In a rather spacious cavern, illuminated by the soft blue glow of the Ice Lilies, Akarui was following Zamia's instructions as best she could.
"Wonderfully done, but we need to take it a step further." The Alicorn said, currently in her elven form, and beside her floated a small translucent fairy.
After the attack, Nerenth had decided to stay a while. Wishing to offer all the assistance she could to her home.
Her real body, a massive tree, was safe in a forest in one of the five Tier 1 kingdoms. Shortly after she had met Erik and Akarui, the kingdom of Vruntis had collapsed. Staying there had no longer been an option.
Luckily, as a Treant, she could move—despite being a tree.
Sure, her speed was, at best, that of a human walking or jogging (if she pushed herself). But she didn't need to rest. She could walk day and night without end, allowing her to cross distances surprisingly quickly.
And she could use teleportation magic—if the situation called for it. Though it was far more expensive for her to teleport than it was for smaller creatures. The cost of teleportation scaled with distance and mass.
Ficel had gone to a different kingdom, he had wished to offer help to the local animals. Nerenth hadn't stopped him, she understood that everyone had to find their own paths in life.
They had met by chance, and they would hopefully meet again later in life.
Helping her home wasn't her only goal; Nerenth was also curious about Erik and Akarui. The Dryad Chosen, who had received a blessing from his charge, an Eri Fysii. A beloved of nature.
Simply put, Akarui's power was related to nature. Typical, this was seen as relating to plants and their growth. However, since she was the higher grade, not a simple Fysii (one with nature) but an Eri Fysii (beloved of nature) her control could extend to all living things.
This was how Erik had gained his own hidden class. However, despite having one, his powers were vastly different from Eldrian's. It could not change the tides of a battle, and it also didn't present any danger of him losing control.
It simply helped him with nature magic and when brewing potions. He understood what plants to use, and when cultivating them, he could listen to their requests (to some extent). Since he was a dryad, this was further enhanced by his racial traits.
His talent in this was still far more limited than Akarui's. Honestly, Erik considered his hidden class a simple boost to his nature elemental magics. He relied on Akarui's advice instead of his own when it came to cultivating and using unknown plants.
The difference between them was, Erik had to actively try to understand what the plants wanted and could offer, and even then, he could misunderstand. Whereas Akarui knew by heart what was best for the plant.
As a result, while Erik had once been massively excited when he had received the hidden class, he now didn't think much of it. The stat boost was nice, but since he avoided battles, it didn't mean much to him.
Still, the fact remained that he would excel with all things plant-related should he find the time to train. However, to Nerenth's disappointment, he had gone to aid the kingdom of Taurus and his fellow Chosen.
As much as he hated fighting, he couldn't stay behind and do nothing when he knew a war happening right next door. She understood this; as sad as it was to miss the opportunity.
Nerenth knew there would be more chances to teach the boy. She had also confirmed that he still had the fruit of life she had gifted him. They would use it to make a special drink for Akarui once her training was done.
A tonic that would help her body evolve to contain the power she was born with.
Having been left in Zamia's care, the little girl was showing her talents. In her hand, she held an immaculate Ice Lily.
"How do I take it further?" The little girl asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked from flower to fairy to elf.
The flower she had in her hand had come from nothing. Well, technically, not nothing. Akarui had wielded her powers to draw on the energy and guidance of the surrounding lilies and then formed it from mana.
It was no simple illusion or conjuration. The flower in her hand was as real as all the others covering the cavern walls.
"Making the flower is a wonderful step," Zamia said.
Naturally, it had taken a lot of training for Akarui to get to this point. She had started by enhancing the growth of the lilies, then commanded their movement by making them do little dances. Then she had learned how to grow them from seed. And now, she had learned how to form a flower from the very air.
"But, the flower is just one part of the lily. As it is now, it will wilt as soon as you stop supplying it with your mana." The beauty of Akarui's powers was that it wasn't lifeforce or mana. It was both.
Lifeforce to link with the flowers, similar in ways to the mental links the Alicorns use to communicate with one another.
Then, after linking with the plants, she used mana to bring forth the effect she wanted. She never needed to wield lifeforce alone. Akarui didn't even know she was using it, she didn't even know what lifeforce was.
She was simply trying to talk with the plants, and they opened their hearts (souls) to her.
Looking at the flower, Akarui frowned. She didn't want it to wilt. Not without at least serving some purpose.
Akarui would have loved to give the flower to Erik, but he was not here. Which meant she had to preserve the flower.
She could continue to feed it her mana. It didn't take much to keep the flower alive. Only a fraction of what had been needed to make it. But she still had more training to do.
Knowing just what she had to do, Akarui closed her eyes and reached out to the other lilies. Asking for their help.
They answered, joyfully so. A song of sorts filled Akarui's mind, a song she let flow through her to guide her mana.
When she opened her hands, what appeared in her hand was no longer the flower of an Ice Lily, but the entire plant. From root to stem to leaves and finally to the flower.
"Amazing," Nerenth exclaimed.
Getting to this point had taken them a few weeks. However, Akarui had completed the last step without any hassle.
Seeing her weaving of mana had been sublime. Nerenth doubted she could do better herself. Even when forming something that would be part of her own body.
Zamia, too, was stunned. She had expected Akarui to take a few days to master this. That expectation had quickly been dashed as the girl created an entire flower, stem and all, in just a few minutes.
Had this been a simple rose or a normal lily, Zamia wouldn't be too shocked. However, this was an Ice Lily. An extremely rare and precious flower.
Even if that had been perhaps a Trainta Roz or Burning Thress, or any other magical plant, Zamia wouldn't have been so shocked.
But this was an Ice Lily they were talking about. Yes, Akarui had always been able to enhance their growth as easily as if they were normal plants. But manifesting them from mana, that shouldn't be this easy.
'Luckily, we do not need to fear this news getting out. And I know Erik would never misuse her power.' Zamia thought. The thought of someone with a greedy heart setting their sights on Akarui had caused her to shiver.
However, in the current condition of the world, she doubted anyone would be able to notice a girl playing with flowers. Even if they saw her make a flower appear from thin air, it would be normal to think it came from a dimensional storage.
As such, Zamia didn't think she needed to warn Akarui too much. She still told her to not show anyone she didn't trust what she could do.
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