Roth opened the reputation store, scrolled down to the badger’s section, and purchased one of the bread-and-butter skills for clerics.

Energy Pool (Uncommon)

Description: By orienting the polarity of your cells, you can induce electric currents and transfer energy into whatever you touch.

Effects:

Active. Link your energy bar with an ally by touching them.

Thanks to Griffin using this skill on him, he’d been able to use the impossibly expensive [Lion’s Breath] skill and open a portal to the Dark Abyss. It was time for Roth to use it to advance his plan. This was the perfect skill for the job. He learned it without hesitation, replacing [Solar Warmth].

Roth approached the stinger drill. The mild heat he had felt from a distance turned into a blistering inferno. Despite the efforts to shield off the heat using resin-covered leaves and scorpion carapaces, Roth was surprised that the ants could endure such brutal conditions. He wished he could adjust his pain settings. This was very uncomfortable.

“I will provide you with as much of my energy as I can. We need to hurry this,” Roth said, thinking both of leaving this sauna as quickly as possible and of his master plan.

“Yes, benefactor!” Roth felt a wave of excitement wash over him. The Lord of the Oak was thrilled at the prospect of completing one of his many tasks ahead of schedule. Roth walked over to the tangled roots that channeled bioenergy into the stinger drill.

Badger Form!

Your intelligence has reached 1000.

[Strengthened Neurons] and [Timeless] have upgraded into [Mind of the Savant].

Mind of the Savant (Stat Bonus)

Description: There is no conclusion you can’t infer, no secret you can’t unveil, and no mystery you can’t understand.

Effects:

+50% cooldown reduction;

+20,000 energy;

Status effects caused by your skills are significantly increased;

Recover 1% of your energy bar per second;

+10% crafting success rate.

Roth’s intelligence skyrocketed, and his energy bar grew to 25,000 energy points. When he first started playing, he only had 100 energy points. It was incredibly satisfying to see how much his character had grown. Feeling power coursing through him and eager to help out the Leafies, Roth squatted and held the thickest bundle of roots in his black and white hairy badger hands.

Energy Pool!

Roth’s hands shone white, and the roots, which had only been occasionally pulsing with energy, reverberated with Roth’s hands, shaking and emitting a continuous brilliant light. A short distance ahead, the stinger drill, melting the glass with short bursts of blue light, seemed to erupt and explode.

There was light everywhere: light from Roth’s hands, the network of roots, and the drill. Roth couldn’t see anything; all he could feel was that the heat became unbearable. He forced all 25,000 energy points into the tiny drill. He couldn’t take this much pain and heat for long. It took but a few seconds to drain all his energy. By the time he was finished, the light suddenly abated as if a circuit breaker had fired.

Roth was dazzled for a few moments, and could only see shining pixels. Slowly, his vision returned to him. The first thing that Roth could see was the hovering letters of a system message.

You make flowers bloom and fruit grow.

+50 nature affinity.

You wreak havoc and fiery destruction.

+20 fire affinity.

“Flowers? Fire? What?” Roth was still a little disoriented. It took almost half a minute until his vision returned to normal, and Roth could see what he had done. “Oh, oh!”

The stinger drill was burned to a crisp. The treeants manning it were half-dead but still moving. Where the thick glass wall had been was a perfectly drilled hole. The rims of the tunnel were still dripping with incandescent molten glass. Roth gulped as he walked over to the hole and across the thick glass barrier.

-10

-10

-10

His resilience wasn’t high enough to negate the burn damage, but Roth’s health bar was more than enough to endure this damage. He walked over to the cooling glass and reached the other side. “I think I might have overdone it,” he said to the Lord.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Before Roth, the hole ran through the soil as far as the eyes could see. In the distance, small flares were ignited by the remnants of roots caught in the blast and set ablaze. He had yet to learn how far the tunnel went. Now that he thought about it, 25000 energy was too much, mainly when concentrated into such a tiny device. “Lord? Lord? Why aren’t you responding?” Roth said with an increasing mental intensity.

Finally, he felt the presence of his pets again. Their hive mind sounded flustered and speechless. “I’m sorry, benefactor. It’s just that…”

“What? What happened?”

After a few moments of silence, the Lord finally responded. “It’s easier if I show it to you.”

Flashes of the three holdings appeared in Roth’s mind. The garden had seemed verdant and beautiful a few moments before, but now the whole place looked like a paradise. All flowers bloomed, and every tree and bush was lush and fruit-filled. The snake tree, which only bore one snakefruit at a time, was filled with them on every branch. The oak tree’s canopy, which usually only contained one or two golden acorns, looked like a starry sky. The previously brown, dull acorns had changed color to glorious gold.

“Oh my goodness! How did this happen?”

“I-I don’t know. You poured so much energy into the grid that I had to divert a lot of it. The next thing I knew, all the holdings were lush and ripe for harvest.”

“What about the diggers? Are they OK?”

“They are just stunned. They’ll be alright.”

Roth smiled. He had worried that he had harmed the ants, but instead, he gave the garden plants an energy boost.

“What about above ground? Did anyone feel what we did?”

A flash of several ants by the glass wall of the greenhouse revealed that the garden beyond looked perfectly normal. They were probably safe if there were no signs of the explosion near its epicenter—the energy discharge, while powerful and hot, was also very focused.

Roth sighed in relief. He had gone ahead and done something reckless again, but this time, things had turned out well. “The glass is breached, and the way is open, Lord. You know what to do.”

“Yes, of course, benefactor. The road you dug will save us a lot of time. Any other directives?” the Lord asked respectfully. Roth had always felt gratitude on the part of the Leafies, but this was the first time he heard awe and admiration in the Lord’s voice.

“Yes. You’re storing too much food. This is not the time to plan so much ahead. Grow stronger at any cost. Make use of the unexpected harvest, too. Wrap things up here, and then you’ll have all the time in the world to expand this garden and build storehouses to fill. Following the plan is priority number one! Not preparing for the winter.”

“Yes, benefactor.”

Now that the greenhouses could be connected to the rest of the park, all he needed was for the Leafies to finish their operation here, and Sapphira could be returned to the dwarves. Roth turned around and walked back toward the golden gate leading out of Oak Holdings. He had a crafting session to get to.

*

After a quick run to the auction house, Roth was back on the 82nd floor. He’d barely made it within the time frame given by Jack. In the short period that Roth had been gone, the hustle and bustle on the 82nd floor had quieted. The dwarves, who had been busy moving raw materials and installing equipment, now sat silently, eyes focused in the distance. There was an almost palpable sense of concentration in the air. They knew what was coming.

With an inventory filled to the brim with sand, gemstones, and potions to replenish his energy in case his overwhelming intelligence was still insufficient, Roth moved among the dwarves, unacknowledged and acknowledging none in return. It felt wrong to break their concentration.

Roth headed toward where he’d met Jack before. The dwarf blacksmith stood still, staring at the blazing forges. Occasionally, he opened a manual and read through a page, pausing and becoming lost in thought again. On the next workstation over, Godsfried, whom Roth regarded as someone who always remained collected and peaceful, was the most active. He didn’t stay still for a moment; he checked every tool, opening and closing pliers, polishing hammers, and testing the sharpness of his collection of saws.

“I’m back!” announced Roth after standing still for almost a minute with no reaction from either craftsman.

Jack awoke from his stupor. His usually cheeky, playful attitude was gone, and his eyes burned even more fiercely than the two forges he’d been staring at. “Roth. You made it. You’ll be working there. This way, I can track how you’re doing and help as needed. You’re the only light trapper on this whole floor.”

Godsfried had walked over and exchanged a severe look with Roth. This was going to be hard work, his eyes seemed to say. Roth nodded in return.

“I’ve sent you an information package, and I trust that you’ve already done your homework. Yes?”

Roth and Godsfried nodded.

“Roth, I don’t know much about light trapping. Are you going to do every single piece?”

Roth shook his head. “I will work only on the chest plates and the shields. They have the flattest metal segments and will be the easiest ones to work with. There’s no way I’ll be able to work on all 5000 of them either. But I’ll do as much as I can.”

Jack nodded. “That’s good enough.” Turning to the dwarf jeweler, Jack asked. "Are you ready, Godsfried?"

"Yes."

“And you, Roth?”

“Yes.”

Jack smiled, noting their confidence. He cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Listen up!"

All the dwarves, who had been honing their focus in preparation for the crafting session, stood up and focused on them. Only a few remained with their backs turned. "Listen up!" they echoed as they heralded Jack’s message to the dwarves standing out of earshot.

"This city was built by the dwarves. However, it was taken from us. Do you want your city back?”

The dwarves roared, hitting their long hammers twice on the floor in unison. The metal sound rang down the pits of Sapphira.

“If you want your city back, you need to hammer metal with every ounce of your strength, forge with your whole heart, and cast with your very soul. Together, we will make armor like only we can. We will honor the memory of Robornir, one of the ancient masters, and in the process, we'll secure the funds to buy the entire city from the non-dwarves who oppress us."

Jack grabbed the legendary item he had prepared for this moment. He struck the hammer on the anvil, provoking a crystal-clear tone that echoed through the hallways of the 82nd floor.

"This is a relic from when dwarves ruled the mountains and this region. I now use Robornir's legacy to ask a favor from you dwarves." Roth noticed how Jack had paused to look at the words he'd written and planned carefully to avoid misunderstanding.

"I ask all of you, dwarves, to craft under my direction to the best of your ability. We'll craft for as long as needed until we've secured 5,000 suits of the Dwarf Vanguard set. One team of 600 will work with me on the armor. Four hundred shall work under Godsfried and focus on the jewelry. You must obey his every command. We will work until we drop, and by the time we’re done, this city shall be, as it always was supposed to be, ours and ours alone: Sapphira, the gem of the dwarves!"

The dwarves' roar shook the heavens and earth. They rattled their hammers onto the ground, this time without stopping. Roth wouldn't be surprised if they had provoked a small earthquake. There had to be players who had heard the loud roar and felt the tremors. They had to be dying of curiosity about what was happening. However, dwarves riding coyotes patrolled every elevator, ensuring the crafting session wouldn't be interrupted.

“Fire the forges! It’s time to begin!”