Before dawn.
The rain pittered and pattered against the roof of the house as I drifted back into consciousness. James was still peacefully asleep. No boxy, not yet.
There were more groans outside, and splashing footsteps in the wet ground. splat, Splat, SPLAT. Louder and louder, closer and closer.
Thud!
A sound at the boards replacing the door, three more; Silence, then more moans and groans.
James jumped from his slumber and grabbed the plastic trowel he had resting of the coffee table; I also readied myself for a battle with the undead.
Silence, then more banging, and the boards gave.
I summoned my arrows as a pale green hand went through the thin boards where the door was. James lept forward into battle as a boxy informed us that combat had officially begun.
!!!NOTICE!!!
Your party has engaged in combat with Zombie grunt ×5,Zombie Mage ×1
Six undead total, one different from the rest. The mage wore shabby blue robes that looked to be tattered from centuries of use. Its eyes had the blue glow of a system box that contrasted against the pupilless eyes of the other undead. A green glow enveloped its staff which had a crimson ruby adorning its top. Spells, great
Three surrounded James while two rushed at me. I readied my arrows. Two arrows hit one in each of its eyes, while the other kept charging, unfazed by the death of its comrade. My second round missed and it reached me. The foul intruder smacked my plastic pot with its drenched hand and I went flying off the dining table.
####WARNING#### YOU HAVE SUSTAINED 7.6 DAMAGE! YOU HAVE SUSTAINED DAMAGE GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO HALF OF YOUR MAX HP. YOUR VITALITY IS PUSHED TO ITS LIMIT!
Another batch of needle covered arrows. This time hitting the intruder in the groin. Blue blood, curious.
Pain. Plants aren't meant to feel this. I knew that at heart. Pain is unbearable. Without James at least.
It stung everywhere. In the deepest parts of my roots, steepest of my surface, my water storage, EVERYWHERE.
The pain faded into the background. The battle was not quite over. Luckily, the second undead did not collapse on me. It instead fell backwards clumsily as it lost whatever blue substance stood in for blood. It lost all light in its being. Light, green light. The mage charged a green aura around the crimson gem on its staff as a screech resounded through the house.
A spell, an ugly one at that, aimed straight at James. The mage's allies flinched, giving him an opening for a free strike. Another down. James had minor cuts and bruises, some bleeding, some scabbed over, the ones from yesterday. He didn't look so good and I was nearly out of mana. My own injuries temporarily decreased my mana cap to 25. I lost a whole volley of arrows because of that. I had one left and then I was done. I readied my last hope as James continued fighting. They were off just before the screech reached a climax. One arrow hitting the gemstone on the staff and the other puncturing the mage's skull.
Mana Deficiency. Everything went black.
—–‐
I awoke later in the day, the afternoon to be exact, and the undead were all gone. James was moving about the house doing menial tasks. He swept what remained of the intruders (something similar to ashes) into a dustpan.
He seemed to have learned the use of the heartstones. He took one into his right hand and it dissolved from bottom to top, as if a portal to the void opened beneath it, and James was ever so slightly more powerful.
He had also set me on the table I was on before I had a great fall, like a certain fat egg. I checked my status boxy to check on my HP:
SUCCY STATS
Name: Succy
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Race: Integrated Succulent (Unique)
Age: 4.5
Class: Almost there
Level: 3 | XP 19/1000
HP: 19.6/20
Mana: 36/36
Stamina: N/A
ASP: Nature, Succulent, Wind
Core Stats
END: 19
VIT: 4
DEX: 4
PRIK: 7
INT: 18
WIS: 18
Skills
sp: 0
[Fermosynthesis]
Your cells perform Fermentation and Photosynthesis simultaneously, making 2.1× more xp than Photosynthesis could alone.
Skill Nature: Passive , Nature, Plant, Succulent
[Observe]
Get basic information about objects and individuals. Scales based upon the skill's level and your familiarity with the target.
Skill Nature: SYSTEMATIC , Active, Common
[PRIKARROW]
Summon an amount of arrows covered in needles. Amount of arrows based upon your PRIK points/2 | DMG based upon INT
Skill Nature: Active, Succulent, Battle
I felt better, as my HP bar said I was almost fully healed. Possibly the work of James. Always way too kind to me.
James began planting seeds in the empty pots. Cucumber, Squash, Poppies, Strawberries, and several other miscellaneous plants. They probably weren't all in season, but a convenient boxy fixed that problem.
=÷×+CONGRATS+×÷=
[GardenMancer] James Croft can now upgrade their dwelling from [Basic House] to [GreyHouse]
[GreyHouse]
A building that is similar to a GreenHouse, but has Necro magic along with the default Nature magic to better fit the [GardenMancer] build.
Y/N
"That's an obvious hell to the yeah!", James was excited to say the least.
GreyHouse Benefits
All Necro magic users get 1.25× damage with Necro spells while residing in the GreyHouse.
All Nature magic users get 1.25× damage with Nature spells.
All plants receive +10% extra Mana and HP regeneration.
The resident [GardenMancer] is granted +30% synergy with plant type party members and receives +10% Stamina, Mana, and HP regeneration speed.
GreyHouse Upkeep
The GreyHouse needs a condensed zombie heartstone to gather and build up Necrotic.
Consume 4 Zombie Heartstones to produce Condensed Zombie Heartstone?
Y/N
"Sure"
A light grayish green aura enveloped the entire home as I felt a warm rush permeate in and around me like the summer breeze.
!!!Success!!!
Harvestable product detected. Putting [Integrated Succulent] Succy to sleep and commencing harvest of [Cactus Ale]
Everything went dark.