Free Web NovelChapter 248: Phantom Treekin
Only fifty to sixty Survivors who hadn’t been affected were left bewildered on the first floor of the Hospital.
"You... who exactly are you?" There was no explanation.
Several astonishingly brilliant flashes of light streaked through the crowd.
"Swish!"
Again the shadow started moving.
The next second, this group of people suddenly felt a sense of dread.
The group closest to Vikram reacted first, touching their abdomens.
They only felt a warm sensation, followed by a sharp pain.
In Vikram’s eyes, a smooth line of blood appeared on the abdomens of these approaching Survivors, splitting them open.
Cut in half at the waist!
The entire first floor of the Hospital was instantly stained red with gushing blood.
For Phanty, till now he didn’t care who his opponent was. No matter if it was Zombies, Humans or Beasts, all have the same results.
Phanty barely needed to exert any force; with just a few light slashes, the first floor of the Hospital was already a mess.
As for the mysterious light, it was purely because his knife movements were too fast for them to see clearly.
Most of these people didn’t have anything good on them; all the good stuff was on Lawrence’s corpse.
Aside from some crystals, the only thing worth noting was the Epic-level katana that had been knocked out of his hand earlier.
Vikram scanned it with the system.
[Shadow Weaver: An Epic-level katana. Incredibly sharp, and during combat, there’s a chance to make the next strike faster. Sword-swinging speed can stack until the strike is finished.]
"Oh, this sword’s special ability is quite useful." Vikram raised an eyebrow slightly, giving it a casual swing, and found it quite handy.
He then picked up the other sword in his hand, which was the first Epic weapon he had acquired, the Wolf’s Howl Blade.
This weapon’s special ability was a chance to intimidate enemies, similar to a fear effect, and it was also a good weapon.
However, Vikram always favored quick battles, so while this thing was useful in the early stages, it was now completely inferior to the powerful Tungsten Steel Hammer he wielded.
Since that was the case, he decided he would give it to his women.
After a period of adaptation, Vikram summoned his RV and told his Plants Team to load all the medicine from the basement into the RV.
Then he assigned Healy and Fiery to drop it to his territory.
He, on the other hand, turned and went upstairs.
The Brown Wood Shelter outside sounded like trouble, but to Vikram, it was just a minor interlude.
This defeated Legendary Zombie was the main event of the entire Hospital.
He went to the fifth floor alone and, without hesitation, smashed the Legendary Zombie, which was confined to the ward, to death with a hammer.
As soon as he dealt with Legendary Zombie, a similar notification rang inside his mind.
[Congratulations Survivor. You have defeated the Legendary Zombie: Physician Attendant.]
[Title Upgraded — Zombie Conqueror (Purple)] freёweɓnovel.com
[Effect: Damage dealt to zombie-type creatures +50%. All attributes +20% when facing boss-type or leader-type undead.]
[Enhanced Intimidation: Mid and low-grade zombie creatures may hesitate, slow down, or lose coordination in your presence.]
[Passive Aura: Fear Immunity against zombie-type mental effects. Killing intent greatly amplified, granting heightened focus and battle clarity.]
[Zombie Suppression: After killing a zombie-type boss, the host can suppress nearby zombies for a short duration, weakening their coordination and preventing group-based actions.]
A powerful aura surged around Vikram for a brief moment before fading, and his title was upgraded.
[Ruin clearance condition fulfilled.]
[Host may choose:]
[Option 1 — End exploration here. Hospital Ruins will permanently disappear.]
[Option 2 — Advance to Low Tier Legendary-Level Dungeon: Zombie Origin Dungeon. This dungeon has only one clearing opportunity. Failure or retreat will cause the dungeon to vanish forever.]
The moment it appeared, a gate started forming, for Vikram it was nothing new.
He then started looking for the crystal inside the Physician. Since it was Legendary, it must have some heaven defying crystal.
It was the first time he had killed any Legendary Zombie, so he smashed the corpse of the Legendary-level, which only had its upper body and head left.
But he was also prepared for the loss, according to the rule of the Wasteland that the higher the rank, the harder it is to obtain.
However, the moment he smashed the zombie’s head, a golden light reappeared before Vikram’s eyes.
And then the things which appeared, it was not like the crystal, it was like the orb.
Vikram looked at the information.
[Shadow Core Orb: Gold-grade, single-use item. Using it unlocks the upgrade requirements for Shadow-type beasts or users. For unawakened individuals, the user gains 3 points in each of the four primary stats and 10 points in Spirit. There is a 15% chance to awaken the special ability, Boundless Darkness.]
Reading the description, Vikram trembled with excitement!
An uncontainable smile spread across his face.
Finally, he knew how to upgrade his Plants Team. It would begin with the Shadow Core, and later he would gather all the necessary orbs for his entire plant team. He was sure of it.
However, because he was so focused on upgrading his Plants Team, Vikram had overlooked one critical detail. The Shadow Core Orb had another, far more terrifying use.
Then he heard another familiar system, which was from his Plant Life System.
[Congratulations, Host, for defeating the Legendary Zombie and eliminating a large number of zombies with the assistance of your Plant Sprout Team.]
[Rewards Obtained:]
• Plant Essence +50000
• Demonvine Seed (Purple) ×50
• Mage Seed ×5 (Purple)
• Vine Sniper Tower ×5 (Purple)
• Fire Core Orb ×1 (Gold)
• Advance Growth Acceleration ×6
---
The rewards appeared one by one. Vikram glanced through them calmly.
Each reward was quite good, but when his eyes landed on the Fire Core Orb, his happiness doubled instantly.
Just a few minutes ago, he had obtained the Shadow Core Orb, and now he had the Fire Core Orb as well.
Now both his Fire Mage and Phantom Druid could evolve. However, since the Fire Mage was not present, he decided to evolve Phantom Druid first.
He also had a strong gut feeling that the next ruin he explored would be even more important for him.
---
Meanwhile, back at his territory, Divya, Anjali, Sophia, and the others were shocked when a large amount of materials and many precious medicines were suddenly dropped in front of them.
The Fire Mage also handed over three Epic-level swords to Sophia, Divya, and Anjali.
Before climbing back into the RV, Divya said to them, "Tell Vikram to be careful."
Fire Mage Druid nodded and then climb back in RV and went towards the Hospital Ruin.
---
The moment Vikram placed the Shadow Core Orb into the Phantom Druid’s hands, the entire territory seemed to darken slightly.
A deep purple-black aura erupted from the orb, spreading like flowing smoke before completely enveloping the Phantom Druid’s body.
"Waa..."
The Phantom Druid let out a low sound as its body slowly floated into the air.
The playful aura it usually carried disappeared entirely.
Dark mist spiraled around it in layers, forming countless shadow vines that wrapped tightly around its body like a cocoon.
Crack—
The small plant horns on its head were the first to change.
The originally curved purple horns gradually softened, splitting apart into countless glowing particles before dissolving into the surrounding darkness.
At the same time, the plant-like texture covering its skin began fading rapidly.
The rough bark patterns on its arms cracked apart piece by piece, revealing smoother, pale skin beneath.
Its body also started transforming.
The short, child-like frame rapidly grew taller. Its shoulders widened, muscles tightened, and its proportions became more refined and human-like.
The face changed the most.
The youthful appearance of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old slowly matured into that of a young man around twenty years old.
Its jawline sharpened.
The childish softness disappeared completely, replaced by a cold and dangerously handsome appearance.
Long dark-purple hair gradually formed from the flowing shadows, reaching down to its neck while strands drifted slightly in the air.
Those glowing purple eyes became deeper and more terrifying, as if endless darkness was swirling within them.
Even the surrounding shadows reacted unnaturally, twisting and moving on their own.
The shadow cocoon around him pulsed violently.
BOOM!
A wave of dark energy exploded outward.
The evolved Phantom Druid slowly descended onto the ground.
This time, however, it no longer looked like a strange plant child. It looks a complete human.
Vikram looked towards it upgraded details in the System.
[Phantom Treekin (Gold)]
Type: Stealth Treekin
Status: Level 1
Growth Potential: Extremely High
Upgradeable: Yes
Daily Plant Essence Generation: +100
Physique:
Strength: 82
Speed: 104
Stamina: 78
Reaction: 112
Level Up Requirement: Combat / Kill Experience ×10,000
Upgrade Requirement:
• Plant Essence ×150,000
• Combat Experience ≥100,000
• Level 20
Description: A rare evolved Treekin born after the Phantom Druid fused with a Shadow Core. Unlike ordinary plant entities, the Phantom Treekin possesses a highly humanoid body formed from condensed shadow energy and evolved plant essence.
Its existence partially overlaps between reality and shadow, making its movements difficult to perceive and its presence nearly impossible to track. The evolved body grants far greater intelligence, combat instincts, and independent decision-making abilities.
Abilities:
• Phantom Rift Step — The Phantom Treekin dissolves completely into shadow particles and instantly traverses between nearby dark spaces. Multiple chained relocations can now be performed continuously with almost no delay. Residual shadow traces remain behind, heavily confusing enemy perception and targeting.
• Abyssal Assassination — Launches devastating assassination strikes infused with shadow energy. Attacks possess greatly increased armor penetration and critical lethality. Successfully striking a target applies Abyss Mark, amplifying future damage and weakening enemy reactions.
• Shadow Doppelgangers — Creates advanced shadow clones capable of mimicking realistic combat behavior, movement patterns, and fake attacks. Clones can briefly become semi-solid before exploding into shadow mist that disrupts vision and enemy coordination.
• Nether Veil — Transforms the body into a deeper shadow-mist state, drastically increasing evasion, stealth, and movement speed. During activation, physical attacks partially phase through the body, significantly reducing incoming damage.
• Shadow Thorn Prison — Summons massive shadow-infused vines from beneath the battlefield, binding and suppressing enemies while continuously draining stamina and energy. Targets trapped for too long experience slowed reactions and weakened perception.
• Nightfall Reaper — Instantly locks onto weakened or marked enemies. The Phantom Treekin vanishes and reappears directly behind the target, unleashing a lethal execution strike. Damage massively increases against injured enemies or targets affected by Abyss Mark.
• Shadow Territory Synchronization — Inside the Host’s territory, all stealth abilities consume less energy while regeneration speed, movement efficiency, and assassination precision increase significantly.
Role: An elite shadow-born executioner specializing in stealth warfare, infiltration, battlefield disruption, and instant elimination of high-priority targets. Excels at psychological pressure, coordinated assassinations, and fighting from unseen angles before disappearing back into darkness.
Looking at the updated details of the Phantom Treekin, Vikram nodded in satisfaction.
The surrounding Druids and Sprouts were also stunned by the transformation.
The moment the evolution ended, many of them instinctively gathered around him.
Stormy was the first to approach curiously, circling around the Phantom Treekin while staring at his new humanoid appearance with wide eyes.
Occasionally, he even poked his arm lightly, seemingly trying to confirm whether he was still a plant entity or had become a real human.
The Ice Mage Sprout quietly observed nearby, its cold eyes showing rare surprise.
Archy and Ranzy exchanged glances before nodding slightly, clearly acknowledging the Phantom Treekin’s newfound strength.
Even the usually calm Earth Mage Sprout looked impressed, touching the dark shadow vines around Phantom Treekin’s arm with curiosity.
After some time, the Fire Mage Druid and Healer Druid also arrived back.
The Fire Mage Druid folded his arms while observing the transformed Phantom Treekin carefully. Meanwhile, the Healer Druid calmly inspected his evolved body, seemingly confirming that the evolution process had stabilized successfully.
Seeing that Fire Mage and Healer arrived back, Vikram with everyone entered inside the gate.
