Help Text: The North and South Tome temples developed their martial arts following the example of the Ancient Heroes. By limiting themselves to a single type of weapon, they learn to use that weapon exceedingly well, and can focus on training their bodies, minds, and souls to the extreme.
After a good night's rest we set off back to the village. I offered to let Setsuo examine some of the things I had gotten from the Heroes’ Tree, but he said there would be time for that once we made our way back. Thankfully, seeing that I had been telling the truth, the guards relaxed and were more friendly towards me. They even helped me by identifying some of the local wildlife, which unlocked a new skill called "Identify."
I had a lot of things to think about now, especially my future in this world. I had no friends or family here, but at the very least it seemed like a good idea to stick with Setsuo until I had a better idea of what the world was like. For now though, I had other things to take care of, like finding a place to live that didn't take hours to reach the closest city.
When we finally arrived back at the gates, we were let in without problem. Instead of the prison cells, this time we made our way to a large building that I assumed was the town hall. Once inside the people there greeted Setsuo very formally, and told us that food would be ready for us shortly. Before we could make our way though, Setsuo pulled me off to the side.
"Be very careful here, Mark"
"Why? What is this place?"
"This is the village chief's manor. Being rude to him could get you locked up in the prison again, and this time I won't be able to get you out."
I took his warning seriously, and went to get cleaned up. The various servants in the house were very polite, and even assisted me when asked. They guided me to a washroom so that I could clean my face and hands. Surprisingly, the clothes I was wearing were considered adequate for formal attire here, although foreign in nature. Once I was ready, they escorted me to the dining room, where trays of food were being brought in. Setsuo had already sat down, and was speaking with the village chief.
The village chief was a younger looking man with red hair. He was wearing a strange outfit that looked like someone had turned a three piece suit into a dress, and had a tie as well. Then Setsuo noticed me standing there, and waved me over. I walked up and introduced myself before sitting down.
"So this is the hero’s successor, Setsuo?"
"As unbelievable as it may seem, yes."
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mark, my name is Sho Morimura, I am the village chief here."
Once he had finished introducing himself, the servants began serving the food. All of the food tasted fine, but I couldn't recognize a single ingredient, but at this point I was absolutely desperate to have some protein. Once we had finished eating, we started to discuss what was going to happen from here on.
"Mark, I want to take you with me to the Holy Citadel, so that I can study your tool."
"That seems fine, as long as I'm not some sort of prisoner there, I'd also like to learn to use my abilities if that's possible."
"I'm sure we can arrange for that. Is there anything that you need from him, Sho?"
"No, but we need to give him some sort of identification, the way he came here made it difficult to keep everything under wraps, so there are bound to be imposters posing as Mark"
"Once that's been made, we'll depart immediately."
The chief had the servants prepare guest bedrooms for us to sleep in, and assured us that he would have something ready for me to identify myself with. The rooms were quite comfortable, as were the beds as well. I finally settled in for the night.
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of a loud bell ringing in the village. Setsuo burst through the door and told me that I needed to get up and get ready quickly. We rushed downstairs, and Chief Sho informed us that a large group of South Tome Temple monks had stationed themselves around the village, and were demanding that I be released into their custody.
"I have no intention of handing you over to them without your consent, but I can't directly interfere with them unless they start attacking the citizens."
"From what Setsuo has told me, I'm not sure if I want to go with them or not. Is there any chance we could talk to a representative?"
"It's unlikely. I have already sent word to the capital, but it will take time for them to send troops here to suppress them."
It was clear that the situation was rather grim, but then a thought occurred to me.
"Chief Sho, is there any chance I could use the tower to speak to them personally?"
The Chief paused for a moment to think about it, then looked at me.
"Sure, but before we do, I have to give you something first."
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He waved at one of his servants to bring something in. After a moment they brought in something wrapped in a white cloth, then kneeled and presented it to me. I unwrapped it, and it was a black wooden rod that appeared to be based on my own, except there was a crest engraved on the sphere opposite to where the impression from the jewel was.
"I had the local sage work overnight to create this, and then the wood carver placed my seal on it, this should serve as your identification."
Before I could even thank him for it, my rod began to glow, and the newly carved rod disappeared from my hands. Once it stopped glowing, my rod had taken on the form of the new one entirely, and a notification appeared over the menu icon. I quickly entered the menu, and a new tab appeared called "Forms", and once it opened I saw both the forms listed. The first was called "Default Rod", while this new one was called "Blue Forest Sage Rod." If I focused on either a small menu would appear giving me their effects;
Default Rod
Infinite Cantrips: User may cast 0th level spells without limit while using this form.
Cantrip Boost: Effects of 0th level spells are doubled.
Defensive Boost: +5 to Armor Class.
Blue Forest Sage Rod
Requirements: Level 2 Wizard
Infinite Cantrips: User may cast 0th level spells without limit while using this form.
Nature Boost: Spells that make use of, or control plants have their effects tripled.
Safe Zone: +10 to Armor Class While in Blue Tree Village Territory.
Sphere of Influence: User is universally recognized by residents of Blue Tree Village Territory.
The new form seemed quite useful in this situation, so I kept it like that. I did notice that my "Soul" gauge had dropped slightly, but once I exited the menu it remained the same. I figured it must have been from the transformation. Thankfully Chief Sho was only surprised by this transformation, and was happy that the rod retained the seal he requested.
Then the three of us made our way to the watchtower where the leader of the South Tome monks stood outside of. I nervously cleared my throat, and stepped forward.
"My name is Mark Harris, I have come to hear why you wish to take me, and to make a decision on this matter!"
I pulled out the rod, and waved it in front of them.
"This is the tool I discovered at the Ancient Heroes' Tree!"
I motioned for Setsuo to attempt to remove it from me, and we put on a display of the rod not being able to be removed.
"If your intention is to take it from me, as you can clearly see, that will not work!"
Several of the monks started looking around, and their leader, a monk in blue robes, turned around and ordered them to be silent.
"We have no intention of harming you or anyone else, but we cannot allow you to fall into the North Temple's hands! However, if you will not surrender peacefully, we will have no choice but to take you by force!"
Chief Sho stepped forward beside me and started to speak.
"We ask you to give us some time to consider the proposal, if possible enough time for a mediator from the royal capital to arrive so we can settle this dispute peacefully!"
The blue robed monk reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small item that almost looked like a slingshot, then faced a tree. He fired a small stone he picked up from the ground at the tree, and after snapping the tree with it, turned back to us.
"We will give you one day, if you do not come with us peacefully, Mark, or you do not hand him over, Sho, we will enter the village and take him by force!"
It felt like a waste of time to have tried after that. After meeting me the Chief was more than willing to help me. We made our way back to his manor, to come up with a plan. The chief laid out a map of the area and we got to work. We knew that they had placed troops at the East and South gates. There was no gate to the West, and the North gate would only go up the road leading to the Ancient Heroes' Tree. We planned to use the North Gate as an evacuation route, and in a worst case scenario I would help the citizens hide at the tree.
Our main plan was to make use of the guards to stall them at the South Gate, while I made use of my new rod's power to tie down the monks at the East Gate. At Setsuo's suggestion, I looked to see if it was possible for me to learn a spell called "Animate Plants", and at the mere mention of it, a notification appeared. I assigned it to the control of "Animate", and we proceeded to the nearest tree to test it with some volunteers.
All of us were shocked to find that the tree easily grabbed hold of the guards at my command, and none of them could escape despite their struggling. Though they were very frightened after the fact, despite knowing I didn't mean them any harm. We readied ourselves and rested for the evening, informing the guards what the plans were and how things would be handled if it became too much to manage.
Once the next morning broke, the guards stationed themselves at the south entrance, and I made my way to the East Gate's tower. Chief Sho decided I should wear the village guard's armor so that I wouldn't draw attention, until it was time to fight. When everything was ready Sho had them ring the village bell to signal the start of the battle. Instantly I cast Animate Plants, and ordered the trees in the area to grab the monks. Setsuo warned me that it might only affect one of the trees, but to my surprise every tree within hundreds of feet sprung to life and started grabbing the monks. The guards at this gate quickly moved down to capture them, and I could hear the sounds of battle at the other gate.
I rushed over there quickly, and found that Setsuo was fighting alongside the guards. He was surprisingly agile, dodging attacks, and landing heavy blows of his own. Before he could continue though, I had already cast Animate Plants again, and the trees began capturing the hostile monks. After a short while the sounds of battle faded, and the guards were tying up the monks and taking them to the jail.
As the blue robed monk was being taken off, he shot me a glare. I asked the Chief what was going to happen to them, and he said that they would be held here until the people from the capital arrived.
"There is another matter we must discuss now though, Setsuo."
"Yes, I know, we need to stay here until they arrive, I have no intention of bringing the weight of the capital down onto my temple."
He looked back at me.
"No matter how exciting what we've found is..."
At the end of it all, we stayed at the village for another 3 days. Finally, when we were eating breakfast, a distraught guard burst into the dining room.
"Th-the Emperor is here!"