Commencing skill fusion!

Fusion of skills [Grounded Stance II] and [Enduring Grit] 1/100%

Leif could have taken the first skill fusion in any number of different directions. He had some fairly wild ideas and some potentially crazy aspirations. But it was important to start simple and work his way up.

The reason Leif settled on combining one of his newest skills and his combat comprehension skill together was two fold. The first was more experimental, ever since his rebirth Leif had adapted to his new body and classes by adopting a fighting style best described as: brutal.

He would get up close and personal to an enemy, then utilise his innate endurance and vitality drain to out sustain his foes. This often resulted in him standing his ground and exchanging blows, the longer the fight went on, the closer to victory he became.

The experimental part of this fusion was to see if he could integrate the increase to physical resilience granted by [Enduring Grit] into the stability granting power of [Grounded Stance]. To homebrew a skill dedicated to his specific style of combat.

The second reason was simple, literally. He could very easily picture how both skills would come together. Even though [Enduring Grit] was a skill he had basically no experience with, the fact the enhancement skill was so basic and so straightforward made the merge almost feel obvious. The system had even given the success grade of the skill fusion as: Major. So he was feeling quite confident.

Now that the first of hopefully several successful fusions had begun, Leif turned his attention to his next project. Unsettling and taking stock of his situation. While being a tree was surprisingly enjoyable, Leif still had a desire to stand up and move around. He was injured, in more ways than one, and had no delusions about getting into another life and death struggle so soon.

He just wanted to take a walk. And maybe loot the aftermath of the battle for goodies. And test out [Wood Manipulation]. Okay he also wanted to refill his cultivation pool, having that sit almost completely empty felt not great. Sure, he could drain the vitality out of the nearby fauna and flora but he wasn’t a monster. Or at least, he wasn’t a mindless devourer. There were baby squirrels in his branches.

But there was a problem. If he undid the use of [Settle], his domain would drop and the life that was using him for protection would become vulnerable to the undead that still occasionally brushed up against the edges of his perception.

But was there a solution? Maybe, hopefully. He wasn’t sure yet, but he had an idea.

===

Font of Life III:

Aspects: Cultivation (Blood)* (Life)*, Spell (Blood)* (Life)*, Empowerment (Body)*

The limitless potential of your vitality resonates with your authority over life.

A portion of vitality you absorb is permanently added to a pool of energy that resides within you, you may develop and strengthen this pool by utilising the differing aspects of this skill.

You may command the will of the world, increasing the potency of skills or altering their usage.

The closer to death you are, the more potent this skill becomes.

Mastery of all aspects of this skill is required for further upgrades.

===

Leif was yet to explore the intricacies of [Font of Life]. Mostly because he had been asleep ever since he had almost died. He studied the skill, feeling out the minutia and newfound potential found within.

It was hard to describe, but Leif thought the skill felt deeper. As if, instead of his capabilities having expanded outwards, they had drilled down into… something. He couldn’t be certain until he had explored the uses of the skill, but it felt more than just a combination of a cultivation and spell skill.

But he wouldn’t act rashly, the last thing Leif needed was another fractured skill, this time belonging to his highest level class. So he let himself relax, let his awareness of his surroundings fade, and focused.

===

Leif couldn’t be sure how long had passed as he prodded and studied [Settle]. But he felt a growing sense of familiarity with the skill and its aspects. The domain was strange, it was like a filament of energy was expanding out to outline and fill his aura. The closer to him something within the domain was, the stronger the domain’s effects would become.

He also felt a distant connection to the domain, as if with some effort he may be able to reach out and manipulate its dimensions, alter its properties. But he didn’t need to do that, he needed to see if he could maintain the domain’s effect even after his tree form transformed back into his spriggan body.

When he examined the transformation aspect of the skill he found himself at somewhat of a loss. Unlike the life sub aspect, of which Leif had several other skills in which to compare, transformation was a more unknown quantity.

Just what had happened when he had activated the skill? And what would happen when he let its effects end? Leif focused, and meditated on the skill’s structure, on its uses and limits, its dimensions and potential. Then, strangely enough, he saw.

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Not physically, nor in the way he could ‘see’ the system windows despite not currently possessing eyes. It was more like the usual vague sense of what the skill was and what it could do sharpened into focus.

The domain, he could now sense, was connected not necessarily to his physical body, but instead the structure of the skill that allowed for the transformation. They were linked, almost completely. If he altered the skill with [Font of Life] to turn off the domain, the transformation could potentially become unstable.

Wait, no, it's the opposite, the connection is one way. If I could turn off, or even enhance the domain aspect of the skill, the transformation wouldn’t be affected. But the opposite isn’t true, if I altered the physical form I am currently in the domain will fall apart.

Leif sighed and let his concentration drop. This was all so complicated. Maybe visiting that fancy academy in the empire is more mandatory than I anticipated. Surely people before me have figured all this out.

Fusion of skills [Grounded Stance II] and [Enduring Grit] 9/100%

Nine percent… How long has it been? A few hours? A day or two? By the sense he could get of the animals living in and around him, Leif suspected they were sleeping. So it’s probably nighttime. I feel like I used to be able to tell the time of day by temperature. Did I lose that sense when I evolved? Is it because my current state is an alternate form rather than my true body?

Leif wanted to stretch but couldn’t. He considered using [Wood Manipulation] to mimic the action, but decided using that skill without being able to see likely wasn’t the wisest of ideas. And so he continued to think and continued to plan.

===

Persist. Leif commanded the domain, his mental voice echoing as he did so. He felt the domain shudder as his will and authority washed into it, strengthening and changing its existing structure. Leif took a deep, imaginary breath, and focused on the transformation aspect of the skill.

Maintain. He thought, focusing on having the tree portion of himself last beyond what he was about to attempt.

Release. The skill shifted within him, strain pressing against his soul causing a small spike of pain to lance through his being. Leif tensed, and tried to guide the separation as best he could. Even with his limited understanding and blind inexperience, Leif thought he knew most of what was about to happen.

The tree he was began to flow into the form he wished to return to. With an effort of will the process was cut short and Leif felt a not insignificant part of what made up himself split, then fall away. A connection remained in place as what was once whole became divided. Physical sensation rushed into his awareness, movement, sound, then smell and taste.

Ivory wood rippled as a man sized body was ejected from the trunk of the tree. He hit the ground with a heavy thunk as he fell onto his back. He had limbs, he could feel, he could move. It felt wonderful, though significantly less restful.

Leif’s eyes flickered into being as golden light filled twin slits in his mask-like face, he gasped in a lungful of air. Though he suspected he possessed no such organ within his chest. Leif looked up at the shimmering night sky, partially hidden behind a canopy of crimson leaves.

Life-force still pulsed within the tree’s bark, but it was flickering and fitful. The invisible connection the spriggan felt to the tree began to stretch and weaken. Leif grunted and rolled to his front, he staggered to his feet only to fall as he lost balance and toppled over.

Damnit. He thought, scrambling in the dirt. He reached out and grabbed a large stone, using it as leverage to climb to his feet. He was weak, shockingly so, but whether it was due to his existing injuries or because of the magical surgery he had just performed on his body he didn’t know.

Leif stumbled over to a stretch of ground where ferns and moss had grown in abundance. He hadn’t wanted to do this, his plan had been to hunt undead and drain their deathly energy into his cultivation, having it be devoured and converted in the process. But there was no way he was climbing down the bluff in his current condition, nor would the tree survive for long enough even if he was capable.

Sorry about this. He apologised silently to the plants. You’ll grow back stronger than ever, probably. Then he drained them of vitality. Leif blinked, it had barely been a trickle. If he hadn’t been paying attention Leif might not have realised he had actually gained anything. Previously he had drained a tiny amount of vitality from plants he passed in order to maintain himself, but it seemed his cultivation pool now required far more energy.

Cursing internally he wobbled over to another area and repeated his prior action. Grass withered, mushrooms lilted and moss detached from the ground and blew away in inert clumps in the night breeze. It still wasn’t enough, and he was running out of time.

Just as he was about to give up and reactivate [Settle], hopefully undoing what he had just done and trying again another day, he stopped. There was vitality, it was diffuse and faint, but all encompassing. The only problem was that it was pooled deep beneath his feet.

Leif fell to a knee, focused on [Might], raised a clawed, four fingered fist, then drove it into the hardened stone with a crack that split the night. Birds panicked and flew away, rodents squeaked and fled. But the stone had been breached up to his forearm, he started to drain.

Stupid, stupid. You had roots in the ground you damn idiot. You should have done this before detaching, so incredibly stupid. He growled at himself, not sparing the attention to conjure a tongue and speak out loud.

Instead he used [Gold Iron Physique] to conjure a glowing amber stake at the tip of his fist, then drove it down into the crack he had already made. Again and again he struck, each time he drew on more and more vitality.

The trickle became a stream, but it was so slow. It would have to be enough, Leif stood and scampered over to the trunk, his trunk, and placed a palm against the ivory bark. [Healing Palm] was broken, but that wasn’t the skill he intended to use anyway.

Leif sharpened his [Willpower], then spoke aloud, his voice resonating through the air.

“Survive.”

Then he triggered [Embolden Vegetation], and urged as much cultivated life-force into the skill as he could manage. Golden lines of vitality shot up into the tree, the partially filled in person sized gap his evacuation had left began to bleed amber sap as new bark began to grow.

The invisible connection Leif felt to the tree strengthened, then snapped into place. The spriggan sagged, forehead against bark, and let out a long sigh. The domain that had been slowly dissipating ever since his separation expanded to fill its previous size.

For several minutes Leif remained in place, even though he had succeeded he found himself resolving over and over to not brazenly experiment before he had made a full recovery. Finally he stood and looked the tree up and down. It would need further attention, but it should be fine.

It had been messy, but he had succeeded. Now if he left, he would be able to leave his domain behind to protect and restore those in need. If he ever found his animals again he would have a safe place for them to live, that thought cheered him greatly. The tree was still him, though it was just a shell, lacking any of his skills or consciousness besides the obvious exception.

Then Leif turned and gazed at the expanse of withered plants, a pang of sadness twinged his heart, the plant life had sprung up atop the bluff because of him. They didn’t have any awareness to speak of, still, it felt like a betrayal.

Something caught Leif’s eye, he had glimpsed it during his earlier panicked scrambling, but it had slipped his attention as he had tried to save himself, from himself. The spriggan trotted over and looked down at what he found.

A circle of small stones surrounding a pile of ash, and within that ash, something that glowed a faint red. He stuck a finger into the abandoned campfire and found a small glowing gemstone, he picked it up, and felt a slight amount of warmth.

Leif stood with hands on hips, gazing around at the completely empty bluff. “Huh. That’s strange.”