Chapter 36 – World Seed

Aenon

The early rays of the morning sun broke through the thick canopy of trees as Aenon was stirred awake from his sleep. He stood up and stretched his body, only to find 5 sets of eyes boring down on him from beside the campfire. Each face varied in their expression and what feelings their soul gave off. The berserker, who was back in fighting condition, was curious and… excited? Aenon didn’t know why but ever since he woke up, the berserker had been eyeing him hungrily. The healer on the other hand was giving off fanboy vibes, which creeped Aenon out. On more than one occasion, the elf approached him to say thanks and followed up with a long list of questions about his spells. If not for the stern gaze from the fire mage, Aenon would not have gotten any sleep last night at all.

The dwarves’ feelings were a mix of caution and fear. Aenon got the feeling that they rather be anywhere else. He didn’t know why, but they were the least bit interested and wanted nothing to do with him. At first Aenon thought maybe he accidentally released his soul presence, but it didn’t look like that was the reason. There was obviously a story behind this, but he didn’t want to pry. The fire mage feared him too but hid it well and was maintaining a calm and respectful persona.

As for the cause of this mess, she was huddled up in a corner avoiding everyone’s gaze. Her soul was practically overflowing with guilt and fear. Aenon could feel some of the unknown soul master’s work being undone. Jenny was falling back to her old timid self and losing some confidence already. He sighed internally as he stepped forward. He was glad he had not revealed his identity yet, or it might have completely broken her mind.

“Good morning, everyone. Hope you all are rested. We have a long trek ahead of us,” he stated in a calm voice. He didn’t want to spook them any more than they already were. “But before we do, we need the address something.”

He pointedly started at Jenny, who was staring at the ground expectantly. Like she wished a tunnel would prop up from where she could escape. The other party members tensed up. Except for the fire mage, no one was angry with the girl. But they were miffed for sure. And that was the reason this had to be delt with now. They couldn’t afford another breakdown of communication.

“Do you know what you did wrong?” Aenon asked tersely before adding, “Elara.”

Everyone, including Jenny, looked up at him in shock and confusion. Eskad, even had a hint of anger leaking out.

“What?” Elara asked indignantly.

“Now, wait here a minute. You can’t talk to my wife like tha…,” Eskad started angrily but Aenon spoke over him.

“How many quests have you all done together?”

Elara blinked in confusion before responding, “Far more than this brat’s age.” She eyed Jenny with hostility.

“Good for you. And if I am not wrong, this is her first time on a mission. So, what was your first ever mission? Am I to assume it went flawlessly?” he asked sarcastically. There were multiple reasons he was doing this. First was to retain some of Jenny’s confidence. Second was to assert his position as a leading figure if he was to take these guys back to his village. It helped that they didn’t know he was younger than them, thanks to his equipment and skills. But when they do find out eventually, he needed them to know of his capability to lead. Fear would only take him so far after all.

Elara looked away in embarrassment. Aenon knew Jenny was the main person to blame here, but that didn’t absolve the fire mage of her mistake. He needed her to know that.

“Your technique and coordination are flawless; I’ll give you that. You are obviously an experienced party, which is why I don’t understand why you didn’t have any contingencies when something unexpected happened,” he said while addressing them all. “So, lets try this again. What did you do wrong?”

The fire mage looked down in shame as she responded, “I should have cleared the spores around us.”

“And why is that?” Aenon pressed on.

“Because the girl is inexperienced and doesn’t know any better.”

Looking at his wife getting upset, the Berserker lashed out, “That is not her…”

“Silence,” Aenon cut him off.

“You think that just because you rescued us, you get to humiliate us? I don’t care what my identify skill says. There is no way you are stronger than me,” the giant of a man stepped right in front of Aenon, towering over him and looking down with malice. Aenon couldn’t let this pass. If he was to be the leader of the village, he couldn’t have someone questioning his authority. He looked up directly into the giant’s eyes and activated his Abyssal Gaze.

“I am,” Aenon said coldly while releasing his soul presence at full blast. The giant, probably due to some ability of his class, resisted the active skill. But not his soul presence. The brute stumbled back in shock and fell to the ground.

But Aenon didn’t stop there. He covered the entire area in his presence and called on his pack, who immediately emerged and surrounded the now cowering party. Bane put one paw on the fallen berserker’s chest and pushed him down with a vicious growl.

“Do not mistake my silence for fear, and my mercy and kindness for weakness,” he said as he stepped closer to the man. “You are all within my Domain.”

To drive home the point, he also cast Kingdom of Darkness, plunging the party in absolute darkness. They could see nothing except the haunting grey eyes of him and his pack, while Aenon could see them clear as day. All six of them were frozen in fear. He let them experience it for a full minute before retracting his aura and the spell. They all collapsed to the ground, covered in cold sweat and shivering.

“We… are sorry,” Elara spoke in a quivering voice. “My husband is a bit hot headed, owing to his class. And sometimes forgets his place.”

“This was your first offense, so I will let it slide. But this is your first and only warning. Never attempt to threaten me again. It will end very poorly for you. Now, to give you an idea who you are dealing with let me give you a bit of information. I have taken ownership of the village you are going to. It has been renamed Reality’s Edge.”

The party exchanged glances at the revelation. Aenon couldn’t read minds, but their feelings spoke volumes. They were probably on a mission to find out what was going on. If so, this was a perfect way to advertise about his newly formed village. But he also needed to make sure only the absolute best headed over. And that they followed his rules.

“The former village head is now my vassal, and in charge of running the place. So is the guild head. I am looking for potential citizens to run the place. The detailed rules of governance will be set by Vincent, but it boils down to one simple rule of mine. Don’t be a moron,” Aenon said.

He let the facts sink in. He needed these guys to spread the word where they came from. He wasn’t expecting an influx of hundreds of citizens a day. But anything would be better than what it was now.

“Yes, sire,” Elara spoke formally. “We shall let people know when we return to our settlement after our mission. Our leadership may contact you about a potential alliance as well.”

“Very well then. Do inform them that this forest is infested with high level monsters, especially treants. I have cleared the surrounding areas around my village, but any deeper isn’t safe for low level players. There is a leaking treant dungeon that needs to be cleared to eradicate them,” Aenon stated.

The fire mage nodded but stayed silent. Aenon’s gaze then moved over to Jenny. This latest experience had further weakened her resolve. He wasn’t skillful in soul manipulation, so unfortunately all he knew was how to intimidate using it. But he needed to at least try to salvage whatever he could.

“What’s your name?” he asked Jenny. He hoped his identity would stay hidden a while longer and in case she recognized him from his soul presence, he didn’t want her blabbing about it.

“Je… Jenny, sir,” she barely managed to stutter a response.

“Take a deep breath,” he said in a slightly softer tone. “I am not going to hurt you.”

“Yes… sir.”

“Now, explain to me what you were thinking when you attacked the treant.”

“I… uh… I…,” she tried but failed to get any more words out.

Aenon needed a way to calm her down. He was wracking his head for a solution when his gaze landed on the small sapling the healer had grown yesterday. The other trees had already withered and died, but this little sapling, despite being the smallest was somehow clinging on to life. Aenon initially thought it was some sort of plant that boosted healing. But it wasn’t so. After studying it all night long, he concluded that it was being used to channel and boost the wisps and mana the healer provided. Like the staff and wand, it was like a conduit. And if so, could it also channel other wisp types, or maybe even soul energy?

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Aenon didn’t know if it could use his soul presence in a different way. Similar to whatever the Overseer or the unknown power behind Jenny’s recovery did. So far, Aenon had only used it offensively. But was it possible to use it for other things? He had so many things he wanted to test out. But for now, he needed to see if he could use his soul presence to calm people, instead of intimidating them.

He walked up to the happy little plant and kneeled next to it. He could feel the calming presence it radiated. He put a finger on its stem and tried injecting some of his mana into it. It greedily drank it all up but did nothing else. He noticed some residual mana from the healer was still lingering within the plant, so he inserted his own and expelled it gently. The moment the last of the healer’s mana was let out, he tried directing his soul presence along with his mana into it. And unlike before, something happened.

He detected something deep within the plant. Something like… a faint presence. Whatever it was, it was extremely weak and on the verge of death. Aenon pressed on till suddenly all sounds of the outside world were cut off and he was pulled in to… some place. It was similar to being in his soul space, but this new location looked different. Where his soul space was a vast empty abyss, this looked more like a world entirely made of green. But it was just as vast.

Aenon felt a gentle tugging sensation towards his left. So, he moved his consciousness in that direction. He kept moving for a long time, before finally reaching a green sphere. He touched the surface, which he guessed was the barrier to its inner soul space, with his soul. If that were true, and he had somehow managed to enter the outer soul space of another creature, he didn’t want to try breaching the wall. He still remembered how painful it was when the shard had pierced through his. And so, he was about to back off when he heard a childish voice.

“Tee hee hee.”

Aenon’s metaphorical eyes widened in surprise. He rubbed the wall softly, eliciting more giggles from whatever this was. Once again, he was in uncharted territory here. He moved around the sphere but found no point of entry. Confused on what to do next, he used his mana sense to feel what was around him. He detected a faint thread connecting his soul to something far into the distance. His own soul space, if he was guessing it right. So, he tried pulling some mana from his soul space. And surprisingly, it worked.

He gathered some mana into his soul and sent it out to the surface of the green ball. And it latched onto it like a suckling newborn. He tried resisting the flow at first, but felt the presence getting… upset? So, he let go of it and just let it suck as much as it wanted. He would cut the connection if it got too dangerous. Lucky for him it never got to that point. The thing was satisfied after draining about half his mana pool.

Aenon felt the presence was a lot stronger now, and he could feel emotions coming off it. Content, happy, curious. He felt a gentle breeze flowing out which soothed him. He was lost in the calm feeling, and before he realized it, he was back in the real world. And once again he saw the strange sight of everyone being frozen in time. Aenon looked down at the plant and it looked livelier than before. He felt a soul connection with it, just like the wolves. But it felt different somehow. With the pack he knew he was their leader. But the connection with the plant was more like a partnership.

But he did get what he was looking for. The entire area was inundated in a warm breeze that calmed and healed. Once the strange interaction was over, the others started moving again. And the elf was the first to move as he dashed and kneeled next to the sapling.

“How did you do that?’ he asked incredulously. Aenon stayed silent, making the elf elaborate further. “This is a seed from the world tree on my planet. My people carry thousands of them with us and try to make one grow into another tree. We plant them, use them in combat, or even randomly drop them at distant locations. But the seeds rarely take root. Even this one was withering. But now…”

Aenon nodded in understanding. He had a hint on what was going on. It was probably the shard’s doing. It was supposed to nurture life after all. But he couldn’t tell that to the adventuring party though.

“Can the sapling be relocated? To the village. This place is unprotected, and I would rather have it somewhere safe,” he said to deflect the question. The elf was obviously concerned about the plant.

“Yes, yes, of course. We must hurry though. World seeds grow fast, and we won’t have much time. Lady Elara, we need to move with haste. This is too important of an event for my people.”

All six of them looked far calmer now, even Jenny. Aenon could probably ask his questions now, but like the elf said, time was of the essence.

“Bane,” Aenon called out and a moment later he was standing next to Aenon. “Carry the girl. Make sure no harm comes to her. Me and the elf will move on ahead. You follow Bane. He will guide you around danger.”

Jenny visibly gulped at the approaching beast. But she stayed still, even as it picked her by the collar and started carrying her like a pup at a brisk jog. The party saw that, but didn’t dare stop or question it. They all looked back at Mave one last time before trotting along with the abyssal wolf.

The elf didn’t even see them leave, as he was too busy extracting the soil around the sapling. With extreme care he removed the plant and placed it in a pouch, holding it to his chest like a priceless treasure.

“Let’s move then,” the elf said.

Aenon nodded at him before starting to run in the direction of Reality’s Edge. He kept his pace slow at first, to let the elf keep up, but gradually increased it when he saw the elf was able to follow without problems. Soon they were dashing across the forest at breakneck speed. And after about an hour, they finally reached the settlement. Aenon went straight for the village square, which is where he intended to have the tree grow.

The reason he chose the location was because it was right at the center of the village, and next to water and the mansion. The second they landed at their destination, he cast his earth manipulation spell to tear up the ground and make the soil lose. The elf nodded a thanks and quickly got to replanting it. While the elf was busy, Aenon focused on his notifications.

Title achieved: Spirit Walker

Title achieved: Nature’s Attendant

Spirit Walker: Enter the outer soul space of a spiritual creature and establish a mutual connection with it.

+20 all stats

Nature’s Attendant: Form a link with a world seed.

+200 all stats when within 50 meters (165 feet) of the sapling.

(Note: This title doesn’t count towards your evolution quest and the stats are unaffected by any percentage modifiers.)

He didn’t know what this meant for his future growth, but he understood this was something big. And it would come with its own set of problems. But that was future him issue. For now, he focused on what the elf was doing. He had finished planting the seed and was now casting some kind of spell around it. Aenon saw the elf move mana in a dizzyingly complex patterns and pull out an assortment of items as he did so. The weird dance didn’t end for an entire hour and when it did, the elf collapsed in exhaustion.

“Wh… at? Why isn’t… it working?” Mave asked in between labored breaths.

“What is supposed to happen?” Aenon asked as he stood next to him.

“The ward is supposed to link to me and assign me its protector. I need to protect the seed at all costs.”

Aenon observed the mana pattern the elf had laid out. It was too complex for him to understand what it did, but there was one point that clearly stood out. There was a break in the pattern, like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle was missing. Aenon noticed the elf’s wand had pattern at its tip, but it looked different than the hole. The elf was failing because he was trying to fit an incompatible piece in. So Aenon moved closer and studied the pattern more closely. He gathered some mana at his fingertips and started to mould it based on what he felt was missing.

“What are you doing? Don’t. This is very delicate…,” the elf said something in the background. But Aenon shut him and the entire world out as he focused on the task at hand.

It took him multiple tries before he was satisfied with what he had. It looked complete, and he was sure it would fit. But when he moved his hand to fit it in, he heard a voice. The same childish voice from before.

“Please. Don’t.”

Aenon backed off instantly. That voice was filled with sorrow and fear. It had come from the sapling through their link.

“Why? What is it?” he asked mentally.

“Pain. Chains,” came the reply.

Aenon was taken aback by the response. He studied the entire pattern more closely. He was unable to understand most of it, but some parts gave him a bad feeling. He had felt it before, when he had broken the chains around his own soul, and it infuriated him.

“How can I help,” he asked, not expecting a response. But it did.

“Friend? Help?” replied the childish voice.

“Yes,” Aenon responded with resolve. A burst of images assaulted his eyes, and an insane amount of knowledge was dumped into his mind. Aenon groaned in pain but stayed steadfast. By the end of it, he didn’t even understand 1% of the knowledge. It was just too much. But it was safely locked away in his brain, like an image seared directly on his brain.

But the one part he did understand was how this spell worked, and it was a truly insidious creation. It would not limit the growth of the tree, but it would siphon its potential bit by bit. To the tree it would be like having its soul peeled. Aenon was aghast at the implications, and what it meant for the poor creature. He immediately set about wreaking havoc on the spell form.

He broke it apart based on the guidance from the information the young sapling provided and started rewriting the whole damn thing. He retained the parts that granted protection, for whoever made this did want to protect their precious resource. But rest everything was torn down. In a moment of inspiration Aenon added a few more things here and there, not fully understanding what he did, but knowing it would be beneficial to the tree. It took him almost six hours to finish his work, during which he completely forgot about the outside world.

And when he was done, the spell form looked more complex than even he could have imagined. But just like before, there was a piece missing. But this time no matter what he did, he couldn’t create that missing piece. He could create half of it.

“Friend. Need. This?”

Aenon saw a thin thread of mana fly out from the sapling and create the other half of the piece that he couldn’t. He finally understood what it was. It was a key. The earlier version was a key to a lock to trap the creature. But this version had a key to a door that could be opened from either side. It was only then that Aenon noticed that the spell form engulfed him as well. But in a separate area. He had somehow created it around himself without noticing.

This version of the spell would allow them both to tap into the other’s potential. As equals. And with consent. Aenon now understood, this bond was like the one with his pack. Where both parties would benefit from each other. Aenon obliged and added his half of the pattern. The piece complete, he slotted it in.

A raw burst of power coursed through his body and soul. He felt connected to the sapling intimately and finally understood why its soul resonated with his. His soul craved companionship of a pack, and so it was like a wolf’s. But with the tree, it was a far deeper desire. The desire to be free, to grow unbounded.

As the surge of power subsided, the sapling understood him the same way he did it. It spoke the words that came from deep within their souls. It was a declaration to the whole world.

“Friends grow together. We are unchained. We are unfettered.”