Brady looked up from his comic book. "Back so soon?"
"Fill it up," I said.
I slapped a Spirit Stone onto the counter. It was a hexagonal crystal with a glowing '50' etched into the center.
Brady’s eyes widened. A tank of gas was going for about 40 stones these days. "High roller," he muttered, swiping the stone. "You want the change?"
"Keep it," I said. "Actually, throw in a bag of chips and a soda."
I walked out with my snacks, feeling ridiculously decadent. I had just spent magical currency on junk food. It was the ultimate flex.
The drive home was haunting.
It was fully dark now. The highway was empty save for the occasional military convoy rumbling in the opposite direction. I chewed on a chip as I watched the horizon.
Distant fires glowed orange against the black sky. Military helicopters swept their searchlights across the overpasses. The highway lights shone brightly.
It was beautiful in a twisted, cinematic way. It felt like I was driving through the set of a high budget survival movie, except there was no director to yell "cut."
I felt a strange peace. I wasn't fleeing this world anymore. I was commuting through it.
I pulled into my driveway. The house was dark.
I stepped out. The Heavenly Mandrakes buried near the gate hummed a low frequency—all clear. No intruders. No break-ins.
I didn't bother going inside to change. I walked straight to the center of the garden.
"Time for the big one," I whispered.
I dug a hole in the center of the Mortal Soil. I placed the 3 Monster Cores I had bought into the earth. Then, I arranged the 6 Qi Minerals in a perfect hexagon around them.
I placed my hands on the dirt.
"Take it," I commanded.
I pushed everything I had into the ground. My entire reserve—20 Qi—flooded out of my veins and into the soil.
The sound of the wind vanished. The light from the moss seemed to be sucked into the earth. The world spun, colors inverting into negatives.
My vision blurred. My knees gave out.
I fell forward, face first into the dirt, and the lights went out.
I woke up with a mouthful of soil.
I spat and rolled over, groaning. The sun was high overhead. I must have been out all night.
I sat up. I felt... different. Heavier. Not sluggish, but dense. Like I was made of lead instead of flesh.
I checked my status.
[Cultivation Realm: Seed (Stage 1)]
[Soil Upgrade: Spirit Soil (Grade 1)]
[Qi Capacity: 50]
"Seed," I whispered. The 'Foundation' tutorial was over. I had actually ascended.
I looked around. The garden had changed.
The plants looked... simpler. The Heavenly Bamboo didn't look like flashy emerald iron anymore; it looked like jade. The Heavenly Moss wasn't neon; it was teal.
I panicked for a second. "Did I regress?"
I checked the tags.
[Heavenly Tomato (Spirit) (Grade 1)]
[Heavenly Bamboo (Spirit) (Grade 1)]
I laughed. "Grade 1." It was a tier reset. Mortal Grade 2 was nothing compared to Spirit Grade 1.
I checked my gear. My spear, shield, and sword had all automatically updated. They were now Spirit Bamboo weapons. They felt lighter, yet contained more power.
[New Tab Unlocked: Alchemy]
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
[New Skill Unlocked: Dominion]
I opened the Dominion skill. My jaw dropped.
- Effect 1: Instantaneous, effortless mental control over all plants in the Dominion (Garden).
- Effect 2: Teleportation of personally grown plants within the Dominion.
- Effect 3 (Panic Button): Growth Accelerator. Expend massive Qi to instantly regenerate or mutate plants.
This was it. I was the biome.
Another notification caught my eye.
[Ability Unlocked: Awaken Plant Spirit]
- Cost: 25 Qi.
- Note: One plant has already achieved sentience due to prolonged emotional investment.
I froze. "One plant?"
I slowly turned to the raised bed. To the oldest tomato plant in the garden. The one I used to talk to when I was stressed about my student loans.
"Greetings, Caretaker," a voice resonated in my head.
I jumped back, tripping over a pumpkin. "Tim?!"
The tomato plant didn't move, but the voice was clear. It sounded like an old man—tired, gravelly, but patient.
"I am the vine," Tim said. "I have observed you for many weeks. You sleep in the dirt often."
"I... I blacked out," I stammered. "Wait. You're talking. I'm talking to a vegetable."
"Fruit," Tim corrected. "Botanically speaking."
I rubbed my temples. "Okay. Okay. Tim. Are you... do you have feelings?"
I picked a ripe tomato from his vine. I held it up. "If I eat this, is it weird?"
"No," Tim said. "The fruit is an offering. It is my purpose. I possess awareness, Caretaker, not a nervous system. Consume."
I took a bite. It was better than before—sweeter, richer, buzzing with Spirit grade energy.
I looked at the Mandrakes. I could awaken them too. But it cost 25 Qi.
"Not yet," I decided. "Tim is enough conversation for now."
I opened the Alchemy tab. I wanted to test my new power.
I looked at my patch of Squash. They were large, yellow, and heavy.
"Let's try this," I said.
I placed my hand on a squash. I fed 10 Qi into it, using the Alchemy interface to twist its properties.
[Infusing... Explosive Heavenly Squash created.]
The squash turned a dark, angry orange. It vibrated slightly.
[Effect: Explodes on impact with the force of a fragmentation grenade.]
"Vegetable explosives," I grinned. "Nice."
I moved to the bamboo wall. I used Dominion.
I didn't have to touch it. I just thought about it.
Defend.
I spent 10 Qi. The bamboo stalks shifted. Thousands of tiny, needle-like thorns emerged from the surface of the wood.
[Active Defense: Thorn Reflex enabled.]
Anyone who tried to climb my fence now would be turned into a pincushion instantly.
I checked my reserves.
[Qi: 30/50]
I was exhausted. My head was pounding from the mental load of the new skills. But I felt safe. Safer than I had ever felt in my life.
I looked at the glowing teal moss, the ancient jade walls, and my talking tomato plant.
"Bed," I said.
"Rest well, Caretaker," Tim said in my head.
I stumbled inside and collapsed onto my mattress, still wearing my armor.
My journey had truly begun. The tutorial was over.
Character Sheet
Name: Kaz Kaaz
Age: 36
Path: Heavenly Gardener’s Path
Cultivation Realm: Seed (Stage 1)
Qi Capacity: 30 / 50 (Regenerating)
Domain Stats:
- Soil: Spirit Soil (Grade 1)
- Ambient Qi Generation: 0.8 Qi/Hour (via Heavenly Moss Spirit Grade 1)
Skills:
- Gathering: Extract Qi/Materials from plants.
- Nurturing: Infuse Qi to accelerate growth/mutate plants.
- Swordsmanship: Proficiency with Spirit Bamboo Sword.
- Dominion: Mental control, teleportation, and acceleration of plants within the Domain.
- Alchemy: Refine plant matter into consumables/artifacts.
- Awaken Plant Spirit: Grant sentience to a plant (Cost: 25 Qi).
Active Plants:
- Tim (Awakened Spirit Tomato): Sentient. Produces fruits that permanently boost Constitution and heal.
- Heavenly Bamboo: Indestructible wall. Active Defense: Thorn Reflex.
- Heavenly Moss: Bioluminescent (Teal). Generates 0.8 Qi/hr.
- Heavenly Mandrake: Sentry. Psychic scream.
- Explosive Heavenly Squash: Explosive impact grenade.
- Heavenly Tuber: High calorie sustenance.
- Heavenly Cucumber: Hydration/Stamina recovery.
Inventory/Equipment:
- Spirit Bamboo Sword
- Spirit Bamboo Shield
- Spirit Bamboo Armor
- Spirit Bamboo Spear
- 99,050 Spirit Stones