NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Heroic Seed!
"That… Is a wonderful question." Alchemy hummed as she turned her head to the deerling.
This entire time, they watched Alchemy talk to herself like a lunatic. Since she wasn't a Verminae, she couldn't hear the telepathic link. She had a vague idea of what was happening since the flying insects seemed to be a little less hostile.
"So, what do you think about joining me?" Alchemy asked.
Thanks to the system notifications, Alchemy was pretty confident in knowing the answer, but she asked anyway to quell the Thornskirmishers.
The majestic animal paused. Was it going to join her? She could go look for their herd, but if they ran into the wolves or even stronger animals, wouldn't they get left behind again?
Letting out a soft grunt before approaching Alchemy, the Crystalline Deer Calf cuddled up to Alchemy, placing her between themself and the Thornskirmishers. Those flying death weapons scared them.
"There's your answer. Let's head back." She smiled, petting the deer in return.
The Thornskirmishers glared at the young deer but heeded Alchemy's orders and began working together to gather the felled wolf corpses.
As they made their way home, Alchemy managed her notifications.
"Oh yeah, you need a name, huh? I thought all [Hero] and [Heroic Seed] names were random, but maybe you're different because you aren't a natural seed?"
The deer looked at Alchemy with a puzzled gaze.
[Heroic Seeds], like the Prospect, have a 4th base stat from their [Personality Token] and can level up on the battlefield. Depending on the unit's specialty, some heroes can level up from domestic affairs, such as assisting in research or blacksmithing, but that is uncommon.
Whenever a [Heroic Seed] reaches a sufficient level dictated by the number of plus signs after their modifier, they ascend into a fully-fledged [Heroic] Unit, which then gains even stronger and unique abilities.
"Hmm. How about Sapphire? After your beautiful horns?"
The calf swayed as the pair walked, eventually giving a happy nod with a cheerful sound.
Moments later, the newly named Sapphire began to glow with a similar light to what healed them earlier.
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Looking at the new notifications, Alchemy's eyes widened as a small pain appeared in her chest.
'System. You need to TELL ME if you gain new features. Especially if they take something as precious as Divine Power!' Alchemy screamed inwardly.
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'I'm going to stab you.'
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'That's what I thought.' Alchemy rolled her eyes before checking Sapphire's status.
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'Holy Constitution. No wonder you could take so many hits. No 4th stat thought; I imagine I'll find a way to get them one, but it's weird seeing a Hero only have three stats.'
4th stats, unlike the three normal ones, tend to raise something other than physical capabilities. Alchemy's Faith stat increases the generation of Divine Power, for example.
Shortly after that, Alchemy and Sapphire arrived in the clearing, the lot of her units greeting her only to get defensive once they saw the latter.
"Don't. They're one of us. I assume you didn't hear my conversation with the Thorns?"
{No. The Thornskirmishers created a closed link with you.} The Granitects were the first to respond.
"Oh, you guys can do that. Neat. Well, have them explain when they get here. Also, Sylvies stay back for a bit. They're bringing more items for you to harvest."
Looking around, she was happy to see that all the buildings were finished, meaning she could upgrade her Throne once she had the proper resources.
Looking at the structures, Alchemy was fascinated by seeing them in real life.
Starting from the farm, a circular web-like structure created a net that captured sunlight for the soil below. Inside said soil was a mysterious plant that Alchemy couldn't identify. It looked somewhat like an apple that grew from the ground up, doubled in size, and had a more… meaty texture.
The lumberyard was more like one large hollowed-out tree than a yard filled with lumber. It had holes throughout that were perfect in size for the Sylvan Carvers to scurry in and out of.
The storage unit appeared to be a large beehive, sharing its honeycomb shape but with a silver coating. From the outside, it seemed much more straightforward than the other buildings.
"It's coming together nicely." Alchemy nodded, giving herself a pat on the back before sitting on her throne.
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"Gravity, huh? It can debuff and has a decent damage output. Not a bad [Core] to start with." Alchemy hummed.
Briefly, she pondered the utility that Gravity could have now that this was her reality, with the most immediate thought being flight. Unfortunately, the [Form] was [Insectoid], meaning there was a decent chance it'd have wings anyway.
'Maybe it'll be able to make me fly. Although maybe I can do that with Divine Power?'
Not that she had the Divine Power to waste, but it was a fun thought.
"Inventory!"