Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended

CHAPTER 178: Turned Away, Led Astray

The Treant let out a guttural roar as its massive frame swayed, a well-timed and placed explosion beneath its foot from a Frost Prism throwing it off balance. Daisuke's magic chains glowed, taut against the creature's hard exterior as he yanked them downward, using the momentum to launch himself high into the air.

With a thunderous crash, the Treant toppled backward, its enormous body impaled on a jagged tree trunk. The sickening crack of wood meeting wood echoed through the forest, followed by a flood of resin-like blood oozing from its chest. Dark ash, remnants of the earlier explosion inside its body, spilled like smoke, curling around the creature as it writhed in agony.

Not waiting for the creature to recover, Daisuke reached into his inventory midair. In one fluid motion, he reached for a blue cube with a rusty texture and activated the consumable, the air vibrating with an ominous hum as crescent-shaped blades of pure black energy materialized around him.

[Abyssal Cutter]

Damage: 1500

Releases a volley of six crescent-shaped blades imbued with dark energy, each dealing 250 fixed damage. Each blade has a 35% chance to inflict «Bleed» and a 20% chance to induce «Silence» on the target.]

"Stay down!" Daisuke bellowed coldly, his gaze locked on the writhing monstrosity.

The dark blades shot forward in a ruthless volley, tearing through the Treant without pause. Bark, vines, and resin sprayed in every direction as the razor-sharp projectiles carved the fiend apart. The creature's agonized groans grew weaker with each strike until the final blade landed, silencing it forever. What remained was an unrecognizable heap of splintered wood, smoldering resin, and ash, the Treant's once-mighty form reduced to ruin.

Daisuke landed effortlessly among the debris, brushing ash from his armor as the golden chains dissipated into nothingness. The forest seemed to hold its breath, the eerie silence amplifying the faint crackle of smoldering bark.

Lumielle, having witnessed the entire battle with wide eyes, approached cautiously, her voice trembling. "H-How did you even come up with the plan to impale it?"

Daisuke allowed his daggers to slip from his hands and dematerialize, his expression calm, his eyes a bit weary. "Improvisation," he said simply, turning to scan the area. "Let's move. There's no telling what else might be lurking after that ruckus."

DING!

[You have slain a «Gigas Treant»!]

[1,665 Experience Points have been acquired.]

[...]

Before Daisuke could skim through the rest of the notification or Lumielle could nod in agreement—

"KUWAHHHHH!"

The Treant they presumed had already perished heaved an ear-splitting roar that reverberated through the forest. Instinctively, Daisuke and Lumielle glanced around in a panic. They knew the creature's desperate response wasn't one final woeful cry, or a plea for the Demon Lord to curse their souls. It was something else—something far more sinister, and when several of the trees surrounding them started shifting and rumbling, they immediately understood the peril to which they had been sentenced.

Daisuke didn't wait for the monstrosities to begin uprooting themselves. In a desperate bid for survival, he swept Lumielle off her feet and fled in the direction of the horses. The princess clung to him as they weaved through the forest with unnerving speed, the cool night air biting at her cheeks, a wide array of colors dancing all around them.