, but the Dizzy ive effect was still in py, causing him to stagger and nearly lose his footing. Although he mao remain upright, he wasn’t able to evade the strike, feeling the sharp cws rake across his back. Immediately, another system notification fshed through his mind.

  You have just gotten a ive effect: Mildly Poisoned. You will be losing HP for a little while.

  Another monster lu him. Jake tried to dodge its cws, but the Dizzy debuff threw his bance off, causing him to stumble into another pnt creature. It instantly attacked, its cws raking across his chest and leaving deep gashes in his obsidian-bck flesh. His Feral Instincts fred up again, warning him of yet another uhreat. Before he could react, a whip-like thorny viruck, leaving a long gash across his side.

  This was just fantastic! Jake was furious now. These ypes of monsters were proving much more dangerous than any ex-humans he had faced before. They moved with speed and agility, striking with enough force to leave deep gashes in his hardened body. Not even sshers or chasers—two of the most dangerous ex-humans he had met so far—could inflict such damage on him.

  This shouldn’t have been surprising, though. After all, this hunt quest was marked as Hard for a reason. For the several minutes, Jake trated on dodging their attacks, choosing not to terattack. He knew he had to wait for the Dizzy debuff to wear off before he could regain full trol of his body. With his movements shaky and unsteady, there was no way he could effectively evade attacks while simultaneously retaliating against his foes. So he focused entirely on defense for the several minutes.

  While he dodged and evaded enemy attacks, he occasionally checked his HP. The Mildly Poisoned debuff caused him to lose a few health points every mi wasn’t all that bad, but it was an issue he’d o address ter. He really o find a way to boost his resistances. None of the ex-humans—except for bloaters—he had entered so far dealt any kind of elemental damage, so until now, he hadn’t had a reason to think about it. However, now that he started to enter monsters using elemental attacks, he realized he really o somehow increase his resistances.

  The Dizzy and Mildly Poisoned debuffs wore off almost simultaneously. As soon as they did, Jake charged at the pnt monster, shing out with his cws. The tips of his talons tore into its chest, which turned out to be much denser and harder to pee than he had expected from a creature that appeared to be made entirely of pnt matter. His cws left half-inch-deep gashes in the monster’s body, causing sap-like fluid to ooze from the wounds.

  Feral Instincts kicked in again, sending him an arm signal indig a foe was about to attack him from behind. Without the slowing debuff, Jake repared this time. He ducked just in time as a whip-like vine shot over his shoulder, missing him entirely. Spinning quickly, he grabbed the vih one hand and yanked, pulling the attached pnt mooward him. With his right hand transformed into a smashfist, he delivered a powerful blow to the creature’s face with enough force to blow its head apart.

  Surprisingly, the now-headless pnt monster was still alive. Uo see, the monster shed out with the thorny viending from its other shoulder blindly in the air, trying to hit Jake. He let go of its vine-arm and kicked the creature in the middle of its torso, sending it sprawling backward onto the ground. Jake immediately brought his foot down on it, stomping on its chest with enough force to create a huge hole through its body. Even without a head and sp a gaping hole in its body, the pnt monster was still alive. It noeared to have trouble getting up from the ground, though. Deg to finish it off ter, Jake spun toward another enemy.

  For several minutes, Jake battled the pnt monsters, which turned out to be incredibly hard to kill. They seemed to y oints on their bodies. Even without heads or after sustaining heavy injuries, they tio fight fiercely. To sy a pnt monster, Jake literally had to tear it to shreds, leaving only torn pieces of pnt matter. Because of this, the fight was long and exhausting. He really o acquire some ons that dealt elemental damage to dispatch such monsters more easily.

  At long st, all the pnt monsters were defeated, and the ground around him was littered with pieces of pnt matter, along with shreds of tangled branches and iwined vines.

  Multiple enemies killed. +4500 XP

  You have gained enough XP to level up. Your level went up from 61 to 62. You have gained 5 SP.

  At least he had earned a good k of XP from those pnt monsters. However, before allog the earned skill points, he had to deal with the wood golem. He turoward the massive creature, which stood in the middle of the clearing, watg him with its emotionless glowing eyes. Throughout his fight with the pnt monsters, the golem had simply watched, refusing to join the fray.

  Now, Jake o find a way t the massive monster down, and he had to do it quickly. Unsure of how often the wood golem could summon its minions, he wao avoid another prolonged battle with those pnt creatures. He kept his gaze locked on the golem for a moment longer, and then a pn formed in his mind. Jake burst into a sprint toward the t beast.