It worked!
Having finished my revisions and restarted the summoning I watched as glowing green motes of light coalesced into a being right in front of my eyes.
What appeared was a squat, barely two-foot-tall little guy in the shape of a drop of water. Its skin consisted of layered leaves in the form of a bud, like a Brussels sprout, but taller. The sprout had two little arms and legs, and it was positively filled with Nature Mana. Two beady eyes were staring at me, and a mouth I hadn’t noticed opened up to speak.
The only noise that came out was the sound of somebody shaking a bush.
"Uh, hi, can you understand me?" I asked, confused as to why the translation feature wasn’t working. Unless it literally just wanted to make leaf rustling noises at me, which is a distinct possibility.
It whistled like wind blowing through branches. Then, it sat down in the centre of the circle.
It was a little bit underwhelming. After my last conversation with Hazel, I wasn’t expecting to have to include translation glyphs in the ritual.
It’s possible that translation only occurs for people within this world, but would that mean the man I let in just spoke English? That implies a level of knowledge I’m not quite comfortable accepting right now, which means on to other things!
I disabled the shielding around the circle because obviously, this little guy wasn’t going to hurt me, not with [Friend of the Forest] in play. Walked in and picked him up. I brought him out of the circle and placed him on a table where I kept my notes. He sort of just stared at me the whole time I was doing that with his creepy little eyes.
So this is a real spriggan, glad I didn’t end up as one of them. They seem boring as hell. Should I try eating it?
It is pretty cute, though, except for how it’s staring at me. I’ll put down eating it as a ‘maybe.’Well, it's time for redesign number twenty-six. I’ve gotta include some kind of translation system. Maybe an external ritual could add that function? But then I’d have to keep that running as long as the summon exists.
While puzzling over the new design, I was greeted by a pop-up.[System Alert]
Notice: You have successfully completed today’s task.
Conditions:
[2/1] Kill an entity Level 25 or stronger.Highest levelled kill: [Lesser Minor Wretchspawn Larva Lvl 150]
Calculating Reward: Given the nature of your strongest kill today, you have exceeded the requirement.
[Reward multiplier x6]Processing…Error: Reward multiplier exceeds maximum expected value. Adjusting parameters…
New Parameters Applied: Reward adjusted to align with recipient’s capabilities and needs. Calculating suitable award…
Awarding:

3x Bloodroot Seeds

A small bag, presumably holding the seeds, appeared on the table in front of me. The spriggan glanced at them as they appeared and, after eyeing me, began reaching for the bag."Hey! No!" I said, swatting its hand away from my reward. "Bad spriggan, those are mine."
I ignored the sound of a branch snapping from the spriggan, picked up my reward, opened the little bag, and peeked inside. The seeds were blood-red spheres covered in vein-like markings that pulsed with a Mana type I hadn’t seen before, likely Blood Mana if the colour and name were anything to go by.Shrugging, I popped one in my mouth and chewed. The seed burst open and filled my mouth with liquid. It tasted, as expected, like blood. It wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever eaten, but I certainly wouldn’t call it pleasant. I powered through it and smiled as I felt the seed begin to break apart inside me, being processed into pure knowledge.
The seed’s structure was rather unique in comparison to fully grown plants. With it I gained an understanding of how Blood Mana functioned inside plants, which at first glance seemed similar to Nature Mana but on closer inspection was completely different. It was like looking at two paintings with similar colour schemes and styles from far away, then moving closer and realizing that they depicted completely different scenes. I could also tell that it contained some kind of instructions that, upon receiving something, it would begin a growth cycle. What that something was was vague. It didn’t seem to be Mana, as the bonds weren’t structured to allow Mana inside.
Disappointed at my inability to figure out what it was doing, I dumped the bag in my inventory and read the description.
[Bloodroot Seeds]
Seeds derived from a bloodroot vine. This predatory vine drains life force and converts it into Blood Mana stored within its root. The seeds retain the vine’s parasitic properties, requiring a potent life source to grow.
Oh? Oh!
This is exactly what I would want right now. I just have to grow a full vine first. With a grin plastered on my face, I dove back into ‘Balat’s All-in-One Encyclopedia of The Planes’, trying to find the perfect soil in which to grow the root. In the middle of my search, I heard a familiar ding in my mind. I was wondering when that was going to happen."Hey, Hey, people of Eternia. It’s me again, your favourite imp Nyxie back for your evening broadcast." Something about Nyxie’s voice just made me happy, so I wasn’t annoyed with the interruption at all. "Let’s start off tonight by announcing some good news! The guild ‘The Long Year' has completed the first zone boss kill! Let’s give ‘em a round of applause for that achievement."
I gave a polite clap while definitely not ruminating over how those lucky fucking humans get to spawn in places where they don’t immediately get murdered by the scenery.
"For those of you who haven’t completed your daily task, I’ll just let you know that there was a thirty percent survival rate of the alternative challenge last night. If you leave Fateswatch right now, you will still be able to make it!" I wasn’t surprised by the low survival rate. I had no idea how I was supposed to kill the Titan without Hazel. I should ask what Level she is, it’s probably a ridiculous number if her class works the way I think it does. Oh and the experience multiplier I keep forgetting to ask about that!This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Ahhh, this is a bit awkward for us in management to admit to, but we’d like to apologize to the surviving non-human guests."
Oh, it looks like they remember we exist.
"This apology does not extend to those of you who have stumbled upon wonderful opportunities through our initial mistake. You know who you are."
A chill went up my spine, causing me to jump in surprise. I didn’t even think I could feel cold anymore. The spriggan gave me an odd look, its blank stare somehow came across as rather unnerving, before turning back to staring into space. Fucking plant.
Also, what the hell! I feel very targeted here! It’s not my fault a bunch of cool shit is hidden a million miles away from Fateswatch.
After a short pause, Nyxie continued, "In addition, we have been notified about a breach in the plane." Uh oh. "To the one responsible, we would appreciate additional care during ritual summonings. To prevent further tampering with the beta test, we will be locking down planar barriers for the next week. If the breacher was linked to humanity, please use this time to rethink your ritual design. There will be no second chances."
Motherfucker!
My forehead graced the desk with its presence, and I let out a groan. That meant… I felt a small hand pat the back of my head. It’s just me and little weirdo out here for the next week.
"That’s all for tonight, folks! This is Nyxie signing out!" said Nyxie in a cheerful tone.
I sighed and pulled the seeds out of my Inventory and tossed one up to it. Might as well find out why he wanted them so badly. We're gonna get to know each other very well in the near future, I feel. The moment after I threw the seed, his way, hearing only a crunch in response.
"You have a name I can call you by, little buddy?" I asked, head still planted on the table.
The reply came in the form of a ripping noise, which was a little bit odd considering the other sounds it had made. Relieving my forehead from its hard-pressed relationship with the table, I turned my attention to the changed creature sitting next to me.
The previously cute but in that creepy way, spriggan had been replaced by an absolute monstrosity. Eyes leaking blood and veins pulsing over its body, with an outer appearance like somebody had stapled several vines and a bunch of leaves to a child. It was looking at itself over with a wide grin plastered on its face.
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling in return. It looks like my little buddy just got an upgrade.
It looked up at me and made the sound of autumn leaves being crunched underfoot. A moment passed before I realized it was answering my question, which meant it understood what I was saying.
"Let’s go with Autumn then, at least until I can get my vocal cords to make leaf noises," I said, already making plans for the design. I was pretty sure Autumn wasn’t speaking through traditional means. There was something about the Nature Mana that was passing through its mouth that made nature sounds. "Do you know anything about ritual casting, Autumn?"
Autumn shook its head at me in return, and I sighed. I was going to have to figure non-summoning spells out on my own, then. But that’s for another time.
Right now, the best choice would be to go back to exploring the ruins. Oh, and working on puzzles! I haven’t played with the ring in so long!
Getting up from the desk, I immediately dove into the ring. The first puzzle I was greeted with from my save point was rather easy, given I’d been playing around with Authority casting on my own.
After dropping the bookshelf in my Inventory along with the seeds, I strode out into the hallway and began a routine check of each door on the left side. Half my attention was focused on the ring and the other half on any potential loot. Having a high Wit stat made the effort almost trivial. I couldn’t wait until I got it even higher.
Autumn followed along beside me, still looking over its transformation. I’m pretty sure its personality had gotten an upgrade, as it wasn’t nearly as expressive before. Now it was stroking its newly grown vines and making a soft cooing noise, which all in all was still kind of creepy.
The rooms weren’t anything interesting along this hallway, but I had already confirmed that when I walked through it, going the other direction. Mostly sleeping quarters, kitchens, washrooms and a ton of corpses. All mummified in a similar fashion to those I originally found, a closer inspection revealed most of them had a single stab wound somewhere on their bodies. These guys must be weak as hell if the mosquito killed them all.
Or maybe I just got lucky, given the fact that I don’t have any Vital Energy. I did get stabbed a few times, which probably would have been a death knell. If I ever run into a similar creature but for Mana instead of Vital Energy, then I should probably flee in the other direction as fast as possible. Actually, now that I think about it, those things on the surface are kind of like that, aren’t they?
Right by the intersection, I ran into another laboratory room just across the hall from the other one. This one didn’t end up having any cool plants in it, though. Instead, it seemed to be some kind of chemistry lab. I had no interest in the equipment, but the fridge filled with labelled vials was enough to temporarily hold my interest. There were only two plant-derived liquids that caught my eye.
[Klyven Dew]A liquid metal harvested from the Lumenfern, a bioluminescent fern that thrives in Mana-rich environments. Despite its name, Klyven Dew isn’t a true dew but a Mana-conducting secretion produced by the fern to enhance its resilience. This liquid acts as a conduit, adapting its rigidity in response to the flow of Mana. The more Mana it contains, the more solid it becomes. The dew can hold a very large amount of Mana before bond breakage causes material destruction.I had so many ideas for using the dew that I swallowed it as soon as I finished reading the description. Despite the slightly metallic tang, it was surprisingly refreshing.[Lifesap]
Sap extracted from the Heartbloom Tree. Rich in Life Mana and imbued with powerful healing properties, it is renowned for its ability to mend even mortal wounds when taken shortly after being harvested.
Shaking my head in disgust, I dumped the vial of sap on the ground. Besides the fact that it’s sap, and I can’t trust that stuff, it’s not like it would do anything for me anyway. Autumn also had no interest in drinking it, proving it is a trustworthy ally. It did want the liquid metal, though, only the good stuff, not any of the dew that I personally grew on my body. It probably has something to do with it being naturally grown versus synthetic material.
I spent a few minutes building up an internal reserve of the metallic dew, along with channels to allow it to flow through my body. The substance wasn’t that expensive Mana-wise, and it was also incredibly light. I was really interested in whether the fuck atomic structures meant anything anymore as I’m pretty sure the liquid metal would be the equivalent of a lightweight titanium when hardened with Mana, and that doesn’t really make sense.Either way, there was nothing else left in the lab that I cared to loot, so I left. I could probably find some sort of use for the two dozen liquids and powders sitting in there, but honestly, that just seems like a hassle. Dragging Autumn behind me while it stared into space, I went back to the intersection and continued along the left wall.
This hallway turned out to be a lot more boring than the last one. At least until we reached the end of the hall, which seemed to end in a large set of double doors that took up the whole hallway. They were buzzing with some kind of energetic Mana.
Ignoring that fact, I scanned the keyplate and was greeted by what appeared to be a large glass enclosure in the middle of a massive room that acted as another intersection point. The enclosure was obviously completely fucked. I’m not sure if I should have expected anything else. Despite having no idea how everything went to shit down here when it’s the surface that’s going to hell… Actually, I guess the whole place literally went to Hell. Never mind, I’m sure that’s the reason.
We were even so lucky as to be given a cordial reception.