Warden, Barke, Leaflet, and Twig pulled their roots from the ground and morphed into their bipedal forms. The four had grown significantly since feasting on the fresh soul of their paradise-like grove. Each had blinked open their eyes and formed their consciousness as they uprooted themselves and welcomed their first thoughts as adolescent Treents. While the other children remained planted with tendrils slurping the goodness of the earth below. Chief, the once nameless Treent Guardian assured Jack that the other children were healthy and growing at their own pace, it was the four who’d awakened that were the outliers.

Now, the four sat with their bare barked backs to Jack. They bent their wooden legs and joined the soles of their feet in the butterfly position. Their hands rested comfortably on the grass to either side, palms down and fingertips pressed into the dirt. In unison, they lowered their chins to their chests with each of their out-breaths—not the air-pulling lung-breaths, but a deeper breath from their souls which moved to a similar rhythm. And then, they inhaled and lifted their heads toward Earth’s sun, eyes barking over as they blinked shut.

“Feel the mana flowing through you,” Jack instructed. “Do not hinder it. Do not bend it. Let it flow as it wants. Follow the natural rhythm. Relinquish control. Right now, you are an observer. The mana is allowing you to watch. It is gracing you with its presence. Appreciate it. Respect it. Even the smallest of streams can drown an ox. You must first understand your mana before you dare ask anything from it.”

Jack breathed with both his lungs and his soul, sitting encircled by his students in the same yet more refined position. As Jack inhaled, he felt the energy that filled his body wash upward, drawn in by his breath alone. The mana trickled through him, coursing from his furthest reaches toward his center, gathering, and adding to the invisible pool that resided somewhere within him. And then, he exhaled, gently lowering the damn that held back his energy and allowing the energy to flood from his body. Jack, unlike the Treents, was not a creature of the forest. And, when he exhaled, his energy scattered in all directions. He did not force the mana. He did not control it. He simply observed to where each of the strands of energy escaped. He followed them, he felt them, but he did not hold on to them. The energy dispersed through the dirt, into the air, around the children, and off into the unknown.

The children did the same. With each of their exhales, they allowed their mana to escape, to drip through their bodies and seep down into the land. Compared to Jack, their mana was like a single teardrop in an infinite ocean. And still, the were leagues ahead of Jack when he first began. The Treent’s energy did not disperse in the same way as Jack’s. Instead, it all turned down and fled to the safety of the ground beneath them reaching a few inches before settling comfortably in the space.

Jack inhaled, and so did the children. With his breath, his mana returned. He did not call the mana back. He trusted it would return. And, if it didn’t, he accepted that. He did not fight the flow of nature. The energy rushed back like a gust of wind, surging again through Jack’s body until it found its place back within his core. The children felt the same. Energy walked up through their open palms, their seats, and their wooden bodies. And, with each of their breaths, the energy thickened and grew.

It was only natural.

Again, the five exhaled, allowing their mana to flee, and then inhaled, basking in its return. On some breaths, the children lost their focus, or reached too hard to feel the mana, trying to control its flow and on those breaths, the mana did not always return larger, or more abundant. But, the lesson continued to sink in. Their ability to let go of control sharpened, and their bodies adjusted, mana-veins growing into a powerful network that spread through their bodies.

“Focus now,” Jack instructed as he directed streams of his mana through the earth, leaving pools of energy just out of each of the children’s current reach. “Good.” Jack praised them as they took their next few breaths, straining some as they accepted the increasing slivers of mana that filled their bodies. Jack smiled, knowing how difficult the task was to first grasp. It was counterintuitive. But, Jack had found that all mana was not the same. And different types of mana behaved entirely differently. And, in the mana which the Treents wielded required complete adherence to the natural flow.

Fifty breaths later, Barke’s mana had grown significantly, now long enough to just barely dip into the pool beneath him. At first breath, he nearly rocketed from the ground in shock, but hurried to return to his position, and realign his breaths. Again, Jack smiled, feeling a sense of pride as he refilled the pool beneath Barke, again, placing it slightly out of his reach. And again, Barke relinquished all control, quickly reaching down to new depths and slurping up the delicious mana pool a second time.

Another fifty breaths and the other three had all reached their own pools, absorbing the energy and assimilating the energy in no time. “Perfect,” Jack praised them. “That went much smoother than I expected.”

The children stood, chatted, and smiled, thanking Jack for the praise.

Jack then led his pupils back into the portal and to the comfort of their grove where the other Treents still resided. He positioned them in a large square, nearly one hundred paces apart, and left a monstrous reservoir of mana beneath each. He warned them not to absorb too much at a time. And, when they asked what was too much, he simply smiled, laughed, and told them that they would have to find that out for themselves. It was a painful lesson to learn, but an important one. Jack thought back to when he first swallowed well more than he could chew. He’d never slit his throat faster.

“Thank you, Ancient One. For all you have given us,” the Treent who’d taken place as the temporary Treent Matriarch said as she walked Jack from the grove. “Never in our history have our children grown so hearty and so vibrant. You will forever have our people’s thanks.”

Jack simply accepted the words and left. He felt that with each of their interactions, the Treents revered him further, idolizing, and deifying his name. He did not love the sensation. He was no god. He was no savior. He followed through on his word and listened to his soul. It was all he could do at the moment. Jack raced through the trees toward the now highly-secured and heavily defended portal core where he tore through the space and exited back to Earth.

Outside, Jack stepped into his marbled temple. Thirty-six pillars surrounded the great platform holding up a towering roof. Each was carved in the likeness of a creature from Jack’s mind: mermaid, angel, butterfly, chimera, dragon, giant, cyclops continuing all the way around until the final two which stood as the entrance to his portal collection, a depiction of himself that no-one except Robin had seen, a powerful yet aged man with a knee-length beard and the body of a god, and a matching depiction of Robin who aged much more gracefully than he, with only a few wrinkles on her wisened face and eyes that could pierce the sun. To the naked eye, the columns were nothing more than pristine marble. However, each was infused with a density of mana that could shake the earth, and connected not only to each other but also to an even larger supply of mana buried safely beneath the structure. An invisible barrier stretched between the guards, deep into the ground and up over the roof. A barrier that disallowed entry to those not approved, and protected against all manner of attack. Jack had poured mana into the entire contraption for nearly ten days until he’d finally been satisfied. Had he removed his fourth seal, the process might have only taken minutes, but not even he knew what the consequences would be.

It wasn’t worth the risk.

Jack walked toward the exit, leaving behind the seven portals he’d collected from around the world, including the not-so-terrifying Australia destroyer. He could feel Thunder’s presence inside the portal, enjoying the monstrous storms that constantly battered the land while partaking in what Jack can only assume was excruciating isolated training. Thunder’s health would rise and fall throughout the days, but her mind remained strong, assuring Jack that this was what she wanted.

Jack left the temple, passing beneath his and Robin’s statues, and then hopped to the top of the temple’s outer wall. He raced across the barrier and glanced over his growing reclaimed territory. He’d begun erecting his city, a place where he could move his family, and rest easy knowing that their safety was guaranteed. Passing by the heavy machinery, rumbling crowds of construction workers, and surplus of raw materials, Jack reached the training ground where Robin instructed Leonidas, Chief, and five of the diamond players whom Leonidas vouched for.

Jack stopped and watched from above, admiring Robin’s grace, beauty, and intelligence. She’d worked tirelessly with each of her students, studying their abilities, their fighting styles, and their mindsets. And then, she crafted meticulous plans that detailed months, even years of training, aimed toward rounding out their stiff abilities and opening their minds to think past the system’s invisible guiding hand.

Currently, Robin sparred with three of the players. She announced each of her attacks, pointing out their flaws and faults as they struck, suggesting what other options they had while also asking questions about their surroundings, ensuring their focus did not shrink too narrow. Awareness was the biggest factor she needed to instill into these humans. It was not something that came naturally. In battle, when the threat of death looms, human minds hyper-focused on what was before them. However, this held most humans back. Attacks could stem from wherever. The ground could fall. The world could split open. A monster could snap into existence right behind an unprotected neck. Unlike her, who had the luxury of fighting head-on with little fear of death, the humans did not have second chances. They could not be re-summoned after falling into a plant-trap and having their flesh melted raw.

The warriors panted, grimaced, and grunted, but never complained. Each of them understood how outmatched they were. They were humbled by the seemingly harmless woman who demolished them without breaking a sweat. Now, they aimed to grow faster than the others. Each driven by a desire to protect their world while also secretly wanting to give Leonidas a run for his money. They were tired of being seen as third, fourth, seventh, ninth, and tenth best. They wanted their chance to shine. Their chance to prove themselves. And this was their opportunity.

Leonidas, however, had been handed a very different set of training. It was a far more gruesome method. One that Jack himself had endured. One that aligned all-too-well with Leonidas’ berserker class. Ten thousand cuts etched across Leonidas’ red-coated skin. Most would shout and scream as the blood trickled around them, but not Leonidas. He held his tongue and breathed just as he had been instructed. He focused on each of the stings that plagued him. Each of the endless fractures that exposed his innards to the outside. With each breath, he willed the wounds to close. He asked his skin to heal. He instructed his body to obey. Unlike the trees, Leonidas’ method was not to follow the flow of nature. He had to barrel headfirst into the raging rapids and stand his ground. He needed to smash through the water that tried to drown him. To overcome, to endure. And, his skin slowly obeyed.

Jack opened his Eye of Truth and focused on Leonidas, guiding it to show him only a very specific piece of information.

~Skill Information~

Rapid Rejuvenation (lv 3)

Experience: 72/100