Chapter 7 – A Seedling Sprouted

Ah crap I forgot.

That seed I had saved during the fire sprouted next to me. Unfortunately the beetles didn't crack it and eat it like they normally did.

No, this wasn't like those unexpected pregnancies.

What to do, what to do?

I could just kill. At the same time, I was curious as to what it would end up as. Mommy or Daddy? I bet it would just call me Nanny. I wouldn't want that.

Status!

[Level 1 Fey Plant;

Species: Strawberry Imp (lesser);

Traits: Bewitching, Devious, Rapid Growth, Cloning;

Abilities: Absorption, Charm;

Description: A dangerous plant fey that lures their preys before leeching all of their life force.]

God, you can't be serious. Everything is the same? Don't you have any creativity?

I faced a crisis. Going by my previous world's knowledge, either I could go for an abortion or I kept it. Who knew plants had to go through this as well?

Three days and three nights of pondering only led me to one decision: keep. I figured it could be useful to me later. If it proved troublesome, I would nip it by killing it using my absorption ability. I was the older one therefore I should be able to overpower it.

Alright, my mind is made up. I let you live but I'm not taking care of you.

My expectations fell through. After many days, that little sprout didn't level up nor showed any signs of being a fey.

Am I taking too many preys? Oh well, you're on your own. I'm on a trip now! Bahahaha... Adios.

Exactly, I was on a trip. My clones were spreading far and wide. Every a hundred meters or so, I would bury a piece of my plant body. Once the clones matured a bit, I would merge with them to bring up their levels to my fey body's level. This happened over and over again until I had hundreds of clones spread out across the vast wilderness.

There was only one part that couldn't be used as a clone. That was my fey body. I tried to cut myself one time, and it hurt like crazy! I wasn't suicidal, I swear! Anyway, I didn't bleed or anything but I found out that my fey body could regenerate if I merged then came out of a plant body. And, if I didn't merge, that pain wouldn't stop and the wound wouldn't heal no matter how long I waited.

Could it be that I can't leave without my plant bodies? What a stupid restriction!

The number of clones I had seemed to positively affect my level increase. It made me wonder if they were all eating plenty.

"Eheheh... the world shall be mine!"

Earlier, I was able to evolve and throw away that "lesser" label. I didn't like it, I really didn't. I want to be "amazing"! Unfortunately, I was only given one evolution path. Currently, these were my stats, plant body included:

[Level 17 Fey Plant;

Species: Strawberry Imp;

Physical: N/A;

Spiritual: N/A;

Traits: Bewitching, Devious, Rapid Growth, Cloning;

Abilities: Absorption, Charm, Supply Chain;

Description: A dangerous plant fey that lures in their preys before leeching all of their life forces.]

Two new indicators had appeared when I had reached level 15. On top of that, my fey body became denser and was not longer as translucent as before. It was as if my fey body was becoming more material the higher my level was.

Finally, there was a new ability called "supply chain". It was actually useful. I could control what would be produced in each of my clone bodies remotely. For now, I had most of them producing flowers and leaves reducing strawberries to a minimum. To create my beautiful strawberry empire, a solid foundation was needed, indeed!

Over time, I lost track of the days passed. The further I ventured from my original spot, the more sightings of strange creatures occurred. Very few appeared familiar to me.

"Oh, a dog! A hot dog?"

[Level 24 Fey;

Species: Neo-Panoa;

Physical: N/A;

Spiritual: N/A;

Traits: Enhanced Smell;

Abilities: Elemental Breath;

Description: A type of fey that thrives in battles.]

In front of me was a fight scene between a fire-breathing long snot dog and three giant wasp like creatures. Surprisingly, they were all fey kinds. I was almost sure the wasps were insects just like those beetles I had nearly forgotten.

[Level 14 Fey;

Species: Ko-Rurh;

Physical: N/A;

Spiritual: N/A;

Traits: Enhanced Eyesight;

Abilities: Coordinate, Paralysis;

Description: A type of fey that thrives in group battles.]

Basically, there were four battle junkies. Despite the numerical disadvantages, the dog was keeping the three hovering wasps at bay with its wide range fire breaths. The wasps just couldn't outmaneuver the dog, a single dog.

Personally, I cheered on the wasps. I had good reason, really good reasons! Any being that could burn me was my archenemy, no doubt about it. Once the battled ended, I could lure them to my flowers.

Ehehehe... you're as good as mine.

Cowardice? No such thing. No such thing at all. My combat abilities were next to non-existent. Tactics. Only the best tacticians were considered cowards!

I observed behind a rock, very far away, as I waited for an outcome. The four of them had quite the stamina to last for what felt like an hour until sun had nearly set. Honestly, that might as well had been a battle between three fairies and a flightless dragon.

Hurry up, I don't have all day.

In the end, only disappointments awaited me. They actually dispersed once they ran out of steam to continue. Not a single one of them was injured in the least.

Tch, how unsatisfying. Guess I'm back to work. Oh wait, I have a good idea.

Carrying a small clone with me, I secretly tailed the three wasps. I only had one goal, that was to expand my strawberry empire! Thankfully, they didn't fly too fast. After about a few minutes, I reached their hideout located behind a hillside. The inside was completely dark because it was facing away from the sun.

I wonder if they'll let me in if I ask. No, that's insane. I hate bee stings.

I carefully placed a clone just outside their cave entrance. Then, using my supply chain ability, I placed this clone on the shortest route to growing strawberries. Because I wasn't sure how intelligent these kinds of fey were. If they were intelligent, they might actually try to hunt me down so I decided to play it safe this time.

"You'll be my workers soon enough, mwahahaha...!" While I imagined riding on one of them like I did with the beetle.

"Wait, isn't that actually a good idea? Would that make me a wasp rider?"

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