I came out of my vision. I felt like I had gotten a good nights rest. I felt great. I checked in on Thor and Loki to see what they were up to.

Thor was still patrolling the area around the school. He hadn’t found any survivors. He had found some zombies. I could still feel him and vaguely see what he saw from the distance we were at. I felt good about this.

I looked to the ground and tried to use my new ability with earth to see if I could affect the ground. I tried to make a little sand model of the areas Thor was going around. It wasn’t great but it was serviceable. I could clearly recognize buildings and the group of zombies Thor had found. I would just need to update the map as I went along.

Loki was still playing with her ice abilities. She was having fun. It didn’t look like she was having any luck with making her frost shield reflect light but she was making ice blocks and sculptures that were quickly melting in the day time sun.

I thought back to my recent vision. Touch seemed important to my skills. I know I had this thought before, but now I really dug into it.

My water magic worked better when I used earth with it. Would the same hold true with the other elements? My magic was rooted in the earth.

Wind and earth combine to carry seeds to fertile grounds, aiding in the spread and growth of plant life. In its more fierce form, wind can erode mountains, shape landscapes and change the very earth. My control over wind could be used to shape and nurture the land, or to protect it from harm.

Water and earth combine to nourish and transform the earth. Water can carve rivers and canyons, shaping the earth in profound ways over time. It also brings life, allowing plants to grow and ecosystems to thrive. I saw that my mastery of water could aid in rejuvenating parched lands, controlling erosion and fostering growth in nature.

Fire and earth were another transforming force. Fire created as it destroyed. Fire plays a crucial role in the cycle of renewal. Fire clears old growth to make way for new life and releases nutrients back into the soil. Fire’s heat can also influence the formation of certain minerals and geological formations. My understanding of fire magic could be used to manage natural cycles of renewal and prevent uncontrolled destruction.

As these truths crystallized in my mind, I received a prompt.

[Verdant Dominion - Skill Tool Tip]

Name: Verdant Dominion

Skill Type: Advanced Druidic Magic

Description: Harness the ancient power of the forest and command the very essence of plant life. This ability allows you to influence, accelerate, or manipulate plant growth and behavior. Unleash the hidden strength of nature to aid you in your journey.

Effects:

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Growth Manipulation: Accelerate the growth of plants, causing them to mature, blossom, or bear fruit instantaneously.

Plant Animation: Temporarily animate plants, enabling them to move or perform simple tasks at your command.

Floral Shield: Create barriers or walls from nearby plant life for protection.

Natural Camouflage: Blend seamlessly into natural foliage, rendering yourself nearly invisible.

Entangling Roots: Cause roots and vines to entwine, creating obstacles or trapping foes.

Range: 20 meters radius around the caster.

Duration: Varies based on the nature of the manipulation; typically up to 10 minutes for animated or defensive uses.

Mana Cost: Moderate. The more complex the task, the greater the mana consumption.

New skills were always welcomed. It seemed like I had needed a better understanding of my elemental mastery before I could unlock this skill. I wondered if there were other hidden skills I could unlock with the right combination of skills learned and leveled up. I quickly checked to see if there was a list of skills in the help guide to plan out my progression. But alas, it only had information regarding my class and the information I had already unlocked. I sighed. I would have nice to talk to other people to see if they had different information. Maybe we could make an encyclopedia of the information we discovered. Our survival chances would go up greatly if we worked together. No ‘last man on earth’ survivors here.

Thor completed his tour around the school. I had completed a map of the surround two blocks of the school. There were two packs of zombies. I decided to take care of them and then head towards the stores to see if I could scavenge anything. And I still needed to do something about those goblins in my dimensional shard. I took a quick peek inside and they were still there. I sighed heavily. There is always something to do.

I decided to experiment with this new skill. First, growth manipulation. I could accelerate the growth of plants, causing them to mature, blossom or bear fruit instantly. This sound too good to be true. I was next to some grass and thought there was no time like the present. I stood barefoot on the grass, the soft blades bending gently under my feet. The connection to the earth was immediate and profound, more than just physical contact. As I stood there, eyes closed, face turned towards the warmth of the sun, a sensation unlike any I had experienced before began to manifest.

It started as a faint murmur, almost like a distant breeze rustling through leaves, but it grew clearer, more distinct. “sun warm. Breeze nice.” Over and over again. The words whispered through my mind, not heard with my ears but felt with my very being. It was the voice of the grass.

This wasn’t language in the traditional sense. It was a communion of sorts, an exchange of sensations, emotions, and primal understanding. The grass beneath my feet shared its existence with me. Its simple journey of growth, reaching for the sun, competing for space, yet living in harmony with its fellows.

This was another moment of revelation. I was not just hearing the grass; I was experiencing its life, its cycle, its connection to the earth and sky. It was a symphony of life played out in a way I had never comprehended before.

The ability to connect with plant life on such an intimate level opened a world of possibilities. It wasn’t just about communicating; it was about understanding the essence of plant life, feeling their needs, their growth, their interaction with the environment.

As a druid, I was already in tune with nature, but this was deeper – a direct link to the life force of the plants. With this ability, I could sense the health of the vegetation, understand the needs of the crops, or even detect the subtle changes in plant life that could signify larger environmental shifts.

I asked the grass to reach higher towards the sun. I heard a chorus of agreement. I felt a draining of my mana. It left me breathless to feel my mana deplete all at once. Around me the grass in a twenty foot circle was up to my knees. Some of it was already going to seed.

I chuckled to myself. “I need to get some seeds.” I had images of large, laden crops and the food I could grow and other more fun things. “I need to find some weed.”