Gladesbale Grove [druid, litrpg, town building, slice of life, cozy]

Influencing elements with mana and doing anything useful with that ability were two things separated by a gulf of skill. Rud didn't expect to bridge that gap anytime soon, but having his foot in the door made him feel better. Not that he had spent much time wanting to get his foot in that door. But the whims of a druid needed sating, no matter how fleeting those whims might be. Both the nut and berry business would be taking off soon, with or without vacuum sealing.

Major took his job of collecting hazelnuts and berries more seriously than Rud had anticipated. He now seemed obsessed with making his process more efficient. At least this freed the druid up for other tasks, like tending to the lightbulb plants. Expanding that collection out would lend a neat atmosphere to the path running through the grove. It didn't hurt that this would increase both his Plant Care skill and his Construction Magic skill.

"Closer to Rank 1 by the day," Rud said, rubbing his hands together. With a few hours of daylight left, and nothing for him to do with his trail mix project, he planned to get ahead of the lightbulb project.

Rud arrived at the grove's edge to the east, near the logging endeavor. Using his Shape Plant spell, he pulled some material from the raised road's side and formed a simple planter, re-Lacquering it. He scooped dirt with his hands, filling the planter until he was confident the lightbulb plant could survive. Watering the plants might be a problem, but he couldn't just place them in the ground itself. There were too many sections of the road that were raised, and most areas wouldn't have access.

"Squirrels," Rud said, looking over his shoulder as he worked. He toggled his Clear Communication upgrade and asked again.

"Nuts?" a squirrel asked from the tree.

Rud dug into his bag, removing a hazelnut only to split it into shards. He tossed one on the ground, watching as a single red squirrel descended. "Anything interesting going on?"

"Nuts!" the squirrel shouted, rushing for a fleck of hazelnut. "Delicious."

Animal Communication was a hard skill to level. Rud planned to strike up conversations with the mundane animals within the grove as he worked, earning experience for both Construction Magic and Animal Communication. It wasn't the best plan, but it was a plan.

"See anything fun?" Rud asked. The squirrel had retreated back to the tree, nibbling on the nuts he had taken.

"Saw a bear," the squirrel said, its voice muffled as it spoke around cheeks filled with hazelnut. "Big bear."

"The bear's name is Major, and he's a nice bear."

"Nice bear? No nice bear."

"Well, you guys thought the wolves were scary when they showed up."

"Wolves still scary."

Rud shrugged, getting back to creating his planters. He chatted with the squirrel as he worked. Although after a few hours of work, he was almost certain it wasn't the same squirrel he was talking to. This theory was confirmed when he spotted several of the critters in the tree, leering down at him with eyes hungry for more nuts. The badgers might have been belligerent, but at least they could hold a stronger conversation. Nothing like the Sacred Beasts, but good enough to be passable.

Animal Communication finally reached Level 6, although it had been hard fought. Growth Magic was much more likely to add to his skill level average, but every bit counted. And it was useful talking to the animals. They often brought interesting information. When they had nothing interesting to say, they were sometimes useful for other tasks.

The sun faded by the moment, forcing Rud to head off to the Observatory to write his reports. He gained a new appreciation for the various energies swirling around the grove. The druid could almost feel it as the energy predicting rain gathered above. Perhaps he could grow powerful enough to one day prevent that rain. Or to summon it, depending on his needs.

"I'm here," Maria said, responding after a good ten minutes of silence. "Another fun day with the dwarves, you know."

Rud shook his head. She always lamented having those dwarves in her grove. "So, I'm a wizard now." The druid made a note on his sheet of paper, detailing the potential for rain.

"Oh? Do tell."

He wasn't a true wizard, of course. Just a silly druid pretending he might be the next big wind mage. That didn't stop him from inflating his abilities to a point where Maria no longer believed him. Once the report was done and the conversation died down, he headed to the longhouse for dinner. He was delayed en route, spotting the field of floating lightbulb plants near the side of his mushroom house. They all hovered at different heights, humming gently and glowing with prismatic shades.

"Those are gonna be so cool along the path."

He couldn't stop himself but to propagate a few more plants, setting them in new spots and applying his Plant Growth spell. Growth Magic was on the edge of a level. Rud could feel that in his bones, but another problem with his lightbulb plant consumed his thoughts. Watering them all might be a pain, but he had an idea. He headed to the longhouse to eat dinner.

Major licked a hazelnut up from the ground. Taz popped one in his mouth. They both shared a look as Rud entered, trying to hide the piles of nuts without being obvious.

"We weren't doing anything," Major said, convincing no one.

"I told you not to eat our whole supply," Rud said, waggling his finger.

"We're not!" Taz protested. He looked flustered for a moment, then went stiff. He made snoring sounds, tilted to one side, and fell onto the hard ground below.

"You're not convincing anyone that you just fell asleep," Rud said, crossing his arms.

"It was worth a shot," Taz said, dusting himself off as he rose to his feet and took his seat once again. "We're just sampling them. The bear has a great pile of the things. Never realized nuts could be so delicious."

"You're eating the unroasted ones?" Rud asked. "They get a lot better when you roast them."

"They can be roasted?" Taz's eyes went wide. He looked down at his pile of nuts with jealous eyes. "I want some roasted Smash Fruit."

"They're hazelnuts," Rud corrected. "Although I guess it doesn't matter. Major found the trees, so he can call them whatever he wants."

"Indeed I can."

Although it had been predicted, there were no adventurers in the longhouse tonight. Rud considered if his signage was sufficient to direct them either to the longhouse, or the other buildings nearby. But there might have been people passing through that didn't care to interact and simply stayed in the houses provided. They hadn't requested baths though, so he couldn't tell.

"Any progress on the blacksmith class?" Rud asked, finally getting himself some food.

"Something of a tickle." Taz squinted, rolling a nut under his palm. It cracked in half atop the table, the brown skin flaking off. He blew that skin away, watching as it danced to the ground. "Perhaps some god has recognized me."

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"Or maybe a spirit."

Taz looked up with a confused expression. "Can they give classes?"

Rud shrugged. "That's above my pay grade. But Aegael—the Salamander Spirit of Fire—seems like a candidate."

Rud waited a few breaths as Taz rolled the information over in his mind. Ban didn't say anything, which meant he was likely on the right track. How much power the spirits had to gift classes was beyond him, but he knew they had some agreement with the gods to make that happen. Since it seemed only gods handed out classes, everyone was beholden to that fact. But it didn't mean the spirits couldn't work something out. That interplay between spirits, gods, and mortals was beyond Rud. It would likely remain beyond him forever, since he had no interests outside of the groves.

"Any clue how I can worship a salamander?" Taz asked.

Munching on a raw hazelnut to break up the richness of the soup, Rud smacked his lips. "I think Aegael likes fire well enough. But when I assume the Aspect of Aegael, I feel a great need to craft things. Compared to when I accept the Aspect of Gug, each crafted item I make feels like an amazing accomplishment."

"He should simply stick to using the forge, then?" Major asked.

"The forge and the smelter, I think. If you want the recognition of the spirits, that's only the start. The next thing you should concern yourself with is helping the grove. Show some compassion toward nature. Plant a tree, hug one, or perhaps nurse an injured gopher back to health."

"What's a gopher?" Taz asked.

"Delicious," Major said.

Rud cleared his throat. "Ban, am I on the right track here?"

A giggle spread between the minds of those assembled in the longhouse. "I'd say so."

"And that's all she'll give us," Rud said with a shrug. "Am I the Sacred Tree's favorite princess or something? She's always trying to give me hints…"

"Yes. You are my favorite princess," Ban confirmed.

Without his command, Rud's body struck its chest out in pride. Sometimes it was hard to separate the part of himself that sought her approval and his rational, human mind.

"I thought you were a human man," Taz said, raking his fingers through his beard. "I suppose you have the long hair… Are you a female human?"

"How can you not tell the difference?" Rud asked.

Taz shrugged. "I can tell the difference between dwarves!"

"He is a man," Major said, nodding in confirmation. "I can smell it."

"How can you smell it… Nevermind, I don't want to know." Rud found himself suddenly concerned with only his soup. "Doesn't matter. I think Taz is on the right path. It doesn't matter if he gets picked up by a god, or a spirit. He's a great craftsman even without a class or subclass."

"You'll make me blush," Taz said, pressing his hands into his face. "Perhaps I was the princess all along."

"Enough talk of princesses," Major said, slamming his paw on the ground. "The new oven will produce more delicious nuts than ever before. But is that enough?"

"What?" Rud sputtered some soup onto the table.

"We should expand your trail mix project to include a wider selection."

"Huh. I guess if you could find more nuts, we could use those," Rud said.

"I can always find more nuts. I am the master of nuts."

If Major Nutmaster could pull in a variety of nuts, that would be nice. But it didn't matter until they got feedback from the mortals. This entire project was for the mortals, after all. If the project faltered and the mortals hated hazelnuts for whatever reason, Rud could be happy with the knowledge that the spirits in the grove loved them. If they weren't used for exports, at least they would have something to use them for internally.

For now, Rud shifted his focus on his new ability to interact with elemental energy. Pulling a string of twisting magical wind from the sky was an interesting start, but it wouldn't do anything for him if he didn't master it. Stranger than anything, this new ability didn't have an associated skill. That, or the spirits didn't feel the need to gift it to him. While the grove system was strange, he had become accustomed to the idea that he could just do stuff and get a skill in return. Until the energy they used to power their groves ran dry, where he was left on his own.

"Ban, do you know if this new ability of mine has an associated skill?" Rud asked, finishing up his first bowl of soup.

"I don't think so. Since manipulating mana falls under a general practice of magic, there isn't an associated spirit."

"What about Mint?"

"She has yet to reveal her cultivated aspect. We're waiting for her to develop."

Yet there were items Rud could craft that had Mint's aspect. If he had to put a word to what she imparted on his items, he would call it 'power.' But that was too vague a thing for the spirits to latch onto. Bent was a spirit covering a decent range of concepts, including the Detect Animals spell and the Farseeing ability. Those fell under the idea of detecting things. Bah, someone needed to start a wizard grove so he could get a neat energy manipulation skill.

"Guessing I just need to develop it the old-fashioned way," Rud said. "Woe is me. The life of the favored princess is hard."

"Indeed it is. Just work harder, you'll get it!"

"Meanwhile you're languishing thanks to my indecision," Rud said, doing his best to put on a pouting face.

Ban laughed into his mind. "My inaction has nothing to do with you. Although things would be easier if you would get off your behind and trim the corruption from my grove."

"Corruption or disease?" Rud asked, tapping his chin. "Slip of the tongue, or just another word for a disease?"

"My favorite part about Rud is how he's searching for a conspiracy everywhere," Taz laughed. "You'd fit in well with the dwarves back home!"

When Rud was done eating, he went outside to practice his new ability. Without relying on a skill to use it, things were difficult. It wasn't like reaching into himself to activate the skill and use it in the real world. Instead, it felt like learning a new thing back on Earth. There was more of himself that went into how the skill worked, and it was uncomfortable at first. Perhaps the things the system provided him were a crutch, but it seemed foolish not to use them.

Rud started by doing his best to sense the energy above him. The way the boughs above swayed, he knew there was wind magic up there. Just floating around, driven by some unseen force. But to access that wind magic was hard. He felt as though he were grasping for the string of an out-of-control balloon, only to snatch at the air. Without Bent's Aspect to help him see the energy, he couldn't tell where to grab.

"Baby steps," Rud said, pausing in Ban's clearing to gaze up at the sky. The shards of the shattered moons were visible. They hung on a curtain of swirling stars, looking like larger stars that had come loose from nearby constellations. He passed through the nearest bush, appearing at the base of the Observatory. With the right aspect, and his Farseeing skill, that wind energy was obvious.

Reaching out with his nascent magical senses, Rud grasped a strand of that wind power. Mana burned in his chest as he redirected the flow, taking a breeze destined for higher places down to the grove below. He felt the way it flowed and fought against him, guiding it like the banks of a river directly the flow of water. Too hard in one direction and the wind would shoot off, burning his mana for nothing and hardly listening to his call. The shattered moons rose in the sky, catching enough of the sun's light from the other side of the planet to paint the grove in pale blue.

"Were they really destroyed by wizards?" Rud asked, grabbing onto another piece of wind magic. He guided it down with his mind, standing there in his cloak and with his staff.

"That's right."

"Magical power like that… it's not common, is it?"

"Of course not. Otherwise they would have blown up the world, right?" Ban asked. She sounded unsure of what she said, but Rud trusted her judgment.

"What do you think of my path?" Rud asked. "Spellcasting druid seems like a good specialization. I wouldn't mind having a minor focus in Shapeshifting Magic."

"Do you need my approval?" Ban asked. "You're awake far past your normal bedtime. You're out here practicing this new magic. Not because you were told to do so, but because you want to. When was the last time that happened?"

Rud looked up at the Observatory. The last time that happened, he stayed in the tower for too long. That was partly to talk to another person from Earth, but another part of him couldn't stop looking at the swirling energies above them.

"What elements would I have control of?" Rud asked.

"Wind should be the easiest for you. But you may have minor control over water and earth. This is uncharted, though."

So, Rud would have control over natural things. That made enough sense. Why would a Druid have command over fire? He stayed out near the base of the tower for a long time, practicing this new ability. Only when he was too tired to carry on did he return to the mushroom house. He lit a fire, filling the building with smoky comfort. As the druid fell asleep, he could feel the Sacred Tree's sightless gaze upon him. Ever-watchful.