- Little Hero

"Why was that so easy?"

[Your element was strong against its own. Yours being fire and it's being moonlight.]

"H-how does that make sense?"

[The opposite of the moon is the sun, and the sun is a giant ball of literal fire.]

…

"I… Guess that makes sense? Anyway, why did the fox not react when I was around it last time, but instantly attacked me this time?"

[Probably because you didn't show any ill-will towards it before. It had no reason to worry. Also, the fox wasn't a monster, but instead a beast.]

"What does that mean exactly?"

[A monster will always attack anything it perceives as weaker than it instantly, while a beast may attack when it's at lower levels, but generally at higher levels they'll gain a name and intelligence. They'll act similar to humans in that regard. Some may attack you, some may not. It depends on the creature.]

"Ah makes sense. Wait… Am I the bad guy here?"

[It depends on if you think one animal is evil for killing another.]

…

"While I don't like being referred to as an animal I can't really fault you for that. I just feel bad for killing it when it was minding its own business before. Anyway, I've killed the strongest thing on the mountain, now what?"

[I'd recommend going back to the world tree for a while and strengthening your other mana hearts. As of right now, I have no information on any creatures you could reach that are as strong as that fox was.]

"Yeah. Can you point me in the direction of the world tree? I'll fly there now that I actually can."

It takes me a few hours of flight to reach the forest of the world tree. It really is incredible to see. It's only been a few months, yet all the trees around it look like the redwoods in California. Of course, nobody could miss the absolutely titanic tree in the center. The thing punches through the clouds and spreads out like a mushroom! You could forgive someone for thinking it was a mushroom cloud from a nuke! I land down in front of the world tree with a loud thud. The little dryad comes out and greets me… Wait… Little? She's gone from looking like a little kid to looking like a young teen… Do dryads age faster or something? Anyway, she still looks absolutely adorable. She comes out from the center of the tree, I change into my human form and pick her up into a big hug and ask,

"How were you while I was gone?"

"I did good, I think. It seems you did better though."

She answers with a giggle.

'Ellie, show me her status.'

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[Status:]

[Name: Willow]

[Race: Dryad Empress]

[Title: The First Dryad, Dryad of the First World Tree, Gaia's Child]

[Level: 12 / 250]

[Class: B-rank Area Boss]

[Domains: 1]

[Mana Heart: 1st - Lesser Heartstone, 2nd - 1 Life ring]

[Inherent Magic: Nature magic, Transformation, Charm]

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"I believe I've gotten much stronger, your majesty!"

"Willow, you don't have to call me that. You can call me Adam. Besides, you're like my little sister. I don't wanna act all high and mighty with my own family."

I give her a warm, yet pained smile. Calling her family makes me remember my family before I died. Wait. This is like the first time I've thought of them since I changed. I guess it's like the Beast King title messing with my brain.

"As you wish, Adam!"

She gives me a warm smile as tears start to fall from her eyes.

"Huh? Why am I crying?"

She looks extremely confused as she starts wiping the tears off her face. I think I know why. Based on how I found her, either her mom and dad were absolute shit-holes, or she got separated from her family. Even if she acts mature, deep down she is still a child that needs a family. I wrap my arms around her and give her a big hug.

"Don't worry about it Willow. Sometimes your body knows things your mind doesn't."

Obviously I'm not the best at comforting people, but I think I got the job done. She wraps her arms around me and keeps crying until she eventually falls asleep. While she sleeps on her bed of golden leaves, I have a conversation with Ellie.

"Hey, Ellie."

[Yes?]

"How long do you think it'd take me to make my second mana heart into a hearthstone?"

[About three months I believe. That is, if you're doing nothing but that.]

"Alrighty. Also, would you be able to find a place with consistently strong creatures near me? I could always just go back to the mountain if you can't. That wolf I found was pretty strong. Compared to the stuff around here I mean."

[I could. It would take me a while though. Maybe a month.]

"Good, I'll be building up some rings till then."

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And just like that, a month passes.

I've managed to get the first four rings to the glowing stage. Aside from that, Willow taught me how to utilize my aura instead of constantly releasing all of it. She was pretty annoyed with having constant anxiety with me around. Overall, nothing too interesting has happened yet, but… Now is… A different story. A group of humans just showed up in front of the world tree. They don't sense me yet, but Willow is out there trying to scare them off. She was afraid I might give them a heart attack. But something caught my eye.

'Ellie, show me the status of the strongest human in that group.'

-----------------------

[Status:]

[Name: Gauge Stewart]

[Race: Human]

[Title: Hero]

[Level: 52 / 500]

[Class: B-rank Hero]

[Domains: 1]

[Mana Heart: 1st - Hearthstone, 2nd - 3 rings]

[Inherent Magic: Holy]

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"Why the hell would we let a monster tell us where we can and can't stay?!"

'I guess it's time for me to make an appearance.'

I imagine seeing a 40 foot tall draconic creature coming out of the giant tree you're trying to claim would deter you from doing so. Before I show myself, I decide to let my aura leak out some. Instantly, every single being there starts uncontrollably shaking. Except Willow of course.

Willow shakes her head and says,

"Well, you woke him up. You didn't understand. I wasn't trying to keep you away from here for MY sake, I was trying to keep you away for YOUR sake."

I make my voice as deep and gravely as possible and say,

"Willow…"

I keep two seconds before continuing,

"Why are there humans dragging their filth into MY domain?"

Then, I stand up and reveal myself. Instantly, the humans behind the "hero" start crying uncontrollably and creating messes. I walk out and step within a few feet of the group. I notice the hero… He's that human that tried scaring me off with a puny ice spear!

"HAHAHAHAHA! You! Hero! You're that idiot that tried scaring me off with that pathetic ice spear of yours! It looks like you took my advice and left that city!"

I withdraw my aura, letting everyone around breathe a little.

"My my, you're already looking like quite the bag of energy!"

I focus all of my aura in on the hero.

"I wonder how many levels YOU would give me."

He keeps a defiant look on his face, but the fact that he's shaking like a chihuahua and sweating buckets betrays this. I put my face around two feet in front of his and release a short low growl before standing back up and saying,

"So, what makes you so bold as to claim MY domain, little hero?"