Reborn As An Evolving Monster

Mark stood in the middle of the forest, about 500 meters away from the destroyed and scorched village.

Thanks to the Fire Spirit, the second Veil was located with relative ease.

'They might've had about 10 minutes to prepare last time, since I'd shot the Veil down. It'll be different now.'

A serious expression ruled Mark's face.

'More Corrupted Dark Elves? More Corrupted Dark Elf Warriors maybe? The Berserker was in a shack made of bricks at first. Will have to keep that in mind in case there's another one, or even multiple ones...'

The Veil made what lay beneath it seem similar to any other part of the forest, but if one was to focus on it, faults in the illusion could be noticed.

The way leaves fell to the ground, the way branches shook with the wind, it all seemed slightly, ever so slightly, wrong.

'If there are many of those shacks, or simply multiple Berserkers, retreat.' Mark ordered.

His Underlings gave a nod, despite not being able to see their Master.

Telepathy is such a convenient thing.

Forming a circle around the dome-like Veil, more than 700 Insect-Type Monsters stood.

If Mark's position was to be referred to as the Veil's Nothern border, then on the Eastern, the Insect Monsters' Queen stood.

On Fiery's abdomen, Krista, the Moonlite Feline.

The latter rather liked the placement.

To the West, a pair of wolves.

Their fangs, itching for blood.

The South had been left empty.

"Back already. Alala..."

That area was someone else's responsibility.

"If my explosions flop like last time, I'll feel pretty bad." The Fire Spirit whispered, standing tall above the veiled dome.

Glancing around him, a smirk appeared on his face.

"Since he's going at it seriously now, guess I have no choice but to do the same..." The Spirit chuckled.

Pointing straight down, dozens of spikes made from the bones of various Monsters floated around him.

'Now that I think about it, this Veil stretches upwards much more than the previous one. Almost cylindrically...'

The Spirit didn't worry about it too much.

'Let's try it. If it doesn't work well, I'm sure I'll be able to change it.' Mark thought to himself.

Behind him, steps were taken on the vibrant grass.

'As I've said, I won't be ordering you around.'

"Yes, my Lord." Levi answered after kneeling.

And Mark raised his right arm up.

***

Many Corrupted Dark Elves lazily lay in their wooden houses.

The houses differed slightly in size. Some smaller, some bigger.

One might think that the Monsters had to fight in order to decide whose house was whose. But that hadn't been the case at all.

It seemed the Corrupted Dark Elves instinctively knew who owned which house.

Why would they know that?

Because the houses had been theirs long before they had been moved.

Long before they'd been teleported into an unknown forest's midst.

Long before a dark dome had appeared above them.

The houses were theirs, before they'd even become Corrupted Dark Elves.

The dome above them was dark, yet there was light. But the Corrupted Dark Elves had no time to think about that unconsequential detail.

Upon being trapped by the dome, their first instinct had been to attack and attempt to destroy the looming cage.

Having been inflicted by powerful Corrupting Magic before they were teleported from where they previously lived, a different way to leave couldn't be figured out.

The Corruption was slowly harming both their minds and bodies.

Trapped, they couldn't do a thing. No matter how much they hit and attacked the dome, a dent couldn't be made.

Still, they tried, again and again.

Until fright and terror slowly turned into frenzy, which, unfortunately, allowed the Corruption embedded inside of them to spread both further and more profoundly.

It allowed the Corruption to break their spirits to such an extent, that those spirits became no different than a Beast's.

Only the shadow of their past selves and intellect remained.

And so, the Corrupted Dark Elves waited.

Under the dome, food wasn't necessary. They didn't need to defend themselves against outsiders either.

All they could do, was wait.

For what, they did not know.

A tired and bored Corrupted Dark Elf walked.

For no real reason, it had left its wooden house.

The Corrupted Dark Elf roamed the village.

Randomly.

Aimlessly.

Not unlike many other Corrupted Dark Elves.

For no real reason, that same Corrupted Dark Elf raised its gaze.

It stared at the dark dome.

Just like it had already, many, many times in the past.

But this time was different.

The Corrupted Dark Elf's eyes widened.

A hole had appeared through the dark dome.

The Corrupted Dark Elf opened its mouth, and let out a weak cry.

"Aaaa-"

The bright sky that had been taken away from them could finally be seen through the narrow gap.

It only took a moment for the number of holes in the dome to multiply.

"Aaaa!"

The dark dome had started fading.

Could it be?

Was the freedom they had been deprived of finally-

Struck by both surprise and hope, the Corrupted Dark Elf's body had frozen in place.

And a sharp spike pierced its head.

***

'Letting them fall randomly uses up way less Mana...' Mark noted.

With this simple move, he had not only defeated some enemies and injured many, but also planted numerous weapons throughout the village.

'Now...'

His eyes, just like those of every Underling, glanced over the village as the Veil fell.

Mark's lips started curling upwards.

Let alone one shack of bricks, none could be seen.

But something else was found instead.

'Huh...'

A tower made of bricks. About fifty meters high.

Mark's eyes looked it up and down.

'One door. One window. An archer? Or something bigger than a Berserker? What to do...?'

His Underlings, finding a tower instead of shacks of bricks stopped.

Only Fiery's Offspring ran forward.

Mark gave his order shortly after.

'Keep going.'

The next instant, the Fire Spirit swung his right hand.

Four whips of flames descended upon the village, exploding upon impact.

"This one worked pretty well last time." The Spirit whispered enthusiastically.

Taken by surprise, the Corrupted Dark Elves' first instinct was to flee. Some had run out of their wooden houses without even taking their weapons.

But they, soon, found waves of Insect Monsters blocking the way.

Volleys of Fire Balls were shot at them.

Light and Grey stealthily moved through the gaps between the Insect Monsters. The wolves' fangs slowly approached their targets.

Fiery and the Moonlit Feline attacked from afar, aiding the Offspring in front of them in their raid of the village.

Levi moved forward, clearing the way for his Lord.

Mark clenched his fists.

'Now...'

A purple Aura started oozing out of his body.

'Let's try this again.'

[Your Skill "Berserker[#]" is activating!]