Chương 8: Stepping On a New Path

Maximus made his way to the western side of the village and found an abandoned place in the back, a bit further away from the other homes. He made sure nobody else was using it before cleaning up the central room with the fireplace. Chains hung above the hearth, designed to hold a cauldron for cooking. Maximus dragged a nearby table as close as possible to make the work easier.

He then found a simple pot and purchased a large spoon, a basic kitchen knife, and several more bottles of water, spending thirty tokens altogether.

"Alright, let's see what we can do here." He summoned a small pile of Seedlings and laid out the materials he had procured. Using the new knife, he minced the Faintglow Weed as casually as though he were preparing parsley for dinner. Next came Dawn Lily. He separated the petals from the stalk, crushing the stalk beneath the flat of the blade before arranging both parts into separate piles. The final ingredient was the Redmother's Root.

After rinsing it clean with water, he hung the pot over the fire and waited for the water to boil.

"Well, I'm adapting my personal recipe, but this should work. The seedlings ought to compensate for the lack of higher-quality plants," he muttered while waiting for the water to heat. As the water reached the boiling point, he added the roots and allowed them to simmer until the liquid turned blood-red.

"Damn. I don't have anything to strain this with." He sighed, realizing he would need to spend more tokens. He purchased a second pot and a cheap cotton shirt, which was far less expensive than buying a proper sieve. Stretching the fabric across the top of the empty pot, he carefully poured the crimson liquid through it, leaving the softened roots behind. After the roots cooled, he mashed them into a thick paste and combined them with fresh water, the Faintglow Weed, and the crushed Dawn Lily stalks.

The mixture soon darkened into a murky green as soft bubbles rose to the surface.

"Well, time for the last step." He steadied himself before tossing in three handfuls of seedlings and allowing the mixture to boil once more. When the liquid turned fully emerald-green, he strained it into the red mixture, discarding the plant remains and adding the flower petals. After cooking the blend for another hour, he filtered it one final time before pouring the finished result into the glass bottles he had prepared earlier. Skill Unlocked: [Potioncraft (D) Lv. 3]"Well, it's not red…

Let's see what it says." He appraised it, ignoring the new skill for the moment. [Lesser Healing Potion (Altered Version) (E)] Heals minor wounds instantly, such as scratches and smaller burns. Medium wounds and broken bones take time to heal, requiring the potion to be consumed twice a day for five days. A decent result considering everything. At least I don't need to chew on those seedlings that much any longer. He stored four large bottles of the potion in his storage. Let's see what that new skill does then.

He opened the Skill tab and checked it.

Potioncraft (D) Level 3 – Allows the user to craft potions with less effort. Raises the odds of producing higher-quality potions by 20%. The chance for potions to fail during brewing is drastically reduced.

Alright, useful, I guess. He didn't find it that impressive. He was certain that a potion crafted by the great Aurelius would never fail or drop below the quality of the materials used. Then he decided to train a little while until it was time for lunch. He sat before the fire in a meditative position and began absorbing spirit energy. He was going to try the same method he had used to create his circles to enhance his body's spirit reserves.

Unlike mana, which needed to be stored within the heart, spirit energy flowed through his entire body, not being stored in any single location. Once it was spent, it would naturally refill again throughout the body. This is impractical, and the waste of energy is tremendous this way. What if I try to condense it into a single spot, just like forging a circle? He thought. He began pulling in threads of spirit energy into his body until it was full.

Then, when he sensed there was no more room, he forced in another thread, and another, and another, until he felt it, a heat beginning to rise from his abdomen, his body breaking into a heavy sweat that drenched his clothes as if he were standing in the rain. Something is happening. I need more. I cannot let it escape my grasp now! He dragged in more threads of spirit energy until the energy within him began to boil and surge violently through his body. Warning! Warning!

Alert: Excess energy is detected within the body. It is advised to expel excess energy before implosion.

"Nonsense, this is how you forge your circles!" He muttered as he forced even more spirit into his already overflowing form. Suddenly, static crackled over his skin, his hair lifting into the air. At the same time, the spirit energy around him began to swirl, forming faint gusts of wind. Even Sprout opened a portal and arrived on its own, linking its senses and vision to Maximus. Sprout, what are you doing here? Maximus questioned as he observed his body both from within and without.

"Ooooh!" He understood instantly as he noticed the natural phenomena. The more spirit energy condensed in one place, the stronger the natural forces became; even thin strands of grass began to sprout beneath him, piercing through the creases in the wooden floor.

"Wait… That's it. That's why it wasn't condensed." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He finally understood and laughed like a mad scientist having made a breakthrough.

"Spirit energy isn't like mana. It's not a liquid inside the body; it behaves more like pressure, like a gas. The more you condense it, the stronger it becomes, but also the more dangerous. But you don't force it to stay… You make it want to stay. An anchor, that's what I need." He muttered as Sprout watched him. He then pushed everything into one spot, a place where the spirit energy felt closest to nature, his abdomen.

There, he began braiding the strands of spirit energy, three by three, until he could no longer fit any more, and then he ignited them. The braids imploded one after another, releasing violent surges of transformed spirit energy, shifting from gaseous pressure into something almost liquid.

"NOW! COMPRESS!" he roared, drawing on the spirit energy he had set aside to compress the internal implosion. For what felt like an eternity, he struggled against himself until finally, with a pulse of spirit energy that rippled through his entire being, something formed, a small crystallized seed, no larger than a fingernail. It anchored the spirit energy within his body and began drawing spirit inward relentlessly.

The energy no longer dissipated outward, but instead flowed inward, constantly drawn and bound by the seed. Then a white light enveloped his body, and the system echoed. Alert: Anomaly detected. Change observed… Editing… Class Trait upgraded from [Natural (F)] to [Nature's Seed (E)] Status information updated! Reward granted: 600 Battle Tokens for opening a new path.

"What was that? I felt like my whole body was being inspected for a moment." He muttered and opened his status. Level: 5 Talent Points: 4 BT: 715 Class: Druid – First Awakening Arcane Path: Sealed Health: 375 | Spirit: 300 | Mana: Locked Physical Condition: Weak Human Vessel (Devouring Excess Spirit Energy) Spirit Core Stage: Seed Formation Skills: Seedling (F) LV. 10, Thorn Whip (F) LV. 7, Minor Shapeshift (F) LV. 2, Barkskin (F) LV. 2, Seedling Companion (F) LV. 1, Nature's Wrath (E) LV. 2, Potioncraft (D) LV.

3 Soul Traits: Otherworldly, Archmage (Dormant), Death Defiant, Library, Will of the Sage, Circle Breaker, Cosmic, Liberator Body Traits: Spiritborn (SS), Mana Sense (E) Class Traits: Nature's Seed (E) LV. 1 Class Traits: Nature's Seed (E) Level 1 – One chosen by nature and the spirits of the world. Nature-type spells are easier to learn, and spirit energy regenerates by 1% over every 90 seconds.

The total amount of stored spirit energy has doubled, and it is beginning to merge with the user's body at a fundamental level.

He then stood up, noting that the phenomenon he had observed through Sprout had already faded, and the surroundings had returned to normal, all but the grass blades that circled the area where he sat. Sprout hopped onto his leg and climbed up to his shoulder, absorbing the lingering spirit energy in the air and on his skin. Slowly, it grew, if only just a little. Skill Leveled Up: [Seedling Companion (F) Lv. 2]"Oh, so you grow by absorbing spirit energy. We'll have to find you a nice, rich spot then."

Maximus smiled at his new companion as he examined his body. His form seemed slightly thicker now, no longer as scrawny as when he first saw it, though still far from healthy. His insides, however, were completely different. Within his abdomen, a small space had formed, with the crystalline seed resting at its center. Spirit energy flowed around it in a constant vortex, endlessly replenished and further condensed.

Tiny strands of energy occasionally drifted from the seed into his body, merging with it, but the effect was still too weak to make any meaningful difference.

"Looks like I've taken the first step toward something greater. It's not much now, literally just a seed, but I'm quite excited to see what it grows into." He smiled.

"I might as well test mana compatibility while I'm at it as well." He sat back down and focused his mind on mana, ignoring the spirit energy this time. He grasped a strand of mana with his will and drew it inward, carefully making sure it didn't drift toward the seed. So far, so good. He noted as he guided it toward his heart in an attempt to start the circle forging process. Alert: Mana detected within the heart! Danger!

The moment the strand touched his heart, excruciating pain exploded through his body, and a violent surge of spirit energy immediately expelled the mana on its own. He coughed up a bit of blood and shook his head.

"It's not going to work just yet, but at least it lasted longer than the first time." He sighed and stood up, only then noticing his body and clothing had turned dark brown, as if he had rolled through thick dirt.

"Looks like I expelled some impurities earlier. I really need to find a place to clean myself." He sighed. In his late years, he was used to living in a vast library where he barely ever got dirty, and among all other races, elves were known as the ones who disliked getting themselves dirty the most.

"This really is unacceptable." He shook his head, slipped Sprout into the pocket of the vest he had taken a few days ago, and went off to find a place to clean himself.

Maximus walked down the street from his current home until he found someone. A large, bald, muscular man was thrusting a spear in precise motions while breathing heavily.

"Hello, kind sir. May I ask you a question?" Maximus stepped up beside him. The man sighed and paused his exercise.

"What's up? I'm busy here," he grunted.

"Is there any place where I can wash up?" Maximus asked.

"Oh, I thought you were gonna beg me for tokens," the man chuckled, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Yeah, we've got a mage who fills the barrels every morning. You can scrub that stench off there for twenty tokens. It's over that way." The man pointed him in the right direction. Maximus thanked him and followed the path until he reached the designated place. There, he found a backyard divided by a wooden fence, with a woman standing behind what looked like a small counter.

"Hello, I'd like to have a bath," Maximus said, slightly uneasy at the setup.

"That will be 20 tokens, and you can have your clothes cleaned for 5 more," the woman said flatly, almost emotionless.

"Alright… What should I do?" Maximus asked, confused.

"Go back there, leave your clothes outside, and take a clean towel. Your room is number 8," the woman replied without looking up. Maximus paid her and did as instructed. He removed his clothes, left them outside, and wrapped a towel around his waist before entering "room 8," which was little more than a small section of the backyard closed off by wooden panels, with a barrel filled with heated water.

"It's like we are beasts," Maximus muttered under his breath as he stepped into the barrel and began scrubbing himself clean. Sprout floated happily in the warm water, clearly enjoying itself. Once he was done, he dried himself and headed toward the changing area, where, as promised, his clothes were waiting, clean and neatly folded. He got dressed and left the place with an awkward smile. Well… That was certainly an experience. He shook his head and made his way to get something to eat.

Maximus spent the rest of the day adjusting to his new spirit circulation and simply resting, preparing himself mentally for the night ahead.

As the night slowly descended over the Planes, the sound of a war horn echoed across the land, and the ground itself began to tremble. Maximus ran outside of his shelter and quickly encountered the spear-wielding man from earlier.

"Come on, mate! Let's go kill some monsters and level up!" the man said with a wide, excited grin before sprinting toward the city walls. Maximus followed him, climbing up the ladder and reaching the top of the walls. There, they saw it, in the far distance, rapidly approaching, a wave of kobolds, small reptilian creatures, red and green in color, barely half the size of an adult human. Some carried crude blades, daggers, and spears, while others rode on wolves with bows clutched in their hands.

And far behind them, walking at a slower, steady pace, was a larger figure, a human-sized reptile, more akin to a lizardman than a simple kobold, gripping a staff as it allowed the smaller creatures to rush ahead.

"Men! Today we fight for our lives, tonight we level up!" the old chief Edgar shouted from beside the city gates. His body suddenly expanded, nearly doubling in size as muscles swelled beneath his skin, and he grabbed a massive greatsword. Without hesitation, he dashed forward just as the gates were thrown open, leading the charge as the rest of the willing participants surged out to meet the oncoming horde.