Book 1, Volume 4
Chapter 27
“Seed Burst!” The seed flew true, hitting the small branch that was weighed down by the roundish golden fruit. With a small crisp snap, the Oryn fruit came falling down from a height of nearly 20 feet.
“Orchid Butterfly Steps!” Beautiful Orchid Butterfly Wings sprouted from the cute little girl's back as a pair of ethereal antennae sprung up from her forehead. The little girl's golden honey eyes tracked the falling fruit, her body floated over in place as her hand hung her wonderful wand onto the belly pouch belt around her small waist. She stretched her arms up, catching the incoming falling fruit with soft hands like a little league baseball outfielder catching an easy pop fly.
“Yes! That makes nine of them Anari!” Wylla chirped as she quickly ran over to her traveler's pack on the grassy ground near her. She opened the flap and placed her catch inside. “That should do it. I couldn't spot any more Oryn fruits with my Oryn Eyes spell... well anymore within reach that is.”
[ Still, you got a great harvest Wylla! Not to mention how much those 4 spells you've been using have leveled up. They should be Rank 1 or above by now if I'm not mistaken. ]
“Ooh, you're probably right.”
BUZZ
“Let me check... Ugh, another round of Furbees incoming...” Wylla quickly picked up her traveler's pack, slung the strap onto her shoulder, and turned to run... Orchid Butterfly Steps! [ ding ]
The energy rushed out of her Oryn Trinity Cores, merging near the center of her small chest, and flooded out into her body as the Orchid Butterfly Wings once again formed as did her pair of ethereal antennae.
She quickly floated around the Oryn Tree, gently patting many of the Royal Spider Lotus guards along the way, and then quickly ran a good 30 yards down the slightly sloping grassy meadow as she laid down on her tummy on the soft green ground with her hair covering half of her body.
“Spiln Serpris Camouflage!” Her cherry red hair changed colors to blends of green matching the grassy ground as her hair began to lengthen, slithering over her bum down past her thighs and calves stopping at the bottom of her cute small feet.
Her head was slightly up looking towards the Oryn Tree as her small mouth was biting the palm of her hand; Focus... focus... don't squirm about or giggle or else they'll spot me Wylla thought to herself as her hair slithered down her tensed little body.
The Furbees then came into view, gently buzzing as they circled around the Oryn Tree over the Royal Spider Lotus bushes. They seemed to focus in on the lotus flowers that she had touched and left her scent on.
It was then that it hit her, “Didn't I just use my Butterfly spell without using words to cast it?”
[ Yes you did Wylla! Congratulations you have learned the Mental Casting skill. You can now cast spells that you have a rank 1 or higher proficiency with by simply thinking of the trigger words. ]
“Ooh, that's great! Thanks, Anari.” Wylla happily whispered as she continued to watch the Furbees flying round the Oryn Tree.
Just as the Furbees started gathering nectar and pollen Wylla noticed one that was different than the others flying about 5 yards around the busy Furbees as if overseeing their work or something. This Furbee was not only bigger but its color pattern was also completely different than any of the others she had seen before.
“Could this be?” Wylla whispered as her golden eyes slightly narrowed, tracking the unique Furbee. The Furbee's face was a light pastel purple while most of its body was colored in a rich deep purple; Its bottom half up to where its legs grew out of its fat fluffy body was colored in a deep golden honey color.
Oryn Spirin Eyes The energy entered Wylla's eyes as she concentrated on the cute fluffy unique Furbee. Thanks to her oryn eyes spell she was even able to make out a pattern of golden honey flowers around the top of the Furbee's deep purple body. The InfoBox then popped up:
[ Young Furbee Princess Rank 1, Tier 0, Level 0, Stars 4: Furbee Princesses are rare elites that begin to leave the hive with a small entourage when they are near of age to start their own hive... ]
“It is! It's a Rare!” Wylla whispered as her pulse and breathing quickened while her hand gently reached down her side, grabbing a hold of her wand and bringing it forward. “And Rare's mean big experience points and rare loot!”
She could feel her body tingling, her fists pushing into the ground as if ready to do a push-up. She has 4 stars making her an elite plus she's Rank 1 adding up to a really hard fight... but the rewards Wylla thought to herself as her muscles twitched here and there in anticipation of a tough fight.
Just as she was about to launch herself up to begin kiting the Furbee group to whittle them down, 2 greens loaded with pollen and nectar bobbed over to their princess. Buzz Biizzz Buzzz
The fluffy Princess Furbee then moved forward towards her 2 cute subjects and gently nuzzled their foreheads with her small beak-like muzzle. Brrzz Bzzz Bizzz
The 2 greens quivered making soft buzzing sounds as their Princess nuzzled them causing Wylla's heart to melt as the tension and fighting spirit drained out of her body. “Their just way too fluffy and adorable... a happy little family... I just can't do it... can't kill them... even if the loot and XP are no doubt very rewarding. I'd feel horrible, like some kind of monster.”
Wylla watched as the Furbee group spent the next 5 minutes gathering nectar and pollen before heading back to their hive towards the northernly west part of Havenscent Meadows. She may not have got any rare loot but she did get a very special heartwarming memory which brought a smile to her cute face.
Now, what should I do? Wylla thought to herself as she looked up to the eastern sky seeing a full silvery-blue moon beginning to rise above the treeline while the Sun was still an hour or so away from setting in the west.
Hmm... it's too early to sleep... Heck, I'm not even sleepy and there are loads of places to explore. She then stood up and took another look around and noticed that the forests to the East, South, and West all seemed different from each other by the shapes and colors of the trees.
Oryn Spirin Eyes “Yup, each forest is definitely different not just the shape and color of the trees but also their auras,” Wylla said as she looked down at the grassy meadow, absentmindedly focused on a purple and pink petaled wildflower.
Just as she was about to look back up towards the south an Info Box popped up: [ Dreamnisca Wildflower: A purple and pink colored wildflower that grows in Havenscent Meadows which contains sweet-tasting poisonous nectar that causes one to hallucinate as if caught in a dream. Classification: Alchemy and Cooking Ingredient. Would you like to Harvest this Dreamnisca Wildflower? Y/N ]
Wylla's eyes widened at the question being asked. Wouldn't this unlock the herbalism skill? “Yes! I'd love to harvest it.”
A holographic pair of hands, one holding a small knife, appeared around a holographic Dreamnisca Wildflower. Realizing what little mini-game was about to begin Wylla quickly retrieved her small stinger knife from her large belly pouch and followed the instructions of the holographic tutor hands.
A moment later Wylla received a soft [ ding ] followed by a Loot Box:
[ You were 73% successful in harvesting the Dreamnisca Wildflower. You receive 1 Dreamnisca Wildflower and have unlocked the Flora Herbalism skill! Congratulations Wylla! It seems all that garden knowledge you brought with you into the game paid off. ]
“Yes! Thanks, Anari.” Wylla said as she put her loot and small stinger knife away into her belly pouch. “Hmmm... since it seems night is still an hour or more away I think I'll work on my herbalism skill.”
Wylla looked around at the wide-open green space and then looked back at her slightly bulging traveler's pack. She tilted her head to the side, one arm wrapped around her body just below her small chest while her other hand held her chin, thinking.
Coming to a decision, she grabbed her traveler's pack, walked to the thorny guards, and then hid her pack within their ranks. “There, since I'll just be gathering herbs around this area, there's no need to lug that around so it should be nice and safe here. You all take good care of my pack,” Wylla sternly said instructing the Royal Spider Lotus bushes, “Or else I'll bash you!”
The thorny bushes lightly shook. Satisfied, Wylla then turned (Oryn Spirin Eyes) and began searching for herbs in a southerly direction.
Agree!
Ahhh what a shame... Your lucky princess bee... Or else your dead steak ahahahaha
Aye! She almost got added to the food channel...
Mmmmm, I am surprised that no racial skill for communicating with plants have fully awakened yet. I guess Wylla needs to talk to higher level plants, leave the tutorial, or meet some other prerequisites first.
On the bright side, she can experiment and research her Mental Casting skill in the future. Does the skill replace the Chant Omission skill, or could it be just a skill with similar effects? If the latter is true, this means that she can maybe use both skills to maximize spell speed.
The problem would be the cost of the skills. It is normal for Chant Reduction to already double the energy cost and reduce the success rate of spells by a decent percentage in the beginning, and the skill would only truly shine after leveling up enough. As such, although we don't know the strain enacted by the Mental Casting skill, she will have to be wary of consequences once she leaves the safe areas
Mental Casting can evolve into a higher skill... but that is for another book... the next evolution is very similar to what you're suggesting only it's called Instinctual Casting. As for Mental Casting since your casting with a thought so long as the spell you're casting is Rank 1 or higher in proficiency her casting speed is faster... so that's definitely a plus.
@Storymask lol. I figured as much. Although I didn't say it earlier, I guess one weakness of Mental Casting is likely how the spells occupies a bit of your attention/concentration. Thus, it might weaken one's reaction ability and the efficiency in other skills during use.
.....Well, this likely depends on the affinity and complexity of spell as well as a other factors....... However, lol, it is interesting. I guess I will to see the number of incantation reduction skills as well as the similarities and pros/cons between each one in the future chapters. Thank you
@Truth Yup... she has to basically have an image of the spell in her mind and an understanding of how the energy within her flows for each spell which is why she needs at least a Rank 1 proficiency with said spell. The more she uses a spell, the easier it is to Mentally cast which over time will lead to the evolving of the Mental Casting skill. That will further decrease the time to cast.
Thanks for the chapter :)
Is it just me, or is she acting a bit more like her new age as well now? Michael may well be slowly slipping away...
You're welcome and thanks for being here.
I'd like to comment more but I'm afraid I'd drop a spoiler or two so I'll play it safe and...
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thanks for the chapter, I probably wouldn't have been able to pass on the loot.
It definitely would be hard to pass up... I'm not really sure if I would or wouldn't in such a life-like virtual world though... in a regular MMO... sure I'd go for the loot (lol) but in that virtual world one... I'm not so sure.
I think the FBI is outside my door just because of the too detailed descriptions of a loli's body.
I'd have totes killed the princess bee.
I need my loots!
I was trying to paint a picture of the scene in my head with words at the same time keeping it family-friendly like in animes (well... at least like some of the cute ones that I watch).
As for the rare princess furbee that's definitely a hard encounter to pass up... but with it being a life-like virtual world I'd imagine that would make going for the loot even harder when facing such a warm touching scene.
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@Storymask Not sure how family-friendly "slithering over her round perky bum (and) down her firm(,) silky smooth thighs" and "her small chest" is but that's only if you're super conservative I guess.
Virtual or not, that rare princess Furbee's loot is mine. Of course, if I was lolified I might think differently.
@DivineEternal1 Yup, yup. Finding that Disney line isn't always as easy as it appears to be. I wanted to paint the whole image of her camouflage spell; of her hair moving like snakes over her small athletic body while she struggled to keep from wiggling and giggling from the ticklish movements of her slithering hair.
Still, not sure the super conservatives would read this because of some of the mild ecchi moments that will always stay on the mild side... plus the actual title of the story which isn't as subtle as some may believe it to be.
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As for the loots... Aye! The fact that he was gender bendified and age regressed has definitely affected the way he/she thinks and feels.
@Storymask Haha, even your comment is going into detail. In my writing, I don't do enough detail, but you bring it out to the max. Someday I hope to find a happy middle ground.
@DivineEternal1 Aye! A toast to happy middle grounds! And cookies...
@Storymask Just beware of the high ground.