Vdore gently floated above the wooden town houses on the southside of Lo.


    As a telekine with strong telekic power, he could make whatever he wanted into a weapon; today, his choice of weapon was a tree he ripped up from the ground. He thought it was quite fitting to use wood against wood.


    “What was that old saying again? You can’t fight wood with wood? Something like that.. Oh, who cares.” Vdore shrugged, today he would prove it wrong.


    For him, the battle seemed pretty boring, as he was a much higher level than the wood elementals.


    With a flick of his wrist, his floating tree thrashed, bludgeoned, squashed and punctured all the treant’s charging out of the forest.


    They were fast but he was faster – he didn’t even have to look as he could just sense them with his high level mana sense ability.


    Slowly, his weapon’s branches were being snapped or ripped off in battle, and soon enough it was nothing more than a bare log with many indentations travelling all over it.


    The trunk-weapon could barely hold together under the pressure Vdore was exerting on it, and the battle here was many times more dangerouspared with the north-west.


    Instead of the level 1 wood elementals the weakest monsters here were the treant hectopedes – and there were just as many, swarming out of the tree-line.


    Sometimes somerger wooden creatures hade through the forest but he didn’t so much as nce at them before smashing them into the ground with his log._.


    Treant hectopedes, nest spores, cellulose arbiters – it was all the same to him: just weak enemies that needed crushing.


    Some of the treant’s had survived being pounded into the earth, climbing out to continue their wooden crusade – only to be squashed again for good.


    It was an easy thing for Vdore, and most of his focus was on his ck cube back at the association.


    However, unlike usual, some of his thoughts were about Sullivan.


    “How do I ask him to make Jay stay…” he thought.


    “Money? Hmm no. Sullivan is doing fine… Should I say Jay is dangerous? Maybe… well… we already know him too well. He’s clearly no threat.” he pursed his lips, crushing another treant with the end of the log.


    He was getting annoyed now as he thought of ways to keep Jay at the association. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he crushed another before it even left the forest.


    “What other choice do I have… a threat seems like the only way.” he shook his head, annoyed there was no other way – in his mind he had no choice.


    Of course, he could just give up and walk away – but that would be like dying to him. The cube had be his purpose; his reason.


    His eyes glowed blue with resoluteness as he crushed another treant into firewood, twisting the end of the log on its body as if he was putting out a cigar.


    “Hmm… but… how do I threaten someone more powerful than me…” he thought as he squinted, staring atrger wood elementalsing through the forest.


    Gone was any allegiance he had for Sullivan. He only thought about the cube.


    He lived for the cube. He would die for the cube. He would worship the cube. Everything was for the cube.


    Of course, it was a potato-shaped lump now as it had more opportunities to absorb Jay’s ambient necrotic mana. It was more urate to say that Vdore lived for the potato. He would die for the potato. He would worship the potato. Everything was for the potato.


    Seeing some worthy enemiesing, he prepared himself.


    Vdore snapped his weapon, the log, into two pieces to prepare for the higher level elementals now moving in.


    – – –


    *Huff huff huff*


    Matheson breathed heavily as he exited the feral ins dungeon, dripping with sweat. He was on the verge of getting a heat stroke from that hot summer dungeon.


    Today it was a sunny day in Lo, but it was quite cool outside being another early Spring day so it was a refreshing relief for Matheson.


    *DROOOoooo!*


    The war horn at the association continued to bellow out across Lo and its surrounding forests.


    “Hm.” he squinted, “I better go back.” He furrowed his brows, looking up in the direction of the guild.


    Putting his rapier away, he began to walk as he was still catching his breath; soon enough he began to run again.


    Unfortunately for Matheson, the feral ins dungeon was located south of Lo in the forest – close to where the elemental attack wasing from.


    Soon enough, Matheson came face to face with a treant hectopede; something he couldn’t even hope to kill. Not alone at least.


    Before he could react it was already charging at him.


    “Hmh” he exhaled in frustration, annoyed at the inconvenience.


    He dashed to the side, easily dodging the hectopede and ignored it as he sprinted back along the path.


    Thankfully he caught his breath, so now he could dodge and run at his normal speed – a swift sprint wherever he went.


    The hectopede looked around in confusion after it slowed down from the charge – where the hell did that weird non-wood life form go? – It had the moisture that it wanted.


    Matheson was sprinting away, guessing that the forest monster would have something to do with the horn that was sting.


    As he got closer to Lo, sounds of power rolled through the forest.


    *CRACK!~ CRUU.. BRRRR…*


    A bolt of lightning struck somewhere nearby as thunder rumbled out. Matheson couldn’t sense mana very well, but despite that, he easily felt it wash over him.


    It was obviously a magical spell; the sky was clear and sunny today, not a single cloud was in the sky, so along with the feeling of powerful magic this pretty much confirmed it was magic.


    As he closed in on Lo, he finally saw the sheer destruction caused by the magic lightning.


    Burnt and charred wood elementals piled on top of each other; the bodies of many treant hectopedes among otherrger wooden elementals which were now unidentifiable.


    Above the mountain of elemental corpses, a thick dark cloud hung, humming with menacing power.


    Matheson didn’t see the magic cloud before since it wasn’t high in the sky. It hung lowly, a little lower than the tree tops.


    He immediately stopped running, just outside of the wall of charred corpses. They would have definitely caught on fire from the lightning, but it seemed the wood was filled with too much moisture to catch alight.


    Matheson heard heavy stamping footsteps behind him. Sensing danger closing in, he didn’t have to guess to know what it was – he quickly dodged to the side without even turning around.


    He didn’t have to guess what it was, he already knew it was still chasing him.


    ***Bonus Chapter 3/5.***