Reborn as a Demonic Sunflower - 022 (Patreon)

[Choose a skill to acquire]

[Demonic Seedlings{D}]

[Seed Cultivation{D}]

Can I really have a family of miniature me?  Would they be able to move also?

The first thought overwhelmed Haylock as he tried to imagine the area between the mountains filled with miniature versions of him.  The idea of thousands of Haylock juniors covering the landscape, devouring every creature they came across, sent chills up his stem.

That also might get me in trouble… How would the local populace react when they saw that?  I know I’m not able to fight against those like the man Racha mentioned.

Thinking about Xkarn being stage nine and so close to some massive stage that Mimi had mentioned a few times scared him.  If that man felt the need to come here himself, what chance would he stand?

Seeds cu– What would I be able to do with that?  Can I produce food to eat? Would they be worthy of the thousand-plus credits I spent?  How strong do both of these have to be in order to cost so much and still only be a D rank?

He spent the next few minutes considering those things while he surveyed the area around the property.  A sweet smell drifted across it to the south, and focusing his vision in that direction, Haylock saw a pile of chi monsters stacked up near the tree line.  They appeared to be rotting and had been covered up by dirt, trying to mask the amazing scent they provided.

His roots that were over there immediately went into action, surging toward the pile and digging into the corpses.  Haylock couldn’t help as he started moving himself that way, only stopping when he noticed the damage he had caused to the ground he had been resting in.

Letting his roots do what they naturally wanted to do, the sensation of the first root that impaled a corpse and started draining the putrid blood inside tasted amazing.  He didn’t sense any chi inside them, but that was okay; he was starving.

Back to the task… Mimi almost died trying to absorb my chi.  Would I be able to do anything with those seeds to help them grow stronger?

While choosing between the two skill options, the sound of a tiny shriek of joy and the sensation that Fufu was coming toward him interrupted his thoughts. Haylock saw Nini and his slightly larger pink rabbit coming toward him.  Nini looked elated, and as the girl made her way to him, Mimi appeared in the doorway of their house, wiping her hands off a towel before moving to join them.

“Flower! You are huge!  Grandmother says you are at the same stage she is now!  I hit stage four also!”

Words came forth like a tidal wave from Nini, whose hands moved almost as fast as her lips, trying to catch him up on everything he had missed in the days since he evolved.

“... and we killed at least eight more chi monsters, but you were not eating them, so we put them over there,” Nini said, pointing toward the pile his roots were currently digging through. “And Mr. Bunny has gotten stronger too! He is amazing to watch when he fights those monsters!”

“Nini!”

The excited girl turned and saw Mimi giving her a slight scowl. Feeling the gaze of her grandmother's narrowed eyes, she quickly went silent.

“Forgive her, my pet,” the older woman said with a grin.  “She has been anxiously awaiting your return.  Every day, she dropped a monster at the base of you, hoping those roots would consume it, but each morning, they were rotten and still here.  Now tell me, have you reached stage six?”

Haylock moved his flower up and down, feeling its weight as he did. There was so much more mass to move. His flower wasn’t just wider but thicker as well.

“Excellent!” Mimi exclaimed.  “I can see you are eating and that you have grown by leaps and bounds.  I can only imagine what you will become as you get stronger.  In a day or two, you should venture into the forest and see if you can fight against these monsters on your own.”

If he could have blinked, Haylock would have.  

She wants me to enter the forest and fight?!  I mean… 

Stopping the fear that had seized him, Haylock realized he was supposed to be as powerful as Mimi. He had size, strength, and armor. Looking at Fufu and having heard the praise that Nini gave his familiar, surely he could at least fight one or two.

Moving his head again made the older grin.  

“Tomorrow then, after you rest and have fed upon that rotten pile of beasts.  I’ll go out with you and Nini, and we can see how you perform in a fight.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and moved back toward the house, humming a tune that brought back great memories of meals with her.

“We’re going to fight in the forest! Together!” Nini squealed after her grandmother was back in the house.  “The four of us! This is going to be great!”

She bent down and picked up Fufu, holding him between her hands while she spun in circles and laughed.  After about five spins, she set Fufu down, and the rabbit wobbled slightly to one side.

“Ok, I need to meditate and work on the chi I have inside me! Don’t mind me, but grandmother has been hard to please after you grew like you did.”

With that, the girl turned and ran off, leaving Fufu to look up at Haylock.

You look larger, though I’m unsure if it’s muscle or fat.  Thank you for watching over those two.  

The pink demonic terror, also known as Fufu, grunted and sat there, his red eyes still upward, studying the massive flower.

Not wanting to play a staring game with a rabbit he doubted ever blinked, Haylock went back to his previous decision.

If I’m going to be fighting in the forest, than the first choice might be the best one.  I could possibly create see– Other things out there.  I guess the real problem is, what does that get me?  Will I gain chi if they kill something?  Does it cost me chi to create them? 

Lifting his vine till the tip was against his face, Haylock gently rubbed it against the tips of the seeds that were packed tightly against his face.  Some were hard, others were massive, while a few felt tiny, wedged between the massive gaps.

I’m going to hate myself if this is a waste, but I’d rather be useful if possible.  I owe Mimi and Nini that. I choose Seed Cultivation.

[Unlocked Seed Cultivation[D] skill]

[Access Seed Cultivation and choose what to cultivate]

How the hell do I access seed cultivation?

Those words in his mind brought up a window in his view.  A dark green screen showed different options.

[Seed Cultivation]

Possible Choices of Seeds to create:

• Seed of Nourishment - 2 Chi - 2 Days

• Seed of Chi - 25 Chi - 9 days

• Seed of Poison - 5/15/30 Chi - 1/3/9 days

• Seed of Spawn (unavailable) 

• Seed of Restoration (unavailable)

• Locked

• Locked

• Locked

The menu was pretty straightforward, and Haylock wondered what they did.  As if he had selected a help option or something, words began to appear beside them.

[Seed Cultivation]

• Seed of Nourishment—When eaten, the seed provides an animal or person with all the nutrients needed for twenty-four hours. It also provides a 10% bonus to all cultivation techniques for twenty-four hours.

• Seed of Chi—The Seed provides twenty points of wild chi that have no affinity. It can be absorbed and transformed at a rapid rate, and the absorption and transformation process is boosted by 10% for three days.

• Seed of Poison—Creates a Seed with three different tiers of poison.  The meat of the seed can be used to poison food, drink, or simply ingested.  Depending on the tier selected will have different effects.  

I guess the others don’t show up since I can’t create them.  That means I just need to decide what I might want to try and create first.

Realizing Haylock had no idea what his current chi was, he decided to check before choosing something to cultivate.

Status.

[Demonic Shoot (Age: 2 Months)]

[Chi Power: 6th Stage] 49

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) - Able to Summon

• {Demonic Fighting Mode [C]}

• {Empowered Body[D]}

• {Seed Cultivation[D]}

What the hell happened to all my chi?! Did the evolution really take all of it?

Flustered, Haylock slammed a vine into the ground absently and saw a massive furrow appear after the dust and dirt he sent flying settled down.  The noise had been louder than he had anticipated, and Mimi poked her head out of the door a few seconds later.

“If you break something, I’ll hurt you!” she shouted while shaking a fist at Haylock before going back into the house.

I really can’t afford to do much besides make a seed of nourishment.

[Seed of Nourishment - Select how many to cultivate (1-24)]

No! Cultivate 0!

[Seed of Nourishment - Select how many to cultivate (1-24)]

I swear… if I ever meet who made this damn thing, I’m going to eat them alive!  One.

[Seed of Nourishment - Cultivation Begun - 2 Days remaining]

Frustrated, Haylock let his anger go and stared at the rest of his status stuff. He really wanted to acquire another familiar but wasn’t sure when the best moment would be. The last time had brought problems, and he needed more chi if he was going to even attempt it.

A loud, continuous string of chittering noises came from Fufu, who was on his back, rolling from side to side.

It’s laughing at me…