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The vine dragged him across the floor. A huge tree stood opposite him. It was as broad as Ike was tall, but barely more than ten feet tall. Huge, thick branches zig-zagged from the stumpy trunk. Each one was about as wide as a normal tree at the base, and narrowed to a wrist\'s width at their ends. Heavy vines draped the tree, themselves covered in a tough, rugged bark.

Shit, that\'s right! Rosamund could control plants. It follows that her father would have similar moves!

Although, if he left a trap for people who were messing with his puppets…why didn\'t it activate until now? Is it because I didn\'t register as \'attacking\' his puppets until the skill misfired?

There was no time for speculation. The vine dragged him closer to the branches, even as the tree strained toward him.

Ike found his sword. He pressed his foot down, stopping himself against the ground. The vine pulled taut. Ike slashed through the vine. It retreated, flinching back. A spray of green fluid stained the ground behind it.

Climbing to his feet, Ike lifted his sword. Loup whined, pacing back and forth at the top of the cliff. "It\'s alright, girl. I have this."

The tree lunged. Its roots strained at the ground. A branch slashed down from the sky, huge and heavy. Ike jumped back, barely dodging it. The branch slammed into the earth, throwing up a blast of dust. Around Ike, the puppets jumped, thrown into the air by the blow.

He looked up at the huge tree again and swallowed. "Probably."

Vines writhed all around him. They leaped up from the ground, biting at Ike like vipers. He slashed left and right, using the two sideways strikes of the River-Splitting Sword over and over. Vines fell away. Green fluid pooled on the ground around him.

Ike pulled back, retreating to the cloud of mana-thick vapor to catch his breath and recover. The vines chased after him, but with the majority sheared off, he had a little time to recoup. He shook his head. I wish the River-Splitting Sword had a spin slash or an all-around attack, but there\'s no helping it.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Damn. Guess I should\'ve stayed with Silver a little longer. Maybe I would\'ve understood enough about the blade to create my own sword techniques.

It\'s too late for regrets. All I can do is my best, with the decisions I\'ve already made.

The tree struggled toward him. The ground around its roots rumbled. Cracks ran through the dry earth, and its forward root broke through the surface. Another root shuddered free as the tree lurched toward Ike.

Uh oh. That\'s not good.

Ike stood back, waiting. He breathed in as much mana as he could. His core was almost empty from creating his new Lightning Clad skill. Looking at the giant tree, it wasn\'t something he could cut with his sword. Not unless he had a much higher level of mastery of the River-Splitting Sword. If he was going to finish this, he had to hit it with a lightning skill. And a powerful one, at that.

He eyed the tree he\'d blasted earlier. It smoked, and a deep cleft ran through it, but it wasn\'t dead, just injured. A small blast of lightning isn\'t going to be enough. He looked upward. I think I\'m going to need the full power of Lightning Caller.

But how the hell do I activate that skill? I activated it because I called lightning too many times from overusing my skills. I could do that, again, but it would be better if I could activate that skill on its own, without the buildup.

He tried to activate Lightning Caller the way he activated the rest of his skills, but nothing happened. Ike pursed his lips. He glanced up. Storm clouds had already gathered in the sky while he was working on the torso Lightning Clad earlier. Whether he liked it or not, he was already halfway to activating Lightning Caller his usual way.

I\'ll pay attention to how it feels when I call lightning from overusing skills this time, and use that to figure out how to activate it on its own later.

The tree heaved again, jerking another root free of the earth. Ike wiped his face and lifted his sword. He hovered in the mana, absorbing as much as he could. As tense as the situation was, there was no reason for him to rush in. The tree had to haul itself over here if it wanted to hit him. He benefitted from waiting. It was the one who had to rush here.

The tree\'s vines reached him once more. Ike slashed it down. He kept his eyes on the vines. Every time they darted in, he cut them back. Soon, all the vines writhed on the ground, trailing green fluid.

The tree gripped the earth with its roots. It hauled itself toward Ike, one slow step at a time. The shadow of its branches fell over Ike.

Ike glanced up, then peered inside him, checking his core. About a quarter full. That\'ll have to be enough. After all, I don\'t want this guardian to accidentally hit the puppets and set off more of the defenses. He dashed forward, hurtling toward the giant tree. Shouting a battle cry, he lifted his sword.