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Chapter 16: Training
After Red made a small sound to acknowledge my words, I assured him, "I will be staying here for a while, so you get to be with me as much as you want." Red appeared satisfied with my promise and walked back into the bush from where he had emerged. fr(e)e
Red was one of the rare mutated magical dinosaurs, and from my observation, every mutated dinosaur becomes significantly more powerful than before, disturbing the ecosystem and causing nearby animals to flee.
I encountered Red during my exploration on the eastern continent, and because I wanted to take a closer look, upon seeing me, Red immediately initiated a fight. It was one of the toughest battles I had faced since my birth, but my intelligence and abilities allowed me to prevail. Instead of killing Red, I spared its life due to its rarity, as the benefits outweighed the losses.
My victory over Red led to its submission, and it offered to share its territory with me. At the time, I had no immediate need for its territory or its proposal, but now, its territory has become a necessity for my training.
Now alone, I realized it was time to attend to something I had postponed for a while. Concentrating my focus, an image of my past life materialized in my mind. With clarity, I transformed into my human form.
Summoning a water mirror before me, I gazed at my former image reflected within it. The mirror showed a 6-feet-tall dark-skinned male with long dreadlocks, hazel brown eyes, a chiseled chin, and no facial hair. Intricate rune-like markings (Curses) adorned my human form, adding a touch of mysticism.
Noticing my nakedness, I willed a traditional cloth known as Ogodo from my past life to appear and wrap around my waist. It may have been a bit narcissistic, but I liked the way my well-defined abs were revealed without any cover. I wanted to cover my legs too but the feeling of connection i felt from the ground barefoot made me decide against it.
Sweeping away the water mirror, I made my way to a small clearing that had a tall tree in it. It felt like the perfect spot to establish my first home. Wasting no time, I utilized my abilities to construct a small wooden house. It required some trial and effort, but I was pleased with the final result.
As I embarked on my training, or rather, my experiments, I realized that the term "training" might not be entirely accurate. It was more about exploring and pushing the boundaries of my innate abilities. If you possess a vivid imagination, everything comes instinctively. It's akin to instructing someone born of fire to learn how to control flames.
During my journey, I attempted to train my abilities, only to discover that there was no real need for it. For instance, when I found that the roots I summoned could be easily broken, I initially thought training would make them stronger and more resilient. To my surprise, all I had to do was will the wood to become stronger and tougher, and it happened effortlessly.
There are four fundamental elements: fire, air, earth, and water. From these four elements stem various derivatives. For example, ice originates from water, and iron from earth. Many other powers can be derived from these core elements and there is no need for me to mention them all.
My purpose for this training is because I want to infuse other elements into my dominant element and impart some specific properties to it. My nature divinity granted me the power of wood and plant manipulation, along with a touch of earth manipulation, perhaps due to the fact that trees and plants rely on soil for growth.
However, when I attempted to infuse other elements such as fire or iron into the summoned wood, I encountered obstacles. The wood and fire elements seemed to cancel each other out, often resulting in the wood being consumed by flames and reduced to ashes. As for the element of iron, the two elements simply neutralized each other, yielding no discernible effect.
Interestingly, the water element presented no such hindrance. Instead, it imbued the wood or tree with a heightened vibrancy. This observation led me to contemplate the inherent laws of nature, where certain elements harmonize while others clash or remain incongruous.
Over the course of the next three years, I dedicated much of my time to seeking a balance where the elements could coexist harmoniously. However, my efforts did not yield the desired results. Despite this, I did experience personal growth and a heightened creativity with my abilities.
I discovered that I could now alter the capabilities of plants. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that I could create plants capable of absorbing blood for nourishment. This revelation shifted my focus, as I wanted to explore the extent of my abilities and understand my limitations. Consequently, I delved into a multitude of experiments, such as developing seeds that acted as parasites when ingested or in contact with the body.
Additionally, I worked on a plant that could harness and store light from the sun to address the issue of lightning in my realm. However, the presence of the fire element within the absorbed light caused combustion upon contact with the plant, rendering my creation futile.
Nevertheless, this setback led me to create a plant that could absorb the surrounding mana. Although I have yet to find a practical use for it, this endeavor sparked my curiosity to further explore the creation of plants that could focus on absorbing different elements.
As expected, the water and earth elements proved to be compatible in my plant experiments. The plant infused with the water element gained the ability to shoot water at my command. I could also compress the water and propel it through stones, increasing its force and impact.
Similarly, the plant infused with the earth element could expel a flurry of sand and shoot pebbles at high speeds. These pebbles had no trouble piercing through trees and even the animals I tested them on.
These plants infused with different elements exhibited unique characteristics, similar to the blood-sucking plant I had previously created. They developed a sense of instinct, unlike the plants I typically summoned. When I attempted to unsummon or release my control over them, they surprised me by pleading with me not to do so, as if they understood that they would cease to exist once unsummoned.
Surprised by this unexpected development, I made the decision to let them live. However, I faced the challenge of keeping them near me for further observation without carrying around a flower pot at all times. Remarkably, the blood-absorbing roots detached themselves from the ground, combining into one thick root and climbed up my body, seeking a place to stay. Recognizing its intention, I took the root and fashioned it into a headband, incorporating it into my dreads.
As for the other two plants infused with elemental powers, they simply burrowed back into the ground and emerged at the soles of my feet, transforming into small flower dots. Attached to the soles of my feet, they began absorbing the surrounding mana.
With this arrangement, my appearance underwent a transformation. I now wore a headband adorned with a bloodsucking root, featuring a distinct red streak. Additionally, two small tattoos adorned the soles of my feet, representing the plants infused with elemental powers.