An hour later, Kyle left The Emerald Armory. Fell’zore took his measurements, and promised the armor and multiple fitted outfits would be delivered to his home. In contrast to the wildly expensive stonebloom armor, the prices for multiple sets of more mundane outfits were quite reasonable. Kyle decided to purchase four outfits that were each specifically designed for different environments. He had one that was heavily insulated for extreme cold, another that was light and flowed for heat, a third that was moisture-resistant, and a fourth that he would consider to be more all-terrain.

All told, he spent a quarter million credits, though he hoped the investment would be worth it. Kyle’s next stop, blessedly, was far less credit intensive. The Verdant Republic was home to many worlds with lower mana-density than Earth, and the general lack of dangerous wildlife made it safe to spend time out in the wilderness. Camping was one of the most common recreational activities among goblins, trolls, and ogres; and there was no shortage of outdoor supply stores ready to meet those demands.

Kyle strolled through several shops, ultimately walking away with a lot of dried rations and a shiny new survival canteen. Other than the armor, that was Kyle’s favorite new buy. The canteen was very durable, and came with built-in collection capabilities. By infusing a bit of mana, a small rune formation would draw in small amounts of moisture from the atmosphere, slowly refilling it as long as it was active. It was exactly the kind of tool Kyle was looking for.

Feeling great about his purchases, it was time for his final, and most unorthodox stop: the Verdant Republic Nursery and Botanical Garden. The Hub had an interesting relationship with plants, as relatively few individuals were wealthy enough to maintain their own property with land. That’s not to say that people didn’t still enjoy having small plants for their living spaces, just that what was commercially available had to be practical.

It also meant that anybody who wanted to experience more time in nature had to do it elsewhere. That’s where facilities like the Verdant Republic Nursery and Botanical Garden came in. Kyle had read about it in different writings and advertisements, showing up was an entirely different experience. There was a fee to enter, and inside the humble-looking building were a series of raised platforms, each containing a different set of teleporters. Kyle looked at the different options on his nav bracelet, and decided to do some sightseeing before ending at the shop. After all, he’d paid the entrance fee.

The first biome on the list was an arid climate, and he decided to start there. Kyle expected to be warped to a facility where he’d get to see a wide variety of different plants, just like a botanical garden on Earth. Instead, he was greeted with an entirely alien sight.

He and C.H.A.D.D. were standing in the middle of a large tube, which branched and extended in multiple locations. The tubing was clear, and outside the sheltered area was a wasteland. The ground was covered with a spiderweb of deep fissures, some seeming to expand to form canyons through which the tube ran. At first, it looked like nothing was living, though as Kyle focused he could see brown tendrils rising up from the broken plates of clay.

Wordlessly, he and the drone descended through the sloping paths, feeling alone despite the thousands of others milling around them. For a reason Kyle couldn’t explain, he was enraptured. The farther they walked, the more evident the plant life became. Deeper beneath the surface of this biome, the root systems became increasingly intricate and interconnected. It was as if the entire landmass they walked through was a single organism.

Soon, they were walking through a tunnel overshadowed by a forest of roots. The light of the suns shone through the cracks, the only other light being a gentle glow from the tunnel lighting systems. It’s an entirely different planet, Kyle thought. They actually sent us to a whole different world. At some level, Kyle understood that this was probable. The Hub extended massively beyond an individual planet, and the stars contained within the enormous Dyson system all had their own worlds still orbiting and thriving within them.

Warping to a different planet for something as simple as enjoying a botanical garden really drove the scope home. Living and operating out of his district, despite its size, didn’t offer the same sense of grandeur that this did. And there are people powerful enough to make things like this happen. By now, the light from above had almost entirely faded, leaving only the lights from the tunnel itself. The crowd thinned out considerably this deep, and soon he turned to walk back towards the entrance.

As he did, Kyle activated IDENTIFY on a whim. Whatever material the tunnel was made of insulated from mana to the point that Auric Perception couldn’t detect atmospheric mana past it, and he was surprised to see that IDENTIFY still functioned fine. While he couldn’t feel the energy from the plants, he was awed as he saw the properties, the hardy and resilient exterior covering thousands of small tendrils that could dive deep into the cracked ground in search of moisture.

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Light began to pour back in as they arrived at the teleporter, and they made their way to the next biome. C.H.A.D.D. complained loudly and often that its sensors couldn’t actually detect the plants, but Kyle was enthralled. They walked through lush jungles, swampy wetlands, and dense forests. Kyle saw breathtaking cultivated gardens standing in contrast to the wild and natural biomes, and IDENTIFY let him begin to parse out the differences.

While each was beautiful, the truly natural environments had an inexplicable synergy. Just like the impression from the rainforest on Earth was one of a single organism and will, Kyle observed similar unity in the alien plant life. Conversely, the more cultivated and crafted environments felt disjointed, intentional in design but not in purpose.

Hours passed by as they walked, and soon the headache from overuse of IDENTIFY was met with a rumbling in Kyle’s stomach telling him it was time to eat. He and C.H.A.D.D. took the teleporter to an atrium with a food court, which was also connected to the nursery. Kyle settled in with a bowl of roasted exotic vegetables, and began to look through a catalog of plants he could purchase. Most of the options fell into two categories: food-producing and decorative.

Kyle frowned as he read through the regulations, which were substantial. With the ease of travel to different planets, purchasing plants required significant documentation to mitigate the risk of unleashing invasive species. While it made sense that protocols like that were in place, it was equally clear that Kyle wouldn’t be able to make use of anything he acquired lightly. There were hefty fines at a minimum, with possibilities of losing licensure or worse depending on how severe the repercussions were.

Ultimately, Kyle decided on just two purchases. The first was a succulent plant that translated roughly to hydrofern. It had long, thick fronds that were water-producing, which made it quite common and sought-after for people who didn’t want to maintain the plant itself. It would draw in hydrogen and oxygen from the atmosphere, and through an internal reductive process create its own water as it grew.

The second was a packet of seeds for a vegetable that felt like a cross between kale and a green bean called a pogrit. There was a soft, bean-like center with a rugged and nutrient-dense leaf that wrapped around it. What fascinated Kyle the most about this plant was that it was supposedly nutritionally complete for humans, while at the same time being easy to grow. The flavor would likely pale in comparison to the exotic delicacies he was enjoying, but after nearly a year of eating beetle meat, Kyle wouldn’t complain.

The following day, Kyle received his deliveries. His hydrofern was set up in one corner of his living room, brilliant blue fronds adding some much-needed life to his space. He’d also purchased a small planting box, which was blessedly inexpensive, for his pogrit seeds. He only put a couple in the soil, splitting the remainder between storage in his apartment and the C.H.A.D.D.pack.

No sooner had he gotten the planter positioned near a window to get light, than his armor arrived. Kyle tried it on, the silvery wooded material incredibly light. While he hadn’t dared to try it at the Emerald Armory, he was excited to test his theory.

“Are you ready, C.H.A.D.D.?”

[YES, DR. MAYHEW.]

Kyle connected to the drone and the world tree seed through PARASITIC RESONANCE, then connected to the armor with a tendril. The connection felt off at first; foreign as C.H.A.D.D. familiarized itself with the properties of the stonebloom wood. As the minutes wore on, it felt more and more comfortable. Kyle regarded the armor with IDENTIFY, and coupled with his connection to the drone, he began to understand the capabilities of the armor.

The more he studied, the wider his smile grew. If Fell’zore had truly understood the potential this armor held, there’s no way he would have parted with it as inexpensively as he did. Of course, he and C.H.A.D.D. were uniquely capable of pulling that potential out. With a few days remaining until it was time for the Practicum, all that was left was to practice.

Six days later…

Kyle shifted the pack as he walked to the staging area for the Practicum’s first phase. There was a crowd of one hundred or so, no two individuals alike. He saw some people heavily equipped, while others just wore the clothes on their backs. The only common thread was that every single person gave off an aura of power.

A voice sounded out over the group, and the nervous chattering and shifting was immediately silenced. “Welcome! Today marks the first step towards independent licensure, a path of fortune and influence! The Guild Union has sponsored this Practicum. A destination has been selected for each of you, and instructions will be sent to your nav bracelets upon arrival. Step on to the teleporter, and know that we will be evaluating.”

The voice cut short, and a large teleporter in the middle of the room lit up, thrumming with power. The nervous energy was back, and Kyle heard murmurs about the lack of information and detail. Kyle spotted a few figures that didn’t seem to be worried. Particular among them were a young man in hooded black robes, a woman with four arms and pinkish-red skin, and a velgian in resplendent white armor. He was the first to step onto the platform, followed shortly by the young man in black robes. Kyle stepped onto the platform third, and he was whisked away to start the hardest exam of his life.