Wraithwood Botanist

It was a short ride south to make it to the Harvest that year—the shortest yet.

There's something about time that makes the first year of anything seem slow and miserable, only for you to blink and realize that it was your third year of it.

Three. That was the number of harvests I had been to, and a lot had changed.

I was still a first evolution, but my strength wasn't even comparable. Even without Kira and the soulmancy that I was picking up from Brindle's memories, I had proficiency with Nymbral, my bow, mana sharpening, Moxle Dilation, and alchemy. With the exception of the top elite like Hadrian and their parents, Kline and I were strong enough to fight the entire harvest ourselves. Once I evolved my core, no one would be able to stop us.

That wasn't all that changed.

My reputation.

My relationships.

My finances.

I even had Felio who was looking to stay another year.

What a change.

We came early that year and put up a large sign that read, "Harvest Closes One Day Early This Year," with the subtitle, "Free soul meat to all on the last day of the harvest."

The harvesters were elated. It seemed this year the families were focused on making deals with me and the harvesters were prepared to just not get eaten by Kline. So when they learned they would gain expensive, highly sellable, power-increasing meat for no charge, they didn't complain.

That didn't mean that they thanked me. All of them saw Kline and the lurvine and they thought twice about approaching or thanking me and headed into the woods.

I couldn't blame them. Each of the lurvine was the size of a Rhino, and they looked pristine and majestic as they rode into town.

Kline was worse. He sat on Sina's head in his house cat form. And while she didn't like it, she was amused at people's reactions. My tiny cat was the most terrorizing creature in Areswood Forest, and everyone's faces validated that.

The Rawkan. That's what they called him. He had a myth name and everything.

Mom and Dad and Tyler weren't the only people excited to see me. Every family had a lot of extra people around them this year, and they all lit up when we made eye contact.

"Family first," I said to everyone as I jumped off Sina. "Interrupt me tonight and I won't do business with you."

Elite's shoulders slumped as Dad walked up.

"You get more tactful each time I see you," he said.

"I'm a forest savage now," I replied. "If I was diplomatic, it'd be a cause for terror."

"Not really," Mom said. She watched Felio scamper off to speak to her dad. Yet Felio didn't hug him. She bowed instead.

"See, that's what you should be like," Tyler said.

"That's fear, idiot," I said. "We have cool parents."

"Now that is how you're supposed to be," Dad said as he hugged me.

Tyler clicked his tongue. "Suck up."

I made eye contact, and his lips cracked into a smile. "Hey sis."

I hugged him. "Were you good this year?"

He sighed. "No."

I frowned. "What do you mean, no?"

Mom looked away.

Dad gave the, I shouldn't go against your mother, dance but answered anyway.

"Tyler beat up some bullies," he said.

I glowered at him.

"But to be fair!" Dad said. "They were beating up another classmate, and Tyler warned them that he wouldn't tolerate any in-fighting between classmates. And I mean, it's hard to criticize him for that when…" He looked around at the orderly, well-behaved people in the harvest.

I winced when Mom glowered at me.

Tyler gave me a cheeky smile and a peace sign.

I sighed. "You've gotten strong, have ya?"

"Been trained by the best." He turned to Kalas, freakish as ever with his war paint and expressionless face, and Malo the Hallow, the Dante guard who spent every second in a state of misery. "Just need a bit of steroids," Tyler said, "and…"

I smirked as he rolled his eyes slowly and whistled.

"You little shit," I said.

Kline clawed at Tyler's legs, and Tyler yelped and stumbled back and the family started laughing.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Come on," I said. "Let's get some food in ya."

We cooked and shared stories over a meal. I learned about Dad's coworkers, Mom's security brigade and love for jewelry, or as she put it, "Looking respectable," and Tyler's dating scene.

"I'm not sure what he's going to do this year without his girlfriends," Dad said.

"Suffer," Tyler said.

"Why didn't you invite them?" I asked.

He gave me the dry club sandwich of expressions and then looked into the forest. "Even I'm worried about it."

"Ah, just look at Felio."

I glanced at her. Unlike me, she was still going through her treasure chest of alchemical spoils and speaking about the alchemy we did. All business. She wasn't the best example.

"Well, she's asking to stay again," I said. "It's pretty nice out there."

"A lot of people seem to think so," Dad said. He hushed his tone and leaned in. I think there's more than a few groups that plan to stay here this year."

"Well, they're going to be disappointed," I said.

The next morning, things got serious. I set up a sellers tent, the kind with four flat walls and a flat door I got with my supplies, and said, "I'll let you line up however you want. I'm sure the powerful people will end up at the front regardless."

I looked at Reasan Melhan, Kal's father and the leader in cross-domain commerce. Then I sat inside and waited for hell to break loose.

Hell referred to Hadrian Dante.

I'm not sure why I hated Hadrian so much. He hadn't done anything wrong to me, but he was just so arrogant, and the impending laws of humility hadn't struck him down because he was rich, overtrained, and talented. But whatever the result, he was good at what he did. I knew that when he walked in and said:

"This year, I've brought you a variety of items designed to protect your family."

I tried to speak, but then chuckled to myself as he pulled out boxes.

"I'm assuming you'll give your necklace to your brother," he said.

The Pendant of Reflection was a necklace that Reasan gave me as an apology for his son's behavior. The necklace was a timeless treasure that prevented projectiles from hitting me. And while it was convenient, it was only a crutch in battle and I had started taking it off so I didn't rely upon it. It was, in effect, not even worth mentioning. But with Tyler, it could be a matter of life and death.

"Well, I've brought similar treasures for your mother and father and dog," Hadrian said. "In addition, I've brought rings that create powerful wards that can fend off second evolution attacks. I'm sure this means little to you, but remember that they live in civilization. Not…" He looked at the wall blocking us from the forest. "Here."

I took a deep breath. "That sounds… expensive. What are you looking for in exchange?"

"Power. I'm collecting items you're sending to your god, so I know that you have resources beyond what you will sell here."

I looked away. I'm not sure how I felt about giving the strongest person in this domain more power. Yet… those artifacts were doubtlessly worth tens of millions each, and I had a firm guess I couldn't even buy them. These were special items.

And I did have a resource I could give him a small quantity of:

The Helix of Annihilation.

Even after giving Elana three and a half liters, I had two and a half left. I had a vial of it on hand to give to Felio's father if he didn't relent, and I could hand it over to Hadrian.

Would it make a difference?

I wasn't sure. It was clear that they were turning Hadrian into a god. They were pumping him full of soul meat and resources and similar elixirs from the upper domains. It was dangerous to help him grow—but there was no price on my family. The Dante family was protecting them till the auction, but after that, their ten-year contract would expire when multiverse-wide interest in me bloomed.

"As valuable as these are, my family already has excellent protection," I said shrewdly. "So they don't need them now. And by the time Brexton's auction rolls around, our ten-year arrangement will be over—about the time when they're going to be vulnerable. These artifacts are powerful—but they're not what we need. So… you want to negotiate a further protection contract?"

Hadrian carefully set down his box of jewelry and flashed me a smile. "Unfortunately, I cannot do that. My family is already rather displeased that I extended your contract. If I didn't, we would have heavy leverage this year to obtain anything you had to offer. So… no. We'll be holding out until you're desperate."

I sat down at the table and looked at the box.

"It is for that reason," Hadrian continued, "that you are building a village, is it not? Because you know that they will not be safe with us forever. And when they come to your village, you would like him to have these resources. Or am I wrong?"

I studied his smirk and rolled my eyes.

"I think I'll hold out until you're desperate," I said. "We're on contract for ten years. I don't have to give you a damn thing until the last second."

Hadrian's smirk didn't waver. "You have a lot of money, Mira. But money cannot buy you everything in this world. It's a world of nepotism and family connections. What we say, goes. We are the law, the kings, the rulers. So I wouldn't be so hasty."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't need bandages for gaping wounds. I will give you equal exchange for them, but if you want what I'm sending to my god, you're going to have to do better than that."

His face flashed with a serious glint for the first time.

"I indeed have a god level elixir." I pulled out the small vial. It was comically small, considering that I absorbed an entire liter of it, but he didn't need to know that. "It's a god-class hypothetical elixir, and I've tested it," I said.

"You have striking courage to mention that."

"It's going up for multiversal auction soon, meaning that the resources that I could be earning far outstrip your own," I said. "And it also means that you cannot touch me. Though, I suppose you already can't. You were hired to bring back resources, right? What would the gods think if you robbed the supplier?"

"Seems you weren't so careless after all." He leaned his back against the tent. "How about this? If that elixir is what you say, and you… sign a truth pact about it. I'll gift you guards from your family's current security detail—one guard each of their choosing—and Malo, who is part of my personal guard detail. I'll also give you the jewelry."

"What happened to not being able to extend their protection?" I asked.

"It's not extending it. This year, many people are looking to give you qualified people to improve your relationships. It would be bad if we didn't, no?"

My lips curved into a smile, and I lifted my hand. "Then allow me to prove its validity." When I created a truth pact that proved that it was a god-class elixir, Hadrian's eyes glittered in strange and beautiful ways.

"Now promise that you won't disclose its existence unless I allow it, and we have a deal," I said. "As much as I want to sign it, I will not ruin my god's auction plans to make it."

"Deal." He lifted his hand and made a pact.

Once he finished, I handed him the elixir. "It's a Numina Anima of the harmonizer stage. It will increase the relationship between your mind, aura, and soul. Be grateful that you obtained it at such a low price."

I stood. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I've increased the Dante's power enough this year."

"Okay." He walked to the door and looked back. "Oh. My father wants me to spend a year in Areswood if you'd allow it. Subject to a modified soul pact. Your pact is far too aggressive."

"Goodbye, Hadrian."

He smirked. "Maybe next year."

He left, and I sighed, expecting Reasan to follow in his place, but someone else came in. He was about my age, with sharp clothing and an accent that made it clear that he was from Earth rather than Dronami.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said. "My name is Everen. I am the individual who sells your products directly to bypass Melhan fees."