《Reborn As A Seedling [LitRPG]》 Turning a new LEAF Why am I...? The thought echoed in her mind. The sensation of an aching body, a fragmented memory, the feeling of being human was almost like a forgotten dream. ¡¸Initializing...¡¹ Yet, she could still remember. Bare memories, bare enough so that they were more akin to sensation than conscious thought. It had been a life where she could move. And speak. And see. Why can''t I...? ¡¸System Initialized. Lifeform Enhancement and Augmentation Framework (L.E.A.F) is now active. Importing Resources...¡¹ And then, darkness. Cold. The sharp pain of something breaking inside her. Her final moments - final sensations - were the most clear to her. The fading light. The feeling of dissatisfaction and powerlessness. The hunger for more. Why couldn''t I...? ¡¸Partial Import Complete. Full Import Paused. Autonomy Restored. Begin Simulation...¡¹ The sensations were pushed away. ¡¸Welcome, New Life.¡¹ She jolted at the words. Her thoughts, still scrambled and hazy, struggled to process the screen in front of her. She closed her eyes to and pushed it away, but her roots barely budged and the screen did not shift. "Roots?" She realized with a jolt. I have roots. Awareness took hold. The cool dampness of the soil, the warmth that seeped from above, the faint changes in the air against the soft tips of her budding leaves, the stretching beneath the soil. She was aware of all these things. She was a plant. "Okay, what the actual fu-" ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¸Confirm Partial Import. "I am a _ _ _ _ _"¡¹ The menu hovered in front of me for some time, as I contemplated how to answer it. After shouting out a few colorful words, I had calmed down and tried to understand my current situation. My name is - or was, I suppose - Narisawa Ako. I had died... which would have been more scary if I hadn''t seen Isekai anime before. I was happy to have that level of knowledge because my memory was still very fuzzy. I could clearly remember learning basic algebra, world history, human anatomy, but when I tried to think about my friends or family, I kept drawing blanks. It was strange, but having no memory would have been much stranger so I just had to accept that. It was much harder to accept that, with that limited information, I still knew that I was a plant. And when I say limited, I mean limited. No lungs to breathe. No skin to see. No eyes to see. Just... darkness. I shook off that murky feeling, and blinked - thought about blinking - at the screen that demanded my attention. "Not much else to do..." I spoke, and the void responded with silence. I focused on it and answered. ¡¸"I am a P L A N T" Identify Affirmed. Partial Import Confirmed. Simulation Resuming...¡¹ The menu split in two and new information barraged me. I focused on the left one, which seemed to be a statistics screen of some kind. ¡¸L.E.A.F Name: ??? Race: Seedling Level : 1 Biomass: 0/10 Energy: 5/10¡¹ I wasn''t really a gamer in my past life, but even then this screen felt... lacking. I turned - thought about turning, wow, that''s so weird - to the next one. ¡¸Skill Tree [Seedling] Root Growth [1 - Innate] Photosynthesis [1 - Innate] Absorption [1 - Innate] Nutrient Detection [1 - Innate] Energy Storage [1 - Innate]¡¹ That felt better to look at. More complete. I tapped - thought about tapping - one of the skills to get a better idea of what it actually did. ¡¸Absorption [1 - Innate] Absorption allows nutrients and water to be drawn from the environment through roots. Low efficiency, but increases with further skill development.¡¹ Yeah, don''t know what I was really expecting. Still, I didn''t have much else to do so I went through and checked all the skills anyways. They were all what you''d expect from a plant. Root Growth allowed me to grow and extend roots, Photosynthesis made me photosynthesize,Nutrient Detection helped me sense nutrients, and Energy Storage would let me self-destruct whenever I wanted. So... now what? The menus had kept me distracted, but now that I went through all of them, I didn''t know what exactly to do. I shifted my focus inward, trying to get a sense of my new body. It was an odd, detached sensation, but awareness of my form began to take shape.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It was an odd mental picture. I didn''t have an exact sense of scale, but I was pretty small. My thin stem supported my tiny form, supporting my two teeny leaves that stretched out for light that might not even be there. Below, my threadlike roots anchored me. It was weird for my human to try and make sense of this. I wanted to call myself generic, but that felt insulting to myself. I wanted to call myself cute, but that felt both odd - finding a plant cute - and narcissistic - calling myself cute. Then there was harmless, but that felt wrong as well - I was small, but that didn''t mean I couldn''t be a threat. Maybe small was enough for now. Small...? Vulnerable... Weak. Powerless. Fragile. I shuddered at the barrage of depressive words that filled my brain. It''s not the best situation to be in, but jeez. I took a second to motivate myself and shake off the gloom, refocusing on my body. But the thoughts aren''t exactly wrong. I''m a small plant, so I should obviously try to grow. Another menu appeared. ¡¸New Objective Added - Establish Roots Parameters: Increase Skills [Root Growth], [Photosynthesis] and [Absorption] to Level 2.¡¹ Convenient timing. Despite the oddity of it all, I felt a flicker of excitement. "Well then," I spoke to the void. I pushed my mind back to my body, and focused on my roots, willing them to stretch further. "Let''s get to work." ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¸Skill Progression : Root Growth 1 ? 2¡¹ "FINALLY!" The word leapt from my throat before I could stop it, not that I would have. Over the however-long-its-been-since-I-got-my-quest, I had come to a simple resolution. Being a plant was boring as hell. Maybe that was a little unfair to plants. Having a human brain and being in a plant body was boring as hell. My awareness still hadn''t stretched pass my body, so I had no idea where I was. So, not only could I not have an idea of how much time has passed, I also couldn''t enjoy the simple comfort of sight. Still, besides my slowly decreasing sanity, I had steadily gotten used to my new body. I had gotten to the point where I could move my roots and leaves without thinking about it - like automatic breathing or blinking - but since that was the only thing I could do... no thank you. Moving them was interesting. One would think roots would be like legs, and leaves like arms, but they kind of acted like both. Take the roots. It wasn''t as quick as stretching limbs; it was a slow, and strangely satisfying process, like stretching a stiff joint. I could feel every tiny movement, every microshift in the earth,feel the teeniest chemicals of nearby nutrients. The furthest roots were like fingers, with my nearest roots acting like motionless arms that supported slightly thinner arms, then hands, and then fingers. They were like legs, because they kept me anchored and balanced. ¡¸Skill Progression : Nutrient Detection 1 ? 2 Absorption 1 ? 2¡¹ "Huh, maybe I should be more narrative since that''s apparently when all my skills level. Although it does make sense since those three skills go together so well. What do you think Leafa?" I spoke to the Mind Palace. Oh, right. I also named the ''L.E.A.F System'' Leafa because it sounds better, and started calling this dark abyss the Mind Palace because I wanted to. Leafa of course didn''t answer back, but I knew it heard me. Leafa was always listening... Another thing that really bothered me were my Biomass and Energy. "Leafa, I need some stimulation. Re-explain my stats for me please." ¡¸Level represents overall growth and development. Leveling up is achieved by accumulating maximum Biomass. Each level increases Energy and Biomass capacity, while also providing Skill Points to upgrade or learn new abilities. Every ten levels, you are presented with an evolutionary choice.¡¹ "Oh, now you''re willing to talk." ¡¸Biomass represents-¡¹"Don''t try to talk ove-" ¡¸-matter required for growth-¡¹"This is why our relationship is s-" ¡¸-accumulated through possession of excess Energy or organic matter absorption with-¡¹"I just really don''t like your att-" ¡¸-and Biomass may be converted to Energy.¡¹ I sighed. "This is why no-one outside of anime likes tsunderes. Too much drama." ¡¸¡¸Says you.¡¹¡¹ I blinked. ¡¸Energy is fuel for all functions. It is generated through photosynthesis and nutrient absorption and consumed to maintain growth, activate certain skills, and sustain life processes.¡¹ Huh... I could''ve sworn that it actually responded that one time. Maybe the Mind Palace is just getting to me, but either way those final few words were a massive problem. I currently had 6 Energy and 0 Biomass. Back when I got super motivated, I burnt through almost all my energy and basically had to just sit. And wait. There weren''t many numbers, but I was trying to keep things balanced. Expand too quick = burn through all my Energy, don''t have enough to stay alive, die. Expand too slow = mental death, something something, die. Nutrient Detection knocked on the doors and I left the Mind Palace to answer its call. I poked at the object with my roots. The earth was soft, enough so that I could separate it without issue, but whatever this was, it was solid enough that I couldn''t push through it. I would have figured it a rock, but Nutrient Detection insisted it was more useful than that. It was something to entertain my mind with so I diverted my attention to it. I tried to use Absorption, but the bare contact didn''t seem to be enough. So I let a root curl around it. ¡¸Skill Unlocked: Root Observation [Active] Allows roots to analyze organic matter. Provides minimal information, but increases with further skill development.¡¹ I willed the new skill to activate. ¡¸Unidentified Organic Material Detected Potential Biomass: Negligible¡¹ The skill wasn''t sure what it was and neither was I. Couldn''t say if it was animal, insect, or remnants of some decayed plant. It was just¡­ there. I hesitated. What if whatever this was could cause me harm or even get me killed? I was still the equivalent of a baby here, and while I wasn''t having the most entertaining time so far, it didn''t mean that I wanted to die over it. I had no skin to tear, no blood to spill, but there was still that little voice gnawing at the back of my mind, whispering that this was dangerous, and I was just too small, too fragile to take the risk. My roots trembled slightly, and with a quiet mental sigh, I pushed aside that familiar, nagging, fear. I couldn''t afford to let doubt slow me down. I tightened my grip and let Absorption continue its work. The breakdown of the material wasn''t an instantaneous poof, but a long period where nutrients were broken down and made useful to me. My resolve fragmented, but I pressed forward and my sense of discomfort steadily grew until the notification popped up. ¡¸Biomass + 1¡¹ I waited. And waited. I waited until something happened, and when nothing did, I finally let that sense of unease disappear into the depths of the Mind Palace. With the unease out of the way, all that was left was curiosity. What had I just consumed? Was there more nearby? I shook my non-existent head, and instead focused on the now. The pleasure in getting my first point of Biomass would eventually fade, and I would have plenty of time to think later anyways. So I closed my eyes, and savored the moment. Growing Pains ¡¸Skill Progression : Photosynthesis 1 ? 2¡¹ The message blinked into my awareness, cutting through the haze of my boredom. I was right to simply enjoy that point of Biomass, because nothing had happened. No skills had levelled, I didn''t find anymore ''Unidentified Organic Material'', nothing. Another notification followed, and a sense of pride welled up in me as I read the words. ¡¸Objective - Establish Roots - has been completed. Reward: Sense of Accomplishment.¡¹ "HEY LEAFA! WHERE''S MY REWARD?!" ¡¸All objectives are issued solely for user guidance. Completion of an objective does not guarantee tangible rewards. Please manage expectations accordingly.¡¹ If I had lungs, I would¡¯ve sighed. If I had hands, I would¡¯ve buried my face in them. Instead, all I could do was float in existential disappointment. I suppose the objective did not mention a reward, but even the sense of accomplishment I felt wasn''t mine. That was... disappointing. I pulled my attention away from my body to sulk. Reality hiccuped. The menu flickered, words breaking into unreadable gibberish, and then fragmenting further into something even more incomprehensible. The Mind Palace''s uninterrupted silence was filled with a shrill, sharp static-like sound that threatened to overwhelm my unprepared self. The menu kept repeating the same ''text'' like a glitched cassette tape. ¡¸??? ?????????????¡ã ??? ????? ?? ????????¡ã¡¹ Another violent flicker, a sharp ping! noise rippled through the darkness, and then all was calm yet again. A new menu appeared in front of me, and I braced myself as I read it. ¡¸System Clarification: Objective - Establish Roots - was user¡¯s first completed objective. Milestone Detected -¡ºFirst Step¡». Milestone objectives grant tangible rewards. Oversight corrected. Assigning Rewards: 1 Active Skill Choice and 1 Skill Point.¡¹ ¡¸Milestone ¡ºFirst Step¡»Reward Available! Choose: Leaf Blade (Active) - Modify a pre-existing leaf, sharpening its edges to use for slicing, cutting, or manipulating objects. Vine Whip (Active) - Sprout and control a single thin vine for short-ranged interactions. Regrowth (Active) - Accelerate the regrowth of damaged or severed parts of your form for a brief period.¡¹ Oh, that was an information dump and a half. Still, getting the choice of my first skill made me feel like a proper isekai protagonist. It felt good as long as I ignored the horrible glitch(?) that just happened. So, like with the Biomass, I focused on the now - the good. Leaf Blade, Vine Whip and Regrowth, three good and equally convoluted choices. Leaf Blade seemed like a decent offensive and defensive option, but if something wanted to get rid of me right now, I doubted I would get the chance to use it. Also, I still can''t see. I could see some offensive use from Vine Whip, maybe a bit of utility if I used it properly. However, I still can''t see. That really only left Regrowth, the only skill not dependent on sight. I could heal myself!... and then die because I could do nothing. I went in circles like this for a while, before sighing. "Eenie meenie miney - wait, no, that''s how you end up with garbage skills in RPGs... but I don''t have a better way of deciding." Ultimately, the longer I thought about it, the more I didn''t know what to do, so I just ended up going by gut instinct. ¡¸Skill Unlocked: Vine Whip [Active] Allows user to sprout and control a single vine for short-ranged interactions such as hitting or pulling objects. Range, quantity, and size of vines will increase with skill development. Energy Cost: Varies.¡¹ The moment the skill unlocked, I felt a tingly sensation run through my form, almost urging me to cast the skill and test it. It was tempting, but I resisted. I had just made it to 8 Energy, and wasn''t ready to see that number go down anytime soon. Still, there was a new piece of information that my best buddy could easily explain for me! "Hey Leafa~ I just got a Skill Point, so could you explain what that''s about?" ¡¸Skills fall under two categories: [Innate] and [Active]. Innate Skills are always enabled and level up via usage. Active Skills require intentional activation and consume energy or other resources. Skill Points can be spent to either unlock new Active Skills or enhance existing ones.¡¹ "Aww, love when you answer me. What if I want to use a SP on an Innate skill though?" ¡¸Skill Points apply only to Active Skills to allow for manual refinement beyond natural progression. Unspent Skill Points remain available indefinitely until used.¡¹ "Alright, thanks! I really do love how helpful you are, and how much you don''t ignore me! I''m not sure if you can tell, but I''m being quite sarcastic because you don''t talk to me!" ¡¸¡¸It was apparent. Goodbye.¡¹¡¹ The menu blinked off. There was something odd about that most recent message, but... well I''m a plant. "Still, I do appreciate all the stimulation. Don''t think the constant darkness is going to be doing wonders for my mental health." I said to no-one in particular. Nutrient Detection, however, must have thought I was speaking to it, because it was very adamant to get my attention at that moment. I stepped out of my Mind Palace, and sure enough another menu awaited me. ¡¸Unidentified Organic Material Detected Potential Biomass: Negligible¡¹ "Actually, you''re the perfect opportunity to test something." I waded my way through the menus, and added one skill point to the skill. I cast it one more time.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡¸Organic Material Detected General Classification: Insect Potential Biomass: Negligible¡¹ I tilted my focus toward the new menu, feeling a spark of satisfaction. It wasn¡¯t much, but I had gone from completely blind to slightly less blind. I could tell that the thing in front of me was an insect¡ªwhat kind, I had no idea, but it was at least something I could interact with. And by "interact with", I obviously meant "eat". Some time later, the ''+1 Biomass'' notification flashed before me. It didn''t feel as special as the first point, but it still felt nice to have some forward progression. Hopefully I would find more of those ''insects'', sometime soon. ¡¸Skill Unlocked: Tremor Sense [Innate]¡¹ "Wait, wha-" A sharp ache I hadn''t felt in a long time washed over to me. Pain. A deep, raw ache coursed through me as something clamped onto my fragile body and dug in. I didn''t have time to read the menu, as instinct took over. "Vine Whip!" I screamed to the void, casting the skill. I felt the energy transfer through me. A thin vine manifested, striking my attacker. The deep ache became more shallow, and I whipped again, twisting with every ounce of willpower I had. Tremor Sense was rapidly showing its use. I could feel when the something recoiled off my body, but with my new skill, I could ''see'' the erratic vibrations towards my left. I couldn''t make out more than ''vibrations towards my left'', but that wasn''t the skills fault. ¡¸Energy: 5/10¡¹ I took the reprieve to sense the damage I had taken. A part of my lower stem had been chunked away, and both of my leaves had been sliced at the edges, but I was otherwise fine. Not fine, but the pain wasn''t as bad as it was when I was being eaten / stabbed. Both Nutrient Detection and Tremor Sense, drew my attention to the creature that I could still barely sense. I could feel the cavernous structure it was digging to make space for itself. It briefly dipped outside of my sensory range, but I could feel the earth shifting towards me. I channeled the Energy and prepared a Vine Whip. I waited until it was within range, before willing the skill to cast, but nothing happened. The creature came at me, shredding a portion of my smallest roots as it burrowed through me. My body wasn''t fast, but each hit made me feel more dizzier and slower. I tried to use Vine Whip, again, but nothing happened. I can''t cast that skill underground. The realization hurt. If I can''t get this thing onto the surface, I don''t think I can defeat it. I racked my brain, thinking, but no helpful thoughts came to mind. The creature burrowed its way back towards me, but my roots were far too slow to move out of the way in time. The creature tore through my roots again, and I felt another sharp sting of pain. ¡¸Energy: 3/10¡¹ I tried to will a new skill like I did with Root Observation, but the system didn''t feel generous. If I had a better system, I would be able to use my ro-that''s it! I focused, tracing the vibrations again. Tremor Sense wasn''t strong enough that I could map out the tiny cavern the creature was digging, but I should still be smart enough to notice patterns. The creature came at me again, and again, each hit chunking my already low energy. ¡¸Energy: 1/10 Warning! Low Energy!¡¹ It hurt. It really hurt. It took every ounce of willpower to not let the pain and despair overwhelm me. But I figured it out. "Leafa. Convert 2 Biomass to Energy." ¡¸Energy: 9/10 ¡¹"Thanks." I took a deep breath¡ªnot literally, of course, but I needed the moment to brace myself. The thing had a very simple attack pattern - tunnel straight, tunnel forty-five degrees, repeat. It was simple, and against another regular plant, it might have worked. The shredded roots to my right twitched at the distant movement. I had seconds. With every ounce of willpower I had, I forced my roots outward. not to escape, but to get into position. ¡¸Energy: 8/10 ¡¹ The soil shifted. Tremor Sense was very particular in letting me feel all eight of its legs scuttling through its tunnel. Closer... closer... And then, just as the creature lunged I poured everything I had into my roots, forcing them to grow rapidly. They twisted and tangled over each other, creating a sudden burst of movement beneath me. ¡¸Energy: 7/10 ¡¹ The creature reacted immediately. It panicked, wriggling wildly as the tunnels collapsed, trying to find an escape. My Energy bled out as I threw the roots around the panicked being. It was worse when the creature started to thrash about, whatever sharp appendages it had spearing and tearing through the root tissue. I forced through the pain. I forced through the sinking feeling of rapidly approaching death. ¡¸Energy: 4/10 ¡¹ The physical impact was sinking in, each movement feeling like pushing through thick oil. The creature squirmed, desperate to escape. It curled up blasting through my roots, aimed towards my body. ¡¸Energy: 2/10 ¡¹ "Wait! No!" I screamed on instinct. It was on a direct course with my lower body. If it hit me, there was no doubt that it would cut me in half and... The soil shifted as it surfaced. "Don''t be so quick to run to your death!" The energy I preemptively channeled blasted out as Vine Whip smacked into what I was sure was the front of this creature. Something of the creature splintered and I felt shapes hit the ground.¡¸Energy: 1/10 Warning! Warning! Warning! Warning¡¹ The system''s blaring warning didn''t match the suffocating, creeping darkness of my Mind Palace. I summoned the dregs of my energy together, cutting off my awareness of my roots, my stem, willing everything into two simple words. "VINE WHIP!" ¡¸Energy: 0/10¡¹ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ I used the word ''creature'' often, but I was pretty certain I was dealing with a bug of some kind. The biting, the tunneling, both seemed like bug behavior. Using the roots to collapse the tunnel probably wasn''t necessary, but I needed to disorient the creature long enough to wrap them around it. The little bugger dug for a short period and paused to change directions, and I figured there was no way it would change that. If it went any other direction, or just left, I would probably have just hemorrhaged. ¡¸Milestone Detected -¡ºFirst Combat¡». Assigning Rewards: 3 Biomass.¡¹ I wasn''t an insect expert, but I knew bugs had exoskeletons. I had gently nudged (read: roughly smacked) to put in on a path to attack me head-first, so I could target that rough area. It had been already where I hit, so if I had any chance of getting past that exoskeleton, that would be how. ¡¸ Automatically converting Biomass to Energy.¡¹ The riskiest part of my plan had been all of it. ¡¸ L.E.A.F Name: ??? Race: Seedling Level : 1 Biomass: 1/10 Energy: 8/10 Condition(s): Unknown¡¹ My body was in a worse state than when I started, and every inch of me - physical and disjointed Mind Palace mental version - felt ready to give way. But I survived, and I intended to keep doing so. Let whatever came next try to stop me. Level Up, Then Break Down ¡¸New Objective Added - Establish Roots II Parameters: Accumulate enough Biomass to achieve Level 2.¡¹ ¡¸Objective - Establish Roots II - has been completed. Reward: Sense of Accomplishment.¡¹ ¡¸Milestone Detected -¡ºFirst Level Up¡». Assigning Rewards: 1 Skill Point.¡¹ ¡¸ L.E.A.F Name: ??? Race: Seedling Level : 2 Biomass: 1.5/12 Energy: 10/20 Skill Points: 2¡¹ ¡¸Skill Tree [Seedling] Root Growth [3 ¨C Innate] Photosynthesis [2 ¨C Innate] Absorption [3 ¨C Innate] Nutrient Detection [3 ¨C Innate] Energy Storage [2 ¨C Innate] Tremor Sense [1 ¨C Innate] Root Observation [2 ¨C Active] Vine Whip [1 ¨C Active]¡¹ It felt good to feel like I was actually making progress. That could''ve also just been the ''Sense of Accomplishment'' reward having some effect on me, but there was definitely some regular pride in there. After I defeated ''the bug'', its body slid down its hole falling near my roots. I didn''t expect too much in the ways of biomass from it, but it had given me enough to get my first level up and have some spare change. Some biomass to energy conversion later, I also repaired the damage to my body and resumed normal plant operations. Which, of course, meant I didn''t really have much to do. So I decided to shop! Since I gained a skill point from the first milestone, there was a small Skill Shop tab that opened up on the skill screen. So, when I got bored of growing I''d browse future options... and there were many options. Some caught my eye, like Toxin Resistance and Root Hardening. I considered the former because, well I think, that bugs are poisonous and so far they''ve been the only creatures that I''ve encountered. Root Hardening would reduce the damage my roots would take, and they were currently my weak-points. My overall problem was that I lacked information, and that''s when I stumbled upon one skill that I think could really help me out. ¡¸Root Whisper [Cost: 1 Skill Point - Innate] Establishes basic root-based communication with nearby flora. Response quality will depend on the intelligence and awareness of target. Low range and communication options, but will increase with further skill development.¡¹ ¡¸Skill Purchased: Root Whisper¡¹ There was something to be said about investing more skill points into the area of my body that I could defend. Those words were probably ''its a stupid idea, don''t do it'', and I''d only give my response if the speaker of those words talked to me in my Mind Palace instead of judging me from behind a screen! I did have some reasoning behind it though. Out of all my kids - I meant skills - Photosynthesis concerned me. Nutrient Detection was always excited to get my attention. I spent alot of initial time with Root Growth and Absorption and now we were super close. Tremor Sense and Energy Storage didn''t interact much, but they were very clingy and sweet in their own way...where was I going with this...Oh, right! With Photosynthesis though, there was always this kind of emptiness. Leveling up had definitely increased the rate it turned stuff into energy for me, but that kind of emptiness never left. So, with the spare time I had, I sorted through some of my human memories. Sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. That''s what photosynthesis needed to work. I think that ''emptiness'' was caused by my lack of one or more of those three factors, which would give me a hint as to what kind of place I got reincarnated into. Just a hint though. I doubted my problem was water, because Absorption actively found moisture where I was. I couldn''t really figure out carbon dioxide, but I could make theories for low sunlight. Two really: underground, and dense forest floor. "And if I''m in located in the depths of a jungle, Root Whisper should 100% work!" A brief bit of laughter bubbled out of me, but I caught it. It was a recent quirk I developed when I spoke out loud. I didn''t think too much of it. "I love you Leafa, but YOU NEVER TALK TO ME. It would be nice to have a conversation with a true plant too." So I rubbed two roots together in anticipation as I cast the skill. ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ Laughter rang through the trees. Small feet sprinted through the underbrush, leaping over bulky, twisted roots and ducking beneath low-hanging branches. His bare feet barely made a sound against the soft earth as he zigzagged through the forest, chasing nothing in particular. It was a game¡ªa game he had made up, where the only rule was to run as fast as possible. He liked this game. His family always warned him not to wander too far, but what was the fun in that? There was so much out here! Strange bugs, mossy rocks, tiny streams snaked through the dirt. And then¡ª He skidded to a stop. Something caught his eye¡ªa hole, barely wider than his fist, carved into the face of a mountain. The stone around it was rough and dark, streaked with damp green where moss clung to the cracks. He tilted his head, stepping closer. A cave? No¡­ it was too small. He had never seen a hole in the mountain before. He crouched down, pressing his face to the opening. A gust of cool, stale air brushed against his cheeks, carrying the scent of damp earth and something¡­ gross. Excitement bubbled in his chest. Maybe it was a tunnel! Maybe someone had tried to bury treasure inside! He dug against the hole, trying to widen it so he could fit inside. The dirt and loose rock easily gave way, much too easily.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The ground shifted. The child yelped as the tiny hole wasn¡¯t so tiny anymore. The earth gave way, and he plunged forward, tumbling into the darkness below. His shoulder smacked against stone. His leg twisted in the air. Then, his head hit something hard. A sharp burst of pain. A flash of white. Then darkness. ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤??¡¤ ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ ¡¤ ¡¤ "DAMMIT!" I had really been hoping that I was in a dense forest, because then I would gain some use out of the skill. But after six attempted uses, and no responses, I could safely conclude there weren''t any plants nearby. It didn''t exactly mean I was underground, but it was definitely starting to look likely. ¡¸Skill Progression : Tremor Sense 1 ? 2 ¡¹ Even without Tremor Sense, I would''ve felt the impact in my roots. Something large, significantly larger than me at least, slammed outside my tremor-view and then made a few more bounds towards me. I cast Vine Whip, hoping to deter the creature, but instead of moving, the thing dragged along the floor before coming to a stop fairly close to me. In my last fight, I missed the change to use Root Observation on the bug, but it had given me an idea. Level three of Root Growth gave me directional control of my roots, but only for a small bit after sprouting them. So, I set up four roots around me that barely broke the surface. They didn''t get far, but that''s just how close this creature was to me. "Root Observation." ¡¸Organic Material Detected General Classification: Mammal Potential Biomass: Significant¡¹ That... was concerning. I waited to see what the ''mammal'' would do, but the longer I waited, the more I realized it wasn¡¯t going to do anything... which meant it was dead. Right? I licked non-existent lips at the ''Significant'' Biomass, which was definitely at least another level. Another level was another skill point, which meant more things for me to do. I stretched more nearby roots out, drawing closer, inching toward the mammal¡¯s body, but still... something held me back. The hunger to grow was there, but so was this strange reluctance. Ah, right, information! I maneuvered back into my skills screen, and added a point to Root Observation. ¡¸Organic Material Detected General Classification: Bipedal Mammal State: Moderately Injured Potential Biomass: Significant¡¹ I stared at the notification, waiting for it to change. Maybe I had misread it, or maybe my system had glitched again. But no, the words remained the same. It didn¡¯t explicitly say ¡®human,¡¯ but it didn¡¯t really have to. I had been a human, once, and that meant I was a bipedal mammal once. I considered growing some new roots to try and get a feel for the proportions of the creature, but decided against it. This was a person. A living person, so of course I hesitated. "But isn''t that stupid?" I spoke to the unresponsive void. "I was ready to consume it because I thought it was a dead animal... I would¡¯ve absorbed it without thinking twice. It was biomass - they are just biomass to me..." Roots extended towards the creature. "Right, yeah, I said it when I got here. I am a plant. Plants consume whatever nutrients are available. Plants don''t feel feel guilt or hesitation. And that''s what I am." The justification felt hollow. I pulled my roots back, feeling less conflicted. "But I still have a human mind, and human morality. Honestly, hehe, I think the isolation is just getting to me a little too much. Hehehe, I''m talking to myself again, heh-" I cut off the laughter before it could continue. The isolation on its own wasn''t the worse part, but my memories were very suspect. I knew about the concept of friendly interactions, knew about the concept of family interactions, but no matter how much I searched, I couldn''t find any evidence of having friends or family before. The more I looked, the more I realized that my memories were aspects that ''provided information''. They were my reference point for everything, so obviously that made sense, but there was something off about them too. They felt... fake? Sanitized? Made up and implanted for me? I clearly wasn''t an author in my past life, because I wasn''t sure what word to use here, but the system must have tampered with my memories somehow. Tremor Sense poked me in my stem, drawing my attention and pointing past the body. Guess I''m saving this line of thinking for later. I could feel the movements on the surface. Something was moving towards the body. Somethings. Scavengers? That would make sense. Something this big, lying still for so long, would naturally attract them. That was the problem with these bugs, they didn¡¯t care if their prey was dead or just too weak to fight back. This person(?) was still alive, and they wouldn¡¯t wait for them to expire - they¡¯d start stripping them down now. Something twisted in my core. A strange, irrational rage flared up within me. I didn¡¯t want to consume this person myself, but I also didn¡¯t want the scavengers crawling towards the body to do it either. Was that selfish? Hypocritical? Possibly. But, with my human mind, I had also developed the ability to push problematic thoughts and let future me deal with them. It was working okay enough so far. I tapped my skills menu and spent my last skill point. ¡¸Skill Progression : Vine Whip 1 ? 2¡¹ I had no way of knowing what part of the mammal the bugs were crawling on, but I could feel the movement across the surface of the soil, and remembered the lack thereof when they started crawling on the body. That was all I needed. The first strike was experimental. A vine lashed out at the nearest cluster of movement, striking something small. I felt the impact through Tremor Sense as I sent the first bug tumbling across the dirt. It reoriented itself quickly, but I had confirmed my only worry - with my second level, I could reach them. Another flick, another strike. The same bug reeled back, skirted against the ground, but the small pulses on the ground told me it wasn''t dead. I turned towards another that was moving towards me, no doubt sensing I was a threat. I poured more energy into the skill, focusing my movements on swinging downwards instead of just lashing out wildly. The seconds bug felt the full weight of Vine Whip¡¯s improvement - it was slammed into the ground, where it stayed motionless. ¡¸Energy: 6/20¡¹ ?¡¸Energy: 10/20¡¹ I counted four bugs in total, and the remaining three slowed their advanced towards me. Perhaps they recognized the danger. Either way, I had ''sight'' on all the bugs now. I capitalized on it. Two more overhand vines; two more dead bug. Only one was left now: the first, stunned, bug. To its credit, it made an effort to retreat, but it was too close to me. Vine Whip curled around one of the smashed corpse, and flung it toward the final bug like a rock. The projectile struck true, crushing the tiny scavenger under its weight. The battlefield was still. Tremor Sense and Nutrient Detection gave me a thumbs up, each. Absorption lunged hungrily at the bodies around. The rest of my kids had no idea what was going on, but were celebrating in their own way. Relief settled where anger once was, and I turned my mental attention back to the wounded mammal. They were still alive, but barely. And now I had an entirely new problem. What was I supposed to do with them?