I sprinted toward the Elder Trent, hacking through the roots that lashed out at me.
The Elder Trent was a monumental tree, its swarthy bark measuring over ten meters in girth and its height reaching nearly twenty meters. Its trunk was a mass of bulging knots and deep fissures, projecting an aura more sinister than grand.
Its face—an oval twice the height of a grown man—was carved into the base of the trunk. The sheer scale and woody texture made the feature profoundly unsettling.
"Ryoma, Raypin! Stay out of branch range and provide support! Syria, cover them!"
We held our ground at Asagi’s command, answering with a brief acknowledgement as we sprang into action.
I cleared the path of creeping Trents by hurling Iron Slime Throwing Axes while simultaneously reinforcing the ground with Pavement. Raypin provided magical cover from behind, while Syria stood guard, slicing through any stray roots that dared snake toward us.
The vanguard launched a fierce assault on the Elder Trent’s main body, but it proved more resilient than we had anticipated. In addition to its massive bulk, its use of the Wood Magic spell Grow was particularly troublesome.
While Grow wasn't strictly a healing spell, the Elder Trent—being a plant-based monster—was using it to force rapid structural growth, effectively achieving the same result as regeneration. We held the advantage for now, but the situation didn't allow for complacency.
"Oooooooh!"
A sound echoed out, somewhere between a groan and a primal scream.
I stole a glance and saw Mizeria driving her axe into the monster's face. She had clearly landed several blows already, but this one bit deeper than the rest. Welanna and Miya immediately lunged forward to capitalize on the opening.
However—
"Tch!"
"Unya!?"
The Elder Trent launched a sudden counterattack. A sphere of black energy materialized near its mouth and shot toward Welanna. Caught off guard, she managed to twist away, but a follow-up strike from the branches forced her to abandon her assault.
That was Dark Ball, a spell of Dark Magic!
I thought Miya might still have an opening, but the monster exhaled a thick, black mist. Sensing the danger, she quickly leaped back to put some distance between them.
"What is this-nya!?"
Her voice was thick with shock. I looked over and saw her axe rusting away at an impossible speed.
"What in the world was that!?"
"That was Dark Ball! This specimen can utilize Dark Magic as well, indeed! That mist is likely another manifestation of the Dark Attribute!"
Good grief, no one had mentioned it could do that.
"The variables are mounting! We shall withdraw for now to devise a counter-strategy, de gozaru!"
Heeding Asagi's call, we pulled back to a safe distance without overextending ourselves.
We took a moment to rest and deliberate once we were well clear of the Elder Trent’s reach.
"Miya, how is your arm?"
"My arm is fine-nya, but this axe is finished-nya."
Miya showed us her weapon; every inch of the metal head was choked with rust, and the edge was already crumbling into flakes.
"It ended up like this just from touching that black mist-nya."
"That’s brutal."
"We can’t fight properly if our weapons fall apart the moment we get close."
"Raypin, do you have any countermeasures?"
"I have never heard of an Elder Trent capable of wielding magic beyond the Wood Attribute, it is so. Furthermore, I have no knowledge of Dark Magic that specifically targets metal with such corrosive speed. One could theoretically cast Light Magic to purge the Dark Attribute mana, but maintaining such a barrier constantly during the heat of battle is simply not feasible, indeed."
So, the effect of that Dark Magic was to rust metal? ...Wait, was that why the Metal Slimes had been so terrified? If that was the case, then... It was still only a hypothesis, but I decided to share it with the group.
After explaining my theory, we reached a consensus to challenge the Elder Trent once more.
Despite the unexpected magic, the monster’s raw power wasn't overwhelming, and we were confident in our ability to retreat if things turned sour. Under those conditions, the party was willing to let me test my plan.
"Let's move!"
"Pavement."
I paved the earth again to neutralize the root attacks as we charged. As we drew near, the Elder Trent exhaled its black mist again, seemingly on high alert.
"Here it comes!"
"Testing now!"
I took a single Iron Slime Throwing Axe and hurled it with everything I had at the monster's face.
The axe traced a sharp arc through the air, piercing straight through the black mist.
"Ooooooh!"
The Iron Slime Axe slammed perfectly into the center of the Elder Trent’s brow.
Through our contract, I felt a pulse of confirmation—the Iron Slime was completely unharmed.
"It works! The magic has no effect on the Iron Slimes!"
"Excellent! Let us press the advantage, de gozaru!"
At Asagi’s shout, he charged the face. Miya, Mizeria, and Welanna followed his lead, while I closed the distance from the flank, unleashing Fire Arrows as I moved in to strike.
The strategy I had proposed was simple: "Fight using weapons and armor formed from Iron Slimes."
I had asked them to remember how the Metal Slimes—whose bodies are essentially living metal—had reacted with instinctive terror toward the Elder Trent. Raypin had found the logic sound.
I then theorized that the Iron Slimes, which showed no such fear, might be naturally resistant to the mist. To support this, I shared a "lesson from my grandfather": pure iron is significantly more resistant to corrosion. Since my Iron Slimes had been refined through Alchemy to consist of ultra-high-purity iron, they were far more resilient than standard gear.
Another factor in my decision was the nature of magic itself.
Magic uses mana and mental imagery to achieve the impossible, but it isn't omnipotent; it generally follows the path of least resistance relative to the laws of nature. Distorting those laws requires significantly more mana. Therefore, I predicted that even magical rust would struggle to corrode a metal that was naturally resistant to oxidation.
Even if I was wrong and they weren't immune, the party had helped me work out the risks.
We started with a single test throw. If it had failed, we would have retrieved the slime and retreated immediately. According to Raypin, as long as the core is intact, a slime can recover from surface damage. We could have treated the rust before it reached the core.
Since it worked, we were proceeding with a high-intensity, short-term decisive battle. We would use Light Magic to purify the slimes afterward just to be safe, and we were prepared to pull back if we couldn't finish the job quickly.
With everyone’s support for retrieval and retreat, we were now tearing into the Elder Trent.
"Hup! There!"
Since I had joined the vanguard this time, the counterattacks were relentless.
First came a branch swinging down from above. Then a Dark Ball. Finally, a wall of roots rose to block my path.
The monster even tried to entangle my limbs, but I slashed through the wooden appendages and kept moving.
The Elder Trent's face loomed directly ahead. I intended to close the gap and deliver a devastating strike with my Tachi.
"Oooooooooh!!"
The monster wasn't about to make it easy. It swung a massive branch while simultaneously charging another Dark Ball.
I twisted my body, guiding my blade in a wide arc from right to left to meet the incoming branch. The Tachi severed the limb cleanly, and the heavy wood crashed to the forest floor.
Dodging the incoming Dark Ball, I lunged into the monster's blind spot—right where a human neck would be. I delivered a horizontal flash. My blade, reinforced with Qi, sliced through the trunk without the slightest resistance. A torrent of mana erupted from the massive rent in its bark.
"Wooooooh!"
The Elder Trent seemed to realize it was in mortal danger. Its offensive slowed as it diverted its energy into Wood Magic to knit the wound shut.
But no one in this party was going to give it that chance.
"Flame Lance!"
Raypin’s support fire slammed directly into the open wound.
It was the Fire Attribute Intermediate Magic, Flame Lance.
Having a bolt of concentrated fire driven into its internal structure was a devastating blow. The Elder Trent’s regeneration ground to a halt.
Miya and the others seized the opening, launching a coordinated barrage. They systematically dismantled the monster's face and the surrounding trunk with their respective weapons.
I stepped back from the melee to prepare my own final strike.
I signaled the Big Iron Slime to shift its form and had fifteen other Iron Slimes undergo Separation.
In less than five seconds, the Big Iron Slime transformed into a spiked iron sphere the size of a medicine ball, complete with a sturdy handle. The fifteen smaller slimes linked themselves into a series of interconnected rings, forming a heavy chain that anchored the iron ball to my right arm.
I had swapped my Tachi for a heavy flail.
"I'm ready!"
This was a heavy-duty weapon designed specifically for massive monsters, trading speed for raw destructive force. The chain clattered with a heavy metallic ring as I tested the weight. Wielding such a thing required immense strength or magical reinforcement, but with my body bolstered by Qigong, I could swing it with ease. I began to build momentum, the spiked ball whistling as it cut through the air.
I wasn't an expert with a flail... but for a target this big, I didn't need to be!
"Alright, clear out!!"
At Asagi’s signal, the vanguard leaped away to create a path.
I aimed for the very center of the Elder Trent’s face.
"Hah!"
"——!!?"
The iron ball slammed into the monster's "nose" with a thunderous impact.
A series of sickening cracks spider-webbed across the Elder Trent’s face, and a geyser of mana sprayed from the fractures. The face, already softened by the party’s relentless assault, simply couldn't withstand the concentrated kinetic force. It shattered.
I had been prepared to strike it several more times, but the movement in the surrounding roots and branches ceased instantly. It was barely clinging to life.
"Ryoma, deliver the finish, de gozaru."
"You and the slimes are the MVPs of this fight, Ryoma-kun."
"Go ahead, finish it properly."
"Understood."
I swung the chain again to build momentum one last time, then brought the spiked ball down onto its forehead with everything I had.
A heavy, wet thud echoed through the woods, followed by the sound of the Elder Trent’s structural integrity finally giving way.
the eruption of mana spiked briefly before tapering off into a weak trickle. Soon, the presence of its life force vanished entirely.
"Is it finished?"
"It is done, indeed."
Once we confirmed the threat was gone, I began treating the Iron Slimes with Light Magic. They seemed perfectly fine, but I wasn't taking any chances. I was just relieved the plan had worked.
As I cast Light Ball over my gathered slimes—
"Well, that's one job done, de gozaru."
Asagi was looking at the graveyard of Trent remains we had left in our wake throughout the day.
The scale of the harvest was enormous. Collecting it all by ourselves would take forever... not to mention the fact that they would never fit in the Dimension Homes Raypin and I possessed.
"Have no fear. Once the slimes are tended to, we shall return to town and report to the guild. We can arrange for the necessary labor and transport to recover the timber then. We'll simply bill the expenses to the guild once we return to Gimul."
With the plan set, we began the trek back to town to file our report.
The lumber recovery would start tomorrow. For now, I was looking forward to a long, quiet night of rest.