Splicing Roots

Splicing Roots

Year 157

Jura departed, along with many others for their onward reincarnation. Their souls will go on and rejoin the world, eventually. But my mind still swirled with the conversation we had before we left.

-

Why did you attack the demon king at that time? Did you feel like it was something you wanted to do?

Lovis and Jura thought in my soul realm, and shrugged, Im not sure. At that moment, it felt like it was something we should have done. I knew I had a shot, and I just took it. I didnt think of it that much.

I see. Darn. Is that should-have-done some kind of demon-king influence? How do I separate what they did as whether truly their own free will, or some kind of godly influence? How was Jura and Loviss action different from Kei when they met the weakened demon king?

-

Maybe we will cross paths again. The world keeps reincarnating everyone. Those who died will take new forms, but forget everything. Maybe hes already reincarnated as a baby in the central continent, and I wouldnt know it either.

The day immediately after he left, I felt... lonely. It was strange to lose his presence, and in some ways, was just as bad as that time, when I was trapped and imprisoned by the demon fire and corruption.

We will be here for you, master. My artificial souls reassured me. I felt similar sentiments from the trees, everywhere. Theyve done this many times, when I felt down and unsure. I sometimes feel that my identity is clearer during these periods of loss.

I know. But time for grief is over. With the demon king killed, weve merely reset the timer, and theres a lot to process. I believe its quite unlikely for the demon king to appear in the same continent twice, consecutively, but then again, its quite obvious there is some intelligence on the other end, so they may choose so.

Regardless, preparations must continue. Based on that single sample of demon king battle, weve observed that hero items are clearly super effective. Explosive area-traps are also very useful and can deal some damage to the demon king.

So, the directive to the rest of the continent is clear. We needed a lot more high-density magical munitions. Things that I can stack together, or use as projectiles would be great. My anti-demonic weapons were useful, but somehow, against the demon king, their effectiveness was just average. If there were bombs loaded with anti-demonic weapons, that may be a way to mash them together.

Either that, or the demon king itself isnt a demon-element, thus it did not feel or suffer any weakness from anti-demon weapons. My gut feels this is the most likely case, that the demon king is unique and different from the rest of its spawn.

After this battle, I also feel that depending on the anti-demon advantages I have to carry the day feels risky, it's entirely possible that the demon king can adapt and have changing elements, just like some overpowered pokemon, or the spawned demon king just has specific resistance. Thus, generic weapons should be more successful in the long term. Ill also can rely on this arsenal against any rogue hero that decides to come my way.

-

Edna was stronger, and firstly we noticed her stats gains had accelerated. Her 14 levels effectively tripled her overall strength. It seemed my earlier theory was not correct, the catchup to the heroes triggered a lot earlier, at Level 125 onwards. That said, even with these levels she is still behind the heroes.

Her movements were quick, even faster than Jura and the best of the rangers, despite being a knight.

This kind of power is surreal. Edna said privately. If she was anywhere mad, the utensils around her would break, and the ground itself would crack. If she stomped the floor, it would break too, unless I reinforced it. Her shield abilities too had shared in her growth, but those abilities made her feel... bitter.

The same way I related to my new [Court of the Deitree]. Bittersweet. But no matter, its time to test it out.

The [Court of the Deitree] essentially allowed me to award special familiars to up to 50 members, and these 50 members are each like the Possession of the Devoted, with a wide array of extra perks. The best perk is the retention of abilities from past warriors, and 50 members meant I can keep the best abilities of 50 of my best warriors. One of them kept about 10 of Juras best skills.

At least, I wont have to totally start from scratch even if I lose those that I helped to level. In Ednas case, she wanted Loviss skills. She thought the mix of Loviss offensive skills would be a great complement to her current defensive abilities.

Oh... I get a [Lady of the Court] familiar! Edna said, and briefly activated Loviss spear skills and she was able to move and attack with the exact pose as Lovis. After Edna used her move, she just stood there for a moment, quiet. She muttered something to herself, so quiet I couldnt hear it. But I could tell its a feeling of gratitude.

-

I have something to discuss. Yvon asked one day. Ive seen the strength that Edna now possessed, and Id like to know whether its possible to remake us in that manner.

Huh?

I mean... its an open secret that youve been helping them gain strength, and I dont know how its done, but Id like to know whether its something that can be done for me.

I was puzzled by Yvons request. Shes at Level 70 as a [Training Tree].

I want to fight. Ive trained so many and hoped that my training is enough when the time comes. But after Ive heard of the battles against the demon king, I feel an urge, a calling within me to fight once more.

I didnt answer. I didnt know whether I should.

-

Kei had gained about 40 levels in 1 year. She adapted quickly to her new form as a crystalline golem. At level 30, she evolved, and the crystalline golem was taller, more refined and more flexible. Now, she could look like a crystal statue and her colors could change.

I honestly like this body. She said after a battle with hybrids. I have not started the whole dungeons thing, not yet, anyway.

Really? Why?

Its just a feeling. Like... Im more aware of my body, and I can change it if I dont like it. And I feel like a million bucks. And Im shiny like a diamond! She laughed.

Did she just try to joke?

I mean seriously. I can sparkle like Im so fancy, like yknow, a vampire.

I also returned to focus on the hybrid demon-plants in the Rottedlands. Now that Ive seen what the world of the demons looked like, I wanted to prepare myself for an eventual war on their homeland. Perhaps one of the ways to end this conflict for good is on the other side of the rift.

If I could stop them from creating the rfits for good, or push the battlefield onto their world, thatll prevent the demon kings from ever coming to our world.

To do so, Id have to find ways to establish a foothold on the other side, and have a force that can stand up to the might of the demons on their homeworld. Ive seen from the few raids that the power levels of the champions are significantly stronger on their homeworld, probably due to some kind of magic there, and also perhaps to the weakened, dried state of my trees and plants.

Now, at the hybrids, Im looking for drying-resistance, if theres such a word. Things that can endure a dry, arid environment.

I contemplated whether its a good idea of even upgrading beetles to adapt to such an environment, but Horns, typically, was a massive advocate of the beetles for all environments. He insisted that beetles can be adapted to fight on the dry worlds.

Personally, I was thinking of cockroaches. Mainly because the idea of insects in a dry world just reminded me of that cockroach on Mars manga. But I suppose beetles also could do.

Its a set of research I have to do secretly, since making plants and insects more demon-like will probably ring all the wrong kinds of bells among the general population.

I think its a good idea, but the portal should come first. I shared the idea with Edna, of course. She was the only one left of the four. Taking the war to their homeworld would avoid a lot of the problems, but personally I think maintaining an open portal will be the biggest issue. Else, any force left on their homeworld is on their own and its a death sentence. We need your support and presence if we ever step foot on their soil.

Its like landing a ship on enemy territory.

On that front, Im still working on the void mana. But progress is slow.

-

Mom.

Yes? Lausanne turned to face her growing daughter. They were home, then.

Have you ever thought of stepping into Uncle Juras shoes?

Sometimes. But Ive decided not to.

Aeons searching, right? She said as she munched down her breakfast.

Of course. If you know someone, do let me know. Im sure Aeons interested. Arlisa frowned at Lausannes comment. Your classmates, perhaps?

Ugh.

Arlisa was finally enrolled in the Freshlands Treetiary College. She initially had a stint with the Valthorns, but due to her relatively low levels and rebellious nature, Lausanne suggested that she try the college instead.

My classmates probably cant kill a fly.

Oh? Lausanne smirked. I had the impression that the nobles from the outer rings all had combat experience, either on the high seas, or against the hybrid demons.

Nah. No way.

You seem to think very little of them. Thats not a good attitude to have, my dear. Lausanne shrugged. Youd be surprised how quickly people can grow and level under difficult circumstances.

Arlisa paused. ...nah. Theyre not good enough.

Well, you never know. Lausanne smiled.

If you say it that way, why search? Anyone could do it. Arlisa protested.

Not everyone desires it, and has the right personality for it. Some things are not about talent, but more about choices and desires. Whether they want to step out to fulfill that role.

-

Its true that after the death of Jura, Faris and Lovis, there is a gap in the pinnacle of the Valthorns. But the Valthorns is a vast organisation, and they are in every sense of the word, a professional army with an even more elite chosen.

There are already many other Valthorns with upgraded classes in the level 70s and lower 80s, that now I have to test and train, to push them higher up to their limits and to achieve level 100. More candidates to vet through.

Most of these are from the existing training programme, essentially my child soldiers, as abhorrent as that sounds to those from Earth. But we cant apply the laws of a world without magic to one with magic, at least, not totally. To these soldiers, this is a career, a legitimate, well paying career that can get them out of poverty.

If one believes everyone has different talents, it would not be a stretch to say some people are just meant to fight, and are good at it. That sort of talent is diminished back on earth, where everyone is relegated to operate in a capitalist society.

With my new dungeon ability, I also have additional ways to test whether these Valthorns are able to perform at higher roles.

Essentially, my new ability meant I can spawn dungeons where there is an unused leyline. I dont have a lot of control over what happens inside the dungeon, and no control over the monsters either. But, I can decide their challenge rating, essentially whether these are level 20, level 40, level 60 or level 80 dungeons. The quality and strength of the leyline also affects the max level I could go.

So far, the best ley line I found can go up to level 70. I thought whether I could hack into the ley line and make it even stronger, perhaps with a runic formation. Thatll be something to experiment on.

In any case, a Level 70 dungeon actually spawns a dungeon-boss at level 80, so thats not a bad challenge for the existing Valthorn elites. From the adventurer circles, normal dungeons rarely go past level 70, and those are considered difficult dungeons. But there are some rather special dungeons where there are monsters in the level 100s, but most of them are lost to time.

-