“Patriarch?” Dyne was confused.

“Master Dyne… Please take on the mantle as Patriarch!” Zopu begged.

“Pa-Patriarch?!”

“The hope of Biron’s survival lies in your hands! With that power, we can fight back the hordes of the Mist!”

Dyne shook his head.

“This power is not so strong. Because, first, it’s only Mind power and not soul power. This means the fire that I generated was not from my soul but the heat source below Biron Monastery. In short, if your Monks were to fight outside, they won’t be able to harness the energy.”

“Master Dyne… is it possible to use whatever elements are around?” Tetsu asked.

Dyne thought for a bit.

“Hey, Strafe. I know that it’s sorta hard to use elements outside. Why is that? The Fire Element in here is so easy to draw out. Outside I couldn’t do something like harnessing the energy, but here it’s easy to do so.”

Strafe was still smiling, and now numerous stabs struck his soul. Even the poison in Strafe’s soul was hurt, and he began to cough up blood.

“Easy? It took me a year to get to his point, and he freaking took a few seconds?!” Strafe was cursing.

“It’s like this… The Fire Seed is releasing the energy that you feel here. This place releases rich Life energy through the element of fire. The energy has already been converted to a state that can easily be harnessed. As such, you can easily gather the dispersed energy. But it’s not that easy if you were outside. Even if there was a thick flame near you, you could not do what you just did. Because the fire outside is not harnessed or converted into an easily wielded energy like this one. ”

“So basically, this Fire Seed that you spoke of is like some object that releases converted fire energy? Then Drake has the Water Seed? Bruh. You shouldn’t have! The Mana Seeds!” Dyne smiled and was almost ecstatic.

“You guessed it. One of the side quests I’ve made in this and the future games is the Mana Seeds' appearances in Secret of Mana. Not exactly one of those PS1 games you played, but you had such fun playing that game that I decided to use it as a basis. These Seeds help you grow as a Mind Cultivator too. I wasn’t supposed to tell you this, but since your talent in Mind Cultivation is also erm… formidable, I’ll tell you right now that these seeds were supposed to be something that you can absorb for your Mind Palace. Of course, I can’t follow the exact Seeds of the game. Instead of eight Mana Seeds, there are Ten scattered all over the three games I have created. You’re lucky enough to have found the locations of two Seeds already!”

“Great!” Dyne was so excited that he was actually clenching his fist in excitement. This was one of the first side quests that somehow awakened a hidden romance of adventure.

“Erm… Master Dyne?” Tetsu asked again.

“He- he does this. I guess he communicates with Tieg and sometimes spaces out.” Tetsu explained with an embarrassed expression. He had already been used to Dyne’s lost moments.

“Direct communication with Tieg?” Kin was startled.

“Our lord and savior, Dyne!”

“What? Stop no! I might get cursed by that Sovereign!” Dyne was scared stiff at these words. Strafe had already explained how stronger that God in his world was. So Dyne was scared if such familiar terms were used.”

“Listen, never ever call me that! Tieg will get mad! I’ll accept the Patriarch thing. Anyway, what Tieg explained is this. The energy released by the Fire Seed is an energy that is already converted and easily drawn in. So it’s not possible to do it outside. However, it is possible to use that power while inside Biron Monastery. So if your Monks master this, it can greatly help the chances of Biron’s survival!”

“Who did you know of the Fire Seed?”

“Tieg told me.”

“It’s true! He can communicate with Tieg! Patriarch! Our lives are yours!”

“So… what exactly, what can I do as Patriarch?”

“Anything! In you is the wisdom to save the world! We will submit to any orders you have!”

Dyne was in deep thoughts. With this new position, he could easily move around and make arrangements to save the Genesis Tree in West Voz Forest. Of course, the main problem would be Songi. He didn’t think that his reputation and authority would make all the Monks follow his intention if he decided to kick Songi out of the Monastery.

“Can I ask for resources, order you guys around and ask you to impart Arts, skills, and so on to others?” Dyne asked.

“Of course! You are the first Soul Cultivator since Lord Biron! And Lord Tieg is even talking to you! You can even take the Fire Seed if you wish!” Zopu added with fanaticism in his eyes.

“Nah. I’ll do that later. Alright… First question… Do you guys have a way of how to nurture or aid the growth of a Genesis Tree? The Genesis Tree on the West is dying. The Mist is so thick, and I’ve seen how strong the Genesis Trees are. But that Tree could be in grave danger.”

“We have a book on how to nurture the Trees. We were instructed to care for it. Biron Monastery was tasked to take care of the Tree on the East and West Voz forest.”

“I was sent to Drake Kingdom to train monks there who can take care of the Tree in Mount Rikuroa.”

“I was sent to Rim Elm to take care of the Genesis Tree there.” Tetsu also added.

“Oh… You never told me about that, Master Tetsu.”

“Um… It feels odd if the Patriarch called me, master.” Tetsu laughed.

“Alright. Uncle Tetsu, it is then.” Dyne shrugged.

Tetsu was turning red in embarrassment. But Dyne was still a ten-year-old kid. So Tetsu bore the embarrassment.

“We actually have a book on how to take care of the Genesis Tree. This was the heritage we received from Sol.” Zopu smiled.

Dyne’s casual and blank expression stiffened. And then slowly, a strange smirk appeared on his face.

“Ohh… Ohh… That’s it!” Dyne suddenly shouted.

The group was startled. Even Vahn woke up.

“Master Zopu and Guardian Kin!” Dyne suddenly called out.

“No need for the formalities, Patriarch. You seemed to have thought of something.

“Sol… I’ve heard they had a way of turning the Genesis Tree into a sapling. Is this true?” Dyne asked. He recalled in-game that the Genesis Tree of Sol was only but a small plant. If this were true, then Dyne’s intention of planting a Genesis Tree in his Force Foundation would happen earlier!

“A sapling? Erm… No. We do have a method of drawing out the remaining life of the Genesis Tree and turn it into a Seed.”

“A Seed, you say?” Dyne was getting all the more excited. If it’s a Seed, it would be the perfect tool to be placed in his Force Foundation.

“Yes, Patriarch.”

“Perfect! Please give me that book later! This is so great!” Dyne was jumping up and down on the side, confusing everyone, even the newly awakened Vahn.

“Strafe, why didn’t you tell me about this!?” Dyne secretly asked once more.

“Erm… Honestly. I didn’t know. When I created this world, I did impart to the Monks the method to ensure that the Genesis Tree in Sol would follow the game. It would revert back to a seed and would be under the Biron Monks' care in Sol. Biron also taught them to take care of the tree, but fate's workings were too random, and I ignored everything. Just as how you managed to acquire the special Card that can get gold in an instant, I didn’t account that Biron Monastery would also receive the teachings of how to make a Tree turn into a seedling…” Strafe gave an embarrassing reply.

“Then I must get to that Tree! With that, we can make our plans easier!”

“Zopu! Kin! As Patriarch, you two are to submit to my commands!” Dyne suddenly called out.

“Your Words are Law, Patriarch!” The two bowed down.

“Tetsu and Vahn will accompany me to the Voz forest! Our first mission is to find a way to stop the petrification of Vahn! To do that, we will require the sap of a Genesis Tree!” Dyne explained.

“As you command!” The pair knelt down.

Dyne continued to smile as he glanced towards the direction of the Voz forest.

“Of course… The Genesis Tree Seed can wait later… The first thing to get… is THAT!” Dyne had a devilish grin.

More important to the Seed was acquiring something.

Dyne was now so close to acquiring the one thing he wanted to get since the start. He was careful to avoid telling Strafe about this and even tried his best to deceive Strafe. Strafe was very strict and would only allow Dyne the smallest bits of advantages. Although it was for his own good, there was one thing that Dyne wanted so much that he kept deceiving Strafe. Strafe might make changes in the game that will hinder Dyne from acquiring it if he knew. And although Strafe claimed he could no longer make these changes, Dyne was careful to keep his desires to remain a secret.

When Strafe explained about the Elemental wheel, Dyne was so afraid because he was Brimstone. He feared that he might not be able to acquire this Ra-Seru. But Strafe’s later assurance allowed Dyne to return his confidence.

He was not after Mule, the Water Ra-Seru. Since the start, Dyne’s eyes had been in a cheat Ra-Seru, showing vast powers in-game. And although this Ra-Seru was fated to fall to the hands of Songi, Dyne wanted it for his own. His target from the start is the Dark Ra-Seru, Jedo!