Chapter 807: Chapter 807: Plans For the Future
Kain stood amid the wreckage of his once-pristine backyard, the artificial lake’s serene waters lapping gently at the shore behind him, a stark contrast to the chaos in the clearing. The Lotus of Silent Law pulsed faintly from its submerged position, casting a subtle, calming glow over the water that seemed to quiet the ambient spiritual fluctuations in the air. But even its tranquil influence couldn’t erase the frustration etched on Kain’s face as he surveyed the damage brought by the Vespid guards’ sparring session.
The Scaled DragonFruit Tree, a rare and expensive specimen he’d painstakingly acquired for its potent fruits with regenerative properties (which when fed to Queen further strengthened the healing properties of her Royal Jelly), now stood as a withered husk, its once-vibrant leaves browned and curled like forgotten parchment.
Its trunk, thick and scaled like a dragon’s hide, was pierced by a stray stinger, the point where Guard Two had lodged it to fuel its Rapid Life Siphon. The tree’s spiritual essence had been drained dry, leaving behind a skeletal frame that creaked mournfully in the night breeze. Nearby, other spiritual plants suffered similar fates: a cluster of Moonbloom Vines lay tangled and desiccated, their luminescent flowers dimmed forever; a patch of Vitality Herbs, meant to bolster his contracts’ endurance, was trampled and siphoned, reduced to brittle stems scattered across the grass.
Kain’s jaw tightened as he calculated the losses. Financially, replacing these would cost a small fortune—hundreds of thousands to maybe even millions of CD, not to mention the time to source them. Strategically, it was worse; these plants were key to his long-term plans for the variety of beneficial effects of Queen’s honey to increase. He was even considering coming up with some commercial products utilizing the honey to be sold alongside his beer or selling limited time spiritual beers with special effects…
He mentally reprimanded Guard Two, the culprit behind the most egregious destruction, though he knew it wasn’t malice—just instinctual use of its enhanced abilities without regard for the environment.
“This can’t happen again,” Kain muttered to himself, his voice low and edged with resolve. He knelt by the DragonFruit Tree, running a finger along the puncture wound, feeling the faint residual life-wind energy lingering like a mocking echo. To prevent future incidents, he decided to construct a reinforced training ground within the estate’s outer defensive array. It would be a dedicated arena, lined with energy-absorbing barriers and dummy targets designed to withstand high-level skills. He did have the training arena inside the system and access to the College’s training facilities. However, Bridge, Gabriel, the Orphanage Director, and his growing siblings will soon need their own places to practice using their contracts at home. Perhaps he’d incorporate some of the special stone and the Dwarves’ craftsmanship from Pangea…
For now, though, he’d issue strict boundaries for sparring: no targeting non-combatants, including his precious plants.
As he rose, Kain glanced back at the lake, he noted the Lotus’s ongoing effects; Queen’s HiveField felt more defined, its emerald haze subtly expanding and solidifying, hinting at her soon being able to form a fledgling domain. Yet, he knew she’d hit a roadblock soon before she managed to cross that bridge to a fledgling domain, limited by her green-grade spiritual power. True domains, even fledgline ones, required blue-grade spiritual power at minimum; this was just a promising start.
Shifting his attention, Kain turned to the sixth Vespid Sentinel, the mutated newcomer that had emerged from Queen’s hive with a sleepy pulse in his star space. He’d nicknamed it “Twin Sting,” the first time he’d given a guard a distinct name beyond the numerical designations of One, Two, Three, etc. For now, he commanded Twin Sting to integrate with the others, watching as it joined their formation with a sleepy chitter, its aggressive confidence emerging only when provoked.
With the immediate aftermath of the sparring addressed, Kain’s thoughts drifted to the rewards from the College for his National Tournament performance. He’d already utilized three: the ‘Veil of the Hidden Star’ spiritual skill, now mastered by himself, the Director, Gabriel, and even Bridge to conceal their anomalous spiritual signatures from prying eyes like Airalai’s; the ‘Amber sealed scarab,’ integrated into Queen’s evolution to grant her the mythical Khepri lineage and enhanced abilities; and the ‘Lotus of Silent Law,’ now blooming in the lake to aid domain comprehension. But the fourth item—the dried-up root from the Broken Gallery, that dusty “prestigious” collection Professor Mires had hyped as a test of discernment—remained unexplored.
The root, brown and brittle, lay in his palm, its faint resonance tugging at something deep within him, echoing the pulse of the World Tree on Pangea. He’d felt it during selection, a subtle heartbeat syncing with his own, reminiscent of the Tree’s ancient vitality. Curiosity burned; if it was connected, it could unlock new potentials for Pangea. Deciding to investigate, Kain retreated to a quiet corner of the estate, entering his star space and shifting his consciousness to the inner world.
Kain materialized in the familiar glade of Pangea, the air thick with spiritual energy that immediately invigorated him. But as his senses adjusted, shock rippled through him. Follow current novᴇls on NovᴇlFirᴇ(.)nᴇt
The environment had transformed dramatically since his last visit. The World Tree loomed even taller, its massive trunk a pillar of gold-veined bark reaching into the sky so high that the canopy was partially concealed by clouds. Of the leaves lower down and visible to the naked eye, its canopy was lush and like an umbrella of shimmering golden leaves threaded with jade-green veins, filtering sunlight into a mosaic of warm, ethereal light.
The ground was a lush carpet of vibrant moss, interspersed with blooming spiritual plants—flowers with petals that glowed softly, vines heavy with luminous fruits, and herbs releasing fragrant mists that enhanced cultivation. The air hummed with vitality, denser and more potent, as if the Tree’s influence had deepened, fostering an ecosystem bursting with life. Birds with iridescent feathers flitted through the branches, and small spiritual creatures scampered in the undergrowth, drawn to the Tree’s nurturing aura.
But Kain’s gaze wasn’t focused on any of that. It was immediately drawn to an unfamiliar presence toward the east.