Hot water

Hot water

Year 76 Month 6

The past 2 weeks kinda zoomed by, as I focused on restoring the damage from my battle with Alexis. The valleys damage is severe, some of the blue flames continue to burn, so I had to find ways to put them out, such as throwing a pile of dirt at it. The residual fires did end up burning a few more trees, but eventually I got to them, thanks to snow.

Ah, good to be awake. Im back, seems like Ive slept

Yes Trevor. Time to fix our valley. Indeed, our valleys heavily damaged by the fires, and Trevors restoration abilities will be much needed.

Trevors presence sends an update to my entire point of view and interface, and more data floods in. He is clearly getting into it, I could sense him checking on various trees and quickly using his abilities to regenerate some of them. Well, this fixing thing will take some time, since the cold weather is making it hard for us to do much.

Next, I checked on the elves. They are back now, living inside the [secret hideout] once more. I think they actually just miss the warmth of my [secret hideout], where the temperature is always constant, and there is always some fruits or potatoes to eat, and they were delighted when I told them they could return to the [secret hideout].

The girls are exceptionally happy to get their beds back, and quickly snuggled in.

Ah I am so tired of this cold. Belle jumps on her bed. So glad that my beds still here!

The blizzards gonna just get stronger after this. I wouldnt want to be out there. Emile sighs, I hope the rest of them are doing okay. I feel kinda bad hiding in comfort here.

That sucks. But oh well? Belle shrugs. Its kinda amazing that all this is undamaged despite how crazy the fighting was.

Thats partly because the [secret hideout] is pretty much fire resistant?

Meanwhile...

New Freekas new hunter corps and merchant arms, they successfully acquired food, in exchange for furs, and wines. The underground and covered farms are also in full swing, as more and more of the refugees acquire skills necessary to manage their underground and indoor farms.

But politically, things are not going so well for New Freeka. The three nations resume their mudslinging, as talks break down on who is responsible for the blood sacrifice blizzard spell.

So, Salah has came up with a strange ultimatum to New Freeka. Side with the kingdom of Salah, and the truce conditions are waived. Choose not to, and bear their wrath.

This is an insult. The advisors say.

I know, but what choice do we have? We have no military power to stand up to Salah. Yvon sighs.

But they expect us to forget that we were expelled from them? That we were massacred, our long escape from Salah, and the countless lives lost as they go about their bloodthirsty ways?

...

Our people will insist we have a bit more spine. The advisor shakes his head, and try to convince the rest of the advisors. They too feel really mixed about this.

Is the lives of our people less important than some principles?

How do we know? Salah may well be the one that cast the spell, then if we side with them, we would be wrong too!

If so, the answer must be to insist that Salah prove their innocence, then we stand on their side? One of the advisors suggest, and its quickly attacked by the other advisors.

That still wont go down well with the people. Remember, we are expelled from Salah, many of us. Now they demand us to stand on their side? Even if they are truly innocent in terms of this accursed spell, I, and I speak for many others, cannot accept it. Wed rather go to war with Salah.

But war, leads us to a lot more death, and thats what were trying to avoid. We shouldnt go to war and put our peoples lives on the line? Another advisor says. Our people are tired, and are finally starting to rebuild their lives here. Do we want to throw them into the fire again?

Tough choices, for the New Freekans, so they could not come to a decision.

Year 76 Month 7

Meela!

Alexis!

The two girls jump happily when Alexiss damaged soul is finally received its first layer of repairs. I had to wait for the forge tree to recover, and some of my energies to return, before I could get to fixing her and knocking her out of stasis. Like Meela, the damage her soul has taken is enormous, and it speaks of the incredible resilience of souls that after a layer of repairs, she is already able to speak. The kinds of damage is a mix between Meelas and that princess who experimented with void magic, so I am more than able to repair quite a bit of the damage her soul suffered, but theres still some which needs different colored soul forges to fix.

Ill hug you if I could. Alexis shrugs, her soul now appearing in my soul realm after the repairs.

Meela laughs, I dont think ethereal spirits can have hugs.

Yeah I feel a lot better after the tree fixed me. None of that crazy demon voice anymore.

Meelas soul bobs.

The demons have been reading my mind. Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com

Well, thats a bombshell that came from nowhere.

That means they know what I know. Of gods, of our technology, of home.

Oh. Nothing worse than the magics of this world has to offer.

I doubt its their first time. Meela shrugs. Heroes has been summoned to this world time and time again, pretty sure a few times demons have captured heroes before.

Alexis sighs, Well, thats out. Feels good to finally say it. Seems to be a sigh of relief, of a weight finally released from her shoulders. Having my brain read all the time isnt a pleasant feeling.

Well, youre sort of dead, so I doubt thats any better?

Id rather be dead, honestly. Im really relieved that the tree spirit is able to defeat me, I initially fear being the vehicle for more of the demons destruction.

Well, luckily, I have just the set of abilities to counter you. I jump in.

Yes. Interesting set of operations youre starting here. Alexis muses.

You like it?

Its not bad. Alexiss spirit bobs around.

See, someone appreciates it for a change.

Meela shrugs.

Anyway, what spell did you use in the end?

Oh Its a reduction-to-spiritual-form spell, something I learn from being stuck in the fireform for too long, since my body is disintegrating, and then a merge-self spell.

Merge? Thats when I realised Alexis might have tried to hijack my body.

Yeah. I tried to merge with you, but your soul is far too strong, and instead I got absorbed...

Dont do that ever again.

Ah Im sorry. I just wanted to still somehow live

How are you feeling?

Better. I started work on Juras wounds after the elves returned to the secret hideout, his wounds are mostly a whole lot of broken bones, and a bit of burn marks. Bamboo, being wooden armor that protected his body, absorbed most of the damage from the explosion, but that meant Jura still had to deal with the fall damage.

Good. His burns are now fully healed, but what is left is the broken bones. The bones have fused together, but are no in the healing process and will take some time before they regain their past strength.

I foresee Jura should not join in any combat related activities for at least 2 months, or those repairs may break.

Year 76 Month 9

Tree volcanic adaptation stage I - complete!

Tree winter adaptation aura - complete!

Hell yeah. My trees are growing in the muthafooking winter. With the completion of the winter adaptation aura, trees near me all gain some resistance to winter, and are now able to grow in it.

This means a return of growth!

This feeling of finally being able to grow after not growing for so long, kinda feels like being able to taste food after losing your taste buds for weeks. Ah, how glorious it is, to be able to grow after being stunted for so damned long.

At this point I do realise that I am somewhat a growth addict. I really enjoy watching another patch of snow covered dirt have a bunch of green shoots, which then transforms into proper trees. And the central trees, those closer to me, are even able to feed energy back to me.

Its kinda like being for sick for so long, that you kinda forgot how being healthy felt like, and now, woosh. Hell ya.

Grow grow growwwww!!!

Is the tree always like this? Alexis asks.

I think hes gone a little crazy. Meela shrugs.

Also, there is still the volcano thing. The first stage of the upgrades means my trees can now approach the volcanic area without dying, but I am still a distance away from the volcano itself. There are however,, a lake that is being warmed by the volcanos magma, and since the valley does need some hot water, I place a few subsidiary trees next to it, and activate my heat transmission system. Its essentially a kind of root system which pushes the hot water from the heated lake to the valley.

[Secret hideout upgraded! Hot water now available]

[Hot volcanic bath obtained!]

Oh. Did I really have to go that cliched route of getting a damned onsen inside my own secret hideout?

Although there is some transmission loss. Its good enough such that I could get the valleys trees a bit warmer too, so theres a bit of steam and mist now emerging in the valley, as the hot water interacts with the cold weather above it.

[Youve acquired the skill : Mist]

Oh.

I like hot springs. Alexis shrugs. Now I want a physical body.

Me too. I havent had one in ages. Meela also comments.

Which one, the hot springs, or the body?

Why not both?

Are these two ladies going to commentate on all my actions and achievements?

I find their banter amusing, master. Horns too finally recovered from his injuries, and he too shares a bit of the winter upgrades, so like the other beetles, he has a sap in his body that acts as a heater. Will they be useful?

Anyway, the main volcano itself is still further in, and to get there I need to work on my next stage of the volcanic adaptation research, which also involves getting more materials from the volcano.

Beetle winter adaptation stage II - 6 Months remaining

Volcanic adaptation stage II - 8 months remaining. Requires 200 x sulphur.

Tree winter adaptation stage II - 8 months remaining

Ugh, I think the higher stages are going to take more time, or so Ill need to increase the number of biolabs working on them in the future.

Assign me. Alexis volunteers. I volunteer to do research.

Her dryad body is fully developed by now, and if Im not mistaken, is designed with herself as the template, and so its going to be making her a dryad, which then undertakes research in the biolab. Ill think about it.

Oh come on. You can cast spells on me if you want to keep watch. I wont do strange stuff, I swear! Alexis pleads.

Hmm

Year 76 Month 10

Oh, more growth. I love growth.

This resurgence in growth is most keenly felt by the New Freekans, who are amazed to see the bigger trees sprout even in this snow, and it applies to the potatoes as well. Thanks to my newfound powers, the potatoes produced daily increased to 2,000! Double! All because of winter resistance!

And I hide all my potatoes, using beetles as my carriers. There is really no need to let the New Freekas know there is a huge stockpile of potatoes underground.

This makes me think of the poor chap so many years ago, that ask me for a healing fruit but I could not give him one, because I still didnt have winter adaptation back then.

Ah, well.

Speaking of which, when did the demon king die again? About 3 years ago? Is there going to be a 10 year gap this time?

Generally 10 years.

Was not asking you?

I know, but I want to answer it. I think shes a bit of a smart alec, and maybe a bit chunni. And I think its important. When I was researching the ancient text, it seems the 10 year cycle is just a rule of thumb. There has been occasions where the demons choose to delay their invasion although the supposed time is up.

Thats a whole lot more long winded than I thought it would be. But I suppose it would be useful to know, somehow.

I still dont know why though, and what exactly does the otherwordly demons want.

Huh. What do the demons want? Dont they just behave on instinct and act out their directive to kill all lives?

I mean, so far the demons from the other worlds cant be reasoned with, so we dont actually know what they want unlike the local demons. Oh there are factions in the demons too, well, when I think about it, it figures, creatures of evil are not equally evil or evil in the same way.

Anyway, back to the growth thing, with the warm waters from the volcano, areas where the hot water is released turns into a bit of an oasis in the cold, and the area there is a bit more fertile. The hot water is also mineral rich, so I notice the potatoes I cultivate are a little bit larger and different in color.

Actually, master, if we use the minerals extracted by our roots, and infuse them into the potatoes, we can achieve a similar effect.

Yes, thanks for reminding me that I have a huge pile of minerals I did not use and indirectly hinting I am a dumbass. At the same time, maybe this is why I need all these assistants, I clearly am not making the most of my resources and abilities.