Licht once again created the spherical shuttle of leaves, and after leading Hemlock to it, he patched it up and raised it in the air above most of the forest’s obstructions. That way, as he carried it by manipulating the roots to wrap around the trees and pull forward, it could pass overhead while unobstructed by stones or bushes.
Once the view of the Grove’s walls came into view, he set the ball down again, letting Hemlock out as the leaf structure dissolved around him.
“Alright. I think we got enough data on the shield and spear, all that’s left is to give them to their recipients. Their birthdays are another week away so now you can rest.”
Licht said with satisfaction. Though seeing the priest not share the same elated feeling as him, questions were stirred in Licht’s mind.
“...Ah, yes. I look forward to it. I’m sure they’ll enjoy what you’ve made for them, Licht.”
Hemlock paused before responding.
‘Is he still upset about the test?’
Licht wondered.
‘Maybe I really went too far with that? But…I’m sure he’ll get over it in time. Hemlock is a resilient guy, after all, to have made it this far.’
“Oh come on, don’t say it like that!”
Licht lightly thumped on Hemlock’s chest with his hand.
“We made these two gifts together! I’m sure the kids will be happy to have received something from you just as much as from me.”
Hemlock gave a quick nod.
“Yes, of course…anyway, I really must get back. If we don’t want to spoil the surprise, I shouldn't keep them waiting for too long.”
“Oh of course, that’s good thinking. On your way then.”
Licht waved seeing the figure of Hemlock disappear beyond the grassy gate. He gave a quick thought to Hemlock’s behavior, before turning back to more important things.
‘If there’s anything going on with him, I’m sure he’ll get over it soon. That guy doesn’t seem like he’s one to bear grudges.’
Licht hummed. Rapidly propelling himself over the grove’s walls by stretching the surrounding roots, his gaze shifted downward briefly to the forms of Siya and Arjun who were sitting on a couple of benches he had shaped from the surrounding trees.
Seeing Hemlock being received by them and sitting back down as if nothing had happened, left him feeling assured.
Licht turned back to the central tree, the very same goliath of an arboreal specimen that he had transformed a week earlier with the Ironlight material.
Licht entered through the tree’s hollow, walking to the back of the high ceiling room and melding with the central stem. His orb core, and critically everything else that was stored in his body, moved downward as his ten-foot form reappeared in the underground lab.
“Ah, home sweet home.”
Licht mocked the action of breathing in fresh air as he walked down the snaking corridor, which along with every wooden part of the lab, had turned a darker shade of brown from the Ironlight material.
Though Licht had just bore witness to the most successful test run of the shield and spear yet, there were other matters to attend to first.
Licht entered a room on the side of the corridor.
“Like this itching feeling all along my body. If I’m right, then it takes definite priority over the gifts.”
Licht muttered. Sorry Arjun and Siya, but daddy’s getting a promotion.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Licht brought up his interface and scrolled through the most recent notifications. He had heard pings during Hemlock’s fight against the serpenti, but they had been forced to wait until now.
[Defeated Female Volant Serpenti]
[+5780 Experience]
[Defeated Male Volant Serpenti]
[+2454 Experience]
“Ahh, so that’s what this feeling was. My guess was correct, then.”
Licht looked down at his arms and torso, as if the itchy feeling he had started to feel since the death of the two beasts had increased due to his awareness. It was tingly, but not yet enough to force him to scratch himself.
“Evolution, once again. It’s only been about, oh…two years?”
Licht looked at his current status.
Evolution available!
[Level: 19]
[Exp: 300,000/300,000]
[Name: Licht Welles]
[Race: Woodland Controller (Anima)]
[Health: 1,500/1,500]
[Stamina: 350/350]
[Energy: 235/235 AF]
[Rank: C]
[31 STR, 44 DEX, 200 WIS, 75 END, 3 CHA]
[Virtues: (Twig), (Branch), (Root), (Spark), (Glare), (???)]
[Specializations: Wood, Light]
[Skills: Psychometric Observation (D-), Biogenical Growth (B-), Passive Nutrition Absorption (D+), Passive Acid Resistance (E+), Acid Fiber Infusion (D-), Passive Construct Body (C), Passive Arboreal Sense (D), Wood Manipulation (C+), Arborescent Skill Graft (C-), Bestowal (D+), Light Manipulation (D+), Warmth (D+)]
“After two years he finally wants to get off the couch! All hail the King of Slackers!”
Not much had changed since he last looked at his interface, except for the improvements to wood manipulation, construct body, and biogenical growth that Licht had gained by creating the new tree species.
He had no doubt that these achievements would improve his evolution options for the next pick, but he was hesitant to begin the evolution process at that moment.
“I should wait, despite this itchiness, there are things that I can still do that would improve my options even further.”
Licht thought as a feeling of crawling insects intensified around his body.
Majorly, there were two things he could accomplish before evolving:
1: Gain whatever virtue existed in the Ironlight bulbs
2: Enhance his existing body with the Ironlight material
The first, Licht understood the process of, as even if it took a long time, he knew what to do. He had experience in harvesting the Manacle Blossoms, after all.
The second however, he wasn’t so sure.
Although Licht had acted like he had discovered fire only a few days ago, after more observation, he had discovered the major weakness of the Ironlight material that made up each tree’s composition.
The weakness was the very thing that gave it its greatest advantage: its ability to integrate whatever wood it came into contact with into itself.
For defense purposes, this was great. All Licht had to do was place the equivalent of a pebble of the material anywhere in the forest, and as long as it hit wood, that tree would become an Ironlight. In addition, whatever trees that particular one was touching would become the same through integration, and this worked especially well when Licht connected the roots of each tree together in an underground web.
Which he had, of course, been doing.
Only a quick pulse of nutrients was required to send through the web, and then, boom: thousands of red bulbs would spring from the canopy like stars. The abilities of the new tree in combination with his skills was truly at the apex of organisms in the forest.
It was a little overpowered, in Licht’s opinion.
But that was all well and good, when it was limited only to the forest. To integrate into Licht’s own composition would be another matter entirely.
Not only would the skeleton that Licht used as the frame for his body collapse under the density of the wood, but the new wood would be unsuitable for his moving, malleable body. He had constructed his current body in a near-unconscious state using several virtues and the [Warmth] skill. It was the reason his body was warm to touch like a being of flesh and the reason he was much more maneuverable than, say, Muan.
And not only that, but the integration was a problem too. Licht could stop his own body from being integrated into the Ironlight material for now as the two respective woods were still of the same relative level and he could use manipulation, but what came when he himself was made of Ironlight wood?
Would he be able to stop the integration process on the trees he touched? How would he work with other materials? Siya and Arjun’s equipment wasn’t made from the Ironlight wood, but from another material. Would he have to work on them without touching them directly? How could he when the roots of the surrounding forest were all Ironlight?
There were a myriad of problems with integrating the Ironlight wood into his body, even if it would likely give him better options for evolution.
He could harvest the virtue from the bulbs given time, but improving his body seemed like a much harder task to tackle.
Licht knew after some contemplation. He either needed to improve the Ironlight, creating a mark-2 variant, or make another material altogether.