Chapter 9

It took the rest of the night to push Art, the clothed baby in his wicker basket quarter of a mile to my secret grove where my hickory laboratory was placed. Oona, the fae who hitched hiked along talked the whole way through about how I was different from the normal fair folk who slummed in their groves.

“Are you even a fair folk?-You should just leave him.-He is human.-Seriously, Why even bother? --And what's up with that instrument? --Can I try it?”

On and on she went whilst I had to navigate over mounds, broken branches, and tree roots. It’s like she's got nothing better to do than gripe about everything that was wrong with me, my actions, looks, and personality.

Ignoring that, I continued, my limbs tired but I was fuelled by something else, something more different than a responsibility that was given to me. It was an idea, a plan, and a concept which then turned into a blueprint in my head. All focused on Amelia’s steel armor that I had to leave behind, and get back when I was done with delivering this child to somewhere safe and warm.

The thought of the knight armored mecha left my mouth salivating at the thought. It was a Gundam size frame if I compared it to my wee height. It was going to be a huge undertaking. It will require a lot of my time and attention, developing the interior structure, the scripts, and the commands to fully create this project.

I grin at the thought. A challenge worth accepting. It was my occupation to dream and build-up manned mechas. Now with these frames, I had just attained, I can create something more mecha than my mecha centaur.

A bipedal mecha, I salivated at the thought.

With that image in my mind, I opened up my Status Page.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Name: Thomas Rendfield

Age: 16 years old.

Race: Grass People.

Classification: Grass Singer.

Level: 22.

Strength: 22

Constitution:22

Dexterity: 23

Intelligence: 35

Wisdom: 21 + 9

Charisma: 30 + 10

Stat Points to Spend: 20 + Stat points

I had 20 Stat Points to spend in my Status Page that was jittering my excitement, then I realized one of those levels and stat points were given to me by Amelia. My taste soured at the thought of it, disgusted by myself for being distracted for a moment contemplating my abundance of stats.

Those stats were from deaths, a legendary wild boar, a man with a serrated edge, and a mother who had given me the responsibility of her son. If there was nothing else that I learned from what I had experienced today, then It was that. In my struggles and success, there is only one winner of this world, and that is the System, enjoying counting its tally.

Cursing the System, I grudgingly accepted it’s ill brought gift, by raising the stats that would help me for this mission. I had deliberated for a moment then followed the path that I had guessed would benefit the most for my class. I did not need Strength anymore, or Constitution or Dexterity. From the Benefits the Title Child of Legendary Proportions had given me, my foundation was set for me to specialize my Stats to my Classification.

Raising Charisma to factors of 10, by adding 3, I made sure that it was stretched to an odd 43, which would help my split-second calculation when figuring the trajectory and distances of sounds directed from me. A similar process I equated to my Wisdom Stats, for those were the two most prevalent Stats for my Classification.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Name: Thomas Rendfield

Age: 16 years old.

Race: Grass People.

Classification: Grass Singer.

Level: 22.

Strength: 22

Constitution: 22

Dexterity: 23

Intelligence: 35

Wisdom: 31 + 9

Charisma: 43 + 10

After completing the task, I checked on my Skill Page. It’s time to raise the Novice Levels of my Skills. I wonder what new perks from the Skills Points I had garnered. This was unknown territory from my research. From what I had gathered, not many Grass Singers have ever reached over level 10, more so level 20... It was just not their role, for they do not often kill when they sing. Granted they kill the occasional herbivore or insect that intrudes in the Groves territory, but not one of the Grass Singers I had research leveled over level 5.

It was just not in their nature.

Spoiler: Spoiler Classification: Grass Singer

Passive Skills:

Vocalization - Apprentice Level: 1 / 5

Description: Sounds that are vocalised by the Individual will now be apparent to the Nature of the Grass and other varied Plants.

Area Of Effect - [ CHA stat x ( 5 + 2 Centimetre) = Centimetres ]

Vibrations - Novice Level: 5 / 5

Description: Vibrations that are sounded by the individual will now be apparent to the Nature of the Grass.

Area Of Effect - [ CHA stat x 5 Centimetre = Centimetres ]

Cognition - Novice Level: 1 / 5

Description: The Individual will now be able to telepathically transmite feeling with the Nature of the Grass, vice versa.

Area Of Effect - [ (CHA stat + INT Stat / 2) x 1 Centimetre = Centimetres ]

Active Skills:

Craft Song - Apprentice Level: 1 / 5

Description: The Individual will now be able to craft sounds with premade commands in a set amount of time, intended by the Individual on a specific Grass Plant. The Grass Plant will be able mimick the noise by a hum.

Crafting - [ (INT Stat + WIS Stat / 2) x 5 second = seconds ] The Grass Network Mimick volume [ (Wis / 2 ) x 1 centimetres = centimeres ]

Invoke Song - Apprentice Level: 1 / 5

Description: The Individual will now be able to add intentions into sound and melody by audio sounds, chord, verse, bridge and chorus which will then transmit into multiple targeted networked plants conveying to following the commands in the song.

Targeted Area of Effect - [ (CHA stat + INT Stat / 2) x 1 Centimetre = Centimetres ]

Resonance - Novice Level: 2 / 5

Description: The Individual will now be able to include multiple sounds concurrent with another in the same tempo into a melody. The active melody will increase the distant effect depending on the amount of sound added into its Resonance.

Area Of Effect - [ (CHA stat + INT Stat / 2) x 2 Centimetre x ( Max Sounds ) = Centimetres ] Max Sounds - [ Sound + ( Novice Level ) = Sounds ]

With the three Skill Points I had attained after the deaths of the man and Amelia, I evolved three Novice Leveled skills into their Apprentice Level tier. They were my Passive Skill Vocalization, which now allowed my vocal talents to be heard to other varied plants. And my most used Active Skills, Invoke Song, which will now be able to target multiple plants in one cast. Instead of multiple cast, which I would have normally done. And Craft Song which will now allow the Grass other than to retain the memory of the song, but mimic it as well.

I am ecstatic to start the new blueprint I had envisioned in my mind with the new abilities I had in hand. I was sedated by the System, my conscious gripped at me. But, clenching my fist, I ignored that factor. After all, I cannot alter a world’s rule by a viewpoint alone. It would have amounted to me, like cursing the wind, for blowing my hair astir.

I was not content, but I was ecstatic with my transgression on a sidepath, a role that wasn’t in this world’s glossary for a fair folk such as I. No altered plane, no roles of dynamic or magic will ever stray me from the path of being a mecha warrior. I gritted my teeth, opening my lips wide for a hidden toothy smile, as I exerted myself pushing the wicker basket before me.

Reaching my hidden grove and the hickory log before us. I headed to the secret stunted shrubs that held multiple leavers. Pulling one, the interior section where the hickory log had broken, began to open up to my hollowed laboratory full of gizmos and inventions.

The Fae, opening her mouth to add another belittlement into her array, gaped at the dark hickory caverns before us. I then headed to the side, near the smaller entrance to press onto a protruded stone placed into the wood.

White lights began to procedurally light up the laboratory before them. A grin at the extravagance before me, then swiveled my head towards Oona with my grin still intact. ‘Impress now?’ directing an openly smug expression to her.

Sensing that I was looking at her, she turned to eye me then shrugged in indifference. “The Fae Folk had always had light stones that they were gifted from the Stone Folks.”

My grin fell into a straight line away from her smug expression.

Ignoring her again, I headed behind the basket where the baby was still asleep uninspired by the scene before him. I had pushed the basket for a bit until it collided with something up the front. I cursed myself for a fool, for not considering the mass and space of the basket in this hickory log laboratory. I was distracted, spaced out by the Fae who was hovering around, touching contraptions built for sound.

“What’s this?” She lifted a foldable branched joint that had one long grass-root in all of their centers. “It's a foldable leg, for a four-legged vehicle I had planned to build for these woodland terrains.

“This is a leg? It’s rather long.” She pondered.

“Well, oh Bumpkin Fae, The vehicle was inspired by a long-legged spider. So yes, it is rather long.” I grunted while pushing the contraptions away from the basket’s path. Oona hastily dropped the leg and reacted when I spoke the word spider. I groaned at the noise and the nicks and scratches it would have gotten from the small fall.

“Uh…”

“Yes, what is it?” a bit peeved.

“What if the baby gets out of the basket?” She pointed out.

Oh verdant hells, I didn’t factor that in. 'Okay, think.'

“I’ll let the baby sleep inside the laboratory during the night, with fire stones to warm him up. Then I’ll drag his basket outside and make him a tent.” I talked to myself, my fingers on my temples as I closed my eyes to strategize.

Man, this wasn’t even in my plans in life, to babysit and take care of a baby. I had outlined my goals, few I had installed, but I had never accounted for a future with me taking care of a baby three times my height.

With that all considered. I went back and pushed the baby inside an open space of my Laboratory. I then went to a storage compartment where all my Peb-made elemental stones rocks were deposited. An arsenal of elemental stones in labeled shelves and chests.

Coming back, I carefully placed the red glowing stones around the wicker basket to warm the slumbering baby inside. Oona was stepping her high heels on a large key that made a random strumming noise every time it was pressed. She was fascinated with the invention.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a 1 key string instrument attached to a music box with randomized scripts every time the key is pressed.” I offhandedly said.

“What’s it for?”

“It’s a prototype to create more functions when one single key is pressed,” I remarked. Bit peeved of the badgering. Not a moment ago she was insulting my intellect, now she's asking me questions with added judgments.

“That’s stupid.” She remarked.

I poked out my head, to give her an intolerable stare.

“You’re a weird one, Green bean.” She pointed. “Why make all these useless things?”

“They aren’t useless....” I murmured.

Okay, let's be honest here, I never was good at talking with girls. It’s just hard to find a like-minded individual from the opposite gender, and when I do, I never had enough experience to speak with them to get anywhere with it, like a relationship.

“If you say so. Never would I have thought, I'd be strung up with the weirdest grass man of them all.”

For some reason those words made me slump my shoulders. I don’t know why, but at the moment, I felt more alien to the world in those few moments than I had for my whole life here.

Pushing that feeling aside to a corner that was filled with them, I headed to the exit of my laboratory.

“Where are you going?”

“Going to wake up a friend.”

“A friend…” She murmured.

We headed outside, leaving the baby inside sleeping in the warmth of the laboratory. After walking past a few nearly dead fountain shrubs, I walked into a plethora of large rocks haphazardly placed around the secluded space. Finding the proper rock, I dug my fingers underneath and lifted to see.

Like the Starfish Patrick, who lives under the sea under a rock, Peb lives under a rock, in my hidden grove. He was scratching his tummy in a small opened space that was dug under the rock. There were a plethora of unique pebbles and small stones around him, half munched with indentation of his dentures.

“Wake up Peb. Don’t tell me you binge yourself into stone again?”

Peb rubbed his stomach, then laid to his side to get away from the moonlight’s glare. “I’ll be up, later.” He offhandedly said, half asleep.

“Come on up. Up you go.” I poked and prodded. He rolled around in his food, not wanting to leave his stone made paradise.

“Well, that's a typical stone man.” Oona chagrin.

Peb sat up to the strange voice. He then blearily rubbed his eyes clear to look up at the two shadowed forms above him. “Who are you!” He yelped, clutching all his stones at bay, like a hoarder not wanting another to look at his treasure.

“Peb, this is Oona. Oona this is Peb.” Giving both of them both brisk introductions with one another.

“Now hurry up Peb. We don’t have all night.”

“Where are we going?” Peb stood up, putting a few pebbles in his pockets. As I watched this, I regretted once more introducing pockets to the Fair folk and Peb.

“We are going to collect some parts…for my new invention.” I gleefully hinted.

“To the centaur!” I pointed, Peb following along, like a pebble trailing a deluge. Oona hovered by, curious about what this centaur was, not an actual centaur she had feared.

Her mouth gaped open as she saw my first mecha. She then stared at me than the mecha multiple times, before she ended with me. “What on earth? Can that thing move?”

I gave her a grin, no answers to her questions. Peb and I both took our spot.

“What about me?” She added.

“Well, you’re gonna look after the baby, while we go.” I directed.

Her face deflated at my directions. Then fury began to build up. “No, I’m not babysitting a human child.” She shook her head, folding her arms as she hovered.

I don’t know girls, but I know Peb, and that is enough. Pulling a string, a sonnet, and a sound, I told her.

“If you do this. I will.”

“You will?”

Pausing to give her the effect that I wanted.

“Let you control and ride this mecha?”

“Mecha?” She queried.

“This machine?”

“This golem?” Her eyes widened with excitement.

“Yes.” I nodded, grudgingly.

“You got yourself a deal!” She agreed, excited with the prospect.

With a melody I turned the mecha on, then I pulled the top levers and pressed the surrounding buttons. Peb and I exited the grove, whilst Oona stared at our backs with disbelieving amazement. It was a fair trade indeed, it’s not like I was giving her my contraption, it was just a time traded for a time.

Besides, I’m off for better things, way better and bigger things.