Chapter 326: Farmer [#3]: Plants are Weird...
Stiles tiredly lied down by the wall, the entire hallway was rubble and dust, blood spread everywhere- There were 67 crows scattered around, black corvids with red eyes that glowed like headlights, they were all fucking strong. "Gotta go.. " Stiles was still a little tired, but even so he still wanted to leave the building and get to the giant willow-like tree a few meters away from his home, and he was going now! He didn't know if there were any other dangers out there, but he could find out- This time his crows flew out of the broken windows and walls, taking flight to find and peck the eyes out of the Hobgoblin with the skull staff then fetch his soul to him.
He only gave that order as a joke, but it turns out, they can do that! A crow flew into his shoulder before it let out this cawing sound as a small blob of energy plopped out of it and into Stiles' body, at the same time he got this notification:
[Soul of a Hobgoblin <Lvl 10> Soul]
[+10 Intelligence]
[+10 Wisdom]
[+10 Willpower]
[Curse Magic <Lvl 1>
Active Skill
Description: Can cast curses and debuff upon your opponents.
Spells-
Snare: Sends a black snake of energy to snare and trap the target, reducing their movement speed to 0 and making them unable to move.
Cost: 10 MP]
With this power in his hands, Stiles was becoming even more powerful- He held onto the scythe he had and began moving out in the street towards the tree, that single tree was going to be his new home, he just wanted to do so! The moment he took a step out into the streets filled with grass and moss, he began hearing this whispering voices all around him, these voices communicated amongst themselves and others, sharing information about a lot of things in their own ways of sharing information. Their "words" weren't words because their language wasn't a language, plants communicate by sensations and bursts of chemical hormones liberated by them- Like how Acacia Trees can release ethylene gas as a distress signal to warn other of dangers, which was something Stiles himself could feel and interpret! This skill make it easier for his mind to analyze the information he was getting from the plants and make them also understand his words, making him essentially "talk" to them-
Well, that would be if this world didn't have magic now.
"Ooh, look there- Hey handsome! Look here!"
"He looks kinda average to me."
"How rude, he's quite cute."
"Oh, he's looking at us!"
"We're literally grass, humans are always looking at us."
"Urgh, those nasty feet of them are always touching us!"
"Well, some of us do like feet, isn't that right grass!?"
"Oh my God- How many times do i have to tell you that it was a joke! Joke! C'mon guys, i don't like feet!"
"...feetfucker."
"Goddamnit."
Stiles just turned around and left- Yeah, not gonna deal with the feet fuckers that is grass. Instead he listened to the moss, the moss actually just sang some merry melodies, and each time he touched them they giggled before continuing to hum and make weird little noises in a melody- And better yet, their songs were in harmony! It was beautiful to just sit down and sing alongside them, which Stiles did a little before going to the tree, and he must say, he was impressed. By reaching the roots, he saw that the giant willow-like tree stood about the size of a skyscraper, with it's vines hanging low from the top , creating this beautiful curtain of vines with leaves surrounding the tree: "Oh, hello little one." Hearing the sweet grandmotherly voice of the giant tree, Stiles froze for a second before he automatically spoke: "Grandma Willow?" The tree's vines moved like they were alive before touching his head softly, making Stiles shake his head as it tickled a little: "Ah, a Forest Speaker huh? It's been too long since the last one, they walked this land when the Mothers of the Forest were children and when their great-great-great-grandmothers were children. I grew up hearing the whispers of the many great Forest Speakers, but to meet one surely is a privilege."
Stiles suddenly was lifted gently from the ground by two surprisingly really strong vines, bringing him towards a low hanging portion of the tree: "Come, Forest Speaker, for Mother Gaia has awakened- We, the trees, have waited for this moment for millenia unspoken." The grandmotherly voice sighed sadly: "Mankind has killed many of us, destroying Gaia and angering her enough to bring upon her awakening a few hundred thousand years earlier- I never dreamed of seeing Gaia awake in my lifetime, but now, I no longer am stuck to 50 years of my species' lifespan, i can live as long as my roots rest upon Mother Gaia." Stiles touched the lower hanging branch and it was thick and larger than anything else Stiles had seen- This low hanging part is more than enough for him to make a home here, even more so when the willow tree said: "It is in our sacred lives, the forest, to protect you young Forest Speaker- I vow my life to you, young one, I shall protect you."
[<Lvl 500> Mother of Willows has vowed to protect you.]
[You've received the title: Forest's Protected]
[New Skill <Forest Speak lvl 1> has absorbed <Plant's Love lvl Max>, becoming <Nature's Chosen Lvl 1>]
[Nature's Chosen <Lvl 1>
Active Skill/Passive Skill
Description: Chosen by nature itself, you are the one responsible to keep the balance between the three aspects of Gaia- The Wild (The evergrowing life of Gaia), the Wheel (The aspects of change within Gaia), and Wicked (The aspects of death within Gaia).
Passive: Makes nature love you very, very much.
Active [Vibe Check]: Upon activation, you instantly know which part of the balance needs cleaning up.
Cost: 0]
Stiles' eyes twiched at the description of the [Vibe Check] skill... So he is a peace keeper? That works for him because he doesn't think he'd be a conflict maker- he just gotta do his thing and make a [Vibe Check] once in a whilet to know the source of the problem so he can just go and solve it. Stiles sat down on the branch as he sighed- He was finally safe here, Mother of Willows will keep him safe as she promised! All his crows landed on the branches of Mother Willow as she commented on them: "Oh, the forces of The Wicked? Young one, you carry the three sides of Gaia's Will inside yourself, The Wild gives you strength, The Wheel shapes it, and The Wicked strikes, three sides to one entity. You are Nature's Chosen." Stiles just smiled as the tree started telling him stories old of great times, long since gone but remembered by the trees and the wind, which apparently talked? "Oh the wind does talk little one- You've learned how to listen to the forest, but you must learn how to listen to the wind." According to her stories, the wind was a semi-sentient being connected to a spiritual being of the same name that carried the words of mortals and delivered them to the ears of others.
As long as he learned how to listen to the wind, the wind would tell him what he needed to hear or what he wished to hear- It basically meant he could hear anything and anyone. He did his best to try and listen to the wind, but nothing worked, so he just went to sleep.
Tomorrow, things would be better, hopefully.
[-Scene End-]
Wanna read further? Check out my A03!
https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaoOfGay/works
or simply: AO3 DaoOfGay!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone