“First things first, let’s close the portal so the outside won't be affected.”
The dryad extended her hand to the crack in space and the air changed. A tide of power was approaching, as if a pack of solid clouds had descended on the area. The fulcrum was the dryad, Viers who was standing beside her felt it clearly.
Incredible intensity. How much stronger is she now? Level 3? 5? More?
“Clarissa, what is this?” He asked the closest expert he had in hand.
“Biome Masters receive empowerment when they are inside their territory. The greater the Biome, the more power at their fingertips.”
“...Your mother was a Biome Master, wasn't she? I take it her power was greater than this?” Viers said while remembering the past.
“You made the right call to fight her outside the Biome. Inside, she would have crushed you like a bug, soul affinity 5 or not.”
Viers and the girls watched as the dryad commanded the mana to mend the Rift. It didn't take long for it to close.
“Interesting… There are signs that this Biome was sealed. The dryad must have broken the seal in the process of getting out, forcefully. That’s why the mana leaked out to that degree. Like going through a locked door by breaking the door,” Clarissa added.
“Kin, I’m done!” She approached Viers like a child after doing an errand, expecting praise.
Viers patted her head. Her hair wasn’t silky smooth since it was made of leaves.
“Good job. I knew you could do it.”
The dryad fidgeted happily.
If she wanted to destroy me now, she could have done so without trouble, Viers hesitated. No, believe in myself. I touched her soul and felt she is not malevolent. Her soul is young and innocent.
“How about we talk a bit, little one?”
“Okay. I like having someone to talk to, since no one ever talks to me back.”
She… regards the other plants as if they are sentient. Viers mused.
A vine dropped down from a tree, carrying two red fruits. One the dryad picked up and the vine moved to Viers.
“Eat, eat! This is delicious.” She took a bite.
“Thank you,” Viers did the same. It was delicious indeed, tasted like peaches.
She sat on the grass plains, Viers did the same.
“Sooo, what should we talk about?”
“Um, before that, do you have any clothes?”
“Clothes? What's that?” The naked dryad replied.
“Like what I’m wearing now. Garments to cover your body.”
“Oooh, that. I saw you and other people wearing those at your place, kin… Seems uncomfortable. Why are you wearing that?”
“...To protect my body.” Viers wasn't sure what to say.
“Then I don't need it. My body is tough!” She puffed her chest. Naked, flat, chest. “And I don't have any clothes here.”
I’m not a lolicon for God’s sake.
“Okay, how about I help you? Let's make it a game. With your control over plants, we should be able to create something good enough for you.”
The dryad was more enthusiastic doing something with Viers than the notion of making her own clothes, and so they got to work. It was mostly the green-skinned little girl’s work, gathering and weaving the necessary materials. Her control was incredible, she used thin vines like threads to sew leaves together.
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Viers helped to design the thing… though he was just relaying what Paina told him.
Viers had no experience in making clothes and surprisingly, Paina did.
“Done! Looks good.” The dryad commented. She put it on immediately.
It was a one-piece dress made mostly of leaves. Since her skin was already green, Paina suggested adding more color to the dress. The dryad managed to make dyes easily enough, coloring some parts in bright red in flower patterns. The skirt part reached her knees and no shoes.
“You look nice. Here, this is from me.” Viers presented a crown of white flowers that he made himself.
“Oooo, thank you!” The dryad was elated.
Luca taught him how to make it, Viers was glad he was able to make someone happy.
Viers let the dryad run around while examining her dress for a few minutes before getting to the heart of the matter.
“So, why are you calling me kin?” Viers was sure he was born human, even Clarissa did not sense anything different from him.
“Mmm, I don't know it either. But I feel a familiarity to you that I can't sense from anything else.”
It must be because of the flower. Viers suspected.
The mysterious white flower that saved his life and gave him the healing factor. Since he obtained it, Viers wasn't sure his body was purely human anymore.
Perhaps she can sense it because she’s very attuned to plant life. Does this mean I’m closer to a humanoid plant than a human?
“So what's your story?”
The dryad started to tell him her origins.
She was born here, a long time ago. She wasn't sure how long it had been. She felt strange, alien. She could speak and walk around but the others couldn't. Her form was also different from the others, she had feet, hands, and everything else while the other trees didn't. She had eyes and could feel the touch on her skin while others… were almost no different than stones.
Still, she liked them, no matter how they looked and behaved. Some of them produced delicious things, reinforcing her fondness of them.
She explored around. She didn't need anything. If she felt hungry, she could grow roots then absorb nutrients from the earth or take some fruits from the trees. There was no change of season in the Biome so the temperature was mostly the same. But it could rain here, and when it did, she felt happy.
In the whole world, there were trees and plants but no animals. She knew about animals since she was born. She knew what birds, fishes, and insects looked like but there were none here. After getting from one end to another, she was disappointed to find no other like her. Only she and Grandpa had the ‘voice’.
She couldn't stand the boredom and loneliness so she decided to plant herself and sleep. Grew roots deep into the earth and entered a peaceful slumber, just like everyone else.
After an unknown amount of time, she felt something resonating with her. It came from the outside. The ‘outside’ of the world she was in, she knew this. She couldn't let the chance pass so she broke out. The process of tearing a path to the outside was tough, there was some kind of obstruction. But with the unending power from the earth, she managed to get out.
The world outside was opening up before her. The mana was far thinner there but it was… full of diversity. She saw beasts that she recognized but had never seen before. There were monsters too.
She knew she was weaker than before but she wasn’t helpless. She crushed one to a pulp using her bare hands, its claws and fangs couldn't even pierce her skin. Out of curiosity, she tried to eat the meat.
It was disgusting. She liked leaves, vegetables, and fruits more.
Her feet were guided by the sense of familiarity that kept getting stronger and stronger as she got closer.
Then she found wooden constructs and the mammalians that lived inside them. They bore her semblance, although the skin was different in color and they covered it up using rags. Their hair was different too.
When she laid eyes on one among them, she knew that one was the source of her familiarly.
She observed her kin was making little kids in the field, tending them lovingly and showering them with water of love. It brought warm feelings in her chest.
Ah, her kin also had the ‘voice’. How extraordinary.
Her kin also seemed close to the… other two-legged animals. She vaguely remembered they were called humans? No matter. Since she was trespassing, she decided to not harm her kin’s ‘pets’.
She wanted to get closer and make contact but felt shy. In the hope of building a cordial relationship with her kin, she decided to give that person a gift. The dryad felt her kin was kind of withered. Not vibrant and brimming with vitality unlike her and everyone in her place. Her kin was injured!
Later that day, when the big ball of white in the sky had died, she snuck into her kin’s field and planted a seed filled with her life force. It made her weaker and hollow but it didn't matter. She could go back to her place and fill herself up again.
She hoped her kin would be happy when a part of her grew tomorrow, and eat her flesh with affection.
She went back to her place then slept in anticipation of tomorrow.
But when she came out the next day, the surroundings changed. Plants grew uncontrollably and chaotically.
She messed up her kin’s place.
The crack that she slipped out from was the cause and she couldn't close it. She panicked but not long after, her kin showed up.
He, yes, he was a ‘he’ while she was a ‘she’. Her kin was a male while she was a female and males were delicious.
She wondered why such a thought suddenly popped up in her head but that didn't matter now.
He looked wary… ooh, she had made a bad first impression.
She hoped her kin wouldn't be too angry.