Rud woke the next morning to a familiar scent. The potent smell of a burning fire jarred him to waking. He stumbled out of his hut, searching the nearby area for an out-of-control fire. The only thing he saw was Mint, in her human form, tending to a fire ringed with large stones. She had staked sticks in the ground, supporting a boiling teapot.

  “Sleepy head,” Mint teased. “Come on, I’m making breakfast.”

  Rud’s heart still thumped from his sudden awakening, but he sleepily moved over to the fire and had a seat. As the warmth of the campfire washed over him, he realized how cold this region was. He closed his eyes, breathing in the fire's scent and taking in the sounds. It seemed like the opposite thing they should do in a forest, but Mint knew better than him.

  “The Sacred Tree wants to please you,” Mint said, skewering mushrooms on a stick. She set them close enough to the fire to cook, wedging them between two rocks. “I’m still new, but even I know that is unusual.”

  Rud felt put on the spot. He had been going along with whatever the tree said, not trying to push her into doing something she didn’t want to do. “I’m not trying to be a burden.”

  “No, don’t worry,” Mint said with a laugh. She skewered more mushrooms. “She knows what she’s doing. If your subclass works like she suspects, you can pull crystals from the mine. She’ll get powerful if you manage that.”

  Rud clapped his hands like a child, unsure of what other response Mint expected. “So, Ban is fine?”

  “Yes, she is fine. When she awakens, we’ll have access to some new amenities. The forest will seem much smaller after that.”

  Mint and Ban had a much tighter connection than Rud expected. He felt a sense of belonging with the tree, but Ban shared much less information with him. Accepting that was easy, as he seemed more like a fat dude stuffed in a scrawny young guy’s rather than a member of this loose organization of spirit spirits. Perhaps they thought he wasn’t fully adjusted to this world, or that he would have doubts if they presented him with options. Rud wouldn’t deny that he was the type to be slow to adjust. Keeping busy was the way he kept his mind off the weight of his station.

  Mint handed over a mushroom stick with Rud accepted graciously. “Thank you.”

  “I’ve pilfered some cups,” Mint said, setting out two metal mugs with handles. She poured out the tea from the copper teapot, not bothering to protect her hands from the heat. “Wait before you drink. It's hot.”

  Cooked mushrooms were far better than raw ones. They took on a quality similar to meat that could pass as the real thing well enough. Even without seasoning, they were divine. Rud took a bite of a steaming mushroom, closing his eyes as the flavors rolled over his tongue. When he ate every mushroom on the stick, Mint handed him another before putting more on the fire.

  “Have you considered advancement?” she asked.

  “How so?” Rud asked around a mouthful of mushrooms.

  “Every action you perform as a druid—growing plants, tending to the forest, casting druid magic—all increases your level. Each level you earn gives you an attribute point. Do you know how you’re going to place your points? Which abilities you’re going to select?”

  Rud pretended as though he paused to think about the question. He hadn’t considered it for a moment, and so his mind was blank. That feigned thoughtfulness led to real questioning. “I need more mana,” he said plainly.

  “You’ll want to put points into the Mind attribute, then,” Mint said, taking a tentative sip of her tea. “Even the shapeshifters who put a lot of points into Strength take some points into Mind.”

  “Hold the phone,” Rud said, taking a moment to chew and swallow a bite of mushrooms. “Can I shapeshift?”

  “Given time. And practice.”

  Rud was suddenly interested in being a shapeshifter. “I must learn this magic.”

  Mint laughed, shaking her head. “Focus on helping our Sacred Tree first. Then you can work on your magic. Do you have a plan for the day?”

  Mint was making sure that Rud had his head on his shoulders. He didn’t blame her. It reminded him of times where he had to watch new employees, making sure they didn’t ruin big accounts. “The crystals are at the top of my list.”

  “Ban’Tanthein only needs a few to awaken. Three or four. After that, haul the enchanted water over to the forest. You know, the one the mortals cut down? The water can accelerate their growth considerably, since they aren’t Sacred Trees.”

  “Understood. Wake up the tree, and grow some trees. Gonna be a treeful day.”

  Mint didn’t laugh. She turned her nose to the wind and sniffed, growling. “More interlopers. After you sort those problems out, I need you to make contact with the mortals.”

  “Why?”

  “I cannot enter dungeons. But the dungeons can create monsters. Those monsters are burning the forest to the north. Enjoy your breakfast.”

  Without another world, Mint vanished. She left the burning fire, the tea, and cooking mushrooms behind. Rud finally took a sip of his tea, finding it to be a mixture of sweet and citrus flavors. He let out a sigh of relief and sagged on the spot. The tea filled his belly with a warm sensation. After drinking all the tea in the pot and eating all the mushrooms, Rud dumped handfuls of dirt on the fire until it was out. He stayed around for a few minutes, making sure that every ember had died and no wisps of smoke were emerging from the pile. Then he piled more dirt on top and cleared away the leaves near the ring.

  Before heading to the mine, Rud made a few trips between the pond and the Sacred Tree. Ban hadn’t stirred, but she still needed to drink water. He assumed she got her food from the sun, so there was nothing he could do on that front. The druid left the grove’s center and headed off to the mine.

  The building outside of the mine had changed. The circular walls had been driven to right angles, forming the general shape of an open-air building. Fewer tree-like elements were present in the building. From the unpainted boards on the walls to the wood tiled roof above. The building generated by the tree just looked like a normal building now, aside from a few rogue branches sticking out from under the shingles on the roof. Rud entered, looking around the interior and failing to whistle.

  He instead said, “dang.”

  Wooden bins lined the walls on either side of the building. Windows without glass were set into the walls and there was a table on the far side of the room. Resting atop the table was a stout spire of wood, glowing with a strange pulse of brown energy. Rud approached it, feeling the familiar sting of the Sacred Tree’s magic. He placed his hand on it and felt something change within his body. His muscles tightened as the dark interior of the building came into bright focus. A message appeared to explain what had happened.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  [Aspect of Gug attained!]

  Your Grove Custodian subclass has reacted to an effigy of Gug, spirit of the earth. The Worm Sacred Spirit has lent you some of their power. If you stray too far from the idol that granted you this power, it will dissipate.

  Rud recalled seeing a giant worm at his induction ceremony. So this was the purpose of his subclass and the building that Ban had created. He didn’t need to struggle through the act of mining. He had a giant worm by his side! If only in spirit. He navigated to his class screen, finding the subclass and inspecting it. There was a new section for Aspect, which was filled with the Aspect of Gug. He clicked on that, gaining a new screen for his efforts.

  [Aspect of Gug]

  Sacred Spirit Aspect

  Description:

  Gug is the Sacred Spirit of earth. It spends most of its time underground, burrowing through earth and mountains alike. This aspect contains some parts of its power.

  Effect:

  Unlocks digging and mining related skills.

  Increases the strength of all mining and digging actions.

  Decreases the physical strain endured while performing mining and digging actions.

  “Perfect!” Rud shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

  This was the start of something big. He realized that right away. Ban had taken part of his desires and used it to form her abilities. She could generate buildings that would allow him to do various jobs, which would help him help her. They would feed into each other through this cycle, making the grove better through synergy. He felt more like a miner by the moment, leaving the building to retrieve his pick and shovel before delving into the mine.

  As expected, the mine was dark and musty. Rud paused just after the entrance, after almost falling over the pile of stones there, and activated his Detect Animals spell. The spectral blindfold fell over his eyes, and he spotted some bats deep in the mine. The animals above the mine didn’t concern him, but it was nice to see that he could see them through the rock. He pushed forward, finding that the ability did nothing to help his night sight. What did help was the Aspect of Gug. He couldn’t see in the dark, but the dark parts of the mine seemed slightly brighter.

  “Time to get to work,” Rud chuckled to himself, pick and shovel hoisted over his shoulder. He found the first section of wall that had a bit of crystal poking out and readied his pickaxe.

  The only time Rud had ever used a pickaxe was when he was helping a relative dig in their yard. He was so young at the time that he couldn’t remember what they were digging for. All he remembered was how painful the process was. How difficult it was to get the pick over his head to bring it down. He didn’t volunteer to help that uncle ever again, no matter how much they asked. Not that they had asked for help again since Rud had punctured a water line in the yard.

  The druid put his entire weight into the first strike and was surprised to see large pieces of stone chip away from the wall. He did it again, finding a similar result. Rud looked down at his hands in the dark mine, marveling at how easy it felt to swing the pick. He kept at it, chipping away at that hard stone wall. Despite how easy it was, it took several hours to remove a single crystal from its rocky prison. He fell back onto his butt, holding a glimmering blue crystal in his hands. It emitted a small amount of light, but he could feel the power within. Without warning, a screen appeared giving him a description of the fragment.

  [Arcane Crystal Fragment]

  Uncommon

  Description:

  A fragment of a larger Arcane Crystal. This fragment is imbued with the Arcane element.

  Rud rolled the object over in his hands. The description added little to his knowledge of the object, but there it was. It was the thing that Ban needed. He suspected that the sunlight wasn’t good enough for her to restore herself to her full power, so she would eat these little fragments to regain her strength. The druid got back to work right away, finding that the more time he spent alone with his thoughts the less he liked it. While taking a break, a small squirrel appeared near the entrance of the mine. It was a red squirrel, with those adorable tufts of hair on its ears.

  “Hey little guy,” Rud said, waving at the squirrel. It darted to the side, poking its head around the mine’s entrance. “Oh! Are you the same guy I gave the nuts to?”

  Rud could have sworn he saw the squirrel nod. He found what few provisions he had brought for the mining expedition and retrieved a nut. He shelled it and worked his way to the entrance, slow enough so the squirrel wouldn’t flee. The druid placed it on the ground and took a few steps back. After sniffing the air for danger, the squirrel jumped across the stones, snatching up the nut and scampering away.

  “Rude.”

  Several minutes passed, but nothing happened. No forest spirit was willing to give him the spell, which was fair enough. He had a skill for that. Rud took a decent break, eating through a few mushrooms and sipping from a bucket of enchanted pond water. It tasted better than one might think. After that, he got back to work, laboring the day away.

  When the pickaxe became too heavy to hoist, Rud called it a day. He had pulled four Arcane Crystal Fragments out of the mine. Alongside those valuable fragments, he had discovered veins of some kind of ore. While he couldn’t identify them, he was almost certain it was ore. What little he removed from the wall, he put into small piles for later inspection. Maybe Ban would create a smelter building where he could turn it into ingots. That would be neat, although likely unnecessary.

  Rud stretched outside of the mine, rolling his head from side to side until something in his shoulders cracked. The sensation felt good, but his stomach was rumbling. The druid collected food on the way to the Sacred Tree. With no way to make a fire, he would have to eat them raw. Before settling down to his meal, he approached the sacred tree. He didn’t know how to do it, but followed his instincts. When the Arcane Crystal Fragment pressed against the tree, it seemed to melt over the glowing bark. That liquid was absorbed and the boughs above quivered.

  “Hungry tree,” Rud said, feeding the Sacred Tree more of the fragments. When he was out of fragments, he pressed his hand against the bark to inspect the description on the tree.

  [Ban’Tanthein]

  Rank 0 Level 1 Sacred Tree

  Upgrade Energy: 0%

  Reserve Energy: 50%

  Expansions:

  [Mining Workshop]

  A new entry had appeared. Rud suspected that the new entry told him how much power the tree had available. Four fragments brought her to fifty percent, but she could have gained some from the sun. It was hard to say, but it hardly seemed to matter. He felt her stirring, somehow. The Sacred Tree was waking up from her day-long slumber. The druid jumped up and down, clapping his hands as he prepared to dance around the tree. It took her longer than he expected to wake up, so the dance was tiring.

  “Rud,” Ban’s voice said, coming from the surrounding forest. “I knew you could do it.”

  “With very little instructions!” Rud said, finishing his dance with a flourish. “How do the expansions work?”

  “I can create a certain number of expansions depending on my level and rank. But there is something more important. We need to get me to Level 5 as quickly as possible.”

  “Alrighty. How do we do that?”

  “You inspected my screen, right? I have Reserve Energy and Upgrade Energy. Reserve energy is what keeps me alive. I can transfer that to Upgrade Energy. Every time that hits one-hundred percent, I gain a level. When I achieve Level 5, I can select an upgrade.”

  “Cool, cool. I gave you four fragments. How many do we need for Level 5?”

  “Quite a few.”

  That didn’t dampen Rud’s spirits. He was elated to have Ban to talk to again. He would be happy if she waited a while to do the next expansion. She wouldn’t tell him exactly how many she needed, which meant she needed more than ‘quite a few.’ But she was dead-set on getting Level 5, so he would make it happen.

  “I shall collect the fragments for you!” Rud proclaimed, striking a pose.

  Ban giggled, the sound echoing through the forest. “You are a very brave Talen Por.”

  “Indeed, I am. But even such a stalwart Talen Por needs rest,” Rud said, leaving the tree and sitting near the buried fire to eat his dinner. “Should I ignore regrowing the forest for now?”

  Ban waited a long time before responding. “If I get this upgrade, the job will be far easier. Focus all your efforts on fragments for now.”

  “Understood, captain,” Rud said, saluting. He shoved mushrooms and nuts into his mouth until he was full enough. Without warning, he fell onto his back. The day had taken more of a toll on him than he would like to admit. Without entering his little hut, he drifted off to sleep.