/*unedited*/

s.h.i.+n Jiao slowly traverses the crooked path while extending his spiritual sense every now and then. Unknown to him, along the path he is taking two other groups are slowly merging toward the same route.

Suddenly from the corner of his eyes he saw something. A strange creature, the creature is like a tree but s.h.i.+n Jiao can clearly feel that it is not. He can see the slight movements of the tree-like creature that if he didn't have a spiritual sense then he would not be able to detect them.

"What a strange thing. It seems that these creatures are hiding in plain sight." s.h.i.+n Jiao muttered as he carefully observes.

It would seem that the tree creatures are interconnected to each other. If one would attack a whole army of them would fall upon the unlucky victim.

s.h.i.+n Jiao then saw the name of the creatures, they are called Trents.

The Trents are tree-like monsters living within the endless forest of the elves. They should have been the protector of the whole forest. However, ever since the corruption started to seep inside the forest, the Trents one by one fell into the hands of the dark creature.

Now, they serve as the vanguard in defeating any intruders of escapees from the old ruins of the elven kingdom. They are part of the line of defense of the old ruins.

While observing, s.h.i.+n Jiao suddenly heard some explosions from afar. Then he noticed the Trents are starting to make their move. Although sluggish, their steps are long, so their traveling speed is not that slow in comparison to walking people.

The whole forest seems to begin shaking as hundreds of these tree creatures were mobilized.

s.h.i.+n Jiao grabs this opportunity to make his way and follow behind the Trents as is seems that they are heading towards the direction he had chosen.

It didn't take long and s.h.i.+n Jiao can now see two groups facing each other.

The 'Crimson Crown Guild' with their eye-catching red-colored cloaks and the PvP guild the 'Man Hunter Guild' are fighting against each other.

From the looks of it, the fight is only beginning as the two forces clash. However, the appearance of the Trents seems to have stopped the fight and the two groups turned their eyes on the approaching monsters.

"s.h.i.+t! We attracted some really dangerous monster!"

"This is all those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the 'Man Hunter Guild' fault. If they didn't ambush us and cause this ruckus none of these creatures could sneak up behind us."

"You people are just too naïve to think that this world is as simple as you think it is. In this world, strength and power is the law. Blame yourselves for being too weak."

"Haha… Boss, those women are too beautiful. If only I could f*ck one of them in the game I would. Keke…"

"Maniac… Hahaha… Hey... Maybe we can make an AV in here after we catch those chicks... Why didn't I think about that? Haha…"

The 'Crimson Crown Guild' and the 'Man Hunter Guild' members began to cuss at each other.

"Men are all the same." Mia Madison on the side muttered.

"Hey, that's too rude." Richard Scott or 'Red Blade' reb.u.t.ted with a raised brow.

"Yeah, don't level us with those low lives." Lance Brad or 'Samurai' also said with a frown.

The two groups are now in danger but it seems that they are still treating everything like they can defeat anything on their path.

Cras.h.!.+

A Trent suddenly steps forward and suddenly swings one of its vines which flew really fast. Unlike its movement, the vine's attack is like an arrow darting towards a player.

Clang!!!

The player from the 'Man Hunter Guild' was fast enough to block the vine, but the damage he received almost took half of his HP.

"Be careful! These are not normal monsters!" that player shouted as he immediately took out a healing potion and drinks it.

But then, the Trent didn't stop as another vine flew towards another player, this time its target is from a 'Crimson Crown Guild'.

Puchi!!!

The player tried to dodge but he was not quick enough. The vine penetrated his arm and put his HP in the red.

"s.h.i.+t! d.a.m.n it! Help me!" the player shouted as the vine suddenly moved and threw him towards another player.

But that player is from the 'Man Hunter Guild' who raises his sword and plans to cut the flying guy in half. But as soon as his sword touches the player's body, it turned into a wisp.

"s.h.i.+t! These guys are really ruthless! Defensive formation!" shouted the leader of the group from the 'Crimson Crown Guild'.

With that command everyone immediately went into formation. This is one of the strengths of a large guild as every member of theirs is trained to act in a group and not individually. Hence their strength is more significant than those lower-level guilds.

The 'Man Hunter Guild' sneered at their opponent as they too prepare to attack. But then someone from behind them gave off a shrilling scream.

Aarrgh!!!

When they turn around they saw two more Trents coming from behind them and one of their teammates has already been skewered by a sharp vine.

"Attack!" shouted the commander of the 'Man Hunter Guild'.

The people immediately came rus.h.i.+ng forth and began attacking the two Trents.

Meanwhile the 'Crimson Crown Guild' also attacked the Trent that killed one of their teammates.

While this is happening, s.h.i.+n Jiao is high up in a tall tree watching the scene unfolding on the ground. From his vantage point he can already see at least five more Trents walking towards the two groups.

"This is too dangerous, it's better to watch…" he said but suddenly stops as he felt something approaching from behind him.

Without using his spiritual sense he immediately jumps down.

Cras.h.!.+

The sound of trees being broken and a tree falling to the ground resounded through the air.

s.h.i.+n Jiao looks at the four meters tall Trent in front of him.

"Why do I have to face a big one?" s.h.i.+n Jiao muttered as he quickly dashes toward the feet of the creature.

Using his Wakizas.h.i.+, he did some strikes which easily cut through the skin on Trent's feet.

"Hmm… Their bodies are not as tough as trees. I guess this is the reason why they can move." s.h.i.+n Jiao muttered.

So without a second thought, s.h.i.+n Jiao bombarded the Trent with hundreds of strikes which even the creature have a hard time following due to its sluggish movement. However, s.h.i.+n Jiao is unable to deal with any critical strikes on it.

Plus its regenerative ability is crazily fast.

It only takes around ten seconds for the strike of s.h.i.+n Jiao to be covered by another layer of vines and reconnect the severed parts.

"I'm guessing the others are having a hard time with this… good for me then, haha…" he thought as he uses his spiritual sense.

From his sense he immediately saw the 'heart' of the Trent. But this time, he suddenly had an idea.

s.h.i.+n Jiao maneuvers through the air as he dodges the flying vines by twisting his body in the air. It didn't take long before he arrives behind the Trent. Without thinking twice he suddenly uses his fist to punch a hole on its back and immediately grabs the glowing object.

Using cultivation technique, he began siphoning the energy of the 'heart' of the Trent.

It struggled for a while, but as its energy is being siphoned it slowly became weaker and weaker until its skin turned ashen gray as if the color green in its body faded away. With the vitality in its body ebbs away, the Trent turned into a normal tree.

As s.h.i.+n Jiao did this he immediately observes his stats and something strange happened.

…

Level 30

Job = none

Health = 140 *increasing

Qi/Mana = 180/80 *increasing

Endurance = 18 *increasing

Strength = 20

Stamina = 10

Dexterity = 20

Intelligence = 10

Available Points = 40

Skills:

Spirit sense lv 5 = can detect everything within 50 meters in radius.

Disarm = can use a technique to disarm an opponent wielding a weapon.

Unique Crafting = Can create any items, item strength is dependent on the player's level.

…

'New skill learned: Energy Siphon Lv 1'

'Energy Siphon lv 1 = a skill to absorb the mana and Qi in a living creature. Only possible if the creature is still alive.'

'…absorption is limited to 1 per day per level. If the Energy Siphon level increases the ability to absorb also increases.'

As s.h.i.+n Jiao read the skill, he was a bit astonished. Central seems to auto-balance the game mechanics as a player learns skills. This way the skills would not break the game making a single-player became overpowered.

But of course the outside world's experience doesn't count as it is a hidden talent and a variable for a player.

After absorbing the energy, s.h.i.+n Jiao noticed a couple of changes in his stats.

…

Level 30

Job = none

Health = 150

Qi/Mana = 200/100

Endurance = 20

Strength = 20

Stamina = 10

Dexterity = 20

Intelligence = 10

Available Points = 40

Skills:

Spirit sense lv 5 = can detect everything within 50 meters in radius.

Disarm = can use a technique to disarm an opponent wielding a weapon.

Unique Crafting = Can create any items, item strength is dependent on the player's level.

Energy Siphon lv 1 = a skill to absorb the mana and Qi in a living creature. Only possible if the creature is still alive.

…

s.h.i.+n Jiao is already satisfied with the result from this and turned his eyes towards the other group once again.

He climbs up a tree, but what he saw surprises him.

Because some players in the groups are actually wielding a new item in the game, an item which is crafted by players… it's a flintlock pistol.