‘I got xp. I got XP! It’s so little. I GOT XP!’ I stared at the sheet and thought back over the day. ‘Is it because I scared off the ant?’ There was nothing else that I could think of doing that would explain it. ‘Would I have gotten more if I had actually defeated the ant, instead of just scaring it away? And why is it only .4?’ My leaves rustled slightly as I focused my perception around my space. The cloud of keep away pheromones still lingered in the air. Hopefully, it would stick around a while longer, considering how much stamina I had spent on it.
‘Perhaps… I may have overreacted. Yeah? I mean, I don’t know how far into the night I am, but I am already down to thirty stamina. With luck, I don’t have to deal with anything else tonight.’ It had been a big ant. Larger than any I had seen back on Earth. Not to mention those colors! No ants that I knew of looked like that. Did that mean that it had abilities, like me, or something? ‘Or am I magical? I mean, I can make Illusions, according to the sheet.’
I refocused and roved over the sheet. Just because it was potentially powered like me, that still didn’t mean it had been an actual threat. As I continued to think about the ant, and ants in general, the memory of a nature documentary popped into my mind. It was focused on the Amazon and some of the local flora and fauna. One of the things they had gone over had been leafcutter ants. ‘But not all ants are leafcutters. Did other ants even eat plants? I mean, they aren’t caterpillars.’
I tried to recall whenever I had seen ants before. Usually, they were just wandering about and when I did recall seeing them eat, it had been the remains of people food and even dead things, like worms that had dried out on the sidewalk. Never had I seen them swarming a plant and taking pieces away.
Even if the ant hadn’t been a threat, which I wasn’t entirely convinced that wasn’t, that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be others. Deer, rodents, grasshoppers or beetles. Even a rabbit, should there be any desert rabbits around me, could be a major threat. ‘Oh god. A rabbit of all things could be a threat to me.’ Hell, something simply seeking the little water beneath me could uproot me just to get to it. ‘So, how can I defend myself?’
Pheromone Manipulation
Level 1
Effect: Can produce basic pheromones that attract or repel certain creatures within a small radius.
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Range: Limited to a small area around the plant.
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Control: At this level, control is limited to simple attraction or repulsion, not complex emotions or behaviors.
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Stamina Cost: 10 per Use
Poison Production
Level 1
Effect: Produces a toxin that causes mild numbness and irritation upon contact or ingestion.
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Range: Limited to direct contact or a very short-range dispersal around the plant.
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Control: The user can control the concentration and flow of the toxin.
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Stamina Cost: 5 per use
Out of all of my skills, these two seemed like my best defensive options. Illusions could be useful, but I was certain that was going to take practice to get a good handle on it. Which would take time I might not have. Pheromone Manipulation had ‘saved’ me once already. But what if something came along that wasn’t affected? Something that couldn’t smell or sense the pheromones? What would stop that from coming right at me.
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There are a lot of plants that use poisons and toxins to keep things away. They didn’t always kill but instead irritated or annoyed enough to be all ‘Hey! Don’t eat me!’ ‘I can work with that. Maybe I can use Growth to get some thorns to deliver the poison? Or maybe some berries, or something?’ Glancing over the Growth skill, there wasn’t anything there that said I couldn’t. ‘Am I limited on what I can grow, since I am a wisteria? The delivery method is probably going to be the most important.’ Speaking of survival, there was another skill I hadn’t explored yet.
Nutrient and Water Absorption
Level 1
Effect: The user can draw nutrients from the soil, nearby organic matter, and water sources, absorbing vital minerals and nutrients needed for growth and health.
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Rate: Absorbs and converts nutrients equivalent to 1 health point per hour, supporting overall growth and well-being.
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Additional Benefit: In nutrient-rich environments, the rate of absorption can increase, providing a more substantial health boost.
It looked like another aspect of the Photosynthesis skill. Instead of recovering stamina and mana, it was made to heal me. ‘That raises a question. Should I be using these skills more? Do I need to use them to survive?’ I knew plants needed to both draw nutrients from the ground and water around them, as well as to photosynthesis the sunlight. It was a basic function needed to survive. Like breathing.
My focus shifted from the sheet to myself. After several moments, I could say that I looked just as green and shiny as the day before. ‘Which is a good sign, right? Plants tend to show pretty quickly if they don’t have what they need. And unless this plant sprung into existence as I was put into it, it had to have the ability to survive and grow this far, right? These must be specialized skills then. I’m guessing that ant doesn’t have a skill for ‘Breathing’ or ‘Eating’, right?’
I focused between myself and my sheet several times. ‘Perhaps…’ I wasn’t injured. No wounds that I could see, and my hit points were still at one hundred out of one hundred, but… I triggered Nutrient Absorption. Just as quickly as Photosynthesis had done, I felt Nutrient Absorption kick in and was glad to see that it was also an activated passive. That satisfaction was instantly overridden with horror.
‘Da Fuck! There is nothing here!’ This soil… sand… soindy? Sail? Whatever it was, IT was so dry and barren. Vaguely, at the periphery of my roots and off to one side, I could feel the tell tail signs of moisture. Sadly, it was like licking the condensation off the side of a glass, knowing there was water inside but being unable to drink it.
With a snap that almost gave my leaves whiplash, I shut off the skill as I fought back the budding worry. With so few resources below the ground, I didn’t want to potentially drain it away faster by using the skill. Then I would end up dying of starvation. ‘Then the ants can come and eat me anyway. With my Growth skill I could chase after the moisture? With luck there may be an actual source, and not just the remnants of some rain. Oh, please let this be a garden and someone comes by to water me.’ For all I knew, that could be the last of the water and this plant body had drunk the rest just growing to this point.
I already knew I was going to need more nutrients from the ground, water as well. Photosynthesis alone wasn’t going to keep me alive. As I pounded the situation the documentary came back to mind. It had gone into detail about how plants got their nutrients. Leaves, branches, fruits and nuts that fell to the forest floor would decay and essentially fertilize the soil. Dead things too. When animals died, their remains would also decompose and feed the soil, which in turn fed the plants.
There weren’t enough leaves on my branches to start such a process. Nor would I have enough anytime soon to be able to make proper sail (I like the word and there is no one here to stop me using it). ‘I don’t need to justify myself to myself. I can use whatever words I want. Its not like there is anyone around to correct me. Oh god I’m talking to myself.’
Moving on, I was pretty certain that would also give me less nutrients back each time if I was essentially only recycling myself. Plus, who knew how long it would take for the leaves to decompose enough to actually do something to the sail to help. My mind flicked back to the ant. ‘Maybe I could get some nutrients in my soil some other way? If my poisons could maybe stun something long enough for the sun to bake it alive… no, that would take even longer. Hmm… oh. OH!’
I am a plant and there are plants that eat things. I doubted wisteria was one of them, but things like the venus flytrap or pitcher plants do exactly that. They were plants that grew in environments that either had little to no nutrients in their soil, just like me, or too much competition to be able to survive. So! They caught things and digested them directly. ‘Perhaps I can do something like that? Numb them with poison, stick ‘em, and suck ‘em dry?’ Mentally, I shuddered at the thought. Who wanted to suck the juice out of an ant? Also, could I do that if it was a cute little mouse or something?
‘I am not in danger at the moment. Still got some keep away floating around. Let’s check out my skills and figure some stuff out. Eh?’