NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10 – Headhunting
The funny thing was, I fulfilled my promise to that guy. Strawberry delivery, one completed!
Once I returned to one of my plant bodies, I rejuvenated myself and restored my fey body back to completion through merging. That was the only way I knew how to heal myself. After I had re-emerged from my plant body, I examined myself thoroughly.
Currently, my status was:
[Level 21 Fey (Plant);
Species: Strawberry Trickster
Physical: 5/5;
Spiritual: 65/65;
Traits: Bewitching, Devious, Rapid Growth, Cloning;
Abilities: Absorption, Charm, Supply Chain, Strawberry Substitution;
Description: A tricky plant fey that likes to toy with their foes.]
Somehow, I felt like the description was taunting me. I was clearly being toyed with earlier. Since I didn't know how to properly use [charm] nor did I know how to charm some creepy guy, I ended up like that.
There were some changes to my fey body but not much. In terms of size, I had grown twice my previous size. In terms of gender, I still had none, nothing. In terms of other features, my skin tone had lightened significantly, and my wings were more vibrant. That was both good and bad, but mostly just plainly bad. The reason was that I was now an easier target for dangerous predators.
I need to hire a bodyguard. I'm a very important person after all.
Anyhow, with this I was able to confirm that after each evolution, for the effects to take place on my fey body, I had to merge with one of plant bodies. As for my plant bodies, they should start altering or changing in the next few days. I expected them to just grow bigger like they always did after evolutions and level ups.
Where to hire a bodyguard? He'll be my first, my very first citizen. I'm going to bribe him with strawberries so he can never betray me! Mwuahahaha...
Whatever the case with hiring a bodyguard, I needed faster travel methods. Strawberries didn't last forever which meant "strawberry substitution" was only a last ditch attempt for my escape. Growing strawberries wasn't cheap on my resources. The other method was the tried and mostly successful so far, that was by flight. With bigger wings, hopefully that meant I could fly faster.
Headhunting.
I dealt with them in my previous life when I was seeking employment. To be frank, I was not thrilled with my experiences with them. This time was different. I was the headhunter!
In my travels, I had tried to avoid being detected as much as I could. However, I couldn't do that anymore. I had to appeal to those willing to become my guards whether they liked it or not. For that to happen, I needed a form of payment. What better form of payment was there than my super addictive strawberries?
Running a drug cartel? I'm in! I'll make myself the definition of a drug cartel in this world. Ehehehe...
With my planning stage done, I began organizing all of my plant bodies to produce at least one strawberry first. Right now most of the strawberries were being produced at the wasp nest and my first plant body to keep the beetles happy.
Strange. How come I haven't leveled up? I was sure I cursed that evil man. Did it not work on him? Hmm... Ah, whatever.
It wasn't like I knew for a fact that curses really worked.
For the next while, I scavenged days and nights for anyone that looked strong and intelligent. There were actually countless of other fey beings all around me. I just never took notice because of how tiny they were. I really thought they were just fruit flies until I finally decided to check the status of the thingy that drowned in my flower nectar.
Seriously? I didn't even know a fey could drown. Were you drunk?
[Level 1 Fey (dead);
Species: Grasling;
Physical: 1/1;
Spiritual: 0/2;
Traits: N/A;
Abilities: N/A;
Description: A type of fey that dwells within grasses.]
The stats were next to non-existent. What intrigued me was the physical stat showing full health or so it appeared. This made me think twice what these stats truly meant. Did "physical" mean damage to the physical body? Also, what did "spiritual" really mean?
I checked the status of as many objects as I could to get a better understanding of the stats and the values. After hundreds of close examinations, I finally understood what "physical" represented, at least for plants. It was actually just physical damages. For example, a tree that lost a few branches would have less than full "physical" stat. Over time, that missing stat would recover just like my plant body.
Wait, couldn't I have done this experiment on myself? Silly me.
As for "spiritual", as far as I could tell "0" always meant death. The same didn't seem to hold true for "physical" because a body could be perfectly preserved under special circumstances. As for anything that weren't plants or fey beings, I still needed some more data.
I wonder if my [absorption] ability worked on the spiritual stat only?
Lastly, I took note of the levels. They really couldn't be compared across species. It was a bummer! I couldn't use it to determine how strong things were due to evolution. The only thing I could say was that the higher the levels, the further I kept myself away.
Anyhow, I did manage to find some great candidates. They weren't easy to find! I only noted their general locations down and had a clone grown nearby. It was only a matter of time they picked one of my strawberries, only a matter of time.
Pride. No way I would beg anyone to guard me. No. Way. Not a chance. I'll make you all beg me to serve me!
The first one was a minotaur I found near a riverbank. The species name wasn't a minotaur but I already named it a minotaur because it looked like one.
[Level 11 Beast;
Species: Kallion;
Physical: 143/143;
Spiritual: 15/15;
Traits: Iron skin;
Abilities: Berserker;
Description: A type of headstrong beast that cannot be tamed.]
That description though, it was if god was watching me and knew I was trying to find some good hires. I'll dangle a strawberry in front of it if that'll force it to go where I wanted it to go! He was as good as mine.
The next ones were the kobolds. In terms of appearance, they were ugly humanoids the size of small children. They lived in groups in the mountains, forming small villages. They were ideal for to work as my farmers! Their levels varied but they were actually very peaceful looking bunch. It even said so in their description. I had to add though, they were too peaceful, enough for me to want to stir things up around here.
[Level 5 Fey;
Species: Kobold;
Physical: 34/34;
Spiritual: 25/25;
Traits: N/A;
Abilities: N/A;
Description: A type of fey that enjoy living in peace.]
There was another one that seemed quite fun to have, as a pet.
[Level 31 Lizard;
Species: Lo-Rednal;
Physical: 97/97;
Spiritual: 32/32;
Traits: Nocturnal;
Abilities: Toxic Gaze;
Description: A type of nocturnal lizard that kills with their eyes.]
It was actually a very large black salamander that lived near a swamp. I managed to get a glimpse of it one night. Calling it a glimpse wasn't appropriate. In fact, I had a firsthand experience of its ability [toxic gaze]. That night, we had a passionate staring contest! How could I lose when its ability had no effect on me? Or, at least it didn't seem to work on me for some reason. Maybe it had some restrictions. Anyway, that little staring contest sure was fun until it started chasing after me.
"Ah, a heated night at the swamp side, it's a love that cannot be! Truly! Please, chase me no more, for we are ever star-crossed. Farewell!"
That night was the last we met. I couldn't possibly go back to remind that poor fellow of its broken heart. Love was cruel, no doubt about it. I, too, suffered a similar fate in my previous life.