Year 73 Month 4 Week 3

One tuber for every [customisable branch]. So for a total of 40 potatoes, given that my main body grown and has 10 customisable branches now, and 30 for each of the subsidiary trees. These standard sized potatoes is also now my standard unit for energy.

The “energy cost” of my [soul forge] activities will be measured in “potato units” (PU).

And we see a group of… returning refugees.

Dislocated by the demonic invasion, these men and women seek to return to their old home, to rebuild, and to see what’s left. Their expression a mix of fear, excitement, relief, and worry, to return, there is a lot to think about. They probably lost a lot to the demons, and yet they still want to return. They however did not get too near, and mostly just went on their journey.

“I wonder how are the rest of our village?” Laufen sits at one of the flat roots that link the main tree to the other tree. Jura’s opposite her.

“They are in the elven kingdom, I’d like to think they will be fine.” Jura nods, but he probably is being optimistic. Not many survived the journey, and to restart in a foreign land is hard.

“Do you think they will come back?”

“If they know what we have, yes.” Jura pats the flat top of the wood. It’s like a table now.

There’s a lot of things to do, though, and one of it is for me to make contact with other… spirits.

To further extend the range of my [local area rootnet], I would need to engage in some infrastructure ‘projects’. But of course, it is a difficult exercise, so it’s important to locate other spirits first, and then attempt to link up.

The elves unfortunately do not remember where is the nearest tree spirit, and it is possible not all tree spirits are “known”, though it seems that those attuned to nature can generally sense it, and so, I wonder whether I can sense it.

And I get pulled into the soul realm.

It’s the Wisp. It seems it can pull me in here whenever it wants to.

“Hello.” The wisp floats, surrounded by multiple other floating souls… They glow like little balls of white light, orbiting the wisp.

“Oh. Hi Wisp.”

One of the little balls stop and float right in front of me. “Tree Spirit.”

“Huh?” Oh, is this like Gewa? I take a better look, and this ball is.. different. It’s glow pulses, and the color is bluish.

“One of your heroes. Unlike the others, there’s something holding it back from returning to the gods.”

“So, you are?” Heroes? Ah well, heroes are supposed to be special, their spirits belonging to the gods.

“Meela. Died.”

How?

“Her soul’s in pretty bad shape, whatever caused the death is… really bad. Souls, even those of the gods also naturally decay unprotected, and it’s actually amazing it made the journey here.” The wisp floats. “You’ll need your soul forge to repair her back to normal.”

“Why?” I ask Meela’s ball of light.

“Promise. Help. Tree Spirit.”

“My guess is it followed the path of the familiars attached to it, else it would have given up and return to the gods… She holds rather strong emotions of ‘debt’ to you, so she returns.”

Ah. It’s a bit like Gewa’s case, but in this case it’s due to her promise. I’ll need to figure out how this works better.

“Okay… will it decay further?”

“Nope. Now that it’s in your soul realm, the decay stops. But to repair whatever caused the damage to her soul, you’ll need your [soul forge].”

“I see.” It seems everything related to souls must start with having a functional soul forge. “Can I ask what happened?”

“Demon King. Explode. Die.” Meela’s soul bobs up and down.

Oh okay.

“I think that’s all it can manage for now.” The wisp stops me from going further. “You can talk to her again tomorrow. Her soul need to get ‘recharged’ now.”

The wisp then moves away, and the other souls follow.

“The rest are the other reincarnators?” I ask, noticing the other souls, but they do not look like Meela’s. They look ordinary.

“No. Just random souls that died within your range. You get a lot of these.” Kind of like a magnet that pulls souls towards me. Or is it gravitational field?

“Doesn’t these souls have information I can use?” I mean, if they can talk like Gewa, that means I get a constant stream of information as long as people die!

“Maybe, but you need a soul forge to squeeze it out of them.”

Seriously! Must everything be dependent on a [soul forge]?

“No, you can also get a skill, but you’re not there yet. Spend more time in the soul realm, you might learn something.” The Wisp bobs, and then wooshes off.

Year 73 Month 4 Week 4

Refugees! And adventurers. They have somewhat aligned interests, refugees want to return to their old homes, while adventurers want to check out what’s left behind. Perhaps from the many demon battles, those who perished leave valuable items behind, useless to demons, and they need the refugee’s knowledge of their areas. Perhaps they are here to raid any abandoned castles or stuff.

There are about four batches of refugee humans, and then one odd lizardman. Too bad the lizardman didn’t get close, I would love to put him under the scope. And they mostly avoid me. It seem a gigantic tree surrounded by two rings of trees is scary!

I did some thinking and I came up with three threats which I need to prepare for.

The first threat are the nearby kingdoms, their adventurers and armies will seek to restore their rule over the land, and that will include coming back here and claiming this place. I will therefore need to prepare for an army, easily larger than before. And this will include their adventurers as well, that may see myself as a prize, or a bounty.

The second threat are the non-demon monsters. I had it easy with my various buffs against demons, but now that the demons are gone, we are back to the regular monsters. I recall I can handle most of the regular ones, but if there are greater monsters, of which the abilities are unclear. There may be dragons, or monsters of that level, which may now be attracted to my larger size.

The last threat is obviously the returning demon king. From the past trend, it looks to be a ten year cycle, and I’m not sure whether ten years is enough to prepare, so I’ll also want to know whether I can somehow influence the return of the demon king, perhaps the rift sizes influences the demon king’s return, or something. If I can figure out how to push the time back even a year or two, that may allow more options, maybe even push it back indefinitely.

The kingdoms are the immediate threat, of course, and I would like to get back at the Salah kingdom for what they did to the elves. So, dealing with a conventional army, I would need a large amount of area effect abilities, a standing army, perhaps in the form of a large beetle army, or some converted “woodhounds”, and some camouflage or ambush-like abilities to take out unprepared forces.

It seems the political situation for most nations is held together by the big bad guy, the demon king, and once it’s dead, the cracks in most nations tend to emerge, so the period after the demon king is usually followed by all sorts of rebellions, coups, power grabs and so on. I could offer protection from demons that these kingdoms cannot, and that’s a strategy to gather “supporters” and rebuild Freeka.

For non-demons, it’ll be on the elves. I’ll need to get them to the point where they can handle monsters, but dragons or other powerful flying beasts, if I ever encounter them, would bel a headache. My anti-air options are limited, my fire resistances may or may not apply against dragonfire, and I hope I don’t have to find out.

For demon kings, I honestly don’t know where to start, but first of all, I need data. What has been written about demon kings in the past, and that means finding libraries, scribes, historians, other tree of knowledges, if there are such things.

“TreeTree.” Emile snaps me out of my thoughts. They can call out to me anywhere around my main tree, and somehow I can receive it.

“Yes?”

“Can you put your smaller trees anywhere, or must they be next to you?”

“Good question.” I didn’t think about it, the moment I got the ability I just instinctively put them around me.

At this point a popup appears on my menu.

Subsidiary trees can be placed anywhere within your root network. Each subsidiary tree also extends your root network.

It’s like a build-range thing strategy games have. I should have pylons.

“Why did you ask, Emile?”

“Oh, I thought it’ll be cool if we could like… have a room to stay at the end of every day’s journey. If we were on a journey. I’m just daydreaming. Haha.” Emile laughs and rolls on her bed. “Or maybe the trees can become a wall or something…”

Hmmm, spacing out the trees like a electrical pylons is interesting, since my vision is shared by my trees after all.

“Or maybe they’ll be like the magical twin-trees of the old Ellara. There’s this two spiritual trees that are apparently twins, and they have a connected portal that allows a person to move between the trees.”

Well, thanks for the idea Emile!

Year 73 Month 5 Week 1

I’m trying to find out whether my leaves can act as some kind of energy generator since I discovered the potato storage. In a way, a solar-panel - battery combination. I mean, in a game-sense, I think it’s possible, but I’m not sure what I’m missing to upgrade them. There should be a more “efficient” and higher output design and construction.

Leaves after all generate “food” via photosynthesis, and the tubers act as storage of the food, and if the leaves can produce more, it’ll be faster to refill the tubers.

Maybe I’m missing certain kind of minerals.

I’m also stuck with the soul forge, but at least I know what I’m missing.

“To fire it up for the first time, 1000 potato units (PU). Subsequent use depends on the type of forging or change you are making.” The Wisp floats. I like that he uses my terminology. From what I calculate so far, I have 40 potatoes underground, and each of my leaves and trees generate 1 PU as well, so if I use my existing production and release my stored energy I can hit 80 PU.

920PU to go. I need to figure out how to close that gap. The elves, using their mana can each produce about 1 to 3 PU worth of energy, so their contribution is relatively negligible.

And now that I have the potatoes, I’d like to compare against the storage capacity of this daemolite that everyone’s looking to get.

“There’s a fair bit of souls coming.” The Wisp bobs and floats. My soul realm lately looks like a firefly park. I wonder whether there’s a capacity. “No. There’s no limit.”

“If I kill someone, do I get their soul?”

“If they are strong and hold strong emotions against you, no. Otherwise, there’s a chance you will. Most souls lose their worldly bindings and don’t really care which spirit tree or spirit being captures them.”

“Why don’t all the souls float back for my familiars?” I wonder whether he knows, but I suspect it’s a chance thing. “Like Semara?”

“There’s quite a bit of… randomness involved. Proximity, luck, the manner of death, whether there are other soul trees nearby… a lot of things influences it. The ideal situation to absorb a soul is to repeat Gewa, ie, for them to die right next to you, on their own, next to you. Killing them, or a painful death reduces that odds. In their case, their actual soul still needs to go on to their next life, but that “waiting time” is spent with you…”

“So will Meela move on to the next life too?”

“She should, as it is the way of the world, but… otherworlders are special. I am not aware of whether their rules are different. In any case, the damage her soul received prevents her from moving on, so you have time to.”

Ah… so there are plenty of souls that are damaged, and unable to move on. A gruesome death tends to damage the soul, and releases dark energies that may create hauntings or manifest as evil spirits, but the presence of spiritual intermediaries, such as tree spirits, exorcists, evokers, spiritualists or certain types of places of worship is able to contain said energies and manage the souls.

Year 73 Month 5 Week 2

It’s getting hot.

The small patch of crop the elves plant around the trees are doing well, augmented by my presence. Using some wood magic to fashion a set of wooden pots, there are multiple pots hanging around all the branches, and also on the floor, and they contain things like chillies, herbs. There’s also a small patch that grows edible potatoes, and corn.

Harvest should be soon, at least for this batch.

Jura’s practicing his tree-jumping thing. It seems elven archers used to jump from tree to tree to get into position, and previously with only one tree, he didn’t have anywhere to jump.

The kids want to follow what he’s doing, so Laufen keeps them in them in the playpen. Lausanne’s at that mimicry stage after all, and even with her tininess she’s trying to climb up the trees.

And I acquire a new skill.

[Customisable branches : Harvestable Products obtained. Options are : Cotton, Maple Syrup, Oranges, Olives. Expanded options will be available with higher levels, or when new types of fruits are studied in the biolab]

Ah man. I don’t feel like using the inner ring trees or the main tree’s available branches for this though. So that leaves all the 4 outer ring trees for these functions.

“For us, we’d like cotton. We’ll get to make new mattresses, new clothes and new pillows. We already have rather tasty fruits.”

“If we’ll see more travellers, maybe there will be merchants too! Olives and syrups should sell quite well, we can get money!”

“Ah… money.” Hmmm… That would be interesting.

I wanted to still leave some of the outer trees available, so I choose 1 for cotton and 1 for olives. The two chosen trees enter a sort of hibernation stage, and I could sense it’s inner body changing. In fact, as I reach out to it, a popup appears in my head. Transforming to produce chosen products, please wait 3 days.

Ah well, that’s not long.

That money and merchant thing though… I think I’ll scare them if I talk directly into their head.

“We’ll do it.” The three ladies, Laufen, Emile and Belle. “We used to buy and sell stuff with merchants, so I think we can handle it.”

Alright then, olives for sale.

Year 73 Month 5 Week 4

The two trees are ready, and it seems each tree products one cartload of olives, and one bale of cotton, per week. The elves though need a storeroom, so for now they put in within the [secret hideout]. The cotton is in rather raw form, so the elves and the kids help with processing them into more usable form, which will take quite a while. In some places of the world, magic is used to process these raw cottons.

As for the olives, they are harvested in their fruit form and will be pressed into olive oil later. It seems these oils are rather expensive, since they don’t grow everywhere.

The quality of these 2 produces are average, and I suppose that’s because I just acquired the skill to make them. Perhaps I’ll get the ability to produce higher quality produces later.

With the additional crops, the elves are now a lot busier, and somehow it cheers them up. It seems to remind them of a proper village life where everyone’s got some kind of work to do. Even if it is tiring to work on the cotton, or to press the olives with the wooden press I’ve made with some wood magic, these elves find some kind of comfort and pleasure in doing such chores.

Occasionally, there are still some stray packs of hellhounds and other monsters appearing, but they are easily disposed by the beetle group.

And then there’s an odd bunch. They’re like adventurers, but not.

“Ah, bless the nameless mother!” The druids, they seem extremely interested and so they move closer. “These trees! They look untouched by the demon’s destruction.”

“Ah, indeed. The gods are kind, for some lands are preserved!”

The elves hide. Laufen shakes her head.

“Who are these people?” I ask the elves, now all hidden.

“It looks like there are people living here!” One of them mutter, as the rest catch up.

A man that wears a strange wig, with a necklace of multiple tiny bones, claws and feathers look at it and point at my main tree. He reminds me of those shamans or witchdoctors and he carries a wooden staff decorated with small skulls and bones.

“Spirit sign.”

“Oh?” Another man comes up next to him. He’s got a long flowing white cloak, and hood. A bit like priest, but… not. “That explains it.”

“Leave?” The shaman asks, and the others nod.

“Yes, yes. This place don’t need our help.”

“Wait. Wait.” The super excited first guy interjects. “I think there are elves here.”

“Yes. So?”

“Isn’t there a bounty on elves?”

“No.” The shaman shakes his head. “No elf hunting.”

“Don’t let the King hear that.” Another of his companions chime in, and rides up next to him.

“He no king.”

“Okay, okay. We’re not having this conversation. Let’s go, let’s go.” One of them gets in between the shaman and the other over enthusiastic guy, and tries to break up their conversation. “We’ve got plenty more to do.”

The shaman guy nods, and they move on.

Year 73 Month 6 Week 2

Shrubs and small trees grow around my circle of trees now. They’ve been growing since spring began, and now they form a layer outside. Throughout the valley, weeds and small shrubs pop up, and so it is now a layer of green.

My presence contributes to this burst of nature and vegetation, of course.

And roads.

Yes, actual roads are being built. A group of 40 men, using a mix of earth magic and fire magic are building a road across the valley. They’re accompanied by cartographers, and some guards.

“Let’s mark this in the map.”

“It’s Freeka isn’t it?”

“Yeah, what’s left of it. But it looks like other than the destroyed forests, the general area is unchanged.”

“At least that’s a piece of the map we don’t have much to change.”

“Yea.” One of the men scribbles on what looks to be a very large floating book.

The earth mages keep on forming bricks and the fire mages blast them, cooking the bricks, and then it is magically arranged on the floor by the other mages. It’s a continuous, ongoing process, that builds tiled bricks for faster travel by merchant wagons.

“But we do need to note down that giant tree. It’ll be a landmark.”

“Giant trees. Probably magical. To be investigated further.”

And that’s the end of it. They moved on.

In this world, the devastation caused by magic is incredible. Towns flattened, hills destroyed, forests razed. But similarly, the nature’s magics also restore the hills, and forests at a speed far faster than my own.

And despite the really huge deaths from every demon attack, it seems the world’s population is still growing rather steadily. Not all continents are affected by the demon king, though the demon king’s move and rotate its appearance between the continents. So, the destruction is localised, and gradually spreads, as the demonic rifts open in more and more places, until the demon king is killed.

To some extent, the presence of reincarnators and heroes made the natural denizens of the world… lazy. Lazy. And selfish. Because its not their problem. The heroes will deal with it.

The armies from those nearest to the demons are there just to buy time and reduce the destruction, but kingdoms across the other continents would not send armies to aid. I find my thoughts constantly coming back to how the demon king is a regular “disaster”. It’s like a hurricane that happens every 10 to 15 years, and if what Meela briefly suggested, slightly stronger each time.

And that brings me to the next question. What if no heroes come the next time? I hope I don’t jinx it, but, what if? Ah, maybe I should ask the gods. Can I talk to gods in this world?

Maybe I should not think so much. I am a tree, right?

Next day

“TreeTree….” Lausanne sits on my roots. Ah, yes. I got distracted. Baby duties. When the adults are busy with the olive press or splitting the cotton fibres, Laufen asks me to keep Lausanne entertained. Brislach and Wahlen are old enough to be given some tasks, but Lausanne at 3 is still too small.

“Yes?”

“Play time. Please make a wood ball?”

“Oh okay. Sure.” A wood ball appears, and she grabs it. She has many wood balls, but she seems to enjoy the newly made wood balls the most. She says the surface is smooth.

“Ball.”

“Yes. Ball.”

“Balls are like round fruits. Like oranges. But smoother.”

“Yes.” Lausanne hops around carrying her wood ball. She walks out of the hideout to the inner circle courtyard. The other elves are working with the wooden press.

“Can you make a big ball?”

“Yes, how big?”

“Bigger than the tree? Bigger than.. the world?”

“Well, no. I can’t make a ball that big.”

“Oh.” Lausanne looks down.

“Can you make a treehouse? So I can throw balls further?” Well, I could make a mini treehouse in her playroom. But she’s 3.

“Ah. Yes, I can.”

No. Wait. I don’t have the skill? But I could create a treehouse like structure, but its not secured to the tree…

“Can you make one now?”

“Uh… no.”

“Why?”

“I need to prepare.”

“Can you make stairs?”

“Yes.” Where is Lausanne going with this?

“Can you make stairs between trees?” That’s like bridges, no? Should be possible, even though the trees are not linked.

“Mommy says I am growing. Are you growing too? You are a lot bigger now.”

“I.. I think so.”

“I think I am growing. I can reach for things on the table now.”

“Yes. Yes you are.”

“How much taller and stronger can I grow? Will I be a hero someday?” Lausanne kicks the wooden ball. It’s hollow and smooth, so it doesn’t hurt so bad. The ball rolls onto another bunch of roots.

“Maybe like your mommy.”

“Can I be strong instead, so I can protect mummy and everyone?”

“Why not. If you work for it.”

“Uncle Jura says not everyone has the ability to be heroes. Needs to be born with the talent.”

Man, Jura’s a bit too realist there.

“I’m just telling her to not pursue the impossible. People are born with a ceiling to their ability. Everyone gets there and they plateau off.”

Really? Maybe his understanding is incorrect. But then again, I’m not sure either. Is this world so fatalistic that everyone settles at a certain level? Do the mechanism of levels actually form a cap?

“I can, right?” Lausanne looks at me, hopeful. She wants to be a hero, and, I think she can.

“Yes. Of course.”

She smiles, pick up one of the small sticks and starts swinging it around like she’s fighting. She’s a bit too young for that, honestly.

Laufen shakes her head, but doesn’t stop her daughter. She then goes back to work, sorting through the cotton threads. They have some kind of basic loom invented, but needs quite a bit of manual assistance to make basic cotton cloth.