Kudzu felt the shift in the aether, the strange place the Sparrow called the air-between-worlds, as the Slicer finally reached the Third Threshold and evolved her Class. It was momentous enough to pause his concentration for several seconds, even during the current batch of potions. The ripple of mana that pulsed like the beating heart of a titanic monstrosity was unnerving. Careful checking of his current multi-string batch to complete his latest order labeled from one to two thousand and seventeen showed minute variations in the mana strata solution.

As his senses focused completely on the blooming potions within their flowery capsules, Kudzu was impressed. There was an almost one hundred percent increase in the potency of each brew. Some of them even appeared to be turning into semi-permanent effects, something he had only theorized about for years.

To think the Slicer is contributing so much to the progress of Alchemy merely by chance. Madness! Kudzu thought while sighing his wooden humanoid form. Kudzu crafted the humanoid form to provide a target for the stupider birds that attempted to kill him. Unfortunately, it had absolutely zero combat power and served only to mark the murderer with a series of pollen tracking tags. From there, Kudzu’s true form would handle the issue if the assassin was stupid enough to remain in Glenwood. I’ve also noticed that most other species that walk on two legs seem to appreciate having a similar form to converse with. Considering I followed Sundew’s advice, I do wonder if my form is flawed somewhere, though…

Kudzu had considered if the information he got from the Slicer’s female assistant, the Sundew, was incorrect. When he had first asked for advice in creating a form, the other predator had given him a plethora of standards to maintain. She had even helped him in designing the final form, providing on-the-spot quality checking. However, after weaving basic clothing for his vine-crafted form, Kudzu realized his two trainees, Muscle Bird and Brain Bird, seemed to lose efficiency when he used it.

Perhaps I should look into asking advice from someone else on the subject? Kudzu pondered as his vines moved ceaselessly to ensure the two thousand and seventeen potions being crafted had no issues. While the Slicer’s breakthrough caused minor issues, Kudzu was no slouch at Alchemy either.

Potions, powders, tinctures, tonics, and more were all done with ease.

Delicate monitoring ensured that every one of the two thousand plus items in the batch came out successful after a full day’s work. It was just unfortunate that this set, which had gained a boost from the Slicer’s mana, was slated to do only one thing.

Provide fertilizer for the Glenwood crop fields.

If only I had chosen to go with the life-extension batch instead… Kudzu thought the agony of lost profits cutting deep. But, at least these will be the finest combination of feces and compost creators ever sent to market. I’m certain the farmers will thank us for raising their manure's quality, without a doubt.

His vines wilted at the alchemy workstation as Kudzu’s humanoid form wept silent tears of grief for a few moments. Bottling the batch into standard shatterproof test tubes took only slightly longer than normal. However, just as the last of the flowers were breached and the juice within prepared for transport, the lab’s door was slammed open.

Suppose he had human reflexes that probably would have caused him to drop the tube. Fortunately, Kudzu was no mere human, and instead of flinching, he raised one artful eyebrow at the intruders.

“Big Brother!”

“Big Brother!”

“We wanted to say….”

“…congratulations today!”

Kudzu gave a long hard look at his two apprentices. Muscle Bird and Brain Bird grinned shamelessly in response to his glare.

“Whatever book you read that made you decide to start speaking in partial sentences just because you have a Skill for mimicry needs to be burned, banned, and barred by System mandate,” Kudzu said before finishing up settling all the new farming potions in their spatial transport cube. The old days of lugging boxes filled with racks of potions were long gone. One of the few inventions the Slicer had made while bored was the space box. A few runes, a few sheets of paper, and nice simple series of enchant created a spatial item that lasted a few months to a year. They were no noble’s space ring or adventurer’s bag, but simple farmers didn’t give two figs. They loved the damn boxes with a passion. Bulk produce became easy to transport, bulk orders easy to acquire. It was a godsend to the common people. Granted, within a month after the first ones appeared in Sundew’s Serum shop, there were copycat boxes everywhere. That was only to be expected, though.

When the copycats appeared, Sundew took a firm hold of the new market, using it to advertise ruthlessly. A few quiet sabotage and some talent poaching ensured that Sundew retained control over the space box market with blinding speed. Her first order of business had been to encrypt the runes to prevent easy copying. Then she turned the boxes into a multi-level market based on appearance, volume, time, and cost.

While he was no business savant-like Sundew was, even Kudzu could appreciate the ruthless pragmatism of profit. So the fact that he had as many boxes as possible to help transport his alchemic marvels was merely icing on the vine-cake.

The Slicer never invents too strange, merely novel extensions of things usually restricted to the nobility. So Kudzu thought as he began organizing the storage cubes into a pre-prepared box for transport. Space boxes, bi-sickles, and watches. All simple extensions of things like spatial rings or clockwork gears. A simple twist, a few runes, and a bit of mana to change perspective. Somewhat fascinating, I admit.

Having a vine lift the transport box, he dropped it casually to Muscle Bird, who caught it without effort. As the more physical specimen between his apprentices, she was the one who handled the grunt work. On the other hand, Brain Bird assisted him with delicate work such as experiments involving the more expensive ingredients.

Kudzu would admit that he favored Brain Bird a bit more since she had an inexhaustible interest in alchemy, poisons in particular. The chance to wax eloquent on his own personal favorite subject inevitably skewed his views on each girl. “Send that over to the Farmers Market with haste, please,” Kudzu said.

“As you command great one…” said Muscle Bird.

“…we shall assist in the dung!” said Brain Bird.

Kudzu gave both of them a flat stare while holding his body and vines perfectly motionless. He had found almost by accident that the very act of inhumane control unnerved his apprentices. It also signaled rising irritation without even wasting breath.

Both girls glanced at each other and retreated rapidly in unified tandem.

Kudzu decided that he needed to treat himself after the recent stress of losing so much gold. True to form, he wrapped the vines that extended from his spine around his legs and arms to keep them out of the way. Small slits in his clothing were provided courtesy of a tailoring professional specialist who dealt in such things. A quick check ensured that potions hadn’t stained the lab coat, undershirt, pants, and comfortable leather shoes Kudzu was wearing during work. His chest was left bare on account of the Sundew telling him it was a wonderful piece of artwork.

The discounts he received shopping seemed to be inextricably linked to his appearance. The female baker of Kudzu’s favorite bakery and her young assistant baking girls gave him a large amount of undue attention when he paid routine visits. On the other hand, the food from there was fifty percent off. Over time Kudzu had linked the discount levels to the amount of chest he was showing. When he asked the Sundew about it, she had a strange fit of mad laughter before walking off with a fit of the giggles.

Humanoids are strange. Perhaps even if I rise to the peak of alchemy, I still won’t understand them. So Kudzu thought as he exited the laboratory moving quickly through the Slicer’s house. Stepping out of the house, he allowed one of his vines to snag the Daily Serpent Strike that the delivery services had thrown to the porch. The newspaper was an Empire-wide phenomenon started almost two centuries ago by a young enterprising cabal of gossipmongers. While the paper didn’t go to villages, Glenwood was fast-moving onto the path of a town. New money, old money, and blood money combined with flowing through what used to be a mere farming village.

Kudzu took a glance at his Status as he unfurled the newspaper.

Name: Kudzu

Race: Monstrous Alchemical Vine

Class: Green Death

Level: 250

Health: 8,000/8,000 (80 HPs regen)

Mana: 8,000/8,000 (80 MPs regen)

Stats: Str 800, Dex 800, Con 800, Wis 800, Int 800

Free Stats: 0

Skills:

Alchemic Detection

Alchemic Wither

Alchemic Bloom

Spells:

Alchemic Analyze

Alchemic Injection

Alchemic Antidote

Mental Traits:

Green Mind

Physical Traits:

Green Body

Indeed, the numbers don’t lie. Kudzu thought. While I cannot keep up with the rampant growth of the Slicer, my own is quite respectable.

The Alchemic moniker attached to all his Skills and Spells had occurred when his race tiered up into Monstrous Alchemical Vine. According to the Pack, it was normal for many races to have their Race change. The only downside was that higher-tier races had a harder time having children without external aid. The amount of ambient mana required to birth a dragon egg, for instance, required literally solid crystallization deposits. Kudzu dragged his thoughts away from wondering how solid mana would taste to focus on the newspaper front page.

War against the invading forces of the Rothschild Realms has proceeded apace. Victories have been won following the initial strike against the Amur Dungeon Town. When the cowardly human House of Aitmurn attacked unprovoked to steal our nation’s Dungeon Core, it was an act of utter depravity! Since that fateful day just over five years ago, we have waged a successful campaign against the once-great Rothschild Empire's human Houses. Our armies have captured many villages, towns, and even several cities. However, there is still much work to be done! The Serpent Emperor, Lao S’val, has decreed that the Rothschild Realms will fall within another few years!

So it has been spoken, so our great nation shall do it! For the Serpent!

For inquiries on joining the war, see page fifteen!

For businesses interested in supporting the war, see page five!

Kudzu rolled his eyes. How the theft of a mere Dungeon Core such as Felix had turned into a massive war was beyond him. The Slicer’s actions had lit a powder keg that had been packed to the brim with nitroglycerin by both the Empire and the Realms. At first, it was clear the Slicer had worried about discovery, but the fog of war had muddled all traces of their passage. Finally, the discovery of a human team of nobles, which the Sundew had been part of, deep in Serpent Empire territory right when Amur was destroyed, was the last straw.

I’m sure the Rothschild Realms' wealth now that the Emperor who ruled it is dead has no small impact on the war, too. So Kudzu thought as he tucked the newspaper under his arm before waving a hand at the gate. The thick, sturdy gave shifted under the influence of his control, and the vines composing the gate pushed it open to allow him out.

Once he exited the outer wall, Kudzu took a deep breath allowing the sunlight to strike him full force. He had discovered that, like many plants, the sunlight had a wonderful taste that never grew old. So one of his current projects was bottling sunshine in case he ever needed it later.

A glance at the cobblestone road to ensure there was a minimal amount of traffic, and Kudzu smiled as he spotted his favorite bakery in the distance.

Time to do my favorite activity! Kudzu thought as he began to walk faster. Eating!