Reincarnated as a Dryad: Reclaiming the World from Humans

Moss was growing on the sides of the cave as Eryk was leading them deeper down. Vines and roots were growing all over.

Every time Sylvan stepped on a root, it felt strange, as if he stepped on someone's foot. He paused, looking up, water dripped from the cave roof. It formed tiny rivers that flowed through the stone, sometimes carving out shapes and holes.

Eryk continued leading them forward without a word.

Vines hung from the roof like curtains.

"We're here," Eryk whispered before stepping behind some vines.

Sylvan froze. Cinder and Nyx turned to stare at each other. The area behind the vines felt heavy. Something incredibly powerful was awaiting them beyond the curtains, something far bigger than anything they had ever seen before.

"I don't like this," Nyx muttered.

Sylvan nodded; he felt like an ant before the vines.

Cinder, on the other hand, didn't feel afraid, her eyes lit up, "Strong," she muttered before walking ahead through the vines. Her fiery hair and bright orange dress disappearing into the unknown.

Sylvan exchanged glances with Nyx. She sighed.

"Whatever," she said before following after Cinder.

Sylvan could hear Eryk giggling as he stepped past the vines.

The cave opened into a larger cavern that stretched off into darkness. A giant root grew in the middle, like a tree that had been turned upside down. Next to it, five creatures lounged within the glowing water. Their eyes landed on Sylvan.

He couldn't move. His instincts screamed danger and yet he felt safe. Like the presence of life was all around him. Protecting him, embracing him like a blanket on a cold night.

"ERYK!"

An identical looking fairy came flying from behind a rock. Her tiny wings flapped angrily.

"We told you not to bring strangers here," she scolded her sister.

"Hey!" Eryk interjected, "The dryad saved me."

At the mention of dryad all the other hundreds of different creatures turned to Sylvan. They came in all shapes and sizes.

Sylven gulped. Social events were his kryptonite. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again, trying to find the right words but nothing came out.

"Hi..." he squeaked, awkwardly smiling.

One of the beings in the middle stood up. Her wolf tail swayed as she walked through the glowing water, leaving ripples in the water behind her. A powerful aura radiated from her body.

A white-haired woman with sharp ears and piercing golden eyes. She was dressed in a simple short and shirt, completely casual. The atmosphere felt tense as she approached him. Her gaze turned to a glare as she looked at Sylvan. She sniffed him.

"You killed one of my wolves."

Her statement left no room for doubt; she knew what he had done.

Sylvan body stiffened.

"It attacked me first."

Luna scoffed at this remark.

"Do you think I care?" She leaned forward until her face was right next to Sylvans, her golden eyes staring directly into his.

"Blood for blood. It is a simple rule, a rule everyone knows."

She raised her hand.

Sylvan saw it move in slow motion. He had all the time to move, to dodge but his body knew the outcome: death. This wasn't like the orc, the orc was slow and dumb. This woman was powerful. Sylvan was like a little rabbit before a dragon.

He didn't see the next few moments, he closed his eyes, and apologized to Erian for dying. He braced for an impact that never came.

Luna's hand was wrapped in frost, she stopped centimetres away from Sylvan's face, staring behind him, at another creature in the middle.

"Fuck off Boreas."

"He's a dryad."

"Dryads don't kill," she turned back to Sylvan, "This one is rotten."

She pushed harder but the frost still held her back. Everyone was watching silently, except for Cinder. A small fire grew in her hand as she was prepared to strike.

The frost tightened around Luna's hand and Boreas closed his eyes.

"Don't."

Luna's hand lowered. She turned around again before glancing to Cinder.

"The coward princess and her new dryad friend, how lovely," her voice dripped with sarcasm.

She spat at Cinder's feet.

"Coward," Luna said before turning to Sylvan again.

"We aren't done dryad. Your life is mine. When this deer dies of old age I'm hunting you down."

She went to sit back on her previous spot, the creatures behind her not even budging.

Another one of them spoke, a man made of wood, an ent, a wooden crown adorned his head, "New dryad, you can take a sit next to me, I want to ask you something."

Sylvan, still reeling from what just happened, nodded awkwardly and started walking to the middle. Cinder and Nyx followed behind. Nyx suddenly stopped and looked at another group in outer edge of the spring.

"What's the matter Nyx?"Sylvan asked her.

She was staring at another group of people, specifically shadow sirens.

Nyx stared blankly. She was nervous but didn't show it.

Sylvan couldn't appraise them, they were all higher levels.

"Your friends?" He asked.

She didn't answer, just looked down, unsure. It was the first time Sylvan ever saw her look nervous.

She shook her head, "It's the first time I saw another shadow siren."

She paused again, still unsure.

"Go talk to them," Sylvan encouraged her. "You'll be fine... I think."

She took a deep breath and finally went towards the group.

Sylvan smiled as he saw her go and then turned around. Now, he just had to socialise with the most dangerous creatures in the forest, no big deal.

He sat down next to Cinder and Eldrin. Immediately, Eldrin shot his first question.

"So how did a dryad get an earth affinity?" he said while looking at Sylvans stats.

"I fought an orc. Got it from him, I think," he responded with a small smile. Eldrin seemed friendly enough, besides the fact Sylvan was terrified by him.

─NAME: ???

─RACE: ???

─AFFINITY: ???

─LEVEL: ???

─SKILLS: ???

─UNIQUE SKILLS: ???

─TITLE: KING OF ENTS

Eldrin was a tall man. His skin was smooth and gray, like a statue. He looked down on Sylvan with curious eyes. On his head, a wooden crown was tightly placed. It was old, ancient even.

"An orc with earth affinity?" Fornica chimed in, her eight arms splashed in the water as she stretched and leaned forward with her many eyes wide open and staring at Sylvan.

"Y-yeah," Sylvan felt uncomfortable.

"You used the skill treeify on it?" Fornica leaned even closer, making Sylvan lean backward.

"I-I did."

Luna chuckled as she watched him struggle. Boreas still had his eyes closed and the woman with insect wings stayed silent and unmoving. Her eyes focused on something behind the walls.

"Intriguing."

Eldrin turned to Boreas, "Have you ever seen a dryad with that skill before?"

Boreas' eyes remained closed as he responded, "No."

A big crash resounded from behind the vines. All of their heads turned to the sound except Boreas whose eyes remained closed. Another creature entered: a Stone Golem, the size of a normal human. It looked old as cracks spread across his stone body.

It ran to the group in the middle and fell to its knees, splashing some glowing water on Sylvan's face.

"I beg for help. Please, the village, we're getting slaughtered!"

Luna smirked and jumped on her feet, her wolf ears twitching, her golden eyes lit up like two little suns.

"Humans?" she asked.

"Yes, adventurers..."

Boreas cut him off, "Leave the humans be Luna."

She glared at him, "Fuck off."

She made a step but Boreas' eyes opened. The atmosphere dropped in temperature until Sylvan's teeth chattered.

Eldrin shook his head.

"You know you can't, so don't start a fight you can't win."

She clenched her fists and her claws dug into her flesh, drawing blood that dripped in the water. A little growl left her lips before she calmed down. Her anger still showed on her face, but the tension eased and she took a step back.

The elder didn't know what to do, his village was under attack and none of them moved. Sylvan felt terrible for the poor stone creature but more importantly he thought of his own brother, Erian. Was he finally stronger? He's level 9 now so surely that meant he had a chance.

The silence lingered in the air. Sylvan glanced at Luna who just glared at him back. Eldrin stood unmoving and Boreas returned to his relaxed stance.

Then Eldrin finally spoke.

"I wouldn't go Sylvan unless you want to end up like your brother."

Sylvan's blood froze. His mouth opened slightly and his jaw tensed. Did he knew Erian was killed? Were they watching when his brother was killed? Were they too cowardly to do anything?

Eldrin saw his confusion.

"Oh I meant the humans will hunt you down if you intervene," he corrected.

Cinder stepped closer to Sylvan as he clenched his jaw and his face hardened into a grimace.

Sylvan tightened his fist before turning to face the elder.

"I'll go save your village," he said before standing up.

He turned back to the five others. His heart was beating a hundred miles an hour. He shouldn't say it. He really shouldn't. They were all stronger than him. More powerful and they'll kill him. But Luna insulted Cinder and they stood there and did nothing when Erian was killed.

"You're all cowards," he said and followed the elder.

Silence filled the room. It was a heavysilence that made everyone in the spring sweat. Fornica broke into a chuckle.

Boreas opened his eyes as he saw Nyx and Cinder follow Sylvan out of the spring. A strange smile formed on his frosty face as he closed his eyes again.

Luna smirked at the words but didn't move. The tension died and Eldrin finally spoke.

"A dryad who kills and now insults us, reminds me of that woman."