Kerrio:

Kerrio lost track of time while bathing, but after a while of cleaning himself as well as floating in the bathtub doing nothing but blissfully enjoying himself for about an hour or so, he came to his senses and reluctantly left the tempting bath. He dried himself off and put on the new clothes he had stacked on top of the rectangular device that acted like a magical version of a washing machine from earth, which had its lid closed, of course (he couldn't risk wetting the new clothes, after all), and left the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He walked through the small hallway and up to the table containing things like ear cleaners and a stack of lesser beast cores he had looted from some overgrown rats (he didn't know why his adopter wanted to store them like trofies instead of finding a use for them), and opened the box of ear cleaners. He took one, then rubbed it inside his right ear, causing the thing to vibrate slightly and produce a suction force that pulled all the earwax out of his ear. Satisfied that he felt a little better, he gripped it from the middle, fished out a second ear cleaner, and repeated the process with his left ear. After he felt both his ears a touch lighter, he held the second one from the middle as well and joined it with the first. Done with the box, he closed it and stored it back in its previous location, then went to the kitchen to throw the used-up ear cleaners in the trash bag located on the balcony. He could have just put them on queue for cleaning, but then he decided that Brel could always make another batch when he asked him. After all, Kerrio was the one to work with Brel in order to create magicked-up versions of some stuff from earth, like the washing machine, even though the mechanisms were different, especially when magic was involved. He peered through the small balcony wall, finding the family's crops still young and healthy. He looked up, finding that the watering enchantment was still working well, dripping water intermittently onto the plants below. Finished with his second-spanning maintenance, he looked at the sun, noticing that it was still afternoon, even though he had wasted some time in the bathtub. He spotted his mother fiddling with something in the distance, near one of the plants, which seemed to be... glowing? It glowed with a dark blue light. She opened her palms and shot a streak of green light at the glowing plant, which devoured it instantly. The plant's glow dimmed, and the woman walked toward Kerrio after spotting him. He spoke without preamble.

"What was that glowing plant? I've never seen anything like it before!", he asked, mesmerized by the glow.

"Why don't you identify it yourself? I don't know what it is either; I found it fallen somewhere, so I decided to plant it. "Well, Sov told me to plant it.", she answered.

"Oh right, good point. Identify!", he murmured the skill's name.

"Young fire tree (fire elemental natural treasure): Rank: early low copper. This tree exudes fire elemental energy into the ambient environment and can be used to advance one's skills as well as their fire-attuned core, if available, when processed or directly consumed. The tree hasn't been fed enough and might not live up to its utmost potential if left untended. This tree requires constant exposure to high-grade fire to sustain itself. When grown into an older tree, its wood is much more flammable than normal wood. It glows blue when in need of fire energy and flickers red when its need is satisfied. If the light dims, it means the energy it received is incompatible. This tree is on the edge of death and is barely living on the ambient energy in the air and converting it into fire energy.

Properties: spills its internal fire pool when consumed, filling one's core. Constantly leaks early low-copper-ranked fire elemental energy when still planted. This tree is one of the more powerful members of its species and has great potential. This tree is on its last legs but might still survive if granted a strong fire-aligned life force."

"Put some fire near the plant.", Kerrio said after a while.

"What?", Eileen said in confusion.

"It's a fire tree, and it needs to consume fire to live and grow. It's starving. Or at least that's what the System told me. So if you have a source of fire, ignite it near the plant. You'll know that it's feeding well when the light flickers red. Its glow was dimming because your energy wasn't compatible with it.", he clarified.

"Oh... I didn't know I was hurting it! I'll handle it. Activate the isolator, Kerrio. We don't want our other trees to get burned, after all.", she said.

"On it,", he replied. "It might still die, though."

"Hopefully not.", she said. Kerrio reached out to press a circular button with a dimly glowing rune, which then flared to life. The fire tree was surrounded by a field of strange brown energy from all sides, which then caused the light in the tree to glow a darker shade of blue, then weaken a little, then bright red for a second, then dark blue again. It started darkening from its bright red color when crackling sounded out. The tree responded by pulsating with a red color. Then the firepot came closer. Eileen placed the pot containing a small flame that was fueled by beast core powder, which was quickly consumed. When the pot touched the ground, both the flame within and the red plant next to it brightened. The latter started flickering like the fire near it rather than the previous stable light, and Kerrio knew it was working for now. The core powder ran out soon after, and the flame started to wink out. It seemed like that energy wasn't strong enough. Kerrio realized that he had just jinxed everything and berated himself for thinking that things were going to go well before they actually did.

"A young fire tree has acknowledged your aid! A young fire tree offers you lesser fire resistance. Do you accept?" came the system prompt. Out of the plant, a small, star-like red light floated outward, gliding near Kerrio's noze.

"Huh?", he said, very confused. He accepted the plant's power none the less. The red light touched his forehead and vanished, and a system notification told him that he had received lesser fire resistance, increasing protection against fire-based attacks by 5%.

"This tree says that he apologizes for not being able to provide something more helpful to you. He is saying that he is significantly weakened but will help if he recovers his strength." Sov buzzed in his head.

"Uh... You can speak to trees, Sov?", Kerrio asked, surprised.

"I believe so. my first master can talk to spirits now, which is probably why I could relay the tree's words to you.", Sov answered in his rumbling voice.

"He? Is it a male plant?", Kerrio asked.

"Obviously.", was Sov's answer. Anyway, he has a message for you. I'm not sure what it means, but it's a long one full of cryptic phrases without context. It's some kind of information that I believe will become very important when you and the first master grow stronger. This tree may not be as normal as I first thought, after all. He is dying though, so I'll only be able to let him speak through me once.", he added, murmuring the last words.

"Go on, tell me the message. I'm listening.", Kerrio said, taking this seriously. He suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

"Behold, behold, the Herald of Fire, King of Flame, Breaker of Limits, and Defier of Darkness. The Hand that burns, the Walker of the Ancient Path. The Old Blood, that which has not been seen for ages. By his side is the one who strikes with speed and shifts like a thunderstorm. Soon, soon, will come the day when fire scorches the sky and the earth, filling the world with life and death. Here I tell what the wind has carried from beyond the known lands, for my life is ending, the flame of my soul is weak, and I cannot live any longer. So I will fulfill the dying wish of the Ancient One, for that is what I can only do. I give two gifts: one of knowledge and one of strength. You must bear the knowledge, and he must bear the strength. The Matron hunts him; it is he who must hunt her. Be the protector. Be your soul. Be your soul! Worse than the devils, she is gathering her armies for the next war. On her black throne, she waits for the day when she no longer waits. He who has rizzen and fallen also waits, and so do the Nether and the Void. The Abyssal Dragon King sturrs, his self-bound oath close to being fulfilled. Beware, beware, for all that is alive is at risk. Conflict comes. Catastrophy comes. Comes the Cataclysm, betrayer of beastkind. Survive the darkness that seeks you, and he must survive the darkness that seeks him. Be your soul. Be your soul! Seek the Nightcutter, Slayer of Lords, a man with the blackest of swords. Seek the Blizzard, she who rules the snow. Seek the Knowledge Hunter, for he can be one with the spirit arts. Unite for the light against the coming darkness. Be the tide of light that holds back the tide of darkness. Protect one another, and be your soul! Be your soul! Those ones are growing, advancing their skills, and gaining power. The light has beckoned, and the wind has blown knowledge to the ears that listen. That is all I have to say. Good luck, arcane one! May the light be victorious against the evil darkness that draws near. I'm glad I served the light. Forget not, Child of Arcana. Be your soul! Be your soul! Be your soul!", Sov Red At the end of his message, the tree's red light was gone. The red leaves blackened, and the pot's fire faded with the tree's light.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"The young fire tree has revealed its secrets to you!", the system message flashed before Kerrio's eyes. Eileen ran back to see the light of the red plant once more, but it was no longer there.

"What? What happened to the tree?", she asked.

"It died. That fire wasn't enough. It said the flame was weak.", he replied sadly.

"Said? You mean the tree... spoke?", she asked, astonished.

"It spoke through Sov. He told me what it said.", he clarified.

"What did it say?", she questioned softly.

"A long message, a message that I couldn't even begin to understand.", Kerrio's voice started to get loud. "Why does this world keep throwing things at me nonstop? First, an evil monster shows up and claims me as its prey, toying with me by breaking my arms and legs then healing them, and then I can use lightning, and then I discover that another mysterious entity is slumbering inside me, and now this? A strange fire tree that says things that I couldn't understand? I'm 15, for God's sake! How am I expected to handle all this? Why the hell do I have to save the world or whatever? Is this world expecting me to get strong enough to do that overnight?", His voice devolved into a snarl, then cracked, and tears fell from his eyes. "I can't stand this!", he screamed. Eileen didn't know what to do. Some things were new to her.

"What was this about a monster that broke his arms and legs? He never told me about something like this! Was he keeping all of it bottled up for an entire year? Not even someone enhanced with magic and energy could manage something like that! That person would have an extremely strong will to do it! I wish I could help, but it's been a full year, and I still don't have much experience being a mother! This is frustrating!", she thought. There was a knock on the door, followed by another one that was more urgent. She ran to the door and opened it, letting Brel and Queltsom stumble in. Queltsom immediately started running towards the sound of Kerrio's crying voice.

"Why am I so weak?", the crying boy screamed. ". "Why?", he repeated.

"You're not,", Queltsom said intensely but in a low voice upon arriving at his side.

"Just why! Am I just a good-for-nothing waste of life? Why was I summoned here?", he kept on screaming.

"No, you're not!", Queltsom growled in response. "You're not weak, Kerrio. You ran for longer than you should have yesterday. That can't be done by a weak person! So stop underestimating yourself and become Kerrio again! Tell me what's wrong, and I'll try to help however I can. I'm not that good with feelings, though,", he continued, his voice lowering with each phrase. Kerrio's crying faded bit by bit, but then Brel almost ruined everything.

"Stop crying like a baby and man up, Runty!", he chastised. Sounds stopped being heard. Everything stilled. The air became heavy.

*Boom... Boom*! A heartbeat rang out like no heartbeat ever has a right to. It almost sounded like an underground explosion where only the base could be heard. In a sudden flash, Brel was being pelted with punches that sent ripples across his body, as if a greater force slammed down on him with each punch. This wait kept staggering him backwards and sending him stumbling, not allowing him to defend himself. All the while, Queltsom yelled like a madman. It was a wordless cry that doubled in intensity with each passing moment, increasing Brel's pained grunts with it. Brel tried to strike back at the rage-stricken kid without warning, but the only thing he touched was an afterimage. Brel slowly gained his footing back, but Queltsom was no longer where Brel swung. He was further surprised when he discovered that the rippling force attacks did not stop now that the boy was busy dodging Brel's attempts at striking him. They changed from direct punches to projectiles of force that did not slow down at all.

The crazed boy screamed his lungs out, and his voice soon turned raspy and ran out of breath. The only thing indicating his anger was an open mouth in silent roaring and the storm of force projectiles that were still being thrown at the old man. Many of them missed, but many others struck his abdomen, his chest, his knees, his head, and everywhere else in his body. Soon, the boy fell down, clutching at his head with a pained expression, and Brel panted heavily, standing up straight again.

"Oh, that... was certainly interesting. I guess that's what an emotion value of crimson104 could do to someone, eh? Rest well, disciple! You did good!", he said, more to himself than to Queltsom. Kerrio's and Eileen's mouths were open in awe at the sheer frenzy and suddenness of the attack. The former even forgot about his breakdown for a moment.

"The essense! It's activated! I think that he just used his essence seed!", Kerrio stammered out after a hickup from his crying.

"The thing you fed him? It was so strange, that speed and that pressing wait! It's stronger than anything I've ever seen before! What was that energy anyway, force?", Brel asked in befuddlement.

"Yeah, force and speed!", Kerrio answered, his voice energetic once again.

"Speed? I don't believe there is a speed energy, is there?", Brel asked again.

"I don't know; my cognition ability told me that the beed I gave him was a dual essence seed of haste and force. I don't know if there's a speed energy or whatever.", Kerrio explained.

"I see. Well, I apologize for my earlier insensitivity! I just wanted both of you to release what you've been bottling up for a long time. As you have seen, my disciple was very, very angry! Whether it was at Jane or something entirely different, I don't know. But that fury was otherworldly, I tell you! Not even that strange beast form of his could be compared to this!", Brel continued, still astonished.

"Are... you... alright, Kerrio?", Queltsom groaned.

"He's still awake?", the old man screamed.

"Yes, Quel, I'm good now; thanks for the help! Now let's go to bed and talk for a bit, and then I'll bring your dinner when it's time. Let Brel carry you or something.", he suggested.

"Nah, I'll just roll on the ground until I find it.", Queltsom replied dreamily. True to his word, he rolled in the room's direction, causing everyone to laugh at him and lightening the mood. Kerrio walked after him and found him gripping the surface of the bed, trying to pull himself up. Snorting at his antics, Kerrio helped him to the bed, draping the warm blanket over him. Then, to his bewilderment, the blind boy started snoring. Kerrio opened the flashing system message to continue reading about the tree, and it surprised him.

"You have received a true fire core!

True fire core (early low copper elemental true core): This core contains true fire essence, refined and cultivated by a true fire elemental tree. The tree has spent its last vestiges of life imprinting its spirit onto the elemental core. This has made it far more potent than normal. As a result, it will provide a strong base when on the cusp of evolving to the low copper rank, and may have other uses. This core is guaranteed to retain its efficacy, even if unused for an extended period of time.".

"Now we're talking!", Kerrio thought. He liked this message about cores far more than the one about evil monsters and a dying tree! He suddenly found a round red object flying towards him, so he caught it. He fished out a small pouch and stored the core inside. He intended to give it to Queltsom, because even he knew that the part about baring the strength was referring to the blind boy. Now, it was time to learn more about the stages of cultivation! Advancement? Evolution?