The Dreamer's POV

[00 Months: 00 Days: 19 Hours]

"Elaborate on <Fallen Foe> Skill."

[Skill Info]

Name: <Fallen Foe>

Special Effect: Revives a previously living being that the user has killed, making them their minion indefinitely.

{Note: Energy consumption will depend on how powerful the minion is. Current limit: 1 minion}

[End Of Information]

My grin broadened as I stared at the Essence in front of me.

'I can finally test out this Skill. There are lots of limitations to it, but it's by far my strongest Non Exclusive Skill.'

If I managed to pull it off, I could have a very massive tank on my side to support me.

"Alright! Let's do this!"

"<Fallen Foe>" I whispered, focusing my attention on the almond shaped wood.

... Nothing happened.

'What? Why is nothing happening?!' My mind instantly erupted as sweat covered my face.

My throat became itchy, and I felt a lurking fear within me.

'Is the Skill defective? Am I not qualified enough?'

Or perhaps... was the problem with the Essence? But the Item Info didn't give me any indication that it was damaged.

I reached out for the piece of wood to closely observe it, but the moment I touched it, I felt an odd sensation suddenly assail me.

[Skill Notice]

<Conditions Have Been Fulfilled>

{You Have Interacted With The Essence of a Demon you vanquished. You may choose to use the revive it as your minion.}

<Cost: 10 Energy>

~Do You Wish To Proceed?~

[Yes]      [No]

'H-haa... I see.'

I had to use up all my Energy if I wanted to revive this single Demon.

'That's a lot! But, if I consider the rewards I will reap, it's actually not bad...'

And since the System said I could keep the minion indefinitely, that meant I would get returns that far outweighed any loss I would experience now.

'It's a shame I can only have one at a time...'

The good news was that I could always keep the Essences of Demon I killed in order to have them as my future minions.

"I'll allocate one extra Stat Point to my Energy Level, just in case...'

Doing so boosted my permanent Stats to 9 Energy Level, while also accounting for the additional 2 that Energy Rock gave me.

Having a total of 11 Energy Level now, I was ready to proceed.

"Yes. Let's do it!"

~FSHUUUU...~

A hissing sound began to emanate from the almond shaped wood on my hand, causing to to begin to throb.

It floated away from my grasp, now emitting a faint light that glowed from within it.

The light, initially bright white and slightly yellow, slowly began to take a more sinister tone.

The light brown wood slowly began to decay, and the illumination turned crimson, coursing through the entire wood.

The dark red aura leaked out, and it gave off a slightly chilling feel that both resonated with me and repulsed me at the same time.

And then, at that moment, the tree shard slowly began to swell.

Parts began forming as it grew, and it rapidly developed, regaining it's original state within seconds.

No... not quite it's original state.

It's leaves had all dried up, and it's bark was now darkened grey.

Crimson veins appeared all over its body, and it's previously green eyes now shone bright red.

An ominous dark red aura, like dried blood, leaked from the towering creature, and it was in this state that it stood still.

Hunching before me one second, and then proceeding to its knees the next, the Tree Demon bowed its head.

[Skill Notice]

<Revival Is Complete>

{Demon <Demon Tree (Lvl 3)>  is now under your command}

[Minion Information]

Name: Demon Tree <Change Name>

Level: 3/10 (Fixed)

Life Force: 100

Energy Level: 5

Combat Ability: 20

[Titles]

<Demon Tree Offspring>, <A Fallen Foe>

[Skills]

<Regeneration>, <Vibration Detection>, <Wooden Spikes>

[Additional Information]

A young Demon Tree whose life was cut short at the hands of the User. It can change nature into an ordinary tree, masking its Demonic Nature, or fully manifest as a Demonic creature.

It is unfortunate that it will be unable to grow beyond this point, but it certainly will prove useful to you.

[End Of Information]

"Wow! This is intense!"

I knew it had incredible vitality, but what I was looking at even exceeded my expectations!

'If I didn't take matters into my own hands—literally—I don't think I would have been able to kill it.'

It even had regeneration as a Skill, and I suppose it's Vibration Detection was how it could detect me.

I was also quite familiar with it's wooden spikes.

'Its Energy Level is very low, though. It also doesn't have that high a combat ability, too...' My thoughts trailed as I observed its entire build.

"It really is more attuned to tanking more than anything else, I suppose."

[Skill Notice]

<1 Minion Slot Available>

{When your Minion is not in use, you may decide to keep it in the Minion Slot. Only one Minion Slot is available, since you can currently only Revive one Minion using this Skill. Revival of another entity will result in the eradication of the current Minion}

[End Of Notice]

"That's some helpful information." A wry smile formed on my face while I sighed in relief.

I had already been growing worried that I would have have to take such a huge thing with me anywhere I went, but that wasn't the case, fortunately.

'I mean, I could always use it to carry my heavy loads, or maybe to carry me if I'm tired. It has many uses besides combat...'

Looking at it's tall frame, it was at least over three meters.

'Its not too bulky, but it definitely looks strong enough.'

Having a really capable minion already began to appeal to me, and the more I saw my massive subordinate, the more I couldn't help but smile in glee.

"The Skill says I can change its name. While it doesn't seem like it has any intelligence, I can feel a strong mental link between us, and I know it'll do whatever I ask..."

To test this, I commanded the Demon Tree to rise, and it did.

I told it to jump, and it also obeyed that instruction.

'Time to test the limits...'

I told it to speak, but it couldn't do that. I told it to write my name on the ground, but it also couldn't do that.

'Hm? How about this...'

I told it to write a letter 'M', but even that was too complex for it.

'It seems I can't make it do what it does t innately know how to do, or what it doesn't know.'

Since the Demon couldn't increase its level, it made sense that it couldn't learn new things.

It became stagnant the moment it died.

'Well, that sucks.'

But in a way, this was still a very good deal.

'I can have it be my guard while I fall asleep. It can also do a lot of menial tasks, as long as they aren't too complicated and are things it should be able to do.'

After all, after trying out various things it could or couldn't do, I realized it could draw strokes on the ground, as long as my instruction of what a stroke was, and the imagery, was detailed enough.

'Even the letter M should be achievable if I make it combine strokes and give it enough imagery in my instructions to work with...'

Even though it couldn't learn new things, as long as it was a puppet attached to my strings, I could treat it like my third arm and make it do whatever I wanted.

'What a scary power...' I genuinely felt grateful to have recieved it.

"But something bothers me..."

Even as I finally returned to the hill and instructed my minion to guard me with its life, the thought continued to disturb me.

'If I recieved <Fallen Foe>, after the Special Event, that means others must have also gotten very powerful Skills as well...'

It made me a bit terrified, to be honest. And that fear humbled me instantly.

'I can't get too confident in my power...'

After all, I wasn't the only potential one who could be wielding it.

[00 Months: 00 Days: 21 Hours]

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[A/N]

Looks like it wasn't a Tree Lady.

Sorry fellas...