[???; Forest clearing]

{Day 9}

A man runs into the clearing, obviously in a panic. Despite his erratic movements, I am able to discern the man's looks with ease, which I chalk up to being one of the quirks of my new form. The man has disheveled hair and is covered in scrapes and bruises, some of which are still open wounds. As I contemplate how to interact with this visitor of mine, if at all, an arrow goes through the man’s throat, killing him instantly. What shocks me here is not the man’s death, but rather the lack of emotion I feel at it.

Still recovering from what I just saw, I notice a lightly-armored woman enter the clearing from the same direction the arrow was shot. She investigates the corpse before giving a signal, at which point three others join her, each with different equipment. She makes room for them around the body, brushing up against me in the process. They proceed to converse about something, as to what I have no idea since this body has no way to hear. After what feels like hours, but is in all likelihood only a few minutes, the group leaves. On their way out, however, the woman who first entered the clearing suddenly stares in my direction as if looking for something, but quickly shrugs something off and leaves.

With the living humans now gone, I turn my focus to the corpse, which now seems to be radiating some sort of energy. Before I realize it, one of my roots bursts from the ground, entering the man’s neck through the arrow hole. I have precious few seconds to be confused as to what just came over me before an indomitable sense of pleasure floods my body, and I lose focus.

That evening, my mind returns to me. The corpse is now little more than a dried husk, and my size has increased massively. I now measure my stem to be about ten inches tall, and my roots to extend about 3 feet. Still tiny, but more than twice my previous size. Questions of what I could possibly be begin to come in droves. Even my (seemingly) massive knowledge on botany covers nothing with features quite like that of my body. I become so lost in my thoughts that I almost manage to miss the text floating in the middle of my vision.

[Growth Assist System v.0.2.8 has finished installing. Thank you for your patience.]

[Maria; Wedi village]

How much longer does that man intend to run from us? He’s a dangerous escaped criminal, we won’t simply let him go. He seems to know this, sprinting into the nearby forest, one considered dangerous by the locals. As much as my squadmates want to continue chasing him, I manage to persuade them to rest in a nearby village for the night. After all, it’s getting late and this is unknown territory. I turn to my anxious partner.

“Zach, we’re here. I know how badly you want to catch the guy, but we’ll only get lost wandering into the woods after dark.”

“I know, I know. Just never been the patient type. But I hear ya, I’ll go around and ask about the forest. See you at the Inn!”

He proceeds to walk off and start chatting with the townsfolk. I often envy his conversation skills, but this isn’t one of those moments. I know just how boring what he’s doing can be.

Our commander, Ivan, manages to sneak up on me. “Maria, while Zach gathers information, why don’t you stop by the apothecary? We’re almost out of medicine seeing as we didn’t expect things to take this long.”

“Y-yes cap, on it.” I stutter out, still recovering from the shock.

I wander around until finding the apothecary, only to see it with the lights out. There’s still daylight, shouldn’t the place still be open? I wait a bit, but see no signs of movement inside. As the sun sets, I head back to the inn without anything to show for my troubles. We’ll just have to be extra careful these next few days.

The next morning, we set out. Our target can’t have made it far. The foliage provides ample opportunity to hide, so we move slowly to avoid any potential ambush. This caution was unnecessary, as we find the man foraging for berries before long. Giving a hand signal, Ivan tells the group to surround him. He draws his bow, and…

*Fwoosh*

His arrow flies true. However, our target suddenly jerks, causing the arrow to only graze his cheek. Realizing he’s surrounded, he reaches into his bag and throws something at the ground. A brilliant flash blinds us long enough for him to break our encirclement. The hunt is on.

We proceed to play a game of cat and mouse for several hours, occasionally being able to graze the man with one of our attacks. Presumably exhausted, the man stumbles into a clearing, one that radiates warmth. I had no idea ley lines met here. Ivan takes aim, and shoots the man clean through the neck.

“Maria, check him. Make sure he’s not faking it.”

I cautiously approach the fallen man, and after poking him with my sword, put my ear to his chest. No pulse.

“We got him, Ivan.”

“Good. The target should have incriminating evidence on him. Everyone, search him to see if you find anything.”

We practically strip the man’s corpse naked (not that it’s wearing much to begin with), but there is nothing to be found on him aside from a few knives.

“Nothing. He must have passed them off at some point.”

“That’s a shame, but our job is still complete. Let’s head back.”

“Roger that, let’s go. All this chasing makes me want to take a good, long rest.”

As we start to leave, I feel something watching me. I turn around, but there’s nothing there. Must be the stress getting to me. This job has exhausted me more than I thought. I would go on to regret my decision to ignore that feeling, albeit not for a few more weeks.