[Voidknight Ascension] Chapter 62: Marvelous Mandragoras

In the future, Sam wanted another option than just jumping onto another floating island in order to explore it. He also planned to find a way to lengthen the window of time in which his own Skyshard could stay in one place. Better yet, become temporarily tethered to another.

Thinking of them like that, he started to see Skyshards more like boats. You needed docks, anchors, and things like that to manage their movement.

Sam wondered why some Skyshards lacked a Settlement Core socket. Was it simply that the previous island he visited with those [Red Herba] and poisonous beans actually had a socket, but it didn’t give him the option because he already had a Skyshard with a socket?

Perhaps it was as simple as it took something special for an island to be a Skyshard. What that distinction was, Sam couldn’t fathom, but it seemed to him the only possible answer.

As the newly christened Sil’mara neared the unraveling expanse of a new floating island emerging from the dark, Sam realized something that put all his thoughts of anchors, chains, and other tethering mechanisms completely out of his mind.

He could stop Sil’mara!

It came as a shock to him that he could control its relative speed, insofar as he could hold it in place, or let it drift naturally. There didn’t seem to be any in-between, but that was likely a result of its low level.

That didn’t do anything about the other island’s motion, but it meant that the tidal forces that glued them together while in close proximity might keep Sil’mara nearby.

Chains or other means of traversal were still necessary, if only to make the trip easier.

Just as the rest of the group—except Raiko, who was already drifting to the other island—were ready to jump off, Sam halted their Skyshard.

There was no shuddering stop or squeal of… well, anything. The Skyshard slowed, then held still as if it had always been that way.

The drop to the next island was perhaps ten feet down and another dozen or so across. Easy for Sam to jump with his old Strength and child’s play with his over 60 Strength now.

Still, he looped one end of the [Makeshift Rope] over one boulder and leapt to the island. There, he found a suitable tree to tie off the rest of the rope.

Matt and Kai slid down the rope, one after the other. Without the Skyshard moving away, Sam could make sure the rope was fairly taut.

He watched the pair land and then stayed a little longer to make sure the islands were not going to suddenly move away from each other.

Once he was sure, he looked over at Matt.

His old boss nodded. “I know what you’re going to say. Stay here, let you know if anything odd is happening, and try not to die.”

“More or less,” Sam admitted. “I don’t know what lies in store for her us here, but we really need to make sure this island doesn’t float away from Sil’mara. Not after I just used the [Sourcestone] on it.”

“You got it, boss,” Matt said, snapping to attention and saluting.

Sam gave him a level look. Komachi snorted, perched on Sam’s shoulder.

Matt deflated a little. “Too much?”

“Too much.”

“Ah well, being a subordinate is still new to me.”

“Just yell if you see something happening, okay?”

Matt leaned against the tree and folded his arms. “This rope isn’t going to defeat me!”

Once away from the edge of the island, and from Matt, Sam shook his head. “I don’t think I ever remember Matt being so… happy or jovial. He wasn’t exactly strict at work, but he didn’t seem the sort of person who made jokes and laughed.”

“He is a mainlander,” Kai replied, as if that explained it.

And for Kai, it did. Mainlanders were weird and odd. Always rushing about from one place to the next, always busy like ants. They never relaxed or bothered to drink in the moment.

“Responsibility can wear away at your soul,” Raiko added. “Much like immortality. Suppose he has something else to endure now.”

Sam looked at Kai. “Your Nature affinity giving you anything?”

“Hm?” Kai looked up from his private thoughts. “Yes, something is over here.”

The island was full of trees, bushes, and other types of vegetation, but nothing that called out to Sam as being edible. But as they followed Kai’s guidance, they came upon a stand of bushy leaves the length of Sam’s forearm sticking up from the ground.

Komachi, who had uncharacteristically been quiet, immediately began to dig around the roots of the plants.

When Sam went to stop her, Kai held out his hand. “She is right. There is food there.”

“What kind of food?” Sam asked, remembering the poisonous spuds.

“I do not know,” Kai admitted. “Some root vegetables that we can eat.”

“Please excuse the additional questions.” Raiko pressed her fists together in what was probably a polite gesture. “But can you determine if it is poisonous? Technically, poison can be eaten.”

“I have to agree with Raiko,” Sam said. “You can eat poison. How much you eat usually depends on how much more you can eat. If you get me.”

Kai mumbled something in Hawaiian. “I mean that this is food. You can eat it and it will not hurt you. Perhaps your stomach is weak, but the food is not poison. I am certain.”

Sam shared a look with Raiko.

She stared at Kai. She did not appear to take the slight against Sam well.

“He is not weak—” Raiko began.

Komachi kicked up a long rainbow-striped… carrot? It was long and conical and large enough that Sam wasn’t sure if he could eat a single one all by himself.

They were huge.

[Marrowgem]

(Food Item) (F-Class)

(★ Common)

A nutritious, if tough root vegetable that grows in a variety of soil conditions. Unlike most other crops, [Marrowgems] require a confluence of mana to propagate effectively. The types of mana influence the growth rate and nutritional properties of the [Marrowgem]. Slightly speeds up passive health regeneration.

“Dang, these look tasty!” Komachi cried. “That name though. Kinda suspicious.”

Whatever Raiko was going to say was cut short as she knelt down and tried, in vain, to grab one of the [Marrowgems]. “These are from Islegard,” she said reverently. “They were insanely difficult to cook properly, but some of the best dishes featured these beautiful vegetables. When they are steamed the colored flesh glistens and turns slightly translucent, just like a gem.”

“Are they tasty?” Sam asked, already knowing the answer.

“On their own?” Raiko shrugged. “Better than starving. But I was never poor nor disrespected enough to eat them raw.”

“Nice flex.”

Komachi was a digging machine. She quickly had over a dozen [Marrowgems] covered in dirt and was already working on another patch.

“If we save some, we can plant them and they will make more,” Kai said. “So long as there are multiple types of mana nearby, they will grow.”

Sam picked one up and hefted it. The thing weighed a surprising amount. “If all else fails, we can always use it as a club to knock some poor woodland creature out with.”

Something rustled the nearby vegetation, as if called into existence by Sam’s words.

A shrill screech filled the area, freezing each of them as if their joints had locked up. Even Raiko’s ghostly essence was locked.

A creature, little bigger than Komachi, leapt out of the bushes, its rounded head topped with a pair of large leaves, its seed-like eyes burning with anger. “※◎△☆!!”

[Wild Root Mandragora (Level 10)]

Sam managed to recover first, and before he knew what he was doing, he had kicked out at the creature. His fear of Komachi getting hurt overrode every thought.

The mandragora, with its little flappy fin-like arms, went down like a sack of potatoes with a pathetic whimper and didn’t get up.

You gain some Experience for knocking out a Decent Challenge creature!

He scooped up Komachi, making sure she was okay. How is a level 10 monster just a Decent Challenge? Wait, that said creature, not monster!

Sam heard rustling coming from the bushes, and before he knew it, he was encircled by a gang of creatures.

“No!” Kai boomed, rushing forward and standing in front of Sam. “They do not mean us any harm.” He knelt down to the knocked-out creature. A wave of green mana flowed out from his hand and onto the unconscious mandragora.

[Cure]

The creature stirred in his hand, and the dozens of mandragora seemed to calm down, though they muttered in their strange language back and forth.

“☆◇☆◯, ☆◎✖△. ☆✖✖□ ✖◯☆▽?” asked one of the mandragoras.

Kai, seemingly able to understand the nonsense, nodded. “We were only looking for food. We did not mean to disturb your garden.” Setting the now conscious mandragora down, Kai waved urgently behind his back for Raiko and Sam to get down on one knee as well.

Reluctantly, Sam followed Kai’s prompting, and Raiko followed suit.

“They say they will forgive our trespassing if we do them a favor.”

“And what’s that?” Sam asked.

“They wish for us to take one of them with us.”

A chorus of voices echoed across the clearing.

“※△※▽□!”

“◇✖◯△△.”

“☆□◎◇◯?”

“◎✖◎△☆✖◎✖!”

Kai tilted his head to the side in thought. “They were once from a Worldshard where they danced on the winds and were spread far and wide. Now with the… world shattered, they are afraid they will no longer be able to spread their roots into new soils. If we take one with us, we will help them to avoid extinction.”

The mandragora that Sam knocked out with a single kick squeaked indignantly.

“And this one wishes to go with us.” Kai looked over his shoulder at Sam. “He thinks because you are strong, you will protect him.”

Oof. Sam looked down, feeling a rush of shame heat his face.

“Perhaps… more than one wishes to come?” Raiko asked, uncertain.

Sam glared at her. “Are you serious?”

She crossed her arms in defiance. “Would you wish to venture into the unknown amongst strangers, leaving all your kind behind?”

“I kinda did,” Sam pointed out.

“No, you had your cat. I made sure of that.”

Kai gave Raiko an incredibly rare smile. He turned back to the mandragoras, relaying Raiko’s words.

There was another uproar of squeaks and chirps that sounded like somebody rubbing two polished tomatoes together rather roughly.

“They have many young sproutlings they would be pleased to see venture out into the world and bring back new soils, seeds, and mana from the rest of the shattered world,” Kai said. “If we would take them, they could provide us with half a dozen mandragoras.”

For some reason, they were all looking at Sam as if he had the final say. Coming from Kai, it was an unsettling experience.

“Can they fight?” Sam asked.

“You saw the extent of their fighting capabilities,” Kai replied drily. “They are not combatants, but farmers. Tenders of crop and land.”

“What if they can grow some food for us in exchange for this journey?”

“They would like nothing more,” Kai said. He motioned to the uprooted [Marrowgems]. “They take care of these plants even though nobody will eat them. To them that is a sad state of affairs. Food is meant to be eaten. How else would fruits spread across the world?”

“It would be useful to have somebody to help us grow things,” Sam hedged. “I don’t think any of us are good at that.”

“I like them,” Komachi admitted.

“We don’t have much room,” Sam said half-heartedly.

Kai looked at him. “They do not take up much.”

As if to illustrate his point, several of the mandragoras wiggled their little feet and drilled into the soil until only their tiny two-leaf buds atop their heads showed.

You could walk past a field of them without ever knowing they were there, Sam thought. The ground wasn’t even disturbed.

“We will have more room,” Raiko pointed out. “And who knows, what if they can somehow create a Tile?”

“All right,” Sam said finally. “Who am I to deny them the right to explore this new world?”

The deafening squeal of delight after Kai translated Sam’s acceptance nearly made Sam collapse on the spot.