It’s been 5 weeks since I ran Elvis and Silvan out, and quite frankly, I don’t feel like I’ve done enough since then.

  I spent a couple of days growing a crap ton of vines throughout the portion of the forest I control. In fact, almost every tree that was under my influence got a makeover. I grew out their hair (vines are now all over the place), they all got pedicures (roots got reorganized and thickened), and everyone got some new clothes (I reinforced the trunks with iron by fusing the already hardened bark with some of the iron from the surprisingly rich layer of metal beneath the forest). Visually, the biggest difference was that every branch in every tree now hosted coils of vines, ready to spring at the slightest attack.

  Another plant trap I decided on was growing thickets of briar thorns here and there. I started off by creating a few bushes of them around the clearing that hosted my main body, but after talking to my avian friends some more, I decided to spread out quite a few of them. I also added some small berries to the bushes to help encourage regular wildlife to thrive. Mind you, these were regular berries packed with nutrients, not the Resource Berries that still populated the canopy of my main body.

  I was rewarded with a few families of bunnies taking shelter under the bushes. They made their burrows at the base of the outcropping, their thick fur being enough to prevent them from getting pricked. Well, that and I helped them out a bit by dulling the thorns at the base of the bush slightly. I wouldn’t want the innocents to get hurt, after all.

  The biggest disappointment over the last few weeks, though, came from my first Epic grade skill. I was hoping that it would spread out and encompass the entire forested area I had grown to cover, but it only stretches out as far as the clearing goes.

  The skill manifested after the first day of having it as a light mist. I expected it to bloom into a thick fog rather quickly, given the level of rarity of the skill, but it actually took a couple of days before it reached that point. As the fog thickened, I noticed that it would start to dissipate as it left the confines of the clearing. Thankfully, though, I was able to keep it restrained, creating a thick bubble of fog around my main body. I have to assume it was so easy to control thanks to it being made of my own mana; otherwise, I would have to worry about others gaining control over the mana fog. I guess I can only wait for someone else to come around to test the skill out with them. The description says it acts like a magical disruptor for everyone else, but it seems to make casting easier for me.

  When the fog thickened a bit, I tried using some basic Water Magic spells inside the confines of my bubble. I only made a simple water whip, cracking it a few times before releasing the spell, but I noticed my mana moved a bit smoother inside the fog bubble than outside of it. I was tempted to try out Fire Magic in it as well, but then I realized that Fire Magic works by burning my mana, and the entire clearing is filled with a gaseous form of it. I would really hate to try casting a fireball spell and accidentally create a new crater in the forest.

  However, from outside of the bubble came an excellent surprise. I found a bee’s nest!

  Ever since Aspen mentioned taming something or other (I forget, she was talking so fast, and I honestly zoned her out for most of it), I had been interested in taming a bee queen. With any luck, I can use the honey as a sort of sweet treat. It’s been quite a while since I had anything new to try, and it was better than nothing.

  The nest I found was that of a nascent queen. She had only just started making her hive, having only given birth to one worker bee so far. It was a bee-utiful sight to bee-hold!

  I made a fresh dirt puppet to carry the new nest over to my main body. From there, I used a vine to take the nest way up high into my canopy. I connected my mind to the queen’s minuscule mind and fed her droplets of warmth and positivity. I also sent minor images of flowers and sweet scents. She seemed to like it, as she quickly got to work birthing more larvae.

  By gaining the trust of a Bee Queen, you have gained the skill [Taming (U)].

  Sweet! I got a new pet! Now I just need to figure out how to grow flowers.

  Looking around the forest floor brought me a wide variety of flowering plants that I was able to choose from. I could have simply assimilated them into my constantly growing body, but I decided on a more mundane approach. I used a bit of Earth Magic to cut out a small cube of dirt around one of the flowers I found, a pretty white one with yellow accents, and brought the whole plant over to my clearing. Copy and paste a few times with similar flowers, and now I have a full garden in front of me. I mixed some mana water with some regular water and sprinkled that over the flower bed to hopefully encourage growth for the flowers.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  By creating a nurturing environment for plants, you have learned the skill [Gardening (C)].

  That… was unexpected. It feels… wrong?

  I mentally shrugged and went back to work. The last week has been a blur of doing various things to help the bee queen establish herself and keeping up with the garden, which seems to be growing at a rate much faster than normal. I attributed that to my inclusion of mana water in their diets and just moved on from there.

  Well, mana water and the Orc corpses that have been piling up and acting as fertilizer.

  Between all the Orcs I’ve been slaying and the increased rate of xp I’ve been getting from my upgraded Photosynthesis, I’ve made it to level 45! I only have 5 more levels to get through before I get to make Golems!

  I think this is the most excited and happiest I’ve been in a long time. I’ve been stressing so damn much about the elves lately that I’ve been forgetting to enjoy my life as a tree. This really is a good life, even if it’s a bit hectic at times.

  I dismissed the notification of the level raise and pulled up my status. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten a proper look at it anyway.

  User: Willow Race: Tree

  Level: 45 Exp: 3/8000

  H:100% S:100% M:100%

  Tree Skills: Photosynthesis, Iron Bark, Rapid Growth, Vine Control, Resource Berry, Fruit Creation, Gardening

  Body Skills: Domain of Awareness, Improved Digestion, Body Manipulation, Improved Sap Flow, Short Rest, Mental Fortitude, Parasitic Takeover, Quickened Thought

  Magic: Water Magic, Earth Magic, Fire Magic, Air Magic, Metal Magic, Mental Magic, Mana Circulation, Mana Condensation, Mana Efficiency, Mana Fog

  Crafting: Wood Working, Blacksmithing, Enchanting, Disenchanting

  Other: Fire Resistance, First Aid, Identify, Marksmanship, Unarmed Combat, Taming

  Achievements: First Blood, Feared by Ants, Elemental Sage, Architect

  Wow. I’ve come a long way from the little sapling I used to be.

  I scrolled through the list of skills I’ve gotten and considered if there were any obvious ones I’m missing. I could probably easily get a few weapon skills by creating a training dummy and crafting the appropriate weapon to go along with it. Like a spear would be a piece of cake, and I’m sure Spearmanship is probably a good skill to have. It might help with any piercing attacks I use my roots or vines for, after all.

  Enough violence for now. I need to enjoy the peace while I can.

  I dismissed the floating text from my vision and readied the mana water to take care of my garden. These flowers weren’t going to water themselves, you know.

  Back in Ostlan city, the lord of the domain was having a less than pleasant time.

  “Why haven’t those damn elves taken the god forsaken tree yet?! Don’t they horde these damn things?”

  Ostlan was in his study, his butler, Alfred, having just given him the most recent report from the oracle they hired. It dictated that the elves had yet to return to the tree, but more importantly, that the tree seemed to be spreading its influence.

  “My lord, is it possible they have abandoned the tree?” Alfred asked. “If they have, then it might mean they have abandoned rights to it as well. We could look into hiring the adventurer guild master to get rid of it.”

  Ostlan took a deep breath and set down the second lamp he was getting ready to throw.

  “It’s not possible. Due to certain treaties, all sentient trees count as citizens of the elven nation. An attack on one, either direct or through hired muscle, would count as an attack on an elf. That would lead to war. However, if the elf were to attack us first…”

  A smile slowly crept onto Lord Ostlan’s face as he thought up a devious plan to get rid of this weed, this constant thorn in his side.

  “Alfred, go fetch Seth for me. I think it’s been a while since we’ve had any formation practices, don’t you agree?”

  “As you command, my lord,” Alfred said before bowing deeply. He didn’t miss the obvious implications, nor the dubious looks on his lord’s face. He immediately turned and left the room.

  “He’s always scheming something,” Alfred whispered to himself. “Why can’t he just leave the damn weed alone? It’s not hurting anyone! For fuck’s sake, it’s clearing out so many damn Orcs that travel along the south road is safer with it than without! It’s saving this hellish city hundreds of gold in security fees, disposal fees, and even patrol fees!”

  Alfred angrily muttered to himself as he went about his business, finally stopping a hundred feet from Commander Seth’s office. He took a moment to compose himself, brushing the dust from his shoulders and combing his mustache. When he felt ready, he approached Seth’s office, ready to relay the commands given by their lord. Once at the door, he performed a complex knocking pattern, one designed to let Seth know it was him.

  “Enter,” came a clipped reply.

  Alfred opened the door to the sight of 3 men standing over a table with a map of the city spread on it.

  “Gentlemen, I have come to give orders from Lord Ostlan to Commander Seth. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

  Alfred recognized one of the strangers standing over the map as Seth’s brother and guild master of the Adventurer’s Guild, but had no clue as to who the second one was.

  They were shorter, and their face was hidden behind a deep, green hood. When they looked up, Alfred could only see two glowing spheres that were the person’s eyes. Beyond that, Alfred couldn’t make anything else out.

  It was obvious this man was from the assassin’s guild.

  Seth gave Alfred a smile and ushered him in. “Not at all, my friend. In fact, we were just finalizing plans. What has the clown to say now?”

  Alfred cracked a small grin as he stepped in. It seems they had some scheming to do themselves on this fine day.

  Discord Here!