Marcus woke up screaming, the sound still suppressed by the barrage of noise from the waterfall. Without a moment’s hesitation he ripped his roots free of the ground and ran as fast as he could, wanting to be as far from the site of his trauma as possible. His feet felt heavy as the mud clung to them but he was too eager to get away, to find a quiet place to come to terms with his trauma for it to slow him down.

His mind was empty as he ran, unthinking, not wanting to think, just wanting to escape from everything. By the time he let himself stop his legs felt like jelly, forcing him to put down new roots and rest, whether he liked it or not. It was quieter now, the trees around him acting as breaks against the noise, peace settling over him.

“That,” he croaked. “Was the worst thing. Ever. Of all time.”

It had taken time but he was finally managing to get his head on straight again, but he was surprised how well he was actually doing. He hadn’t been to therapy himself, but knew people who had and looked into it a bit, and he knew a person didn’t just immediately get over something like this. Turning his attention to the sea of blinking lights in the corner of his vision, his suspicions rose.

“This is somehow your fault isn’t it?” He told the System accusingly.

-Through intense exposure, you have gained Mana Resistance - Lvl 1!-

- Mana Resistance - Lvl 1: Reduces and resists the effect of direct mana based effects-

-Through prolonged extreme exposure, Mana Resistance has evolved into Mana Immunity-

-Mana Immunity: Completely negate the negative effects of mana based effects-

- Through intense exposure, you have gained Pain Resistance - Lvl 46!-

- Pain Resistance - Lvl 46: Reduces pain felt and increases recovery from pain effects by 92%-

-Through intense exposure, you have gained Mental Resistance - Lvl 18!-

- Mental Resistance - Lvl 18: Reduces and resists the effect of mental effects by 36%-

-You have gone through extreme Mana Burn. Though you have survived, you are not unscathed. You are now Mana Broken-

-Mana Broken: Your soul has been damaged beyond repair. You can no longer hold mana, your mana pool has been removed-

“Checks out so far.” Marcus thought blandly as he read the report that basically said he’d suffered a lot but had learned to deal with it. The resistances seemed nice, especially the immunity, though he wasn’t sure how they’d help him in the future. Especially since there apparently wasn’t much reason for him to go play with mana anymore. “Okay System, what else have you got for me?”

-By focused use, racial ability Green Touch - Lvl 5 has evolved into Personal Growth - Lvl 23!-

-Personal Growth- Lvl 23- Use mana to directly change, grow or regrow portions of your body. Affected by Spirit and Body. Mana expenditure affected by scale.-

“Mom would be so proud, she’s been wanting me to get that for years. No more boats though, but that’s... probably for the best. What else?”

-By forcing yourself to heal beyond the point of death for a prolonged period of time, you have acquired the Epic Title: Evergreen-

“Oh look, new words that make sense to me. It’s been a few days since I've had this bit of fun.”

-Title: a title is a special achievement earned from extreme actions. Each gives certain passive abilities, but only five may be held at any time.

-Evergreen - Epic Title: Requirement-Survive beyond expected death under your own power. Power: The bearer of this title automatically converts mana into health when injured. Enough mana or healing can resurrect the bearer’s body with no penalty-

“That’s... that’s just immortality isn’t it?” Marcus said, surprised by the sheer idea of what he read.

He couldn’t generate mana, and couldn’t hold it anymore either, but... if there were plants around, or if anyone else could give him mana he’d live through anything, as long as even a little of his body survived. And if he didn’t survive, apparently that could be fixed too.

“I really did die, didn’t I? He whispered, looking at the reason why he’d earned the Title. He’d felt himself breaking down constantly, and he’d fought back from the brink. But according to what the System had seen, he’d slipped over that line more than once before somehow pulling himself back over. Looking at his hands, he flexed them, looking at his wooden fingers, wondering exactly when he’d started thinking of them as his, rather than the body’s. Was he even himself anymore, or had ‘Marcus’ died a long time ago, and he’d just come back then as well?

Before he got too deep in that existential nightmare, a slight pressure on his shoulder brought him back to the present. Looking over, he saw he’d reacquired a squirrel companion, this one with steel grey fur, which had begun constructing a new nest where the old had been.

“Some things stay the same I guess, huh?” he said with a smile. “You’ll be Mr. Squeaks the 29th if I recall, may you live up to your family name proudly. Now any other messages you damn mortality questioner?”

-You have assisted in slaying Datovian Grand Koi Lvl 563, experience gai-

“Oh no you don't you bloody minded computerized spirit thing!” Marcus shouted suddenly in a rage, throwing the message aside. “I didn’t do a damn thing to that poor fish other than be on top of it when we hit the ground, and I'm not going to try to take some kind of prize from its death! You’ve stuck me in your reality, you’ve split me from my family and my entire species! But I am not going to start killing things for however you run things. I'm no soldier doing what’s needed, I'm just a normal person. But I've always done my damndest to be a good person! So you take your damn blood money, and you keep it. I need to find my family, but I wouldn’t want them to find me if that’s the path I chose.” He finished with a snarl.

He didn’t have much to hang on to, but he’d hold this last value tight. He understood death happened, how it was necessary, both for food and a huge number of industries. But there was a line somewhere, and he knew that killing something when leaving them alive would give the same result, was over it. Killing and hunting was natural, and he’d had no problem with eating a juicy steak, but things like trophy hunting he’d oppose all the way. To him this was the same, killing for power rather than earning it through hard work. It might be ok for some, but not for him.

Silence reigned now that he’d finished his rant, Marcus wondering if he was just yelling at the air, but a new light appeared in the corner of his vision.

-By holding to your admittedly vague ideals and surrendering experience from your first kill, you have acquired the Rare Title: Bloodless-

-Bloodless - Epic Title: Requirement- Surrender a vast amount of experience from an indirect kill. Power: The bearer of this title cannot gain experience from defeating enemies, but gains increased experience from other sources-

“What do you mean ‘vague’, and I didn’t kill it!” he shouted before uprooting and walking off in a huff.

Name:

Marcus Gillian

Titles:

Bloodless, Evergreen

Level:

1

Race:

Wood Walker (lesser)

Age:

29

Health:

80/80

Body

8

Grace

7

Thought

11

Spirit

6

Presence

10

Racial Effects:

Plant Biology

Thick Trunk, Shallow Roots

Bark Skin

One with Nature

Sun Eater

Racial Abilities:

Green Sight - Lvl 6

Personal Growth - Lvl 23

Share the Burden - Lvl 5

Skills:

Identify- Lvl 1

Defences

Mana Immunity

Mental Resistance - Lvl 18

Pain Resistance - Lvl 46

Physical Damage Reduction - 2

~

As he walked, Marcus knew he was avoiding the thing that was scaring him the most. That torrent of mana that had saved him, that had technically killed him, hadn’t been random. There had been a message with it, directed at him by something smart enough to use words.

“I might not be alone here,” he wondered. “But is this actually any better?”

The isolation had been all but killing him, but who or whatever had spoken had gone further. Did he even want to figure out what it was? It had power certainly; horrifying amounts, and was presumably strong enough to help him find his family. But by the same token it could kill him, and his family if it had a reason to.

“Where’s a coin when you need one?” he said to the squirrel on his shoulder, looking around for a suitable rock. “Ok, clean side, I try to avoid the thing and keep going how I have been. Dirty side with a beetle... I will try to contact them.”

Spinning the stone into the air, he watched as it tumbled, before landing softly on the grass, revealing fate’s decision.

“Well Mr. Squeaks, the beetle flew away, but it looks like I have a call to make.”

Finding a spot to root into the ground, he hesitated. Even if he’d decided to do it, facing the source of his trauma so soon again wasn’t an easy decision. It was easy to say get back on the horse, but harder to do if said horse had trampled you. Knuckling down and taking a deep breath, he began to send his senses down again looking for the one who’d sent the mana, and the message.

The ground here was much richer in life, with roots pervading the soil for dozens of meters down, but after that it became empty once again. Further downwards he searched, concentrating on looking for a sign, an indication of where they were. It was because he was looking at everything so closely he saw, or more accurately felt, the wave of mana incoming.

Trusting that System could be a bastard but wouldn’t outright lie to him, he braced himself and trusted his apparent Mana Immunity. If a glass of water was harmless, but this would be like trying to drink from a fire hose, the energy so dense it had physical mass. Even though he was immune to the effects of the mana itself, the sheer quantity almost uprooted him, staggering him as it was.

But he didn’t burn.

The energy hit him, rushed over and through him, seeping into every part of his being before exiting again, leaving him unharmed. And amongst the torrential cascade of power, there was another message.

STILL ALIVE!

“Ok, I found them,” Marcus thought as the force of the words shook him. “Now what?”

FOUND?

His non-existent eyebrows went up along with his headache.

“Can you hear me?” He thought, trying to project his thoughts back down the line of energy.

CAN! QUIET

“Quiet..? I'm being as loud as I can to talk to you, but you’re so loud it hurts.”

HURTS? BAD?

Marcus was starting to realise that power and intelligence weren’t necessarily connected.

“Yes, bad! Can you be quieter? Like I am? Also, can you not send so much mana? It’s so much it... did bad things to me before.”

TRY. ONLY LITTLE.

“Better, but can you be even quieter? Try to match me. And are saying that this is only a little mana?” he said, waving with his hand at the energy roiling out of him into the sky

Only little. Send more?

He panicked. “NO! No, don't send more mana. Send less, or if you can talk to me without it, send none. And good job you’re almost the volume as me.”

Can try? No leave if no work?

“Leave? No, I’ll stay right here, so if it doesn’t work, you can... send more mana I suppose.” He thought to it, scratching his head.

The mana flow slowed then ceased, leaving Marcus standing in silence, waiting for either another message, or another ‘little’ blast of mana. Just how much energy did this thing have to throw it around like that?

“Can hear?” A voice said in his mind. It sounded like a child, light with a strange echo to it.

“Yes I can hear you” he thought before speaking aloud. “Can you hear this?”

“Can!” They answered, bursting with happiness.

Marcus sighed in relief. “That’s great, it’ll be a lot less impactful on the area if we can talk without setting the forest on fire.”

“Fire?” They asked curiously.

“The mana gave off a fair bit of heat before, and we wouldn’t want a forest fire around here.” He answered, thinking of how bad it’d be if the forest caught fire, considering just how big it seemed to be.

“NO FIRE!”

Before he could question the strong response, the ground beneath him began to shake. Animals all through the forest began to panic and run, while every bird took to the air, trying to escape the ground itself. For his part, Marcus was shaken but managed to stay standing thanks to his roots, though began to pull them up.

“Where go?” the voice asked as he began to run.

“You didn’t feel that? There’s an earthquake going on and we need to get to a safe place. We can talk later.” He replied as he ran.

“NO! TALK NOW!” They shouted at him with desperation.

As quick as it began, the earth around him settled, as if it had never happened. Slowing to a stop, Marcus stared at the ground for a moment, his brain making a few connections.

“Did you do that?” He asked slowly.

“Do what?” The voice answered evasively.

“Did you stop the earthquake?” He asked again.

“Yes.”

“...Did you cause the earthquake?” he continued, the conversation reminding him of when he’d found that his sister borrowed their mothers art supplies. And started painting the car bright pink.

“...Yes.” They answered after a while, more quietly than ever.

“That’s... You shouldn’t do something dangerous like that.” He responded without much energy. How do you scold something that can make earthquakes on a whim? “Isn’t it dangerous to do something like that underground?”

“Not underground?” They answered quizzically, leaving Marcus confused.

“You’re not underground? But your voice and mana came from the ground... Wait a second, are you the forest? Or the spirit of it?” He asked, thinking he had it.

“No...” The voice said slowly, mirth in their voice.

“Not the forest? So more than the forest? Like all the stuff in the area or...” he trailed off a few facts and feelings leaking through his brain and making themselves known.

They were powerful, they were below, and were more than a whole forest. And from a feeling that he’d gotten from the mana that had washed through him, they were big.

“You’re the planet, aren’t you?” he stated weakly.

“Yes!” Datov answered joyfully.