Helping made no difference.
I freed rabbits from rusted snares.
Untangled birds.
Healed bruised trees with glowing sap dripping from my fingertips.
And still…
> [Affinity with The Green: +0.3]
A decimal.
That's what my compassion was worth.
Not that I was doing it for numbers, but still. I needed progress. I needed something.
And I wasn't getting it.
Until I felt it.
---
A tremor in the ground.
A pulse in the leaves.
Not physical.
Emotional.
"Burning."
The Green whispered it like a warning. Not in words—just feeling.
I ran toward the pain.
---
The fire had already swallowed half the forest.
Trees crackled like bones.
Smoke blackened the sky.
Animals sprinted past me, eyes wide with terror.
I tried helping—a fox with a scorched leg.
> [Affinity with The Green: +0.1]
Still decimal.
Still dying.
---
I summoned vines—burned.
I tried merging with the soil—too dry.
I raised a shield of thorns—turned to ash.
Nothing worked.
And the fire wanted me. Like it knew I didn't belong.
---
> [WARNING: Vitality Dropping]
[Skill Failure – Environmental Conditions Unmet]
[Synchronization Disrupted]
[You Are Burning]
My skin hissed.
Sap boiled under bark.
Pain rippled through me—not human pain. Something else. Deeper. Wider.
Then I felt it.
Water.
Airborne moisture.
A stream nearby. Sap inside the trees.
I saw it through The Green.
And it answered me.
---
> [NEW SKILL UNLOCKED: Water Manipulation (Lv. 1)]
Draw moisture from environment: vapor, soil, lakes, plants, even self.
Form into constructs, shields, or blasts. Range: 10m.
Cost: Moderate. No cooldown.
---
I can create skills?
I didn't hesitate.
I pulled the moisture in.
Twisted it.
Pushed it forward.
A wave of steam shot out as the water hit the fire.
Screaming. Cracking. Then silence.
I pulled more. From bark, from roots, from dew hidden in leaves.
I fought the fire—and won.
---
> [Quest Complete: "The Green is Dying"]
[Affinity with The Green: +10.0]
[Affinity Level: 10 – Sensory Range Expanded (50m)]
[Synchronization: 15%]
[Evolution Tree Unlocked]
[New Trait: Aspect of Preservation]
[New Passive: Verdant Flow (Lv. 1) – Recover faster when aiding flora or fauna]
---
The fire was gone.
But something else remained.
Sight.
Not with eyes. With roots. With leaves. With fungus and dew.
I could feel the worms crawling back underground.
The trees groaning in pain.
The clouds above slowly thickening.
This is what 10 Affinity got me.
A wider lens into life itself.
The Green wasn't just a power.
It was a network. And I was part of it now.
---
And yet…
> [LEVEL: 1 | EXP: 0/100]
[NOTE: Experience is gained only through the elimination of hostile lifeforms]
Wait.
What?
I stared at the system overlay in my mind.
Hostile lifeforms?
What counted?
Monsters? Metahumans?
Wolves? Bandits?
Humans?
I was still human… inside.
So how do I level up without killing something?
Without becoming something I hate?
---
My hands trembled—if you could call these roots hands.
The fire was gone.
But the real battle was just starting.
---
TO BE CONTINUED…
---
[CURRENT STATS]
Name: Unknown
Race: Reincarnated Entity
Form: Proto-Swamp Thing
Level: 1
EXP: 0 / 100
Affinity with The Green: 10.0
Synchronization: 15%
Status: Stable
---
[SKILLS]
Chlorokinesis (Lv. 2)
Manipulate plant matter within range. Range: 5m → 10m
Can now control multiple vines at once.
Floral Regeneration (Lv. 1)
Recover HP slowly when in contact with soil, water, or plant matter.
Muck Merge (Lv. 1)
Merge with plant-rich terrain and reappear up to 10m away.
Seedling Manifestation (Lv. 1)
Summon basic constructs like vines, thorns, or bark-shields.
Green Perception (Lv. 1)
Sense flora and fauna health/status within 50m.
Enhanced by Affinity.
Water Manipulation (Lv. 1)
Control any moisture source: vapor, rain, lakes, plant-sap.
Forms: Streams, blades, whips, shields.
Range: 10m
---
[PASSIVES & TRAITS]
Verdant Flow (Lv. 1):
Healing/energy recovery is boosted after helping flora/fauna.
Aspect of Preservation:
You are marked by The Green as a guardian, not a destroyer.
Some Green-aligned creatures will not attack you.