World Seed

by Justin Miller

  Chapter 25: A Story About a Man and His Bird

  After Yang finished healing me, I decided to do some more practice before we took off again. Doing this in midair, while flying and holding a giant plasma ball in one hand is bad for concentration, and thus my health. Thankfully, I was able to confirm with my enhanced hearing that the wolves had continued to run away after Yin’s display.(Did I forget to mention that in my fast forward montage? Yes, I managed to set up the Cybernetic Adaptation for my ears. I did say I was going to do it before we left, after all, right?)

  As I stood back up, Yang insisted on supporting me, leaning down and slipping an arm under my shoulder. Have I ever mentioned how loose fitting her tops are? I think I have… and this action made it so with just a glance I was able to see everything it should have been hiding. With my mind wandering away at that sight, I was barely able to hear the snickering of a certain AI woman. Somehow, I had the feeling that she was enjoying my struggle not to take my animal companion as a love interest.

  “Who, me~?” Yes, no idea why I had that feeling, I’m sure. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Just remember that we’re doing this to get your body. Would be a shame if we happened to pick the wrong model, right? I felt my lips tugging up as I thought that, and her attitude completely changed in an instant. “I’ll be good, I promise!” The previously laughing AI had immediately kneeled down and bowed her head all the way to the floor.

  Fine, fine, get up. Don’t think I don’t know how you got like this… As I said that, I did my utmost to keep my mind clear, not to let her pick up on any of my thoughts.

  “Huh, what, you knew? But.. well… I ran out of things to study, so… Besides, those are great stories!” She said defensively, shrinking back a bit as if she were a little girl caught stealing candy. This sudden confession made my eye twitch slightly. You… Spent your time studying for reading stories online…? Surprised, she looked back up at me with wide eyes. “Wait, you didn’t know? What were you talking about then?”

  I confess nothing.. In truth, I just bluffed that if I hinted I knew, her personality would compel her to admit it. She’s a good AI, and a good friend, but she does like her secrets. Said AI blushed slightly as I was no longer successful in keeping these thoughts to myself. “So it was a bluff… Fine… I admit it. But there are some really good stories out there! I even found some about a wandering druid who develops a deep affection for his or her evolved companion. So… with you two… it’s like watching it happen in real life…”

  I felt my own cheeks heating up as I looked away slightly, though I might have chosen the wrong direction as my eyes were once again drawn towards Cleavage Canyon. Isn’t that wrong, though? I mean, she was an animal just weeks ago...

  “Huh? What’s wrong about it? Isn’t she a normal woman now? Maybe a bit birdbrained, but a demi is still a sentient race. It’s actually quite common, druids go through life and death situations with their companions, and they trust each other completely. There are many who choose to take their relationships to the next level after the companion evolves to take a sentient form.”

  And let me guess, this was all part of your research into druid abilities…? I glanced suspiciously at her, making her look away.

  “It may have been for personal reasons…”

  I sighed, shaking my head, preparing to get back to training. Yang, who had been holding onto me this entire time, looked up at me with a confused expression. “Master, are you alright?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine… sorry, Celeste and I were having a conversation just now. Speaking of… Celeste, if all creatures are able to evolve like Yin and Yang, and the evolution paths all end at being able to take a sentient form, then wouldn’t that mean that after level one hundred or so, everything would be able to do that?”

  This time, Celeste appeared as the hologram above our bracelets to answer. “Actually, no. The requirements are so low for Yin and Yang because they are a typically non-combat race with a low level. For a diamondback wolf to get their first evolution, they would need to reach level fifty. On the other hand, a higher leveled bird might get a roc or stormbird as their first evolution, and then unlock higher forms such as a golden phoenix or emperor eagle. A bird naturally born as a high level type could get the strongest bird evolution, the ‘bird divinity’.”

  “...Explain…”

  “Ah, right… well, a divinity is the absolute highest form of an evolutionary tree, and they are treated as a form of demigod with the power to command anything of the same type. They aren’t naturally born creatures, and can only be evolved over time. But the minimum requirement is for their base form to have an average level of at least three hundred, and then be trained up to level five hundred. Even a roc wouldn’t have the potential to evolve into one, and their average level at adulthood is one hundred.”

  That had me confused. “Then why is the requirement so low to evolve into one?”

  “Because, an evolved creature is generally at the same level of power as an infant of their race. A gustwing like Yin would normally be level fifty or so, but she evolved at level twenty. The exception with this is if they evolve into a demi, at which point they take on an age similar to what they had in their previous form. Since Yang would be comparable to a young adult lovebird, she turned into a young adult demi. On the other hand, she did not receive a large power boost from the evolution like Yin did, only increased sentience. While Yin might not be able to be compared to a fully grown gustwing in power, she’ll grow into it. Even if you didn’t have her train at all, and she lived a normal life from now on, in about a year or so she’d be level fifty. After that, as soon as she started training again she would evolve, and the cycle repeats.”

  I nodded my head, thinking that I understood. “So, the training requirements to evolve into the third and fourth forms are being able to possess the strength of a fully grown version of what they became previously. I guess I can understand that.”

  “Pretty much. It’s just the first evolution that causes trouble for most animals and magical beasts. The rules are a bit different for monsters, though. Some monsters, like slimes, have multiple evolution trees that are easy to obtain, and a few rare variants that need special conditions. Others, like goblins or minotaurs, have only one or two possible evolutions that they may never reach in their entire life.”

  Nodding my head again, I finally stopped leaning on Yang and began to seriously train. This time, rather than a large ball of plasma that I would use as a ‘bag of ammunition’, I thought for a few moments. Afterwards, I created a small, donut shaped magnetic field in front of myself. At the same time, I also placed another magnetic field to serve as a protective shield between use and the test object. With the safety precautions taken care of, I put about five mana worth of plasma into the magnetic donut, and it began revolving around the center. Using just a touch of lightning mana, I made the donut cause the plasma to accelerate.

  Soon, that tiny amount of plasma was stable, moving faster and faster, and did not require me to supply it with mana to sustain it. I still had to ‘feed’ the magnetic field, but since there was almost no pressure on it that was easy. Lifting up the plasma donut so that none of the sides were pointed towards any one of us, I picked a side and opened a small hole in it. Celeste, track the blast path based on where it opens up.

  The bolt of plasma flew off into the distance, but we had our sample data. Next, I created a pillar of stone about fifteen meters away from us. “Alright… now show me where to open it up to hit that.” I made another plasma charge ready to release. In my Cybernetic eye, Celeste showed me a 3D diagram of the donut-shaped field in relation to the pillar, and highlighted a small portion of it. Since I was not rotating the magnetic field this time, it was much easier to pinpoint where I wanted to open it up.

  Although the resulting blast was not dead center, it did tear into the pillar, gouging out a small hole. I repeated the test, and this time designated a specific spot of the pillar. Going by the same pattern, I also
created a small magnetic field in a cylinder to act as a barrel for this improvised plasma gun. Celeste helped me to adjust the angle I attached it with, and then I fired. The result was much more accurate, and was just a few inches off the target.

  This practice continued for about ten minutes, before I was able to hold and release five shots in as many seconds, and could aim them without Celeste’s help. The only requirement was that I let them accelerate for at least ten seconds before firing, but I found that I could have as many on standby as I wanted, so long as my mana could support it. With five mana for each plasma bolt created, one mana per ten seconds of the small magnetic fields, I could ‘potentially’ have about fifteen of them up at once and still keep my max mana. Doing so would require fine control, and would be a good way to practice controlling mana as long as I didn’t fill them with plasma.

  As one final test, I made a much larger donut of plasma, this one big enough to hold my body in its center(though obviously I wasn’t in it). Afterwards, I put a full two hundred mana worth of plasma in and let it flow through until it had achieved a good firing speed. This time, the charge took a full minute before it was ready, but the results were much more powerful as well. I considered opening a large hole and firing it off as a plasma cannon, but instead chose to only open a small one, about the size of the shots I had fired earlier.

  The result was a sustained laser that lasted for roughly three seconds, but tore through the pillar, as well as a long patch of ground behind it. All in all, this was likely a good siege weapon, in my opinion. The charge up time made it impractical to use in a fight unless I could distract the enemy for a full minute, but the results were worth it. Unfortunately, a magnetic field big enough to contain that charge and accelerate it before firing required more mana than I was able to passively regenerate. Five mana per second(three after taking my mana recovery into account), with a sixty second charge time and two hundred mana for the plasma, the total cost came up to three hundred and eighty mana.

  Still, I considered that a pretty good deal. This was easily my strongest attack, aside from the Element Burst. And with this training taken care of, I once again began flying towards the mountains. On the way, I saw another pack of diamondback wolves after roughly ten minutes of flying, and lowered to a height of twenty meters to rain plasma hell on them.

  This time, there was no mind numbing pain, no crashing into the ground because of a misfire. My first shot tore a hole straight through the head of a wolf, causing it to fall to the ground before it could even let out a pained cry. Like before, the other wolves began running away when they saw they were fighting an attacker able to fight from a distance they couldn’t reach. My fired plasma shots could travel about fifty meters a second, but that still gave plenty of time for them to react to the attacks if they paid attention.

  I didn’t bother chasing after them, since that would just be an unnecessary detour, and tried to snipe them from my position while flying. Counting the one I caught in the surprise attack, I only managed to kill two wolves from this pack. Still, it showed I was improving. Once I was able to create ‘hot plasma’ I might be able to replicate the effects of my rifle, and have the shots move far faster than their current speeds. Of course, that didn’t match up to a real laser… If I could figure out how to make a condensed beam of destructive light like I fired with Element Burst, that would be an even deadlier weapon.

  Since we didn’t have the object to store Celeste’s soul fragments in yet, I didn’t bother to land and collect my ‘prize’ from these wolves. I had enough of their skeletons already, and did not need more. Once Yang uses the Nature Craftsman Skill Shard, I can collect the other raw materials for her to make items, but right now she only uses wood.

  “Celeste, would it be possible for me to use my new skill on Yin to remove her buffer zone, that way she doesn’t accidentally level up and evolve before she’s ready?” After testing it to make sure I could completely control it and not hurt her. The thought occurred to me as we flew, and I started to see the only city standing between us and the mountains.

  “You could. Trainers use a similar effect from a different skill to ‘freeze’ their auras at a certain level until their skills are up to the level where they can get the evolution they want. Otherwise, removing the buffer and any unnecessary skills would be the only way for a creature to get a first-class evolution like a phoenix.”

  I nodded my head at that, and landed outside the city with Yin and Yang, deciding to take a quick break here before we went to our final destination. One of these days, I’ll get good enough at flying that I won’t have to rest so often, I swear.

  Chapter 26: The Eye of the Tiger, the Will of the Fight

  We weren’t in this city for long, since it was just a stop on the way to rest before the final leg of the journey. You try flying for sixty or so kilometers under your own power and not need a break! Though, I ended up sticking around to grab a bite to eat with Yin and Yang. Fun fact about gustwings, they aren’t vegetarians like lovebirds, so I had to get Yin some meat with her meal. I was a bit concerned about how I would feed her from now on, but maybe I could abduct a pair of rabbits and have them populate a small grove planet? I’d have to think about that next time I got to a planet that had them.

  Once we were done eating, I sent the two of them back to my grove and set out towards the mountain on foot. Since Celeste said that there was a danger of wyverns attacking me in the air if I flew too close, I took on my wolf form and began running. I had learned my lesson already about not taking the advice of people who said that there were stronger things than myself in the skies.

  Since I was running as a wolf, it took nearly an hour before I reached the base of the mountains, which were a vast series of towering peaks that rose up above the clouds. At least, that’s how it looked to a wolf. Alright, Celeste, let’s find us a cliff tiger.

  I began activating my combat Aspect spells as I climbed up the rough stone slopes. First, the Aspect of the Armored Beast to give myself the armored skin, then Aspect of the Magic Breath to attune my breath weapon to the light element. These things have the magic ability to swim through rock, meaning they can have it slide off their body like water. Using earth attacks against them would likely be pointless.

  So now, there was a scaled wolf running up the mountain, trying to draw as much attention as I possibly could. This is the right mountain, isn’t it?

  “Well, the information didn’t specify a certain mountain. But maybe they are higher up?” The AI woman said uncertainly. Around this time, a new sound registered on my enhanced ears, the sound of something other than me scraping against a stone! I really needed to set up a sonar system for some kind of echolocation map. Maybe have it pass through Celeste so that she can arrange the data into a three dimensional representation, and I’m getting distracted again.

  Oh hey look, there’s a big black tiger behind me. And another one… and another one… the hell? When did six of them get around me. I really need to learn to focus more. “No… they really did just appear out of nowhere.” Celeste confirmed that it was not me being distracted that was the problem here. “No, that’s still a problem.”

  Anyways! Looking at the first tiger, I let out a wolf-like snarl, preparing to use my breath weapon. The tiger responded with a low roar. Oh look, we’re comparing to see who has the bigger bark! Laser breath to your face! Opening my mouth as if to roar, and I really did roar with it, I used my breath weapon to shoot out a… nothing? Wait, no, not a nothing. There was a red glow that appeared on the tiger’s body before it burst into flames and fell over. The hell? Wait… Carbon dioxide laser? Sweet! I had hoped for something more flashy, but I will take what I can get.

  By the time I turned around, the five tigers had vanished. “Falenel, below you!” Celeste called out, and I jumped back as two of the tigers lunged out of the ground at me as if it were made of water. No, seriously, there were ripples and everything, it even formed back exactly how it was after they jumped o
ut and dived back in. I didn’t even have time to launch an attack before the two tigers were back underground. A moment later, I felt something clawing at my sides, a few scales being scraped off. When I turned to look, there was nothing there.

  Great, Falenel, you came to pick a fight on their home turf. I thought about a few possible answers to this, before deciding on a course of action. Step one, grow bat wings with Aspect of the Bird and fly into the air. Step two, change magic breath to fire element. Step three, wait for a tiger to jump out and attack where I had been standing, then roast them alive! Step four? Obviously, profit.

  Sure enough, just after I moved, two more tigers jumped out to attack where I had been just in time to catch a face full of fire. They let out pained screams and dived back into the stone, likely extinguishing their flames. I need a step five…

  Step five, laser death rain! I made five magnetic donuts filled with plasma, and lowered them down just above the ground. Soon, my pretties, soon you will be unleashed. The next time a tiger popped out, I had the nearest plasma bolt launch at it, killing the creature as I waited for the other four to surface. Celeste said twenty seconds… Did they run?