P67 – Wintree (1/2)

Year 82 Month 10

After the demon base over the ruined city was destroyed, the 'captured' souls were gradually released. The city, a field of death of many, had many wandering souls, spirits, and the rod caught on to them and leeched off their energies. I could tell, because now that my trees are nearer to this location, some of these lost souls entered my soul realm, and their condition looked pretty bad.

It seemed the demonic interference also meddled with the navigational abilities of souls. Would it be like Warp Immaterium? Now corrupted by the presence of the demon king?

Ah, well.

[Class seeds - Knight x 6 received]

[Class seeds - Paladin x 2 received]

[Class seeds - Ranger x 4 received]

[Class seeds - Mage x 4 received...]

[Skill seeds - various classes...]

The souls, as they return to the [soul realm], gave me various class and skill seeds. Many of those perished in combat, many more in the chaos after the demonic army breached the walls. These are the fragments, as they die the things that held their soul spring together starts to break apart. So, I might as well pick it up.

After all, once they enter the soul realm, only the inner soul is needed for reincarnation.

”It's a horrible thing, for these souls, that even in death they have to serve the demons for a while.”

”Different demons, or are we talking about the same demons?” I asked Alexis. If these 'demons' are extraplanar in nature, isn't the term 'aliens' more appropriate?

”Yeah... but I mean, the native demons of the world are more of... djinns. Or like... dark-faeries who make unfair deals. Any resemblances on the physical appearance is coincidental, because what powers them underneath it all, is very different. These demons... are invaders.”

“That’s because you’ve seen it. To the most of the mortals fiddling with demons, I’m not sure if they know. But heh... too bad there aren’t any demon-hunter classes.”

“There are. I guess you’re just unlucky. But then, paladins can gain skills that boost damage against demons.”

But if they are aliens, why do they benefit from the same 'boosts'? The skill system clearly acknowledges that they are demons. Even my own skills consider them demons. Or is this some kind of godly classification?

“Hmmm...” I wonder whether I can just plant these class and skill seeds and let them grow, so that I have more such seeds. Each of these class seeds gives one level in that class to the person that consumes the fruit made from these seeds. But second helpings do nothing. Skill seeds on the other hand, there are specific types, and generic types. Specific types will grant a skill in the type, if the person has a compatible class. Generic ones, will grant a skill from that class’s pool of skills. In a way, generic ones are stronger, since it’s theoretically possible to give someone one class seed, and multiple generic skill seeds to let him have multiple skills.

They are seeds, right?

[You can compress 10 class seeds or 10 skill seeds of the same type into a ‘class tree’ or ‘skill tree’. These class or skill trees produce 1-3 seeds every year.]

Oh. It’s theoretically possible to create an orchard of these class trees and skill trees?

I mean, if I have a 100 paladin seeds, I can create a 100 paladins, right? Level 1, for sure, but still, a 100 paladins! What if I have crazy powerful classes like [kings] or [heroes] or [emperors]?

What happens if I give a 100 people all [king] classes? Do they fight each other for a chance to be king? What if I have a 100 knight seeds, and have them fight each other to level up? That’s possible, right? A survival of the fittest gauntlet to produce a strong fighter? Sounds like something out of those mobages where one fuses units together to level up.

Why can’t I just fuse those class seeds together? Wouldn’t fusing class seeds create hybrid classes? Or this world’s classes don’t work like that?

[Class fusion and creation requires a compatible class or creature type and the divine gift - Taskmaster, or the divine gift - Evolutionist]

What. It’s possible! And divine gifts?? What is that?

“So... are you doing anything with those class seeds?”

Well, I’m sitting on a lot of class seeds, skill seeds and experience seeds. I think I have enough experience seeds for about 20 levels now. Too bad only class and skill seeds can be multiplied, else, imagine a fruit that gives levels? That’s really overpowered isn’t it?

But skill seeds are pretty good too, since they give new skills. If I could create a skill seed-tree that produces a strong skill every year, I could have a team of very highly-skilled fighters.

“Uh... nothing.” For the experience seeds, I’d like to use it on Lausanne or Jura, or Laufen, but Lausanne continued to gain levels from all the demon fights she participated in. So there’s really no need to use it now. The rest of the Valthorn Initiates too are on the lower side of the levels, so they are still able to gain levels.

-

“Commander.” A part of me feels happy every time I get called that. Really felt like the days when I am playing RTSs as a kid, only, well, I am fully immersed in it. Stratreegy has been really busy with all the demonic movements. He deployed another 3,000 beetles, and [subsidiary trees] to go with it, to hunt for more rods.

He wants to get his first rod. He's thirsty.

“Glory to the Countree. We will expand our reach.” He even has a catchphrase, like what usually happens when a player selected a unit in an RTS.

Uh. Did he just invent a new name for the state? Countree of Freeka? Does that make me the primogenitree? Count-Tree Aeon?

Anyway, focus, focus. Stop getting distracted. Grand Mind Tree, if you can, help me stay on track.

Demon rods, well, the issue really is intercepting the rods before they are fully deployed. Maybe someday I can get the necessary powers to make my own rods, rather than robbing the demons for their rods.

”Operation Rob the Rod status update. We are pursuing a small demonic base that's just been spotted. The beetles will attack the rod as soon as we spot it to disrupt its channelling.”

Well. The attack failed to secure the rod. The demons were able to protect the base until it was fully channeled, and because it was located in an open space, there was nothing slowing down the channel.

The demon rod's channel time is correlated with the ambient magic energy in the area, so using the rod in a regular plains doesn't take very long.

Ugh. Next target.

”Please bestow your punishment on me for my failure, Commander.” Stratreegy wasn't happy.

”Do a post mortem and tell me what you think, can improve your chances for success.”

”Maybe... maybe you should flip it around. Look for magical places, and lure the demon rods to them.” Alexis suggested.

”Genius!” I mean, why didn't I think of it? All these minds and I can't get a good idea?

-

News from the southern states of the continent. A demonic walker has been spotted swimming across the ocean. The southern naval states are forming an armada to intercept the walker before it hits land.

”This means the southern continent is done for.” Jura looked at the parchment. ”Else, why would the walker make the journey across the ocean.”

”Intercepting the walker before it hits land is a good idea. The regular demonoids are unable to fight on water.”

”Could the demonoids be... I don't know... walking beneath the oceans? Like that... pirate movie where the undead marched underwater?” Alexis asked. ”I mean, they aren't exactly living things, right, so... they may be able to function in water just as well as on land.”

That's a good point, Alexis. So I asked Jura and the leadership team.

”Uh... there have been documented records that some generations of demons were able to function underwater, or fly... But walking underwater is not something that has been observed.” Madeus explained, he rummaged through a few massive tomes. ”But... Aeon is right, nothing rules out that possibility that the demons could simply walk underwater.”

”So...”

”Perhaps it is a trap? I mean, what would the naval forces be able to do? Shoot cannons and fire spells at the walker until it somehow sinks? But if it doesn't breathe, that doesn't change a thing, does it?” Jura thought out loud.

”Whatever the outcome, I feel it doesn’t change that we’re going to have more demons from the south, so we need to increase our southern-sector defenses.” This does mean I need to widen my net of [subsidiary trees], but I’ve already deployed most of my subsidiary trees. I need my next level up.

15,000 trees is pathetic, compared to the kind of numbers the demons can put out. I’d like to be a tree supercluster with billions, no, trillions of trees. I mean, if I could somehow become a massive forest that covered the entire continent, I could take on the demon king myself. I mean, I could just keep throwing beetles and trees at it until I win by attrition.

That's what ants do. That's what invasive plants do. Outnumber and overpower.

I would like to see a world where trees ruled the entire world. Where there are all kinds of trees, from the north pole to the south. Maybe trees on the moon, and other planets. Earth was once like that.

If I’m back home, I could solve global warming by just spawning trees everywhere. I recall reading some articles while working that a few billion trees would help fix the whole carbon dioxide emissions thing.

-

Anyway, I wanted to gather my thoughts.