Sealed in Steel [ Tank Litrpg ]

"Gideon, Viney is starting to come out," Elian said, shaking the floramage out of his meditative state. "If you have any concoctions that can help, now is the time for me to drink them."

Gideon opened his eyes with a jolt. He lovingly held the cracked cocoon encasing Elian's arm as if it were a baby. Bending down until his crooked nose touched the vine, Gideon marveled at the new Viney. "An Ascended form of my creation, fueled by the soul of a magical forest! I have made preparations to hasten its evolution."

With surprising speed, the floramage jumped off the roof of the moving carriage, using the vines of his plant symbiotes to hang on. Elian and Reese watched over the edge of the roof as Gideon opened the carriage's door and dove inside. Gideon soon returned with bottles in his arms while his vines pulled him back up.

Gideon handed Elian bottle after bottle, explaining what their contents were.

"Wait, don't drink that one," Gideon said, pulling Elian's arm as he was about to chug a bottle with glowing purple liquid. "Apply it over the cocoon."

Several minutes later, Elian lay on the Fecund Ground with a bloated and grumbling stomach. The Abyssal Eye's Curse counteracted most of the negative side effects of drinking a jumble of experimental potions. He relaxed his body and meditated while controlling his breathing. Extreme concentration. Focus on not vomiting. While Elian endeavored to stabilize his body as the potions took effect, Gideon busied himself with the cocoon.

"Piece by piece," Gideon whispered as dozens of hairlike tendrils emerged from his arms to carefully remove the cocoon's fragments. Over the hours, Gideon freed more of Viney's body, which now had a golden hue. "It's beautiful…"

"It surely is," Elian said. This situation seemed like he was giving birth, and Gideon was the doctor.

They had skipped lunch to continue the operation. Reese munched on a hard biscuit while observing what was happening. Gideon was determined to have Viney free within the day.

The sun was low when all three of them shouted in triumph.

"Viney, you're back!" Elian cheered as he sat up and raised his right arm. The flesh of his forearm looked like it had a gauntlet of golden vines and glowing crystals. Through holes here and there, Viney's vines poked out, awakened, and evolved.

"Show us its Covenant details," Reese asked. "I'm quite curious what it looks like." This'd be the first time he'd seen the display information of a plant symbiote.

It'd also be the first time Elian and Gideon would see the Ascended Viney. It'd certainly be very different compared to before. "Oh, I'll leave the Fecund Ground first," Elian said, stepping out of the soil box. "Afterward, I'll compare it with the bonuses of Fecund Ground."

Ascended Guardian Exactor Vine | Plant Symbiote | Level: 27
Health: 19,400/19,400
Energy: 9,650/9,650

ATTRIBUTES:
Attack Power: 1,940
Magic Power: 1,940
Armor: 21,940
Magic Resilience: 1,940

TRAITS:
Host Attribute Absorption – Absorb (60,000) Attribute points from the host and gain a third of it.
Rejuvenating Roots – Restore (12) Health Points of the host every second.
Barkskin – Coats the host with hardened tendrils. Costs a quarter of the symbiote's Health and Energy to create, shared equally with the host. The protective layer possesses half the attributes of the symbiote.

"Storm God!" Elian exclaimed. Viney's attributes had exploded! It became quite tanky, with Barkskin armor rivaling good-quality armor made by middling blacksmiths.

"The Rejuvenating Roots…" Reese whistled in amazement. "Twelve Health Points per second. Multiplied by the Fecund Grounds."

"Step on the Fecund Ground, Penitent," Gideon said, pulling Elian. "I can hardly contain my excitement to see its boosted state."

And Elian complied. Green lights danced on Viney's new form as Elian entered the Fecund Ground. "Let's see… Blazing Storm God from the heavens!"

Ascended Guardian Exactor Vine | Plant Symbiote | Level: 27
Health: 77,600/77,600
Energy: 9,650/9,650

ATTRIBUTES:
Attack Power: 38,600
Magic Power: 38,600
Armor: 118,600
Magic Resilience: 38,600

TRAITS:
Host Attribute Absorption – Absorb (240,000) Attribute points from the host and gain a third of it.
Rejuvenating Roots – Restore (48) Health Points of the host every second.
Barkskin – Coats the host with hardened tendrils. Costs a quarter of the symbiote's Health and Energy to create, shared equally with the host. The protective layer possesses double the attributes of the symbiote.

"Fearsome attributes those are for a creature that's only level twenty-seven," Reese said. "It'd be a formidable opponent if it could leave your arm."

"With Viney's help, I can stand and be a proper wall," Elian exclaimed. Barkskin would have almost a quarter million Armor and almost eighty thousand Magic Resilience. That was insane Armor for most battles, and decent Magic Resilience that'd allow him to tank low-class mages.

If he'd get hurt by stronger magic, the Rejuvenating Roots provided excellent healing. Though he'd only worry about getting injured if the attacker could get through Barkskin. Elian could remake Barkskin several times, sustaining Viney's Health and Energy costs with Fecund Grounds.

Elian closed his eyes and tried to make a mental connection with Viney.

Their minds touch.

Viney was still there. But it wasn't the same. A cacophony of wills also connected to Elian; he could feel a roaring presence, the overwhelming force of the magical forest of Golden Grove. This force was suffocating, like a tide of water trying to drown him. He was steadfast in his mind, keeping a singular focus not to get taken over by this presence.

The force mellowed as the Lost Souls calmed down. They didn't directly communicate with him like when he entered the shadow beast centaur's core, but he could feel that it was watching him. He had promised to show the Lost Souls that humans weren't all about destruction.

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The Lost Souls of the forest receded, and it was only Viney, Elian's friend, who remained. Though Fellenyr was a fantastical world full of magical animals and plants, Elian had never thought he'd be friends with a plant symbiote. Viney did save him a couple of times before, and he'd rely on Viney for future battles.

Let's go for a test, my friend, Elian thought as he stood up. "Gideon, can you stop the carriage? Reese, are you up for a spar?"

In the slowly dimming afternoon, Elian and Reese faced each other in a rectangular arena that Elian's constructs had drawn. Elian positioned himself towards the middle of the arena and declared it as Fecund Grounds. The Fecund Ground covered about a fifth of the arena's area.

"Quite wide," Reese said, looking down at the blessed soil beneath his feet.

"Are you thinking of destroying the Fecund Grounds?" Elian asked as Viney started to cover his body with golden Barkskin. He noticed how Viney quickly regenerated its expended Health to make the Barkskin.

"That's my first idea," Reese replied, "given how much it strengthens your plant symbiote. Mulling it over, it's probably not feasible to try to destroy the ground. How deep does it even go?" Both of them laughed. "Furthermore, you can simplify sanctify the ground again. It's a useless exercise."

"The solution remains the same, doesn't it?" Elian grinned before the Barkskin covered his mouth. He added in a muffled voice, "Throw me out of the arena." As he finished the sentence, he commanded Viney to shoot out thick tendrils and anchor him to the ground, hardening them into Barkskin.

"It's going to be a much taller order now."

"Don't hold back."

"I won't," Reese replied, igniting his swords with red energies. Reese began casting spell buffs to strengthen himself.

This is it, Elian thought, casting Amplify Weight. He'd tank Reese's full-powered attacks head-on. Elian flung Aether constructs at Reese's feet to knock him off-balance as a signal to start the battle.

Reese became a blur. All the constructs shattered. Elian pooled Aether into his eyes to enhance his vision. He caught the form of Reese coming up his left side. Elian barely had time to turn and face Reese, presenting his chest, meeting the twin slashes of red energy.

The impact was so powerful that it cut deep into the Barkskin protecting Elian's chest, cracking it in places. Reese's blades bit into Elian's skin, but much of the force had already been spent. It couldn't bury further than half an inch. However, Reese had another trick up his sleeve. He charged his swords with a fresh surge of energy.

Predicting that Reese would have a backup plan, Elian had already formed an Aether construct beneath Reese. Elian threw Reese up with the construct. The red energies exploded above him. Elian reached up with vines. He grabbed Reese's leg and flung him away.

Reese righted himself and landed near the edge of the arena. He raised his swords and cheered. "I did it!"

Elian looked down at his chest. There was blood and burns. He was right that the red energies of Reese were partly magical damage. If he hadn't disengaged in time, his injuries would've been severe. Viney began sucking nutrients from the ground to heal Elian.

"Congratulations!" Elian shouted. "That's quite a strong hit." He wanted Reese to think that the red energies overcame his defenses, so Reese wouldn't suspect that his bare skin had zero Magic Resilience. The only thing Elian could do was to prevent magical hits from reaching him.

"I never imagined I could wound you," Reese said, refreshing his buffs. "I didn't even expect to break through your Barkskin. But I managed to draw blood. Shall we continue?"

"Of course," Elian replied. "I'm not afraid of getting hurt."

Reese grinned. "I have more of that in store."

"What if I made my Barkskin stronger? We'll see how your attacks fare." Elian began to shed his Barkskin. The covering quickly dried up into a crumbly state and cracked into dozens of pieces. Viney made a new layer, pushing away the old one from Elian's body.

This time, the composition was different. The Barkskin wasn't one mass. It had a structure similar to the shells of the costrahastans, layers upon layers that would spread the force of the impact. A solid mass would be too rigid, bearing the brunt of the entire attack. A crack would spread far. With layers, the cracks would be isolated.

Elian wasn't done. Through the spaces between the layers, he weaved Aether fibers, turning them into cushions to strengthen the Magic Resilience of Barkskin. He had continuously practiced making such fine and minute structures, replicating them thousands of times throughout the entire Barkskin. This may not be the strongest of magical defenses, but it was better than simply having a layer of Barkskin and a layer of Aether armor. The sum was greater than its parts.

"I don't know what you did," Reese said, "but I could sense this Barkskin is quite different."

"Do you think your attacks can break through my armor?" Elian asked with a slight sneer to provoke Reese.

"I'm going to wager that I can pierce your Barkskin!" Reese didn't charge forward. Instead, he gathered energies around his blade and swung them, sending gigantic red crescents of light.

Elian molded walls of Aether to slow down the red crescents. The walls barely did anything, quickly shattering as Reese's attacks spun toward Elian. He crossed his arms and made thick Barkskin shields. The red crescents hit him. A massive explosion followed, throwing up the earth around Elian.

The Barkskin held firm, with only the outer layers peeled off by the explosion. The red crescents dissipated. Through the clouds of dust and soil falling from the sky, Elian looked for the energies of follow-up attacks.

There were none. He couldn't also couldn't see Reese.

Elian sensed a massive force coming behind him. Too late to turn around. Even if he could, he wouldn't because this was part of the trap. Reese broke through the curtain of dirt and stabbed Elian's back.

Elian felt the points drill through the Barkskin, concentrating their power into a tiny area to be most effective. Cracks spread outward from the point of contact. Elian willed Barkskin to grow and repair the widening holes. The Barkskin didn't stop growing, covering the swords, coiling up the blades, and towards Reese.

"Wha-what!" Reese exclaimed.

Elian felt the force on his back suddenly cease—Reese must've let go of his swords. Elian quickly glided a few feet away with Charging Winds, with the swords attached to his back with Barkskin, before Reese could get them free.

But Reese had other problems.

"You tricked me!" Reese shouted as tendrils hardened into Barkskin around his ankles, rooting him to the ground.

"I sure did," Elian said. Coiling down his left leg was one of Viney's vines. It burrowed into the soil and waited for Reese to attack up close. Elian knew that Reese would try stabbing him to prove that he could break the Barkskin. As the plan unfolded according to his predictions, he disarmed and immobilized Reese.

Reese's hands crackled with red energies. Suppressing Reese's movements, Elian shackled him with Aether manacles. Barkskin continued to cover Reese—Elian just had to buy time. Elian added more constructs. Reese realized what was happening, too. It was no longer just playing around. Reese's entire body flared with power, destroying the constructs binding him.

However, the Barkskin around his feet remained intact. Reese was standing on Fecund Ground, after all, quadrupling the Barkskin's durability.

In desperation, Reese bent down to punch the Barkskin. Perhaps, if he had enough time, he could break free.

Elian wasn't going to let that happen. He jumped on Reese, hugging him as more Barkskin spread.

"I yield! I yield!" Reese said.

Elian laughed as he released Reese. "And that's going to be my strategy for the Sarnival Port tournament."

"Cocooning your opponents? You can kill people if you truly want to." Reese let out a weak laugh. "The thought of suffocating in darkness fills me with dread. If you have stronger Aether constructs, you can restrict people faster. I've never imagined fighting in such a way."

"I haven't either… when I started as a Penitent," Elian said. "But we have to make do with what we have. Scarcity of options breeds creativity."

"Wise words," Reese said. "Another round? I'm not going to give up until I win."

Reese never did win until Gideon called them for dinner.