Claff
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Chapter 23
🕑 Added 2025-01-13 03:27:14 +0000 UTCRight when Lilly fell asleep, I put my little plan into action.
I dipped my awareness a little more into my roots than I usually did and started pouring mana into the ground below me. I kept to the top layer of my roots so I didn’t lose track of time, as I tended to do.
When I felt the ground below me was decently saturated with my mana, I focused on the idea of the ground around me forming into a small pillar, pulling the material needed from the surrounding earth to build up its height.
In response to my call, the dirt and rocks flowed.
This wasn’t at all what I was expecting to happen. I thought it would be a lot more choppy and rough, but it flowed like the water did when I used Water Magic.
I had the dirt and rocks form a small pillar about 30 inches tall. I was preparing to make a few more similar pillars before I received a notification I couldn’t ignore.
New skill [Earth Magic (U)] has been obtained!
I smiled to myself then adjusted my project. I thought I would have to do more before I got the skill, but now I could jump right to the bigger plans.
I smoothed the ground out around me to go back to how it was before I started my immensely successful experiment. I then flooded the whole ground around me in mana, using up around half of my pool. I needed the ground to be nice and pliable for what I had in mind.
I raised the ground around me, making a small, hollow mountain with me as a central post. I then shifted it so there was a hole in the side closest to the road Lilly came from. I smoothed out the ground in my mountain, adjusted the inside to look more like a natural burrow, then started making rooms. That’s right, I was making a Hobit Hole.
It took me the whole night to get it looking as good as I wanted, but it went spectacularly. The rooms were harder to get right, since the walls were falling apart before I realized I could use my roots to support the structures. I wove thinner, longer roots through the walls then used Earth Magic to compact everything where I wanted it. It was strange having everything go as easily as it was, but I decided against looking a gift horse in the mouth. I did have to drain a few Resource Berries to keep myself in a comfortable range though.
I had 3 major rooms made for Lilly’s comfort, though she’ll probably only use 2 of them. I had the main room with a small chimney and added a rocking chair and a couch woven from roots that I smoothed out using a combination of Rapid Growth and Wood Crafting. It felt odd having furniture made of my body inside of a cave that essentially housed my body, but I think Lilly would like it. And it would be a nice thing to have for future visitors to use.
I was surprised at how quiet all of my work really went. I had hoped that Lilly would sleep through it all and it could act as a surprise for her when she woke up, but I expected her to wake up at the first sound of the earth shifting underneath her. I guess she’s really enjoying the new bed. I think she’ll like the one in her own private room more though. I made it almost identical, but the feeling of having walls around you while you slept is pretty nice after having to camp for a few nights. I remember my back aching in my old life. I always slept great the night after coming home from a camping trip.
One of the things that I worried about most for the moment was how short I now looked. My lowest branch was sitting at around 10 feet off of the ground. I had to lift the ground level around me about 10 feet to get a good image of a home. I didn’t mind terribly much though. It just meant I would be spending some more time focused more on vertical growth again before I went back to horizontal growth. I should be back to feeling normal in a few months, max.
I worked some more on the floor, making sure that there wasn’t any loose dirt that would trip her up the moment she took her first step in here. Then I remembered the ceiling needed a bit of compacting too, and got to that as the sun started to rise. I had spent much of my resource pools through the night, but it would soon be worth it when Lilly woke up.
I went over the fine details one more time when I heard a small shriek as Lilly raised her head and started looking around.
“Willow, how the HELL did you get so short over night? What did I miss?!”
I connected my mind to hers and felt waves of panic and concern for me radiating from our bond. I sent waves of calm back to her and told her to hop down and walk around.
“I did some... renovating. Nights are long for me, so I have to find some way to fill them. I may have gone a little overboard with the decorations, but YOLO, so oh well.” I sent a mental shrug at that last part. She seemed confused but I felt her just accept that as one of my quirks.
“What do you mean dec... or...” Her thoughts fizzled out as she reached the edge of the hill I created and looked inside the entrance. I still had to make a door, but that could wait until later. I had spent a lot of resources already.
“How the hell did you do this? You made a HILL?! You made a HOUSE?!?!”
Pure astonishment radiated through the connection, and I responded with smugness and a tint of glee. I was happy she reacted so strongly.
“I may have learned Earth Magic while you slept. I had a pretty good idea of what to do after learning to use Water Magic, and I’ll probably try to learn a few more elements when I can, but yeah, I used that to make this. I hope you like it. I had fun making it.”
She glanced up at me, and I felt the awe and wonder in her mind before she cooled herself.
“Can I... go in?” she sheepishly asked.
“No. I made it for the goblins. And no girls allowed. OF COURSE YOU CAN GO IN! I didn’t make it for myself!”
Lilly laughed and went in. She checked out the chair and couches and stopped by the pillar that jutted out on the far end of the room. That would be my trunk, since I had to go somewhere. I did shape it in a way that I fit it pretty well with the decorations though.
“I still have a few more things to add to give it a lived in feeling, but I think it’s a pretty good start. For now, at least.”
She walked around and checked out the next room. This was the bed room I made for her. I only had time to make a bed similar to the one she slept in last night, but it would be the first thing I upgrade when I got the chance. Not as a skill upgrade, mind you. But I would make it more comfortable when I could. Maybe use my Resource Berries as a trading chip somehow. I’ll figure it out as I go.
“Oh Willow, you shouldn’t have. You put in all this effort, but you know I’ll probably be leaving in a few days. I appreciate you none the less, but this is too much.”
She started to tear up a bit as she laid down in the woven bed. I used my longer vine to grab the woven blanket that was up in my branches and brought it down to her. I did my best to tuck her in, but a tree could only do so much, yah know?
“Don’t worry about it. Even if you only use it a few nights this time around, it'll still be here the next time you visit me. I’ll try to upgrade things as I go, so it should be even better when you see me next. Maybe bring a mattress or something though, as I can’t do too much about the bed. Sorry about that.”
Lilly giggled and flooded our connection with a sea of appreciation and affection. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and basked in the feeling of home. I could tell that this was the most at peace she’d been in quite a while. I guess she wasn’t exaggerating about her sisters or mother.
I hope her mother doesn’t treat her even worse after learning of her daughter’s demise. She can always stay with me, but there are things I can’t provide for her. I guess I’ll see when it comes to that. God, I'll be hella lonely when she leaves me.
Lilly closed her eyes and started to drift back to sleep. I started to pull away from the mental connection I had with her when she asked me to stay. I guess I wasn’t the only one dreading the day she would be leaving me.
