Chapter 60: Tier one beast

His clone was suspended by the creature's gnarled, writhing branches that seemed to move with an unsettling life of their own. It was only now that Ryan found this tree monstrously peculiar.

He probably didn't realize this before, as the creature had its "eyes" and "mouth" tightly shut. For its eyes were two gaping holes housing nothing but an impenetrable darkness, its mouth no different – a vast, gaping maw that undulated in a horrid, sickening fashion.

"What the fuck is that?!" Ryan screamed, his grip tightening on his katana until his knuckles turned white.

Suddenly, the system interface flickered to life in the corner of his vision.

[This is a cursed tree filled with corrupted mana. It possesses a mana core and is extremely dangerous due to its ability to manipulate its branches at will. It is classified as a tier 1 beast.]

"Oh, I see now," Ryan quipped, leaping back to gain some distance, his boots crunching on the forest floor.