My (Monster?) Hero Life

Kace smiled savagely as the sound of feet thundered against the ground. The army had been on the move for a few days now, and everyone had fully recovered. They were little more than a few hours away from their target city, coming into view when Kace finally received a few notifications from the system!

[Quest: Forest of the Damned Stage 1 Completed!]

[Awarding Active Skill Forest of the Damned]

[Quest: Forest of the Damned Updated]

[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: 1/5. Rewards: Stage 2: Cursed Sapling Active Skill. Further Stage rewards are currently hidden.]

[Goals: Heroes Killed: 0/40, Adult Humans Killed: 0/100]

[Quest: Pulling Weeds By Their Roots, Stage 1 Completed!]

[Awarding Title: Pesticide]

[Pesticide: Your skills and spells are 10% more effective against non-adult enemies.]

[Quest: Pulling Weeds By Their Roots Updated]

[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 1/3. Unknown Rewards.]

[Goals: Young Humans (<16 years old) killed: 0/40]

Kace could barely contain his excitement when he saw that his gamble to infect Charlie had paid off. He had been concerned that the system might not count the kills as his own since he did not claim their lives in person. At least now, he knew he had been successful in weakening the defences that they were sure to face in the coming days. 

'Finally!' Sylvan roared within Kace's mind. 'I thought you had completely forgotten about me!'

'I promised to help you get your revenge, right? Why would you doubt me now?' Kace chuckled in response, drawing his companions' attention to the strangeness of that action right now.

'Hm, still. This is only the first step. We still have a ways to go to remove these vermin.' Sylvan snorted. At least for now, he did not have to worry about the other parts of Kace consuming him as a free meal. 

'Relax. We'll get plenty of opportunities from here on out to increase your strength. Just rest easy for now. Soon we'll have whatever survivors there are in a whole city to sate your rage on.' 

'Very well. I'll use the time just now to get used to my new strength.' Sylvan had a pleased tone during their entire inner monologue, which made Kace excited to see how the power-up would affect his weapon.

'Now, let's get a look at this new skill.' Kace scrolled through his interface to find the new skill. However, his jaw almost went slack when he read the description. 'This…'

[Skill: Forest of the Damned (Active)]

[Usage: Once Per Month]

[Area of Effect: 1000 Metres]

[Duration: 10 Minutes]

[Weapon Requirements: Sylvan]

[Description: The grudges of an entire lost race are stored within the weapon known as Sylvan. Channel their rage by stabbing Sylvan into the ground with the intention of annihilating your enemies. The grudges stored within Sylvan will be released, creating an illusory world where the grievances roam free to sate their hunger.]

It was needless to say that the skill was far more potent than he had been expecting. The only downside was its long cooldown period. Kace was so shocked because he had never seen anything like it. It made him wonder about the actual power of the spell. 'Would it be enough to fight Erik? Maybe stronger?'

Kace did all that he could to stop himself from getting carried away. It also had a short time limit, so as long as his target managed to survive, he would be back to square one. Almost. He would have to find an opportunity to test this skill. Preferably when he knew that he would get a decent period of rest between fights. 

There was nothing worse than not being familiar with the limits of a skill. If there was a flaw that his opponent could exploit, then it could become fatal. Still, it would be a rather nice ace in the hole to use as a last resort if he ever got cornered. It was definitely a strategic level skill in Kace's mind.

"What do you seem so happy about?" Sophia chirped as she moved to walk alongside him, uncaring of the dirty looks that she received from Lilly. 

"Ah, nothing much. I just got some good intel." Kace flashed a smile at the vampiress that almost made her lose herself. 

"Oh, really?" Sophia's face felt flushed even as she gave him a curious gaze. As far as she could see, nobody had delivered any intelligence to him, so she wondered about what methods he had hidden.

"You should be happy. It's going to make our job a lot easier." Kace's grin spread from ear to ear as he paused to build up the suspense.

"Come on then! Are you going to tell me or not?" Sophia nudged as her curiosity got the better of her. Truth be told, she quite liked it whenever Kace seemed to be in a playful mood. 

"Hm. Maybe. Maybe not." Kace replied in a teasing tone earning him a playful scowl from Sophia in response. "Alright. If you're sure, you want me to ruin the surprise." 

They both chuckled as Kace waved his hand in the air as if he were helpless against her interrogation. The others had heard their conversation as they were not exactly quiet about it. Grugda, in particular, was interested in listening to what it was that Kace had to say. 

At the same time, Shadow paid rapt attention to his Lord while completely giving Lorget the cold shoulder. He was still pissed that Lorget had gone behind his back to summon Kace to their battle.

"To everyone who is listening in," Kace shouted to make it clear that he was aware that they had eavesdroppers on their conversation. "When we reach the city, we'll hit them hard and fast. No need to set up a camp or anything."

More than a few surprised gasps sounded at that declaration. Everyone present was expecting a long and arduous siege of the city before they took it. Kace's following sentence soon answered the questions that were stirring in their hearts.

"A lot of humans behind the walls have died recently, and the survivors will be trying to contain a plague. Don't worry, guys. You won't be affected, so you can slaughter away to your heart's content!" Kace made sure to be as loud as possible as he said that so that everyone in the army could hear him. 

A wave of excitement rushed through the troops as everyone suddenly picked up their pace. Kace's declaration had practically lit a fire under their asses as everyone wanted to take advantage of the heroes weakened position as soon as possible!