Reborn as a Demonic Sunflower - 016 (Patreon)

RePlant System Active

Day: 58

Daily System Credit: 1

Consumed Credit: 967

[Spend Credit?]

The choice was easy as Haylock woke up early, right as the sun started to show itself. There was more credit to spend at this moment than ever before.  He wondered what one thousand might get him, but after checking on the area, he knew the people coming from the east were. Only a few hours remained until they arrived.

Spend Credit!

[Credits spent successfully, 968 credits spent]

[Choose a skill to acquire]

[Empowered Body{D}]

[Enhanced Growth{C}]

Grumbling to himself, Haylock wasn’t sure how to feel about those two choices.  Neither was what he had hoped for.  The option to shoot seeds would have been fantastic, or perhaps the ability to make seedlings or something else.

A vision of a forest filled with tiny versions of him made Haylock smile.

So, one will make me grow faster, and it is two ranks above the current one I have. What kind of growth would that give me? Twenty feet tall? Bigger? Would that make me too big of a target? And after fighting that one guy with the sword, having a stronger body would help.

Weighing the options, it came down to what would help right now.

Empowered Body.

[Unlocked Empowered Body[D] skill]

He would have cried out from the sensation pouring through his entire body and every root he owned.

[Using Chi to Empower Current Body]

The sensation of energy and electricity flowed through him as the chi inside his core began to rush out in every direction.  It was like he felt flushed, tingling sensations of awesomeness one feels when watching the climax of a movie when the hero is about to save the day.

Holy hell!

Cracking noises came, and Haylock used his Basic sight to watch as his body changed. His stem started to grow what looked like armor. Thick pieces of tiny vines began to wrap themselves around him, running all the way up to his flower. His roots felt thicker and tougher, like their skin had tripled in thickness.

Waving his vines around, Haylock could see that more prominent thorns had sprouted, and there was more weight to everything.

I’m a badass!

Lost in the moment of self-appreciation, Haylock spent a few moments testing out the changes he was feeling.  The roots were able to move faster and with more force through the ground.  They were now at least twice as fast as they had been yesterday and were brimming with a power that he knew came from the chi inside him.

A noise and presence entered his vision, and Haylock spotted Fufu coming out of the tent behind him.  The pink rabbit’s eyes seemed to widen as it stared at the monstrosity before it.  Chittering noises came, and Haylock shook his flower, unable to understand what was being said.

“What is it?” 

Nini came out of the tent, a dagger in hand, blinking her eyes to wake up. She stumbled when her eyes fell on Haylock and his new appearance.

“Flower… you have grown! I can see the chi around you!”

Her wide eyes and slightly opened mouth followed him as she slowly moved to his front side.

“Grandmother told me you were special, but this is insane… How can the heavens give this much power to a plant?”

Haylock ignored her doubt about his greatness and instead pointed a vine at the tent.

“She is better,” Nini said, grimacing slightly. “It will still be a few days before she wakes up. How soon will the others arrive?”

Drawing two massive furrows in the dirt, Haylock watched as Nini scowled.

“Two hours?”

Moving his flower up and down, Haylock pointed in the direction they would most likely come from.

Sighing, Nini nodded and started messing with the ring she had taken off the dismembered hand.  Pulling a pouch out, Haylock saw the chi inside it.  

“I’m going to take one of these and meditate.  Let me know when they are close.”

After swallowing one, Nini saw Fufu sitting on the ground near her feet.  

“Here you go, Mr. Bunny! Maybe this will help you,” Nini said as she bent down and put the other wild chi orb before Fufu. 

Without waiting a moment, the pink fur ball swallowed the whole thing like a pro.

Laughing, Nini sat near the base of Haylock’s stem and folded herself into a pretzel.

“Remember, shake me before they get here.”

Fufu moved to where she was and jumped into her lap. The two of them faced Haylock with their eyes closed.

That’s creepy as heck… Now, what am I going to do until those other people arrive?

Considering the options before him, Haylock decided he would prepare for a fight, shifting most of his roots toward the area around him and where the people coming this way would most likely enter.

All I can do now is watch and wait.

Haylock pushed Nini multiple times with his vine, hoping he wouldn’t hurt her.  After about the seventh time, the girl opened her eyes and groaned.

“I was so close… I could feel the chi moving how I wanted,” Nini stated as she lifted Fufu from her lap and set him on the ground.  “Maybe in a few more days, I’ll be able to break through that barrier and reach the next level.  Now, how much time do we have, Flower?”

Sighing inside and wishing he had spelled out his name while the girl had meditated, Haylock drew five lines on the ground.  The group was moving faster and it appeared there were four total.  

Two looked stronger than the others. Haylock had spotted them as they got closer through the trees.  The ones that seemed to be glowing were actually struggling while the other two men ran with ease.

“Five minutes… We need to protect Mimi.  Think you can do that?”

His flower moved up and down, and Haylock felt something coming from Fufu.  The rabbit seemed stronger, and the tiny thread that connected them felt slightly thicker.

I wonder what happens if he eats a bunch of those orbs… 

The noise of birds complaining at someone entering their space caught their attention as a large group of those black birds he hated took off from trees to the east.  Whoever it was coming at them, they were almost there.

Nini stood there, knife in hand, as she watched the two disciples, a man and a woman, both covered in sweat, standing slightly apart and moving slowly toward her.  The fear on their faces as their eyes never left Haylock had Nini grinning from ear to ear.

“You need to leave!” Nini yelled out, drawing the attention of the two, who were taking deep breaths, trying to regain their composure.

“Now, why would we do that?”

Nini froze as the voice she heard traveled across the courtyard.  Kode came out of the trees and behind him was his bastard of a brother Racha.

“Tell me, Nini. Where is that grandmother of yours? Surely, she hasn’t ascended to her final resting place.”

Kode’s tone grated against Nini’s nerves, and she scowled at the young man, pointing her dagger at him.

“This is my home! To come here uninvited is an affront I will not stand! Leave, or I’ll make sure that you’ll never make it over the mountain.”

Laying his head back and laughing so loud it carried across the open space, Kode shook his head, letting the long braid swing side to side against his back.

“Please, we both know you aren’t even in the fourth stage.  You’re no threat to me, let alone not the two disciples with me.”

“Be careful, brother,” Racha whispered as he moved closer to Kode.  “That flower behind her isn’t normal, and the chi and aura it gives off is dangerous.”

Waving his brother’s comment off with a hand, Kode moved forward, deliberately closing the distance between Nini and himself.  

“Is that flower behind you what caused the rift in the chi here? I must say, I didn’t expect anything like that to be here.”

The young man stroked his chin like he was thinking about how to solve every problem in the universe.  He mimicked the motions he had seen countless times on the older cultivators when they studied something new.

“It belongs to my family,” Nini replied.  Pointing her dagger at him, she scowled.  “I’m not going to repeat this, but you will leave or die!”

Kode shook his head, and the lack of concern that had been etched across his face was gone. He was replaced with a frown and scrunched brows.

“Do you realize that there isn’t any chance you can win against me, let alone with my brother and the other two?” Kode asked, snorting afterward. “Perhaps you might be willing to serve me… Maybe you could prove your worth. If not, I guess you might just end up a pill furnace like your mother.”

Nini screamed, and the dagger she had been holding was in the air, racing toward Kode’s chest.

A stone pillar rose from the ground as the man shifted his foot slightly, and her blade ran into it, falling backward to the ground.

“So be it,” he growled.  “Just remember, I’ll make sure you suffer far worse than you can imagine.”