Now to work on the skill some more. How thick could I make it without the cost being too much? Hmm, two threads merge! And that worked, now adding more threads…another, another and another. Hmm, the difference wasn’t noticeable yet, but it was there.

Each addition to the thread was decreasing the thickness added. And that meant less and less time was being added if I was correct about how thickness correlated to time. Better try it out before I spend any more Qi on it, I mentally checked how much Qi I had used.

380/390 Qi remaining.

So a thread took 1 Qi, huh? Somewhat less…but given that I needed to continuously feed Qi into the snowflakes to keep them going, and the last battle lasted for nearly an hour, that was 60 Qi consumed right there. Less now that I was a Sapling. And then the attacks… I would likely have to merge threads there.

I might want to get more Qi. And then there was the fact that the duration of a snowflake had increased with increase in the Cultivation realm. So it was an exponential graph whose start point shifted rightward with each increase in realm? Keeping X axis as Qi needed and Y-axis as the duration of the snowflake.

Ugh! Math! Even in the Xianxia world you do not leave me. But enough of you, I know how this progresses now. Now to do something else. Wait did I get anything from this at all?

Skill progress!

(25%/100%) [+6%]

Hmm, what shall I do next, increase power? I looked around in the hall that was so very flammable. Even though it was empty now, I think it was best if I left tests on power for later. Maybe just see how to manipulate shape better?

How did I do shape again? Yes, will. That was how magic worked, yes, just will it. Will the threads to merge, will to make them. Will to make them into snowflakes. And power depended on the amount of will put in…here I was back at power. No, bad Altura, go back to shape.

Okie, time to try to make something other than a snowflake, a snowman perhaps? Yes! Will it! I summoned threads letting them merge while I concentrated on making a snowman. I imagined the body coming to being growing from tiny size to full size until it had eyes, nose and ears, all made of ice while its main body was made purely of snow.

And done! I opened my eyes, which I hadn’t realized had closed, to a snowman. It was just as I had imagined it. But it also came with a small problem. I might have added a little bit too much Qi because the room now seemed a bit too much like a frozen tundra. And I could just imagine what would happen when it melted.

“Um, your grace, was this, um, intended.” Kerrin said. If I could see him I would have given him another judging face, but Kerrin was hiding behind the snowman.

“What do you think, Kerrin?” I asked, “That I wanted to turn the room into a tundra?”

“I don’t know, you grace, you might have wanted to do something that I couldn’t think of. That guard of yours is working very well after all.” Kerrin said, moving into my range of view.

“Well, I was just experimenting with my magic. Let's just say I added a bit too much Qi.” I answered, “Now I presume by the fact that you are here that there is more work for me?”

“That is true, your grace, but perhaps you would first like to”- Kerrin waved his hands towards the snowman and its accompaniments.- “Do something about this.”

Guess I was doing something. Back to the basics?

‘Fire, Oh Fire, of Dragons large and small! Hear my call, send your fire most weak, burn off this snow but not this tree. Burn not my home but the snow within that I see.’

And it happened, like the magic it was, the snow disappeared, leaving the entire room extremely humid, but otherwise clear.

“So, Kerrin. What is it?” I asked.

“The Clans have come asking for our assistance, your grace, as I am sure you know by now, the villages have been plagued by attacks from beasts. The Clans, being the first to be contacted and already having people there, responded quicker than us. According to them, the initial clean up was easier, until they ran into a rather peculiar problem.

The reason for the beast's attack was not as the villagers believed, your grace, the beasts haven’t multiplied or evolved. Instead, they are being run out of their habitat, it is apparently being consumed by a plant.

And I did not expect that. Nor did I expect the memory it brought with it. I thought that I had seen all of the original Altura’s memories, but apparently I still had some left. And here was one to say hello. Apparently Plant Beasts existed, but they were far, far rarer than their animal counterparts.

Unlike their Animal counterparts, they also tended to be more passive. But that did not mean they were not dangerous, just different from the animals. Where the animals would attack you and treat you as food on site, the plants would ignore you. Ignore you until you came too close, and then snap. Dead. Mistaking the plants as good was a mistake, they were non-aggressive, not harmless.

“I see, and what is the nature of this plant? Is it a tree? A fruit plant? Or a vine?” I asked Kerrin.

Kerrin’s face turned grim as he said, “The Clans refused to confirm, but I can tell that they were very sure, your grace, it's a vine.”

I sighed in frustration, it really had to be the worst option didn’t it? Vines were the worst plant beast I could encounter. Trees and plants could be avoided, quarantined. But vines? Vines grew, they grew fast and across entire jungles and beyond.

Avoiding them was impossible, they would come to you, and if you waited, they could easily be powerful enough to crush you when they did.

“Is there any good news Kerrin?” I asked

“Some, your grace, from the Clans descriptions I can surmise that the plant is injured, starving and is still young. All in all it shall be easy for Lord Aswelth to deal with it. Not only that, but the Clans have informed us that if we deal with the plant they will swear loyalty.” Kerrin said.

Finally, a threat that wasn’t life and death. The Clans were likely just using the plant as an excuse to save face, it was not like they’d had a choice either way.

“Kerrin, perhaps lead with this next time. Inform Aswelth that he is to take care of this plant.” I replied.

“Actually, your grace, I would suggest that you accompany him. The farming villages are the lifeline of the valley and it is best that you establish your presence there as soon as possible.” Kerrin said.

“And who shall take charge of the city Kerrin? Do you think you can lead the entire city yourself?” I asked back

“Well if not now then you can go after Lord Aswelth has returned, surely you can trust him with the City? But you do need to visit the villages, your grace. “ Kerrin answered.

I suppose Aswelth would have to suffice. “Very well, how long shall dealing with this plant take anyway?”I asked

“Considering that the plant seems to be a heavily injured Early Sapling at most, I expect it to not take very long, you grace.” Kerrin said, smiling.

Wait what. That nasty little- “The plant was never a threat was it? Did the Clans even ask for help?” I asked

“Well, it was a threat to the Clans, your grace, the CIty Lord is still trying to break through to Early Sapling and Clan Head Dorien is only barely a Late Seedling. It would be rather hard for them to kill it as it is. Though I am sure Clan Head Dorien would jump at the chance if it were a normal beast.” Kerrin replied

“Then Kerrin, I suppose there is no need to trouble Aswelth. Let us both leave now, perhaps we can hunt a few things and level up while on this journey yes? Or did you think that you would get to stay here and sleep in beds while I toured the countryside?” I asked. “Oh no, you are coming with me. A good retainer crosses thick and thin with his lady you know.”

I got up and walked out, smirking at Kerrin the whole time. There was no way that I was going to allow the brat to remain here, poor sod was coming with me.

A bit north of the city lay a small forest, surrounded by the three Farming Villages of the valley that had cut into it to settle themselves and continued to do so each time they expanded. Within the forest a vine shrunk down, its arms dying as many of its siblings had before.

But as the arm fell, it pulled down with it a single stone. The presence of the stone was not quite out of place, forests did have a few of them. But it was the fact that said stone was stuck on a tree that one found weird.

Stranger still was that the stone dropping seemed to have caused an outward sparkle in the air itself. For a few seconds it seemed that a dome appeared, then reioriented itself to the stone’s new location and became invisible once again.

Name

Altura Selrin

Title

Archduchess (In name) (landed)

Element

Dragon Fire, Snowflake ice

Age

10 years

Seeds

Military (ungerminated), Royalty (Seedling-Late(270.95/300)), Energy (ungerminated)

Stats

Strength[The amount of brute force one can use]

18

Endurance[The amount of time one can work continuously]

22

Flexibility[The range of movement of the body]

20

Precision[The accuracy of one’s movements]

22

Perception[The ability to notice nuances and advanced concepts]

18

Intelligence[The ability to comprehend advanced concepts]

21

Wisdom[The ability to effectively use the concepts]

22

Aura Force[The ability to force your will on your surroundings]

23

Combat[The speed of one’s reactions, ability to process situations and other general combat abilities]

22

Retainers

Kerrin

Mid-Seedling (260/300). Element of Blood, anomalous Seedling