Daily Short: Kyo 08

People learn to fear fangs and claws, but fauna kills far less than flora.

                                                                                     -Botanist Altair, Last Log Entry

Kyo exited the vine in a pulse of green mana flashing into existence in a corner facing the garden. Plant Manipulation IV told her exactly where the intruders were located. After consulting with Nota, she chose the best option to open combat.

The high ground.

It was the work of a single vine teleport to move to the top of the mansion, where a vine clung with tenacious vitality. With a bit of coaxing after she exited at the top, the vine wrapped around her holding her snug. Kyo was slightly uncomfortable and grabbed the large book open at an angle. The book’s edges lay against the flat exterior of the mansion.

The pages flipped without touching them as if the wind blew them until they stopped. Kyo squinted at the squiggly lines and dots that denoted an unreadable message. It was utterly indecipherable gibberish. She hoped all books were not written like this!

Ah, one moment. Nota sent Kyo along the sparkly mental link.

“You can’t read it?” Kyo heard her Patron ask along the same mental link.

“No, it looks like goblin scratches,” Kyo answered truthfully. She felt that even the goblin’s written language made more sense than these scribbles.

Kyo felt itchiness behind her eyes before she sneezed uncontrollably several times. As soon as the itchiness had arrived, it was already gone. Blinking, she glanced down and realized that the strange scribbles had been replaced by glowing blue letters on a grey page.

Spore Clouds

A spell that grows with the mastery of the one employing it.

Spiked Shot

A spell that amplifies the understanding of the user.

Kyo was thrilled. Each of the Spells gave images of their use. She saw choking clouds that blotted out the sky. They were roving masses of devouring might, leaving nothing but bones. It was a more powerful version like the one she used to prepare mana crystals.

I wonder how big of a crystal something like that could make? Kyo thought with a small slip of greed.

On the other hand, the image of hundreds of wooden spikes, grass blades, leaf razors, and more was also good. Both of the Spells had immediate applications. After a half-minute of thinking, Kyo decided to double down on Spore Clouds.

The temptation of making a mana crystal big enough to tower above a city was just too much. However, Kyo couldn’t resist the allure of something so big and sparkly that it would look gorgeous with the sunlight flowing into it.

Prepare. This will hurt. Nota sent to Kyo.

There was a short pause as Kyo wondered what was going to happen. Moments later, her body was locked in a rictus of agony. It was so painful she couldn’t get even a mew or whimper out. After the pain passed, pleasure flooded along the conduits in her body. It felt like someone had dosed her with some of the expensive stuff used by the top girls in the city’s Red Light area.

“Vurry guud!” Kyo said with a hiccup.

The pain is required as partial payment to transfer the spell to you. Without it, your reality’s laws would restrict you from gaining it without months or even years involved. Nota sent in an apology.

“Pateron drewg?” Kyo managed to get out.

“Indeed. It is a combat drug that will help you shortly. There will be no aftereffects, and it is tailored not to be addictive.” Kudzu said with a palpable sneer in their voice.

Kyo nodded as she looked down below at the tiny figures approaching the house. There was a moment before she flung her hand out as if casting a handful of sand. The gesture combined seamlessly with the word Kyo spoke, “Spore Clouds.”

Green powdery death raced out into a massive cloud that blotted the world underneath into shadow. It dropped on the unsuspecting intruders with incredible haste, who only realized the light was gone from above.

As she watched, Kyo saw only a single invader escape. She was too weak from casting her first attack spell. Then, grief hit her as she realized the attacker would escape. The feeling of helplessness flowed into the link she had with the garden, and for a moment, nothing happened.

A fraction of a second later, the entire garden burst into life around the intruder moments after reaching the wall to escape. Vines snared his legs, flowers puffed pollen clouds of death, and the grass became shaper than steel, skewering the man as he fell.

“Whoa!” Kyo said that Plant Manipulation IV’s true power was revealed in full gory glory.