Reborn as a Demonic Sunflower - 011 (Patreon)

Haylock watched in shock at what Nini and Mimi were doing to his rabbit, Fufu.  The creature was covered in scars that were healing nicely as the women both took turns using their chi to heal him.  Mimi continued to guide Nini, instructing and showing as the young girl’s skin was covered in a sheen of sweat, obviously overwhelmed by the work and effort required to heal Fufu.

His attention was drawn to the creature his roots were invading.  A monster that looked like something out of a bad sci-fi film lay at the base of his roots.  Giant claws were on the crab-like creature, and Haylock couldn’t understand how the women had defeated such a thing.  Its body looked like someone had cooked it and then cracked it at an all-you-can-eat crab-fest.  

Power resided inside the cooling monster’s corpse, and Haylock's lips, if he had any, were about to salivate at the knowledge of what Chi it held.

“You are done.  Outstanding work, Nini,” Mimi praised the young girl.  “Now take it inside our house and feed it something.  I’m not sure if it will prefer vegetables or meat, but I have no doubt it will let you know.”

Slowly rising to her feet, Nini nodded, wiping the sweat from her face before taking the pink rabbit, which appeared to be sleeping, from her grandmother’s hands.

After the two of them were gone, Mimi’s eyes turned from the shed door that had just slid shut and focused on Haylock.

“I’m not sure what that rabbit is, but I owe you,” Mimi said quietly. “It defeated two monsters coming for Nini’s chi on its own. A feat like that… is not one most can ever hope for. Tell me, do you know how strong it is?”

Haylock shook his flower and watched as the old woman frowned, standing up slowly and wincing as she did.  

“Whatever you summoned, I cannot get any indication of its strength. The chi it possesses is hidden.  Yet what I saw from the carnage it left behind…” She paused and pointed at the corpse Haylock was currently breaking down.  “Most cultivators could never do that with their bare hands.  Someone of the seventh rank or above could, but even then, they wouldn’t risk the injury for such a death.  Instead, they would have killed it with their power.”

She clasped her hands behind her back and wore that frown Haylock had come to figure out was a sign she was deep in thought.

Minutes passed by, and Haylock continued to switch his focus between her and the monster, who had a sweet taste to it.

Wait… I can taste it?

A hint of flavor had indeed come through his roots, the nutrients, and blood that he was getting.

“Look at me!” Mimi said, snapping her fingers.  “We need to focus now on the next part.  That chi inside you moves slowly, like sap from a tree that has been punctured.  It isn’t your chi and hasn’t been transformed to what you use.”

She took her finger and tapped her core, tracing a flow of chi that he could see out to her hand and back to her center.  

“You need to make it move as fast as mine, if not faster.  That means you need to spend whatever time you have right now focused on moving it through your body.  As it sits inside you, the power will need to be moved around in a circle, letting your own life and chi mesh with it.  Send it out, draw it back in. Let it absorb what you are.  In time, you will convert all of it to your own.”

Her hand flicked, and a finger moved quickly.  Chi left it, and Haylock followed where it had gone.

Across the few yards where the monster was at his feet, a small line of purple blood came and formed into a tiny ball before her.  Her fingers moved slightly, and it twisted around in the air, splitting in half and then spinning like one of those yin-yang things he had seen on Earth.

“This blood is part of that creature's life force. It is filled with chi.  As you see this image now, you must find a way to control the chi outside you.  My knowledge is limited, but the blood I put inside you as a seedling that I immersed you in was rare.  Since the day I first chose to undertake this path, you have been given a cultivation power most wouldn’t imagine possessing.  The few who do… are either feared beyond everything or worshiped as a god.”

A flick of her finger sent the ball of blood back onto the ground near his roots, and Mimi stretched, the sounds of a few cricks coming over the silent garden.

“If you will excuse me, I need to start harvesting the other creature.  Inside your treat is a core.  Find it and absorb it.  We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Haylock watched as the older woman, the one who had nurtured him since he was a seedling in this world, limped toward the shed. He could see her exhaustion. The light that normally shone brightly was now dim, showing her chi was less, most likely expended as she raced after Nini.  

As the door slid shut, Haylock focused on the corpse covered with his roots. Over half of it was already under the soil of his stem.

A core… like one of those balls of light?

Searching through the monster’s corpse, Haylock’s roots dug around inside until they found what he had expected: an actual ball of power. His root tapped the core, and it felt hard and warm. Gently, he let his root expand, the tip of it surrounding the ball that was no more than half an inch wide. When it entered his root and began to move toward his stem, Haylock shuddered.

Power like the one he had gotten from the man filled him, but this was different. It was primal and raw, unfocused. This core had more potential, and in a moment, Haylock realized that it would take less time to make this chi his than what he had tasted before.

Closing his eyes, even though he didn’t need to, Haylock focused on the ball of chi moving deeper into his being and began to try and mimic what he had seen Mimi and Nini do.

The sun was already down when Haylock got the notification he had been waiting for

Consumed +100 Chi

Consumed +300 SC

.His glowing eyes opened, and in the dim light of the quarter moon, Haylock gazed upon the world around him.  

I’m becoming a badass! Like one of those heroes in a comic book!

Closing his eyes, Haylock let the chi move through his body, finding sleep in a way he had long since gotten used to.  

-----

RePlant System Active

Day: 57

Daily System Credit: 1

Consumed Credit: 558

[Spend Credit?]

The amount of credits he had gained was impossible to imagine.  So many creatures died by his roots yesterday, and after the monster Mimi had brought him, he felt full of power and energy.

Status

[Demonic Shoot (Age: 1 Month)]

[Chi Power: 4th Stage] 351

Skills:

• {Absorb [C]}

• {Basic Sight [C]}

• {Basic Chi Sense [F]}

• {Polyglot [C]}

• {Improved Sight[A]}

• {Basic Hearing[F]}

• {Deeper Roots[E]}

• {Enhanced Growth[E]}

• {Combatative Roots[D]}

• {Luring Scent [E]}

• {Expanded Domain [C]}

• {Demonic Companion [B]} - Fufu (Rank Unknown)

His mind felt clear, and the sounds of birds not actually trying to steal his life's blood filled the garden and area around him.  Drawing his vision to the improved version, he looked down from a mile in the sky, watching as the sun cast shadows from the mountains on both sides.

A slight movement caught his eye, and Haylock noticed that five people were coming from the north and running along the trail at a quick pace. They ran faster than anyone he had ever seen on Earth and moved faster than Mimi had yesterday when running toward Nini.

On the western mountain, birds were leaping from trees in a pattern that Haylock recognized as one where something was happening under the trees.  He couldn’t see through the thick, dense forest, but as he watched the mountain for a bit, his mind solved the question he had.

Something is coming this way… 

Focusing on the western side of the mountains, Haylock scanned the trees, but the giant cliff off to the side, with its massive rock face, showed nothing coming from there. He could see a few giant caves off to the west, though they appeared tiny to him right now with his limited vision. Yet anything that wanted to come from that side would have to take a longer approach.

How can I warn the others? 

Trying to figure out what to do, Haylock watched the house where Nini and Mimi lived.  Their small place had no sound or movement yet, and he could imagine that both of them were tired from the day before.  No smoke rose from the tiny chimney, which meant they hadn’t even started breakfast yet.

Think… think… what can I do.. Fufu!

Still trying to figure out how to communicate, even if it was possible, Haylock tried every trick he could think of.  All the movies and shows he had ever watched flooded his mind, and he imagined a connection between him and that pink bunny.

Fufu! I need you, Fufu! Wake up, bunny Fufu!

Feeling like a fool, Haylock continued those words about twenty more times before the house door slid open, and the pink rabbit began to race across the property.

Behind it was Nini in her nightgown and Mimi, whose hair was going in one hundred different directions as she fastened her robe.

Then, the realization of the next problem hit Haylock.

How the hell am I going to tell them what I see?!