Legendary Shelter Survival Guide

"I the guardian, I the protector!" the Treant spoke again, this time trying to intimidate Lucas.

"I'll give you a choice: either submit to me right now, or you die," Lucas said casually.

Silence followed, and Lucas sensed trembling in the Treant's consciousness.

"You... DESTROYER!" the Treant yelled, and white-colored roots began surging toward Lucas.

"So, peace was never an option, huh..." Lucas muttered as he readied himself. He waited for the spike to approach, and when it did, his glowing hands became enveloped in a thicker aura.

Lucas grabbed the incoming root, halting its movement both forward and back.

"KUGHHHHHGGGHHHHH!" the Treant grunted in frustration. Lucas began pulling on the root until he felt it reach its limit. With a powerful tug from both hands coated in mana, the white root tore out of the Treant entirely.

Floating in the dark space for a moment, the root dissolved into white particles.

Without giving the Treant more time, Lucas aligned himself horizontally, palms facing back, and shot two large bursts of mana, propelling himself toward the Treant.

He fired more mana shots from his palms until he latched onto one of the Treant's branches.

"LET GOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the Treant screamed, but Lucas ignored it.

He used two fingers to drag them across the branch. Wherever his fingers touched, glowing symbols appeared, forming runes.

"What YOU DOING?!" the Treant asked in confusion, showing its bewilderment for the first time.

Anyone would be confused in the Treant's situation.

When the symbols formed a systematic pattern across the branch, Lucas moved toward the front and placed his hand on the Treant's bark.

A large symbol appeared, and the Treant's entire body began to glow before the space turned blindingly white.

When Lucas opened his eyes, he was back in the real world, his hand still resting on the Treant's bark.

Placing a hand on his chest, Lucas felt a bond forming between himself and the Treant.

====

[Congratulations! You are in the Top 100 ranking for using Spirit Taming!]

[Reward – 1,200 Gold Coins]

[Gold coins added to the territory's balance!]

[Your skill 'Contract of Servitude' has branched into 'Spirit Taming' and 'Dominion Contract.']

[Spirit Taming level up!]

[Spirit Taming level up!]

====

"Contract of Servitude branched into more skills? It's been so long since I've seen these messages…" Lucas felt nostalgic. Every one of his skills was so high-leveled that it took months, if not years, of grinding to level them up.

Even his personal level was difficult to increase.

Lucas smiled at his status screen, where a '+' had appeared before 'Tamed Spirits.'

====

Lesser Treant

Level: 18

EXP: 201 / 50,000

Master: Lucas Garde (Lesser Human)

HP: 12,500 / 12,500

Strength: 320

Defense: 450

Agility: 3

Intelligence: 85

Mana: 1,200 / 1,200

Elemental Affinity: Earth (High), Water (Low)

Skills: Root Strike (Common, Lv. 3), Barkskin (Uncommon, Lv. 2), Photosynthesis (Extremely Common, Lv. 4), Nature's Communion (Lv. 1)

Loyalty: 10 / 100

Affection: 0 / 100

====

'I couldn't see all this in the quest world,' Lucas thought, his eyes shining with excitement. 'This is so interesting. Its loyalty and affection are borderline low, but everything else is fine.'

"Lesser Treant, attack that tree with your root," Lucas commanded.

A root emerged and struck the bark of a nearby tree, leaving a small scratch.

"Good. I won't tell you to harm your own kind anymore. As a sign of respect, I won't take the herbs you're guarding either."

There was silence for a moment.

"If you no hurt them, I respect you too." the Treant said.

"You believe me?"

"I have no choice, but..." The Treant hesitated.

"I can tell you no lie."

Lucas felt satisfied with the response.

"You can tell because we've formed a bond. We'll know if the other is lying," Lucas explained, continuing, "The contract I formed was a forceful one, but I had no choice. You're inside my territory. If one day you become a Greater Treant and can leave, I'll break the contract, allowing you to go."

There was no response at first. After a few more seconds, a notification appeared before Lucas.

[+1 Loyalty from Lesser Treant]

"Lesser Treant, tell me about your skill 'Photosynthesis.'" Lucas asked, though he already knew its general meaning—he wanted to know its effects on the Treant specifically.

After a moment, the Treant spoke from a crack in its bark.

"When sun hit me, I heal. Health come back."

"That's good. You get plenty of sunlight here," Lucas said, glancing up. A gap in the canopy ensured the Treant was always exposed to sunlight, as though the trees around it either feared or respected it.

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"I'll give you your orders now. You are not to reveal yourself to any human. To them, you will remain an ordinary tree unless your life is in danger. You may hunt and kill anything else at will. Understood?"

After a pause, a simple "OK" came from the crack.

"I'll see you later then. Good luck," Lucas said, checking his map before jogging toward the dungeon, leaving the Treant behind.

'I'll have peace of mind now, knowing a being like that is under my control. This was a very fortunate encounter,' Lucas thought with a smile.

A Lesser Treant, just gaining sentience, was now an ally of Lucas and his territory. If it survived and grew into a Greater Treant, it would prove invaluable.

Though it was tempting to kill the Treant for use in weapon crafting or alchemy, Lucas preferred the long game. He wanted trump cards that no one would believe a human could possess.

'Though I was surprised to get Spirit Taming,' Lucas mused. 'This opens up some interesting possibilities for my territory.'

After 20 minutes of jogging and marking important things here and there, Lucas reached the front of the dungeon.

Suddenly, he looked at the back and smiled. To the naked eye, the area he was looking at was silent but for him, Lucas could feel a presence coming toward him at a tremendous speed.

What took Lucas 20 minutes to cover could be covered within minutes at such speed.

"Don't you feel nausea at this speed?" Lucas asked while no one was there. A shadow came out of a tree's shadow.

"It's like swimming inside the shadows, so no," Bill said while he tended to his hair which had become unruly.