Ahrie slowly enters the World Tree.
The area was pitch black.
The air was heavy.
Strange noises echoed from every direction… low groans, sharp clicks, whispers.
In another place—
A root rose from the ground.
Twisting. Spitting. Taking shape.
A new Ent was being born.
A flick of flame flashed… lighting the area where Ahrie stood.
It hung there in the dark.
A floating flame, swaying gently,
Ahrie grabbed his rapier and dropped into a battle stance.
His eyes scan the area, every muscle ready to move if something struck.
After seeing no threat around, Ahrie let out a slow breath and eased his stance.
He checked his gear one by one… nothing missing, nothing broken.
Then he remembered something…
"Tree Imp…" his jaws clenched. "FUCKKK!".
The newborn Ent lifted its head.
All around it—other Ents, each in their own space, tiny little office.
Busy. Focused.
It frowned.
What were they doing?
It glanced back at its own space.
A single manuscript lay there.
Ent — the World Tree's caretaker.
Each Ent is bound to a single living being.
Your fate is tied to theirs.
When the creature assigned to an Ent dies—
The Ent dies too.
The Ent's face twisted—like, you-got-to-be-kidding-me.
He tossed the manuscript aside and looked forward.
A projection flickered to life.
A human. Male.
Banging his head against a wall of roots.
"FUCKING STUPID! DUMB! How could I forget the Tree Imp?! Should've picked an axe!"
The Ent just stared.
"...The hell's this guy doing?"
At the bottom of the screen, letters glowed.
Name: Ahrie
Stats: …
A UI suddenly pops up in his face.
"A single branch decides the end,
A single choice no soul can mend.
Fate bends, it breaks, it twists, it waits—
The branch will rule, the branch dictates."
He squinted. "A poem? Really?…"
Still he looked around.
The Ent tilted his head, scanning around.
Sure enough… one branch beside him, a green glow pulsing at its tip.
On top of the flower, another UI hovered:
[Start]
He yanked the flower out.
The whole space lit up, roots humming with light.
His whole body lit up, roots crawling with symbols until the glow burned straight into his chest.
When it faded, a tag sat there, etched into his bark skin.
Ent #314159
The Ent stared at it, unimpressed.
"...Da fuckin' name was this?..." he muttered. "Barcode type shit…"
He scratched at it once, like it might peel off.
Nope.
Still there.
"FUCKKK—!" Ahrie shouted, slamming his forehead into the root wall again.
A UI flickered into existence right in front of him.
[World Tree Trial Initiating…]
[Survive]
"Ohhh… it's finally starting…" Ahrie's lips curved into a grin.
"This bastard…" the Ent muttered.
Ahrie bolted off, searching every shadow for the Tree Imp.
Minutes dragged. Still no Imp.
The Ent leaned back in his space, yawning. Boredom hit fast.
"...Snaaaacks!" he barked, stomping out of his little chamber, wandering through the endless root halls like some intern ditching work.
A rattle broke through the dark.
Ahrie snapped his head toward the sound.
And there it was—
A small, cute-looking Tree Imp.
A grin stretched across his face.
"There you are, you lil shit."
He slid into a stance, rapier ready, and lunged.
The Imp tilted its head… then grinned.
Wide.
Too wide.
Then—SNAP!
From the shadows, roots cracked through the air. Whip-like arms. Not from the Imp in front of him… but from the ones hiding.
Ahrie twisted, cut, dodged—but they came from everywhere.
One carved across his shoulder. Another hit his ribs.
He kicked back, sliding to a stop, chest heaving.
"...Sneaky bastards."
Multiple Tree Imps crept out from the dark, circling him.
Their arms twisted…stretching, cracking… before snapping into whip-like vines.
Ahrie froze.
A memory clicked in his hear—Prof. Kaien's voice, clear as if he was standing right there.
"Tree Imps are pack-type monsters. They hunt in groups. The more of them gather, the stronger they get… That's how humanity was pushed into the corner when they first invaded Earth."
Ahrie scratched his head hard.
"Argg—YEESS, YEESS I GET IT! Stop popping up in my head like a damn narrator… geeez…"
He barely finished the sentence when a vine snapped through the dark, whipping straight for his face.
Ahrie tilted his head up just enough… the vine lashed past, cutting air instead of skin.
His eyes locked on the Imps.
Menacing.
Cold.
The Tree Imps laughed, a war-cry that rattled through the area.
The hunt had started.
Ahrie rolled his shoulders loose. Metal glinted—rapier in one hand, pistol sliding into the other.
His grin bent psycho.
"Dunno why…" his voice cracked into a laugh, "but I'm kinda getting annoyed."
He leveled the gun at one of the Imps, tilting his head, neck cracking loud.
"Dieee… annoying lil shits."
BANG.
The shot tore through one Imp's face… bark split, but the bastard didn't go down.
Just staggered with a hole where its smile should've been.
The others rushed him. Their whip-like arms hardened mid-swing, twisting into sharpened pikes.
They stabbed and slashed from every direction.
Ahrie spun, blocking with his rapier, ducking under a thrust, firing off shots with his pistol.
Each shot leaves ugly cracks across their bodies.
But there were too many. Roots lashed. Pikes pierced shallow. He staggered back, breaking distance.
The swarm halted, hissing, their bodies now webbed with cracks from his shots.
Ahrie spat, wiped blood off his cheek. Then grinned.
"Perfect."
He let the pistol drop, metal clattering against the ground. His stance shifted.
"Alright, you cracked lil bastards…"
He leaned forward, eyes burning.
"...Time to break."
He dashed. Rapier thrust—
KRRRKKTTCH!
Steel punched into one's chest.
"One little shit down," Ahrie muttered, yanking his blade free, grinning madly.
Ahrie hunted them like a wolf tearing through sheep.
Every thrust hit home… right in the cracks.
Every grin grew sharper.
The Imps started breaking. Their rhythm collapsed, their laughing war-cry turned to panicked screeches.
Arms flailing wild, no pattern, no order.
Easy prey.
One after another, they fell.
Soon only one remained.
Its wooden arms quivered, trying to muster a strike. Desperate.
Ahrie rushed in.
Clang
He deflected the blow, twisted his wrist and drove a boot into its chest.
The Imp toppled, crashing against the ground.
Before it could rise
CRKKTTCH!
Ahrie's rapier skewered through its head, pinning it to the ground.
He pressed his foot on its face.
"...Tch." he exhaled.
Bloodied hand trembling on the hilt.
"Arg… my hand hurts…" he muttered, letting the blade slide free.
He stumbled back and let gravity take him.
Lying flat on the cold floor, chest heaving.
The silence after slaughter pressed down.
Meanwhile, his Ent finally dragged himself out of what looked like a cafeteria.
Arms full of snacks, he lumbered back toward his post, sipping his drink loudly.
That's when a roar of laughter caught his ear.
He paused, tilted his head, then wandered over to another Ent's screen.
The sight made him choke on his drink.
A human male, half-dressed, sword in hand… sprinted across the field.
A pack of Tree Imps chasing close behind,
"Hold on, hold on—!" the human shouted, dodging roots left and right.
An Imp lashed at him.
SWOOSH
He slipped under it.
"Fck! HOLD—-!" he ducked another strike, only for a stray branch to snag his shorts.
The human's pants hit the dirt.
The whole battlefield froze.
Then both the Ent of that poor bastard and Ent #314159 erupted into laughter.
Snacks spilling everywhere as they wheezed.
They even shoved the same bag of chips between them, pointing at the screen like schoolkids.
But then—DING!
A notification blinked on his own monitor.
[Trial: Subject Ahrie nearing completion.]
Ent #314159 snapped to attention, nearly tripping over his own pile of wrappers.
"Shit—shit—he's done already?!" he rushed back to his space, slammered his snacks aside, and focused on the screen.
Ahrie was there, wrapping his wounds with a half-empty medkit, jaw clenched, blood still dripping down his arms.
Then another prompt slid across the corner of the screen:
[Based on combat performance, suggest the most suitable skill progression.]
Ent #314159 froze. Eyes wide.
"Ohhhh fuuuuuck…..what now… what now…" he rubbed his face, pacing in circles, eyes darting between the question and Ahrie's grimy bandaged hands.
Then—lightbulb.
"Wait. WAIT. HAHAHAHA! Support. YEEEES! Support!"
He typed it in without a second thought, slamming the confirmation with a grin.
"Whew… close one."