One week. It feels like a week should take a long time but in my previous life it can feel like it goes by in an instant sometimes. Whether you're busy or doing nothing, time can be fickle like that.

For one week, Auto-Mode took the reins and I fell into what I call the "Grey Zone" based on its appearance. It's a massive, open plain with nothing beyond a flattened ground made of grey stone, going off into an only slightly brighter shade of grey sky. It's also, strangely, a place where I can become my ghost form and walk around as per normal.

I don't know if this is because it'll always be this way from now on or what... but it gave me the chance to meet him. The god who's kept me dancing around in chaos and loving every moment of it.

We talked for minutes but it was more like hours with how much was happening. The system's dilation of time no doubt played part of it but the presence of a being inexplicably beyond my understanding probably didn't help. It felt like trying to keep up with a bullet train on a bike but somehow working out despite the situation.

Disclosing what we talked about now, though, isn't important. The real takeaway from the whole experience is learning just how capable my summons are without me. I never thought Ivy or Ropert couldn't handle things while I was away, but they can. I saw the whole thing thanks to that mad god's fickle mood.

"[View: Kaden]."

Grey Man's hand thrusts out toward the empty space ahead of them, the flickering two-dimensional figure's power splitting the endless expanding ground and bringing the pair into the clearing he had made in the field.

"Holy s-shit!" I stammer as we suddenly leap. It's the first time I can feel the breeze besides my leaves rustling in the wind, my ghostly figure carving itself into a shape with hair patterning. It's the first time I've ever changed... and part of it makes me wonder just how much of it is the god beside me giving me some form of help or my own growth.

It's also the first time I've audibly spoke in ages and my voice sounds awful. Cracking and unused like some potato thrown on a shelf for a year or more. Just how long have I gone without the privilege so many people get every day and take for gran-

"Stop that. You mortals worry over silly things."

The cane-wielding god has very little definition since he's practically lacking a dimension but even I can tell from his tone that he's being serious.

"Sorry."

I walk over to Ivy and Bomber's home, gently setting my hand on the humble abode's wall. The grasses all around hardly grow but the time away had already let some of the grass on top of the buildings grow out. It's actually a pretty amazing sight since it interweaves with the Dried Creeper Thorn, forming camouflage to hide the dwelling and the defensive death-wire within.

Now that I think about it, the only thing cooler than being in an isekai of my own is realizing just how well my powers and environment blend together. It's obvious why Creeper family monsters have it so easy out here when one with a bit of luck and help has made the equivalent of a small village. All the houses I've built up to this point may be empty but that might end up changing if I can figure out how to evolve the Ranbi in my pen. Ranbli are smart, after all, so I could probably at least begin to have some semblance of a civilization that way. All of my summons are certainly no laughing matter when it comes to just how important they are to me, but I need to do more than just talk to Ropert.

"It's fine," the god answers. "Besides, this is a good time to bring it up now that we're almost done talking."

Grey Man taps his cane against the ground, the area around us blinking to the room I had prepared his altar in.

My body is still here... but it's definitely not how I left it. When I'd activated Auto-Mode, my body had been about the size of an older kid or young teenager.

It's so big now that its upper branches push against the roof of the chamber, the altar where Bomber is, and out the door into what looks like was my bedroom. Two entire rooms of my dungeon are completely engulfed in the overgrown vines, snarling out from the base of my body like a plague.

"You should've been doing this from the start," he sighs. I can't tell if it's because he's bored or disappointed but I don't want to know anyway. "Look how big you've grown! And at this rate, it'd take only a year for you to surpass my last failure!"

"Your last failure?"

The only thing that comes to mind is-

"The giant one, yes."

That at least explains why that fuck-huge monster is out there. It may also explain why I'm able to raise my relationship with it, too. But size being so important doesn't seem like it's the case if his last "failure" is absolutely massive.

"Grey Man, what exactly am I supposed to do in all this? I mean, I pissed off that other god so I feel like there has to be more than just... whatever I want to do, right?"

His smile grows at my question but the god doesn't answer with words.

Instead, he approaches the altar and puts his hand on the slain ranbli and I feel his power pulse just like when he split the endless grey to bring us back to my dungeon. This time, however, it's for something promised instead of to taunt me: Bomber's body twitches and mends, all of the wounds undoing themselves and leaving him restored in a matter of seconds. All around him I can see similar boxes to the system messages rapidly overlaying one another, text of various colors all snapping to a solid grey whilst the god carries out his work.

And at last, Bomber kicks awake. The damnable hare kid falls off the altar and into the mass of my overgrown body, yet they snap and move the moment before impact to merely pad his landing instead of harming him. I approach the squirming ranbli, kneeling down and patting his head to calm him-

Wait... I'm touching Bomber!?

"That's right," the god finally speaks. "Just like your form gained hair and that mouth, you're evolving."

That sounds loaded. "What exactly do you mean by that? I'm not a monster so-"

"No, you are. You're just different compared to other monsters, Kyle. Specifically, you aren't that plant or the dungeon's will... you are a disembodied soul that was granted the role of dungeon master. I take it you never thought of why that part was in parenthesis? Or why your summons had two levels?"

"Why would they-"

Wait. That means that my summons... are like me? Then that means...

Oh. Oh! This... mostly makes a lot of sense, then. Bomber, Ivy, and Ropert all share a bond with me that I'd assumed was part of my dungeon... but what if it's because we're all connected through our spirits? It explains why all this time I could communicate with them all despite the differences in our intellect and forms, yet why there were always odd limitations on it like range. It doesn't have anything to do with the system, since I can still manage the dungeon no matter where I'm at and am always bound to it. All of us are connected because we're-

"-Kindred souls," I finish aloud, letting Bomber finally bound and start squirming his way through my automatically-moving body. It also explains why the dungeon can take control and operate my body yet I remain conscious and free-willed at the same time.

"Unlike you, however, their fate is to follow. You are the catalyst, after all, not them. But they, too, will grow and change as their cumulative level increases. Sometimes in ways that may surprise you, River."

The words from a crazy god shouldn't be so comforting but for once I'm just happy that I'm not overwhelmed or hearing more bad news. All the craziness of the village and that red bitch definitely don't sit well with me but I don't have much choice in things now. Especially with the echowings out there no doubt confused or assuming the worst after how I left. If my minions can grow, then maybe it'll be possible to overcome all these handicaps without any trouble. All of the advantages of the valley would make it a waste if I could never go back... and doing the bidding of that evil goddess certainly isn't happening as long as I can avoid it.

"I guess I can get why you're so crazy. Brogdar is always giving me surprises one way or another. But... if I'm evolving, then what really is my power?"

Grey Man takes the top of his cane in both hands, watching me in silence and letting me feel out the question myself. It's a deeply unsettling moment that removes my previous confidence.

"Am I going to have a normal life in this world if I keep getting stronger?"

"Perhaps. Or perhaps not. That's how things are, after all: there isn't any true reason to the way fate works when it wants to change things. But... I can tell you that the system will help guide you better than any advice I give."

Considering the system is controlled by the gods, I'm not so sure that's true. Grey Man sees my obvious conclusion and quickly settles my mood with a single raised finger.

"One week and you'd be rewarded, remember? I've brought Bomber back to his body... but the true gift I'm going to give you is that your physical form can be changed, Kaden. Evolution isn't merely brought on by levels; if you want to follow the right path, you must strike a balance between knowing when to raise it and when to focus on your abilities. For example... your body."

He taps the cane, the two of us soaring through the dungeon walls and into the sky above the plains.

And for the first time, I see it. I see just how big the Amassed Creeper Thorn is.

It goes on for miles in all directions like a sweeping wave, cascading as if to ensnare my dungeon in its mass.

"If you grow, you can encompass the entire plains... no, the world. But the larger you become, the more spread your conscious becomes. The previous failure didn't understand this and now, they've grown too large to think on their own. You somewhat realized this but simply got lucky enough that you chose convenience and avoided this fate. It recognizes your body for now and isn't attacking... but soon its hunger could become too great and lead it to think otherwise. But, for example... if you decide to trim it?"

If this giant thing could be trimmed, then it's obvious what would happen. Only a moron wouldn't understand where this is going.

"I can save the failure from their fate. But taking on this whole thing is-"

"Insane?" His smile returns, twisting amidst the featureless figure and making it unnervingly too real. "Well, now that you mention it... that's true. But your dungeon will have to deal with it sooner or later, right? If you feed it whilst you trim it down, you could use the system to augment their feelings of you. The system isn't a definitive law as long as you have true consciousness. But to that massive thing down there, you're the only one who can bring change to the Great Plains of Kave. And, with an ally like that, you'd be one step closer to finding a purpose here besides just living. Isn't that exciting?"

...

Yeah. It kinda is. If it wasn't for how high up we are right now, I'd honestly be pretty excited for just how much this changes everything. Adventuring to the Valley can take a backseat for a while... at least until I determine if I can get an ally from this previous dungeon master.

"Don't worry, I won't let you down. I owe you for saving Bomber anyway. So uh... mind letting me-"

Fuck I shouldn't have said it. Grey Man snaps and the artificial gravity ends, letting me fall from the sky down toward the ground at breakneck speeds.

"FUCK ME! FUCK YOU GREY MA-"

My "eyes" opened right about the time I slapped the ground and felt like everything in me broke. If it wasn't for how I know I'm a ghost I'd swear I just died all over again... but the truth is that I have a bigger problem now that the auto-mode is over.

My body is way too huge.

First of all, my sheer size is obviously not great; I can't fit through doorways too well when I'm the size of two rooms, but the majority of my body is flexible enough to at least crawl around with. But the bigger issue is once I get outside: all of my summons have to clear the entrance just so I can relax.

However, it's not my first time dealing with this: it'll be a few weeks of cutting and resting but I'll be able to trim back down. I picked up another growth-related title on the way but it's just more HP. A perfect-rounding 13 points, to be specific. It brings my HP up to match my MP, leaving only my SP low at this point.

50 MP means my staff also gets to be a staggering 400 MP after all of its crystals are made, making me have over a third of my previous mana for attacks. Combining that with my new spells and understanding of magic means that I'm a much deadlier bush compared to before the fight in the Echowing Village.

But, for now, I need to get comfortable and relax; it'll be painful trimming down, after all, but it has to be done so I can move my body the way I'm used to. Magos Form is still pretty far from achievable, but the time at the dungeon will help give me a chance to raise SP. There's also explaining what happened to Ivy and Ropert, since I doubt Bomber remembers or can convey it very well without a proper form of communication.

I've got a long road ahead of me but it certainly looks brighter than it did a week ago when Bomber was killed. If I'm going to prevent that from happening again, I need to focus and try a little harder.

Operation Untangle & Trim The Giant Bush Next Door is a go. Or... uh... Operation... fuck it. Keep the first name.