Wasting no time, Asval jumped down into the crater. The creature reacted to his presence and extended its roots to kill him. They came for him from the sides and from the ground underneath him. None of them were able to land a solid hit, only small scratches on his body.

The roots created a fence to prevent him from moving forward. Thorns grew out of the roots when he attempted to climb over it. Making his hands and feet bleed as the thorns left holes inside his limbs.

On the other side tree creature waited for him. It ran to the man to kill him with one punch. Asval slid between the creature's legs and left deep cuts in them. Before the creature turned around it regenerated the wounds. Turning around it saw the man ignoring it and running toward the tall tree.

“I’m not fighting with a puppet!” He shouted as he moved forward.

The tree creature collapsed to the ground, turning back to the soil it was made from. The ground began to shake, enough to make Asval tumble to the ground. The giant tree moved upward, turning its lower body into thin legs. Next were the arms that helped the creature raise its legs that were rooted deep underground. Standing in front of the man was a tree creature with long limbs and a small torso that was ten times the size of the previous creatures.

“What the…” The man watched as the creature rose above him. 

The giant tree moved one of its legs to crush the man with it. He tried running away but he was too slow to avoid the massive attack. That one step made the whole area shake and raising its leg all that was left was a pull of blood and crushed flesh.

The creature was aware of the man’s regenerative abilities and being cautious it took the ground with Asval’s body and threw it away, back to the prison gate. Parts of the man’s body flew in other directions scattering around the area.

His body slowly rebuilt itself from what was left of his heart. It took a day for him to be back to full strength. Once he was awake he was silently cursing the creature that killed him.

“Do I even have a chance? No… Not right now.” The man stood up and looked toward the giant tree that was back to its normal state. “I’ll be back! One week and you’re DEAD!” He said before going back to the prison to train and feast on the only source of food he could find.

He did like he said and stepped out of the prison gates after one week. He got stronger physically but all he had on himself was pants. The two swords were broken and his armor missing after it was scattered around the area. His blond hair was almost reaching his hips and his beard was on the level of his bellybutton. 

He completely ignored that fact and went straight into the forest. He knew that the creature was observing him and it sent one of the puppets to crush him.

Seeing the tree creature he dashed forward and punched it before it could even react, cracking the whole lower body with just one hit. This time the kick to the leg was enough to make the monster fall. Once on the ground he jumped on it and punched the creature’s head till only splinters were left. Three more puppets began running toward him. 

“Now with all my steam out… I can fight.” 

He dashed forward to the closest creature and jumped high enough to hit its head with his knee, sending the head flying. The next one threw a punch that the man grabbed with both of his hands. He struggled at first but was able to push the fist away and punch it. 

While the creature was regenerating he turned around to face the next one. With no time to waste he jumped toward it and with one punch, he broke the creature’s leg. Once it fell to the ground he stomped on its head and completely crushed it.

“I haven’t forgotten about you.” He said as he avoided the punch that would send his head flying.

He hit the monster’s arm with his elbow from the top and his knee from the bottom. He tore off the crashed arm and used it to attack the creature with it. He took his time to finish the monster, he didn’t stop even when it stopped moving.

His trans was broken by the earthquake caused by the giant tree creature. It didn’t want to wait for the man to come. It wanted to kill him as fast as possible. 

“Glad we are thinking the same.” Asval whispered, walking toward the creature that was rising from its crater.