[Clematia; Wedi Forest clearing]

{Day 29}

Something tugs at my consciousness, but I don’t want to wake up yet. I must have slept in a terrible position for me to be unable to move my arms with any sort of dexterity. Still, knowing that whoever is here can tell I’m awake, I open my eyes. Only to find myself facing a six-inch tall spirit. It takes me a second to recognize the face as Ellie’s.

There was still a part of me who believed that being turned into a sapling stranded in a forest was nothing but a nightmare despite how vivid it was. I can’t bear to hide myself from the truth any longer. This is now my reality.

One week? I was unconscious that long? I feel bad for Ellie now. A week without contact with others would have been devastating were my feelings intact. What do I tell her? Trying to explain the system would likely get me ridiculed, and my mind is currently too addled to come up with anything else. At the very least I have a few more hours to come up with a believable reason.

[Growth Assist System v.0.3.1 update successfully installed]

The message suddenly appears in the middle of my vision. Had I a proper body I’d have certainly flinched out of surprise. Now, what does this update thing mean? Let me check my status to see if anything has changed.

[Status]

[Name : Clematia]

[Age : 29 days]

[Species : ∴𝙹∷ꖎ↸ Tree]

[Gender : N/A]

[Size : 2’3” (trunk), 6’ (roots)]

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

[Abilities: Life Absorption(+), Root Manipulation(+), Telepathy(+), Faux Senses(+)]

[Further information is unavailable at this time]

My species name now appears as a set of unknown symbols, but otherwise my status seems rather similar to how it did before, at least in the way it’s laid out. My size has increased substantially since I last checked, as anticipated, but there are two much bigger additions under Abilities. Following each ability’s name is a plus sign in addition to a new ability called [Faux Senses], whatever that means. Focusing my mind on it causes a new message to pop up.

[Faux Senses : Use a small amount of mana to imitate the human body’s feelings of touch, sight, and/or hearing. Smell and taste are currently unavailable due to a lack of applicable body parts.]

Well, I can already sense my surroundings and feel changes to my body, but that doesn’t mean the option to use a human’s version is redundant. I channel my mana to activate the skill, anticipating the results. My vision shifts for a moment, disorienting me, and then…

When my vision clears, I can see so much… more. The plant life around me appears much more vibrant, the coloring far deeper than it was before. A gentle breeze blows into the clearing, and I can hear the foliage rustling from it. Then the sun peeks out from behind the clouds, and a warmth I didn’t know I missed spreads around the area the light hits. I already had the knowledge of how I was supposed to feel, but the experience far surpasses that of my memories. I’ve no doubt I’d currently be crying tears of joy if I were physically able to. For the next few minutes I do nothing other than enjoy what my new senses bring me.

Before I forget, I should probably check out what my other abilities do. Let’s see here…

[Life Absorption : Steal a portion of life energy from any dead or dying creature that you come into physical contact with. Can permanently damage the user’s soul if overused.]

About what I expected. Wasn’t there an experiment where some crazed magicians infused large amounts of life energy into various creatures just to see the results? I recall the results saying that almost all the animals died without any visible injuries which was later discovered to be soul damage. Meanwhile, the plants used were said to have grown rapidly, rarely even into apex specimens as if nurtured by a dryad. I can only believe something similar is happening to this new body of mine.

[Root Manipulation : Infusing mana into the user’s roots will allow them to move them in a tendril-like manner. Does not increase the flexibility of any roots it is used on.]

Simple but quite useful at the moment. Still, knowing that the flexibility doesn’t increase means that I can’t bend my roots over themselves like a snake could without severely damaging them in the process.

[Telepathy : Infuse your inner voice with mana, transmitting those thoughts to another creature within 1000 feet. Does not translate thoughts into a language the target comprehends.]

“Does not translate thoughts into a language the target understands?” That means Ellie must know the language my thoughts are in. What was it again? I rack my brain searching for the name, finding the knowledge of my language in disarray. It takes me a few minutes, but I manage to piece it together. Dynol. That’s what it is. Still, why would a practically immortal spirit have mastered it to the point Ellie has? That’s a question for another time. Now, what else has changed about me?

Reaching for the mana inside me, I feel both its quality and quantity have noticeably increased compared to how they were a week ago. Influencing the grass around me now comes with ease, allowing me to do more with it than I could before. I messed around with it for what must have been at least an hour before snapping out of whatever possessed me to do that.

Enough stalling. I need to come up with a response that will convince Ellie. She did tell me at some point that Genedigaeth sent her to me, so perhaps I could say I received her blessing? No, she’d likely check with Genedigaeth at some point, and the lie would be exposed for what it is. Still, I did receive a blessing from someone, even if I don’t know their name. They say the best lies are mostly true after all, so I should probably tell her everything I can without mentioning the system or anything I can’t explain without it. I’ll probably have to let her know about the system at some point, but I want her to not see me as crazy when I do. I know I certainly wouldn't believe it if somebody else told me about them having something like this if I didn’t already have one myself.

[Ellie]

Was I a bit harsh back there? I don’t want to ruin the first friendship I’ve made in years so soon after we met. It’s hard being invisible to almost everyone around you. Watching others form the bonds that you can only wish for again and again is emotionally draining. I’m beginning to question if I even want to force an answer of of Clematia if she’d rather stay quiet. Still, I’m at least going to ask.

The afternoon goes by even slower than usual due to Clematia’s constant presence. I had so many things to say to her, yet now I’ve lost my voice. Deciding to go for a fly, I slip out of the clearing while she’s lost in thought. How ironic that now that she’s regained consciousness I want to stay away from her.

It’s a bit odd that, despite nothing being different about it, the forest feels — for lack of a better word — safer to me. Even though there’s nothing she can do this far out, just knowing that Clematia is around helps to soothe my nerves. That doesn’t stop me from keeping an eye out for that plant monster from before. I doubt it can reach me 30 feet in the air, but I’d rather not risk it. I got lucky last time, and it would be better to not put myself in unnecessary danger in the first place.

Going through the canopy, I look around to see just how vast this forest is. In fact, just outside the forest’s edge I see a small human village. Perhaps when she gets strong enough I can start to lure (read: invite) some of them to meet her. As much as I want to keep Clematia to myself, my limited knowledge about human relationships tells me that they require more than one companion for optimal health.

Dusk comes upon me unexpectedly, so I rush back to the clearing for our confrontation. Loathe as I want to, putting it off will only make things worse for us in the long run. Upon my arrival, I turn to Clematia, and we telepathically communicate four words at the same time.