Congratulations! You have reached full maturity as a alchemist’s stalk and stored enough energy to develop a mobile body.

‘Finally! If I have to stare at this place any longer I will die!’

Die? Why do you wish to die? You just reached a great milestone.

The system responded with a uncharacteristically alarmed voice. Luhnan felt the instinct to blink, and once more cursed his lack of anything resembling eyelids. His confusion lasted until he remembered that the system wasn’t very good with sayings or sarcasm.

‘Oh, no not actually die. This is another way of uh, saying things.’

…?

‘A way to explain how something feels? Like uh… It’s so boring that it feels like I’m dying!!- Kinda deal. I don’t actually wanna die. It’s just an expression. I think that’s the word.’

…

‘I take it you’re either confused or unimpressed again.’

…

‘Right. So I’m able to finally start moving around now?’

Yes, once you have developed a body capable of doing so.

‘How do I do that?’

You grow.

‘...Another hint please.’

You are now able to influence the outcome of your growth. Keep the desired shape in mind when growing, and your body will follow those instructions when able.

‘Thanks. Righty, so… Let’s start with legs! Start small and easy.’

That said, Luhnan turned his focus to spending the energy he’d amassed so far on growing. He could feel the itchy burn and exhaustion eating away at his energy slowly but surely, and as he kept the mental image of what his body looked like, he was slowly but surely able to shift where mass went and what shape it took. He left the parts above ground alone for now, figuring that it would be the roots that would make up the main part of his body.

His previously fist sized lump of a body had grown considerably since he first learned how to speed up his growth. Now it was the size of football and had plenty of small and large tendrils sprouting out from it. Bearing the image of a human body in mind, Luhnan slowly felt the four main roots grow longer and sturdier. The thinner thread like roots shifted from all around the four bases and towards their tips, leaving his main body smooth. The process was slow and took a heavy toll on his focus, requiring him to block out his surroundings to better pay attention to the way his body took shape. Once he’d gotten a fair bit he noticed that the bigger some parts grew, the harder it became to change their structure. He would have to pay close attention to how he shaped himself, or he risked getting stuck and unable to fix mistakes.

When finally he felt satisfied enough with his body that he wanted to give moving a try, the sky had already gone from bright to dark, leaving the small stream barely visible in the forest’s gloom. Luhnan hesitated, but the eagerness to finally move away from his spot by the big boulder and explore the world won out over the fear he had of the dark. It took an incredible force of will, but after some trial and error he finally figured out how to wiggle his roots about. The moist dirt around him shifted as he pushed his four main roots, now better described as limbs, upwards and through the wet layer of mud.

Cold air hit him with a pleasant chill as he wormed his way above ground. A giddy sense of accomplishment surged through his mind as he planted his lumpy feet on the ground next to the hole he’d been stuck in for so many days. The other alchemist’s stalks titled down towards the hole he left behind slightly, but Luhnan still felt like their glowing flowers were cheering at him.

He was free! At last! The mandragora spun around and waved his limbs about in a little dance, savoring the victorious moment to the fullest. Despite his vaguely human shaped, the way he moved looked more like a lumpy seastar squirming about in an attempt to mimic a humanoid. A featureless lump stuck out between his top two limps, with the green part of his body sprouting out of its top. A large round cluster of petals bobbed around on a thick stalk surrounded by the cluster of green, white veined leaves. Luhnan’s giddy celebration ended abruptly when Esbi’s smiling face appeared right next to him.

The rå sat crouched right next to him, the only warning of her appearing being the sound of naked feet turning in the mud. He sudden appearance had Luhnan experiencing the plant version of a heart attack, a cold jolt of shock. The small mandragora stumbled back and fell on his back, or at least what he himself had decided was his back, given that he didn’t really have a face or anything to determine where front and back was on his lumby root body. Esbi kept perfectly still as he squirmed around and tried to regain control of his body. A small hissing sound was escaping the plant creature, like lungs empty of air trying to scream. The sound stopped when Luhnan calmed down enough to push himself into a position vaguely resembling sitting. This apparently amused Esbi.

“Curious little thing. Still a favorite? Why? It is special, somehow. What, are you?” Esbi’s voice came from everywhere at once just like last time.

‘SHE’S TALKING TO ME HELP! SYSTEM!’

“She is” Esbi confirmed with a smile. The system remained silent.

‘AND SHE READS MINDS!’

“Sometimes, a little, in a way. You have one? Why?”

‘H-H-HHHHH-!!!’

Both Esbi and the system kept quiet while the plantman trembled on the ground, then they both spoke at once,

She will not hurt you.

“She will not hurt you."

in perfect unison, which completely defeated the intent of the sentence. Luhnan started making the muffled screaming sound again and kept at it until Esbi flicked his head. That was enough to shock Luhnan out of his shock, which put him back in a state of slightly less shocked, rather than very much shocked.

‘SHE’S LIKE A REALLY IMPORTANT PERSON ISN’T SHE?! SHE HIT ME! SHE’S ANGRY NOW I’M GONNA DIE!’

Is this another expression?

“I think not. It is shocked I could hit it again? Afraid of death. Why? I am not death. I am the Pines.”

Be gentle with him.

“Ah.”

Esbi raised her face in understanding, a gesture which would have shocked Luhnan since it meant she could hear the system, had he not been busy being shocked over her just being here. The rå waited patiently while sitting perfectly still until Luhnan made a wheezing sound and flapped his limbs in defeat.

‘I accept my fate. The end, cruel end. I got so far! Oh no oh no…’

“Still gentle?” Esbi kept watching the mandragora with a amused smile.

‘Painlessly please. I don’t want to die.’

“Silly thing. I am here to greet, not to end. The rå does not end like that. You are mine, so I keep.”

…

“Gently!”

Esbi beamed at the confused Luhnan, eyes full of expectation. The plantman just stared.

“Gently” she repeated. Luhnan blinked, in his mind, because he does not have eyes.

‘...Gently…?’

“Progress!”

‘IIIEEEEH!?!?!?’

The rå’s smile turned into a grin wide enough to go past he cheekbones, a sight that terrified Luhnan almost as much as her picking him up and spinning around in circle while laughing proudly.

!”%”#¤#/%¤&!

The system made a terribly confusing sound that made Luhnan’s mind go blank. It sounded slightly like a crashing computer. Esbit stopped spinning at once at made a embarrassed face followed by a “Ech, oops, my bad. There there.”

She slowly put Luhnan back down on the ground, where he trembled like a chihuahua getting off a rollercoaster. Seeing the plantman still being in shock, the rå put her hands behind her back and took a few steps back from him then crouched again.

“I am very sorry. I can feel you be excited, but I wonder why, but it is nice. Little creature calm down now, Esbi will be calm and gentle.”

The rå smiled reassuringly and Luhnan could swear he heard the system sigh. The two sat staring at each other for a long moment before Luhnan finally managed to pull himself together again.

‘...So.. She’s not going to kill me?’

“No.”

Somehow hearing Esbi saying only one word made it sound intimidating, like a entire room full of people all saying the word at the same time. It made Luhnan flinch, which Esbi noticed. She quickly added, “I will not.”

Gently.

Esbi waved a dismissive hand to the side at the reminder. Luhnan hesitated, then asked,

“So uh… If you’re not here to end me, why are you? Aren’t you like a end boss or something?”

The rå tilted her head, and for the first time since meeting her Luhnan noticed the patches of missing pigmentation on her face. It was hard to focus on usually, but now he could see the clear lines where tan skin turned into patches of pale pink, nearly white, covering parts of her cheeks and chin. He also saw darker patches in some places, but as he looked closer the spots moved and switched places. The sight made his head hurt and his vision unfocused. She was hard to study in detail. The rå waited for him to refocus his vision on her before she answered, somehow aware of what he was doing.

“I am the forest, I am Esbi. You are part of the forest, so you are mine. I watch over all that is mine so you may thrive.”

‘...I think that’s the most complete sentence you’ve said so far- wait, so are you like my plant mom?’

Luhnan got the distinct feeling the system wanted to object, but Esbi spoke before it could.

“I did not make you, but maybe I made the plants that made you? I make many things sometimes. When needed. It often is not.”

‘So plant grandma rather.’

“I am very old yes, but not a plant. I am the forest” Esbi said, slowly.

‘Thinking about how that all works kind of make my head hurt…’

“Ah yes, you have a tiny little head. Do you like humans? Or is it a bear?”

Luhnan turned his ‘head’ to look at himself. He did sort of look more like a bear than a human. His limbs were far to thick and stumpy. Still, he worked hard on getting this far!

‘I want to look like a human. I guess I like them?’

“Ah, I see. You are almost there. Eat some mice, they have eyes. Learn from others and mimic. If thinking of me as rå is hard, you may call me what you did earlier.”

Esbi frowned with concentration and Luhnan realized that the reason she was speaking so slowly was to make herself easier to understand for him. The restless energy and way of seeming focused on several things at once still lingered, but he had a clear sense that she was making an effort to focus more on their conversation and the way she talked. Then what she said hit him and he had to blink at her again. In his mind. He really needed eyes.

‘You mean grandma? Or plant mom?’

“I am not only a plant.”

‘Right so grandma. Tho, you don’t really look like one. Old like one I mean. But calling you mom feels kind of weird doesn’t it. I’ll stick with grandma. I think.’

…

‘Yes definitely grandma.’

………

‘Because it’s easier and not because the system gets annoyed by it. Totally. So what’s that about mice?’

Esbi giggled, then gestured all around her while smiling down at the mandragora.

“Mice are small and easy to find. Weak but fast. Grow a little then scream. You have hints now, so I will leave you to live and grow. Good luck tiny thing.”

‘Wait-’

The rå stood up and turned halfway, the hole in her back showing for just a second before she disappeared from sight, leaving a very confused Luhnan behind.

‘...Mice. What about mice. System do you know?’

…

‘...Right. Mice… Hmmm…’

A quite rustle beyond the stream came like a answer to his thoughts. Luhnan froze, worried he might scare it off if he moved. The rustle continued.

‘A mouse? Hah this will be easier than I thought-’

A second rustle joined the first, this time from the brushes on his end of the stream. Luhnan kept perfectly still as the sounds grew closer from both directions. As he saw the leaves at the edges of both sides move as the creatures drew closer a bad premonition hit him. He was just about to take a step back towards the cluster of plants by the boulder when the sounds stopped. He could swear he felt his non existent heart stop.

Seconds passed, then finally the creatures moved again. In perfect sync, two fuzzy brows stuck up above the dense underbrush. Round ears the size of fists angled forwards into sight as the deep green eyes settled on the startled mandragora. Luhnan felt some of his tension fade back as he watched the large rodents edge out of the bushes. They looked sort of like chinchillas, but with brown fur full of darker spots that camouflaged them well when they kept close to the ground. Dark green eyes watched him warily for a moment, before they apparently decided that he was no danger to them and leapt out of the bushes. The pair moved eerily in sync, and what Luhnan had taken as fuzzy chubby bodies turned out to be stringy limbs covered in a deceptive layer of fluffy fur and fat moving with the elasticity of cats or rats. When hunched up they looked round, but mid leap they were as wiry as squirrels.

The sight of the fuzzy creatures running had Luhnan mesmerized, right until he realized they were running towards him. The two adorable critters came at him at full speed, the one across the stream leaping over the water in one nimble movement that quite frankly defied the laws of physics. Suddenly terrified, Luhnan spun on his stubby heels to try and face both of them at the same time, a effort that didn’t quite work out and had him falling over on his metaphorical ass.

The closest rodent slowed down enough for the other one to catch up, then they both took sharp turns to run around the mandragora in a quickly shrinking circle. Luhnan saw sharp yellow teeth bare themselves at him as the pair closed in, then wicked black claws as they both leapt. The same second the two rodents’ feet left the ground the mandragora curled up and shielded his ‘face’ in terror. Claws and unreasonably sharp buck teeth flashed as his head split down the middle and produced a shriek.

Luhnan kept screaming when he felt sharp points and warm furred limbs slam into him, then kept screaming as the two shapes stayed where they landed on top of him. He might have screamed a fair bit longer after that too. When he finally stopped screaming the bodies were still not moving, but he could feel something warm drip down over him in places.

Confused, Luhnan hesitantly moved his stumpy limbs to push the two rodents off. The vaguely hare sized creatures slid off without resistance, and when he finally calmed down enough to look he noticed why. Both rodents lay with their faces frozen in those hungry snarls, blood coating their faces from where it had burst forth through every orifice. Luhnan stared in shock at the dead creatures, blood still oozing out of them and pooling on the wet ground.

‘Wha- what just- w-wha…’

Congratulations on your first kill!

The system’s cheerful announcement cut through the silence like a physical hit. Luhnan felt a wave of nausea rise up as he stared at the bodies.

‘What… What happened to them? I didn’t…’

Several of their organs exploded.

‘T-...THEY WHAT?! WHY?!’

The system paused, but Luhnan was far too worked up to question why. Nausea paved the way for dizziness and the longer he stared at the grizzly sight the worse it got. When he realized that the wetness he’d felt earlier was the blood that had gushed out of them he couldn’t take it anymore. Luhnan curled up and let out another scream, short and choked this time.

‘What’s happening?!’

Fear nearly drowned out the system’s calm voice.

You killed them with your scream ability, a ability common among mandragora of all kinds. The weaker the creature the stronger of an effect the scream has. As a newly matured mandragora you should be able to kill anything weaker than a human with one scream.

The voice was calm, slow, and sounded slightly confused. When Luhnan didn’t calm down it stayed quite. He killed them… somehow. How? By screaming? Just that? How messed up is that?! He couldn’t believe what he just heard. They looked like their brains exploded inside their skulls. Had he done that? His world was spinning. They’d looked harmless just a moment ago hadn’t they? Would he endanger everything around him every time he screamed? What if he talked? A thousand questions were pulling at his mind, only making the nausea worse. He wished so badly that he could throw up.

He felt something in him tug at his hide, a insistent pull spreading through his limbs and into the small cluster of roots at his ‘wrists’. Feeling comfort in letting his body move on its own, he let instinct take over. He stayed curled up but he could distantly feel his roots reach out and spread. A warm calm flooded back through them into his body, and for a moment the nausea gave way to relief and the exhaustion followed by a break down. Luhnan let himself relax and pulled back his senses, willing the world to fade back into a muffled and blurry place. The flurry of thoughts grew less panicked as he focused only on breathing, or whatever that pulsing motion of his body was. When he head the first ‘CRACK’ his body grew cold.

Wary, he uncurled just enough to look up, allowing his sense of sight to return enough to see what had made the noise. What met him was a sight that would haunt him for a long time. Roots pulsing like cartoonish straws, gulps of something making their way through the thin threads like obscene bulges. It took his mind a moment to process the sight, to realize that what his body was so eagerly ‘drinking’ came from the dead rodents. His roots had stabbed into those blood soaked openings in the creatures’ bodies, pushing past pulpy messes of flesh and gunk to dive deep within the corpses. He watched numbly as the bodies caved in on themselves, cracking and twitching like the air being sucked out of a container until the plastic clung tight to the contents. In a morbidly comical way it reminded him of sucking the air out of a juice box, except that these ones were made of skin and that things inside them made made squelching noises as they were crushed by the pressure.

He watched until his mind caught up with what he was seeing, until it connected the dots and noticed where all that mass disappearing was going. He felt the nausea double, the corpses made another wet crackling sound, and then he screamed. And then the system made the world around him go mercifully black.