With the determination to find himself a home, Oscar sat down, crossing his legs and leaning onto a tree trunk.
“If I can make my own home, maybe I can meet that old man again and I can ask him about my identity. And also...”
He looked up toward the tree branches where birds were happily feeding their chicks. It was still in the middle of spring and their eggs were just hatched, so it was in the middle of their busy time to raise their children.
Somehow my heart yearns for this kind of thing. A home and a warm family. I wonder if I can have one.
He had no memory of his past. And in the first place, he was not sure what he was either. Maybe, he might have a family somewhere. Maybe they were also searching for him. Still, he didn’t have a single clue leading to his past besides the old man whom he had met in his dream.
“If it wasn’t just a dream. According to him, he will meet me if I make myself a home, but what kind of home do I want?”
He closed his eyes and tried to use his brain.
“Firstly, there needs to be water. Water is the source of life and I would want it in daily usage. Next is a steady shelter to fend off strong beasts and covering me from storms. And lastly…”
He looked at his own hands and then he lifted his head up looking toward the trees.
“That place shouldn’t be far from people so that I may find some clue about that old man.”
If his memory was correct, that old man was also similar to him, standing on 2 legs and having no fur except hairs on his head.
It was unfortunate for Oscar since his memory and knowledge of the world was still broken and muddy. He knew everything about a forest including names of every species within it, but he knew next to nothing about civilized races.
As the result, he could only describe himself and the old man as such without knowing a proper name to call.
“Neh everyone~ Do you guys know somewhere close to a water source, have a strong shelter, and close to places where people walking on 2 legs live?”
Sadly, the answer was “no.”
The reason was the fact that trees can’t move, so they barely knew anything about the places where their roots couldn’t reach. As for the birds and squirrels, they rarely traveled too far away from their home because they have their babies to care for.
“Well, that can’t be helped. Now I wonder if it’s possible to speak with other trees in the forest from this spot.”
He placed his hands on the ground and closed his eyes. He tried to feel the entire forest from his palm. His sensation stretched as if his hands grew uncountable roots which stretched to no end.
Trees have no mouth or ears. They communicate through their root contact. Several trees in the same area entangling their roots together forms into a “tree community.” That is how trees normally send words to each other.
However, this tree community doesn’t stretch infinitely. The longer the distance is, the severer the message will become broken. It is similar to the way “telephone game” works.
Each tree has their own will. If a tree on an edge of a forest wants to send a message to the tree on the other edge, it must pass the message through several tree communities. With how long the distance is, the message would become broken to the point of unreadable.
However, it’s not entirely impossible for a forest god such as Oscar to talk to the trees located several kilometers away from him.
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That was because Oscar was using his authority as a forest god with the help of fungus colonies.
In this forest, the fungus could healthily grow everywhere especially underneath the fertile soil. They had a weak will, but they strongly connected to each other like a massive spider web that covered the entire forest.
A fungal colony has extremely low intelligence even when compared to a small plant. When he tried to talk with them through his [Mind link], they never could send back even a single word although his power should surely connect the link between him and them.
However, they were a perfect communication system for Oscar. With how low their will was, he could order them to pass his messages to a faraway place without damaging the content inside. And thanks to them, he could easily contact any single tree in this forest with ease.
“Thank you, everyone. I think I now understand the shape of this forest, more or less."
He stood up.
According to what he learned, there were quite a number of places that met his criteria. So what he had to do was just going to the closest one.
“Ah… I almost forgot it. How should I deal with these gifts?”
Next to him was a pile of fruits and herbs, the gifts from his new friends.
It was impossible for his thin body to bring a huge baggage around But it was also a bad idea to leave them behind given that they were literally body parts of his new friends. He would want to avoid doing that.
He looked back at the trees.
Since the trees could move if he orders, maybe if he asked them to carry the luggage for him… was impossible.
Even though the trees could move according to his will, they were still normal trees. Their movements were limited and moving too much as a normal tree can permanently damage their roots. And even if they were turned into treants, a treant’s speed was still as slow as a turtle. Their nature was unsuitable for traveling a long distance.
“Umu… what If I neatly tie these things up? Will they be easier to carry?”
He put a stack of herbs on both hands and squeezed them into a thinner stack. But strange enough, there was not a single leaf left inside when he opened his palm.
“Eh!?”
Shocked by the strange phenomenon, he looked around for the herb he was holding just now. However, they just simply vanished without a trace.
“I swear that they were still here just now…”
He once again repeated what he had done and once again did the herbs vanish.
“Just where did they went to?”
He then tried his third attempt. But this time he was extremely careful and observant.
“Wow, they just sank into my palm!”
Or rather it’s the shadow created by folding his palm.
Oscar had unconsciously unlocked and used [Shadow Storage], a skill related to shadow element.
He repeated his experiments a few times and quickly understood what had happened. When he realized that it was actually his shadow not his palm that sank the herbs in, it didn’t take him long before he learned to retrieve it back.
“It must be related to what the old man said about my antlers containing darkness power. Anyway, I will just dump everything inside my shadow for now and get going.”
After that, it was a trivial matter to walk around the mountain of gifts and absorbed everything into his shadow. And when everything was packed, it was time for his journey to begin!
“I wonder what will the first destination look like~”
Skills received: [Share perception], [Shadow storage]
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Skill encyclopedia: [Mind link]
Type: branch skill
[Mind link] is a skill derived from [Authority] set skills. It works by creating a “link” or “connection” between the skill holder and the subjects under his jurisdiction.
This connection can be used to communicate; however, it works differently from a skill called [Telepathy]. Using [Mind link], the skill holder can transmit a message between his subjects by conveying its pure meaning without using wording language. With this method, the communication becomes faster and can break through the barrier of language and knowledge.
Another notable difference between [Mind link] and [Telepathy] is the ability to convey emotions and sensual feelings from one end to the other. If the skill holder connects the link to a subject who is currently angry, he would realize the degree of rage in the subject.
The only cons for [Mind link] is that the skill holder can’t connect the link if the other end is too far away. However, if he connects the link beforehand, the connection will not be broken through distance unless the skill holder wishes to.