Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 18: Slenderman.

Ever since I was a child, I've always been alone. 

Not only was I an orphan, which was somehow a reason to be bullied, but I also had a hobby that was considered 'weird' by others. The only person who approached me was Chloe. She kept me companied and took care of me like the best friend she was. Though at some point that friendship of hers toward me changed a bit, I felt, but she's an important person to me regardless.

So after I really sat down and talked with the undead siblings yesterday, I felt like I finally had more friends besides Chloe. It's reassuring, actually. Having two people I can talk to and help me with stuff.

But enough of that. 

After finishing the stories of the two siblings, it was time to decide our future plans.

We basically decided to postpone challenging higher leveled opponents for a while, mainly to wait for my [Horror Lord]'s cooldown to end, and to raise Ariel and Smiley's levels a bit more so they can actually participate, as in dealing damage, in later fights.

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''Yes, yes, you go bite them.''

That's why I'm hunting wolves with Smiley like this.

It's pretty relaxing, actually. Go in and dominate them a bit, and sometimes help Smiley out if he's struggling... I wonder how it's going with the siblings.

The results of our plan are very satisfactory. After just a few days of assisted hunting, Ariel is now level 13, while Smiley is level 12. 

Ariel decided to regain her main skills back when she was a human, which would start at [Heal] and [Ice Magic]. Needless to say, I have both of those, so I couldn't copy any of them. Oh, Skely also got a level-up while helping out Ariel, so that's nice.

Smiley, after gaining a whopping 11 skill points, finally decided to adopt some skills for himself.

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Name: Smiley                   

Race: Smile.jpg                    Title: --

Level: 12

HP: 41/41                    MP: 43/43

STR: 3.4                   INT: 4.5

AGI: 3.7                   STA: 3.1

Skill: [Induce madness Lv.2], [Haunt Lv.1],
[Dream Invasion Lv.1], [Auto Regeneration Lv.1],

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State: Happy.

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It seems like he's always happy when he sees me. What a good boy.

Either way, [Haunt]'s effect is pretty straightforward, just amplify whatever mental attack skills the user has. The most notable skill is obviously [Canine Domination] - a legendary skill.

[Canine Domination: Enable the user to continuously intimidate canine creatures in their vicinity] [Legendary]

It's not very fitting for a dog the size of a microwave, but I think he will get much larger in the future. 

His having more skills is beneficial for me as well, now I can copy one of his skills - [Acceleration], which helps me increase my overall speed in a fight by a bit, tested.

''Good boy, good boy....''

There are about five days left before my [Horror Lord] can be used again. Until then, I intend to raise their levels by a bit more.

As time went on, I could see Smiley's proficiency in combat increasing noticeably. At first, he had to rely a lot on my [Domination] to effectively land a hit on an enemy because his stats and skill levels were relatively low. But now, he can comfortably take on multiple Zircon Wolves alone, usually killing one wolf in a single bite to the neck.

It's a shame that there were not many good opponents left for him and Ariel in the area. According to our scout, we pretty much cleared an entire zone of level ten to twenty monster hordes around us. So in the end, Smiley was only able to get up to level 14, while Ariel got to 15. 

Occasionally, my owl mom was visiting to give us some meat as well. The sight of a dozen fluffy little owls trotting behind her was heartwarming.

Regardless, the next morning, I will be able to meet my next friend.

GRAHH

THUD

''Kuh...!''

Receiving the heavy blow from the level 24 troll, my body is blown back considerably.

''Skely, eyes!'' I shout, renewing my [Acceleration], and shoot myself toward the giant monster again.

''Roger!''

Skely immediately conjures a barrage of light bullets and launches them straight at the troll's eyes, temporarily blinding it for some seconds. Blood floods out of its eye sockets like a waterfall as it groans in pain.

[HP: 30/134]

''All-out attack! We'll end it with this!"

Earlier, Ariel discovered this troll wandering around our area for some reason, and it seemed like a good opponent for us to practice teamwork, so here we are.

''Hu...'' I inhale deeply before jumping with all my strength at the monster, the destination is the heart.

On the side, Ariel, who has been casting a large spell continuously since earlier, aims her ice cloud at its head. I can briefly see Skely also lining his magic at the same place as well.

Here we go...!

GRAHH

The monster lets out a piercing wail that shakes the whole atmosphere as my ice sword plunges deep into his chest, freezing his flesh inside out. This is the fourth time I've done this, each time it recovers almost immediately. But even though it has an abnormal regeneration rate, it will not last forever.

'''' Burst forth! ''''

The siblings' voices overlap.

''Ice blast!''

''Light beam!''

I look up while hanging on to my sword and see a gust of ice with a beautiful pattern, like that of a pine tree, engulfing the monster's entire head and leaving it frozen crisp. As soon as the ice calms down, a blinding beam collides, no, goes right through the frozen head, shattering it into millions of sparkling pieces.

[You have defeated a Lv.24 Zircon Troll]

[Proficiency achieved a certain level]

[Being: Aurora Lv.18 has become Lv.19]

[1 skill point acquired]

[Skill proficiency achieved a certain level]

[Skill: Swordsmanship Lv.1 has become Lv.2]

''Hup!'' I briskly pull out the sword and jump down, letting the headless corpse fall to the other side.

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''Oh, Smiley. Good job.'' I crouch down and stroke his back gently. He did contribute to this fight, mind you. He was biting the troll's legs the whole time. Help is help, don't complain. ''You two as well, good job. Did you guys level up?''

''I got one.''

''I also got one.''

Mhm. All good.

''Hm... Hm...'' I hum excitedly, swaying from side to with Smiley on my lap, waiting for 'the time'.

[Horror Lord: Summon horror the way you want. CD: 240 hours. (1/2)] [Unique]

Tap the interface once more.

[Cooldown: 00:03:14]

''Are you that excited?'' Ariel raises an eyebrow at me.

''Of course I am.'' I immediately reply.

''...''

Ah, can I wait faster? Is that a thing? And I've been thinking ever since I got Smiley, what should I summon next? I pondered and pondered, but couldn't decide on one.

So I will just let my thoughts go along with the 'flow' when the time comes.

''Brother, what do you think will come next?'' Ariel turns to Skely instead.

''Well, if I had to take a wild guess, I would say... A goose holding a kitchen knife using its beak?''

''Huh?? That's weirdly specific, and weird. Just weird.'' Ariel seems genuinely confused, while Skely just shrugs it off and goes back to meditating.

Wasn't that a real thing? Oh, well.

'''' ... ''''

Thirty seconds left... Calm me, calm me...

[Cooldown: 00:00:00]

''Yes!'' I quickly rise to my feet after putting Smiley away. ''You guys keep silence for a bit.''

Hah... Alright, let's go!

Leviathan!

[Entity not available]

Okay, expected. How about... King Ghidorah?

[Entity not available]

No problem, let's keep trying.

[Entity not available]

Ugh...

''...Is it not going well again?'' Skely asks.

''Phew... Yeah, give me some more time.''

Hah, alright, let's go with the flow.

''...''

Slenderman?

'''' !!! ''''

There it is again. Just like the last time, the space is warping. The siblings still seem a bit restless despite having experienced it before. On the other hand, Smiley is exhilarated, wagging his tail wildly in anticipation of meeting his new comrade, I'd imagine.

''Uuh... It's scary. Will a ghost come out...?'' Ariel flies behind Skely, looking scared.

Aren't you a ghost yourself?

Anyway, the space warping is reaching the 'pasta' stage already, I'm excited...!

''Hyah!''

Suddenly, Ariel's eyes close as her ghostly body shrinks, even Skely looks quite surprised.

''Uh?!'' I exclaim, feeling an alien, sticky-ish, soft, and cold something touching my shoulder. ''W-Woah...!''

My eyes widen as I turn around.

Standing there is the man himself. He's at least five heads taller than me, slender figure, a bleach-white face with no facial features, and a black suit!

He's the Slenderman!