I woke up in the morning with a raw throat and a desperate need for water. So, I stumbled into the kitchen, searching for the water pitcher. To my surprise, both my in-laws were in the dining room, which was essentially a kitchen table between the living room and kitchen. They wore grim expressions until they noticed me, and then their faces transformed into smiles.
"Good morning," I said as I grabbed an energy drink and a cup of water.
"Good morning," they replied.
"Are you guys all set for today? I want to check on some friends. I forgot to mention that both of you are professionals. If you work on something you have extensive knowledge of, the system will recognize your skills and improve them accordingly. If your woodworking skills are good enough, you might even reach the student or adept ranks. Helen, I think if you teach a class or an individual, the same could happen to you."
"Have a great day, and please stay safe. The roads are dangerous with all the monsters and thugs. By the way, thanks for teaching us and coming all the way down here for us," they said.
"No problem. It's the least I could do before I leave for Urza," I replied.
I headed out to find my friends. Checking my CHR, I noticed something that shocked me. It turned out that when I combined the three titles and calculated the percentage boost, it was lower than the bonuses I would get from having the titles separately. After the initial shock, I realized that this would become incredibly powerful down the line. A 10% increase was nothing to scoff at.
As I ran through the city of North Hollywood, the damage looked severe. Some houses remained untouched while others were devastated. Curious, I knocked on a door to inquire why certain houses were safe. The first few interactions went as follows:
Knock, knock, knock. "Hello, my name is Havoc. I would like to ask you some questions about your house and why it has been safe from monster attacks."
"If you're not with the government, I don't want to talk to anyone," came the response.
It was only at the third house that I found someone willing to talk. As I knocked on the door of a small Craftsman-style home painted in a rich lavender color with white trim, a smiling Indian grandmother answered.
"Hello, my name is Havoc. I would like to ask you some questions about your house and why it has remained safe from monster attacks," I said with a smile and a wave of my hand.
"Hello there, my name is Prisha. That sounds fine. What would you like to know?" she replied warmly.
"First, how and why have the monsters been skipping your house? Secondly, would you be willing to trade that information with me? I have people I want to protect while I am away," I asked.
"Oh, that. I can give you that information, no problem. But it won't do you any good without the spell to make it. In my home country of India, we have this statue that is said to keep the beasts and monsters of the night away. The statue is of the god Durga. She is worshiped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Devi and is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities. I pray to her for protection and offer a small offering of mana, and the house stays protected," she explained.
"Oh, really? That's an interesting subject, especially considering the changes in our world. Have you obtained a class for praying to this Durga? Did I say that right?" I expressed my keen interest in the subject.
"Oh, yes, I did, as a matter of fact. I obtained the class of Pandits, which is what a Hindu priest is called," she said, beaming a smile that filled my heart with joy.
"Hmm, is the prayer a skill, or is it linked to the statue? Have you tried protecting other people's houses?" I inquired further.
"It is a spell called Durga's Blessing. All I have to do is place a charm that symbolizes Durga, charge it with the spell, and tie it to the house and the people it is protecting. Then the people have to offer some mana in the morning or at night. The spell keeps all monsters below level 25 away and makes it unpleasant for monsters around that level. It's said that this skill will increase based on its own level," she explained, anticipating my next question.
"By that look, you know what I'm going to ask, so I'll get straight to the point. What would you like in exchange for casting the spell on my in-laws' house? I have money and items, and I'm also willing to do something for you if you need it," I proposed.
"I can do it, but I would need help getting there. I would also appreciate your assistance in tending to my garden. I'm getting old, and my husband passed away a year ago. Normally, I have some kids in the area to help me, but with the monsters and fighting people, I don't feel safe being outside," she shared.
I burst into laughter, laughing for over 30 seconds. Prisha looked at me like I was a mad lad, so I quickly reassured her with my next words. "I can do you one better. I am an Arcane Arborist. Before you ask, it's a druid-based class. I have a spell that will help your garden grow faster and stay healthy for six months. What do you say? Do we have a deal?" I said, grinning like a fool.
"Then, my boy, you have a deal. Since we're here, why don't you help me first, and then we can head over to your house?" she agreed with a smile.
So, I followed Prisha through her modest house, adorned with family pictures and artwork from India. We reached the backyard, which was spacious and filled with planters, ceramic plants, and a raised bed encircling the entire yard. At the center stood an enormous orange tree, nearly half the size of the 600 sq ft backyard. Some of the tree's limbs were supported by wooden posts intricately carved to resemble men holding them up.
"Wow, I mean just wow. I take it you pay the kids in oranges," I joked, struck dumb by the tree's immense size. It had to be over 100 feet tall and 300 feet wide.
"Haha, yes I do. The yield of this tree is too much for me to handle alone. On a really good day, a couple of kids pick the oranges and take them home. And their parents come to harvest them so they can sell them. They produce some of the sweetest oranges I've ever seen," she said, her voice filled with pride.
"I can see that you'd like me to explain what I'm doing as I work. I wouldn't want to distract you," I said.
"No, not at all. I always like to talk while I work in the yard. Come, I will explain as I work," she replied. I started working on the yard, using my skill Commune with Nature, which allowed me to sense the plants and understand their needs. Once the land was in balance, I used a spell to solidify the changes. I was about halfway through the process when I made an interesting discovery.
Inside one of the planter beds, I found something leaking poison into the surrounding plants. Using my Contour Nature, I reshaped the ground around the oddity and found a ball-shaped object with a leaking crack. I picked it up and warned Prisha not to let the liquid touch her skin.
"I wonder what this could be," she said, intrigued.
I found similar imbalances in two more planter boxes, removing the orbs from each. Not every planter box contained one, but I discovered three more with the same objects. With the planter boxes completed, I moved on to the raised bed, finding no more orbs there. It was time to focus on the tree.
The tree revealed some interesting things. It seemed to suffer from something object deep underground, it also struggled to distribute nutrients to the far ends of its branches.
"What would you like to do about these two tree limbs? They are straining to receive nutrients, causing the tree to suffer," I asked, indicating the branches supported by posts.
"Balancing the land could help those branches in the end," she suggested.
"That's a good point. I hadn't considered that until after I balanced the land," I acknowledged.
"Alright, let's see what's at the bottom of this tree. Could you bring me a wheelbarrow so I have somewhere to store the dirt?" I requested.
"What are you planning to do with the dirt?" she asked, concerned.
"I'm going to use my Contour Nature spell to remove the dirt directly down in a straight line to the object. This won't affect the tree's roots, but if something is damaging the roots, we should address it immediately. I could ask the tree, unguided, to move its roots around the problem, but it still wouldn't solve the issue if there's a poison leak or something similar," I explained, wearing a troubled expression.
"It's going to be a lot of dirt and a lot of work. I couldn't ask you to do so much," she said.
"No, not at all. It'll be a decent amount of dirt, but not too much work, just a lot of straining as I cast the spell over and over again. You don't have to ask me to do this; I want to. This tree has been through too much to let it die from something that I can fix," I reassured her.
I cast Contour Nature, creating a 3 ft circle that went 2 ft deep. I could maintain it for 4 seconds before running out of mana, but I managed to reach a depth of 8 ft. Then I sat down on the ground and waited for my mana to regenerate, which took about 10 minutes at my current rate of mana regeneration (30 per minute). During this time, Prisha brought out a glass of watermelon juice, and we engaged in some idle conversation about the mechanics of my spell. I explained to her that I could shape soil, plants, wood, and stone, and I expressed my hope of gaining a reduction in cost or discovering another type of material I could manipulate once I reached level 15 in my spell.
After 10 minutes had passed, I resumed digging. It was about another 6 feet down when I discovered the cause of the problem—a bright purple stone, around 2 ft by 3 ft in size. I could sense the magic resonating within the stone. It didn't feel bad; it just felt fuzzy. I turned to Prisha and said, "I don't know what it is, but I can remove it. Just give me a moment to get the tree to undo its roots wrapped around it." I sent out my thoughts to the tree, requesting it to release its roots from around the rock. As I started the process, I heard a gasp from Prisha, followed by a whisper in my ear, "Are the roots moving? The upper ones seem like they're writhing."
"Yes, I'm asking the tree to remove its roots from around the rock. It must have grown over it before the stone changed due to the saturation of mana when our world went through the transformation. Once the tree is done moving its roots, I'll climb down there and pull the rock out," I explained.
It took a little while for the tree to remove its roots. Once the roots were free, I slid into the hole and tapped the rock with my hand, using the "Inventory" command in my thoughts, hoping that my plan would work. It didn't register that I was holding the rock, so I had to cast Contour Nature to move the dirt around the rock, allowing me to lift it slightly. This enabled me to place it into my ring, securely storing the rock. With the rock safely in my ring, I began the arduous task of climbing out of the hole. However, I soon remembered that I could shape the ground into handholds, making the climb much easier. As I filled back in the hole, I noticed that I would be short a large rocks worth of dirt, so I collected some dirt from other places with the wheelbarrow to fill in the hole.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
With that done, I moved on to the final piece, trying to figure out what was odd about this tree. Through my senses and communication with the tree, I got the impression that someone had spent a lot of time tending to it. Throughout the years, the tree grew, never knowing it could be more but knowing it was cared for. Now, with the influx of mana, the tree was on the verge of becoming something greater. I sensed that the tree had been here for over 100 years and it wanted to repay the family that had taken care of it for so long. It had a desire to be something special for them, although it didn't know exactly what to do.
Turning to Prisha, I shared the impressions I received from the tree and asked her, "Do you have a wooden statue of your god? If so, I have an idea."
"Yes, I have a spare statue, but why do you want it?" she asked, curious.
"I think I can tie the spell and the statue into this tree's evolution. Before you ask, I didn't know trees could evolve. I think this is going to be epic. Now, go and bring the wooden statue," I said, excitement bubbling within me.
A minute later, Prisha returned with the statue and incense in hand. I had been waiting to cast my Nature's Bounty spell until the tree was fully ready. I placed the statue between the crevasse of two branches and asked Prisha to cast a spell on the statue. She did so, reciting an incantation in a language I couldn't begin to understand. Once the incantation was finished, I approached the tree and relayed the following intentions: to absorb the wood and incorporate the spell. Reaching out with Commune with Nature, I felt the land and the plants light up as before, but now they needed a catalyst for the change. Not knowing what would happen or what to expect, I finished by casting Nature's Bounty on the land, turning off my Commune with Nature skill as I completed the spell.
The whole land glowed for a moment, and then the tree began to emit a bright glow, which gradually dimmed. A ripple started at the roots and spread up the trunk—an unhurried but unstoppable ripple that left behind a deep emerald green bark resembling polished jade. When the ripple reached the statue, it briefly flashed, and then the statue vanished without a trace. The wave continued, reaching the branches, where leaves and fruit were transformed. Transparent emerald leaves, resembling glittering gems, replaced the original foliage, and the fruit took on a pristine orange hue, the deepest shade of orange I’ve ever seen. Finally, the ripple reached the posts supporting the limbs, and they too flashed, changing from their original purpose of propping up the branches to becoming statues of children playing. The wooden features twisted and took on a more human and child-like appearance. And then, it was complete.
I heard a gasp followed by sobbing from Prisha, who was on her knees, looking at the statues playing on the branches. I approached her, concerned, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Through a knot in her throat, she managed to say, "The one on the end over there," pointing at a little boy statue holding a beetle on the branch. "That's my dead son from when he was a little boy. And that one over there is my other son. That one is my daughter. They all loved to play on the tree when they were younger."
Now that I'm looking closer, I realize that all the statues on the tree are of children, and there are more statues than there were posts. As I pan my gaze around, searching for further changes, I suddenly gasp. There is the outline of a face in the trunk of the tree. Intrigued, I walk closer to the tree and discover that there is more than just a face. I see the statue that served as the anchor for the spell embedded in the trunk, just beneath the surface, as if the tree grew around it. The contrasting colors of the notifications catch my eye, but I decide to wait until Prisha is emotionally stable before reading them. I make my way back to her as she picks herself up and brushes off the grass.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry if this brought up any painful memories. Would you like a moment alone?" I inquire with concern.
"Yes, please, I'll be fine. I just need a minute. It's been too long since I've seen my youngest boy. Regardless of the pain, thank you so much. This is something special. I just need a minute. Again, thank you," she says, her smile warm but her eyes filled with tears.
Understanding her need for privacy, I walk to the side of the yard and start reading through my notifications.
Congratulations! You have restored the Magical Equilibrium of an area, deepening the Cosmic connection.
Magical Equilibrium: Deepens the area's connection to magic. Mana regeneration increases for friendlies by 10% and enhances the magic potential and potency by 15%. The effect lasts for 3 months, but due to this being tied to an Arcane tree, the effect is permanent as long as the tree stands.
Congratulations! You have completed the quest "Peer into the Arcane." You have been awarded a Class skill: Arcane Sight. Arcane Sight allows you to see the flows of magic. This skill enables you to perceive magic in everything, from rocks and plants to items, objects, and even the wind. You can observe the currents of magic, including vortexes and recently opened rift locations within the past 24 hours.
Congratulations! You have been awarded the quest "Glimpse into the Void."
Quest Name: Glimpse into the Void.
Difficulty: Grand.
Quest Description: Find an Area of Natural Untethered Void and reconnect it to the system.
Type: Class.
Rewards: Class spell - Void Entanglement.
Congratulations! Your spells Nature's Bounty and Contour Nature have both gained 5 levels.
Congratulations! Your skill Commune with Nature has gained 10 levels for creating an Arcane tree.
Congratulations! Your skill Commune with Nature has reached Novice rank. Rewards: 1000 XP and a Novice rank bonus: Essence Link. Essence Link allows the user to establish a connection with a plant or being of nature. It can be used to communicate through language if the being or plant can form words. It can also be used to form deep spiritual links with a chosen tree or plant.
Congratulations! Your spell Contour Nature has reached Novice rank. Rewards: 1000 XP and a Novice rank bonus: Seismic Perception. With Seismic Perception, the caster can send their senses into the ground beneath them, similar to echolocation. They can sense rocks, metal, objects, water, and cavities. They can also detect if the land is poisonous or toxic. This ability costs 1 mana per second for a range of 1 foot by 5 feet centered on the user. Both parameters can be increased by increasing the cost, with a 1 to 1 ratio for depth and a 1 to 5 ratio for width. Stone detection costs 50 times the base cost.
Congratulations! You have created an Arcane Tree of Protection and Equilibrium.
Arcane Tree of Protection and Equilibrium: This tree has two active effects. Magical Equilibrium is permanent, and Durga's Blessing is permanent. The effect of Durga's Blessing has been enhanced, now keeping monsters level 50 at bay within a range of 5 miles, while stronger monsters are attacked by the tree within a range of 2.5 miles. This tree will gradually become sentient over time. The fruit of this tree will take on the aspects of the active effects, providing a mana regeneration increase of 10% and a magic potency increase of 15%.
Congratulations! You have completed a Hidden Namesake Quest. As a result, you have gained one level and acquired the spell Arcane Blooming.
Arcane Blooming:
Mana Points: 150
Casting Time: 10 seconds
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Active: Increases the growth rate and size of plants or animals. Plants grow five times faster based on type, while animals and people gain 1.5 times the highest attribute and constitution for 1 minute. However, this effect leaves them weakened for the same duration.
Passive: Uses the caster's mana to form a bond with the targeted plant or animal, allowing for insight into the target.
Level bonus: Increases buff time by 5 seconds per level.
Rarity: Epic
"Holy shit, that was a slew of notifications," I exclaim to no one in particular. My mind is overwhelmed by the implications of these gains. Reflecting on the completed quest, "Peer into the Arcane," I ponder whether it was the rock I pulled out or the orbs that made the difference. As i look around the garden i see signs of the balancing every plant has a Vibrancy. Wondering if I could see a difference activate my skill Arcane sight. The flow of mana looked health enough.
Curiosity piqued, I open my inventory to retrieve the rock, but as I drop it on the ground, I suddenly scream, "My eyes! Why have you blinded me? All I did was take you out of the ground." After a moment of feeling the connection between my eyes and skull, I gaze at the magic flows with my newly acquired skill, Arcane Sight. The ethereal azure streams of wispy smoke captivate my attention, but I have to look away after a minute as my eyes begin to dry out from not blinking. Satisfied, I store the rock and orbs before heading over to Prisha.
"It turned out even more incredible than I could have imagined," I say in awe of what we had accomplished.
"I can never repay you. This means more to me than you will ever know. That face on the trunk, that's my husband. He loved this tree. He would dote on it like a fussy grandfather," she shares, shaking her head in disbelief. I proceed to inform her about everything regarding the tree and the potential developments.
She responds with shock in her voice, "So it might learn to talk and think. I wonder if my god could communicate through it in the future." Left momentarily speechless, I look at the tree until she resumes speaking.
"I received a notification saying that I can turn this into a shrine to my god, and it will grow to have more boons," she says.
"That is amazing! If it could grow like that, I don't see why your god could not communicate with you through it in time, assuming the god can interact with this world in that way," I say.
"I hate to work wonders and run, but I did want to check on some friends today. Also, I am going to take the orbs and rock I found. I think it would be safer if these were not lying around, and I would like to experiment with them at a later date. I want to find out why the rock and orbs were toxic to the plants. This turned out better then i could have imagined the protection extending to 5 mile cover the in-laws house. This means that they will be protected for a while. How about i drive you over so that you can meet them?” I ask.
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot. That was the whole reason for this. You are a good son-in-law, making sure they are safe. Yes, you can take anything you want. As a gift, I would give you my house but i Insist that you take some fruits for the road. Yes, we can go now. I just have to turn this into a shrine before I leave." she replies while piling 30 fruits into my arm. I laugh and slide them into storage.
"No problem at all. I will head to the front yard and wait by the gate, practicing spells on the street. Before I go to the front, let me add you to my friends list so you can contact me if anything happens or if you need help," I say, extending my right hand for a handshake. She clasps my hand and says, "Anything you need, you come see Grandma, and I will sort it out for you. This gift is like having a piece of family back, so you are like family to me now."
Touched by her words, tears well up in my eyes as I respond, "Yes, Grandma. I really missed having one. Thank you."
Then I head to the front yard, where I practice my new skill of turning on and off rapidly, closely examining things. Before I know it, Prisha is ready, and we head out back to the in-laws' house.
The trip back is short, only three blocks away, and uneventful. We arrive back at the house, where I explain who Prisha is and what is going to keep the house safe. Then, I ask the in-laws if they can walk or drive Prisha home for me, explaining that it took longer than I was hoping, and I really needed to check up on my friend. This whole experience has taken up four hours from when I left to when I came back. I assure them that I will explain everything later. We worked wonders in the yard—it was a transcendent experience—but my friend might need me. With that, I head out to find my friends.
Thirty minutes later, I am standing outside a burned-out shell of a house where my friend Mallory lived. I knock on the neighbor's door to gather information about what happened. They open the door a crack and whisper to me, "Monsters came on the first day and tore through the house. There was screaming and shouts of pain, then nothing until the army came and put the monster down. They found her dead and half-eaten."
I listen in dread as they relay the information. I thank them and leave, with words of condemnation on the tip of my tongue, but they die down as I contemplate the situation. I feel a surge of anger towards those frightened people who didn't want to risk their lives defending her against a monster on the day magic became real.
After 3 whole days of traveling around I find that Out of the 25 friends' houses I visited, only 6 were confirmed to be alive. However, all 6 of them were traveling, either on vacation or out of the country. I tried calling each of them, but no one answered. With a heavy heart, I made my way back home.
The night of the 3 day, I sat with Richard and Helen, going over their plans for after I leave for Radigar tomorrow. It's time for me to head out, find my wife, and explore the new world. The thought of seeing my love, even after such a short time, fills me with anticipation. Before I go, I realize that I never balanced their yard, so I quickly do that. Nothing significant happens; it's easier than it has ever been. I also try out the new Seismic Perception aspect of my Contour Nature spell. It feels different, more like feeling something with my eyes closed rather than seeing. I can sense the composition of the objects beneath me. There's nothing notable in the ground—just pipes, clay fragments, and wires. The wires give a tingling sensation, indicating the flow of energy through them.