The World Is Overflowing with Monster, I’m Taking a Liking to This Life

Chapter 165: How to Defeat the Treants

It was well past 10 oclock in the evening.

Ichinose and Rikka were in their room while Kazuto was outside confronting the Treants in the park.

FuaaTheres nothing to do.

Yeah.

Unlike Rikka who was yawning from boredom, Ichinose was sitting on the floor, absorbed in her work.

Natsun, whaccha doing?

Stocking up bullets.

Ichinoses hands glowed faintly as she said so.

A bullet materialized when the light faded away.

The bullet was a product of her Ammunition Creation skill.

Created through the consumption of MP, her bullets wouldnt disappear unless she used it.

That was the reason she made spare bullets whenever she had the time and MP to do so.

Wow, that skills hella convenient. Youre like an alchemist.

Rikka put her hands together, imitating a super famous alchemist from a certain manga which had been animated twice in the past.

Unsurprisingly, nothing happened.

She wasnt able to discern the truth or anything of that nature.

W-well, theres a limit to the number of bullets that I can create at a given time. Im just grateful that I have Momo-chans Shadow where I can store a large amount of ammunition.

Slightly proud, Ichinose giggled and stored the bullet she had just made in the Shadow beneath her feet.

To an extent, it was possible for her to store some of her things inside her Shadow as it was partially connected to Momo.

Her monstrous rifle was also stored inside her Shadow.

She was planning on developing a new weapon when she finished stocking up her bullets, and the materials that she required for this were also stored inside her Shadow.

Kudou-san is working hard right now. I shouldnt slack off.

Currently, only Kazuto was outside.

To be exact, Momo, Aka, and Kiki were with him, but the rest of the crew were waiting in the Safety Zone.

Although they were house-keeping, Ichinose believed that they should be using their time productively.

(To be honest, I wanted to tag along with him)

Is she could, she wished to fight alongside Kazuto.

Unfortunately, as snipers and Treants had the worst compatibility, there was nothing she could do about it.

Itll be fine. Momo-chan is with him, and I understand his strength better than anyone else. There wont be any problem.

Or so she thought. Nonetheless, deep within her heart, Natsun deeply desired to rush over to him straight away.

!!

Rikkas words came as a surprise, leading Ichinose to drop her newly created bullet on the floor.

Ahahaha, Nastuns so obvious.

Hey, its rude to read other peoples inner thoughts!

No matter what you say, you know that Im right.

Uuu~

Ichinose became angry and puffed-up her cheeks, but this didnt faze Rikka at all.

Instead, Rikka grinned.

Hell be okay, Natsun.

Eh?

Onii-san will be definitely okay.

Rikka affirmed this with a tone which bordered conviction.

What gave you that idea, Ricchan?

Huh? I mean, arent we talking about Onii-san? Hes not the kind of person that would need our concern. Plus

The moment Rikka tried to finish her sentence

ZUDOOON!!

A terrifying explosion was heard from outside.

Just now that was

Yup, no doubt about it.

The two girls immediately understood what the sound meant and opened the windows, looking at the direction of where the sound originated from.

They couldnt see anything as the outside world was pitch black, but they knew what was happening.

What did I tell you? The strategy seems to have worked.

Yeah.

Having said that, the girls chuckled merrily.

*****

You have gained experience.

Experience has reached a certain threshold.

Kudou Kazutos level has increased from LV 2 to LV 3.

Announcements flood into my head.

This is the best evidence to prove that the Treant before me has died.

A single shot from the pile bunker That sounds about right.

I mutter so as the gigantic tree in front of me gradually breaks down.

Although I talked about beginning the subjugation in earnest, theres really not much difference from hunting regular monsters.

According to The Right to Question, there are several ways to defeat the Treants.

Directly crush their trunks with an overwhelming force, burn them to crisps with a scorching fire, or slowly wear them down with pesticides and herbicides before killing them when theyre weakened.

I couldve burned them using Fire Element Ninjutsu, but I chose not to since I had no idea how much MP that wouldve consume.

With limited amount of pesticides and herbicides left in the Item Box, I ultimately opted for the most direct and surefire method.

With the support of Momo and the others, I launched the pile bunker at the perfect opportunity.

The most integral part of this subjugation mission lied in having the Treants recognize me as a source of threat.

Stealth-type abilities become meaningless the moment someone perceives the users existence.

This is a weakness shared by all stealth-type skills.

This applies not only to Ichinose-san and I, but also to the Treants.

The moment I cleared this precondition, it became no different from fighting regular monsters.

(Then again, it was somewhat difficult with all those roots lashing at me like whips.)

The Treants roots which came at me from all directions were a considerable threat.

Luckily, their attack patterns and the power behind their attacks resembled that of the Slime Jellyfishs.

The battle in the morning turned out to be a good practice which allowed me to dodge the Treants attacks.

Taking advantage of this, I closed in on the Parent Treant and fired the pile bunker under the help of Kikis Reflection, Momos Shadow, and Akas support.

(Overall, the Parent Treant was about as strong as the Slime Jellyfish and the Death Knight)

Thanks to the Evolution, it was at a level where I could comfortably defeat it.

(I couldve rammed in the pile bunker from the get-go, but I wouldve had to pour all my attention onto the Treants, thereby neglecting to stay vigilant of my surroundings)

The Treants Cognitive Inhibition skill is nothing to scoff at.

Unless Im completely focused, I would forget about them in the blink of an eye.

That wouldnt have been much of an issue if there werent any monsters around.

However, with monsters such as the Dragon lingering about, a moment of negligence could have costed my life.

Thats why I took my time to have the Treants recognize me as their enemies.

Although it was a bit of a hassle, it allowed me to perceive the Treants using Enemy Detection, which in turn allowed me to concentrate on my surroundings as well.

Its just as what The Right to Question said.

The Right to Question had explained some of the characteristics of the Treants ecology.

When the Parent Treant meets its demise, all of its Children that are connected to it suffer the same fate.

As such, The Right to Question suggested that I slay the Parent Treants as it would prove the most efficient.

Everywheres been decimated

Looking around, there are countless holes littered everywhere.

When monster die, their bodies disappear, leaving behind their magic stones.

The same logic applies to Treants.

The problem is, the Treants are much bigger than regular trees.

Although not as exaggerated as the Parent Treants that are dozens of meters tall and 3 to 4 meters wide, the Children Treants are quite big as well.

If a large number of them suddenly disappear, huge pockets of air will be created underground.

(Wont the ground sink if I hunt too many of them?)

Such a worry passes over my head.

Hmm Ill think about it later on.

Dealing with the Treants should be my top priority right now.

I stare into the hole where the Parent Treant once stood to collect its magic stone.

I do this casually without putting much thought into it.

The result?

I get utterly repulsed.

For real?

Theres a mountain of human bones at the bottom of the hole.

These should be the remains of the people that were eaten by the Parent Treant without anyone noticing.

Apparently, Treants can ambush and consume humans, but they cant digest any bones.

Thats too much unnecessary information for me.

Emitting a brilliant light, the Treants magic stone is found in the center of countless human bones.

(Im filled with gratitude at times like these for having the Item Box)

I can collect the magic stone without physically entering the hole.

Id rather not swim through a pile of bones just to get a magic stone.

I collect it using the Item Box, and it gets labeled as Treants Magic Stone (Medium).

(My level went up in a single battle)

Are Treants the type of monster that provides a ton of experience?

Or did its experience from hunting countless humans get carried over?

For some reason, the latter sounds more plausible to me.

My condolences. Please rest in peace.

Human bones cannot be stored inside the Item Box, so I have no choice but to leave them here.

The least I can do is hold a small memorial service for the deceased.

I put my hands together and pray at the countless bones that are in the hole.

Well then, what should I do about this magic stone

Kiki appears from the Shadow as I am studying the magic stone thats on my hand.

Kyu

Hmm? Kiki, you want to eat this?

Kyu!

Kiki nods vigorously.

Momo isnt coming out of the Shadow, and Aka is remaining in its mimicked state.

Theyre probably okay with Kiki eating the stone.

Ill confirm just in case.

Momo, Aka, are the two of you fine with Kiki having it?

Wan!

Furu furu.

My clothes tremble, and I hear a response from the inside of my Shadow.

Theyre both okay with it.

Here, Kiki.

Kyu

I place the magic stone besides my feet, and Kiki immediately begins to happily munch on it.

Nnn after seeing all those dead remains, Im having complicated emotions

No, I shouldnt dwell on it too much.

Ive already prayed for them.

Kyupuu

Kiki finishes the magic stone and lets out a small burp.

Suddenly, her body shakes.

Hmm?

Whats going on?

Kiki rubs her back against the ground.

Then, she stands back up and smacks the ground twice with her paws.

(This gesture I think Ive seen it somewhere)

Oh, right.

Momo made this exact gesture when she at a Shadow Wolfs magic stone.

That means

Kyu

Kiki voices out her delight and jumps onto my shoulder.

Kiki, you obtained a new skill?

Kyu Kyu Kyuun

Kiki nods and rubs her face against mine with glittering eyes.

Its clear that she wants to be praised.

I-is that so? Impressive, Kiki. Good job.

Kyuuuu~

Kikis body shakes happily when I praise her and stroke her ears and neck.

What kind of skill did she learn?

Kuun.

Momos head pops up from the Shadow.

Momo looks at me as if she wants to be stroked as well.

Should I stroke her? Why, of course I should!

Momo, come here.

Wan!

I catch Momo who leaps at me excitedly with my entire body and stroke her.

Theyre so lovely that I feel healed.

I was slightly under the weather, but I feel much now better thanks to them.

Alright. Lets hunt our next Treant after checking out Kikis new skill.

Wan!

Kyu!

Furu furu.

Oh, I should also distribute the points I received from leveling up.

This might turn out to be a good way to earn some extra experience.

Ill try to hunt as many Treants as I can in one night.

_____________________________

<u>Supplementary Information</u>

How Treants prey on humans:

Treants grab onto peoples feet and pull them down to the ground.

For a split second, the ground becomes as soft as mud, and their victims sink into the ground silently.

Someone who is at LV 0 would not have enough time to shout or cry out.

Afterwards, the Treants squeeze their victims with their roots and proceed to absorb nutrients from them until nothing remains except their bones.