Necro Purification Ritual I (5 000 points) - A ritual purifying the ambient aether from the curse of the Necromoon. Covers 500 square ters. ACQUIRED
Natural Growth Ritual I (5 000 points) - A ritual accelerating the growth of living beings, particularly effective on plants. Covers 500 square ters. Possibility to add organic remains to enhance the ritual's efficiency. ACQUIRED
Guardian of the Forest Ritual III (25 000 points) - A ritual elevating the status of a Guardian of the Forest. Strengthens the symbiotic relationship between the two parties. Increases the Guardian's domain size to 2 500 square ters. ACQUIRED
Sun points: 244
Purchasing the three upgrades simultaneously, Priam closed his eyes and connected to Log-a-rhythm. Three days into his stay in Elysium, he had planted the seed offered by the System on the stump of a magical tree, the sole relic of a royal elf. By mixing his saliva with the seed, he had established a powerful and spiritual connection with the tree.
Using Micro to cut off his external senses, Priam found the glimr in his mind symbolizing the tree and reached for it. A curious instinct, the beginning of consciousness, revealed itself to Priam. Alien senses assaulted him.
He was a tree. His roots pulsed beneath his feet. His leaves absorbed polluted light. Potent sap ran through his trunk. Half of his mass was hidden in a strange dinsion.
As Priam tried to get used to the new sensations, he felt the System acting.
The branches of Log-a-rhythm grew rapidly. Guided by the Seven, they changed shape to form a hundred natural runes. Ambient aether rushed into the runes, creating resonance. Above Log-a-rhythm, a giant rune appeared on the surface of the protective do. The crimson light emitted by the Necromoon passed through the golden rune before settling on the tree's leaves.
A simultaneous sense of relief emanated from both Log-a-rhythm and Priam. For the first ti since the beginning of the Necro event, the light no longer sought to corrupt the photosynthesis necessary for the tree's growth. Until now, the plant had to combat the detrintal influence of the Necromoon using its Life affinity. It had succeeded, but the vile aether projected by the Necromoon remained terrifying.
Now, the perverse sensation was incredibly muted. It hadn't disappeared, as Necro Purification Ritual I was too weak for that, but it had diminished. The only drawback was the affected area: five hundred square ters were barely enough to cover Log-a-rhythm’s crown. Consequently, Priam wanted to buy rank II but was now too poor. A new input drew his attention.
The System started the second ritual, Natural Growth I. This ti, Log-a-rhythm's roots trembled, subtly changing position to draw a second set of runes. The resonance occurred again, and a gigantic rune was created under Log-a-rhythm and part of the clearing.
A sowhat mutated sensation disturbed Priam before he realized its origin. Log-a-rhythm was absorbing light rays, soil nutrients, and ambient aether more rapidly. It was difficult to quantify the impact this would have on its growth, but Priam thought it would be approximately five percent faster. It was little, but every bit counted.
For the final ritual, the System chose to complete the runes created during its first encounter with the drya. A large concentration of aether appeared where Priam and Dishnu had once traced esoteric lines. The ghost of the ritual resurrected as new lines drawn in the soil continued the work of the two rivals. New runes inscribed themselves in the earth while refinents were made to Priam's amateurish efforts.
In a matter of seconds, a new sigil was born. Like a fractal, the seal patterns were repeated several tis within each subpart. Priam felt dizzy seeing the System's work.
Was nature drawing inspiration from Concepts, or was it the other way around? The presence of fractals, structures similar at all scales, made him realize that the secrets of enchantnts might be more accessible to humanity than he had initially thought. What humans lacked were the theoretical runic foundations. After that, humanity would soar on its own wings.
The giant rune lit up before penetrating the ground, rearranging the interconnected roots of Log-a-rhythm, of the herbs in the clearing, and of the trees in the forest. Taking advantage of his connection, Priam touched this new link and was astonished by the possibilities offered by the ritual.
All the plants in the Oasis domain were now capable of circulating part of their Potential, vitality, talents, and abilities. Log-a-rhythm could now use the wood from the trees to create structures and constructions. Simultaneously, the vegetation gained so improvents from their Guardian.
"I’m now dirt poor, but the tree trunks will be harder to cut in the future," Priam smiled. Bombarded with questions, he explained what had just happened while opening the Log-a-rhythm nu.
Log-a-rhythm:
Features
Abundance - Life II
Abundance - Aether I
Protection III
Tribulation Resistance II
Secret Passage
Land Owner II
Camouflage II
Guardian of the Forest III
Mighty roots I
Necro Purification I
Natural Growth I
asurents
Ceiling Height: 3 ters.
Interior Area: 47 m² ( 5, due to Log-a-rhythm's growth)
Status
Current POT: 1 043
Passive gain: 100 ( 150) ( 10) POT/day.
( 150 POT/day: bonus - Guardian of the Forest III)
( 10 POT/day: bonus - Natural Growth I)
Available Thes
Primo (100,000)
Tal Quercus (10,000)
Nature (1000)
Cocoa (500)
Sequoia (1 000)
Tea (500)
Abundance - Life III (2 500)
Abundance - Aether II (1 000)
Protection IV (5 000)
Tribulation Resistance III (2500)
Secret Passage II (700) (-300)
Camouflage III (2200) (-300)
Attraction (500)
Underground (400) (-100)
Comfort (500)
Volu (500)
Water Control (500)
Land Owner III (2 200) (-300)
Guardian of the Forest IV (4 800) (-100)(-100)
Mighty Roots II (1000)
Root network - plant intelligence I (100) (-300)(-100)
Root network - plant controlI(100) (-300)(-100)
Necro Purification II (1000)
Natural Growth II (1000)
Ti: 44 days since creation
"Freebies galore!" Rose exclaid. "You should buy these."
Priam hesitated for a mont before shaking his head. "If I upgrade Guardian of the Forest again, they might mutate spontaneously. I prefer focusing on improvents that are unavailable in the Sun Shop."
"Have you sorted them already?" Hyshana inquired.
"Abundance - Aether, Protection, and Tribulation Resistance. Unlike a bunch of minor improvents, these three will have a real impact on our future."
Priam cast a thoughtful gaze upon his tree. Against his current foes, Log-a-rhythm was too weak. That had to change.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"Well, no rest for the wicked," Alain grinned. "With all these defensive upgrades, we can concentrate on enhancing new turrets. Rose has a good idea for that."
Rose clapped her hands, suddenly thrilled.
"I was thinking of using rabhorn horns to shoot spears of light! With Tier 1 or 2 horns, we could get fantastic results."
Priam's smile froze. "Where do you plan to get those horns?"
"Hyshana will fetch the ones you left during your last massacre," Rose said. "That way, we recycle, and it doesn't cost us a thing!"
"... Don't go down into the caves," Priam warned Hyshana.
"Is there a problem?"
"A Tier 4 is sleeping down there."
The hoplite squinted. "I guess that's where Sphinx is tackling a dungeon too?"
"Exactly."
"And when is she supposed to co out?"
Priam clenched his fists. "I plan to pick her up soon."
Hyshana nodded, while Alain and Rose looked at the two fighters strangely. Priam forced a smile to avoid dangerous questions.
"Till then, we're going to sell a treasure!" Lifting the Sumstreh’s gift trapped in ice, Priam winked. "It's worth around six million Sun points in the Auctions."
Rose and Alain's double gasp of surprise widened Priam's smile.
"Who wants to co—"
Priam stopped. A gust of wind had just swept through the clearing. Passing through Log-a-rhythm's foliage, it had shifted the leaves, creating a passage for the Necromoon's light. The moonbeams touched the ground, and for a mont, Priam saw a sentence.
"May I enter?"
The sentence had only lasted a mont, but with his eidetic mory, Priam knew he hadn't hallucinated.
"We have a guest."
"A problematic one?" Hyshana asked.
"I don't think so; otherwise, she wouldn't have announced herself. Rose, go find Myuri to inform her that Esmée is coming. If she wants to remain hidden, it's her right."
"Okay!"
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