Reincarnated as a Dryad: Reclaiming the World from Humans

On a small piece of the gigantic Forest, the grass was soft and wet underneath Sylvan's feet. The morning sun had not yet risen fully, leaving the area in a dim twilight.

Cinder circled around Sylvan, "Try to punch me," she ordered.

Sylvan looked at his fist and then at Cinder.

"Don't worry about the fire," she said.

He nodded, inhaled deeply, then threw his fist forward.

Cinder burst out laughing as he fell face first on the ground.

"That's the worst punch I've ever seen."

Nyx watched from the shade of a nearby tree with her back against the bark. She was in her own thoughts, barely listening to the two.

Sylvan caughed up the wet dirt he inhaled from the fall.

"I've never punched anyone before,"he said and stood up again.

"But you're 20 years old?" Cinder tilted her head, "How have you survived so long without fighting?"

Nyx ears twitched and she listened closely.

"I've never had to fight anyone... I've lived a peaceful life."

Cinder shrugged and made a come at me motion with her hands.

He threw another punch which was dodged easily by Cinder.

"You have to twist your hips when you punch. That's why you keep falling," Cinder said.

Sylvan nodded and tried again, this time managing to land his fist against her arm.

Cinder chuckled.

"Better."

They continued practicing until noon when the sun was highest in the sky. Nyx watched Sylvan train with interest. He wasn't using mana to attack; his punches lacked the explosive force behind them.

Cinder frowned.

"Why aren't you using mana?"

Sylvan stopped moving.

"I can use mana?" he asked, confused.

"You're made of mana, just feel it and imagine a shape for it, it's not hard," Cinder explained as she showed him by creating a small flame in her palm.

Sylvan concentrated, trying to do as she instructed but nothing happened. After a few minutes, he gave up.

"I can't do it."

Cinder scratched her head, unsure why he couldn't use magic.

Nyx stepped forward.

"You're a dryad. Mana is attracted to you, instead of forcing it out, will it to come in and shape into something."

Sylvan nodded and followed Nyx's instructions. It felt different than the skills he used before. Like breathing underwater, a cold fluid came rushing in his body.

Sylvan exhaled sharply and looked at his hand, expecting a cool light or something, but nothing appeared.

"Your mana isn't fire," Cinder said, "You can't create fire with it."

Sylvan smiled sheepishly, he thought fire would look cooler than anything else, so he willed fire into his hands. He tried again, imagining vines in his hand.

Vines appeared around his arm like a glove, he moved them around like fingers.

─SKILL ACQUIRED!: VINE PUNCH (Lvl 1)

Sylvan grinned. The vines felt weird on his hands. They were thick and strong yet flexible. His fingers gripped the vines and moved them around, experimenting with their strength.

He looked at Cinder. She was staring at him, waiting for him to make a move.

Sylvan took a deep breath and charged forward. He swung his fist towards her stomach, putting all his strength behind it. It connected with her abdomen. She barely flinched, however. She quickly countered by hitting him back in the face.

Sylvan stumbled backward. Blood trickled down his noSE.

"That's better," Cinder said.

Sylvan wiped the blood away from his nose and stood up.

─SKILL LEVEL UP!: VINE PUNCH (Lvl 2)

Sylvan felt his body grow stronger from the skill level up. He had a smile on his face as he readied himself again.

Cinder's expression remained unchanged, except now she seemed more excited than before.

"Again!" she shouted, "Punch me!"

Sylvan repeated the process. He punched her harder this time, but again, it didn't faze her much. She retaliated with another strike of her own. They continued this way until Cinder suddenly stopped.

"Enough," she said, "Go kill an orc and level up."

Sylvan paused, "An orc? Where?"

"Find one yourself," she said.

Sylvan glanced at Nyx.

Nyx stared back blankly and said, "Good luck."

He nodded and walked away from them, leaving Cinder and Nyx alone.

Nyx watched Sylvan walk deeper into the forest, the green trees surrounded him.

She turned towards Cinder. Her blue eyes were filled with curiosity.

"Why-", Cinder cut her off.

"Do you like him?" She asked bluntly, a playful grin on her face.

Nyx frowned, she didn't enjoy being cut off. It annoyed her even more because the question was irrelevant.

"No, I don't."

Cinder's smile grew wider. She leaned closer to Nyx, "Then why are you putting your family in danger?"

Nyx stepped back. She didn't like Cinder being so close to her.

"I heard your conversation with him," she said, "If he gets revenge then they're dead."

Nyx raised an eyebrow, "Would you let me kill him?"

Cinder smiled, "Maybe after I get a good fight out of him."

Now it was Nyx's turn to chuckle, "A princess wanting to fight strong opponents, yet decides to train a level 3 dryad."

Cinder's eyes widened slightly and her lips curled upwards into a smirk, "That's not in my status."

"Pure fire." Nyx raised an eyebrow, "Who else but Phoenix Royalty."

"I do want something from him," Cinder admitted.

Nyx narrowed her gaze, "What?"

"That's a secret," Cinder winked.

Meanwhile Sylvan was deep inside the forest. Searching for an orc. His hands were sweaty and he constantly had to check behind him.

"I shouldn't have been cocky."

He exhaled and wiped the sweat from his hands on his clothing.

'I need to find another wolf or slime for that extra life...' Sylvan thought as he checked his status.

─NAME: SYLVAN

─RACE: DRYAD

─LEVEL: 3

─AFFINITY: NATURE

─SKILLS: VINE PUNCH (Lvl 3), VINE SUMMON (Lvl 3), TREE MIMICRY (Lvl 2)

─UNIQUE SKILLS: TREEIFY (Lvl 3)

The forest was quiet. Too quiet. It made Sylvan nervous. Every step seemed loud and every little sound made him jump.

His stomach grumbled as his hunger level dipped lower and lower. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, and the hunger gnawing away at him only served to worsen his unease.

Suddenly an apple fell onto his face.

He punched but missed

"Ow."

It was an apple from a random tree nearby. Sylvan's hunger overpowered his nervousness and he took a bite of the apple.

The apple was incredibly juicy, almost bursting with flavor when he bit into it.

"Is this what dryads eat?"

He searched for more apples and gathered ten of them. He didn't even need to use his hands to take them down, as soon as he got close the apple fell. After gathering them into a pile, he sat down and enjoyed another one.

As Sylvan chewed his meal, the ground beneath him shook. He bit his lip. He could tell something big was walking.

The sound of trees getting crushed came next, whatever it was, it wasn't bothering to walk around them, it was going through them.

Sylvan froze, unsure whether to run or stay still.

"Maybe it's an orc?"

His curiosity got the better of him. He started to make his way towards the sound. But then he realized he didn't know how they even looked like.

"What if it's not an orc?" He wondered.

He shook his head, "Cinder and Nyx are watching me right?"

His confidence came back and he kept going towards the direction of the noise. He peered through some bushes at the source of the noise: It was three times bigger than him.

An ugly face. Green skin. Muscles like boulders and a giant wooden club.

─NAME: ???

─RACE: ORC

─AFFINITY: EARTH

─LEVEL: 8

─SKILLS: Club Mastery (Lvl 5), Thick Skin (Lvl 5), Rock Punch(Lvl 5), Stone Wall (Lvl 4 )

The ogre was eating some poor creature raw that Sylvan couldn't identify, as it had already been devoured beyond recognition.

Its huge mouth opened and closed, swallowing the flesh of its prey without chewing.

"No way that's an orc. Cinder sent me to my death!"

Sylvan backed away slowly, not taking his eyes off of the ogre, his body pressed close to the ground. Then he felt something hard against his back, stopping him from moving. He glanced behind him, and realized he had backed up against a stone wall. A wall made of rock, surrounding him. Sylvan's body stiffened up immediately.

"Fuck."

The orc roared, staring at Sylvan with bloodshot red eyes.

Sylvan gulped, sweat drenched his forehead, and his chest felt tight. Then he shook his head. He's can't hide in his shell forever.

"Bring it on."