“Bind him!” Mimi ordered, and Haylock noticed the backpack Nini was wearing.

The man didn’t talk and had almost as many wrinkles as Mimi.

“Today is the day we gain vengeance for what you did to our family,” the old woman hissed in the man’s ear.

He tried to talk, but the rag in his mouth muffled the words. Mimi pushed him down on his side, cutting the rope on his wrist and then sitting on top of him. Her hand glowed, and Haylock watched as whatever she did kept the man still while Nini wrapped ropes around his wrist and used a stake, hammering the looped hand into the ground near him.

She repeated the process before doing the same to both legs, leaving the man spread out.

This is like something from one of those crazy horror shows!

“Now listen, my pet,” Mimi said as she stood up, her hand no longer glowing. In a moment, I’m going to pull the block from his chi. You will only have a moment to strike him down. If you don’t, he will kill the three of us. Do you understand?”

Haylock’s mind felt overwhelmed. He didn’t have a clue what he was supposed to do or why. Mimi had said the man had killed Nini’s parents, and that made him angry.

Can I do that? But if I don’t, will he really kill me? Is she bluffing?

Studying Mimi’s face as she bit her lip, her eyes looking tired and worn out, Haylock felt she was being honest. They were in a position of weakness, which must be the trump card she had been holding.

He slowly nodded his flower and saw Mimi and Nini smile.

“Good, now prepare your roots!”

Mimi bent down and made cuts on each side of the man’s waist. She also cut his wrists and ankles. The blood seeped out to the soil near him, and Haylock felt the urge coming over him.

This is the blood she was using every day! She’s bled him and poured it out on me!

His eyes went wide inside his flower, and Mimi smiled, knowing that Haylock had figured out what it was he had before him.

“This is the blood you have enjoyed for so long and grown strong off of. Now consume him, or we will all die!”

She cut the strap that held the gag in the man’s mouth and pulled it out. Immediately, Haylock could see the power within the man moving. His chi started to spin again and was beginning to make its way through his body.

Panic set in, and his roots ripped up from the ground, driving themselves into the open wounds Mimi had cut.

Unlike the other creatures, he had easily been able to send his roots through; this was like pushing through cement. Every inch of the man’s body fought him, but Haylock poured the power he had, willing the roots to move.

Even as he felt power coming from the roots that were barely in the man, Haylock knew he was losing.

“Force your chi! Push it inside the roots! Use the power to win this fight!” Mimi shouted, taking a step back as she put a hand over her granddaughter's chest.

It seemed impossible. Haylock hadn’t ever managed to make the chi move before, and now, like a mother kicking their baby from the nest, expecting it to fly or die, he was in a battle for his life and theirs, having no clue how to do what he must.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Trust… focus… direct it!

The chi had circulated for over a week, maybe two, and now, with his mind realizing his danger, it began to flow from the core in his stem and toward his roots. Slowly, it sped up, reaching the ones embedded in the man, starting to yank on the ropes. The sound of fibers tearing as the man’s body shook against the ground spurred Haylock on.

His roots began to pierce further into the man’s body, earning him a yell of pain. They threaded up his leg bones, starting to absorb and gather the chi the man was desperately trying to send through his body. All through the man’s body, his roots began to branch out, encircling organs and muscles and forcing their way into the arteries.

More roots came up, digging into the man's nostrils, ears, and open mouth, choking him as the man's lifeblood and power were absorbed.

“Yes! Yes!” Mimi cheered. “You are almost there!”

Haylock could see the pain in Nini’s eyes as she glared at the man. He had stolen something precious from her, and that hurt drove him on. These two had nurtured and cared for him since the day he woke up here. Sure, they had bled a man in order to feed him and made crude jokes about stroking his shaft, but he was an Aussie. They were used to those things.

Now, the roots came together as one, finding the ball of chi struggling to stay moving. They surrounded it from all over, absorbing the power which flowed into Haylock. His roots and stem, no, every part of him, felt like it was on fire, overwhelmed by what he had just consumed.

Consumed +200 Chi

Consumed +200 SC

The man stopped moving; his life and chi were gone. Nothing more than a husk lay covered in roots, slowly being dragged beneath the ground's surface.

“He did it,” Nini whispered quietly. “He actually overpowered and won…”

Mimi moved slowly toward Haylock, firmly grasped his stem, and squeezed it.

“You have done wonderful. Now rest. Tomorrow, we shall begin the next part of your process.”

Without needing any more help, Haylock felt himself fuller than he could ever imagine. His mind wandered as he felt power flowing through his entire body, slowly moving toward the center, where it began to spin.

RePlant System Active

Day: 56

Daily System Credit: 1

Consumed Credit: 200

[Spend Credit?]

Spend Credit!

It had only taken a moment, but Haylock knew it was time to make a decision like this.

[Credits spent successfully, 201 credits spent]

[Unlocked Demonic Companion [B] skill]

What the hell is that? Demonic Companion?

[ You are attempting to summon a Demonic Companion ]

[ Chi required for Companion ]

[ 99 Chi Spent ]

A rush of power left his body, and Haylock felt like someone had kicked him in the nuts… if he had nuts. Losing ninety-nine chi was almost half of his power, yet he was overwhelmed by what was happening near him.

A portal began to open before him. Beyond the portal was a world of gruesome colors and twisted trees, flowers, and other things. From inside the portal, a pink rabbit hopped through, its black nose twitching as it stopped before Haylock and seemed to peer at him with beady red eyes.

The portal snapped shut, and yelling could be heard from around.

Haylock went to look and see what was going on and used his vision, now realizing he was looking down from a mile above his current location. He could see far off in every direction. The world zoomed out around him like using a mouse wheel on Google Maps, and it flooded his brain with pain for a second.

Holy crap, I’m in a fricken forest!

All around him were trees lining a row of mountains that ran north to south. Nestled between the tall mountains was this small clearing and a village a good bit away. Haylock thought he spotted a trail that ran through the forest and to the town in the north.

Scrolling down, he saw the world quickly come into zoom, and he saw Mimi and Nini rushing toward him. They were in a building further away, and based on how fast they were moving, something must be wrong.

Changing his eyes on his flower, Haylock saw the rabbit still sitting at the base of his stem.

[ Demonic Companion Fufu has been summoned ]

[ Bond has been established ]

The rabbit let out a screech and bared some massive teeth for a moment before settling down.

“What in the realms?!”

Mimi shouted as they almost tore the door off the shed, coming through it with a speed that seemed impossible for her age. As the two women got close, Haylock wished he had lips to smile, seeing both of them stare in shock at him and the rabbit that had turned to face them both. It was making noises that didn’t sound friendly.

Stop that! They are friends!

The rabbit turned around, and one of its ears folded over halfway, and it chittered at him. Unable to understand, Haylock wished he could Vulcan Mind Meld or something with the rabbit.

Friends! They are friends! Don’t hurt them.

“A rabbit?” Nini asked, slowly moving forward as Mimi tried to stop her.

“Wait, child! That’s not a normal rabbit!”

Mimi stood there, glancing at it and then at Haylock. “Is the familiar safe?”

Haylock nodded his flower and saw the older woman let out the breath she had been partially holding.

Slowly, the two began to move, creeping toward Haylock and his new friend, Fufu.

“It’s so cute!” Nini exclaimed when they were just a few feet from the new guest. Bending down, she held out her hand, and the pink rabbit leaned forward and sniffed a few times. Bounding twice, it was against her hand, and Nini started to almost squeal when she began to pet it. “It’s so soft!”

“And deadly,” Mimi hissed, receiving a chittering noise and a stare from Fufu's red eyes. Flower, we need to talk. That stunt you just pulled is like a bonfire on a plain. Everyone, for a long way off, will know you just did something, and people are going to come.”

Haylock sighed, shaking his head slightly. All he wanted to do was eat and get bigger.