[You have successfully deployed the skill, Life Fabricator, in a carbon reduction event! Calculating carbon reduction… 41,002 tons captured! You have been awarded 200,000 KarmaCoin!]

Hell yes! He’d created a tree that sucked in the equivalent of 40,000 trees worth of carbon at once! Not to mention that 200,000 KarmaCoin was a heck of a reward! As he thought of the fundraising possibilities, Logan imagined he looked a bit like Ernie when he dreamed of slaughtering.

It was why he’d chosen a class that had empire building possibilities. Logan had struggled with finances his whole life, living paycheque by paycheque, scrambling to pay the bills, moving from job to job.

Like everyone, he dreamed of excelling, of figuring out the answer to the mystery that many strived for—to build a life for themselves, a solid foundation. But more than anything, to earn enough so he no longer had to worry that he couldn’t replace his clunky truck if it broke down. It was the simple things in life that made you feel secure, after all.

For the System to give him a skill that would allow him to save KarmaCoin into the millions… Logan smiled so widely he was sure he had crow’s feet around his eyes.

The world economy was going through a drastic change. If everyone lost power, if banks and financial institutions were inaccessible, physical money was the only option, but how long would that last? It would be ridiculous to expect everyone to walk around with their life savings inside their pockets. And unless everyone obtained a spatial storage device like Logan’s, it wasn’t feasible.

The next alternative could be precious metals, gold, diamonds. Jewellery like what he’d found in the serpent’s lair. But again, that might not last for long.

Logan was betting that KarmaCoin would be the new world currency. Asthea had mentioned that everyone would get access to a System market. If Logan hadn’t been able to use human currency to buy items inside of the Tree Fridge, it had to be the same for the market.

So KarmaCoin.

Logan could raise millions! Forget about the cost of [Portal Generation], once he increased his Karma pool, he could travel to frigging Europe if he grew enough trees. He could buy everything in the Tree Fridge!

Logan’s heart raced as he considered the possibilities. His face felt flushed, butterflies dancing in his stomach. Running a hand through his hair, he stared up at his new tree. Despite his elation, he had to calm himself down. The most important thing was the carbon capture possibilities and the Save Humanity Quest. KarmaCoin wouldn’t matter if everyone were dead!

Although he needed to capture 930 billion tons of carbon, which worked out to millions of these monster trees, if he could finetune it, he was a lot closer than he had been a day ago.

The tree was so tall it had to be the equivalent of a twenty-storey building. Its width was the size of three trailers stacked side-by-side. And its aura… it had a presence like nothing else, making the hairs on the back of Logan’s neck stand up.

Years ago, he’d visited an old growth forest in the Washington Cascades, and it had given him that same awe-inspiring feeling. Trees with a canopy so wide they blocked the sun; so high you couldn’t see the top from the ground. They were immense. So immense Logan might as well be an ant standing next to a plant.

And those were normal trees. Instead, Logan had created a carbon capture machine. He’d created something from nothing! All he’d had to do was envision it, and Karma and his imagination had created it.

He had…

What.

Logan stared.

Amongst the overturned picnic tables and roots that burst through the earth, he hadn’t noticed anything beyond it. Why would he look at his surroundings when the tree dwarfed everything?

But beyond the picnic tables, the pine trees around the clearing were dead. Dead as if a meteorite had blasted away every bit of foliage in a heat storm. Twenty of them. Nothing but gnarly, dead tree limbs remained. But strangest yet, the ground around them was healthy, full of green grass and weeds.

Normally, Logan would have assumed the Mountain Pine Beetle had killed the trees—it was an invasive pest that tunneled into bark and killed the tree from the inside—but those trees had been healthy before he’d deployed [Life Fabricator].

He was sure of it.

In puzzlement, Logan pulled up the description of the skill again.

[Through intricate and highly precise work, this skill allows you to build, repair and control the life cycle of beings by cutting, bending, and assembling. Level is commensurate with your Karma pool and Karma regeneration rate. KarmaCoin awarded is based on carbon capture impact.]

According to the skill, he could ‘build, repair, and control’ which meant building something out of nothing. And yet… it said he could do that by ‘cutting, bending, and assembling.’ He had no idea what cutting and bending meant… cut a tree?

But assembling was self-explanatory. The problem was, assembling meant assembling from something. The skill didn’t say that he could create from nothing. In fact, the specific wording was something he suspected he should have paid closer attention to.

[Life Fabricator] had allowed him to create a massive, carbon sucking tree, but since he hadn’t had a seed to work from, had he unknowingly pulled material—pulled life—from the pine trees?

There was only one way to find out.

And that was to do it again.

***

[You have successfully deployed the skill, Life Fabricator, in a carbon reduction event! Calculating carbon reduction… 51,000 tons captured! You have been awarded 230,000 KarmaCoin!]

Gasping, Logan craned his head and stared up at the monster tree he’d just created. This time, he’d had to pause three times. It had taken a massive surge of Karma to complete the tree. He’d kept his senses open, not just visualizing, but also monitoring what was happening around him.

He’d noticed an immediate difference.

Unlike with [Life Cycle Master], he could create life from nothing, but only by cannibalizing and ‘assembling’ things around him. That meant that for a plant, he needed life from other trees. As Logan had grown the tree, refining it and enhancing its carbon sucking capabilities, he’d become aware of another line of life, like a fishing line.

It was like [Liche Siphon]. Without him being aware of it, he’d drunk from the trees, filtering their bark, their sap, their foliage—hell, even their roots—into his new monster tree. The building blocks were all he’d needed. Once he had the base of the tree, the skill had grown the rest just like [Life Cycle Master] had done when he grew a plan from a seed.

But so much for his impression that he could grow life from nothing.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

There was always a trade, a push and pull.

And at least he’d learned it here rather than in combat. If he’d deployed [Life Fabricator] in a fight, he might have accidently pulled life from people. From animals. From Ernie.

But his new discovery made him curious. If the skill needed a basis for life, and once he had it, he could grow a tree just like with [Life Cycle Master], could he also deploy the skill the same way? With a seed?

Logan left his new monster tree and then walked further into the woods, making sure that he didn’t go too far, close enough to Richton’s Tomb that he could hear Lara when she arrived.

This time, he’d deploy [Life Fabricator] just like he would with [Life Cycle Master].

With a seed.

There were still a few seeds left inside his spatial collar. Logan removed a pine tree seed and then…

Huh.

Why bother digging?

With a grin, he deployed [Mimicry Armour] and reformed an armour glove, then used a handful of diamond dust to sculpt his talons. Slamming his fist into the ground until the earth shuddered, he scooped out a chunk of dirt as if Logan’s fist was an excavator.

Damn.

Dropping the seed into the hole, he covered it, pressing the dirt down loosely.

Closing his eyes, Logan activated [Life Fabricator], sensing the seed below. Amongst the soil were tiny mites, worms, moss. Through hard lessons, he knew to be careful. A bark ant monster was the last thing he needed.

Furrowing his brow, he concentrated on the seed, nudging it along.

Unlike the first time he’d figured this out with [Life Cycle Master], this seed felt like it wanted to grow. Logan only had to envision it and the roots, the sprout… it was as if he’d fed it a jacked-up fertilizer.

As the tree grew, he took a mental step back, monitoring the trees around him, the plants, checking to see that he hadn’t unwillingly funneled life.

Nothing. Unlike last time, there was no straw sucking the life out of the foliage around him. All life was concentrated in his new tree.

In fact, he’d grown it so quickly that he couldn’t believe it. It had been a minute at most. A minute!

Gasping, Logan opened his eyes.

The tree was regular sized—an average-looking pine tree. Solid bark, a sturdy trunk. Logan hadn’t wanted to create another carbon machine.

Instead, he was testing a theory.

Glancing around, he examined the other trees around him, but he already knew the answer.

He’d done it.

Without funnelling life.

Scratching his chin, he grinned. So, he could use the skill just like [Life Cycle Master], but instead of relying on seeds, he could launch life by stealing from others.

Holy shit.

If he turned the skill around and applied it to people, could he use it offensively? Steal the life of people around him?

Or even more nightmare inducing… create a person? Create life?

His mouth growing dry, Logan shuddered. He’d chosen his [Fabled Creation] class to help with the Save Humanity Quest, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about a skill that had consequences that vast.

Not to mention that in the fight with the Silverdagger Clan, Logan had done something to the flies crawling out of Arsen’s mouth. He didn’t know how, only knowing that the flies had annoyed him, so he’d made them stop.

Made them die.

The possibility of a skill that could cause instant death, or a skill that leeched the lifeforce of another being, made his stomach slosh. And yet, he knew it was necessary. If he grew squeamish because of possibilities, he might as well have let the Silverdagger Clan win. He’d learned lessons in that battle, lessons that he would never forget.

Not deploying his best assets because he didn’t like the moral possibilities wasn’t an option.

He needed to figure this out. And he needed to use whatever he had at his disposal to win. After all, six billion people were relying on him. Lara, the kids, Tasha and Jack. They needed him to succeed.

Logan had no illusions that monsters would just let him stroll around, growing tree after tree. They’d attack him. It was inevitable. Not to mention that the monsters were the lesser threat. Eventually, he’d meet people like the men in the cabin, murderers. People like the Man in Black.

He would do what was necessary.

He had to.

***

[You have successfully deployed the skill, Life Fabricator, in a carbon reduction event! Calculating carbon reduction… 59,000 tons captured! You have been awarded 240,000 KarmaCoin!]

Each time he grew a monster carbon sucking tree, he improved on the last. This one was twenty-five storeys high, its trunk as wide as a small house. Its immense shadow blocked out the sun, and was it his imagination, or had the smog around it gotten less? Instead of a gray sky, he could see hints of blue and clouds up above.

Pride suffusing his limbs, Logan couldn’t help standing straight, his shoulders back and his chest out like a proud bird. Since the System Integration, his world had been the stuff of nightmares. Wizard-shit gave him a thrill, but when he’d fought, there hadn’t been time to wonder what might be possible in his new world.

He began to envision a world where Logan was so overpowered that he didn’t have to worry about the threat of death, a world in which he could keep his family safe. A world in which he could experiment with growing things, with generating KarmaCoin, with building a community.

“Logan has built a giant,” crooned an awe-filled voice.

Ernie.

He was making his way over the broken ground, clambering over roots the size of tunnels. Logan crouched and held out his arm, letting Ernie clamber up and onto his shoulder.

Logan grinned as he followed Ernie’s gaze.

He was staring at the tree with wide eyes, his pale skin flashing green as if mirroring its leaves. “If only I could make a tree into a minion,” he muttered.

Logan snorted. “How did you make out? Any new soldiers for your army?”

Ernie preened. “There is a lack of sturgeons here, but there are many, many others! Ducks, Logan, ducks!”

Logan paused and gave him a careful glance. “You added birds to your army?”

Ernie jabbed the air with his tentacles as if he were a boxer hitting an invisible punching bag. “Five of them.”

“Huh.” That put a whole new complexity on Ernie’s ability. Logan had assumed that he’d add undead minions. Animals who the serpent queen had already transformed into the undead. But then again, Ernie had transformed two flying snakes. Although they were rabid buggers, they weren’t undead.

“Just no humans, okay?” Logan considered. “Unless you have no other option,” he amended.

“Humph,” said Ernie in a non-committal voice. Then he brightened. “Where is your brethren?”

At Ernie’s question, Logan’s mood took a nosedive.

That was the question.

Where was Lara? It was late, the heat was starting to lessen as the sun dropped in the horizon. If anything, Lara would have wanted to leave in the morning to arrive in the early afternoon at the latest. Being this late wasn’t like her.

Logan made his way to the clearing in front of Richton’s Tomb, Ernie clinging to his shoulder. Using the Pink Sock, he jumped over the huge roots that burst from the ground.

Looking at the trail, he stared, straining his senses and using every perception point at his disposal to listen for voices.

Nothing.

Not even an animal.

“She’s not here yet,” he said, his voice layered with worry.

Taking out his cell phone from his spatial collar, he tried to power it on, but it was just as dead as last time. There were no charging stations around here—it was too remote. Worst of all, even if there were charging stations, he had no idea if Hope’s End had electricity.

Fuck. What if something had happened? What if the whole time he’d been growing trees, Lara and the kids had been in trouble?

As time passed and the sun continued dipping, dusk overtaking the clearing, his tension ratchetted up and his stomach churned.

Logan paced and scrubbed his hair, pulling at it as his thoughts raced. Lara wouldn’t have trekked through the woods in the dark, not now. Not with the kids. Which begged the question of why she wasn’t here. Logan’s timeline should be correct.

Something was wrong.

Clenching his fists, he came to a stop and looked at the empty path. One thing was certain, staying at Richton’s Tomb and doing nothing wasn’t the solution. “I’m going after them.”

“To the big city?” Ernie chirped, pleased. “Many, many potential minions must be there.”

“Many humans. No humans,” said Logan as he wound his way back to the beach. Jumping into the water, he activated his Pink Sock to push himself around the harbour and below the surface.

Ernie swam after him, following Logan as he jumped out of the water and into the cave like a dolphin.

Richton’s Tomb.

Not many tourists knew about this, but Logan and Lara had been fascinated by the cave which had been repurposed into a grave site. The original landowners had donated the beach and the surrounding area to the city under the condition that they would keep the cave intact, a tomb that buried Old Man Richton.

It was above ground, but it had an opening at the top and down below. The cave was small, the size of a garden shed at best, and smelled like mold and damp. Without light, it was dim as hell, but Logan’s perception attribute let him see enough to make his way around.

“I do not like this,” said Ernie, popping his head out of the water and scanning the cave. “It reminds me of the serpent’s lair.”

“We’re not staying.”

With a blink, Logan willed out the canoe, setting it underneath the entrance up above. Then he deposited a bucket full of green beans, and a few cans of food he’d found in the murderer’s cabin.

Hesitating, he removed a handful of the jewelry, and one of the spatial storage bracelets.

That was enough.

Making his way to the surface through the underwater entrance, Logan jumped out of the water onto the beach, then used a towel to dry his hands before taking out a plank.

Using Arsen’s dagger, he etched:

Lara, find the boat where your barbies are buried.

-Logan

And then he used a nail to hammer the plank to the trunk of his monster tree. This way, if Logan somehow missed Lara and she found her way here, at least she’d know where to find the canoe. Anyone else who came across the message would have no idea what it meant.

But Lara would.

“All right,” said Logan as he deployed [Mimicry Armour] and reformed his chest plate, his boots, and his forearm guards, “let’s go find them.”