I should have known it wouldn’t have been as easy as a few hours of running to get out of this ashen hellscape. Apparently, the name of the zone, ‘Cradle of Ash,’ wasn’t some kind of metaphor about this being the birthplace of ash or some shit. It was quite literally laid out, sort of like a cradle. If the cradle were designed to protect the outside world from the baby, not the baby from the world.
I walked alongside a massive vertical glass wall, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do next. The wall was impenetrable to anything I could muster, even driving a stake tipped with Ashenflare stem into the wall with nearly my entire core worth of Kinetic Mana just ended up breaking the stake.
I feared my only option was to do the one thing I didn’t want to do: abandon my shell and slide up the wall like a slug. I’d worked way too hard getting my shell just right. Obviously, I could regrow it at will, and I would lose it in the next Conflagration if I didn’t hurry my ass up, but it’s the principle of the whole matter. What principle? I didn’t know for sure, but there was one—I was certain of that.
My mind wandered to potentially pulling in environmental Mana to my Core and absolutely overcharging some kind of circuit to cut handholds into the wall. I found myself horribly repulsed by that idea. This time, it wasn’t about some principle I was clinging to—although those were still rock solid, thanks for asking. It felt more like some memory stored in my Core that I couldn’t quite access, and I knew that was a dangerous path to walk. One that I couldn’t turn back from once I began down and one that would end in my ruin. It was kind of like a chill running down my non-existent spine mixed with existential terror.
Alright, nope, not that option. Maybe I could build a tower?
I looked up, unable to see the top of the wall due to the ash obscuring my vision. The ashfall was thinner out by the wall, with over fifty metres of vision, but I still couldn’t make out anything. I considered throwing a grenade straight up to clear the air, then realized I’m an idiot and probably shouldn’t be making decisions like I’m some kind of big adult who knows things. Throwing a timed explosive in such a fashion that it can land directly on top of you probably isn’t a direct violation of a specific workplace safety law, because if you’ve gotten to the point you’re doing that you’ve already failed several others to the point
I’m a little tiny person who’s way out of their depth. Though, that’s been true most of my life so really has anything truly changed? The consequences of failure have just been explained a lot better now.
I sighed, moving back in thought to the tower idea. If I broke down the Ash Mana, I might be able to use the Earth aspect to pile a bunch of earth together and push myself up to the top of the wall. There were two immediate problems with this plan, though the first and least worrisome one was structural stability. I had no idea how to construct a fifty-metre tall tower soundly, and that’s the minimum height I’d need to achieve. The second–well, there’s a reason the roots I was using to produce grenades were single-use. After that one use, the circuits would burn out. This problem would only worsen due to the fact I’d have to store a ton of Fire Mana in the root somehow or burn it off safely without destroying the circuit–which wasn’t going to happen unless I spent a few days building it out of Ashenflare material.
Actually, what specifically is the material my circuits are made out of designed to do? I don’t think I ever actually checked.
I used [Regrowth] to grow a lump of disconnected circuit material in my hand. Unlike the yellow glow it would give off when actively channeling Mana, this stuff was brown. I then stuffed it in my inventory and checked what it was.
[Runaspriggan Wiring]
Wiring that was hastily developed for the Runaspriggan model of an Eryx’s golem. Despite significant alterations from his original design, this material remains highly conductive to Nature Mana.
That makes a lot of sense—my guy Eryx wouldn’t give me wiring that craps out after one use, after all. I consumed the material just for good measure. Maybe I could fix whatever the imps did to it.
Ten seconds later, I concluded that no, I could not fix what they did to it because I had no idea what it was doing in the first place. The material was ridiculously complex at a biological level, and ninety percent of the biomagical operations that enabled its functions just looked like random noise to me. The only benefit I gained from checking was finding out it was very conductive to Nature Mana, which really should have been obvious before I looked.
I considered the implications of that fact and determined that it wasn’t useful for me right now. I didn't have any magical beans to grow my way to the clouds. In fact, I couldn’t make any kind of seed. I’d already tried several varieties, and they ended up just being little wooden pebbles that did nothing when nurtured with Mana, presumably because they were biological in nature, not biomagical.
[Zone Warning]
Next Conflagration Occurring in 60 Minutes
Now, I’ve never been one to break my firmly held principles easily, but… Fuck it, I don't want to be cooked alive again.
I unceremoniously ripped my Core out of my body, then grew little suction cup legs on it while it was still powering my shell. Secreting pine sap from the legs, I gently attached it to the wall and let it try to hold its own. One of the legs immediately tore under the weight of my Core—spindly spider legs weren’t the right approach, apparently. I spent a moment rebuilding them thicker than before, then grew eyes on the front of the horrid creature I’d just become, dropped my ring into my inventory and disconnected my main shell from the Core. Time to start climbing…
From there, the process was relatively simple: I continuously excreted pine sap from my feet and took one step at a time. Any time the sap hardened to the point of becoming a burden, I just removed a thin layer of plant fibres at the bottom of the foot and started fresh.
Thirty minutes into the climb, I was starting to get worried. I checked my Mana reserves, and I was a little over halfway. Not terrible, but I also couldn’t see the end in sight. I could always back out now and let myself tumble to the ground. At least I’d be able to wait out the conflagration in peace. But no, those were quitter thoughts, and after betraying everything that I held true to myself to get to this point, I wasn’t going to be a quitter.
My foot slipped once again as the sap hardened to the point of unusability. I was starting to feel like I’d gotten in over my head this time. I might’ve even muttered something about giving up if I had a mouth, but I’d never actually admit it, not even to myself. And especially not to the pine sap. Gods, I could hear it mocking me now. I never knew pine sap could be so judgemental.
At the fifty-five minute mark, my graceful waltz up the wall had turned into a panicked scramble. I probably looked like one of those spiders whose legs were too long moments after you scared it by slamming a book next to it.
[Zone Warning]
Conflagration Occurring, Seek Shelter or Perish
Fuck me. I sent out a prayer to whatever gods were watching for my survival. My dwindling Mana reserves suddenly tanked, causing me to stop the prayer in panic. How many fucking gods are watching me kill myself right now? Are they having a goddamn watch party up wherever the hell they are? A breeze began blowing upwards from the Cradle, assisting my ascent, and I immediately stopped caring about how many gods were watching and started worrying about how I could accommodate my viewers further. If they were gonna provide help, why the fuck wouldn’t I? Or is that just heat expansion? The wind is pretty warm…
I pushed those thoughts away and continued my mad dash. The only thing in my focus was putting one foot in front of the other and maintaining that fucking awful sap. By the gods, I hated that sap. If I make it out of here, I’ll never use maple syrup again. I'm going the route of that processed corn stuff.
Nine minutes later, the air had turned from an aiding breeze to an awful typhoon-force wind that was way too hot for comfort. I had already ignored the first temperature warning on my Core, which was higher by at least twenty-five percent compared to before, likely due to the title I earned during the first conflagration. The ash being blown upwards had completely obscured any hope of seeing further than a foot in front of me.
Mana Stores at 10% Capacity Please Halt Mana Usage or Risk Internal Damage
The sap I’d been constantly producing finally cut my Mana down to almost nothing. I had two choices either risk internal damage or just die, and I knew which one I was choosing. In a last-ditch effort, I used five percent of my remaining Mana to construct a parachute and sent one final fraction of a prayer out, hardly even containing a message to conserve Mana, just a hope. Then I disconnected my legs from my Core, released the parachute, letting the wind take me.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The moment the parachute opened, I was flung upwards at a speed I couldn’t have dreamed of climbing at. I wiggled one eye downwards and noticed a red glow in the ash that was quickly growing brighter. With nothing left in my arsenal,I watched helplessly as the fireball gained ground on me.
Several minutes later, while moving at a frankly ridiculous velocity, the glass wall vanished. Replaced with a rapidly expanding view of a massive forest. A moment later that tiny crumb of hope left in me was rewarded by a message I could barely believe, as the fireball blew past me.
[Zone Entered]
You have just entered The Sylvan Maw
I could have cried tears of joy if I hadn’t disconnected my tear circuits when I ditched my shell. That was exactly why I didn’t want to ditch it; it was going to be annoying to put it back together. Anyways a forest zone! This is basically built for me!
This journey didn't go unnoticed by the system either as several notifications let me know. I had a while before I landed anywhere, so I decided to look them over.
Milestone Achieved: Leaving the Cradle of Ash behind, a place where all with the gift of rapid growth are destined to return to ash, you have defied fate and taken your first step on an evergrowing path.
Species Level (Runaspriggan) Increased +4 (11)
+4 Might, +12 Wit, +16 Spirit, +8 Fortitude, +12 Arcana, +8 Grace
So it’s because the system thought I was a plant creature that I spawned there in the first place?! I’m not even a plant, though. You’re mistreating a humble golemoid.
My rewards didn’t end there.
Congratulations on reaching level ten! Choose one of the following three skills to shape your path to Eternity:
[Species Skill Option]
Name: [Aerobotanical Dynamics]
Tier: [Wrought]
Description: [Air is a part of nature, and nature is a part of air. Allows you to channel Nature Mana to manipulate air currents to hold yourself aloft amongst the summer breeze. The more physiological characteristics that allow flight, the easier this manipulation will become.]
Now, this is interesting. I knew Nature Mana was complicated, but I didn’t know it could work backward and manipulate its components. I'm not sure what it means by nature being a part of air, though, unless it isn’t talking about Mana and is just referring to the concept more generally. I was fairly certain Air Mana wouldn't break down into Nature at all. The main problem with this Skill, though, is the fact that the description isn’t very helpful. Obviously, it might have helped me scale the cliff, but I had no idea how Mana-intensive flying would be or if it was even feasible with a full body. I might need to break myself down into a tiny paraglider ball form just to hover, in which case I’m not interested. If the last Skill sucks, I might have come back to it later, except I checked and confirmed I couldn’t pick any Skills I had passed up on previously, so it was really just between this and the next one.
[Species Skill Option]
Name: [Mana Simulations]
Tier: [Wrought]
Description: [Unlock the Mana Simulator function within your Core. Simulate any Mana type you can conceive with realistic accuracy, incorporating environmental or physical features drawn from your perceptions or imagination. By infusing Nature Mana, the simulation can replicate the Mana pathways of organic matter, enabling detailed combat and skill-testing scenarios. The simulation can be fast-forwarded, with maximum speed scaling based on your Wit and Mana spent per second.]
Well, I have to get this Skill now, don’t I? It’s basically fixing part of my body that had been closed off from me so far. Besides, this seemed incredibly useful. I could figure out exactly how much kinetic Mana I would need to stake that fucking wall. Not that climbing it using handholds would have been feasible. That was a way longer climb than expected.
[Species Skill Option]
Name: [Adhesive Command]
Tier: [Wrought - Growth]
Description: [You are one who understands the great power lying in sticky substances. All sticky secretions will be empowered in the future, with additional holding power and finer control. Allows manipulation of these secretions from a distance. Your command over these substances grows in conjunction with your knowledge of their mechanics.
I picked [Mana Simulations] and was immediately greeted with a second message that I wasn’t expecting.
[Class Obtained]
Name: [Neophyte Conduit]
Criteria Met: Achieved Level 10 without completing the Tutorial. Cast at least one spell through intuitive channeling.
Tier: [Untiered]
Description: [You follow the path of the conduit, using your own body to channel Mana. Breaking all conventional rules of spellcasting, you have chosen to ignore both spell formulae and expressions of power, relying instead on intuition and personal Mana pathways to direct your magic. This approach sacrifices precision and power in exchange for unparalleled creativity and adaptability.]
Stats: +2 Wit, +3 Spirit, +2 Fortitude, +3 Arcana
Wait, the magic system in this world uses spell formulae? What? There’s been an easier method to get the output I want than stuffing Mana into an array this whole time?!
I sighed internally. I wasn’t going to be a proper mage anyway. I was more like a walking artifact that can manipulate itself on the fly than a caster who spends their days reading about… I don't actually know what they would read because I’ve never seen a spell formula. I have no idea how they would even begin to work. Would there be hand movements involved? No, that would be silly. If I see a single goddamn mage waving his hands around to make fire appear, I'm going to send a very strongly worded bug report.
The class also came with a couple of Skills similar to those of my species. I assumed they would be a kind of overall coverage of what I could see from the Class in the future, so I made sure to pay attention. I’d have to figure out how to level it after all.[Class Skill Obtained]
Name: [Mana Conduit]
Tier: [Basal]
Description: [The currents of Mana flow through you as freely as blood through veins, marking you as a living vessel of arcane energy. Enhances Mana capacity by 50% and recovery by 100%. With a strong enough will, you may strain your body to amplify this flow, increasing your recovery rate and physically damaging the channels Mana is traveling through you.]
Well beyond the baseline boosts, this is certainly a double-edged sword. I was certain my Core didn’t have any self-repair functionality. If I accidentally activate the additional Mana recovery feature, it will lead to permanent damage. I didn't even have any metal to fake a replacement for. Unless I can somehow offset the damage from my body into my shell, though the knowledge imparted by the Skill didn’t outline how to do that, it seems to be an all-or-nothing deal the way I would use it right now. I should look into ways to change the Skill somehow if that’s even possible.
On the other hand, this explains why I feel fantastic. I’ve never felt energy fill my body this fast before. My potential pool of Mana feels virtually bottomless, though I know if I started trying to do anything actually straining, I’d end up blowing through my reserves in seconds again. Like, I could probably manifest half an Ashenflare leaf now before having to take a break. I allowed myself a moment to bask in the feeling of my Core refilling from nearly empty while drifting in the wind on my little parachute. It only took a few moments of quiet reflection for a shiver to pass through my Core. I just remembered birds exist, there better not be any damn flying assholes around here looking for a pebble to snack on. This is why I hate sitting still long enough for my thoughts to catch up to me. There’s nothing I could do if that happens, but I still manage to terrify myself.
I continued on to the next Skill to distract myself from potential winged death.
[Class Skill Obtained]
Name: [Verdant Corruption]
Tier: [Basal]
Description: [As one who is in tune with Nature Mana, you may learn to embrace the corruption and decay within. It will be far easier for Nature Mana to carry these qualities when channeled through your body. The longer you channel, the more potent the corruption becomes, turning even the healthiest of growths into twisted, decaying forms. You will find that blight and mould are as much a part of nature’s cycle as the trees and flowers. Adds an increase to the 'Change' aspect of the nature-aligned mana you produce. This effect increases over time and scales with Arcana.]
Huh, this seems pretty good despite the fact that it reads like a supervillain monologue.
The Skill fills one of my weak points. I can take a bit of a beating but don’t really have any way to return that beating without preparing little surprises in my Inventory. Also, it says corruptive qualities as well as decay, but what does that entail entirely? [Verdant Corruption] seemed to be, in part, a knowledge Skill, but that didn’t mean it came with a guide. The knowledge it contained was mostly about how to kick-start the process and how to aim it, not what the results would be. Only one way to find out, I suppose.
I used [Regrowth] to grow a little sprout that clung to the side of my Core, detached it from my biomass by disconnecting the attached circuits, but left it rooted to my body. I moved my eyes to watch it, then ran a bunch of Nature Mana through it, imbued with [Verdant Corruption] but without an aim because I wanted to just see the range of possibilities. The little stem did twenty different things at once as the Mana passed through. One part of the sprout began growing rapidly, almost like a tumour, while another section sprouted a mass of black mould. A small patch simply turned to ash, disintegrating into the air. The sprout itself seemed to surge in growth for a moment before halting, thickening slightly, then stopping again. At the tip of the sprout, which was no specific plant to begin with, a flower bloomed—only to begin breaking down almost immediately, overtaken by a wave of blight. The flower itself was a chaotic abomination; ten different kinds of flowers smashed together and blended at low speed for one minute, their colours and shapes mixing in a kind of an organic mess.
I sat there transfixed as the little plant, just watching the different mutations and deterioration as I funnelled a constant yet tiny bit of Mana into it. I didn’t want to almost completely drain myself again, after all. Eventually, the mishmash of different things happening to it led to the sprout's demise, and it broke off my body, falling from the sky onto a well-kept clover lawn.
Wait what?