BOOM!
CLASH!
TRUUM!
The sounds of miasmic beasts being crushed to death through the power of many elements resonated across the small forest of Ents where Mark had spawned, their cries of agony were like music to his ears, as they meant more EXP.
Three different beasts made out of the elements of the world and represented special spirit beasts were finishing off a large group of Miasma Beast, a new Event Monster that had begun to spawn everywhere in the world after the Demon King of Dark Miasma World Boss was introduced into the game with the latest game patches.
Ding!
[You defeated [Dark Wolf Beast: Lv6]!]
[You defeated [Dark Bear Beast: Lv4]!]
[You defeated [Dark Tiger Beast: Lv7]!]
…
Mark glanced at the battle's rewards, as he acquired several dropped items and some cash as well as EXP, the most important thing. Any player would always want to level up in an RPG game after all, and the fastest way to do it was always by destroying monsters and gaining EXP.
Mark had been grinding non-stop since he started the game. There was actually a quest in this forest given to him by the Ancient Ent, but the quest by itself was about just cleansing the forest from the monsters and Dark Beasts that were eating away at the roots of the Old Ents sleeping as trees in this forest, so he had to just slay beasts, a pretty easy quest.
He had already mostly cleansed the entire forest, and although monsters would continue to spawn, they were now smaller in quantity and their levels didn't go up with him, so he was being forced to eventually move out of this place and find another place with better leveling areas to increase his level.
CLAAAASH!
"GRYYAUU…!"
POOF!
Mark used his gigantic log arms to crush the living hell out of a Dark Beast in the shape of a Wild Bat, which exploded into dark fog and dissipated afterwards. Aside from being a Druid with the ability to summon Beast Spirits based on animals and elements, he was also able to harbor their power inside of his body.
By using the power of the Spirit Beast of Strength, in the shape of a Gorilla, he was able to boost his physical strength to a great degree, especially because this Skill had no cooldown as they were the specialty of Druids. However, he couldn't use it all the time. Only four Spirit Beasts could be summoned at the same time, and they were not really like normal summons but more like manifestations of his powers and spirits. Although they didn't need to sleep nor eat, they would constantly drain his Mana when summoned, so he couldn't bring them out all the time and had to rest after going through a grinding session.
Ents were already incredibly durable and strong due to their weight and the hardness of their old wood covering their bodies. They didn't even need armor as their entire body was like an armored fortress, nor weapons as their fists were enough to crush stones, they were said by lore to be the "guardians of nature" and they really made them like that by how strong they could be as long as they were close to places with a lot of nature concentration.
However, perhaps by seeing how this Race had not many benefits outside of such places, Mark had decided to pick the Druid class which was able to harbor the power of all elements of nature, even in a desert where an Ent would be at a disadvantage, he would be able to summon the Spirit Beast of Wind and Earth, or even new ones that are unlocked over time and leveling, class changing, and evolving.
This way, he was able to compensate for his race's weakness through employing the versatility of spirit beast summons… but if the Druid Class was so good, why was it so rare? Well that was because of its insane MP costs for everything, and how to maintain a summon you needed to constantly feed it Mana… unlike actual summons that simply summon a helper that didn't need Mana. Spirit Users such as Druids and other similar Job Classes were not popular as they always needed a bit of "rest" after grinding, and not everyone had enough time to waste. Most players enjoyed leveling up fast and exploring everywhere, but Mark liked to relax and take things easy.
"Phew… Well, that was nice… I can feel that I got a lot of stress out with this." He sighed in relief. "Now come back you guys, or you'll drain me out of all my Mana…"
A Wind Bird, an Earth Bear, and a Fiery Lion all jumped towards Mark and dissipated into spiritual essence, quickly being unsummoned. He could summon them back at any time, but for now it was better to let them rest. The gorilla-like spirit inside of him boosting his strength also disappeared quite quickly.
Mark looked into the distance, as he found the border of the small Ent Forest, and saw a vast grassy plain covered by all sorts of trees here and there, there was also several rivers and a beautiful and large lake in the distance, and a bit farther away, there was an even bigger forest, the spawn area of Dryads, the Forest of Beginnings.
"The Ancient Ent told me to go there to aid the people that are being affected by some sort of disease… I don't know if I should bother with these annoying quests to be honest…" He thought. "I could always just go farther away into the mountains, the next leveling area, but perhaps I should stay here and see if there is any good reward, the Ancient Ent Reward for cleansing the forest was a pretty good equipment piece, this red core has enhanced my mana regeneration a lot…" muttered Mark as he glanced at the red jewel in his chest. This was the only equipment that Ents could use, named "Earthy Core" which was a special organ that boosted all their capabilities and could be refined by absorbing the essence of nature.
There were many types of Earthy Cores, and each one had a different color and shape, some even boosted specific playstyles or granted special abilities, and as an Ent evolved, they would be able to equip more Earthy Cores inside of their bodies to enhance their abilities further.
"Welp, I should really get going, the clock is already telling me its time…"
Mark quickly logged out as he took out the helmet and stood out of his bed, he stretched a bit and sighed in relief as a calm smile emerged on his lips.
"Well, that was fun… Playing as an Ent is not that bad when you got a Druid Class… To think I would end up using the least meta of all races and job classes combined… They make for a surprisingly fun character to play…" He thought, as he walked into his bathroom, washed his face a bit and decided to wash his teeth.
Afterwards, he packed his things and walked away from his home, quickly moving back to his workplace where he found Jenny sitting over his chair with her legs over the table while drinking a soda. The girl had a gothic style with clothes and always wore big black boots, which stood out a bit too much.
Mark sighed internally, although Jenny was a genuinely good girl, she was also quite uneducated, but he had to admit she worked pretty good and also didn't treated him as if he were a king in a pedestal, she treated him like any other human being, which he appreciated with so many bootlickers' coworkers he had experienced to be with through his job.
However what she was doing was a bit too much now.
"Jenny! Get your foot down the table. Also I am deducting that soda too." Said Mark. "Are you done with the storage things?"
"A-Ah! Boss! Yeah, I am…" she said. "Hahah, please, don't be like that, I am a hard worker! Let me have this soda on the house."
"No." said Mark while furrowing his eyebrows. "Anyways, is Elayne here yet?"
"Nope…" said Jenny. "I see you're impatient today… I bet you want to kiss her around already and say "Oh, Elayne, I've always loved you! Mooch, mooch! I don't care if you were married or have a daughter! I am okay with milfs!"…!"
"E-Eh?!" Asked Mark, progressively growing redder. "D-Don't mess around with stuff like that! I am your boss, respect me a little bit…"
Mark sat down at the side of Jenny as he began to drink a soda as well. Jenny and he were like friends at this point, and he allowed her to talk to him like this due to their relationship.
"Okay Boss~ Sorry about that…" she said. "But I know I'm right."
"You smug little…!"
Before Mark could say any other word, Elayne entered the place in a breeze.
"Mark, are you there?"
(Elayne's POV)
The croquets were already done, and the mashed potatoes too. I had also made the salad earlier so everything was alright for now. I have yet to make Tartar Sauce, but I will just buy one in the market with Mark.
I quickly moved out of the kitchen and checked on my daughter. I saw my girl and her friend still playing in their room, so I left them there and walked outside and quickly reached the mini market and found Mark and Jenny drinking soda together. The two seemed like good friends and a nice pair. I wondered if they would get together eventually, I always saw the two talking a lot.
Jenny was a nice girl, she was around 18 and she was a hard worker, she had a sharp tongue but she's always nice with me…Although with the Boss, Mark, she sometimes gets a bit over the top, but that was because they seemed to be good friends and might have a relationship too.
I wonder if he'll ever confess to her! That would be cute to see… Maybe he wanted to ask me for advice? I know Jenny a bit, but I don't think I could consider me her friend yet… but I'd try to help him as much as I can, I just want to see him happy, he's such a nice boss.
"Mark, are you there?" I asked while entering the mini market and pretended I wasn't seeing them talking for a bit.
"Ah! E-Elayne!" said Mark, as he got a bit surprised and grew red like a tomato. "Y-You're here…"
"Yeah! How are you, Jenny?" I asked. Jenny smiled gently at me as she waved her hand.
"Hello Elayne, I'm doing good, how about you? I just learned you invited this Casanova to eat with you," She said, suddenly smiling rather smugly. "Don't let him take advantage of you or something, even if you're alone now, he might still try to be a homewrecker, hahahaha!"
"H-Huh? What do you mean?" I wondered.
"N-Nothing, don't mind it…" She sighed.
"Jenny, you're getting on my nerves, I'm lowering your pay if you continue being like this." Said Mark angrily.
"Ahaha, don't worry, she's cute," I said. "I came here to buy something as well, do you like Tartar Sauce?"
"I do…!" Said Mark. "Want some?"
"Yes!"
We quickly bought some Tartar Sauce and he said that it was on the house. Jenny looked at him rather pissed.
"Oi you make me pay for the soda but the sauce is on the house? That's unfair as hell!" She said angrily.
"I-It's not unfair! Elayne invited me for lunch, so I am just cooperating," said Mark.
"Haha, don't worry, you can discount it from my pay," I said with a smile while petting his shoulder.
"I-I would never! It is the least I can do…" He said. "I-I also brought a good wine we can enjoy together."
"Oooh! Nice! Then let's get going!" I said, as I quickly walked out of the market and Mark stood there watching me go for a few seconds. Was he watching my back? Did I have some kind of stain on the back of my jeans?
"Hey, come on now!" I said.
"R-Right!" He said.
