Gladesbale Grove Book 3 - Chapters 31,32,33 (Patreon)

Chapter 31

A Fine Stance to Take

Rud’s wings caught a powerful updraft, keeping him aloft as he sailed through the sky with Nulsa. They scanned the landscape below. It was an area dotted by the pale light from the shattered moons, but their vision was drawn from magical sources. Spots of heightened magical density flared in the druid’s vision, and he felt the thrill of soaring through the sky mingle with the excitement of discovery.

The area to the west of the grove was notable for sprawling rocky hills and minor mountains that dotted the landscape. This was the home of the orcs, or so he had been told. Since the adventurers’ retreat, the monsters had scattered back to their mountain homes, not daring to venture into the grove itself. Whether they were aware of the pass to the south was beyond Rud. If the orcs knew about that passage, they weren’t using it, and it was certain there were more areas they could use to get through to the north.

“Below, do you see that collection of magical energy near those scattered tents?” Nulsa asked. “Those are our orcs.”

“Really? They don’t look like a formidable force,” Rud said.

Below were four tents made from little more than hides of animals gathered around a small fire that had reduced to embers. Rud could only count three or four orcs below, but at such a distance, it was hard to see.

“That is likely a scouting party,” Nulsa said, banking to one side. Rud followed after so as not to fall outside of speaking range. They got a better view of the area below, and the well-trodden paths the Orcs used became clearer. They led deeper into this particular mountain range, which was about ten miles from the grove. The druid wasn’t so sure of his ability to judge distance from above. “Just like the mortals, the orcs contend with dungeons. They are unlike the creatures generated from dungeons in that they roam the surface. That doesn’t make them any less dangerous, and they are still classified as monsters by the system.”

Rud thought he should be more tired from the day’s labor, but his ever-increasing attributes, particularly Vigor, meant that he had to sleep less. It was an amazing boon he would take every advantage of. The pair banked to the side again, wrapping around the mountain and flying a few miles north. Beyond the mountain north of the scouting camp they had just observed was an open plain dotted with lakes and rivers snaking here and there. The most notable thing was the larger gathering of orcs.

“Here we have their main force,” Nulsa said, hooting as they dove to get a better look. “It seems as though their numbers have been diminished from the efforts of the adventurers, so that’s a good thing. But still, there are quite a lot.”

The owl wasn’t kidding. Where before he had seen four tents, there was now a sprawl near a lake. Perhaps one to two hundred tents, with various fires arranged all around. There was no structured defense of the area, but sentries had been posted outside the camp. They looked up as the duo flew over. There was an intelligence in them that was unsettling, and Rud wasn’t certain what to think about it yet. He had to remind himself they were mindless monsters that would attack the Grove given the chance.

The camp sprawled on for a bit until it ended near the foot of another small mountain. Nulsa claimed there was nothing interesting north of that, but still, they flew. It was, of course, the easiest way to travel in this world. They moved at a steady clip and were unimpeded by obstacles, making their journey very simple. A mundane bird might move at the speed of a slow-moving car, but with attributes? Rud’s Strength, Dexterity, Agility, and Vigor worked in concert to have him zipping through the sky like a fighter jet.

The duo eventually slowed their pace and circled around a forested area. Rud had lost count of the distance and gave up, settling on the idea that it was about 20 to 30 minutes north of the camp. The forest was dense, but not overly so. Instead, the trees were spaced, and between the gaps in the canopy, he could spot the faintest signature of animal life below.

“This is to remind you that our little world is indeed small,” Nulsa said. “Perhaps there will be a day when Gladesbale Grove covers the continent, but for now, we are a pocket of power, and we need to understand what that means.”

Rud thought he understood what Nulsa was talking about, but the implication was that he was saying they needed to grow the grove bigger; otherwise, they couldn’t weather the storm when it finally came. His first instinct was to be frightened by the prospect. He had never been a fighter and had no desire to start now, but then again, he didn’t need to fight, did he? The only thing the druid truly needed to do was to spread the Grove. Then everything else would take care of itself. If the Grove was powerful enough and they had a good amount of allies, they would be just fine.

“I think we have this under control,” Rud said after a long pause as they circled above the forest below. Both of them craned their necks occasionally to see what kind of animals were living below. “Think about the progress we’ve made so far. How quickly we’ve accomplished it doesn’t really matter. What matters is how we’ve done it. But we’re here, aren’t we? We’re uniting the other Groves.”

“And that’s a fine stance to take,” Nulsa said. “Just so long as you understand the magnitude of it.”

Rud’s life was mostly one of making sure everybody had what they needed and making tea. He wasn’t sure if there was much magnitude for him to consider, but he shrugged. The owl was trying to prepare him for a future he wasn’t sure would come, but it was inspirational to him. It was a way to focus on the things he could improve. At the top of that list was his subclass, which was embarrassingly pathetic by this point. Although his class had reached rank one, his subclass was still stuck at rank zero. Now that he had mining at rank one, he only needed two more, which were likely going to be Farseeing and Custodianship. The druid made a promise to himself to reach that rank tomorrow. He would stop slacking.

“Did you want to see the northern coast?” Nulsa asked, breaking Rud from his thoughts. “We’re at the most narrow spot, so it isn’t far.”

“Why not?”

Although it wasn’t quite as close as Nulsa had promised, he was happy to follow the owl along to the northern coast of their island region. It was a rocky shore with a tempestuous sea breaking against it, unlike the coast on the southern side. This one was turbulent. It wouldn’t make for a very good beach day. He understood why this wasn’t the favored landing spot for people from the mainland.

“And how big is this place? I thought it was a continent,” Rud said. “I guess people have told me it’s an island…”

“It’s quite a lot longer than it is wide,” Nulsa said. The duo were now making their way back to the Grove, taking the northern approach this time. That would allow them to pass over the Dwarven Homes, which were a whole other can of worms to consider.

From what Rud understood, the Dwarves had homes in the mountains, but those homes were connected to each other by a series of tunnels. Their underground cities were legendary and spanned to the north. Through massive underground thoroughfares, there were likely entire cities beneath them for all he knew. With a steady wind blowing from the north, they made good time back to the Grove. That was the thing about being in bird form. His ability to travel swiftly depended on the currents, and this one was quite favorable. Of course, with a limited duration that also meant landing for a little break before recasting the spell.

“Hopefully this was enlightening,” Nulsa said.

Rud shifted into his true form outside of his mushroom house, leaning against his staff. His arms were dead tired. “Yeah, thanks. Now I just wanna curl up and sleep forever.”

Without a word, Nulsa flew off. When Rud entered his home, he was unsurprised to find that Jasper was curled up in his fox form before the fire. He didn’t even stir as the druid entered, allowing him to slip into his bed unnoticed. But although he was exhausted from the flight and all the information that now weighed heavily on his mind, Rud couldn’t get to sleep. He thought about all the things he needed to do to ensure the grove’s future. There was a lot of hard work ahead of him, and he was willing to do it. The first thing was getting his subclass to Rank 1. Next came expanding the grove further than it had ever gone before. He expected Ban to jump quite a few ranks, and that was already within the plan. But she would jump a few more than anticipated if things worked out.

A few minutes of Rud thinking about his plans and he was out.

Jasper’s eye cracked open as he dispelled the illusion attached to the druid. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Hard to protect you if you go so far away,” the fox grumbled to himself, getting more comfortable by the fire.

***

Rud wasted no time the next morning. He woke up on time and made his way to the observatory right away, where he initially made his report but then remained within the tower. His skill had already been ready to roll over, and there was a fair amount of observation to do. It felt like taking care of two problems at the same time. He scanned for the errant dungeons, making note that a few more had cropped up despite predictions.

It didn’t take long at all for the message to appear. A flood of power washed through Rud’s body as his Farseeing skill tipped over to Rank 1.

[Rank Up!]

You’ve performed enough actions with your Farseeing skill to gain a new rank!

Farseeing is now Rank 1, empowering the skill even further…

Your Farseeing skill has reached a milestone! Please select from the following upgrades…

Rud wanted to take his time picking an upgrade for this skill. It was one of the most useful skills he had, and finding the exact right upgrade would make a huge difference. He thumbed through the available skills, dismissing those that wouldn’t be very useful for him. After narrowing it down to a small list, he eventually made his pick. All this was done while Maria chatted away on the radio. She was bothering him to send her some provisions, which he had planned on doing. But now he might make her wait a few days…

The druid summoned the skill for one last inspection before he selected it.

[Intense Gaze]

Farseeing Upgrade

Description:

None shall escape your gaze.

Effect:

Expending mana allows you to increase the power of your Farseeing.

Your ability to detect objects, entities, etc that would otherwise escape your sight increases depending on the amount of mana you put into this upgrade.

At first, this wasn’t something that Rud planned to pick until he began thinking about it. Because his attributes were rising so quickly, he would have a larger-than-normal pool of mana to draw from. Given the problem they were having with the hidden dungeons, he figured this would be perfect for locating them. He accepted the upgrade and took a moment to appreciate the power of a new rank.

Ranks were the best way to empower everything. A skill that achieved a new rank increased its power when he opened his magical sight. Using the power of the observatory, Rud could see further and clearer. He had a better sense of what he was looking at and what the magical energies meant. He felt the intense gaze upgrade at his call and put a tiny amount of mana into it to see what changed. Not only did things become even clearer, but he also saw dots of energy in the distance that he had missed before.

Rud dumped a full 200 mana into the upgrade, staggering back as his vision was flooded. He sifted through the information, narrowing it until he locked onto his goal. Heart hammering in his chest, his eyes went wide.

Chapter 32

One Can Dream

“What do you mean ‘hundreds’?” Nulsa asked. “Dungeons cannot escape my sight like that.”

No matter how much he didn't want it to be true, Rud couldn't deny what he saw thanks to his newest upgrade. When he had infused the mana into the upgrade, he saw a flurry of colors that made no sense. Only after narrowing his intent down to that of dungeons did he see hundreds of dots of light spread throughout the grove. Nulsa sat perched on the banister, hooting softly as though in concern.

“Doesn't matter how cool you think you are, I see what I see,” Rud said. “I've made note of a few of these dungeons, so let's go investigate.”

Although reluctant, Nulsa joined Rud after he shifted into his raven form and took to the skies. They took a shortcut through a nearby bush and arrived in a clearing just 500 paces from the observatory. When they landed, the druid was certain this was the spot where he had seen the magical energies. However, as he hopped around on the ground, he saw absolutely nothing.

“I told you,” Nulsa said. “My senses are keen. I would have seen if there were a dungeon here.”

Rud shook his head, extending his hands and probing the area, groping for the dungeon he knew was there. He saw what he saw, and there was no denying that it was the telltale signature of a dungeon. Those dungeons were typically set in the face of a rocky cliff or otherwise nestled among solid material. His heart skipped a beat when his hand pressed against something solid. He knocked on it, feeling his knuckles smack against solid stone.

Looking back at Nulsa, Rud raised his brows in concern. “What am I knocking on?”

The owl hopped over, reaching out with his talons to scrape against rock that wasn’t there. “This is… odd.”

“Jasper!” Rud shouted. “I need help!”

It only took the fox a moment to respond to the druid's call. He slipped from a nearby bush and made a surprised sound when he arrived. "You know, I thought I sensed the telltale presence of illusion magic here. I just couldn't sniff it out."

Rud cast a doubtful gaze at the fox, tilting his head to one side. It was hard to believe that a sacred beast as powerful as he could have missed something like this. But just as he was ready to hurl accusations, Nulsa spoke.

“There's more than just illusion magic at work here,” the owl said. “We're also dealing with a layer of obfuscating magic that hides the first layer. There might be even more after that. Perhaps we should fetch the elf.”

"I can dispel the illusion magic easily enough, but if there are more layers, we'll want an expert in the arcane arts," Jasper said with a shrug. "I can get her if you two like."

“Make sure she takes her horse,” Rud said. “Otherwise we’re going to wait here forever.”

Jasper nodded and rushed off through the nearest bush.

"Your girlfriend should simply join the grove, and she could use the Thicket Travel upgrade," Nulsa said.

"Why does everybody assume we're an item?" Rud asked, crossing his arms. "The moment a talented, handsome, and, most importantly, beefy druid talks to a woman, everyone starts spreading rumors."

"Are you denying any feelings whatsoever for the woman?" Nulsa said, tilting his head to the side in a manner only an owl could achieve.

That wasn't it at all. If Rud had to make a pick for the best girl around the Grove, he'd probably choose Elm. However, there was one factor impeding any romantic intent. “Do you think I have any time to do anything like that with how much stuff I have to do?" the druid asked. "I'm basically working from dawn till dusk without a break, and she's got her own distinct life."

“Still… One can dream.”

“How about you?” Rud asked. “I saw you talking to that badger.”

“Just a fling,” Nulsa said dismissively, hooting a laugh.

Although he wasn't the best, Rud tried his hardest to probe the invisible dungeon with his senses. He could feel something there, but it was amorphous and seemed to move out of the way when he tried to lock onto it. The presence felt sapient, almost as though it dodged each of his attempts with expert precision, bordering on intelligence. He wasn't sure what that meant, as his experience with magical things was limited.

For about a half hour, the druid tried his best to magically pierce the barrier, but it was to no avail. Eventually, he heard the thundering hooves of Daffodil crashing through the forest. Riding atop her was Elm, who wore a fierce look upon her face. In that moment, as she burst through a nearby bush with her hair waving behind her and a look of sheer determination, the druid thought that perhaps, maybe, one day…

But for now he focused on the invisible dungeon before them.

“Howdy,” Rud said. “Invisible dungeon. Me scared.”

Daffodil came to a halt, and Elm dismounted, rushing over and leading the way with her staff. Jasper came from the bush next and shifted into his beefy elven form. He struck a pose by the invisible dungeon, flexing annoyingly.

“I really don’t like that form,” Elm said, only granting sidelong glances to the fox spirit. “By the gods, what kind of magic is this?”

“Good question, magical expert,” Rud said. He switched on Clear Communication. “Daffodil, there’s a patch of clover over there if you wanna go to town.”

“Oh! Don’t mind if I do,” the deer-horse said, trotting over to a thick patch of green clovers. She got to work on them right away, eating as elegantly as a deer-horse could.

“What we got here,” Jasper said, grunting and groaning as he adjusted his flex. “Is a messed up amalgam of magic. I can dispel the illusory layer, but there’s some other stuff here.”

The difference in personality that Jasper exhibited between his sacred beast form and his elven form was drastic. Rud was certain the creature could adjust his appearance and had selected the beefy elf to impose upon others his perceived power, or perhaps it was all part of a theme in his illusion magic school. But none of this stopped Elm from getting to work right away. She withdrew magical reagents from her bag and began drawing circles on the ground, which the druid could only partially understand.

This was one of those complex, arcane spells that took a while to cast and quite a lot of mana to fuel. That meant it took Elm some time to get it started, but once she did, she hummed with excitement while drawing a notebook from a bag at her side, where she began scrolling through information. She glanced up for only a moment, narrowing her eyes at Rud. "Why is your bag pink?" she asked.

Rud swung his bag around with a bright smile on his face. "Took you long enough to notice," he said. "I got a new bag from town. Do you like it? Just needs a few keychains and a pouch or two… maybe some safety pins."

Although it took Elm a beat to answer, a warm smile eventually spread across her face. “It suits your bubbly personality,” she said, turning back to her notes and studying some unseen spell. “And I've got some very bad news about the magic here.”

“More god-tier magic?” Rud asked. “Sounds like a normal day in the Grove.”

"Although it's nothing that intense, the magic here is pretty powerful," Elm said. Clicking her tongue, “It's going to be a pain to dispel it. Jasper, you’re free to remove the first visual illusory layer. There should be five layers total.”

“Five?” Jasper asked, his muscles going slack for the first time since he shifted into his elven form. “I only counted two.”

“Perhaps you should spend less time on your muscles and more time studying,” Elm said. She held her notebook out for him to see. “This is what the arrays look like. Dispel this one and that one.”

“Wow,” Jasper said, shifting back into his fox form. “Didn’t expect to get reprimanded.”

“What, don’t want to catch another ear full?” Rud asked with a laugh. “Get to work, Muscle Man.”

Although Jasper grumbled, he did as he was told. The flash of fire spread across his coat until orbs of light sloughed off, floating into the air and then towards the invisible dungeon. It impacted some barrier, a spell he couldn't see, before that very same fire washed over it, bathing it in a glowing blue-white light. Eventually, it ate away at whatever magical layer was there, revealing a rocky outcrop and a swirling dungeon portal. The druid's intuition was to stay away from it, as there were still many magical barriers.

“There we go,” Elm said with a sunny smile. She went back to her magical arrays, poking them and infusing each with mana. “Thanks, Jasper. You disabled the visual and magical layer of the illusion. The layers beneath are now very clear. We have a physical barrier, a magical one, and another that prevents people from entering the dungeon.”

“That sounds like some seriously advanced magic,” Rud said.

“We have one advantage,” Elm said. “At first, I thought this was archmage-level magic performed by a true master. But it isn’t. This is someone or something faking it.”

“Jasper, did you do this?” Rud asked.

“I don’t even know what this is,” Jasper said with a huff. “I agree with Elm, though… Oh, hold on.”

Jasper shifted into his elven form again, but instead of appearing as a burly man with rippling muscles, he was now slight and tall, with a pair of glasses on his face and a robe draped over his shoulders. He looked much more scholarly and seemed to have a lot to say to the elf.

“Does this form suit you better?” Jasper asked, seeming both embarrassed and frustrated. “I agree with your assessment, though. This appears to be the same type of magic I would cast. In truth, I’m faking illusion magic by using my power as a sacred beast.”

"Exactly," Elm said. "You're pumping an obscene amount of mana into your willpower to create a desired effect based on your affinity for illusory concepts. You’re casting these ‘spells’ by willing them into existence. Which is impressive on its own. Well, the same thing is happening here." 

Jasper preened a bit, and he deserved it. Rud didn’t understand exactly how the fox cast his magical spells, but if it was the way Elm described it was insanely impressive.

“Which leads to a question I have,” Rud said. “What kind of thing could make this magic?”

“Whatever made the tower and labyrinth,” Elm said. “I thought it was the city below the Grove at first, but I was wrong. There was a link between it and something else, but it was shattered when the Sacred Tree infused it with her energy.”

“The plot thickens,” Rud said, rubbing his chin. “Seriously, though. What does this mean?”

“It might take me a while, but I can dismantle this spell,” Elm said. She let out a heavy sigh. “Which might be tied straight back to the city.”

Whatever it took, Rud absolutely had to get these dungeons taken care of. He would need more adventurers. Yet that presented another problem. Those adventurers had been scared off by the outworlder adventurers. Although a plan was hatching in his mind, he wasn’t sure if it would work.

“I have my work cut out for me,” Rud said. “If you guys need anything to help with your magical magic, you know where to find me.”

“I really don’t,” Elm said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Every time I try and find you, I have to walk into the forest and ask the creatures. Often they simply chitter at me for a while until Mint comes to rescue me…”

“All the more reason to join the Grove,” Rud said, chuckling.

“Yeah, maybe one day… Now leave me to my work,” Elm said, waving him away.

Chapter 33

Dennis

The discovery of a few hundred dungeons really put a wrench in the works. Rud found himself frozen after the discovery, unsure how he should proceed. Sure, he couldn’t do anything while Elm worked her magic, but he couldn’t bring himself to start. Instead, the druid stood by the base of the Sacred Tree and scratched his head.

“One foot in front of the other,” Ban said, her encouraging voice filling his mind.

“You’re about to take thirty steps,” Rud said, looking up at the branches of the tree. The blooms glittered with light, rivaling the dappled sunlight that found its way through the canopy.

“I’ll delay as long as I can,” Ban said “I’m close to a breakthrough. That’s a partial lie. I’ve already made the breakthrough. I found a way to steer this excess energy into myself, but it’ll take a while to absorb. The way you’ve been eating the dungeons inspired me.”

“Hah! Glad I could help,” Rud said. “Speaking of… Anyone care to get overpowered? We got about a billion dungeons in the Grove for me to eat.”

“Yet we have no adventurers to clear them.”

“Not true. I know a small group of plucky adventurers who would be thrilled to clear some dungeons,” Rud said, puffing his chest proudly. 

“As eager as they are, I don’t think they can clear this many dungeons.”

The tree was right, of course. A handful of adventurers wasn’t enough to take care of what they had. Rud was even assuming that the dungeons he had observed were roughly the same level as the others the adventurers had taken care of. An even larger wrench—perhaps one making a rude gesture—would be thrown into the works if that were the case.

“No worries,” Rud said, waving her concerns away. “I got this under control. Gotta get my Custodianship level up anyway, so I’ll go have a chat with our current stock of adventurers.”

“A good starting point at any rate,” Ban said. “Good luck. I’m sure everything will work out.”

It wasn’t as though Rud had left the adventurers and the southwest portion of the grove to themselves. He was keeping a close eye on them every time he went to make a report. In his observatory, they were working through the dungeons at a pace that seemed to increase every day, and they relied completely on the pathways he had etched through the tangle of trees.

Those adventurers were currently resting outside of yet another dungeon they had destroyed. However, as he counted them, he realized one was missing, and he feared the worst. The druid found the nearest bush in the sacred trees clearing, passed through it, and appeared before the adventurers, slamming his staff into the ground.

“Is everyone okay?” Rud asked, putting on his bravest voice. “Where’s that mousy woman with the pigtails?”

Each adventurer was dirty and beaten from the dungeons, but they shared a look and then smiled amongst themselves. The man in the heaviest armor was the first to answer. “She’s making a run to town,” he explained, “just dropping off our supplies before we head to the next dungeon.”

Rud relaxed in an instant, breathing a sigh of relief and nodding along, thanks to the comforting words from the adventurer. “That’s good,” he said. “I feared the worst, but I’m afraid I’ve got bad news for everybody.”

“What?” the armored guy asked.

“We have more dungeons,” Rud said, waiting for the reaction of the adventurers to register on their faces. But they just looked confused, a few even cracking smiles. “Maybe 100 or more.”

The smiles of the adventurers grew wider. Two even hugged.

“That was supposed to be bad news,” Rud reminded them.

“Sorry, great spirit,” the armored man said, bowing his head. “But you can’t present us with riches beyond our wildest dreams and expect us to be upset. We have our dungeon-clearing method down to a step-by-step process. We’re about to test something that would speed our pace of clearing significantly. Talking about two or three dungeons a day.”

“Really?” Rud asked, brightening up as he looked at the adventurers. They had earnest smiles on their faces, as though they were indeed prepared to clear so many dungeons in a day. If they could only bring in a few more teams to learn this method, things would go a lot better, as he truly wasn’t the best with matters related to mortal nature. The druid planned to lean on their expertise to understand how to proceed.

“Really,” Mr. Armor assured him.

“Are you willing to show other adventuring teams the ropes?” Rud asked, rubbing his chin. “You might be aware of the outworlders who came to tackle the tower. They scared off all the other adventurers, and now we’re left with just your party.”

“Oh, we heard of them. We just don’t care. I won’t let some person who isn’t even from this world tell me which dungeon I can and can’t clear. Yeah, you bring me some other parties, and I’ll give them the process. Just make sure they’ve got two people who can manipulate mana in their party, one stealther, and someone who can take a hit or the plan won’t work.”

“Any specific rank?”

“Rank 1. That’s all they need.”

The predatory smile on the armored adventurer’s face was everything Rud needed to see to have his worries extinguished. This dude knew what he was doing. If the boldness of his words wasn’t evidence enough of that, then the ten dungeons they had cleared since the last time the druid had been through here were indisputable proof of exactly what they were doing. They had brought their dungeon clearing technique to the next level.

“I’ll have your parties,” Rud said, feeling something stir in his chest. His Custodianship skill was extremely close to leveling. “Anyway, can I get you some more supplies?”

Each adventurer shared another one of their looks, their heads turning to him at the same time. “Food,” they said without missing a beat.

“And tea!” a woman in leather armor said, clapping.

This was something Rud was more than happy to take care of for them. With his Custodianship skill active, he bid farewell to the adventurers and headed off to his various stores. The druid was thankful he had kept up with his chores, even though nobody else was milking the cows every day. He had plenty of cheese ready, and although he managed the tea garden, his stock of dried leaves was fatter than ever. The only thing he was lacking was jerky, but that wasn’t an enterprise he handled by himself. Still, there was enough frozen meat for the adventurers to have a decent meal today, and he could do his best to remember to deliver more to them daily.

An idea flashed through his mind, but he would have to wait. Rolling over to rank one was more important, and then he had to find the adventurers. He would float the idea by another member of the grove before going through with it, but now it was time to feed the masses. He headed back to their camp and presented his wares, pulling them from the pink backpack and sending them to the ground with fanfare each time. 

“And a wheel of cheese,” Rud proclaimed, doing some sweet jazz hands to express exactly how delicious and bolstering the cheese was. Of course, the adventurers knew how nice it was.

“Huzzah!” someone shouted, pumping their fist in the air.

“Huzzah!” Rud shouted, joining them by thrusting his staff into the air. As though calling down the power of the system, or some other entity, he earned a message.

[Rank Up!]

You’ve performed enough actions with your Custodianship skill to gain a new rank!

Custodianship  is now Rank 1, empowering the skill even further…

Your Custodianship skill has reached a milestone! Please select from the following upgrades…

And another…

[Rank Up!]

You have gained enough experience in three skills to achieve Rank 1 in your subclass! Your general power has increased.

You have gained a free ability pick.

Of course, this was huge. Rud’s first plan was to go off and eat all the dungeons he could before heading back to town. However, it took a while to choose the upgrades he wanted for his subclass and the skill itself.

The first upgrade Rud selected for his custodianship skill was called Transient Guests, and it allowed him to mark mortal beings, making them immune to the effects of the grove. He could add as many people as he wanted to that list, and he could toggle it on and off anytime he wanted. Yet only one name was on that list, and it belonged to Elm. The list of options he could choose from was extensive, but he narrowed it down to those that would help people in the Grove while they were there. He refined it to a short list, whiling away his time by sitting on a log and snacking on trail mix before coming to a conclusion. The one he landed on seemed powerful.

[Champion of the Grove]

Custodianship Upgrade

Description:

For those of us who are mortal, but really, really like all these trees.

Effect:

Allows you to designate a single Champion of the Grove. This champion is a trusted mortal who gains all the benefits of being a member of the Grove without signing a pact.

This bond is considered a lesser version of the contract-based bond. This pact may be dissolved at the will of the champion.

Rud knew exactly who he would mark as the champion of the grove. There was a selfish part of him that didn’t want to use it on Elm. He wanted her to choose to become a member of the grove on her own. Yet, this would give her the flexibility. If his intuition about the upgrade was correct, it meant she could break the bond at any time, and he could choose another. However, there was no one he could think of who deserved the title more than her. So, he made his selection and moved on to looking at the upgrade for his grove custodian subclass.

The first upgrade for his subclass Rud had taken was Efficient Custodian, which tied the power of his custodian skills to the sacred tree itself. This was often a massive boost in power, considering how strong Ban was as the druid flicked through the many available options. He looked for things in a similar vein, initially finding five but narrowing it down to two, then one. He inspected the last selection, nodding to himself with approval.

[Empowered Custodian]

Grove Custodian Ability

Description:

Hug the trees harder than ever before.

Effect:

Depending on your bond (closeness) with nature and the Grove, the power of your main class’s abilities, spells, and skills increases.

If Efficient Custodian affected only his Grove Custodian stuff, this one helped his Druid junk. Which was overpowered and awesome and Rud couldn’t say no. The moment he accepted the ability, he felt power rushing through him. His fingertips stung with the potential, electricity dancing on his skin.

“Unlimited power!” Rud shouted, reaching out to the nearest tree and twisting it with his shape-planned spell. He continued like this for a few minutes, testing his mana drain and the power of his spells based on this new ability. He estimated a rough increase of 25 percent in general power. It wasn’t enough to make him the baddest druid that ever walked the surface of whatever this planet was called, but it was good. He sent a message directly to Ban. “What is this planet called, anyway?”

“You already asked that.”

“Refresh my memory, please.”

Ban sent a giggle back. He could practically feel her rolling her eyes. “Asevar. We’re on the Aiswyn continent in the Hornfen Region. You’re currently standing in the southwestern section of Gladesbale Grove, approximately thirty-eight feet from a rock I’ve named Dennis.”

Rud spun, spotting the small boulder she was talking about. He waved. “Yeah, looks like a ‘Dennis’… Thanks, Ban I love you.”