I'm still not sure how I'm going to carry all of these people on my back. I mean I'm big, but I'm not, carry around an entire village, big. Then I get a look at the number of elves that are injured, and I realize the plan may not be as terrible as I first thought. Blathanna then admitted that roughly a third of their warriors where injured. Apparently, Eldenvale wasn't the only place facing invasion. Something that in hindsight should have been obvious considering this disaster is supposed to be happening on a global scale.

I also realize that the population is much higher than I originally thought. Not only are half the elves here injured. If the elves that are injured represent only a third of their warriors, then there must be a huge army to the south somewhere. I then realize that some of them are probably injured as well and just haven't made it back to the elf camp yet. I'm actually starting to look forward to all the free experience. Before I can get too excited the queen appears carrying the largest tree seed, I have ever seen. Behind her are four people carrying what looks like a huge box of normal soil.

I'm not big enough to support a tree. Certainly not one that size. When I try to explain this to her the queen just smiles and says that I will be long before it becomes an issue. The queen then explains that the dirt was from underneath The Great Mother. Accord to her familiar soil will help the seedling grow. The seedling in question being a clone of The Great Mother herself. I'm not entirely sure that's how any of that works but it's magic so who knows. What I do know is that even with magic it will probably take years for the seedling to outgrow that box of soil.

Thinking back to how small I was it doesn't take a genius to figure out I'll probably be much bigger by then, so I see no reason to object to this added passenger. I'm still not entirely sure how a people that never leave the forest found out about me. I have theories but that's about it.

For some reason the queen insists that I load the seedling and the box of dirt first. Not seeing any issues with it I quickly agree. After that I use my earth manipulation to make a ramp that should allow people, specifically the injured, to be brought aboard much more smoothy. This way I don't need to personally pick up everyone individually which takes time. Shortly after this the queen and Princess Blathanna are brought aboard. After that I finally get to start loading up the injured.

They are quickly moved to one of the 'clinics'. Which is really just a part of my shell with no dirt so people can be laid directly on my shell. The limitations of healing aura is really starting to make itself known. Even so as more and more injured elves are brought aboard the experience points start to add up at a terrific rate. Then as if on cue right as the last elf gets settled in I level up. Thinking fast I use gravity manipulation to help manage the effects of my level up on the community living on my shell. It doesn't help much since using it over such a wide area greatly reduces the effectiveness. Plus, the fact that it's hard to concentrate while breaking through to the next level.

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Congratulations On Reaching Level 23 Please Choose Whether To Receive Skill Points OR A Random Skill

This time a chose to receive the skill points. There are probably a lot of skills that would be really useful but I'm kind of curious if the skills have a max level. If they do, I'm betting that it's a nice round number. Then again, I have no reason to think it would be. It being a nice round number just feels right.

Name Thomas Race Mountain Turtle Size 1km Level 23 0/240 Health 150,000/150,000 Attack 115 Defense 131 Speed 114 Skill Active Elemental Manipulation (Water level 2(0/10), Earth Level 3(0/10), Air Level 1(0/10), Fire Level 1(0/10)), Mirror Shield Level 6(0/10), Gravity Manipulation Level 1(0/10) Passive Regeneration Level 4(2/10), Healing Aura Level 9(0/10) Talent Copper Shell, Improved Mental Fortitude, Last Stand, Telepathy, Inspiring Physique, Enhanced Awareness

The only really surprising thing to come out of this level up is my name. For some reason I get the distinct impression It's not referring to turtles who happen to live on or near mountains. I mean I am a kilometer now which isn't all that surprising considering I was already over half a kilometer. The one thing I can wrap my head around was how the queen seemed to know I would level up at that exact moment. I tried asking her about it and her response was that The Great Mother told her it would happen that way. Which is, I soon realize as straight of an answer as I was ever going to get. The rational part of my brain wants to scream trees can't talk but then I'm talking to an actual elf so maybe they can.

I continue to receive experience points for a while after the level up. In fact, the speed at which I receive them increases thanks to the increased level of healing aura. Unfortunately, it stops just shy of me levelling up again. I am confident however that once we pick up the remaining elves I will be able to get a few more levels in me. For now, I busy myself with adding more dirt to my shell. I'm sure someday I will get big enough that I can't feel them walking around. Besides if they're going to be living on my back, they need a place to plant things. Which is why I even made the dirt on my back a little thicker than it was. At the same time the queen Was reminding the elves that were healthy to not forget any of the herbs, medicinal and otherwise, that grow exclusively in this forest. As well as other edible plants. Many of which if I'm not mistaken could be considered vegetables.