Wraithwood Botanist

Aiden sat suspended in the darkness, feeling his energy within his chest—experiencing the energy around him. As he chanted, threads of energy reached out into the void. Suddenly, he heard Elionis’s voice deep within his subconscious.

What do you want?

What… do I want? I don’t know.

Why make a contract if you have nothing of want or value?

Wait… we’re making a contract?

Elionis snorted in his mind. Humans….

I… uh. What can I do?

You can request I let you ride me. Request me to keep watch while you sleep or defend you in battle. You can even request me to eat all the weeds in your garden. It is a normal request, human.

So wait… I can request for you to follow me back, can’t I? Not take me back. Or return. Follow me.

Ah, now you’re thinking… Elionis’s voice turned warm. Yes. But someone who learns this fast can surely find a better animal to make that contract with. Let’s just make a minor contract.

I see. Well… what do you want?

What do I want?

Yeah. I don’t have anything I want from you. So what do you want?

Elionis laughed. I want passage to the Second Ring, human. Bring me that, and I shall pick flowers for you.

Aiden frowned. He could tell the sentiment was like, "I want to be president, bring me that, and I shall bestow a Krispy Kreme donut upon you."

Okay, so how about… tell me where a river is for us to drink, and I will lead us there?

That’s good. Now, concentrate on my core and our agreement.

Aiden did, and the threads of energy coming from the seed in his chest moved toward Elionis’s "core." The other did the same, moving like two strings about to shake hands. It was almost there when a massive blue core that looked like a sun appeared in the blackness.

Watch out! Elionis yelled.

Aiden’s eyes snapped open just in time to see a white blur shoot across his eyes. It lunged at him but latched its jaws on Elionis’s right shoulder instead. The second that Aiden saw it, his zookeeper instincts took over. The beast was only the size of a fox, so smaller than most mid-sized dogs, and it was fluffy and had three tails. He could likely handle the creature.

The question wasn’t how but what not to do. If he couldn’t take it, raw force was necessary. If he did, the last resort was always violence, as animals become distrustful—and that trust never recovers.

Aiden pressed his fingers together and snapped them in front of the fox’s ears. The creature flew backward, letting go of his jaws. Aiden glowered at the creature as they made eye contact. "Stop."

The animal looked at him with absolute confusion. Then it scoffed and rubbed the blood from its chin with its paw before turning and storming off aggressively.

"Well, well, that was kinda rude," Elle said, pulling her eye down and sticking her tongue out at the three-tailed fox walking away. "Now where were we? Oh, yes! You were about to make a uuuuuuuseless contract, but now I’ve got an idea~. Why don’t you heal Elionis with your new spell in exchange for him helping you find a good animal?"

Aiden turned to Elionis, who had gotten onto his feet and was now shaking its mossy fur in anger. Will you help me find a good animal in exchange for healing you? Aiden asked.

Elionis snorted. Help me evolve, and I’ll help you do anything.

I… don’t know how to do that.

I only jest. Now come. Heal me, and I will fulfill your requests.

"How cute!" Elle said. "They’re getting along."

Aiden glared at her and then lost steam at her cute face. "Is it safe to make a contract here?"

"Probably not," Elle said. "That fox was rather offended that you treated her like a pet. If I had to guess, she has moseyed off to sulk about her curses… but she might snap and kill you for spite."

"What’s a curse?"

"Did you say something?" she asked.

Aiden took the hint. "No." He patted Elionis. This’ll probably take a few hours for me to learn this stuff, he said to him. Is it okay?

I know a better place, human. Hop on.

Aiden mounted the liscan, and the beast’s leg almost gave way as blood gushed down the side. That fox was a lot more terrifying than the ones on Earth. He hoped he could help Elionis.

Elionis took him a thirty-minute walk east to a river with glowing bugs hovering over it. A thin veil of fog covered it.

—---

Congratulations! You have found a sacred location.

Name: Diktyo River (First Ring)

Aiden didn’t know that Mira was not far from the same river—albeit over a hundred miles away, in a far more dangerous section, also looking at her Guide.

2.

Okay, so good news—I was drowning in rewards.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I was in a forest where every beast was over Level 125, and I was, until yesterday, Level 1. So, just injuring these creatures was remarkable, like a grade-schooler tripping a linebacker. Luck or not, sneak attack or head first, it was a lot more impressive than a creature at their level fighting it. That’s why Kline was rewarded so much—I was awarded similarly.

Within my Free Requests tab I could see the actual reasons for getting diamond rewards—and an epic one.

—---

Level 1 -> Level 2 | Epic: Attacked an enemy within 2 minutes of starting The Path.

Level 2 -> Level 3 | Diamond: Injured an enemy over 500x your level.

Level 3 -> Level 4 | Diamond: Injure an enemy evolutions levels above your own.

Level 4 -> Level 5 | Diamond: Saved a companion from certain death.

Level 5 -> Level 6 | Platinum: Survived an encounter with an enemy three evolutions above your own.

Level 6 -> Level 7 | Platinum: Survived an encounter with an enemy 500 Level above your own.

—---

And so it went, listing out my deeds. I read them while sitting on a stump outside the temporary shelter, a location I could now verify was both free of poison and trap plants. Kline was in my lap, doubtlessly playing around with his Guide as well, and somehow, I think we were both sort of grumpy.

I knew that I hit the jackpot, but I was still sort of salty that I only got one diamond request from actually fighting the wandering reaper, which was: "Level 23 -> Level 24 | Diamond: Fight and escape a wandering reaper without being touched," as if that was the most impressive part of the request.

Still, my free requests looked super juicy. I had one epic, four diamonds, ten platinum, ten gold—and I could spend them on anything. Books! Sweet, sweet books, here I come!

Well, maybe not. I decided to check out the other areas and did so with the Rewards tab since what I got was mostly decided for me. The tab didn’t have a counter because rewards were given to you, or rather, it came in two flavors. Quest Gifts, which gave me a reward for fulfilling quests, and Quest Rewards, which were provided. The Quest rewards were in the Past Rewards tab. It listed as follows:

—---

Rewards

Past Rewards

Nybrel

Temporary Shelter

A Six-Month Barrier That Prevents Beasts Third Evolution or Higher From Entering Your Location

Safe path to temporary shelter.

Maralune Syrup (First Tier) - Mana Recovery

Jasmara Bath Bomb (Third Tier) - Anti-Fungal

Sylvion Elixir (Fourth Tier) - Soul Repair Elixir

Elindora Balm (Third Tier) - Health Recovery

Vesperis Tincture (Second Tier) - Cleansing

—---

It also had three "Quest Rewards" for completing Don’t Back Down, Confront Your Trauma, and the legacy quest Get Your Stuff Back. Those showed up under the areas where one was available.

—---

Books (0)

Spells (0)

Recipes (0)

Blueprints (0)

Tutorials (+1)

Skills (+1)

Equipment (+1)

—---

"Let’s start with skills," I thought aloud. Unfortunately, it was locked and displayed a message that said: Legacy Rewards require you to complete the Trial of Worth. "That’s rude," I said.

Kline meowed, probably experiencing the same thing.

"Tutorials, I guess," I said.

A new screen popped up, and to my surprise, I was given three options. That made me perk up as I looked through them.

—---

Hidden Mission: Don’t Back Down

Distinction: Diamond - It may have been sheer desperation, but you chose to fight for Kline instead of leaving him for dead. You also managed to navigate the forest without getting trapped by the reapers and used its weaknesses to save Kline from the tendril. In short, you actually did a good job. Well done… for once.

—

Tutorial Options:

1. Slash Master | Grade: Diamond

Summary: Your ineptitude in slashing through both plants and fungi has led the gods to pity you. With this tutorial, you will learn how to utilize spells to cut through branches, vines, plants, and mycelium. And don’t worry—this skill really is powerful, considering that plants here are trying to kill you. Note: This skill is critical for killing and butchering animals as well—assuming you can kill any.

—

I read this with serious thought. It wasn’t the most flashy skill, but it had serious virtues. Right then, I couldn’t cut anything. Being able to cut through plants and traps and animals was critical, and if I ever wanted to eat meat, I would probably need it. That said, this was a tutorial instead of a skill, so I would likely need spells to even use it. I put it in the back of my mind.

—

2. Expert Core Formation | Grade: Diamond

Summary: If you want to use that pretty little bow (i.e. the only thing standing between you and Kline and guaranteed annihilation), you’re going to need a mana core. Establishing a strong core correctly is the difference between weak magical output and immense power. It’s recommended you use every means available to create a strong core.

—

Now, this was a skill I couldn’t ignore. In the world of science, sterilization techniques are required for every experiment, and failing to use one guarantees failure. Establishing a firm foundation with a core felt like the spell equivalent, and after seeing Kline’s power, I knew that spells would make or break living here. So, I was heavily leaning toward this. However, the last one gave me pause.

—

3. Soul Manipulation | Grade: Epic

Summary: If your recent trauma has taught you anything, it’s that soul plants and soul mycelium are incredibly powerful when used as traps or for tactical gain. Learn the art of soul manipulation so that you may graft souls into plants and turn them into your army. Note: This reward is an abnormal perk of this unique location’s Trial of Worth. It will not be offered again unless requested with an epic Free Request.