[Clematia, Wedi Forest clearing]

{Day 14, continued}

Clematia. My name is now Clematia.

[Notice- Entity ID A445 has been named “Clematia”]

It appears that this mysterious system has accepted my new name. Let me just check to see if that is reflected in my status real quick.

[Status]

[Name : Clematia]

[Age : 14 days]

[Species : ??? Tree]

[Gender : N/A]

[Size : 1’1” (trunk), 3’6” (roots)]

[Health : 100%, Mana : 100%, Stamina : 100%; Condition : Healthy]

[Abilities: Life Absorption, Root Manipulation]

[Further information is unavailable at this time]

I don’t truly understand why, but seeing my new name like this is liberating in a sense. Now I just h- owch! A sudden, stinging pain interrupts my little celebration. I turn my focus to see a horrifying creature has just bitten into me. After all, some termites eat wood to survive. I reflexively use my [Root Manipulation] to smash the offender, only to hit the wound as well, causing even more pain. The small burst of energy I feel coming from the area at least lets me know it’s dead even if I don’t feel any better.

[Health : 98%]

Turns out I didn’t take as much damage as I thought I did. Then I notice rustling at the edge of my clearing. Moments later, a swarm of termites begin to filter through the shrubbery and begin to charge me. This may be a problem, seeing as I can make out nearly a hundred of them by the time the rustling ends.

Conscious of my limited stamina, I wait for them to get close before striking in an attempt to get multiple kills with minimal movements on my end. Knowing that making them fall too hard is a fool’s errand due to their small size. Instead, I smash them into the ground. When I neglect to move one of my roots out of the way following one of my attacks, I find them biting into it instead of my trunk. I quickly move that root out of the way and make an effort to not repeat that mistake. Following one of my attacks, a wave of lethargy hits me. Knowing I must be low on mana, I decide to be more conservative with my attacks going forward. I really do not want to know what will happen should I run out. After only a few minutes I manage to get the last of them and can assess the results of my endeavor.

[Health : 82%, Mana : 9%, Stamina : 100%; Condition : Fatigued]

I almost ran out of mana there, which would have likely led to a lot of unnecessary pain for me. My attacks were inefficient and slow, easily readable by an intelligent opponent which I have no doubts about having to face in the future. Leaving myself exposed led to unnecessary wounds on my end, and those were from mindless drones moving only on instinct. While I have no doubts that I can remedy these issues with practice, the fact that I hadn’t already done so with [Root Manipulation] bugs me. Of course, I don’t really have the means to do so right now, but doing it once I have the chance may end up saving my life. These guys were more of a nuisance than an actual threat, but I overreacted, putting myself in far more danger than I needed to.

{Day 16}

It’s been a day and a half since my encounter with the termites, and nothing of note has happened in that time. For the most part, I’ve been practicing [Root Manipulation] so I can become better at using it. The most interesting thing to happen was the arrival of a caterpillar coming for me. It did not last long. At the very least, practicing has helped alleviate the boredom I’ve felt recently. Still, I cannot want but wish for a real companion. No matter how much I want him to, Wilson doesn’t exactly have the ability to respond to me.

{Day 17}

As I go through with my now daily motions, I notice the arrival of a mysterious floating figure shrouded in mist. Focusing on them reveals a six-inch tall humanoid figure with an innocent, feminine face. They have shoulder length blond hair and eyes reflective of the color of grass. There is not a single hair on their body aside from their head and eyebrows, nor is there a single visible blemish on their pale skin. They wear modest clothing matching the color of their eyes, aside from their bare feet.

Impressed by the creature’s looks, I’m caught off guard when it tries to speak to me. Naturally it fails due to my lack of hearing, which they quickly seem to notice as they stop moving their mouth and float there in contemplation. As I think about how I should try to communicate with them, I feel a connection being made followed by a voice in my mind.

That voice must be coming from them. I try to focus on the connection to reply to them that yes, I can hear them. It takes a few tries, but I’m able to get the message across without incident.

The being gains a smile on their face, likely pleased by their success.

What should I tell her? I have been starved for company, and since they were supposedly sent by a goddess, it would be incredibly rude to them if I refused, so I guess I don’t have much of a choice in the matter.

[New ability gained : Telepathy]