My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 113: Inner Mind

Kace immediately felt like an idiot. After several seconds had passed, there was still no response. Just as he about to tell Sonja that it was hopeless, a wave of emotions invaded his mind. Clutching his head, he fell to his knees as his eyes began to cloud over with a red mist.

All he could feel in that moment was the same anger and grief that he felt during the vision he had been shown. He felt his consciousness being dragged through his mind to a specific area. He was now cut off from what was happening in the room with Sonja. Instead, his body was floating in the darkness of his mind.

He was pulled towards a soft purple glow in the distance. As he drew near to it, he gasped in shock. It was a small floating island. Or to be exact, this island looked like the decimated area the forest had once stood in. Completely devoid of life. Standing there, awaiting his arrival was the tall shadowy figure that was Sylvan.

He was gently put down on the ground on his own two feet and looked around in wonder. 'It's such a dark place. No wonder it feels the way it does if it's constantly reminded of these things.' Kace felt pity for Sylvan and even hoped there would be something he could do to help it recover at least a little bit.

"Not 'it', 'he'." The menacing voice of Sylvan spoke to him.

Kace was taken aback until he remembered that Sylvan could communicate mentally. 'Damn! My thoughts will never be private again!' He inwardly complained. That meant he would not be able to keep anything from Sylvan at all. 

"Your thoughts are irrelevant. I don't really care as long as you fulfil our purpose." Sylvan growled, making his stance very clear on the matter. "Why do you disturb me?"

"I was hoping you could tell me what it is exactly you expect of me?" Kace replied while watching for any hostile movements.

"You should already know," Sylvan replied while gesturing towards the wasteland. "Eradicate the ones who did this. Make them feel our pain."

"The ones who did this are most likely already dead," Kace replied calmly while looking at the barren wasteland. "I'm not sure what else I can do."

"Foolish. They wiped out our races. So their entire race is our target. So many of our young were slaughtered. Their futures were stolen. They will never grace this land again." Sylvan replied with a sorrowful growl. "I have felt your own pain. You want them to disappear too, do you not?"

Kace thought about this for some time. It was true that he had to remove the Heroes presence from his new world. It was also confirmed that he had no qualms about killing those that got in his way or if it were necessary. However, what Sylvan was asking went far beyond that. He was about to answer when the sound of a bell went off in his mind. It signalled a new system notification which was a first for him. Usually, it would just give him a notice in the corner of his eye. Feeling curious, he decided to check it out.

[System Notification: New quests granted!]

[Quest: Forest of the Damned]

[Help Sylvan to recover to his full strength. The blood of his enemies is the best fertiliser for his mind space to grow. Current stage: 0/5. Rewards: Stage 1: Forest of the Damned Active Skill. Further Stage rewards are currently hidden.]

[Goals: Heroes killed: 0/20, Adult Humans Killed: 0/50]

[Quest: Pulling Weeds By Their Roots]

[Humans are no better than weeds that choke the life out of a forest to Sylvan. They need to be dealt with at their roots. Current Stage: 0/3. Unknown Rewards.]

[Goals: Young Humans (<16 years old) killed: 0/20]

Kace was at first elated with the first quest. He could always use more skills, but it was a double-edged sword. The stronger Sylvan became, the more unlikely he would be able to control him. However, the second quest had him feeling a bit complicated. Sure they were humans, but essentially they were innocent compared to the ones he had struck down so far.

He knew it was hypocritical of him to refuse this one seeing as when he helped the goblins, orcs and trolls take Stonefall there were plenty of young victims. Not that he actually killed them himself he was still responsible for his part in it. For some reason, he felt as though he could hear his monster nature laughing at his dilemma.

'That's strange, that actually seemed like a real laugh.' Kace was confused as he thought about it. Sure he had felt sudden impulses that would seem monstrous before. He had always felt that it was a side effect of what he had become. This, however, was entirely new to him.

"Is this your first time exploring your inner mind?" Sylvan asked with mild curiosity as he heard Kace's thoughts.

"You mean I could have come here before?" Kace asked with a hint of shock. He had assumed that it was only because of Sylvan that he could appear here. As though it were exclusive to him. This question received a sound like a tongue clicking in response from Sylvan.

"Naive. Is everyone from your world so ignorant? Your inner mind is essential to understanding your true nature. Only when you grasp that are you able to reach your full potential." Sylvan responded with a disappointed tone. "You are fortunate, I can help you to learn how to take advantage of this space."

Kace felt a glimmer of hope, from what Sylvan was saying there was another way for him to get stronger besides farming experience. Sylvan pointed a long shadowy arm behind him, causing him to look in that direction. In the distant darkness, there were three balls of light. One was giving off a crimson red glow, and even from this distance, he felt as though it were hungry. Out of the three of them, this one was the largest.

The second and next largest was white in colour. It felt cold and empty, like a graveyard. The final one was a sickly green colour and far smaller than the others. Kace estimated that it might even be smaller than Sylvan's purple island. 'I wonder what they are?' 

"Those are the differences in your nature. Each one holds secrets to becoming stronger. In the end, you will have to choose one to devote yourself to so that you can reach the pinnacle of your existence. The others will either be absorbed by the one you choose or will flicker out of existence." Sylvan said solemnly.