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

Unlike most parties Rud remembered from back on Earth, no one was sluggish the next day. Although he had lost some quality sleep, the druid didn't feel any worse for it. He woke the next day energized, jumping out of bed and brewing himself a cup of strong tea. Although he had enough rest for the night, there was plenty to do today. It was time to put the gifts from the mortals to work.

"Good morning," Rud said, entering the longhouse to find Taz, Major, Sarya, and Dean. Mint was missing, and there were no mortals in sight.

"There he is," Dean said. "The dance commander."

"Yeah, I got moves," Rud said, having no confidence that he had any moves at all as he took a seat. "Soup for breakfast?"

"Soup every single day of our lives," Taz said, laughing as he dished out a large bowl for Rud. "The mortals seemed to have moved on. Guess they had their fill of grove life."

"They're moving west!" Sarya said with a hair too much excitement. "Off to fight orcs… I wanna fight orcs."

Dean sniffed at the air, narrowing his eyes toward the distance. "I must attend to something."

Without fanfare, the giant wolf was gone. Sarya yawned, sprawling out before the warm fire. The chill of the night hadn't been banished away by the sun yet. Rud doubted it would leave for most of the day, thanks to that constant blowing wind from the north. His plans for the day would keep him moving enough that he wasn't worried. And he knew the other members of the grove would keep an eye on the adventurers as they passed through.

After finishing breakfast, Rud headed off to drain his baths and collect the donations given by the mortals. They had left more than he could have hoped for, including enough Dungeon Core Fragments to upgrade some buildings. While he could focus on dragging his own buildings to Rank 1, he wanted to work on Ban.

"Let's see what we got!" Rud shouted, clapping excitedly as he pressed his hands into Ban's trunk. A system message appeared.

[Ban'Tanthein]

Rank 1 Level 1 Sacred Tree

Upgrade Energy: 20%

Reserve Energy: 50%

Energy Nodule Efficiency: 92%

Upgrade:

[Thicket Travel]

[Root Spears]

Expansions:

[Mining Workshop]

[Smelting Workshop]

[Blacksmithing Workshop]

[Energy Nodules]

[Unified Grid]

[Observatory]

To start, Rud topped her off to 100% Reserve Energy, ensuring she was good to go. Whatever excess energy she gathered could go directly to her Energy Nodules, or into her Upgrade Energy. Then he inspected the nodule building itself.

[Energy Nodules]

Rank 0 Level 5 Sacred Tree Building

Upgrade Progress: 0%

Description:

Nodules form throughout the Sacred Tree's root system, nourishing it and storing excess energy.

Effect:

Allows the Sacred Tree to store 50% of their total Reserve Energy capacity in nodules.

Draws nutrients from the ground, adding additional energy to daily collection.

Upgrades:

[Energy Flowers]

"Do I need to do anything special to get a building to Rank 1?" Rud asked.

Ban's soft voice filled the clearing. "It depends, but I don't think so. In some cases, you might need ritual magic to upgrade a building or person to Rank 1. But not with this one."

"What would a rank do for your Energy Nodules building?"

"Ranks always increase the effectiveness of something. Your attributes count for more when you rank up, and the same goes for buildings. Increasing the rank of Energy Nodules will increase the amount of energy it can store. This passes down as well, also increasing the effectiveness of Energy Flowers."

That was perfect. Talk about getting bang for your buck. While he doubted it was common for people to use Dungeon Core Fragments to upgrade stuff like this, Rud had plenty of them on hand. He pressed the first core fragment into the bark of the Sacred Tree, watching with satisfaction as it vanished. He added them until the building rolled over, earning him an interesting system message.

[Building Rank Up!]

The [Energy Nodules] building has achieved Rank 1. This building has increased in power, and you may select from one of the following upgrades…

"New stuff in the list," Rud said, clapping with excitement. "Can you see the list?"

"I can," Ban said. "Since I'm awake."

"Yeah, note to future self: wait for Ban to be awake to do this."

"But the upgrade you selected last time was good. No harm done. Perhaps I'll let you give me a suggestion for which upgrade to pick."

This was a crummy test. Rud went through the long list of upgrades, sifting through them. Ban wanted to go for an upgrade that would help her generate and store energy. Well, the Energy Nodules building had a lot of those. Combined with her Unified Grid building, he wanted to find things that would work together to create even more energy. That would be needed if they wanted stable portals to the other groves. He sifted through the selections, finding two that fit the bill.

[Nutrition Reuptake]

Energy Nodule Upgrade

Description:

Put your tree's metabolism to work! Do trees have a metabolism? This one does!

Effect:

50% of the energy generated from absorbing nutrition through the soil will be converted to usable energy.

Nutrients are drawn toward your roots.

"This one is like the Nutrition Magnet upgrade," Rud said. "You'll get energy just by being alive."

"An interesting choice," Ban said, her soft voice echoing with a comforting chime.

"But wait… there's another."

[Photosynthesis Mastery]

Energy Nodule Upgrade

Description:

Chlorophyll? More like borophyll!

Effect:

Increase the effectiveness of gathering energy via sunlight by 25%.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"I have thoughts on both upgrades." Rud tapped his chin. "Combined with your Unified Grid building, both would be effective. But I was thinking about the amount of energy that adjacent trees can gather. Will Unified Grid work with both?"

"It should."

"So we should go with Nutrition Reuptake, because we're getting less light by the day. And we can enrich the soil so you get even more energy."

"An interesting approach. If we focus only on the sunlight and flower method of gaining mana, we might hamstring ourselves."

"That's exactly what I was thinking!"

"So investing in a diverse selection of upgrades might be a good idea. I'll leave it up to you."

"Nope, you're picking this one." Rud held his hands up defensively. He could feel Ban getting ready for a laugh.

"Have it your way, custodian. Select the Nutrition Reuptake upgrade."

Rud nodded, picking the first of two upgrades he had considered. The ground rumbled slightly as something underground changed. Ban seemed to breathe in the surrounding air—although of course she couldn't actually do that. Could she? Whatever, she seemed relieved as a flood of new energy entered her body.

"And of course, we're considering a new problem."

Rud gave the tree a flat look. "What?"

"Any soil that is corrupted will now doubly affect me. We'll have to consider soil quality from here on out."

"That's fine. I'm working on a way to enrich all the soil in the grove. Thanks to the enchanted spring. Now, care to upgrade the Unified Grid with me?"

"I'm shocked. You're really going for it today. How many core fragments did the mortals give you?"

Rud shook his head. "They gave me a lot. Like… more than we can even use right now. Stop complaining about getting nice things! Let me give you nice things!"

Ban laughed, watching as Rud shoved more core fragments into her bark. He targeted the Unified Grid building, which was another building he couldn't see. But he could access that building by touching Ban's trunk, so there wasn't a problem. It rose in levels, becoming more effective with each jump. It didn't take long for the building to reach its first upgrade potential, presenting them with a list of selections.

"I have a preference here," Ban said.

"Which one?"

"Easy Connections."

[Easy Connections]

Unified Grid Upgrade

Description:

Connect yourself to more trees with no effort!

Effect:

Connecting to new trees no longer costs energy.

"It costs energy to make those connections? Dang. Yeah, that's a good one."

Rud selected that upgrade, having no desire to go against what Ban told him to do. Perhaps this is why she hadn't been making as many connections as she wanted. But he didn't stop there. The druid was determined to add as much power generation to the tree as possible. And he had the core fragments to do it. Once more adventurers passed through, he would have even more. And so on, until he got what he wanted. Which was, of course, a huge party with as many custodians as possible. Perhaps that would start with only one or two custodians, but that wouldn't deter him. The groves would be united, no matter how many core fragments he had to shove into a tree.

"More upgrades!" Rud shouted, shoving more cores in.

"He's a madman!" Ban said in mock-horror. "Someone stop him!"

"Never!"

The building rolled over to Rank 1, giving him the same message as last time. Ban made an interesting cooing noise as she thumbed through the upgrade options. "I have another one I want."

"Please!" Rud sighed dramatically. "Less choices for me."

"Radiant Flowers."

[Radiant Flowers]

Unified Grid Synergy Upgrade

Synergize Upgrade:

[Energy Flowers]

Description:

Flowers for everyone!

Effect:

The effects of [Energy Flowers] now apply in full to connected trees.

"Woah. Is that a thing? Synergy upgrades?" Rud asked.

"This is excellent," Ban said. "Since the flowers don't rely on sunlight to gather mana, my energy generation will almost double."

"Woah, double? Are you sure?"

"Once I get enough trees, anyway. And I'll eventually go further than double, using the entire grove. I'm very excited."

Ban's voice bled through with that excitement. And Rud couldn't help himself but to do a little dance. Although he had used quite a few core fragments to upgrade the buildings, he had some left over. Those were best kept for Ban's upgrades for now, until he got back to a stockpile. She was the most important 'building' within the grove. To him, nothing mattered more than working on the long-term project, and if he didn't put in the work it just wouldn't happen.

"Morning report and chores time!" Rud said. "I hope the new upgrades work well."

"I can already feel the energy flowing through me. Dizzying, in fact…"

Rud slapped her bark, shaking his head. "Get all the energy you can, you awesome tree."

"I'm going to enter a brief hibernation," Ban said. "The energy might be too much to handle for now…"

Yikes. Rud was slightly concerned as he walked away from the tree, heading into the nearest thicket to travel to his Observatory. He accepted Bent's Aspect and ascended the stairs, nodding to Nulsa who was perched upon the balcony outside.

"Strange energy coming from the lake," Nulsa said, not waiting for Rud to greet him.

The druid clicked his radio on, signing in and waiting for Maria's response. He sent his Farsight to the lake, spotting the frozen island just out of range. The swirl of ice energy was potent today, looking more like a haze resting over the landmass. The lake itself was massive, seeming more like an inland ocean than anything to him. While it was hard for him to judge distance in this new world—mostly thanks to Thicket Travel—the size of the lake would rival those he knew back on Earth.

"Strange energy indeed… Have you been to the island?"

"No one has, as far as I know," Nulsa said. "The constant blow of ice mana is too much. I cannot get close enough for inspection."

There were a few things that could have been going on. The first was that it was some naturally occurring phenomenon, but that wasn't likely. Next was errant magic, which could have been the answer. But he had his doubts. Instead, Rud figured there was something else going on. Likely a high-rank dungeon creating the energy. While the mana he observed wasn't like most dungeon mana he had sensed, he wouldn't write that possibility off.

"Maria here. How's it going, Rud?"

"Fine, just fine," Rud said, adding the island's energy to his notes. This was interesting enough to send a morning note over to Feather in Barlgore. "I've got some weird ice magic forming in the distance. Not sure what to do about it."

"Ah. Magic stuff. Don't you just love it?"

"I'll take ice magic over waiting in traffic to get to work anyday."

"Were you a commuter?"

"Nah. I took public transit. Or walked."

"Lucky."

On top of the weird ice energy, there was a swirl of dungeon magic somewhere in the distance. Rud sensed it at first without noting the direction. It took a while for him to align his senses, finally finding it in a strange spot. While they normally were created in the south, he spotted this one north of the logging camp. It wasn't the first dungeon he had seen in the north, but it was the first one he detected in that region. The only other point of reference he had was the Fire Construct Dungeon that spawned in the center-north section, right on the grove's edge. That was the same region that Taz had used to arrive at the grove.

"We got another weird buildup. Just north of the logging camp," Rud said, making a note.

"I hadn't noticed that one," Nulsa said, spreading his wings. "I will go scout."

"Thank you," Rud said with a nod. He made a note on his letter all the same.

"If we didn't have this Observatory, we'd be in some serious trouble," Rud said, thumbing the button on the radio. "I wish I could figure out where these dungeons are coming from."

"You'd be celebrated by scholars if you could figure that out."

Rud drummed his fingers on the table, reading over his note to see if there was anything else he should add. A smile spread across his face as he added a paragraph about Tuft and his adventuring party. They were such pleasant people that he felt the need to send word back to Feather, detailing what good guests they were. This might have been a ploy to get more adventurers to pass though, but the true boost in visits would come when Tuft and his party made their way back through.

"Any idea how to check soil quality?" Rud asked.

"Nope. I just have rock down here. Well, there's some loam, but nothing more than that. Maybe a visual check?"

Rud tapped his chin, not sure if that was good enough. He had an idea, but it might not work. The conversation with Maria went on for a while as he awaited Nulsa's return. She posed some hypothetical questions that weren't quite as interesting as the ones she had posed in the past, but he humored her anyway. Talking to another Earthling was its own reward.

Nulsa flew silently, landing on the banister outside. "The dungeon is forming quickly. We should deploy a beast capable of combat to handle it for now."

"How quickly?" Rud asked.

"I think the dungeon will form before the day is over," Nulsa said, hooting softly. "Orcs, if I had to guess."

Rud clicked his tongue. "Okay. Dean?"

Dean appeared from the tree above, leaping and landing on the balcony outside with more grace than a giant wolf should have. "Yes?"

"Got a dungeon forming north of the logging camp. Can you kill the monsters there?"

"Finally. I've been bored." Without waiting for further orders, the wolf was off.

Nulsa hooted something like a chuckle, swiveling his head from side to side.

"Something about a hammer and nails, I think," Rud muttered. He added a post script to his letter, urging Feather to act quickly. "Could you fly this over to Barlgore for me?"

"Indeed. The mortals are always excited to get these letters."

"Yeah, they get a lot out of the dungeons. Experience mostly, I think… and magical items."

"Yes, they do love their magical toys, don't they?"

Nulsa flew off, leaving Rud alone with his thoughts and the static from the radio. He thumbed the microphone again. "Okay, I gotta go. I'll talk to you tonight. If I remember."

"No worries. Nice talking to you, Rud."

Clicking his radio off, Rud stepped onto the balcony and shifted into his squirrel form. He flew into the nearest bush, teleporting to his house and tending to his garden. A forming dungeon was interesting, and he wanted to check it out. But there were plants to take care of first, and lightbulb plants to propagate. Once that was taken care of, he dashed into the nearest tree and traveled through the thicket. With Ban still asleep, he had nothing to do but work on his roadway lighting project and gawk at a dungeon. The druid emerged near the logging camp, soaring through the air before coming to rest on one of many trees he had grown.

The logging crew was working below. Oblivious to the danger lurking in the forest.

"That's not good," Rud said, clearing his throat. "Time to ring the warning bell."