~So like this?~ Lucius closed his eyes, clearing his mind before imagining that a bundle of roots was protruding from his body, slithering towards the water.
[Water absorbed.]
[Growth efficiency increased by 2.5%]
[Photosynthesis efficiency increased by 2.5%]
[Quest complete.]
[+20 exp]
~Finally, level tw-~
[Inadequete growth. Level cap 1.]
[New Quest. Reach Growth cap.]
~Huh? Growth cap?~ After thinking it over for a moment, he sort of got the gist, though he wasn't entirely sure.
~They want me to grow, right?~ he thought before closing his eyes to begin photosynthesis.
[Absorbing 1.025 Helios per second]
~Guess this is the effect of catalyst ab-~ as he thought this his photosynthesis came to halt.
~Ah, I forgot. If I stop focusing on the rays, it stops,~ he thought before refocusing his attention on the sun rays once again. Five minutes of silent concentration went by in what felt like a moment before Lucius stopped photosynthesizing.
~Okay. 307 Helios, now I just allocate them all into growth.~ The change was a little more noticeable this time, he felt a little taller, a little larger than before. And though he had no muscle fibers to speak of, he felt a little stronger too.
~Do I still have to grow some more?~ he wondered to himself. After several seconds passed with no new notification, he decided to continue photosynthesis.
***
Hours passed, and Lucius absorbed close to 25 000 helios, all of which he allocated to growth. Though each helio point showed negligible growth, when they reached the 1000's the difference was quite noticeable. He was now two times larger than he had been at the start of the day and felt many times stronger.
Though he noticed that the process seemed to take a toll on his mind as he felt very fatigued. Everything seemed blurry, and though he felt stronger, it was as if all his energy had been drained.
~1000 more, please tell me this is enough,~ he thought, his mind fuzzy from using photosynthesis for so long.
[Quest complete. +0 exp]
[Growth cap reached]
[Level cap increased]
[New Quest. Buy 10 Evo points from the shop.]
Without much thought, Lucius began photosynthesis once again. He knew that he ought to rest, however, the sun was already setting, and if he delayed he would have to wait until tomorrow.
[Absorbing 1.025 helios per second.]
[Quest complete.] As the notification came up, Lucius's world began to turn dark.
[Leafling Evolution has commenced. 10 Evo points have been deducted.] These were the last words Lucius saw before slipping out of consciousness.
***
"What is it?"
"I don't know, but I don't think we should touch it. What if it wakes up?"
"What do you mean, '? ?on'? ???n? we ??o?l? ?o??? ??'? Luci has been missing ever since it showed up. I say we push it into the river." The words were soft as whispers as they trickled into Lucius's ears. His fatigue had died down, but it had now been replaced by a throbbing headache. He could barely understand what the voices were saying, much less give a care.
[Leaf Being Evolution Complete.]
[New items have been added to the shop.]
[『Quests』 Unlocked.]
"Oi, you what did you do to Luci?" The kick felt like a splash of cold water on his face, which only added to his massive headache. When he opened his eyes, he saw two familiar figures standing in front of him. The other leaflings were a few steps behind, a look of genuine concern and contempt filling their faces.
"You deaf? I asked what you did to Luci." Yet another kick was planted into his face, and though Lucius took pride in his patience with others, he was getting fed up with being used as a kicking bag.
"Stop. What if it gets angry?" whispered one of the other leaflings. Though it seemed scared, its eyes were blazing with anger.
"What's going on here?" He asked groggily, Ghost's foot still planted in his face.
"Luci?"
"Captain?"
There was a moment of silence, the leaflings looked as if they had just seen a ghost, and Lucius, well Lucius felt like a ghost.
"Why are all of you looking at me like that? And can you get your foot off me?" he said before instinctively swatting Ghost's foot away.
"Now, someone answer me." This time he said it in a more commanding voice, brushing himself off as he stood up. Everyone looked shorter, smaller, as if he were looking at dwarfs.
"Captain, is that really you?" Alpha asked, taking a step back in uncertainty.
"What are you talking about of cours-" Just then it hit him. How had he swatted Ghost's foot away? How had he brushed himself off? How come everyone looked so much smaller?
"Huh?"
He slowly turned and made his way closer to the river. It was early morning and the sun was just beginning to rise. The morning air felt cool, and the water seemed even more refreshing. Though it still seemed like a raging ocean, he felt safer than before getting a little closer to it.
As he stood over the water, staring at his reflection, he realized that he was a- he was, he was a green imp? Less ugly, but still some sort of imp, with a single leaf growing out of his scalp. His eyes were a vibrant green and his ears were long and sharp.
~What the hell is going on here?~
[New Quests available.] The words came with the same jarring sound that the daily quests appeared with. He doubled over in pain and nearly fell into the river, if he didn't have a headache perhaps it would've been more bearable.
"Luci, are you going to explain to us what's going on?" The fire in Ghost's eyes had died down, now all that remained was confusion, with a hint of fear.
~They're scared,~ he realized. He had turned into a weird-looking monster without explanation, and apart from Ghost and a few others, the leaflings were akin to little kids, no more.
