NOVEL NEXT Chapter 81: Manipulations
Leif had spent three days trudging through the wilderness after having departed from Far-reach. During his exploration he had finally seen the world in daylight. The landscape was withered and desolate. The malevolent presence brought about by deathly energy had corrupted and blighted the land for what seemed like dozens of miles. What animals he saw were diseased and malnourished, many having succumbed to the unfortunate fate of undeath.
Leif spotted a pack of mangy, starving wolves as they crested a nearby hill. Their leader, a much larger and healthier looking beast howled, the sound mimicked a few moments later by the rest of the pack.
They saw him, then retreated. Melting away into the distance like morning fog. That had been a wise decision. Leif was far from being weak enough to be threatened by a group of mostly unevolved animals. Though in fairness, the wolves had likely been more interested in avoiding the monster he currently fought.
The monster, or more accurately the abomination, had a frightening appearance. Its rotting form a bizarre and twisted amalgam of forest creatures and what Leif suspected were goblins. It had the body of a large bear, but its six legs were hooved and antlers sprouted from its head. A dozen grasping, skeletal arms protruded from its spine, some still holding rusted weapons.
Though the abomination was a fearsome looking foe, it was currently… struggling. A nearby tree, thin and spindly, had reached down and grappled the monster's upper body while ten or so roots had erupted from the ground to spear into the abomination or wrap around its six misshapen legs.
Leif stood nearby holding a large stick. He focused, and the metre length branch rippled like the surface of a pond. Then its form began to flow and reshape, the brittle yet solid nature of the object stretching and reshaping in his clawed hand. After a few moments the stick’s shape settled into that of a slightly deformed sword.
The spriggan gave it a few test swings. The balance was off and the blade would likely snap after only a few good impacts, but still, pretty cool. In the days he had spent exploring his surroundings and hunting down undead to replenish his cultivation Leif had discovered something very important: He really, really liked [Wood Manipulation].
The skill was as versatile as it was flexible. He could call roots from the ground like he had done to the monster before him, reshape trees or fallen branches according to his will. Ever since his rebirth Leif hadn’t had much cause or reason to use swords, but it was an aspect of his old life he still felt some distant attachment to.
Besides, there’s something uniquely satisfying about turning almost sword shaped sticks into actual swords. He mused, holding up his current blade and nodding to himself. There was a weight limit to [Wood Manipulation], the heavier a unit of wood, the harder it was to control. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t control smaller parts of larger objects.
He imagined that someone or something with a similar skill only with a different element or aspect they could control would have similar restrictions. Stone manipulation came to mind as a similar ability he should look into comparing [Wood Manipulation] to. Leif lengthened the blade, smoothing out the weapons profile and removing any parts of the structure that jutted out or were causing its balance to be off.
Leif then sized up the thrashing and snarling undead abomination he had restrained and focused. The wooden blade in his hand rose a foot in the air, then turned so its pointed end faced the monstrosity. Then, with an effort of will and a mental command the blade shot through the air, stabbing into the undead’s left eye socket and becoming stuck with a sickening thwack and a spray of foul black blood.
The monster didn’t die, but Leif hadn’t expected it to. For one he was pretty certain the creature’s actual brain was hidden somewhere within its chest. The other reason was that there was already a wooden sword sticking out of its right eye socket. If the first hadn’t done the trick, then he had no reason to believe a second, identical strike would.
The abomination roared in ravenous fury and struggled against its restraints. The roots began to crack and splinter, the tree letting out an ominous groan against the strength of the undead’s escape attempts. Leif gestured, and another stick he had readied for just this purpose flew into his hand.
In the days he had spent experimenting with [Wood Manipulation] he had found making physical motions aided in the skill’s use, but weren’t strictly necessary. An orchestra wouldn’t need a conductor, but it would certainly help. He activated the skill once more as one of the roots snapped, the undead stumbling forward though not yet free.
He studied the stick as its shape became like liquid and it began to slowly flow into its newest shape. But this time it was different, the stick was aged and rotting, within moments his changes became unstable, the wood’s structure becoming weak with cracks forming along its surface. Leif had encountered this problem before and there was a solution, he let a small trickle of his cultivated vitality enter the now vaguely sword shaped piece of wood. Within moments its degradation was healed away, its structure becoming more solid and stable, while at the same time becoming easier to mould and manipulate.
Seconds later Leif gave the newest sword a test swipe, a faint trail of amber light followed the blade as it travelled through the air. Another root snapped, causing the spriggan’s attention to turn from his handiwork and back to the abomination. Time to finish this. He rushed forward and stabbed the blade deep into the twisted bundle of flesh and muscle the undead had in place of a torso.
The monster shuddered, but didn’t die. So Leif activated [Embolden Vegetation] with a command that stilled the world.
“Expand.”
The wooden sword glowed gold and began to swell in size. Its shape quickly destabilised as healing energy flooded through it. The blade detonated inside the abomination’s body with a flash of amber light, causing the creature to disintegrate as overflowing vitality overwhelmed the reanimating energy that had allowed it to exist. Within moments there was nothing but dust remaining.
It wasn’t the most efficient use of his powers, but Leif found himself not really caring. He healed the tree and willed its exposed roots to return into the earth. He knew he could spend months, perhaps years manually attempting to restore this part of the world to its natural conditions. Once he had time, perhaps he would, but for now he had other projects to attend to.
===
The bluff finally came back into sight. Leif had spent several days out in the wilderness regaining his strength and getting back into the swing of things. He reached the base of the towering stone cliff and focused, then stepped forward, zipping up and across the bluff in a blur of golden light. He appeared right at the base of the ivory white tree, head spinning and soul twinging in pain.
[Amber Steps] had worked, just as he had hoped it would. Well, he had known it would. Leif could feel the anchor that was planted firmly at the base of the domain tree, the spriggan had felt it ever since his separation from the tree had succeeded. His idea for splitting himself hadn’t only been based on a long term solution for family and friends he didn’t know the location of. He had needed a quick way back up the bluff once he had left, something faster and more convenient than climbing that is.
Leif dusted himself off and calmed the animals he had disturbed with his sudden entrance with a subtle brush of his aura. At his hip was a small wooden sphere attached to a belt he had fashioned out of a narrow branch. The sphere parted at his mental command to reveal a handful of glistening blue shards.
Fusion of skills [Grounded Stance II] and [Enduring Grit] 53/100%
Progress towards the skill fusion was less than ten percent a day, but with the small amount of mana shards he had acquired the fusion should speed up greatly. He plucked one of the small crystalline objects out of the container and resealed the hole with [Wood Manipulation] so the remaining contents wouldn’t fall out.
Would you like to consume this mana catalyst to increase current skill fusion progress?
Y/N?
Leif accepted the prompt and the small, narrow gemstone dissolved into a shimmering blue liquid that flowed into the palm of his hand. The cool sensation that followed was quite enjoyable, like the water of a clear spring washing through his body. The spriggan turned his attention to the domain tree. His connection to it was still stable, having weakened not at all as he ventured around the surrounding wilderness.
The tree itself however had somewhat deteriorated. Some of its branches sagged and many of its crimson leaves looked wilted. Leif suspected that if he had stayed away for any longer his connection would have begun to dissolve. But he was here now, and his cultivated pool of vitality was bursting at the seams.
Leif spent the next few hours using [Embolden Vegetation] on the domain tree and absorbing mana shards. He sat up against his own trunk, a pair of songbirds standing on his head, occasionally hopping around and filling the air with their melody. Within his domain the sickly malevolence of the surrounding region was absent, the air was warm and the company was welcoming
He intermittently checked the progress of his skill fusion, but it looked like it would take another day or so to complete. With nothing urgent to do, Leif relaxed, and just enjoyed the sensation of being alive.