Yvon landed next to Yura after killing one demon knight. - Need help? -
Yura shrugged. - IÆll let you know. But IÆll try to handle him myself, for now. IÆve got skills IÆve been itching to test out on. something strong. -
- All right, IÆll keep the demon knights from meddling. -
- What should we call this demon? - Yura looked at Yvon, and the demon-elite looked quizzically back at them. Its large sword glowed red and then black. A black flame emerged from it.
Demonfire, again. How nostalgic.
The walker stepped closer. A bit more. I just needed its entire massive body entirely within range. Most of the horde of soldier - demonoids crossed the second layer of defenses. Those makeshift walls really didnÆt last very long, but it served the purpose.
- For TreeTree! - Horns mentally shouted. - Battle - beetles, letÆs go! - There was no new beetle type; it was just a name Horns came up with. It was punny, he said. Wisp said their personalities took after an aspect of their creators, so I thought Horns inherited a punny part of me.
Beetles streamed out of the tunnels under the second and third layer of walls, charging into the mass of demonoids from both sides, and the entire area turned into a massive brawl.
Strangely, despite the chaos of the brawl, all the demons had the sense to avoid the demon-elite and Yura , both in intense, rather high - speed combat.
The demon-elite or general could fly, but at that distance, neither could really hurt each other. It seemed that the demon-elite wasnÆt much of a spellcaster, so they went into a full melee.
Yura ducked, dodged, and sidestepped the demon-eliteÆs large bastard sword repeatedly, often narrowly avoiding mini - explosions from the sword - blast.
- demon-generalÆs a better name? - Yura Æs sword cut the demon-generalÆs wings, but the wings regenerated. It roared in response, its mouth shooting out a mini - projectile at Yura . - And screw this. - Bamboo generated a massive wooden shield in front of Yura . The wooden shield disintegrated, but it seemed like the demon-general didnÆt have that many uses of that projectile, since it went back into melee.
Right above, the demon walker stepped even closer. Its feet now crossed over the third layer walls easily. It roared again, this time the energy blast aimed right at the forest, right at me.
- It can sense our presence, Master, - Trevor commented. - It knows of the magical energies you are radiating. -
In my mind, I didnÆt think so.
Steelwood barrier x 5. Thank goodness I seemed to have more than few hundred uses of these shield - skills per day. Multiple large wooden barriers once again appeared to block the energy blast. Four barriers disintegrated, but the last one held. - Well, what do you know? My shields at this distance can stop that blast. -
Below it, the beetles and the demonoids fought it out in a massive brawl. The militia and the OrderÆs soldiers kept up the volley of arrows, but in such state, there was quite a bit of friendly fire. The beetles large sizes didnÆt help.
The walker roared again, and. the spires on its back glowed red, and another spire glowed purple. Once that started, the demonoids glowed red, too, and they went into a kind of battle - frenzy, and the damage suffered by the demonoids seemingly regenerated.
- Oh. That castleÆs an aura - machine. - I mentally smacked myself. Of course, the castle imparted passive buffs, like me.
The spires started to shoot out smaller, less powerful energy blasts.
- And itÆs equipped with laser - turrets. - Alexis looked in amazement. - ItÆs a walking laser tank. -
For me, those glowing red spires reminded me of the Obelisk of Light.
- The blood - rituals donÆt look so bad now. - I sighed. To be fair, without the walker, IÆd defeat the forty thousand, even sixty thousand demonoids without a problem. Ten thousand beetles wouldÆve taken out twenty thousand demonoids, easy. Clearly, for regular humans without special anti - demon skills and weapons, they would need to gather a large group of high - level individuals. At least multiple level eighties.
It really made my multiplier against demons a great advantage.
Madeus, together with the mages of New Freeka, changed their targets to the giant walker, since it was hard to avoid friendly fire with the beetles fighting literally in the trenches. Lozanna was doing fine. She had a whip - like weapon that seemed to cut through the demons like they were made of paper, and it was only against the knights that she needed help from the beetles.
- WeÆve got them held up at the third layer, - one of the captains said. Well, the fourth layer was the last layer of walls, and after that, it was New FreekaÆs own town walls or the forest itself. I wasnÆt keen on letting the walker anywhere near the forest since the treefolk village was between me and them.
The walker stepped and kicked the third layerÆs walls with its large feet.
- Oh. - I kind of forgot that it could just. hit things instead of using the energy blast. And it kicked again.
And that segment of the walls crumbled. Most of the men had retreated to the fourth layer; it was mostly just ranged combat, except for beetles. Some of the soldier - elites also tried to fight the demonoids. By now, the demonoids thinned to about thirty thousand, and IÆd lost about half of my beetles, some losses of soldiers or the Order, mostly from the walker. But it looked like they would have to bear some more.
The walker stepped through the crumbled sections. It kicked the fourth layer walls with incredible force, and then, strangely, walked past the fourth layer of walls. It walked toward me as if it knew I was there. Waiting.
- Oh, it dares to approach TreeTree? - Alexis grinned. - Even though TreeTree has anti - demon powers? -
It roared. My wooden shields blocked the energy blast. Good. Come.
- Get as close as you need to so I can shove all the roots I have through your body. -
Hmm, letÆs see whether there was going to be any collateral damage.
- Have the treefolk evacuated? -
- Let me check. yes, - Trevor said.
Most of them were now in the designated safe houses. Those that could fight were on the fourth wall and some back at New FreekaÆs town walls. The demonoid army was still behind it, caught up in the brawl with the beetles, though some were trickling past the third wall.
Yura and the demon-general fought toe - to - toe as Yvon focused on fighting the other demon knights that tried to come to the demon-generalÆs aid.
Yura Æs still had an edge, but if there was two of them, heÆd be in trouble. He took a few hits, but thankfully the armor bore the brunt of it. Yvon, on the other hand, focused on the other demon knights.
At first Yvon wanted to help, but her own level was only about sixty, so she changed her targets. Yura and the demon-general traded blows.
The demon general leaped high up, half of its wings torn from an earlier well - placed slash. Its large bastard sword cracked, and a massive wooden fist punched it right in the body. It staggered back, and Yura changed weapons again. The wooden swords didnÆt last long, but he had a whole lot stored.
- So, any tricks? - Yura Æs body was surrounded by BambooÆs wood - armor, and its flexible form meant it was also a weapon. - Or were you just faster, stronger, and hit a whole lot harder? -
The demon-general staggered, even with the aura - effects from the Demon Spires. There were three wooden spears lodged in its body, the wooden spears enchanted with holy magic and made from TreeTreeÆs anti - demon wooden stakes. Its enchantment meant it drained some demonic energy out of the demon-general.
- Well, time to end this. Speed Slash . -
A flash of light and the demon-generalÆs body was cut in half, then it disintegrated.
- Just a faster, stronger demon knight. IÆd be worried if they start having actual skills. - Yura did a fist, and then he realized there was still a whole lot of demons to fight.
- Good, IÆm going to be fighting the demon walker now. -
- Is this what Godzilla looked like? ItÆs massive. - Meela looked in amazement. - Are we going to have a monster fight now? Tree versus demon walker. -
Size - wise, it was larger than the earlier demon-champions. But it felt like maybe it was not as strong. Or maybe there was some trade - off. It certainly didnÆt feel as threatening, despite its enormous size.
A demon champion. IÆd long awaited this day.
The special anti - demon bolts were ready. IÆd gained twenty levels and many skills since I last fought the demon champions eight years ago, and I had more hero fragments, too. I had prepared for this moment, with skills and items. I believed I could take it, and now to see whether I could.
The giant demon walked, and now it was on the very edges of my forest.
And that was as far as I was going to let it go. A wall of wood shields appeared in front of it.
- You shall not pass! - Alexis shouted.
Meela did a facepalm. - ThatÆs lame. -
Super anti - demon rootstrikes x 5. All tipped with the specially made demon bolts. One rootstrike for one of those giant legs. The roots shot out of the ground, a dense energy surrounding each of the bolts and the edge.
And it exploded right on the legs. The demon walker roared, and this time, it shot out a few energy blasts. I blocked three of them, but the fourth one left leveled a patch of forests and destroyed a section of the treefolkÆs village.
Still, I was happy. The rootstrikes did what I expected them to do. It stopped walking as large chunks were taken out of its five legs. It looked unsteady, as if it was going to crumble on its own weight. But it didnÆt.
It roared again, and this time it turned its head. It wasnÆt aimed at me, but at the fourth layer of walls.
Shit! I created the wood shields in the wrong place, and the blast vaporized a large chunk of the fourth layer walls. Some of the beetles and soldiers there were killed.
- TreeTree! DonÆt let it shoot at us! - Yura shouted. Some of the men were buried under the rubble.
Heh, all it could do now was shoot? The spires on its back glowed and shot out red beams, and it set a portion of the forest on fire. Its large head roared again and blasted one more energy blast.
My wooden shields caught the shot, but still, the impact caused the space right before the shield to burst into flames.
Constrict . Using vines, I attempt to force the head to aim only at me.
Super anti - demon root strike x 5. More bolts, and this time, before it could release another round of energy blasts, I took out its five feet. The giant crashed into the ground, and with it came a huge shockwave of smoke and dust. But it wasnÆt dead yet, the spires on its back still shooting beams.
Still, I was confident. LetÆs see whether it had any tricks left.
Super anti - demon root strike x 5.
More bolts. I had about ninety bolts left and had many more super - root strikes to go.
It struggled.
It roared again and more energy blasts. This time, I thought it used a special attack because it blasted through all of the defensive shields I had and then blew up three subsidiary trees , and then the energy blast smacked right into my main body.
And I felt a chunk of my bark fall off. - Oh. IÆm still alive. - Thank goodness for all the fragments.
Well, letÆs retaliate.
Super anti - demon root strike x 10. The hard shell around the main body shattered on impact, and a few of my roots struck whatever was inside. I thought I hit something important.
The ground shook, like something exploded inside of its body.
Its head roared again, charging another energy blast. This time because of the poor angle, the shot went wide and flew into the sky.
No chances. I shot out another ten Super Anti - demon Root Strike , aimed at the giant head. It cracked, and then the entire head crumbled.
The spires of the castle collapsed. A humanoid giant appeared in its place. Its. body was half - hexed, as if the demon-flesh was rotting, and each step, chunks of it fall off, as if it was melting. If this was what the hexbomb did, it felt like the future was gonna be quite. grim.
- Uh. -
The giant humanoid demon stepped forward, and more parts fell off. Yet I saw it struggling as it attempted to regenerate the destroyed parts. It was an ongoing battle between the demonÆs regeneration and the corruption of the hexbomb.
- Uh. -
It was a demon, and there was no time for caution.
Super anti - demon root strike x 2.
Two roots shot out of the ground and impaled the giant through its chest and what I suspected was the head. Seriously, a humanoid demon.
And then it disintegrated, along with the rest of the demon walker body.
- Uh. is that it? -
- The walker is down! The walker is down! - Alexis shouted and clapped her spirit - like hands.
I mentally made a fistbump. IÆd finally reached the point where I could take on a champion by myself.
As the body disintegrated, the aura from the spires faded, too. The elves, centaurs, treefolk, and beetles who were busy fighting the regular demonoids suddenly found their opponents had become far weaker than they originally were. The energy that was resisting and offsetting my lesser demonic suppression was gone, and now, they felt the full effect of the aura.
What was left of the twenty thousand or so weakened humanoid demons fell to the might of the remaining forces or were skewered in the flood of root strikes that followed.
Level up! You are now level 137! (+5 levels)
Skill acquired: Healing Aura
Skill upgraded: Subsidiary Trees - 15,000. Subsidiary Trees gains a share of main bodyÆs environmental adaptations and auras. Only applies to subsidiary trees within 100km of main - tree.
Skill upgraded: Woodcrafting
Skill upgraded: Steelwood Barrier
Skill upgraded: Root tunnels
YEAR 81 MONTH 6 (CONTINUED)
- We lived. - Yvon sat. - I thought that was. not the hardest battle IÆve been in. -
Yura tapped her shoulder. - WeÆve still got work to do. - He pointed to the many, many injured soldiers and the dead. The energy blasts from the demon walker still killed many, and there was a portion of New Freeka that was blasted wide open. A whole load of repairs had to be done.
- But. but. the demon walker was defeated. We deserve a celebration! - the captains said.
Yura smiled. - Perhaps. Though I would give credit to TreeTreeÆs exceptional anti - demon weapons. The demon general would have lasted a lot longer without his demon-draining weapons. -
- But you would still win. - Yura just smiled and looked at a young girl running over, her short hair fluttering.
Lozanna was covered in dirt, blood, and a whole load of demonic shards. Mostly unhurt.
- Uncle! - She landed right in front of him. - I destroyed eighty - seven demons! -
- Good job. - Yura smiled and just rubbed her head. - Hope you gain a level! -
- I hope I gain many levels! -
Yura smiled. - How was it, your first true battlefield experience? -
- Oh, it was a lot less bloody and messy than my dreams. I think TreeTree exaggerated how gory and brutal it is. -
- TreeTree been giving you gory war - dreams, eh? - Yura frowned a little. Using the essences, and my own memories of wars, I could somewhat mold the general direction and types of dreams Lozanna got. I honestly didnÆt know what exactly happened in the dreams; Dream Tutor was kind of like a random map generator where I put in the parameters and ingredients, and things just happened.
- Yeah. I told him I wanted to feel like - Lozanna then paused. - Oops. -
Yvon frowned, too. - I better check what dreams the other kids are getting. ItÆs not good to have visions of death and destruction at that age. -
What, I needed to start parental guidances for dreams now?
Lozanna shook her head. - TreeTree was just helping so that I know what to do when itÆs the real thing. -
Yura sighed. - Anyway, not a good time to argue about it. LetÆs get the wounded to the healers, those seriously wounded to the biopods, and the dead to the morgue. -
There was a lot of wounded and dead soldiers, despite my interference. About eight hundred soldiers and close to seven thousand beetles still died in the fight against the demons, the soldier deaths mostly from the demon knights. But then, my new healing aura kicked in, and for the injured, their wounds began to heal even before the healers got to them. And my new aura even improved the effect of healing.
- New skill? - Yura asked, noticing the unusually quick recover of his own cuts and wounds and those injured suddenly finding their strength returning to them.
- Yup. -
The mood all round was mixed but getting better. Some groups were upset and mourned the deaths of their comrades. Some were just incredibly amazed that they survived a battle against a towering giant, and of those that survived, a lot of the soldiers would gain levels from this battle.
The citizens also got the signal to leave their respective bunkers and hideouts, and there was a big blast that wrecked a portion of the city. I also had to get the mages to help put out the fires, since I didnÆt have my own water magic.
Beetles closed in on what remained of the demon walker. I had a quarantine zone established, and Madeus, our resident wizard, was tasked to investigate the remains. There was massive rubble where the main body of the walker collapsed, and most of the demon walkerÆs body disintegrated into nothingness, but there were still some remains.
The rotting thing was the hex. Like a sludge, it now pooled on the ground.
- A/ , can you see this? - Madeus poked it with his wooden stick. It kind of latched on, like a slimy thing. Madeus likes to refer to me as A/ , since he felt it was inappropriate to refer to me as TreeTree. He poked it. It was not exactly. a slime, but it sure radiated a kind of energy. - I donÆt feel too good being so close. -
- Hmm, then stay away. -
Inspection .
A hex, made from the sacrifice of souls.
Uh. DidnÆt tell much.
- Can you do anything about it? -
- Uh. - Madeus tried to use some spells, but the hex kind of just. stayed there. It didnÆt react.
- Can you blast it to smithereens or something? -
- Nope. - Madeus did a fireball. Hex remained. It was not exactly. destroy - able. It kind of just got splattered.
- So. we just leave it there? - I asked. This was new to me.
Madeus looked at his staff. The hex had damaged the wood somewhat; a section that had come in contact with the hex was rotting. - Yeah. I think itÆs best we just seal off this area and let the hex dissipate naturally. -
- Uh. - Hmm. I wasnÆt sure whether I should get near the hex, though. AlexisÆs nuclear description somehow made me suspicious that this hex might be radioactive residue. But I had to know for sure. - Can you take a very small sample? Just one cup? -
- Oh. Okay. - I had one of the beetles carry the small wooden container. The almost - black hex - slime seemed to have a purple glow, and really, Alexis took a glance at it, shook her head.
- Disgusting. -
As a precaution, I created a biolab some distance away, such that if anything happened, such as. rotting, I could cut off the biolab and I wouldnÆt suffer the consequences.
- This hex thing. itÆs created from sacrifices, eh? - I asked.
- Yeah. Blood magicÆs quite special in the sense that it powers itself and lasts really long. But of course, the cost of it is. usually someoneÆs life. ItÆs common in the countries with extensive slavery some time ago, but its practice and use has dwindled as the constant use of slaves is. unsustainable, and there is often a great deal of backlash from blood magic, such as the spellcasters suffering nightmares or perpetual hauntings. - Alexis went into full nerdy magic mode. Even Madeus didnÆt know that much, but it seemed Alexis was a mage, and she did somehow manage to read such things.
- ItÆs just bad. - Meela frowned her wooden eyebrows. I thought they looked like little stems from a flower. She had an actual flower on her head now; she said it helped in the whole hospitality business thing.
- According to our modern sensibilities. - Alexis frowned. - But blood magic is primordial. I recall meeting a shaman on one of the islands we visited, and they used to sacrifice goats and cows to the gods, and they say theyÆve been doing for ages. Kind of like our ancient civilizations, Meela. -
- Which one? -
- Most of the Mesoamerican ones. Even now there are some ritual sacrifices that happen in many cultures. I would think there must be some parallels with how blood magic is in this world. Perhaps they sacrifice and trade for some godly powers? -
I took a look at the blackish hex - liquid. Godly? Certainly didnÆt feel that way, but well, what did I know?
- How do you plan to investigate it? Biolab? Pour it into your pod and figure it out? - Alexis asked.
- Yeah. It certainly looked a bit. organic. - Well. Yeah. Black, hex - like thing. Maybe it was like sludge, from like. a petrol spill? But there was a purple glow, so there was clearly some magic to it happening.
I decided I needed more time to think about what I was going to do, so I let the specimen sit on a little storage container in that lone biolab in a corner of the valley.
YEAR 81 MONTH 7
After a brief status check, New Freeka emerged mostly. unharmed. The site of where the hex - sludge left behind by the massive demon walker, by order of the Council and Order, was to be quarantined. So it was now surrounded by walls and guarded by beetles. If reports were true, they would spawn monsters, though so far, IÆd not seen any.
The sludge kind of just pooled together into a large, blackish pool, and it seemed they were somewhat magically intertwined, like magnets, that they would naturally merge into one interconnected body. Not that anyone wanted to get near it. It seemed Madeus said he felt sick for a few days, and I had to check on him.
It wasnÆt a bodily sickness, or maybe if it was, it wasnÆt something that healing aura or my powers did offset. It really did give credence to the whole radiation theory that Alexis had, but the idea of doing nuclear fusion or fission with souls just. boggled my mind.
- I think the tree of prayer does relieve the symptoms a bit. I think itÆs all the negative energy from the blood sacrifice, - Madeus theorized. Again, something worth investigating. Or maybe it could just be additional placebo from the calming effects of the Tree of Prayer .
On the political front, the defeat of the demon walker was significant and greatly boosted the OrderÆs standing. Yura was now viewed as a hero, and the soldiers, even those from the Council, now viewed Yura as a respectful, good man because he fought on the front lines, unlike the Council who hid or fled. That meant the council had to shut up on their anti - Order rhetoric, though I suspected this silence was only a temporary one.
The euphoria and memories of this battle would fade, and with it these power - hungry folks would rear their head again someday.
And the news of the victory spread quickly, drawing the attention of the guilds. - The Merchant guild has determined that we are a high - priority safe zone in the region, and they will send a fair bit of resources and manpower here. - The OrderÆs treasurer read out the notice. - The guild plans to explore the possibility of establishing a regional trade coordination and cartography center and also a collection of high - security storage warehouses. -
Yura clapped his hand. - I must confess I donÆt exactly understand what some of those words are, but it sounds like a good thing. -
The merchants guilds were essentially like the worldÆs shipping companies; they were the blood vessels that connected the world. So much produce and money changed hands through the guilds that they often were able to sway kingdoms into fighting wars for them. But I wondered whether this world had protests against banks and corporations. After all, capitalism could be pretty nasty.
The treasurer nodded. - It is. They will be having a proper office here, and an actual merchant prince or guild trader , rather than just appointed representatives. This is usually followed with the opening of a guildÆs marketplace and exchange, and the regional contracts department. The council will be approached to discuss the regulations on the markets once they arrive to survey the location. -
Yura nodded. Honestly, trade was not his strongest suit, though he had improved. Laufen just smiled. - DonÆt worry, most of us will attend the meetings and will let you have the summary. -
The recent battle also made the elves think about the future of their combat forces.
- We need more combat experience. - Lozanna looked at Yvon. - The demons are coming, you know it, we know it, everyone knows it. All of us need to have experience. - Lozanna referred to the rest of the Valthorn, especially the four girls from the first batch.
Yvon shook her head. - I spoke with TreeTree and Yura , and weÆre only letting those at level twenty actually join the battle. Until then, the rest of them are staying back. - Only one of the girls had hit level twenty, so she would join the next battle, if there was one.
- But Lady Yvon! It doesnÆt make sense! We gain levels when we participate in battles. Holding us back is just taking away our levels! And TreeTree needs high - leveled fighters to fight the high - leveled enemies. -
- I know, but they are too young, and they are not ready. They are not you, Lozanna . -
- If they donÆt get chances, they will never be. - Lozanna was now. twelve, so she had more opinions. - I gained seven levels in that battle. Seven! IÆm almost level forty now. - By most accounts, sheÆd be classified as a genius. - WasnÆt it you that told us that during great battles, explosive leveling happens? Then why are they not given the chance? -
Yvon sighed. - I - I get your point. Let me discuss with the rest perhaps an arrangement depending on what kind of battles. If itÆs a smaller - scale battle, we can consider putting you and the girls on support. -
Lozanna nodded.
For me, I did need to expand the Valthorns. It was true that I couldnÆt multi - task as well as I liked, and when I ended up focused on the demon walker, my ability to coordinate all the other fights on the ground had to be delegated to my tree - minds, and yet I needed my skills on hand against the walker.
So I needed more high - level fighters, multiple Yura s and Yvons, to win such a fight consistently, with minimal casualties. Speaking of casualties.
There was a funeral procession for those who fell in battle. It was something one of the officers suggested, something they had from where they came from. A practice of one of the worldÆs southern continental religions, the Urgama, to honor the dead, and the benefits of it was that the deadÆs spirit apparently enchanted the surviving soldiers to carry on the fight. The mechanics of how such a magic worked was interesting, and as a Soul Tree that helped the reincarnation and passing on of the fallen spirits, it was. educational.
- Surely they donÆt have time to do such processions when a demon army is on their doorstep? - Alexis wondered. The Southern Continent was embroiled in massive wars with the demon hordes. According to the merchants, there were four demon walkers in that continent alone, and inland trade prices were sky - high.
- I wouldnÆt know. -
Well, for us, the procession went on, and. we didnÆt get any blessings. Or at least, nothing I could see for now. It was all business - as - usual in my soul realm, too; people were dying all over the continent to the demon hordes, but thanks to the fall of the demon walker, it seemed the rate of death throughout the entire continent also somewhat dropped.
I wondered whether it was a coincidence or the walker had some kind of continental - boost ability. If it did, would the king have some kind of worldwide ability?
But anyway, it was still not the end. Now that the demon walker battle was over, I went back to making more demon-weapons and research. The whole schtick with restoring Yura Æs hand was still ongoing, so. more brutal animal explosion followed, but. I was getting there. I think.
I had to get some help in cleaning the room, though, since. there was a lot of blood splattered everywhere. So I made a quarantine area where the specimen animals remained.
And blew up. Or lately, it was more like leaking pipes. Like the tail would regrow and then somehow a hole would appear, and blood just kept dripping out of it. And no amount of healing would fix it because it was a flaw in the soul.Æ
In a way, it was like. 3D printing. I had to set up the template in the soul, and then the body would heal in accordance to that template. At the same time, I needed to make the soul - part using my new tools, in a 3D - printing fashion, putting the bits and pieces in, piece by piece. All of this was from a sudden epiphany when I saw a key - duplication contraption one of the New FreekaÆs smiths had.
Essentially, I needed a tool that worked simultaneously, that read whatever scan results I had, and reproduced it in the soul forge.
Also, I needed to also build a library of organs that I could use in the future. Kind of like playing Spores, the game. Honestly, I didnÆt know why it took me so long to figure shit out. Maybe there was mold in my wooden brain somewhere.
Oh and on research. where was I?
Research Status:
Beetle - anti - magma armors stage 4 - completed
Metal hyperaccumulator trees - Stage 1 - completed
Phytoremediation process - basic - 10 months
Ah yes. I had new accumulator trees. These Hyperaccumulators functioned primarily to absorb high levels of metallic content from the contaminated poop - ground, which continued to be something of a problem, even if a contained one.
But I supposed it was a good time to force the council.
- WeÆre having the upper hand after the recent victory. The population sees us as the protectors of the valley, and TreeTreeÆs position was close to unassailable. And we want to use that goodwill on. sewers? - One of the treasurers tried to debate with Yura in the meeting room.
- Yes. Sewers. We need sewers. -
- Why not more seats? Have our own candidates on the council against the other group? Some of the independent - leaning councilors now feel they should lean toward us, given the OrderÆs secure position as the defenders of the valley. No political power can change that. -
Yura frowned. Sometimes, the OrderÆs own officers got sucked into politics.
- Perhaps we need more resources for the OrderÆs military? - Yura frowned, too. Between me and Yura , both of us generally felt that quantity was unnecessary. IÆd need about three to four months to replenish the beetles, but my beetle army was tough and, for what it was worth, unlimited and expendable. The only drawback was that they couldnÆt gain levels, but who cared when I had so many of them? If anything, it was the Valthorns that needed to be expanded. There was really no point throwing more fodder at a monster like the demon-general or the demon walker.
The merchants delivered the gems that provided light and other stuff meant for the hideouts, and it came with an alchemistÆs contraption thing, so I requested for one of each for research, which led to an upgrade for my labs.
Biolab upgraded: Centrifuge
Material lab upgraded: Centrifuge
These gems were essentially concentrated light, mana - sensitive rock, and mana that, via some fluke of natural magical forces, formed into a gem. There were apparently artificial variants as well, but these didnÆt last as long as the naturally mined gems.
This new centrifuge essentially acted as a concentrator, creating for higher concentrations and enriched versions of. Ginseng. Okay, it worked for more than just ginseng. I meant things, but when I was thinking about the possible uses of this item.
Wait.
If I needed to concentrate ginseng, and concentrating them eventually made them into gems, that meant I should be able to use gems as soul forge components. But I tried that previously. When I acquired gemstones.
Running the ginseng through the centrifuge, I got.
Concentrated ginseng - medium quality that took the appearance of a brownish paste, kind of like those funky pastes used in exotic oriental massages.
Was this it? Maybe I needed to soak it in mana or something? Like how there was a layer of mana on the body? It was really not going anywhere, was it?
- Again? - Yura asked. Well, he was busy. There was still a lot of demonic movements to keep track off. ItÆd been a year since the rifts opened, so the demon king should appear soon.
- No, I just wanted to test something out. -
Infusing ginseng into Yura Æs soul using the soul forge took about an hour, strangely easy.
Ginseng infusion successful.
- How do you feel? -
- Uh. nothing? Did you do anything? - Yura woke up from the quick nap. - Or maybe not yet? -
- Maybe it takes a while. -
YEAR 81 MONTH 8
- Will the Council grant us rights to grant us refuge, rights to purchase land and build a mansion? - A royal envoy from a nearby nation of Rajahskan came, with gifts and money. They were not the only ones.
What was happening was quite simple.
The royalties of the nearby nation, now that they realized I could fend off a demon walker, wanted to set up a refuge. Essentially, they would buy land and build a small palace where their family could hide. Although the kings usually did not leave; there were some weird rules about kingÆs powers being related to being present in their kingdoms, but these kings wanted to protect their offspring and successors by sending them away to a safehouse. Kind of like what Madeus allies did. But they wanted exemptions, special treatment, and the ability to rule over their own properties. Which was absolutely ridiculous.
- ItÆs politically advantageous for us to accept. But if we do, we must be prepared to accept most of them, except those who have crossed us, - a councilor said.
A delegation from the Council and the envoys came to present the case. The Council, being the usual politicians, would like to agree. But Yura said, - This is a decision for A/ . It is his protection to give, not us. -
- I do not fancy the creation of a royal district where our laws do not apply. - The idea that all these runaway princes came to my place and set up little outposts just frankly annoyed me. When I imagined all these stuck - up royals treating this little valley of mine as their summer palace, I just felt disgusted. - No. They may come as regular guests, but they will be treated in the same manner as any other refugee in this valley. If the Council wishes to extend any privileged treatment to them, let them know that I will not recognize that privilege, and if I so desire, I will not hesitate to crush them. In this valley, they are ordinary souls, like anyone else. -
The Councilors froze. - But. but. Counsel Yura , surely A/ can recognize the value these royals can bring? -
Yura shrugged. - IÆm afraid the Tree Spirit was very firm about not giving royals any privileged treatment. And if I may add, accepting royals and granting them special treatment contradicts why New Freeka exists. Do you guys really want to put up with the whims of royalty all over again? Do you not forget that it was royal conflicts that brought all of you here? They can still come, should the demons ever threaten their lands, but they will be like any other refugee. -
One of the Councilors stared at Yura . - The Tree Spirit has no concept of royalty? -
Yura nodded. - He is aware of it, but he does not intend to recognize their power in this valley. -
Three of the envoys from three kingdoms were present. - Surely there is something that our kingdoms may provide to sway the Tree SpiritÆs view? -
It was one of the OrderÆs head priests who responded. - A/ Æs protection is a blessing, and one couldnÆt haggle or bargain oneÆs blessing, even if you are royalty. Accept, or do not. When you stand before a local deity, what is a royal? -
I mentally cheered for the priest - good comeback. I was a bit embarrassed that they thought I was some kind of deity, but I was too far into that whole religious schtick to bother correcting it now. And if I gained even more levels, I guessed a deity wasnÆt too far off anyway.
The envoys frowned. One of the envoys, the one from Rajahskan, then said, - ItÆs a shame that the Tree Spirit of this valley rejects our kingÆs offer. I will relay the message, and I fear he will not be pleased. -
I told Yura then, - Is that a threat? I donÆt like receiving threats. - Of course, the envoys couldnÆt hear this.
Yura smiled at the envoy. - I am afraid your king must get used to it. A/ Æs under no obligation to obey a kingÆs demands - what more one of another nation. -
- And A/ didnÆt not even heed the views of his Council? - the envoy retorted.
- A/ was here before the Council was born, and he may remove the Council should he so pleases. - Yura smiled, but it was a creepy kind of smile, and the roomÆs air suddenly felt heavy. A Warlord Æs skill, Heavyweight Presence . He looked at the Councilors, and the Councilors somehow all took two steps back.
The envoy, too, took a step back. Then he drew in a deep breath and sighed. - I see. But surely. we can still purchase property in New Freeka? -
- You may, but your property will be subject to all of New FreekaÆs rules and regulations. There will be no exemptions. In short, you will be like any other wealthy merchant who invests in a property in New Freeka. And know this, you will be watched. -
The envoys traded glances. They discussed with each other a bit, but then they all decided to leave. But I could still eavesdrop on them as they walked back to their inns.
- Who does this Tree Spirit think it is? - one envoy said. - Our kingÆs adventurers can chop down a tree. -
- But your adventurers cannot slay a demon walker, - the envoy for another country said. - Or you wouldnÆt be here. -
- Ugh. -
The Rajahskan envoy said, - A powerful druid or monster tamer should be able to sway this Tree SpiritÆs mind. -
- I wouldnÆt count on that. Any monster able to slay a demon walker has to be at least level one hundred, and you wonÆt find many druids or monster tamers willing to even try taming a creature of that level. ItÆs a life - or - death battle. -
The Rajahskan envoy nodded. - Perhaps. Maybe a heroic artifact could. -
The two other envoys eyes lit up. - Ah. that certainly changes things. Is there such an artifact? -
The Rajahskan envoy said, - The Elven kingdoms may still possess RoanaÆs Staff. I reckon a level eighty druid wielding that can bend this TreeÆs will. -
The two envoys laughed. - And I thought you have such an item! That staff was destroyed long ago! -
- Was it? I had the impression it was what they used to keep the Guardian Tree of the Elven Capital under control. -
- Hah. DonÆt tell me you believe some of that kind of silly propaganda. ItÆs a myth to maintain the royal familyÆs legitimacy. -
The envoy frowned. - Well. the king wonÆt be pleased with this. I - I donÆt know how to go back. -
- Well, weÆre in the same boat. I bet the kingÆs gonna have my head. He tends to do that when he loses his temper. -
- IÆm just going to fake my death. Demons killed me on the journey back. ThatÆs going to be my story. -
The three envoys sulked together. Were there seriously no good kings around? Or do they just die because they were too nice?
YEAR 81 MONTH 9
Another demon walker had been spotted on our continent this month, and strength returned to the demonoid forces throughout the continent. Thankfully, it appeared far south, nearer to Gila. I guessed they could use their newfound sacrificial blood - magic powers and test it out. For us, we still saw small packs of roaming demonoids close to our territories, but they were easily crushed by the patrolling beetles.
It was a bit annoying that we were only free from demon walkers for three months, but then again, I was expecting the demon king within the next six months. CouldnÆt be helped that the escorts would increase before the main character came along. We just hoped it appeared on the Southern Continent, where there were now six demon walkers. The nations in the South managed to kill one using the blood magic, but it took more than one shot to slay the demon walkers.
So it was really quite a miserable battlefield, the Southern Continent. I heard from Yura that theyÆd sent all sorts of requests for assistance.
Ah, too bad for them, that was their problem. For now, I focused on rebuilding my stockpile of anti - demon bolts.
YEAR 81 MONTH 10
Winter arrived early. Apparently something to do with moon - movements, according to Madeus - every thirty to thirty - two years or so, the moons changed position and somehow caused this worldÆs winter to last a month longer. Not sure how that actually worked and why, or whether it was magic.
And fun fact about the world: nobody could agree on how many moons there were. Some said three, some said four, some said ten. The night sky, even with magic, sometimes revealed odd moons that only appeared every now and then.
- Elliptical moons, - Alexis said. SheÆd been sky - gazing almost every day. SheÆd even gotten a telescope recently. - I suspect some of them have century - long orbits. -
- ThatÆs like. crazy. - Meela was quite into the moon and star stuff, too, but mostly for astrological sign stuff. Some of her guests enjoyed that kind of service. - I thought even the biggest planets from our world orbit the sun in a few years. How can something orbit a small planet so slowly? -
- Or they could just be comets. Not strange for them to mistake comets for moons. Comets have crazy orbits. -
- Could just be magic. - Well, that was my view. I mean, there was really no reason why the astronomical rules that applied from one world should carry over into another world. The forces acting on interstellar objects could be different; maybe there was a fifth magic force, or maybe dark matter in this world comprised of aether or star mana. You know, weird shit like that.
- True. - Alexis sighed. - TreeTree, how high can you grow? -
- Uh. why? - That was a weird, off - topic comment.
- I wonder whether itÆs possible for you to grow until well. space. Like a space elevator. Or maybe you could be like a super - tall viewing gallery and observation tower. -
- ThatÆs going to be absurdly high, - I said. - No way. - The required height of a space elevator was dependent on rotational spin and planetary gravity; unless I had some kind of magical item or object that created some kind of levitation effect such that it functioned as a counterweight. I doubted it. I recalled EarthÆs space elevator needed to be like. thirty - five thousand kilometers high. How could a tree ever grow that tall? Unless there was some really wonky magic.
- I mean, maybe you could be like. magically super strong that you could support the weight. Maybe you could even reach like. uh. whatÆs the word for it? Geostationary orbit? - Alexis mused. - Or Low Planet Orbit? -
Meela shook her head. - I think you should just think about using magic. Magical rockets, Alexis. Magical rockets and levitation. -
But why would I even want to grow so tall that I reached space? Was there something to achieve there? Fruit - satellites? Or would star mana harvesting be far more efficient because of the altitude and exposure to direct star - light? Or more solar power?
Seriously, growing so tall just sounded like. Jack and the beanstalk. Unless.
- You know, maybe ancient space elevators were how stories of world trees came around. You know, Yggdrasil supposedly connected itself to nine worlds, and if you imagined a modern, futuristic setting, a tree - shaped space elevator would be the gate to those other worlds, - Alexis said. - Oh, wait. Do you want me to explain what all those words are? -
- Yeah. - And Alexis went on about space elevators, Yggdrasil, and stuff like that. I sort of recalled the story.
It was a fascinating thought, but I supposed there were magical. alternatives to a tree that grew into space. And why would I want to go to space?
A tree couldnÆt grow into space. Or could it?
Anyway, enough about space, and winter, and moons. Demon battles intensified throughout the world, refugee movements increased, and news of death, destruction, glory, and victories flooded the merchant channels. And that Gila country was crazy enough to actually use the blood sacrifice again.
And I thought Gila used three rounds of that blood sacrifice ritual. Because my sensors detected three surges of magic.
But it didnÆt kill the walker, though it did somewhat disable it. News reported two of the hex - bombs hit the walkerÆs legs, so the walker was unable to move. Still, that didnÆt bring an end to the intense fighting, as the walker did what it could, which was to spawn demonoids and flood the area with them.
So it kind of sucked because. the walker was a walking demon-hive. It just vomited out demonoids when it didnÆt move.
And thanks to the merchants, there was increasing awareness that the demonic camps were all hives as well, constantly spawning demonoids, and taking them down would be key to reducing their threat.
- I think they were like ants, despite looking like. humans, - Meela suddenly said, giving a cleaning analogy. - How do you kill ants? Wipe out the nests, or the ants will just keep roaming the entire kitchen. -
Turned out, she was not the only one with that idea. Yura had been asked to support a five thousand strong force meant to take down a demon fort found in the vicinity of a neighboring kingdom. A coalition force, a common thing during demonic wars. I recalled that Lord Rajjiv Nung was also part of a coalition force.
- So. are you going? - Yvon asked.
Yura shrugged. - IÆm not keen, and I told the merchants that my place was here. Joining coalition forces is for youngsters. -
- IÆm starting to think you spend too much time with TreeTree, that youÆre getting his stationary habits. -
Yura didnÆt mind the jab. - TreeTreeÆs got a point. Staying homeÆs nice, and IÆve got better things to do. Like practice. Besides, theyÆve got a general, donÆt they? Or some of the human elites. They donÆt need me. -
Yvon sneered.
- TheyÆll be fine. I donÆt quite trust this coalition force anyway. - Yura felt these coalitions generally had ulterior motives, like getting a good sense of what his strengths were, and so on. I thought that was his diplomatic sense tingling.
- Heh. - Yvon wasnÆt exactly trusting of them, either. - Merchants probably just want to clear that base for a trade route. It was between this side of the city and the other, and they canÆt be using their airships all the time. -
The coalition was partly funded by the merchants, and they would handle the logistics and supplies and also provide reimbursement. Forces from various kingdoms would join, usually the lower - ranked ones. Battles were a good chance to gain levels, and usually such coalition forces tried not to take on challenging opponents, due to the political fallout from a failed coalition attack.
Throughout the world, there were multiple such coalitions, many based on century - old treaties for mutual protection or ancient commitments with temples and religions.
- But they will insist on someone, and the council will look to us to volunteer someone, - Madeus, who was also in the meeting, responded. He wasnÆt keen, either, and like Yura , heÆd prefer if he could just study and conduct magic research all day.
- IÆll ask one of the captains to volunteer, then. HeÆs about in his level forties and should see more battle experience. -
- IÆd send Lozanna if she was a few years older. - Yvon shrugged.
- True, but sheÆs not. So she stays. We have enough demons roaming the countryside as it is. -
Well, Lozanna and the Valthorns were now attached to a mobile cavalry unit. They rode beetles, in a way, as the proto - beetleknight squad, traveled the countryside, and hunted any demon packs that we spotted. Helped that I could telepathically communicate with her over the distances, for coordination.
A feature of her special - familiar contract.
- Maybe Roma can join if heÆs a bit older. depending on how long this demon king lasts. -
Yvon shook her head. - Roma didnÆt seem to have inherited our combat talents. HeÆs more. into books. Perhaps a mage. - YvonÆs son, Roma, was about nine now, and he seemed to prefer being at home with his books. His mom struggled to get him to practice with her, and well, there was a bit of resentment between the two. Maybe he needed a father figure. In fact, RomaÆs relationship with Eriz was a whole load better, and Yvon frequently had to rely on Eriz to speak to Roma.
Yura nodded. It was between her and her son, not for us to intervene.
- Ah, never mind. - Yvon diverted the subject. - I hope the girls come back safely. -
Lozanna led four of the girls, together with a group of one hundred beetles. They were headed for a hundred - strong demonic raiding force. They should win relatively easily, and Horns was close behind with a force of another hundred beetles.
Even though New FreekaÆs territory was small, my subsidiary tree network stretched far, thanks to my prior expansions, and with my newfound Aura - sharing skills, the subsidiary tree network functioned like defensive lines, a place where the intercepting troops could return should the battle turn bad.
Gradually, I am extending this network of trees further. They were, after all, a great early warning system. Trees had eyes, yÆknow.
YEAR 81 MONTH 11
Wars. Wars. Wars.
Battles and battles, seemingly endless ones. So much that my soul realm was filled with the souls of the recently departed. My soul harvesters were busy, battlefield after battlefield they visited, and each trip, they brought back more souls.
Even as the cold swept through the continent, the demons didnÆt stop fighting. And so the defenders were forced into battle even when they didnÆt wish it.
- I feel a little bad, being safe and warm here, - one of the captains joked. The other one was out as part of the merchant coalition force.
Madeus laughed, and then he sipped on his ginger tea. The group decided to have something a bit cozier, so they brewed a few pots of fruit tea, ginger tea, garlic tea, and snacks, mainly some fried potatoes, chips, fries. One of MeelaÆs kitchen projects was to recreate potato fries because part of the global - domination plans involved being a chain - restaurant, like. McDonalds. So she had to have fries.
Wesley and our priests sat around the meeting room, too. - DonÆt jinx us. Appreciate that we can still huddle around in such comfort, even when there was a demon walker around. -
Meela was happily playing the caterer. Apparently serving food contributed to her levels as a Hotel - Tree. Yura , Laufen, and Lozanna also ate the snacks. - Yeah. Never know when the good times come to an end. -
There was a nod of agreement throughout the room. I wondered whether they felt it, that the demon king was coming. I certainly thought I could. The strange twitches to my star - mana leaves. The unusual fluctuations there.
- IÆm just missing good chili sauce to go with my fries. Or ketchup, for that matter, - Meela whined to both me and Alexis. - I need to get chilies and tomatoes. -
Meela was clearly more focused on unlocking new recipes for her restaurant. I was starting to think she was playing hotel - tycoon or Overcooked, since the whole demon king thing was really just a distraction for her.
- The council is of the view that we should be building more walls and have the sewer project modified, - one of the treasurers said to the group. Even though it was cozy, it was still a Valtorn Order meeting.
- Four layers of walls was insufficient? -
- Well, they thought that some of the collateral damage could be minimized, and we do have the capacity to add walls. As for the sewer project, theyÆre now thinking of adding bunkers and hideouts to double its function as a safe zone from the demons. Should we oppose such a motion? -
Yura shook his head. - I think itÆs fine. ItÆs aligned to what we wanted, and the city should be allowed to protect itself. But it should be funded by the Council, not from the Order. -
Most of the other meeting attendees nodded, then went back to eating.
- Any other business? - Yura asked. Most of them had just completed regular updates and reports. Discussions on the demonic forces took up about half the time, due to the far - reaching implications of the demons on trade, funding, military, and infrastructure.
- The demon king, according to whispers among the temples, will arrive within the next three months, - a priest said.
In my mind, that was what I thought, too. This meant the temples may have some kind of star - mana equipment.
- How reliable is this prediction? - Yura leaned forward. - And even if so, what can we do about it? -
One of the captains said, - I believe the best thing to do, Counsel, is to just keep watch. You were right to say that we have no way to stop whatever the demon king does. Be on the lookout, and move out of its way. -
- Agreed. - Yura nodded. I thought it was probably the best decision as well. - IÆm personally more interested in when the heroes will arrive, what powers they have, and how we can spot them so that we can stay out of their way. -
- We. donÆt like heroes? - Meela asked. The crowd here didnÆt know her true identity as a former reincarnated hero.
- If they are not humans, I will like them, - a captain said. - Else these stupid heroes will buy into the propaganda the royals feed them and treat us non - humans as enemies once the war is over. -
Meela did not reply. I thought she was trying to remember what the other kings and royalties had said to her in the past. She deftly served a plate of fried potatoes to one of the priests.
- Thankfully all the previous generation heroes died with the demon king. - It was a priest that said it. - The post - war political jostling was usually. terrible. Heroes who see it as their duty from the gods to correct all that was wrong in this world. -
Meela stopped. She sighed.
Yvon, who was invited for the food, nodded. - Indeed. We should do our best not to offend them. We stick out, with our presence as a non - human nation in this region. But letÆs hope the gods spread out the heroes a bit and that some of them are non - humans. If thatÆs the case, the heroes will balance each other out. Or maybe all of them will die to the demon king. -
Meela sagged a little.
- Never mind, never mind. LetÆs just wait and see what happens. - Yura munched on a piece of bread.
YEAR 81 MONTH 12
The Hutan druids responded that the meetup with the other tree spirits would be delayed because of the demons. Their efforts were dedicated to defending their areas against the demons.
Ah well, I didnÆt expect much from these druids anyway. I intended to reach out to these tree spirits without their intermediation, anyway. I certainly would prefer to have discussions without the eavesdropping of others. Somehow, I had a gut feeling that there would be things only we, tree spirits, should know.
Or should I say root - feeling? What would be a plant equivalent of gut, anyway.
After my recent level gains, and my recent subsidiary tree numbers, I might have just enough to extend one long chain to the Giant Lilypod City, but I would have to give up all the other subsidiary trees around, and that would leave the valley defenseless and without its early warning system.
Ugh.
IÆd wait for my next subsidiary tree upgrade, then.
Or maybe. I could extend halfway there and see whether I gained levels killing the demons I encountered along the way. But Giant Lilypod City was way down south of my continent. Hmm, even past that Gila country where the legless demon walker was.
Hmm.
Decisions.
YEAR 82 MONTH 1
A new year, but same old threats. The demons found the volcano, and now we were fighting a three - way battle: the native golems, the demonic forces who seemed to be interested in the same mana - source in the volcano, and my beetles. This to me was sufficient confirmation that the demons were looking for mana - rich sources, so maybe they would look to my ThreeTrees of Mana soon.
Without the walkers, it wasnÆt that difficult to defend these two locations, but I was having some trouble with the demon knights, so I did need to deploy Horns, Lozanna , and the Valthorns. I mean, I could root strike the knights, and I did every now and then, to delay and postpone the battle until I could get Lozanna and gang into battle.
The reasoning was really simple. I was way too high level that defeating the knights was really quite pitiful for my experience gain, even with my overpowered experience gain. It was far more fruitful to save mobs of this level to Lozanna and the budding initiates, such that they got to a level where they could be of some use against the demons.
At first, they were excited.
But after one full month of constant battles throughout the volcanic area against the demons, Lozanna and the initiates were beginning to realize the enormity of the task.
- Wars are not nice. - One of the young initiates - sheÆs eight - sat next to Lozanna at a campsite. She sipped on a small wooden flask containing a kind of healing fluid. There were a few subsidiary trees here, so they benefitted from my Healing Aura and Demonic Suppression Aura , so it was a relatively good campsite.
One of the captains whoÆd come along nodded. - Good that you realize that when youÆre young. ItÆs not a nice feeling going out to fight and realizing you might not come back. WeÆre lucky our Tree Spirit watches over us in this area. -
The volcanic areaÆs outer area was mostly conquered by my subsidiary trees by now, effectively forming a ring of trees to block out the demons. I called it the volcano tree line. That didnÆt stop the demons from trying to break through, occasionally with five hundred to one thousand strong forces.
Lozanna sighed and massaged her left shoulder. A wooden vine surrounded her, an effect of the special tree familiar. She was level forty - two from a whole month of demon-fighting, most of it from taking on a few demon knights. - Doing it every day was quite different from fighting occasionally. -
The captain smiled. - You may be a genius, Lady Lozanna , but fighting daily is a reality for most common soldiers and guards in small villages. - There was a group of soldiers who also came along. It didnÆt look good to leave the fighting to young kids.
She nodded. Yura did tell her stories of the past, when Freeka was still the village of Freeka and the men frequently patrolled the woods to defeat monsters. But still, nothing beat the experience of active duty, to know what it was like. - If only we can stop this for good. -
The captain smiled and patted Lozanna on her lean shoulder. - Honestly, New Freeka has it good. The protection of the A/ Æs beetles meant we soldiers can fight more carefully and less frequently. -
Lozanna twirled her right hand, and the vine formed itself into a spear. - Ah, letÆs not have this talk. - She twirled her fingers again, and the spear unmade itself into a vine and then into a wooden sword. This was one of her daily practice routines, to hone her mastery over the flexible vines from the special familiar. She would alternate the vineÆs forms: a spear, a sword, a whip, a lasso, a bow.
The rest of the initiates watched. To them, it was a bit like a magic trick.
They would rest for an hour before continuing their journey home. Thankfully, the beetle army carried them. A few of the beetles had things resembling seats, and since each beetle was about the size of a large rhino, about two to three could fit on each beetle. Except for one of the centaur Valthorns. She was one of the younger Valthorns, from the second batch, but centaurs tended to be bigger despite having similar ages. She would gallop next to the beetles, and her stamina was pretty good.
The soldiers who returned did so to relieved family members, happy to see their family returning safe. The Valthorns would mostly be greeted by the ladies of their orphanage.
The orphanage was frankly overloaded. The number of kids aged three to thirteen was close to eleven hundred, and Laufen and Belle were tasked with supervising the expansion of two additional buildings. The population was generally supportive of the orphanage, so there really wasnÆt any challenge in terms of funding or land, though the politicians saw it like a private military academy, given the extensive combat training in their curriculum, so according to my people - watcher Ivy, there were little pockets of discontent.
In fact, the expansion of the orphanage meant about thirty percent of the OrderÆs budget was now used to fund the charitable segment. Both the death services, orphanage, and birth gifts all did not generate money.
One of the priests suggested Tithes or Donations, but I shot down the idea. I felt if people started giving money to priests, that was going to just send us into a downward spiral of corruption. So, no, I insisted on the priests being paid a salary, and no donations or tithes.
Instead, the Order had to do work for money. We ran a vegetable market, food market, and herbs market.
- Herbal soup, herbal soup. - There was actually a lesser variant of ginseng, grown by our herbalist. It didnÆt have the full effect of the Ginseng Plant , and this variantÆs boost was temporary. We thought of using the term ginseng, but then that might ruin the branding of the real ginseng plant, so we decided just plain old herbal root soup.
- Ginger tea, ginger tea! - an employee of the Order shouted.
- Flavored olives! -
- Oranges! -
- Cotton! And clothes! -
Yeah. A market. I thought of having a more upmarket feel to the premises, but somehow it just organically transformed into this chaotic mess of a market that wouldnÆt feel out of place in any Asian or Middle Eastern metropolis. I wondered whether this was what the Grand Bazaars of Baghdad would be like.
I would usually tune out the shouting match in the markets. There was only so many times you could bear a middle - aged lady repeatedly shouting, - Potatoes for sale! Potatoes for sale! - Listening to it for too long, I found that those words ended up repeating in my thoughts, too.
Thank goodness, like the rootnet , I could tune out all the chatter.
But Ivy liked the market. She said the gossip in the markets was her top five ways of getting information. The things ladies shared with each other while haggling over carrots and tomatoes was quite. interesting.
Ninety - five percent made up, by the way, but still, that five percent was worth it.
Oh. And the bigger orphanage kids were usually tasked with security. If they werenÆt in the orphanage, theyÆd be the ones stealing. I thought it was a good way to deter the food thieves - it took a thief to catch a thief.
Until we got some rather interesting comments from the general populace.
- Why canÆt we just give our surplus away? -
- Can we just run charity kitchens for the poor and hungry? -
Hmm. the council already did have some kind of community kitchen, a legacy of the New Freekans origins as refugees. The generation that came and survived the move to New Freeka generally appreciated the community kitchen.
- Never mind. - I decided to just stick to the plan.
The little tree of prayer shipped to Ransalah had safely arrived and was planted in a small public garden. A rarity in Ransalah, from what I heard.
Sadly because it was way too far from any of my other subsidiary trees, it was not connected by root to the rest of the rootnet, so I couldnÆt really communicate with that tree. All I knew was it lived, and it was there in that little garden somewhere.
My rootnet needed to get some kind of wide - area network service. I mean, did we have like 4G transmission trees? Or Wide - Area Network ?
Ah. Nothing much I could do, except to find a way to extend my roots into that area of town, so for now, I hoped that tree of prayer was well taken care of. ItÆd take a few generations of rootnet upgrades before IÆd get there.
In a way, my network of trees was essentially a subterranean cable line, kind of like those subsea fiber - optic cables that crossed oceans to form my homeworldÆs internet. Of course, the scale of my rootnet was miniscule in comparison, but IÆd like to think, with all the research and advancements I was doing, I was like a precursor to DARPA, and my rootnet was like. root - arpanet?
So, I was TARPA? TreeÆs Advanced Research Projects? Wait. WasnÆt that TARP? TARPANET?
Never mind. That was horrible. I mentally told myself that set of names was to be forever banished from existence.
YEAR 82 MONTH 2
Demon King Sabnoc has arrived.
The news came like a wave. An actual energy wave swept through the world, coming from all directions. I felt it, and I was sure everyone else felt it, too.
But the wave stayed, like some kind of background. disturbance. Buzzing. Like. white noise from a radio.
Yura gathered all the leaders. - WhatÆs going on? -
- We. we donÆt know. None of my message spells are working. - Madeus looked afraid. - It seems like the demon king has somehow managed to interrupt all long - range communication spells. -
I tried to check on my beetles and got no response.
I lost contact with all the beetles that wandered too far off from my subsidiary trees . Immediately, I ordered all beetles to stay close to my subsidiary trees.
- Lozanna Æs out on patrol. - I spoke to Yura . Looked like here, near my main tree, it still functioned. I couldnÆt contact her.
- WeÆll have to do it the non - magical way. Couriers, messengers. Escorts. - Yura looked, and the captains ran out to summon as many couriers and messengers they could get.
Madeus sat; there was another mage I rarely saw next to him. - This has never happened. -
Well, times had changed. Certainly, this new demon king seemed to try rather exotic strategies. I wondered whether he was a reincarnator. That would be something very, very scary to think about.
In the past, dedicated couriers, messengers, or even scouts used to travel long distances to deliver highly classified messages before the encrypted magical means of communication were invented by one of the heroes a few generations back. These days, diplomats and merchants took over the role of official documentations and treaties, and the magical encrypted messages were the mode of communication for discussions. Magical obsolescence, I supposed.
But I supposed a return to the analogue ways had its. interests. - What do we know? - Yura sent out the couriers and messengers to all the nearby kingdoms, requesting for status updates. A new set of magical seals were made to facilitate these sorts of letters and messages.
The merchants were the first to quickly summarize the effects of the demon king. It seemed they managed to retain some form of communication network throughout the continent, though their intercontinental networks were now broken.
- Message spells are unreliable at ten kilometers. High - tier communication spells are unreliable at thirty kilometers. Warnings on summons, magically controlled monsters have a chance to break their servant - master link at a distance of five hundred meters to five kilometers, depending on the type. -
Hmm. all my subsidiary trees were still in contact. Rootnet was still online.
- Message integrity decays at five kilometers onward. MerchantÆs guild is still experimenting with supercharging magical messages. -
The Message spell was essentially the communication backbone of the present society. War, commerce, and trade all relied on it. A message spell was essentially a message wrapped up into a magical container and sent like an invisible letter, where it then arrived at the other side as a letter. It was possible to secure the packet by way of encryption codes, and similarly, it was possible to intercept them as they passed through.
All message spells traveled along corridors high up in the sky, known as the Aurora currents. These currents helped to reduce the mana load required to travel long distances, as the Aurora currents had a positive, recharging effect on these message packets. Apparently, and this was also something that was debated, the Aurora currents were created by some heroes a long time ago to facilitate their anti - demon efforts. Some said it was made by the gods because why else would the currents be so convenient? It boggled the mind that a supposedly natural phenomenon could be exploited to function as a global airborne message superhighway.
A mage learning how to use message learned about the worldÆs magical currents and sent the coordinates along the packets. The way I understood it, as Madeus explained it, was that the message network was essentially like a collection of email servers with some snail mail features.
For example, a mage who wanted to send a message from New Freeka to, say, Ransalah must know which current, node, and sub - node, kind of like a traditional country - state - city hierarchy common in addresses and old - school mailing systems. The message packet itself was then wrapped with some identifiers and locators so that it could locate the intended receiver. Or what most nations had was a magical artifact that acted as an anchor to receive the messages , sort of like a post box.Æ
But now, this network was unusable. The chaos was perhaps similar to what happened when the internet went out. Learning the intricacies of the message system worked, only when the system went down, was like how people started to study the intricacies of how planes worked after a flight crash occurred. A little too late.
Merchants, especially, scrambled to find alternatives to their usual sources. Trading prices for certain goods started to fluctuate because the merchantÆs ability to obtain market price information from other cities was now gone, and a merchantÆs willingness to purchase local goods dropped significantly because he was unable to guarantee his own ability to make a profit by locking in another deal in some other part of the world.
- How about scrying and remote viewing? - I observed the mages in New FreekaÆs mage guild in a discussion with the local merchants. Thankfully, this newfound magical interference from the demon king didnÆt affect my ability to see my own trees, and I believed my own energies were repelling that interference somewhat.
It really brought back memories. The guys banging on our IT adminÆs tables, demanding to know why the payment systems were down and how soon we could fix it.
- DidnÆt work, either. and we do not have mages who focus on such spells. -
- Then what works? IÆve got a warehouse full of goods, and I canÆt find out where to send them or whether the route is even safe! There has got to be something?! -
- IÆm afraid the best chance, at this point, is a messenger. - The mage tried to placate the angry merchant.
- ThatÆs too slow! -
- WeÆre still trying. -
Over at the military side, Yura attended a meeting with the New Freeka council, together with a lot of military guys. A strategist under the councilÆs employ was present to give a quick briefing on the situation.
- One, our ability to coordinate our military with our allies is now significantly reduced. Two, our ability to locate the demon king and demon walkers on a close to real - time basis is also almost gone. This means the blood sacrifice spells used to bombard the demon walkers is effectively useless. -
Ah. Shit. That was a bad thing. What use was a nuke if you didnÆt know where to shoot it?
- Also linked to that second point, weÆll need to rely a whole lot more on scouts to monitor the demonÆs movement. -
I supposed they needed to return to flares, fire signals, and stuff like that.
I still hadnÆt heard from Lozanna , so I decided to send some subsidiary trees toward her last known location.
YEAR 82 MONTH 3
Silence was eerie. Without the communication networks to inform oneÆs decisions, most travelers decided to stay put and wait. Only those truly desperate, or daring, made the journey.
Throughout my network of trees, demons appeared more frequently and in larger numbers. Given my now - smaller effective range due to the interference of the demon king, it was also harder to move my beetles from one place to another as they had to travel close to my chain of subsidiary trees .
- When are the damn messages going to get through? - Some of the merchants had started drinking extensively. It seemed they were in a limbo. Some of them started to band together and try to make the trip to the next town. A small minority sold all their inventory and decided to stay put.
- IÆm not going anywhere. This town can defend itself against a demon walker. IÆll just stay. ItÆs a risk to go out there. You might not know if a demon walker was nearby! -
- We are merchants! We do not sit still in a place. We need to sell to make money! -
Anyway, back to the beetles, the attacks throughout my network increased, and so, with Trevor and DimitreeÆs advice, IÆd split my beetle force into six squads of fifteen hundred each, all stationed in a different part of my network, the rest of them in New Freeka. I couldnÆt move the beetles as quickly as before because of the longer route they now had to take, and with lesser visibility, I had a lesser amount of time to plan and respond to any incursion.
In a way, this was a hub - and - spoke strategy, mini - bases for my beetles.
Frankly, I didnÆt see this coming. I thought demon kings were just overpowered and had high destructive abilities. Utility or passive abilities wasnÆt something I expected. It really felt like there was a mind behind the demon.
- Would you think itÆs a reincarnator? A hero from your world? -
Alexis paused. - That. would be terrible, wouldnÆt it? If they brought someone from my world. -
- There was really no reason why the demon kings would change tactics this time. There has to be a trigger point. When you fought the demon king, what did you think? -
Alexis waited, and then she responded, off tangent, but very relevant. - . I wonder whether the demons accessed my memories. -
- Huh? -
- When I was trapped as a fire - demon. Whether. whether the demons looked into my mind, just like how I saw their homeworld. -
- You. you saw their homeworld? -
- I think so. IÆm not sure whether itÆs a dream or itÆs their home world, but after the demon walker, it brought back memories. ItÆs a massive desert with large spires, similar to the ones on the demon walkerÆs back, but many, many times bigger, and more. -
- Okay, now we have two suspects. One, the demons somehow brought a reincarnator or offworlder. Two, the demons took a look at your mind and decided to copy some tactics. Or possibly both were true. Or you may have let the demons in on where you were from, and therefore they can now summon their own version of heroes. -
AlexisÆs spirit body rotated and twirled in the air. She looked horrified. - That. I hope not. We need to warn everyone if we were potentially dealing with an enemy reincarnator. All the nations must treat the demons as intelligent! -
- Hmm. letÆs not panic yet. - I did suspect that this generationÆs demons were possibly intelligent or had some kind of thought process to their tactics, but the fact that they only had a small variety of units seemed to imply that there was some kind of migration - limit on what they could bring to this world. Maybe the reincarnator himself wasnÆt here in this world.
- We need countermeasures. We need to do something! - Alexis spun. I thought her spiritual body was changing color. - Meelaa. -
Meela was happily in her inn. Now that the merchants werenÆt going anywhere, they needed a place to stay, so her inn was full house. And many merchants were drinking their worries away.
- Busy, Alexis. IÆve got a full house to manage. - Meela waved her off.
- This is important, Meela, IMPORTANT! ! -
- After IÆm done with my customers. which is like, really, really much later. Later, okay? -
- Meelaa! - Alexis pouted.
In the meantime, I called Yura and Madeus to discuss the possibility of an intelligent demon king.
- Demon kings were somewhat monster - like, at least in history. They seek out places with large populations and have an ability to sense the presence of heroes. Their instincts seem to drive them toward the heroes. They have some primitive intelligence, according to statements from past heroes, but in combat, and once provoked, they are like. monsters, - Madeus clarified.
- So, how bad is it if the demon king is intelligent, say. like an average human? - I asked.
- On the bigger scale of things, itÆs probably the demonic equivalent of a very very nasty undead necromancer. -
- Is that bad? It sounds bad, - I continued with my questions.
Yura shook his head. His knowledge about such things was quite. shallow. Madeus had a better understanding of historical outbreaks.
Madeus nodded. - Hmm. if the heroes can work with the kingdoms, it should still be possible to defeat the demon king. After all, the demons canÆt level, and the lower - level demons and demon walkers donÆt display the kind of intelligence that I would associate with sentience. So. itÆs likely that only the demon king was fully intelligent. -
- I agree with that theory. - Indeed, the demon walker or the demon general did not appear to be intelligent, even if they had some tactical sense. Else, they would not have walked in a straight line toward the source of the Hexbombs. If so, all the thinking must be done by the demon king, and that was inherently a weakness.
Yura and Madeus looked at the map. There was nothing on it, now that we had no data on the demons.
Yura shrugged. - NothingÆs actually changed, has it? The heroes still have a demon king to slay. It just means the process is harder for them. For the rest of us, the demon king will continue to wreak havoc. Our preparations just need to continue. -
- True. -
Alexis, on the other hand, said, - We need to send letters to all the kingdoms. The threat of the demons should be higher. -
- That achieves nothing. For kingdoms already fighting for their survival, such as those in the Southern Continents, the demons are already their number - one threat. For those currently safe, all of them are preparing. By now, no one is treating the demon king lightly. I believe many other strategists and kings must have come to the same conclusion as we have, that this demon king is sentient and intelligent. -
Alexis pouted.
- Our best course of action is hunker down and prepare for war. And pray the demon king isnÆt on our continent. As for you, what have you got from all your research? Can you research how to counteract or offset this demonic interference so that we can restore the communication with all our neighbors? -
- I will get started. -
Lozanna came back at the end of the month. They had been forced into hiding to avoid the roaming demons. With the beetles asleep, they did not have the numbers to take the demons in a fight, so their progress home was super slow.
Laufen was delighted to see her daughter again and gave her a big hug.
- Happy to see you, too, Mom. - Laufen was worried sick, even if she put on a strong face in front of others.
- We need to stick closer to the trees from now on. - Yura was relieved, of course. Lozanna wasnÆt alone; her squad had twenty others. Luckily, none of them died. Avoiding battle was a good choice.
YEAR 82 MONTH 4
- When will the heroes be summoned? -
- Usually six months to a year after the demon king. - Maybe less? I hoped it was less.
If the demon king was smart, he would expand as fast as he could and crush all the allied kingdoms. That way, the heroes had less support; the kingdoms stood no chance against a creature like the demon king. If he was truly intelligent, he would use this headstart to cement his position.
- A/ ! A demon army in the distance! - I spotted it, too; they seemed to employ a scorched - earth strategy and were headed for the volcano. New Freeka wouldnÆt deploy itself, but I would have to defend the volcano.
After the demon walker battle, I had fifteen thousand subsidiary trees, about a third of which were beetle - nests. Each tree, with HornÆs upgrades, was home to five beetles, so I had a total beetle force of twenty - five thousand. I was literally a one - tree beetle army, but I had to spread this force throughout my network.
Seven thousand were at home, in the valley as its defensive force, and IÆd lost about four thousand beetles in various smaller skirmishes in the past months. That left fourteen thousand, of which spread into the six fifteen hundred squads, give or take a few hundred.
Twenty thousand demons. There were already fifteen hundred beetles stationed in that segment of my tree network. The rest of my beetles, the seven thousand stationed at home, would take about five days to get there. It was a battle away from my main tree. Not my ideal battleground.
- They. they are headed for the volcanic area? - The Order captains were surprised, of course. They presumed they would head here.
- The volcano was a natural mana source. A difficult one to work with, but a mana source. We must defend it, else we will have a demon factory as our neighbor, - I told the Order, and Yura relayed the message to a clearly spooked New Freekan council.
The councilors were afraid, so they summoned their local supporters for views. Some of them wanted to participate; they saw why it should be defended. Some preferred to wait and hold a defensive line here, in the Valley.
So the choice was given to the councilors, and they gathered support: either send an army to fight a force near the volcano or tolerate a demon base next to New Freeka and die eventually, anyway.
In a way, it was an easier battle since it was just a large army of regular demonoids. There were no giant walkers. But the flipside was my ability to intervene slightly weakened by the distance.
- Yura and Yvon, I need both of you at that battle. -
Lozanna tapped herself. - Me too. - Well, I planned on including her, anyway.
- And you. - Laufen gave her daughter a hug. - And the Valthorns. I need every high - level person I have at that battlefield. Go, and go quickly. The beetles there may not be able to hold the line for more than three days. And the demons were only two days away. -
In a way, this could have been prevented had I created an outer perimeter of subsidiary trees, but even that would only give me one extra dayÆs advance warning. Still, I made a note to further fortify the Southern forest and ThreeTree of Mana . Clearly that magic leyline would be a juicy target for the demons should they discover it.
To delay the demonic force while the rest of the forces got into position, I activated rooting field and poison field multiple times. Sadly, poison didnÆt work on demons, but the roots did manage to delay them.
The battle began as expected, five days later on the edges of the volcanic area. I had increased the amount of subsidiary trees I had so that I could keep control over the beetles, and with new subsidiary trees , the present beetle force stood at two thousand five hundred. My seven thousand beetles were a day away, and the New Freekan army of four thousand soldiers were two days away.
The demons? Twenty - one thousand or so. The demons themselves were increasing. The demons charged, led by humanoid demons, riding on demon hounds, wielding long halberds and spears.
- Fucking hell, they have cavalry. - They had demon knights that rode hellhounds some time ago, a small elite brainwashed humans that chased the heroes, but this was my first time witnessing pure - demonoid cavalry as combat force.
Actually, how did the demons brainwash those humans? Could they be the source of this change in tactics, too?
Something wasnÆt right. If demon knights brainwashed by the demons existed, that meant the demon kings had always been sentient. Because you needed a certain measure of intelligence to utilize demonic - corrupted human knights. And the previous demon king had manticores and wyverns, too.
Ah, I needed to come back to this thought later. Now I needed to focus on the fight to defend the volcano.
The demonoid riders smacked into my beetles; we were fighting defensively, using the trees as a kind of makeshift wall. Beetles could fight even when they were partly crawling on trees, the demonoids less so. I needed to delay them as long as I could, until the rest of my seven thousand beetles arrived.
Utilizing their ability to burrow, the beetles dug numerous trenches throughout the battlefield, all meant to delay the demons.
A kind of treench warfare, but these were mixed in between the layers of trees.
Some of my subsidiary trees were carnivorous plants , and they chomped on one or two demonoids before they needed time to recharge.
Here, at this distance, the effect of my lesser demonic suppression aura was slightly reduced, and a defensive battle meant my beetles could still benefit from my healing aura .
But these things merely served to delay the inevitable.
The number disadvantage was too massive, and they killed fifteen hundred beetles within the first few hours of skirmish. The remaining one thousand retreated back to the last line of trees. On the positive side, half of the demonoid cavalry had been killed, and the demon army was now about nineteen thousand strong.
- Yura , Lozanna , Yvon. Situation isnÆt good. We are likely to have to fight the demons after they breach the tree line. There are a few demon knights in the force. - Indeed, the demon knights, with their various short - range weapons, made the trenches unfavorable to the beetles.
A mistake, on hindsight. Silly me, thinking my beetles were the only ones who had an advantage in the trenches.
The seven thousand beetles were still half a day away.
The demons continued their charge, and the fighting continued into the night.
- Master, bad news: another twenty thousand have been spotted in the north corridor. They are headed to the former dungeon, the naga - hole. - Trevor flagged the news. In fact, by the time we spotted the demons, they were already at the dungeonÆs doorsteps.
- There was nothing there? - How did the demons spawn so many demons? DidnÆt they need bases for this?
With another battle ongoing at the volcano, I had to concede the former naga dungeon. I didnÆt have enough beetles to fight two battles at the same time, so the beetles in that area retreated.
Back at the volcano, my defensive line broke quickly. There really was no way I could stop an army of nineteen thousand demons with only one thousand beetles, even if I kept using my skills to thin their numbers.
I had to make a call then. I retreated with the five hundred surviving beetles and joined them up with the seven thousand that arrived a little too late. The demons had breached the tree line and entered the volcano area.
- The demons were in the volcanic area. -
- Should we continue, then? -
- Yes. We must defeat the demons before they establish a base in the volcano. We cannot let them tap into the volcanoÆs mana source. -
- The men were not keen, - one of the captains said. Some of the men didnÆt see why they should risk their lives protecting a volcano.
- Then die when the demons come along. - It really wasnÆt a lie. A demonic base next to us? They could spawn more demons, more than the beetles I could field.
Still, keen or not, we had to fight. I was not planning on letting the demons get too far into the volcanic area, and already I saw the demons fight the native magma golems.
The native magma monsters didnÆt mount any extra defense; after all, they didnÆt even know an army was headed their way, but the giant magma golems were more than a match for conventional demonoids.
But the demons were focused. While some demonoids kept the magma golems occupied, they charged for the caldera. And I didnÆt plan on letting them get there and establish a foothold.
I spawned subsidiary trees, even in this hostile terrain, and the army of beetles and New Freekans chased after the demons. They had one dayÆs head start, and the army passed by more casualties by the wayside. Some soldiers took this chance to collect any loot that the golems dropped, since the demons were not interested.
As the beetles and soldiers headed up, I felt it.
A surge in mana, a shiver in the magma and earth below. - Shit, - I told myself. They might have already started. Demonic energy was starting to corrupt the volcanoÆs energies, and all the trees in the area could feel the incursion.
After an hour of climbing up the volcano with this army, we saw the demonÆs fortress. Past a field of crushed golems and the half - skewered demonoids, right at the edge of the volcanic caldera, a fortress in the making. It was growing slowly, but it already had the shape of spires, similar to the spires of the demon walker. There it was, at the center of the under - construction fortress, a banner - like reddish object, the so - called demon-rod as told by the merchant guilds.
- This. this was a terraforming army, - Alexis muttered. - They plan to turn the world into the factories of their homeworld? - We could see the demonic energy leaking from the rod into the ground, and it was trying to take control of the land beneath it. But the volcano would not be tamed so easily.
This scene somehow reminded me of a game I played, where the four factions used little magical rods to conquer the land, and with it convert the neutral land into the four types of racial terrains, hell, blight, frost, or bloom.
- No time to waste. The fortress was not ready, and we must destroy it now. - Or actually destroy the rod first. If the rod was the source of the corruption, there was really no need to focus on the army.
In fact, I thought of cheating, so I created a few subsidiary trees as close as I could to the fortress and started unleashing Root Strike s at the rod.
But it all met a barrier of some kind. And that barrier prevented my roots from approaching, and it also blocked my subsidiary tree.
There were three demonoids standing around the rod in a mini - circular formation. They seemed to channel the energy from within the rod to create the fortress and the barrier protecting the rod. I needed to stop them, or by tomorrow they would start to spawn demons. The barrier blocked the roots attacking the three demons, too. Ugh.
- Yura , I need you to take those three demonoids down. -
- What, where? - I forgot they couldnÆt see past walls, unlike my top - down visual through all my subsidiary trees. The demonic army formed up around the fortress, and now we had a better sense of what we were up against. The demonoid army had suffered losses to get to this part, a section so close to the top of the volcano.
No matter. Sixteen thousand demons noticed our presence, and they fought hard to hold back our seventy - five hundred beetles and four thousand soldiers. And once again, another larger scale battle.
Without a demon walker to focus on, my role in this battle was to prevent unnecessary deaths. This meant observing the soldiers and interfering when they were in trouble. At the same time, I also cleared a path for Yura and Yvon that led to the three channeling demons, so that they could quickly end the rodÆs corrupting magics.
They were my best combatants, and since there was a magical barrier, I hoped they could still physically pass through the barrier.
Yura quickly cut through tens of demon knights; Lozanna , Yvon, and some of the captains took out a few as well. The battle lasted three hours, and the beetles finally managed to punch through the wall of demons. A path was open, and Yura , Yvon, and some soldiers charged in. The barrier did let them through.
Yvon rushed ahead, and with a quick slash, she slashed through the three demonic channelers.
The rod was almost completely enveloped in some kind of demonic energy, and when the three demonic channelers evaporated into demon-dust, it just levitated in mid - air, unmoving.
- Is it done? - Yura asked. I sensed the corrupting influence of the demonic rod slowly subsiding.
- I think we need to hit it, - another soldier said. Apparently other countries had destroyed such rods before.
- Uh. - Yura looked at it; it was surrounded by a black flame. - I am not touching that. Madeus? -
- Guard it. DonÆt let any of the other demons continue channeling the rod. - The beetles and Order soldiers fought off the rest of the demonoids. We should not stay long. I saw a giant magma golem starting to form in the distance. The native monsters were trying to fight back, and they saw both us and the demons as intruders.
- TreeTree, can you move it or knock it out? The channelers are gone, so the barrier should be down, - Yura asked. Madeus was busy blasting some demons. Yura continued to cut through demonoids. The captains reorganized the men into defensive formations, the beetles doing the bulk of the fighting.
I launched a few more Root Strike s, and there was no barrier blocking it. It hit through the demonic flame, my roots just lightly scathed by the black flame, and the massive banner - rod fell down. But even as it collapsed, cracked, I could sense residual demonic energies from it.
The rod fell to the ground, dark energies jumped out like an arc lightning, and it tried to create more demonoids. This rod was the spawner of the demonic hordes, wasnÆt it?
- Destroy it! - Yura shouted. - ItÆs trying to spawn more demons. - That was obvious enough. The demonic fortress and the spires around the soldiers started to vibrate, and chunks started to collapse. By now, the demonoids had been defeated. We were only left with the rod.
But no, I didnÆt plan to destroy it just yet. - Take the rod, - I said to Yura , but then I realized it was massive.
- What? No way. ItÆs still emitting that black demonflame. You need to knock it out a bit more. -
Ugh. That meant I was the only one that could manipulate it? A beetle approached and the flames burned the beetle.
I briefly considered leaving it here, but that meant the rod would spawn more demons, and that defeated the purpose of this incursion.
I decided to weaken the rod a bit more, so with some Root strikes , the demonic energy dissipated, and the rod itself cracked. Still, I could sense some remaining demonic energy, and that was what I wanted. Good, I felt it would be better for me to hold onto it and subject it to some research, see what I could learn from it. If this demon king was intelligent as I predicted it was, then I needed to know how I could counter him, whether I could use the energies from such rods against it.
No one wanted to touch the demon rod surrounded by the residual black flames, and only I had the necessary resistances.
I used a bit of my vines, and the black flames were unable to hurt the vines much, and I moved the rod. It took a bit of effort to play pass - the - baton with my vines, tossing the rod from one subsidiary tree to another, all the way down from the volcano, back to New Freeka. This baton - pass took two days for the rod to arrive back at the valley.
It must have looked rather silly, trees passing a cracked rod, swinging it from tree to tree. It took a lot of effort to get the rod to move correctly.
Wait. Why did that sound wrong?
- Okay, letÆs retreat before the golems respawn. There was no need to fight the natives. - Meanwhile, Yura ordered the army to retreat home. I would rebuild my defenses around the volcano after this.
You gained a level. Level 138
New Skill learned: Vine - Ropeway Network. Vine - Ropeway networks allows you to move things and people from place to place, like a cable car or aerial gondola system. Must be part of the same connected network of vines.
Star mana - variant: Consumes 150 star mana: Creates a star - mana vine - network that temporarily folds space and time, and opens a portal between any two subsidiary trees or your main body. Allows movement of any one animal or item instantaneously from any subsidiary tree to any other subsidiary. Need not be connected.
TreeTree presently has 300 star mana, and generates 30 star mana per month.
Uh. Wait.
This was like that story Yura , or was it Casshern, said so long ago, of the twinned tree spirits that had a steady portal between one another. Like paired stargates.
YEAR 82 MONTH 5
Two moons, high up in the sky. One blue, one white. Alexis said sometimes they changed color, and apparently, the alignment of the moons influenced the power of certain magics and monsters. Back home, there were stories of how some werewolves gained power from the moon; in this world, there were also certain kinds of werewolves that gained different powers, depending on which full moon was in the night sky. It was certainly a fascinating mechanic to magic. There was a third moon that moved a whole lot slower, and for now, it stayed out of sight.
Anyway, my immediate focus was on the now - broken demonic banner - rod, and I put it inside a large lab - tree close to my main body.
This was because, unlike the lab that experiment on the hexbombÆs hexsludge, which was located really far away for safety, I was a whole lot more confident fiddling with the demonic rod, thanks to all of my anti - demon resistance. In fact, it was better for it to be nearer since the demonic suppression aura was stronger.
There was a layer of extremely dense demon-mana swirling in the core of that rod, a crystalline object that resembled daemolite. In fact, I thought it was daemolite. The dense demon-mana protected the core from the probing vines, and I was in the process of overpowering the demon-mana by slowly draining it.
It tried to fight me. The demon-mana from the rod even attempted to latch onto my body, but as expected, my body was resistant and pushed back. I activated natural mana overwhelming and did what IÆd done in the past, just like how I used the mana from me and all the trees to overwhelm the demon hounds, and Alexis.
So slowly, but surely, my mana began to break into the rod, untangling it, and bit by bit, in slightly less than a month.
And then.
Your mana has completely taken over the demonic - presence rod. Demonic rod has now transformed into The Stick of TreeTree. The Stick Of TreeTree retains the mana - conversion and assimilation abilities of the original rod, will grow trees wherever it was placed, and will spread your influence.
The strange - looking rod now resembled a large wooden spear, with overgrown vines all tangled up around it. The daemolite core, once purple and reddish, was now entirely light green in color.
But seriously, I didnÆt come up with such a name. Or maybe I did. Maybe it was my subconscious.
Deciding it was a horrible name, I decided to call it the Forest Rod instead. I was just too embarrassed to even tell my beetles to carry the Stick of TreeTree .
Throughout New Freeka, news was rare. Most message services were not operational, and there were not many couriers or messengers in service; they were often employed, at great cost, to deliver the most important messages.
Some merchant groups decided not to wait any longer, and instead, they spent money to hire a large escort force. It was a well - reasoned choice, since the demon king would not die until the heroes arrive. How long could they wait, anyway?
Messengers, couriers were escorted by riders, and armed cavalry. At this point, speed was key.
- Airships. Where are the airships, anyway? -
- I would think they are reserved for the most important tasks, like patrolling the capitols, transporting royalty, or urgent expeditions. Smaller ones are used by adventurers, but charging the daemoliteÆs usually really. costly. -
I was starting to suspect the airship I downed so many years ago was somehow stolen. Or just somehow. airships just fell out of favor? Under such circumstances, I would think airships would work, unless something was interfering with that, too.
Throughout my network of trees, I was starting to see more travelers, merchants, and others.
A courier from Salah arrived today. Yura looked at a letter and then casually placed it aside. - They must be truly desperate to demand that we all contribute military to their defense. What a waste of valuable couriers time. -
- Huh? -
- Well, just a strongly worded letter demanding that New Freeka provide protection to the royals of Salah and support the continental coalition army. SalahÆs part of the organizing nations this time around, together with Takde and the eastern Nagra. -
- Nagra. WhereÆs that? -
- Further east of Salah. ItÆs a coastal nation, and its capital is actually on a large island just off the coast of our mainland. Funny it decided to play a part. -
- Maybe demons found a way to sail across the oceans. -
- Demons can fly, though. At least, elder demons, - Madeus added. - If one of these giant demon walkers have some kind of flying ability. -
- The previous demon king was a floating castle, after all. But whatÆs the point of the coalition army anyway, if they canÆt hold a candle to the demon king? -
- They can act as a big, fat decoy, - a captain said. - ThatÆs what happened to the last coalition army. A decoy to redirect the demon king elsewhere. -
- Ignore them, then. - I thought all these royal schemes tended to fail in the face of the demon king.
Yura laughed. - IÆve never intended to respond. WeÆve got enough on our own plate. -
YEAR 82 MONTH 6
Now that I had this. stick, suddenly a whole load of ideas came back to my mind. Could I do what the demons did? To claim the volcano as my own using this rod? The fact that it had that spread my mana thing seemed to suggest, yes. I could. I mean, that was how it worked in that other game I played, right? Rods spread influence, and if I had a rod, I could do it, too.
And after dwelling on the idea for a few days, I decided to call on my beetles and Horns, and it was time for me to try to use the demonÆs tactics for myself.
The trees I had on the volcano had been destroyed, uprooted by the magma golems, but it wouldnÆt be hard for me to get back there again. Six thousand beetles charged up the volcano.
We fought golems, and giant golems along the way, and it was a little easier this time around, with healing aura somewhat offsetting the natural burn damage from the volcanic environment. With stronger beetles, thanks to the upgrades, we managed to secure a one - way chain of trees up till the caldera.
And there we had it. The giant magma golems.
Defeating the giant golems was easy. But consistently holding on to it, while saving all the things that were dying? That was harder. I had to personally intervene every time the giant golems attacked, and that made holding onto the volcano exceptionally time - consuming. That was even before the issue of the volcanoÆs raw natural mana, which I couldnÆt seem to access. My subsidiary trees also kept burning from the natural heat of the volcano, and that meant I had to constantly replace them.
Thankfully, after the past few upgrades, they were a little bit tougher.
I hoped the Forest Rod changed that. If this worked, I was going to start hunting the demons for more rods.
A torrent of Root Strike s later, the golems were down, and four beetles helped to insert the Forest Rod into the edge of the caldera.
One of my subsidiary trees Æs vines and roots then tangled with the Forest Rod Æs growing vines, and I felt a strange sensation. I felt like I was in a hot sauna, but I was a tree. Focusing on the Forest Rod , I quickly saw that it was the natural mana from the volcano and my own natural mana mixing.
I thought this might work.
And more of those magma golems appeared. They seemed to have been riled up by the sudden shift in mana, and we, the trees, and the beetles now played defense.
I supposed it was like tree versus volcano, then?
And we spent five days defending the Forest Rod while it channeled slowly. There really was no way I could speed it up, since the rod itself seemed to just work. automagically once supplied with mana. Increasing it didnÆt work.
Maybe it was like cooking: you couldnÆt speed up a natural process. Not too much, at least.
So, we endured for five days, constantly healing all the damaged subsidiary trees from all the spontaneous combustion. The heat meant the trees were drained of all their liquids, and when they were sufficiently dry, they would just burst into flames. That on top of the attacks by golems.
To slow down the effects of the intense heat, I tapped on the waters from the rest of my network and constantly pumped water to the subsidiary trees on the volcano. It worked, somewhat, but instead some of the trees started to boil. Which killed them, too.
But we held our ground.
Five days of constant fighting against golems, and I lost forty - five hundred beetles after five days. Battling in this unfavorable terrain meant their effectiveness was low, and IÆd seen it firsthand during the earlier battle with the demons. A beetle that was normally able to take on three, maybe four demons could only take on one demon because of the damage from the terrain itself.
For five days, golems attacked the subsidiary trees and the makeshift walls from all sides, and I had the beetles try to do some rudimentary digging. The beetles suffered much, digging through hardened magma, and didnÆt help that there had been a few. accidents. Some beetles accidentally stepped on a chunk of loose rocks and then slid to their deaths into the molten lava lake in the center of the caldera. Or some chunks of ground suddenly erupted and a geyser of lava torched a few trees.
Five days. Honestly, five days was just a blink of an eye, usually. But this long grind of barely defending the Forest Rod really reminded me of the early days of the ginseng tree . At least the rod was pretty tough. It could take a few punches.
Five days. I supposed I wasnÆt as good at corrupting the land since the demons were almost done in two.
And five days of magma - golem genocide later, the volcano filled with the burned trees, burned beetles, we completed the channeling of the rod.
The Forest Rod transformed into a large tree right at the edge of the caldera. It was massive.
And then, one of the longest skill notifications I had ever had.
And I meant it was really, really long.
Natural Feature - Volcano integrated. Volcano has now transformed into Verdant Volcano.
Verdant Volcano will now spawn Giant Wildbeasts instead of Magma Golems. Giant Wildbeasts and other spawned creatures will recognize your trees and subordinates as natives.
Volcanic Minerals - Passive - Must maintain connection to volcano - Subsidiary trees now share nutrients and minerals from the volcano to its surroundings. Provides significant improvement to crop output, tree growth and regeneration and crop health. Bathing and drinking volcanic waters improve overall health. Resistance to disease, plague improved for New Freeka inhabitants.
Soul Forge: Red unlocked
Soul Forge: Red increases artificial soul level caps to Level 50.
Soul Forge: Red unlocks additional repair options and allows the repair of souls damaged by psychic or mental attacks. Improves a soulÆs ability to withstand exposure to other kinds of mana and also improves skill harvesting rate.
Dream Harvester Spirits unlocked. Dream spirits harvest essences, soul fragments, and occasionally skills from those having dreams, aspirations, and strong passions.
As you have unlocked 3 Soul Forge colors, youÆve gained access to the Titan Souls . Titans were guardian monsters, protectors of incredible power, and summons of yore. You have sufficient power to support one Titan. To create a Titan, you must have a Titan Frame . Titans start at level 70 and have a level limit of 150. Once destroyed, they will respawn in one year in your main tree, until deployed again.
Titan Frames are collected when a level 150 person, or a divine hero, or a dragon (or monster of similar grade) dies in your vicinity.
Trevor, Bamboo, and Horns, who were now at their level - forty cap, had unlocked new upgrade options. Taking these upgrades would allow them to level up to level fifty.
Trevor
Red - blood - path - Requires 10 rubies, and three barrels of monster blood.
Bamboo
Red - Flower path - Requires 10 star garnets and two boxes of red flower petals.
Horns
Red - Scarlet Steel Beetle path - requires 1 ton of Iron and 10 rubies.
And IÆm not done yet.
You have gained a level! You were now Level 139.
Skill obtained: Main Body Environmental Adaptation. Your main tree body was now able to survive all environments.
Metaphorically, I felt like I had to sit down and digest all that. In fact, that meant just. doing nothing. A tree couldnÆt sit. I could move my roots to resemble sitting, but it was not sitting.
YEAR 82, MONTH 7
I had a lot to think about, particularly about the nature of my new powers. Firstly, the colors of the soul forge, how many colors were there? I had earlier suspected that there were at least five colors, similar to how some trading card games did it, white, blue, green, red, and black.
If there were five colors, would that imply a level limit of seventy if I had all five colors for my artificial souls? Or if there were more?
And acquiring more colors expanded the kind of souls I could create, so if three colors unlocked Titans, what would five colors do? Or if there were more, what would those functions be? These were things I thought I would discover in the future.
Then the Titans. Sadly, its effects were not retrospective, so I did not benefit from AlexisÆs death in my hands. I wondered whether it still counted if I killed the heroes when they were weak. Did it? Or slaying dragons?
And environmental adaptation. Uh. kind of lame of a level 139 skill, since. I was here. At least if somebody used a super - blizzard, IÆd be fine.
Also, the rod worked.
To me, this rod was a great gamechanger. I couldnÆt make the rod, but I could find more. And then I could corrupt it to expand my influence. It even helped to expand my forests. More forests was good. I liked having more forests everywhere.
Even now, the volcanoÆs surface was filled with small shrubs and trees, the once violent mana now a whole lot less hostile to vegetation. I should have more of these rods.
So it was time for me to turn the heat back on the demons. Because these rods were awesome.
And for that purpose, I created a new artificial soul . Too bad I couldnÆt have a Titan yet, but I supposed Titans were like endgame units. Like Khaine, or the Warboss.
- Stratreegy, online. Awaiting your instructions, commander. - Damn, I loved the fact that the artificial soul could leech on my memories to shape his voice and conduct. I honestly modeled him after the adjutants and advisors in all the 1990s RTS games I used to play.
- Good. HereÆs our plan. Dimitree, Trevor, your roles remain. That is defense and administration of the southwest forests, the valley, and now also the volcano area. Ivy, your role remains to monitor the inhabitants of New Freeka. Stratreegy, your role is to be my war room and battlefield command. Your task is to find and hunt for these demonic rods. -
- Acknowledged. -
- As it is, our visibility and scouting range has been significantly weakened, thanks to the interference of from the demon king, and beetles are only able to operate within a specified range of our subsidiary trees . This will be a difficult task. But together, we will hunt down more of these rods. -
Silence.
- As such, I am delegating control over four thousand beetles and five hundred unused subsidiary tree slots to you. Get me more of those rods. -
- Understood, Commander. -
And so, I let my new artificial soul on its way. I felt a bit like the Overmind, creating new cerebrates to perform specific tasked. It helped that my special project, the Grand Mind Tree , was going to be ready in two more months.
What would I be called, then? I honestly didnÆt want a name with a mind in it because I thought my mind wasnÆt really all there. As much as I tried to resist it, my mind splintered and went off in weird tangents. It was almost like my mind was some kind of multi - threaded computer, jumping from one train of thought to another.
I wondered sometimes whether I was still Matt. But then, a part of me just brushed that off and pushed me back to my duties, which was the valley and caring for all my trees and citizens. I liked my trees. There were so many of them now, and I considered them extensions of me.
Yeah. My mind wasnÆt all there. I wondered whether the gods were playing tricks on my me like how they played tricks on the heroes.
How long before the heroes arrive anyway? ItÆd already been five months. It seemed that the courier services were getting more and more active, with more people taking on the job of delivering messages to nearby towns.
We still hadnÆt received any news from the other continents, but we were starting to get a better sense of what was happening on our own. The merchantÆs guild had finally set up something of a high - priority courier network, using their best scouts and messengers to travel along specified routes.
The good thing was at least the demon king wasnÆt on our continent. The bad news was there were a lot more demon walkers. But that was a small matter. Now that I was aware of the value of the demon-rod, I wanted more of it.
So I needed to help Stratreegy along.
Yura seemed quite puzzled, but once I explained how I corrupted the demon rod, he, too, saw value in it.
- Yes. Preferably ones where there are known demon rods. Yura didnÆt want to explain too much but said that I have uses for them. -
- Uh. - The captains seemed strangely appalled.
- You do not have to engage. You just need to find it and report back. -
- WeÆd rather not, Counsel. With communication lines so limited, the men would prefer to remain close to home. - The captains didnÆt like the idea of looking for demons outside our immediate territory.
I could sense their hesitation, and I decided to tap on another source of valuable talent. Adventurers.
Twenty gold for the first party that spotted a demonic banner - rod. And indeed, that helped to mobilize the adventurers. I mean, conventional military men werenÆt really looking to risk their lives unnecessarily. The idea of poking the hornetÆs nest was strange to most regular forces, and only those with high levels in Scout or Spy or Infiltrator would even think of risking their lives.
Adventurers, on the other hand, were more than willing to take on danger for simple, good old moolah.
I mean, at what point did money lose value anyway? In a world where monsters and demons were so insane, why should money have any value? ShouldnÆt protection and safety be more valuable? What really gave money value in a world with no certainty of value? I mean, theoretically, if you were more likely to die than ever be able to trade that gold for anything of value, the gold was essentially worthless once you stepped out of the city gates, no? Perhaps one of the gods somehow guaranteed the value of gold, then? Acting as some kind of universal monetary authority? Or did the merchantÆs guild play that role indirectly, functioning as a de facto reserve bank?
It was a rhetorical question. I needed to stop getting side - tracked.
I needed more rods. Maybe I could plant them at the lake. Or what if I used it on the large mound of daemolite?
How did I get green - and - white - colored soul forges?
YEAR 82, MONTH 8
The fact that the rod worked made me ask more questions about the nature of these mana sources. Why were my normal subsidiary trees able to tap into the magical leyline, yet it didnÆt work on the volcano?
What made the rod special?
I made a few theories, but I must admit these were shaped by my experiences with my own games.
The first possibility was that there were compatible and incompatible colors for mana, and so, if my base color was blue, then red was therefore an opposing color. So I would have to go through a lot more steps and upgrades to assimilate an opposing color mana, hence the Forest Rod .
That, of course, was just a theory. I had asked the Wisp, but the Wisp was surprisingly clueless about such things, and I suspected only other Tree Spirits would be able to answer me.
The second but not mutually exclusive theory was that there were tiers to the mana. In this theory, the dungeon core and leyline beneath constituted directly accessible mana, and the volcanoÆs natural mana constituted mana that required processing.Æ
The mental model I had for this theory was similar to the oil and gas industry, which had different types of rigs and mines, like regular pumps, deep - sea rigs, oil sands, or shale oil, each with different rates of recovery, at different kinds of technological difficulty. I built this theory on the knowledge that heroes and I had star mana, and the sick princess was exposed to void mana, so it may not be too hard to then theorize star mana was like nuclear fuel. So, if we were to lay down the types of mana on a scale, there would be an increasing difficulty.
Of course, the fact that I had the ability to produce star mana challenged this theory, like. if I could make star mana, why was the volcanic mana a challenge?
Anyway. whether these were types of mana or tiers of mana, or even both, I frankly had no proof. Or maybe I was just imagining things.
The rod was able to circumvent the tiers, or whether it was the colors, but other than it worked, I had little insights into the underlying mechanics of how it took the volcanic mana and made it usable to me. So what I could do was keep expanding and growing, using the rods in different circumstances and then observing the outcomes.
Meanwhile, somebody important came. We knew it was important because that person came in a rare airship. Apparently, after some sniffing, daemolite - powered airships were quite sensitive to the magical interference by the demon king, and so many, many fleets had been grounded. This airship was powered by Quantium, an expensive and rare crystal. The fact that it was deployed meant a lot.
- The Kingdom of Takde summons all high - level individuals to assault a demonic fortress. ItÆs located in the ruins of a once - large city. All individuals above level fifty are invited to participate, and Takde will bear all lodging and costs. -
The demons had managed to take down a large city, and a rod had been planted. In the ruins of a place that witnessed intense death, the rodÆs magical harvesting ability mixed with the residual death energy, and as a result, they started producing special kinds of demonoids.
The envoy described it as an upgraded version of demon knights, bound to the ground, without wings, but they were twice as large as any regular demonoid. The size of a troll or a large ogre, these demons were equal in strength to a regular demon knight, the equivalent of a level thirty to thirty - five captain. Not a problem per se, but the issue was really about numbers. This rod produced these demon ogres by the hundreds every week.
- Fascinating, - Alexis mused. - ItÆs like these rods have some kind of natural - adaptation ability to produce special kinds of units. Like an. adaptive breeder. -
It was expected. The volcanoÆs conversion created special giant beasts. Looking at this sort of trend, the former snake - dungeon might be spitting out snake - demons very soon. I should look into that.
- But why didnÆt these sorts of special units appear earlier? - I wondered. Perhaps it was a condition for unlocking the next tier units that required the presence of the demon king. Or like queens in a beehive, it was the demon king who introduced genetic diversity into their population?
A few adventurers in New Freeka agreed to join. I had the impression adventurers avoided participating in such high - profile demon-related matters unless the heroes were involved, but I supposed some people were going to bite if the rewards were good.
- So. that snake - dungeon, were you just going to leave it? - Alexis asked. Well, no.
I looked at StratreegyÆs overlay, showing a large map, split into numerous hexagons. It was an overlay and presentation resembling Age of Wonders, with my main body at the center. There were five straight lines of trees, one to the volcano, one to the south - forest, one that went all the way to Ransalah, one that led close to the former snake dungeon, and another one that was headed south, toward where the other demon walker was once spotted.
- IÆm thinking. - It took one beetle pod, one month to regrow one beetle. So, theoretically, I could lose about five thousand beetles per month with no real loss to my force. I could consistently assault that location with five thousand beetles, but it was probably better to hammer it with a larger force.
Unlike the humans, or the elves, or any other nation who manned their force with non - renewable lives, my beetles essentially allowed me to fight the demons with their own strategy, a war of attrition.
Outside of my own extremely overpowered abilities against demons, this was my second advantage against demons.
- How about your spiders? TheyÆve not been seeing use. Outside making webs here. -
- TheyÆre anti - air. and were campers. TheyÆre not suitable as an invasion force. Beetles, being a mobile unit, were kind of like. cavalry. -
- Your other beetle - variants? The dungbeetles or the spear - beetles? -
I looked at the map again. Visibility was still crap. A comparison to age of wonders would be being able to see only one or two hex away.
- So. TreeTree, would you want to send anyone to join the TakdeÆs force? - Yura interrupted my thoughts; the envoy had met a whole load of other adventurers and fighters.
- No. - IÆd deal with them separately. - Get me a map of where that location is. - I was still very happy that I could actually see now instead of just spirit vision. I could read maps! Apparently TakdeÆs airship was already filled with other adventurers the envoy picked up. It was going to be a rather massive force, and the Takde High - King intended to use a large, collected group of high - leveled adventurers as a sledgehammer. - What about the coalition army that SalahÆs leading? Or was it Nagra? -
- ItÆs participating, of course. But to minimize casualties, they need this high - leveled force. Every week delay increases the demon-ogre force by a few hundred, - Yura explained.
Alexis magically created a floating, holograph - like map. - So either strike early with a smaller force or strike later and face a bigger standing army. Sounds like fun. -
From Ransalah, a chain of trees up to the Takde Demon Fort wouldnÆt be too far. I wanted to see the demon-ogres for myself, whether they really were the threat that the envoys said it was.
- So. youÆre going to sweep in to save the day? - Alexis asked.
- The beetles wonÆt get there in time. Not with that kind of distance. -
- Even with your new ability? -
- ItÆs a pulley system based on vines, itÆs better for goods, and itÆs not fast. - Pulley systems existed in this world. Many ports had engineers who designed large contraptions to help with moving goods. It seemed one of the heroes, a long time ago, did manage to introduce some rudimentary container system, though the practice was competing with magical holding bags.
- So whatÆs your plan? Just create a chain of trees and watch the battle? - Alexis didnÆt seem too impressed.
- Honestly, yes. I like seeing new types of demons. I think itÆs fascinating, and it gives us insights into how intelligent this demon king is. -
Alexis frowned. The airship with the adventurers left. There was some information trading as well.
Some of the adventurers we hired did come back with some targets. And after a few battles with smaller demon bases, this was where I made a discovery.
The rods must be collected, either when they were unused or still under construction or in transport. Once fully channeled and transformed into a base, or a fort, most of that mana - corrupting ability was lost. Left untouched, the fully channeled rods could still continue to generate small amounts of demonoids, but they lost most of their base - creation ability.
In short, a single - use item. Ugh.
I had the idea of smashing some demon bases and stealing the rods, but it made more sense that the rods were mostly a single - use item.
Back to the drawing board.
YEAR 82 MONTH 9
Completed The Grand Mind Tree project
The grand mind tree resembled a bunch of walnuts stacked on top of each other. The entirety of the Mind Tree was wrinkly, with multiple branches twirling around.
Located just next to me, the moment it was fully completed, I could see it glow a faint greenish light.
And then I had a massive, massive headache.
For a good. one hour.
But only one hour. IÆd had worse headaches.
Mind Control resistance significantly increased. Each of your artificial minds will now act as counterchecks against attempted mind control attacks. Mind control must now apply to more than half of your artificial minds to work.
Ah wonderful. The blockchain node approach to mind control resistance.
Also, my awareness of soul matters suddenly took a giant leap. If I focused, I could now observe greater details in the folds of my soul realm . And most importantly, the processing power to alter souls was at a fine level. ItÆd been something that I wanted, something I figured might solve what I had been facing with Yura .
After a string of successes with smaller rats and animals, I tried moving onto bigger things, and realized. I just couldnÆt.
I had resolution issues. Because I couldnÆt create a canvass big and detailed enough. That meant I would work halfway and realized I couldnÆt copy more. Even with a live version as a reference.
It was like working with a forced 600x480 resolution when I needed ten times that.
This grand mind tree was kind of like a massive RAM and solid - state hard disk.
- Yura . Soul forge, now. - With the grand mind, I now had what I needed to create a functional copy of the hand.Æ
He looked puzzled, but he wasnÆt one to challenge me that much. So he agreed. I had Lozanna and Laufen gather all sorts of materials and animals and place them around my main tree.
With all three soul forge: red, blue and black , I drew the mana from all over my network of trees, and they appeared as three separate balls of energy, one blue, one red, and one black. This distinction was also made possible by the improved mana - manipulation ability from the grand mind tree .
And from the soul realm , I took a bunch of the soul fragments and started to form the shape of a hand.
Yura Æs now asleep inside, the vines pumped nutrients and mana. And three viney feelers, ethereal, both physical and spiritual, reached into his body and pulled his soul out. Just partly.
It revealed an elf - shaped soul, but with one hand gone. A gap. It was rounded now, like a soul - version of a stump.
Two more feelers appeared and touched the other still - present hand. The Grand Mind Tree glowed, and in sync, another feeler started to work on the floating hand formed from the broken soul fragments of the dead. With the mental processing and storage power of the grand mind tree we had the necessary mental capacity to copy all the details of his existing hand. And we started to work.
Ivy and Trevor acted as my assistants. They helped maintain some of the mana flow and regulated the soul forge .
Cocooned in mana, it took a good four hours, and the floating hand now resembled the other, with the necessary corrections. Previously I could only do three hours. It had all the vessels, muscle strands, and bone shapes, a perfectly flipped copy of the other hand.
Then multiple ethereal feelers appeared, and it cut into the stump on Yura Æs soul. It was a slow process using the fragments of souls to create all the components and joining the existing soul to this new hand. Bit - by - bit, vein - by - vein, bone - by - bone, strands of muscle joined their counterparts on Yura Æs soul.
This took another four hours, and day had now turned into night. There were people looking for Yura , but Laufen sent them off.
The three glowing mana balls entered the new hand, and then the energies mixed and bound them together. Before I woke Yura , I checked.
And double - checked. I made sure I fixed every part of the connection. Trevor and Ivy helped to check as well.
Checking my own work took another two hours. I had to be sure. If I lost Yura to my own mistakes, I was not sure how I could forgive myself.
But after that, I felt I was okay. Yura Æs body was stable. Gently his soul returned back to his body, and then I used the biolab functions to check another time. Fifteen minutes. He was all right; his soul spring appeared stable. There was a new section in there.
I injected something and roused him from his slumber.
Yura woke up and shouted.
He felt immense, immense pain. Because what was once a stump was now something he could feel in his soul. The loss, the lack of a hand, the pain that once was, all of it returned.
He shouted. But now, I could apply healing magic.
With more. surgery. And I sent him back into sleep. I had to wake him to check his response.
This time, with real physical feelers, inside a biopod, I cut into the physical stump on his body and started to apply healing . And instead of healing back to a stump, it started to form a hand.
I did it slowly, making sure the recovery of the hand didnÆt cause any cuts or gaps that would leak blood. Trevor and Ivy helped monitor his vital stats.
And after another two hours of slow reconstruction, Yura woke up to find that he had. both his arms.
Yura was speechless when he saw his returned hand.
He touched it, and he felt it. And he just stared at his new hand for a good fifteen minutes, just moving his fingers, his wrist, his muscles.
I decided to just let him have his moment. He sat, and he cried for a while.
- TreeTree. you. fixed my hand. Only gods and their miracles can do such things. Maybe. maybe heroes, too. -
Great, I took so long to do something a hero probably could do in his sleep.
- I didnÆt know I could, too. So. uh. be gentle with your new hand? - I wasnÆt sure whether everything was fine yet, even though all the stats from biolab were positive.
- Yeah. - He stretched it. - It. It still feels kind of strange to be having my own hand and not BambooÆs wood hand. IÆll be careful. -
When he stepped out of the biopod room, everyone gasped. Yura smiled. - Hey. TreeTree made a hand. -
- So. that tree makes you smarter? - Alexis asked. - Is it like your brain, but. bigger? -
- No. ItÆs just a special - tree type I have, increases research, and improves my mental resistances. -
- Huh. For something that takes up so many resources, and almost two years to grow, I expected it to be more. impressive. Like, warp space - time or something. -
- I believe there are abilities that I have yet to discover. -
- But I guess you needed it to fix Yura Æs hand. ThatÆs pretty good, - Alexis mused and looked at the magical labs. - Too bad you canÆt fix this magical interference. Could it create like a psychic bubble to push back the demon kingÆs interference? You know, like erm. Professor XÆs. -
- Why? -
- Well, you can fix this newsless world for a change. -
- Hah. - I was a bit torn. Should I care about the outside world? I liked just caring about growing more trees, spreading trees from place to place. I liked looking after what was mine, my forests, and my valley, the trees that I had.
Wait. Was that me?
But then, the world was never going to just let me be. A part of me echoed the words of Gewa, that I had great power, and I should use it to fight the demons. The lives that could have been saved if I did something.
Yet that earlier part of me resisted that notion. I wondered whether this was the tree part of me that just wanted to mind my own business and focus on growing trees. Helping trees. Trees were my friends, my family, and they were mine, in a way these elves and humans could never be. Maybe a part of me felt that they, these trees, were. me. I sometimes thought about where all this came from, a yearning for self - preservation?
A collective instinct for self - preservation, drawn from the thoughts of all the trees?
Was this world, and all these artificial minds and grand mind tree, unknowingly influencing my thought processes? Was it deliberate? Or was there something like how the gods could subtly guide oneÆs thoughts in a particular direction without one knowing?
Again, why did my mind wander like that? I was having a discussion on the demons, was I not?
- TreeTree, you. okay? - Alexis seemed puzzled. - You just stopped. talking. -
- I. have a lot on my mind. -
- Ah, because you actually have a mind, now. - Alexis pointed to the mind tree. She laughed. - I was wondering where you did your thinking, like. is there a brain in your tree? Or were you like jellyfish and the roots in the ground functioned like some neural network? -
- Uh. - Well, I was beginning to suspect it was some kind of neural network. Or was it overstimulation from all the data coming in from all those other trees?
- Never mind. I often make jokes that only I find funny. - Alexis shrugged.
- Yes. Back to subject. Demons. - There was a big fight with the demon ogres.
The TakdeÆs force of fifteen hundred high - leveled adventurers and fighters was super impressive, and it managed to crush the force at the demon city. The battle lasted for about half a day, and they were successful.
Of course, I had some trees nearby to watch the action. The demon ogres were just giant versions of their own demonoid soldiers, nothing much to be afraid of, and their combat ability was less than a captain. The kingdom of Takde exaggerated the threat, but I supposed that helped to ensure a smooth defeat of the demons.
The adventurers and generals did have to work a bit harder against the few demon-generals, but they still vastly outleveled most of the demons.
And, as a bystander, I witnessed many high - level skills used by some of the higher - leveled adventurers.
Yet even the best of them were just about level eighty to ninety.
I supposed it was a bit of a letdown on both the adventurer and demon fronts, but hey, the variants the demon-rods made werenÆt that overpowered unless the source itself was powerful. Or maybe. there were more powerful variants?
Maybe the demons captured a dragon cave or cemetery and spawned dragon - demons?
That would be a hell of a sight.
YEAR 82 MONTH 10
After the demon base over the ruined city was destroyed, the captured souls were gradually released. The city, a field of death of many, had many wandering souls, spirits, and the rod caught on to them and leeched off their energies. I could tell because now that my trees were nearer to this location, some of these lost souls entered my soul realm, and their condition looked pretty bad.
It seemed the demonic interference also meddled with the navigational abilities of souls. Would it be like Warp Immaterium? Now corrupted by the presence of the demon king?
Ah, well.
Class seeds - Knight x 6 received
Class seeds - Paladin x 2 received
Class seeds - Ranger x 4 received
Class seeds - Mage x 4 received
Skill seeds - various classes
The souls, as they returned to the soul realm , gave me various class and skill seeds. Many of those perished in combat, many more in the chaos after the demonic army breached the walls. These were the fragments; as they died, the things that held their soul spring together started to break apart. So I might as well pick them up.
After all, once they entered the soul realm, only the inner soul was needed for reincarnation.
- ItÆs a horrible thing, for these souls, that even in death they have to serve the demons for a while. -
- Different demons, or are we talking about the same demons? - I asked Alexis. If these demons were extraplanar in nature, wasnÆt the term aliens more appropriate?
- Yeah. but I mean, the native demons of the world are more of. djinns. Or like. dark faeries who make unfair deals. Any resemblance of the physical appearance is coincidental because what powers them underneath it all is very different. These demons. are invaders. -
- ThatÆs because youÆve seen it. To most of the mortals fiddling with demons, IÆm not sure if they know. But heh. too bad there arenÆt any demon-hunter classes. -
- There are. I guess youÆre just unlucky. But then, paladins can gain skills that boost damage against demons. -
But if they were aliens, why did they benefit from the same boosts? The skill system clearly acknowledged that they were demons. Even my own skills considered them demons. Or was this some kind of godly classification?
- Hmm. - I wondered whether I could just plant these class and skill seeds and let them grow, so that I had more such seeds. Each of these class seeds gave one level in that class to the person that consumed the fruit made from these seeds. But second helpings did nothing. Skill seeds, on the other hand, there were specific types, and generic types. Specific types would grant a skill in the type if the person had a compatible class. Generic ones would grant a skill from that classÆs pool of skills. In a way, generic ones were stronger, since it was theoretically possible to give someone one class seed and multiple generic skill seeds to let him have multiple skills.
They were seeds, right?
You can compress ten class seeds or ten skill seeds of the same type into a class tree or skill tree. These class or skill trees produce 1 - 3 seeds every year.
Oh. Was it theoretically possible to create an orchard of these class trees and skill trees?
I mean, if I had a hundred paladin seeds, I could create a hundred paladins, right? Level one, for sure, but still, a hundred paladins! What if I had crazy powerful classes like kings or heroes or emperors ?
What happened if I gave a hundred people all king classes? Did they fight each other for a chance to be king? What if I had a hundred knight seeds and had them fight each other to level up? That was possible, right? A survival of the fittest gauntlet to produce a strong fighter? Sounded like something out of those mobages where one fused units together to level up.
Why couldnÆt I just fuse those class seeds together? WouldnÆt fusing class seeds create hybrid classes? Or did this worldÆs classes not work like that?
Class fusion and creation requires a compatible class or creature type and the divine gift - Taskmaster, or the divine gift - Evolutionist
What? It was possible! And divine gifts? What was that?
- So. are you doing anything with those class seeds? -
I was sitting on a lot of class seeds, skill seeds, and experience seeds. I thought I had enough experience seeds for about twenty levels now. Too bad only class and skill seeds could be multiplied, else imagine a fruit that gave levels? That was really overpowered, wasnÆt it?
But skill seeds were pretty good, too, since they gave new skills. If I could create a skill seed - tree that produced a strong skill every year, I could have a team of very highly skilled fighters.
- Uh. nothing. - For the experience seeds, IÆd like to use it on Lozanna or Yura or Laufen, but Lozanna continued to gain levels from all the demon fights she participated in. So there was really no need to use it now. The rest of the Valthorn Initiates too were on the lower side of the levels, so they were still able to gain levels.
- Commander. - A part of me felt happy every time I got called that. Really felt like the days when I was playing RTSs as a kid, only, well, I was fully immersed in it. Stratreegy had been really busy with all the demonic movements. He deployed another three thousand beetles and subsidiary trees to go with it to hunt for more rods.
He wanted to get his first rod. He was thirsty.
- Glory to the Countree. We will expand our reach. - He even had a catchphrase, like what usually happened when a player selected a unit in an RTS.
Uh. Did he just invent a new name for the state? Countree of Freeka? Did that make me the primogenitree? Count - Tree A/ ?
Anyway, focus, focus. Stop getting distracted. Grand Mind Tree, if you can, help me stay on track.
Demon rods, well, the issue really was intercepting the rods before they were fully deployed. Maybe someday I could get the necessary powers to make my own rods rather than robbing the demons for their rods.
- Operation Rob the Rod status update. We are pursuing a small demonic base thatÆs just been spotted. The beetles will attack the rod as soon as we spot it to disrupt its channelling. -
Well. The attack failed to secure the rod. The demons were able to protect the base until it was fully channeled, and because it was located in an open space, there was nothing slowing down the channel.
The demon rodÆs channel time was correlated with the ambient magic energy in the area, so using the rod in a regular plain didnÆt take very long.
Ugh. Next target.
- Please bestow your punishment on me for my failure, Commander. - Stratreegy wasnÆt happy.
- Do a postmortem and tell me what you think. It can improve your chances for success. -
- Maybe. maybe you should flip it around. Look for magical places, and lure the demon rods to them, - Alexis suggested.
- Genius! - I mean, why didnÆt I think of it? All these minds and I couldnÆt get a good idea?
News from the southern states of the continent. A demonic walker had been spotted swimming across the ocean. The southern naval states were forming an armada to intercept the walker before it hit land.
- This means the southern continent was done for. - Yura looked at the parchment. - Else why would the walker make the journey across the ocean? -
- Intercepting the walker before it hits land is a good idea. The regular demonoids are unable to fight on water. -
- Could the demonoids be. I donÆt know. walking beneath the oceans? Like that. pirate movie where the undead marched underwater? - Alexis asked. - I mean, they arenÆt exactly living things, right, so. they may be able to function in water just as well as on land. -
That was a good point, Alexis. So I asked Yura and the leadership team.
- Uh. there have been documented records that some generations of demons were able to function underwater or fly. But walking underwater is not something that has been observed, - Madeus explained. He rummaged through a few massive tomes. - But. A/ is right. Nothing rules out the possibility that the demons can simply walk underwater. -
- So. -
- Perhaps it is a trap? I mean, what can the naval forces do? Shoot cannons and fire spells at the walker until it somehow sinks? But if it doesnÆt breathe, that doesnÆt change a thing, does it? - Yura thought out loud.
- Whatever the outcome, I feel it didnÆt change that weÆre going to have more demons from the south, so we need to increase our southern - sector defenses. - This did mean I needed to widen my net of subsidiary trees , but IÆd already deployed most of my subsidiary trees. I needed my next level up.
Fifteen thousand trees was pathetic compared to the kind of numbers the demons could put out. IÆd like to be a tree supercluster with billions, no, trillions of trees. I mean, if I could somehow become a massive forest that covered the entire continent, I could take on the demon king myself. I could just keep throwing beetles and trees at it until I won by attrition.
That was what ants did. That was what invasive plants did. Outnumber and overpower.
I would like to see a world where trees ruled the entire world. Where there were all kinds of trees, from the north pole to the south. Maybe trees on the moon and other planets. Earth was once like that.
If I was back home, I could solve global warming by just spawning trees everywhere. I recalled reading some articles while working that a few billion trees would help fix the whole carbon dioxide emissions thing.
Anyway, I wanted to gather my thoughts.
So much had happened, so many places to watch, a whole load of news from all over the world. I had had so many new skills and faced new foes.
Since the end of the year was coming, it was time for me to do a bit of a checkup. Maybe I should do such things once a decade, or maybe once every few years, since a year was really short to me.
Introspection, or I supposed intreespection, was very much overdue.
Wait! DidnÆt I assign one of the artificial souls to keep track of things for me? - TREVOR! -
- Apologies, master. I had minimized the task manager when the demon king spawned, - Trevor noted. - Pulling it out now and updating. Volcano. completed. Airship. pending. Research and Upgrades. suspended due to demon king. Mineral hunting. suspended due to poor visibility and reduced beetle range. Rune deciphering. no progress. -
- Is that all? -
- The task list remained what was given five years ago. -
- You didnÆt add new things to it? -
Trevor didnÆt reply, but then I thought he either needed explicit instructions or he wasnÆt sure what needed to be included.
The artificial souls had quite a bit of ability, and they were able to make judgments in their fields of expertise. But I supposed being artificial, their ability to make judgments and self - organizing didnÆt apply to all fields and all kinds of tasks. Then again, even a regular folk had different parameters for tasks. Some people were better able to judge cooking ingredient sizes than others. Trevor was really good at forest management, and he could decide on the direction of growth of plants and decide when to cull and replace normal trees that had gotten sick or damaged due to animals or monsters. So, perhaps this issue of judgment was a matter of. unfamiliarity?
- Never mind. - I wouldnÆt have been able to handle that much, anyway. - Where are we on the sewage issue? -
- The newer hyperaccumulator trees are performing well, and we are introducing layered trees to the area. However, utilizing one thousand subsidiary trees to contain and process sewage and high magical toxin fecal matter is honestly not the best application of the subsidiary trees. I would recommend further research into the hyperaccumulator trees, as the single metal/magic type restriction on trees means we have to utilize multiple trees adapted to different materials to remove all the toxins. -
- Ah. Upgrades. - The demon kingÆs interference meant most of the merchant networks were down, and intercontinental traffic slowed down significantly. What this then meant for me was that I was unable to purchase the materials needed to upgrade my three artificial souls without incurring significant spending and without the usual delivery guarantee.
- No progress, Master. -
Of course, rare gems were rare. Even if I could mine some of the gems, it remained that there were other materials that would be located far away.
- Ivy, Dimitree, what else is being worked on? Anything of note? -
- Observation of the citizens is ongoing. Nothing to report. -
DimitreeÆs turn. - Defense is strong. Preparations and traps for the southern demonic incursions are ready. -
Winter was coming.
YEAR 82 MONTH 11
A fairly quiet month for the valley. Maybe it was the cold.
During this month, Lozanna and the Valthorns spent a lot of time fighting smaller demonic incursions. It was good for their experience, and they did need it. The second strongest girl in that Valthorns was now level eighteen, and that was pretty decent at the age of nine. I recalled Lozanna had only reached level sixteen at age nine. It was partly due to a mix of starting early and being exposed to the effects of all the leveling skills. It was still a long way for them.
Stratreegy was also busy extending trees to places where the demons might want to establish a base. We wanted to lure them there, just as the volcano did. I did hope to mount an offense against the snake dungeon and retake that location, but I was waiting for more information to come in. Not easy when the cold reduced the operating range of beetles.
According to recent courier reports, another demon walker had been spotted in the south, on top of the one that was immobile. That made two demon walkers on our continent. And if we added in the demon walker that was somehow swimming across the ocean like some kind of massive island - turtle, that was gonna be three demon walkers in the southern parts of our continent.
- I donÆt recall having that many demon-champion equivalents during the last demon king? - I asked Alexis.
- You have a point. ItÆs likely that the demon king delegated more powers to its walkers rather than holding most of the power. Even the demon champions were just a wee bit stronger than the walkers. But then again, this demon king was also harvesting energies and mana from the world itself, and it may be using that energy to create more demon walkers. If so, the demon king may be just as insane as my time. -
- Insane, eh? -
- I mean, it did blow up a massive crater, did it not? A crater that still remains today and left all that stray daemolite embedded throughout, creating weird monsters. -
- I wonder whether the demon rods work on daemolite. - It was a thought, right? If these demon rods worked on mana sources, would it work on the demon kingÆs remains?
- I wonder what happens when your captured rods are in the demon kingÆs crater, - Alexis retorted.
Had the demons taken control of where the previous demon king perished? From what I understood, after the defenders of the valley were cleared, the nearby nations usually attempted to mine all the daemolite for sale, given how valuable it was. Maybe it was cleared out by now. Apparently most demon kings corpses had been cleared out due to how valuable daemolite was as a store - of - mana. Maybe it was like this worldÆs equivalent of a super - lithium - ion battery.
YEAR 82 MONTH 12
WinterÆs fury mixed with demonic attacks. With winter in full swing, my beetles were forced into a retreat, even with their upgrades. It was harder for the beetles to move in such cold, but at least around my trees, the effect of heat transmission roots meant I could keep the surroundings of New Freeka relatively warm and the beetles could still perform optimally in the warmed areas.
Yet this also meant I couldnÆt attack the snake - dungeon. The cold affected my beetles more than the demons.
So we waited for this winter to pass. We fought mostly defensive battles where my roots provided warmth and worked on research.
Winter also meant traffic and news from the south came. really slowly.
On some days during the cold winter, the sky turned really, really clear. And we could see about multiple astral objects. The moons, the stars, and things that just seemed to drift in space. On days like this, my star - mana production was slightly, very slightly, better.
For the New Freekans, it was a month of preparation, hiding, and retreat. The subterranean hideouts were now popular, thanks to the presence of heated water from the volcanoes, a great way to warm up.
News also slowed to a crawl, thanks to the thick snow and occasional blizzards. With news being carried physically, almost all the towns would be in a similar state. It was only thanks to my network of roots that I could still see what was going on in my surroundings.
Midway through the cold, we detected the presence of blood magic being used again. Somewhere, somebody out there was desperate enough to use blood magic, perhaps the demon king?
- Triangulating. Southern Continent. -
- That far? - The readings of the amount of sacrifice were insane. Trevor and Alexis ran through some calculations and calculated perhaps three thousand to five thousand were sacrificed for a spell this large.
With little else to do, we spent our time theorizing about the nature of blood magic.
How did Blood Magic even work, really?
What really was blood magic, and why was it so powerful?
I mean, I could see the effects of the hex created from blood magic, even at the few locations near to me. It was just corrupted by the hex, though it was slowly decaying.
AlexisÆs theory was that it was like was a nuclear weapon. The hex was a magical version of radiation. I mean, looking at the indicatorÆs high power, fallout. It felt like it.
She wondered if the origins of blood magic would be similar, that it was the magical equivalent of weaponizing the. soul? Perhaps the numbers made the spell stronger, by the same principles of nuclear fusion or fission, that blood magic fused or broke apart the components of a soul into some kind of unstable form, and in doing so released all this magical energy, and the unstable soul - remnant form was what created the falloutÆ?
Given how difficult it was to access the soul, I thought it was quite unlikely that the blood magic worked at that level. So I thought maybe it was really the blood that was like some kind of superfuel, and blood magic bound the superfuel and concentrated it into a bomb. The hex was just the leftover, unexploded bomb. Essentially, what I thought happened during a blood ritual was life energy or mana of the sacrificed was converted into an energy form, and that was the bomb.
Kinda like when you packed a big bunch of low - quality fireworks together, and then when you blew it up, sometimes there were some of these fireworks that didnÆt ignite, or old World War II bombs that for whatever reason failed to detonate.
When I thought about it, I realized our theories were similar, just at different levels. I just presumed the blood ritual converted the energy of the living into that of a weapon, essentially whatever that was happening at the mana pool and body into another form.
I liked AlexisÆs theory, since there was an elegance to it. It was like the blood magic version of breaking the atom and had far more consequences. Like, the realization that there was a kind of magic or energy that fundamentally held the souls together. A peek into the true natural forces of the world.
I supposed it could be tested. If AlexisÆs theory was true, I should be able to witness some kind of soul - change during a blood ritual. Or perhaps detect whether there were soul - residue in the hex, which I so far did not. Perhaps it was a size thing; if AlexisÆs analogy of nuclear bombs was true, perhaps the soul - fission created even smaller particles that required specialized equipment to be detected.
Like. soul - quarks? Squarks?
SIDE STORY - Lozanna MEETS THE HEROES
SOMETIME AROUND YEAR 83 MONTH 2
- IÆm off, Mom. - Lozanna walked over and gave her mum a hug. Laufen smiled and hugged her back. Lozanna was about to turn fourteen years old, and she was now an active member of the regional patrols.
- All right. Come home safely. - Laufen kissed her on her forehead. Laufen smiled; her age was starting to show, lines and all. Even elves suffered from stress and age, though at a slower pace than others. - DonÆt stay too far from TreeTreeÆs trees, all right? -
- Yup. Got it. - Lozanna nodded, but a part of her knew it was a lie. Very often, she and her patrol group had to stray from the trees, sometimes to help a stranded group of merchants or just reach out to some refugees whoÆd lost their way.
But after their first incident of losing contact with TreeTree, theyÆd improved their strategy. Now their squad had three rangers, all with a focus on tracking. One of the Valthorn girls was also a ranger, a choice that they got as they progressed under TreeTreeÆs tutelage.
Lozanna grabbed a small pack of food, equipped a few wooden spears on her back, and then two wooden swords, all enchanted to be extra - effective against demons. There were some basic armlets, made to her size, and she walked to the meeting place.
New Freeka was a whole lot bigger now. A lot more crowded, at least compared to a few years ago. TreeTree didnÆt really feel it - to him, it was just a blip - but for Lozanna , the smell, the ambient noise, the chatter, sometimes she wished it was a bit quieter. Still, she knew that TreeTree was always watching, even if his vision was brief. She could feel it, if she had his attention. It would just resonate with her special familiar. The Warden.Æ
Lozanna looked at her own status menu, and then the familiarÆs. It had its own mana - meter, there was a star symbol next to it. It lived in her, and it slithered out like a snake, detecting its hostÆs attention on it.
- Routine patrols, - she whispered. The tree - snake nodded and disappeared again. It had never spoken, but Lozanna believed it understood what she said. - LetÆs see what we bump into this time. -
- Hello, miÆlady. - Two of the patrolmen bowed. Lozanna sighed. The captain nodded in acknowledgment.
- All right, everyoneÆs here. - The captain brought out a makeshift map. - WeÆre traveling a bit further today, to this section. - He gestured, and the rangers nodded. - Our scouts this morning saw some flares out in that direction, and weÆd like to check it out. Counsel Yura has already stationed some beetles near to the location, but as you know, the beetles range was limited. As usual, we have to investigate. If we encounter any opposition, we lure whatever we face to the designated beetle hideouts here and here. The beetles will take care of them. -
The captain looked around. Everyone nodded. It was a routine task, something theyÆd been doing since the whole communication shutdown.
- Well, looked like weÆre good. Remember, our role is to minimize our fight. We scout, and we lure. DonÆt do anything stupid. If in doubt, check with myself or Lady Lozanna . -
She mentally sighed, but in New Freeka, Lozanna had had many titles. Some referred to her as the princess, some as the Avatar of the Tree Spirit. Things she never really noticed until recently, as she approached the teen years. Lozanna looked around the patrol group. There were four other Valthorn Initiates and about twenty patrolmen, a mix of soldiers and rangers. Most of the soldiers also had movement - assistance skills due to the mobility - focus of the squad.
A young Valthorn Initiate came over and sat next to Lozanna . - Lady Lozanna , what do you plan to teach us today? -
Lozanna rubbed her chin. Her role was part - tutor as well. She didnÆt really have a tutor - plan in mind. - Some sword - spear forms, perhaps. If we encounter demons. Anything youÆd like to see, Ssaera? -
- Erm. can we see your Warden in action? - Lozanna shrugged. She tried not to rely on the warden too much.
- All right, letÆs move out. -
A convoy of beetles helped transport them to the designated starting area. There was a bunch of beetles that functioned as buses; they moved at regular intervals along the five chains of trees. It conserved the patrol groupÆs energy, and the beetles were plenty fast.
They arrived at the nearest location about an hour later. - All right. LetÆs stop here. - The captain tapped the beetle on the head twice, and the beetle obediently moved to the side, then stopped. - DonÆt forget anything, especially your supplies. You may never know if weÆre cut off again. -
Well, nobody was going to make that mistake. Everyone had enough rations for a week. And the Warden could even create healing fruits , just like TreeTree.
- All right. - The beetle moved away and continued its route. It was headed for the next waypoint. There was another tree on the next hill. Lozanna looked around; it was hilly, and there were a whole bunch of bushes and grass. The past demon invasions left some damage to the area, but things regrew quickly.
- LetÆs move out. -
One of the soldiers walked next to Lozanna . - MiÆlady, what do you think weÆre getting this time? -
- Refugees? - Nine out of ten sightings had been refugees. No merchant was going to travel without escort in this environment. Unless they were extremely desperate.
They walked past animal corpses and some debris. There was also some damage on the ground from normal monsters.
- ItÆs quite quiet for a sighting, - one ranger said, but Lozanna knew their scouts were rarely wrong about sightings.
- I hope itÆs just a dud. -
Ssaera and the Valthorns sometimes caught up to Lozanna , and they would try to chat. - Lady Lozanna , what kind of dreams do you get? -
- Huh, the Dream Tutor ? - The Valthorns looked to Lozanna as an idol, thanks to her high level, special familiar, and position as the first Valthorn.
- Yeah. Does A/ give you more. erm. scary ones? - Ssaera asked sheepishly. They wanted to know more about what they could do better to be like her.
Lozanna looked at the ten - year - old girl. - Sometimes. - Lozanna did recall the war dreams were especially gruesome. She vomited after she woke up from that one.
- Often? Do. funny people appear in your dreams? -
- Sometimes? ItÆs usually someone to teach me how to fight. -
A streak of light in the sky. And everyone knew. They stopped their conversation and focused. - Magic? -
They increased their pace and headed in that direction. A few more flashes of light. - SomebodyÆs using quite a bit of magic. And. demons? - As they approached closer and closer, they could hear it. In the faint distance, the sounds of demons.
When they arrived, they saw three young persons, one boy and two girls, about Lozanna Æs age. Humans. And around them, a whole lot of destroyed demons. But the battle was not yet over. There were five demon knights.
It seemed theyÆd only managed to defeat the regular demons.
- Should we help? - They looked at the three, and they looked tired, weak. Not injured, though. They were on a hill, and the three were down below in a small valley.
- IÆm out of mana. - Mirei looked at her two friends. They werenÆt much better.
Harris shook his head. - IÆm almost out of mana, too. -
- HowÆd they find us so quickly? - Becky sighed, and a floating shield appeared. - We need rest. We canÆt even choose our level - ten perks like this! -
The demon knights closed in. Mirei looked again. It was a tactical mistake to use her powers so quickly on the regular demon army. The demon knights wanted to drain them out.
Inexperience.
Harris lifted his wooden shield. He wished he had something sturdier, but after being popped in the middle of nowhere, this was all he could make with his newfound knowledge of shields. - I canÆt block all of them. -
Mirei sighed. They were backed into a corner. They were too green to take on demon knights, and she hoped her friends would do better. Her fists were both charged with lightning, but she knew that it wasnÆt enough.
BeckyÆs back faced hers, and she had a magical sword in her hand. A summoned weapon.
Becky was probably in the best shape. The five demon knights, however, didnÆt move. They turned.
And they saw a girl about their age. She was surrounded by vines, dark - greenish vines.
- Uh, is that a bad guy? - Harris asked. - Because weÆre dead if she is. - Harris had a skill Battlesense , and he knew the odds.
And those vines moved incredibly quickly; to them, they saw it almost instantly impaled the three demon knights, destroying them. The two moved to engage, and a wooden snake chewed off its head, its fangs sinking into the body of the demon knight.
One left. And she threw a wooden spear. It struck the demon knightÆs shield, but then the girl took the chance to impale the last demon knight with another spear. It died then.
- Adventurers? - Lozanna asked. - Are you all right? -
More soldiers came down the hill. Harris wondered whether they saw the battle the entire time but was just relieved to be saved. - Yeah. Thanks. We. uh. tried to bite off more than we could chew. -
Mirei and Becky were absolutely relieved and, at the same time, impressed. But they were so exhausted that they just sat and took a short shut - eye.
Harris smiled at his two friends and then turned to face Lozanna . - HowÆd you beat the five demon knights so easily? -
Lozanna shrugged. One of WardenÆs unique abilities was the ability to use variants or lesser versions of TreeTreeÆs skills. That meant she could use anti - demon strikes and a smaller anti - demon aura . With those two skills, taking down a few demons knights wasnÆt exactly difficult.
- Apologies for my two friends, mages. WeÆve been fighting and running for the past. eight hours. TheyÆre so tired their mana isnÆt even regenerating anymore. -
The captain nodded. - Well, itÆs not a safe place here. They can rest elsewhere. Where were you three headed? -
- Uhm. we donÆt know. - Harris rubbed his head. - WeÆre still trying to get directions. Can we go to wherever you are? -
The captain looked at Lozanna . - MiÆlady, your decision? -
Lozanna looked at the three, all of them about the same age as her. Maybe younger. - Very well, letÆs take them back to New Freeka. -
Harris bowed. - Thank you. - The two mages were still too exhausted but found some energy to walk back after some rations.
They made the journey back to the tree line, and the convoy of beetles was their ride home.
- So, what happened back there? - the captain asked. Harris seemed to be the leader of the three; the two other mages were napping on the beetleÆs seats.
- Uhm. - Harris looked a whole lot better after some food and water. Fighting for so long was exhausting, and they looked visibly green at it. - I donÆt know where to start, honestly. -
- Well, whatever you were comfortable talking about. - The captain smiled. The beetle ride was one hour, after all.
- Uh. letÆs just say we got lost and somehow we found ourselves being chased by demons. We fought where we could, but the three of us were just level one. I mean, I think IÆm level fourteen now, but before that rest, I was still just level five. -
- You had a lot of skills for a level five person. - The captain smiled.
- Uh. itÆs a bloodline thing. -
- Ah. The gifted children. MiÆlady Lozanna here is also one of those gifted children. - The captain grinned, and Lozanna just glared.
- Well, that vine - strike thing was impressive, and I felt like they froze in place. So, uh. where we heading? And what are these. giant beetles? -
- New Freeka, and transportation. - The captain laughed. - Impressive, right? Most refugees are extremely excited when they see one of these. Merchants less so, some of them say the giant elephants or the sandbeasts are more impressive as transports. But whatever, we have giant beetles. -
Harris nodded. - Indeed. ItÆs my first time seeing such. obedient beetles. Do you control them? -
The captain shook his head. - Nah. A/ does. -
- A/ ? - Harris asked.
- Our cityÆs guardian spirit. -
- Nice. - Harris nodded, and he looked at Lozanna . Lozanna was talking to the younger Valthorns, who were extremely impressed by her display of the WardenÆs abilities.
Soon, they arrived at New Freeka and passed by the five layers of walls that now encircled the entire city.
- This was impressive. - Harris looked; the two girls were still asleep. TheyÆd really drained their energies for the battle. Harris, being the physical combatant, less so.
The captain nodded. - Indeed. Even during the last demon walkerÆs attack, they only got as far as the fourth wall before A/ destroyed it. I know because I was on the walls. - He pointed to one part of the wall. - I was there. -
One of the soldiers tapped the captain on the shoulder. - All right, Captain, donÆt have to talk about the same story to every single refugee. -
- I canÆt help it! -
- We were there, too, but we were right in the trenches, with the other beetles. -
Harris looked at the captain and the soldiers. - So. is every city in the world like this? -
Everyone instantly shook their heads. The captain even sniggered, as if they said something ridiculous. - All this was possible because we have a guardian spirit. Without it, this valley would be uninhabited. Many of us were refugees from other cities that were attacked by demons. -
- Hmm. - Harris soaked in this knowledge. He looked at Lozanna again, who wasnÆt really talking. She seemed more interested in something else. But Harris wanted to talk to her, at least, to learn about her powers.
- So, uh. do you guys have any money? - the captain asked. - If you do, IÆd recommend the Oakwood. ItÆs the fanciest inn we have in New Freeka. Otherwise, you can head to Inn Street, there was a few good ones like Roommies, and The Paul House. -
- Ah. - Harris tapped at his menu. He smiled. He did have some cash. - Yeah. Is there an. uh. adventurerÆs guild? -
- Yup, right next to the Council offices. Oh yeah, one more thing, weÆre from the Valtorn Order, weÆre sort of an independent arm of the city, but New Freeka has its own militia and guards, so donÆt mix us up. You can identify us by our armband. -
Harris nodded. He looked at his two sleeping friends. He tapped both of them. - Hey, itÆs time to wake up. -
The beetle stopped right outside the city gates. There was a tree - woman waiting. - Eh, Lady Mika, what brings you here? - the captain asked.
- Your. guests. TheyÆre with me. - Meela flashed a wide, hospitable smile. It was something sheÆd practiced over the years.
- Ah. - The captain tapped Harris on his shoulders. - YouÆre in luck. The Oakwood boss is already here. -
Lozanna hopped off the beetle with the rest of the Valthorns and headed back to the OrderÆs HQ.
As for Meela, she looked at the three visibly human heroes. - Hello. - She extended her wooden hand. - Come, all of you must be hungry, poor, and extremely confused. And probably have a whole load of questions. -
Harris looked at her and noticed she looked like a very high - quality wooden carving of a young girl. - What, donÆt trust me? -
Harris nodded.
- There was probably no one you can trust if you canÆt trust me. Especially if you are. heroes, - Meela whispered into HarrisÆs ear, and his eyes immediately opened wide. - There are ears everywhere, best to come with me. -
Those words made Harris nod, and they followed her to a large, opulent wooden lodge that looked like a hybrid between a tree and a hotel. Two treefolks waited at the lobby and working for Meela immediately passed them their keys, and there was proper food waiting for them in a quiet, private dining room.
Harris, Becky, and Mirei sat, and it was. food from home. A burger.
- Sit. Eat. Leave us. - Meela motioned to the attendants, and the doors were closed. She snapped a finger, activated a few skills. High Security Room , Private Quarters . - All right, here, now itÆs just the three of you and me. My name is Mika. Speak freely. You three are the reincarnated, summoned heroes? -
Harris stared at Meela. Becky ate a bite of the burger and nodded. - Yes. We are. HowÆd you know? -
- I received the notification that heroes have arrived. And then I saw the three of you traveling on A/ Æs beetles. And your clothes. -
- Ah. -
- So, letÆs talk. -
YEAR 83 MONTH 1
At the end of the first month, the heroes, long awaited, finally arrived.
I had a brief vision, like I always did. Twelve streaks of light, split into four groups of three, and then each landed at a different part of the world. This was important because that meant the heroes were in smaller groups of three and were scattered.
A vague reddish hand appeared in that same vision. It tried to swipe at the streaks of light. But another hand stopped it.
That was when I woke from the vision.
Twelve reincarnators have arrived.
- I wonder where they are, - Alexis said. - I hope they donÆt make the same mistakes we did. - She got the same ping as I did. - And TreeTree, why do you get. the notification? -
- I have no idea. I do see a vision. - Hmm, was she wondering why I knew about the heroes? Well, I suspected it was because I came from their world, too.
- Maybe TreeTreeÆs like some kind of super - entity and thatÆs why the gods sent the ping to him, too. - Meela came to the rescue. SheÆd gotten the notice as well; that was why she came over. Her hotel/inn could run itself quite well; sheÆd hired quite a few treefolk to work for her.
I wondered how many would survive this time. The world was in a shittier state than it was.
- TreeTree, I have a request, - Meela said. - I know you didnÆt have a good impression of us heroes, so let me deal with the next generation of heroes. If they ever swing our way. -
- Hmm? -
- I assure you that I wonÆt bring you any harm. The heroes need to be educated in the ways of the world, and both Alexis and I have seen more of the world without the distorted lenses as a hero. We should be the best placed to advise the next generation, so they do not walk the mistakes we did. - Meela sounded like she was begging.
- Fine. But keep me updated. -
- Sure. -
- You know where they are? -
- No. But I will tell you if I do. -
Other than the return of the reincarnators, another month of mostly defensive battles. Quiet. The southern parts, where it was warm, were battling demons daily. Up where we were, where the winter was relatively mild, we focused efforts on research and making more anti - demon weapons.
I was also gradually extending my trees to where the legless walker was. But I was taking it slow, as the terrain was unfamiliar, and there were demons walking all over the place, so I had to clear out the area before expanding.
YEAR 83 MONTH 2
- TheyÆre with me, - Meela said, a week or so after that announcement.
- Huh? - Honestly, it felt like just yesterday that I had that conversation with Meela.
- Three heroes. Reincarnators. They arrived somewhere near our borders. TheyÆve just been summoned and were still getting used to their new powers. One of your patrols picked them up. -
- Oh. -
- IÆll take care of them. DonÆt worry about it, - Meela assured. - ItÆs only been a week since they arrived. TheyÆre still a bit confused and lost, but theyÆve managed to survive thanks to their special powers. -
At this point, I remembered my titan souls, and I thought, well, since they were so vulnerable, they could die around me easily, wasnÆt it?
Divine: Moratorium on Hero Killing. In force until demon kingÆs death. Those who murder a hero before the demon kingÆs death will receive a divine curse and be marked as a hero - killer, inviting the wrath of other heroes.
The fuck?!
Hmm. Looked like the gods already thought about it.
- So, what did you talk to them about? -
- I gave them an overview of the world, what they were facing, and. what the previous heroes did, without telling them I was a hero. I think they bought it. They are just. thirteen - year - olds, after all. Unlike me or Alexis. -
Thinking about it, if they arrived at age thirteen, and itÆd been close to thirteen to fourteen years, did that make them pretty much twenty - six - year - olds? - Well, thatÆs good. Hope they donÆt put New Freeka in danger again. Do you feel old talking to them, since you are their. senior? -
- Honestly, yes. I feel a bit afraid. Of course, we canÆt be older than you, TreeTree. You must be centuries old now, or millennia? -
I was not answering that.
Meela continued anyway. - But yeah. TheyÆre still in a state of panic, and they were just relieved that we were here to give them some. cover. The two girls were just sleeping in for days and exploring New FreekaÆs markets and shops. -
- ItÆs not a holiday, though. - Alexis popped in. - They need to start leveling soon. The demon king wonÆt wait for them, and TreeTree, you need to make preparations. The demon king can sense us, and they will send men after the three heroes. -
- I know, I know, Alexis, but I think taking care of their mental state is important, too. We made that mistake of rushing from battle to battle, and that made us fight each other, remember? -
Alexis sulked. - They need experience, and they need it soon. We do not need to nanny them. They need to level up and gain full access to their star mana and heroic tier skills as soon as possible. And find some items of the right tier. -
- Oh, yeah! Items! TreeTree, erm. can I get some of your anti - demon weapons? The one that Lozanna has? And a wooden anti - demon shield, too. -
- Only the normal ones. And theyÆll need to buy it like anyone else. - There were the regular - series wooden weapons that were distributed to the patrol force, so I thought that was fine.
- IÆll pay for it, then. -
I soon learned, thanks to IvyÆs updates, that the three heroes in New Freeka were Harris the Shield Guardian , Becky the Horde Summoner , and Mirei the Lightning Guardmage . Of course, I took some time to watch them as they walked around New Freeka.
- Well, today IÆm taking you to some of the bars and restaurants and having some local food. You may be on a mission, but if you feel overwhelmed, donÆt hesitate to demand a break. You only live once, even in a magical world like this. Revival magic only works if one of you was a hero - grade specialist - healer, and it must be used within the same day. So if you feel your team is moving too fast, say it. Honesty matters. -
- How do you know all this, Mistress Mika? - Mirei seemed impressed.
- I worked with the heroes. The last generation of heroes at least. All of them died in their final battle, but they told me to help where I can. - Meela pulled off the act swimmingly. It was part of her skill; as the proprietress of the hotel, she had superb acting skills. In many ways, working as a hotelier really made her more. mature.
It was something I didnÆt realize, of course, because to me, the months just flipped by so quickly, but MeelaÆs hotel had been open for the past four years, since year 79. So sheÆd had a lot of experience dealing with people and customers. I supposed it was strange for them to change, when I was the one still being the same. Four years was long for them, but not for me.
They stopped at a restaurant with an al fresco frontage. MeelaÆs restaurant was one of the first to feature al fresco dining, but soon, many other restaurants caught on.
The waiter bowed and quickly let Meela and the three humans in. - Right this way, Lady Mika. - Meela, as the owner of the best hotel in town, was pretty much a local tycoon, a respected member of the hospitality industry. She was apparently even the chairwoman of the local innkeeperÆs guild. Things I forgot, of course, since I was focused on my own things.
Maybe if Alexis wasnÆt so. rebellious, maybe. Ah. Never mind.
They sat and had a cup of local tea with milk. And some snacks. - So, IÆve arranged for some anti - demon weapons. That should be your starting equipment. You will outgrow them quite quickly with experience multipliers from your blessings. -
Harris sighed. - Honestly, IÆm a bit. uh. how do I say this. intimidated by what we went through. Why canÆt people like Lozanna fight the demon king? We saw her crush the demon knights like nothing. -
Meela shook her head. - Lozanna Æs impressive, but she doesnÆt have the special gifts. Heroes are needed because of the cheat - skills. ItÆs also important that you think about the cheat skills that you have and figure out how to maximize them. The last demon king was a giant castle that had a few forms, lastly, an exploding demon-crystal. -
- WeÆre here. And youÆre talking about something like that. I donÆt see how we can face something like that. -
Meela smiled and sipped her tea. - Baby steps. You must first be able to take on demon knights, like Lozanna . -
- Can she accompany us? I mean. IÆd feel much safer if sheÆs with us, - Becky said.
- Even if she does, she can only stay with you for a short while. With the blessings, you will gain levels very, very quickly. When the last generation fought the demon king, all of them were at least level one hundred. Lady Lozanna , if IÆm not mistaken, is only around level forty to fifty. -
- WeÆre level ten or so. We need a babysitter, - Harris said, and he ate a cookie. Meela asked for some local potato slices with olives.
Meela nodded. - I can have a skill that can give you a Bodyguard , but I feel that will hobble your growth. You must realize that leveling and experience is scaled to difficulty. -
- CanÆt we like. uh. have some practice first? - Mirei asked. - I mean, if you see those RPG games, we usually have tutorial or practice stages so that we get a good hang of how things work. I mean. -
Meela sipped her tea and thought for a moment. At this point, I had a hunch Meela was going to ask me for something. And she did. She telepathically pinged me.
- TreeTree, can we borrow the OrderÆs Training Rooms? IÆll have the captains and Yvon spar with them. Madeus, too, if he is willing. -
- Hmm. when are they leaving New Freeka? -
- When they are ready. The faster we can get them up to speed, the faster they will leave, - Meela insisted, and well, she had a good point.
- Fine. Only the one in the Order Quarters. -
Meela then turned to the three heroes. - Well, IÆve arranged for the three of you to use the Valtorn OrderÆs training rooms. That will be a suitable practice session, for you to know your limits. Unfortunately, you can only use them for a few days, and after that, itÆs out to the field as an adventurer or join the patrols. -
- Huh, so short. - The three looked reluctant but soon accepted that it was better than nothing, and then they walked back to the hotel.
- So, do you want to watch some practice today? -
- Oh, can we? -
- Magic or swordfighting? -
- Uh. magic? - the two girls said together.
Meela brought them to one of New FreekaÆs magic academies. The Council ran one academy, as part of the mageÆs guild, and the Order ran another one, led by Madeus. There was also a third independent academy, but it was mainly for merchants, smiths, and others, as it was more of a craft - focused magic academy.
They watched some children practice some basic magic.
Both of them, though, instantly learned a spell. - Oh. ThatÆs. thatÆs easy. -
Meela shrugged. - ThatÆs your advantage. You wonÆt learn much from the children if it comes to you so easily. -
Meela led them to the back area of the guild, and there were multiple sparring areas for mage - adventurers to practice.
- Go, participate. You might gain some levels. -
And they did. - How many levels can we gain like this? -
- I donÆt know. Depends on the system. -
- I was wondering, why didnÆt the gods just give us all our levels from the start? Then we donÆt have to struggle like this, - Harris asked Meela as he watched.
- I donÆt know that, either. You can ask them the next time you see them. I guess itÆs some restriction on the gods that anyone new starts from level one. -
The heroes practiced a few times, the two girls were visibly outclassed, even with their overpowered abilities, but with each battle, they improved, very quickly.
According to Alexis, it was a gift. Heroes, when they started out, had a special blessing on top of their overpowered ability. I didnÆt recall seeing these blessings in their soul spring, but then again, maybe I was not able to see divine items. The blessings did a whole lot of things, like improve their rate of experience gain, the ability to choose the direction of the skill growth, meaning heroes could actually select what kind of skills they wanted to learn, a natural affinity to combat, enhanced recovery rates.
And there were usually a few gates, which unlocked star mana at different amounts. At level one hundred, that was when their entire mana pool was converted into star mana, which meant they had way more star mana than I had. Like. easily ten to fifty times more.
Meela then brought the three heroes to one of the OrderÆs militia practice yards. And where the soldiers practiced. Similarly, they also had a few spars.
- Why were you bringing them to all these places? - I mentally asked Meela.
- They can gain levels from practice, and itÆs a safe way to gain these early levels. IÆll ask Yura for permission to include them in a few patrol missions, so they can fight some demons. IÆll send my bodyguard with them, just to be safe. -
Well, more spars. Meela then led them back to the hotel to rest, and the next day, they were at the Training Rooms .
- WeÆre fighting Lozanna ? - The three looked surprised.
- Yeah. I asked whether sheÆs willing to spar, and she said sure. -
- Does she know? -
- Nope. ItÆs my first time watching Lozanna in action, too. - Meela smiled.
- Uh. I donÆt think we can take her alone. Unless sheÆs fighting handicapped, - Becky said, and Lozanna obviously heard it.
- I wonÆt be using my familiar. DonÆt worry. And weÆre just using wooden swords. -
- But you whooped the demons with those wooden swords! - Harris seemed visibly panicked.
Meela clapped. - Oh, come on. Just fight. If you canÆt face Lozanna , youÆll have trouble facing demon walkers and the demon generals. - MeelaÆs pep talk worked, and they started to spar.
Indeed, theyÆd seemed to have gained levels from yesterdayÆs spar, and their performance was much better than before. But the heroes werenÆt good at sparring, in the sense that they couldnÆt seem to control their powers. It was one hundred percent on all the time, so Mirei accidentally loosed a lightning blast and it hit the Training Room walls. Thankfully, no damage. The training room was exceptionally sturdy.
Still, as one who watched their fights yesterday and today, their progress was unnatural. It was like there was a genius that guided their growth; they instinctively knew what to do to improve. For now, Lozanna was still better, but I would think within a month they would be able to stand toe - to - toe with her, without her familiar powers.
All of them took turns to spar over the course of the next week, and for Lozanna , whose usual sparring partners were Yvon and Yura , this was a welcome change. In fact, Lozanna had her first loss on their last day. Their exceptional growth was very humbling for Lozanna , even if it was just a sparring match without Lozanna Æs full skillset.
After the week was over and their time was up, Lozanna came back to me. - TreeTree, who were those people? They. they make me feel like IÆm stupid. -
- Why? -
- I mean. I took so many years of practice to get to this point, but they just got from newbies to be able to do that in a week. -
Well, it was all relative, wasnÆt it? To the other Valthorns, Lozanna was an exceptional fighter. But as with all things, there was always a higher mountain out there.
- TheyÆre the gifted ones, blessed by the gods themselves. DonÆt hold onto your defeat too hard. -
- Are they heroes? -
- I think so. - I knew the truth, but I was not sure whether I should tell her.
Lozanna paused. She was in my secret hideout , her home. She sat in bed and looked at the wooden spear next to her bed. - Is this what heroes need to be able to do? I suddenly feel like. IÆm not good enough. -
Hmm. She was fourteen and feeling demotivated and discouraged? Should I inject her with some psychedelic dreams ? Was this puberty? Or teen angst? Should I give her a pep talk? Or should I ask Laufen to do it? Maybe I should ask her mom to talk to her first.
And indeed, Laufen came into her room and sat next to her bed.
- Hi, darling. - Laufen smiled and patted her leg. - I heard you lost. -
- LosingÆs fine. But itÆs just that. I donÆt know. erm. facing genius. -
Laufen moved herself a little closer. - Every now and then, the gods create people who are so exceptionally good that they blow the rest of us out of the water. There are those born with a unique ability or unique skill since birth. These are champions. -
- I want to be a hero, Mom. I just feel like. suddenly. that dream feels very, very far away. -
- ItÆs okay. - Laufen gave her daughter a hug. I felt a bit guilty spying, but then again, I did want to check on Lozanna Æs mental state. - ItÆs a privilege that you could even attempt to dream such a dream. I wouldnÆt have dreamed of what we have today, my dear. -
- Mom. ThatÆs not helping. - Lozanna still sulked.
Laufen just hugged. - Think of it as a challenge, then. No great things are achieved without great obstacles. -
- But then why do the heroes get such great powers? -
- They have the burden of defeating the demon king. Would you want that burden? -
Lozanna sulked.
YEAR 83 MONTH 3
The heroes, annoyingly, made MeelaÆs Oakwood Hotel their base of operations. At least they were now participating in the OrderÆs patrols and were helping to defeat demons that they encountered, and within a month, they had gained about thirty levels, so they were now about level thirty - five to forty and seemed to have unlocked their first quarter of star mana .
This meant they could now stand toe - to - toe with multiple demon knights, just like Lozanna . What seemed crazy to them a month ago was now something they could do.
- The first fifty levels are easy, - Alexis explained. - We got it within a month, too. ItÆs the grind up to level one hundred that took a whole lot longer, and past level eighty, we only seemed to gain levels when we fought champion - level monsters. -
- Good thing is I think they will leave New Freeka soon, - Meela, their de - facto nanny, said. - Thanks, TreeTree. IÆm happy to have helped them get on their feet. After this, they must find other places to go, other monsters to fight. I told them about the demon walkers and that they need to start attempting to fight them. -
- Can they? I would recommend level fifty before trying the walker. At least they get their second quarter of the star mana . -
It was mostly a conversation between Alexis and Meela, both of whom had differing views of what the optimal strategy was for heroes.
- At the rate they are going, they will encounter demons and level up along the way. And all of them have summoned units. I think the gods gave them all a mini - army - like ability. -
I didnÆt watch their battles, especially those that happened with the patrols. So this really piqued my attention. - Explain. -
- Yeah. Harris has a defense aura and can summon living armors, with massive shields. Mirei has lightning elementals and thunderstorm rods. Becky has like. a squadron of magical knights. -
This meant something. Did the gods intentionally delay the summoning of the heroes so that they knew what they were facing? And then, they tailored the gifts to the heroes based on what they saw the demons were doing?
What if the demons knew this, too? I didnÆt see how the previous heroes abilities were tailored to the demon king at all. Or it was just a coincidence that this roster of abilities leaned toward the heroes being a one - man armyÆ?
In any case, after a week or more of fighting, the three heroes eventually decided to make a move for the next town. As advised by Meela, they were going to head south, toward the stationary walker.
The heroes took one of the beetles to head south.
A magical ball appeared in front of them.
- Hi, guys. Everyone alive? - A voice came out of the ball.
The three heroes jumped but then nodded. - Astra, was that you? -
- Yeah, itÆs me, all right. Sorry it took so long. I had to reach my level thirty perk to unlock the Hero - Chat communication ability. Everyone here? -
- Yup. - It seemed that they could see each otherÆs faces in the magical ball, but my spirit vision was able to only see the presence of a pure - white magical orb and not what was on it. Kinda like an overexposed camera facing a television. It was all white to me. But at least I could still hear the message.
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