Chương 34: Grove

This would go faster if he found the strongest mana source around. Climbing to the top of this tree he looked into the sky before cresting the canopy. Lessons learned through pain were lessons never forgotten. Not seeing any threats he stood up as tall as he could and scanned the area. Anything magical that stood out was likely full of mana. Two pink trees were candidates. Being different than the other trees nearby was a sign in his mind. What else?

Remembering the crystals in the lock box he lost to the campsite, Blick considered mana could make the container glow softly. If it was fainter in a plant than it was in a crystal then he may not be able to see it at all. Ok so the current goal should be to find home tree…

"I think that is the one." Pointing at a tall tree off in the distance. But the two pink trees are not quite in that direction. Assuming they would be his solution Blick decided to forgo home tree for one night and hike to the pinks. As the night settled around him, he climbed back into a tree to double check his direction expecting to see two pink glistening trees. What he saw reminded him of how little he truly understood about this jungle.

There were small patches of trees that had a faint blue glow, not a single pink tree was lit up, and a bit further away was an actual light source. Not mana glow. A light. Maybe a fire? To see it from this far away it must be fairly large. Fire didn't necessarily mean mana tho. It likely meant people. Picking the closest crop of glowing trees he set off back down the tree he was in. It would be a long night. Approaching the grove he stopped when he realized he wasn't alone.

Something had stepped out of the tree in front of him…. Out of the tree? Something he could only somewhat makeout. There were horns on its head, its arms nearly drug the ground even though its legs seemed much longer than his own. Deep black pits for eyes gave Blick a shiver. Several soft clicks sounded from the humanoid creature. Blick didn't have these words. He wasn't even sure if they are words.

"Hello?" He said with his nervous deep voice. The thing made a spattering of clicks and dashed behind a tree. That made Blick uncomfortable. Not being able to see the thing that was quite a bit taller than him and at home in this grove was not the best position to be in. Deciding not to go any further into the grove Blick dug up the first glowing root he came too. Staring at the tree where the clicker disappeared he placed his hand on the root and pulled.

Focusing on pulling as much mist as he could into his core, Blick began wincing in pain as his core reached its limit much faster than he expected. The combination of larger meridians and a better source of mana had drastically sped up his input. It burned his meridian to be pulling so fast. So he made the choice to add his two feet to the root and sat down. Leaving his one busted clawed hand out. Deciding to risk it for the speed of cultivation he pulled from three meridians at once. The tree began to dim.

Before it went too far he let go and walked to the next one all the while keeping his eyes on the grove for any sign of the thing. With adrenaline running through his body he dug up another root and began to pull from three meridians again. The drop condensed with a painful snap and a release of pressure. His body sagged with relief having accomplished the task. Standing fast and backing out of the grove he quickly turned and sprinted off.

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The grove keeper watched from within its favorite tree. This young Grok had just shown it something it had never seen before. When the small Grok ran off the keeper walked over to the roots it had held, and inspected them. The first tree was clearly ok if a bit dim. The second tree had barely began to dim at all. It placed a wooden hand on the root in curiosity. Nothing happened. Was it for the core? Keepers had cores. It placed a hand back in the root and pulled slowly focusing on directing whatever to its core.

It dropped the root at the burn that spread slowly up its arm. With pitch black wide eyes in its bark covered face it stared at the spot the young Grok disappeared. Several clicks into the night had a few more keepers show up. In their own slow and steady language it explained. It held the root for its kin to try. They all dropped the root in shock when they felt it. This would help them grow their grove immensely. If they could pull from the plain trees nearby and push more into the grove.

The Grok would be rewarded. They all agreed. The young Grok could teach them and they could help it. If only they could find it and communicate with the notoriously timid and hard to find race. Being one of the weaker races in the jungle the keepers understood why they hid. But it would be quite difficult to locate them underground when they couldn't use the trees to see. A problem for another day. The keepers had something new to learn and to teach their kin. The grove must grow.

Slowing down as to not run right into the next danger Blick found a nice spot to burrow his first hide hole in a while. It was dark and he was going to need to disappear if those things decided to hunt him. Buried in his hide hole for the evening, Blick checked his core and smiled with the knowledge of his second drop. First task was dumping as much into his busted arm as he could. That hurt so bad, but he grit his teeth and pushed until he passed out. The sleep was deep.

He didn't even wake for sunrise as he usually did. Waking up so late had him rushing out of his hole to relieve himself in a better spot. Coming back to the hide hole, he climbed back inside and got back to work on his arm. It was hard work and took him another full day. He even took a break when he could mostly move his arm. He was dying to check if he could still circulate. He could still use the technique tho the pain kept his rhythm strained and practice short.

He finished his arm and could move it with just a little pain and tenderness. It was time to crawl back out and find some food. He was absolutely starving. Today would be for hunting and practicing with his new potential. Always growing. Always discovering.