Earth's Greatest Magus

Emery waited anxiously for any kind of reaction from Twik, who had become a tree that stood tall with its roots had covered the entirety of the spirit cave.

There were many times when Emery thought about getting some help from outside. However, he always stopped himself at the last moment, thinking that he couldn't leave his little buddy to his plight even just for a second.

Hours passed without any significant changes. By then, even though he was still worried about Twik, Emery didn't just stand around doing nothing. He made use of the time by tending the garden and inspecting the hundreds of plants he had been growing in the place without leaving his attention from Twik.

Eventually, one day passed and there was still no movement from the plant creature. If that wasn't bad enough, Emery also discovered that some of the rare plants needed for the body tempering potion he was trying to cultivate inside the cave were dying.

However, it would be a lie to say that he hadn't expected this to happen. After all, the reason these plants were precious was that half of these plants had their own natural habitats, be it cold regions or warm climates, which couldn't easily be replicated.

Still, that didn't mean Emery was not dispirited by it. As he heaved a sigh, his eyes couldn't help but turn their heads towards the tree within the cave.

Once again, anxiety welled up in him and Emery tried to manage it by conducting a few more apothecary experiments with the dying plants to gain more understanding of them, and the secrets in making the body tempering potion.

Time passed as he did some experiments while also observing the development of Twik's situation. However, his attention was distracted when a notification came to his privilege bracelet.

It had the marking of a certain renowned blacksmith's workshop that was placed in the Golden City.

[We send this to notify you that we have finished analyzing your tier 5 sword, and that we will be able to repair it within four days]

A smile made its way to Emery's lips as his tense expression and body relaxed slightly reading the notification. Finally, a piece of good news amid successive bad news.

But just as he thought things were finally getting better for him, Emery caught a string of numbers written right beneath the message.

[Estimated repair cost: 125,000 spirit stones]

In an instant, his face froze. The money Emery had to pay to repair his weapon was about half of the spirit stones he currently had, and this revelation irritated him once again. Gone is the joy that appeared earlier.

"I really should ask Zach to pay for this!" Emery muttered under his breath in a displeased tone. That amount of money was simply too much for him to spend at once.

[Yes I accept. Proceed with the reparation]

That was the only answer Emery could give, as he really needed his Savage Sword for the final test's mission he would be doing in less than two weeks' time. There was no way he would head into the literal last test of his time in the academy without a weapon in hand.

...

The next day, Emery spent his time using [Nature Grasp] to deepen his understanding of his spirit cave's current state.

He delved deep and focused all capability of his Spirit Reading on the cave and what was happening within. In this process, he gradually found his root-like spirit energy started to expand across the entire cave, and he felt a sensation as if he touched every inch of them with his own hand.

He even started to perceive the energy pulse of the earth that supplied and distributed the rich nature spirit energy throughout the cave. The feeling was so exhilarating that he couldn't help but wanting to be lost within.

With that, Emery went on to follow along the pulse. Throughout the hours, he gradually found himself becoming one with the cave, making him able to sense the slight changes within all the plants and soil, even to the extent of the tiniest particle.

Thanks to the newfound comprehension of the element, Emery could conclude that Twik was at the final stage of his mutation. This discovery naturally excited him, but also worried him a little, afraid that things would go out of hand again.

He approached closer and sat right under the small tree saying, "Whenever you are ready, buddy."

Just as if Twik heard his words, moments later Emery felt another signature of spirit energy emerge from the tree, which was swiftly followed by tremors on the ground.

In the next second, he saw the roots that filled the entire cave begin to move and pull back into the tree.

The roots started to free the Chizpur Fangs it ensnared one by one, and the inside of the cave gradually became chaotic again as they started to make noises.

"Ku.. ku.. Ku . kuang!"

Knowing that there must be something more with the Chizpur Fangs, Emery checked them with his [Analyze] starting with the five chubby ones he created first. Surprise colored his face when he saw that all of them were upgraded, becoming stronger than they were before.

[Chizpur Fang - Stage 6]

[Magical Creature Level 72 (85)]

[Battle Power - 75 (90)]

On the other hand, the other thirty Chizpur Fang also advanced to the next stage.

[Chizpur Fang upgraded to stage 5]

Emery gave a sigh of relief that it appeared as he thought Twik roots did help them evolve.

It took several minutes before all the roots that infested the cave earlier finally returned to their source, the small tree standing in the center. As Emery waited with bated breath for what would happen next, green runes appeared across the tree's surface and flickered brightly.

The tree then began to shrink, forming into a humanoid shape twice as large as Twik had been – just a head shorter than Emery. In the next second, a powerful surge of energy appeared, and with that, a notification appeared in Emery's mind.

[Flora Colossi upgraded to stage 8]

[Mythical creature level 5]

[Battle power: 155 (250)]

Emery couldn't help but inhale his breath when he saw the notification. It was such a massive upgrade that increased Twik's strength to almost twice as strong.

"Congratulations, Twik!" Emery said happily as he looked at the figure standing in the middle of the cave.

Such a joyous occasion had shut all the anxiety he felt earlier, and was quickly celebrated by all the plant creatures. Emery can't help to wonder if now they finally could do the fusion skill together.

However, the festive atmosphere only lasted for a few moments before Twik glanced at Emery with a strange look and suddenly fell to his knees.

"Twik!? What happened?"

Emery rushed over, worried. He quickly touched Twik's chest where his plant core was, and what greeted him was a situation that he knew very well –  a chaotic spirit core. Apparently, something had gone wrong.

"Kuang! Kuang!!"

Twik writhed violently and screamed in pain as his body was in Emery's arms. He was in shock and at a loss as to what to do when he suddenly heard another scream from around him.

"Ku.. ku.. Ku!.. ku!"

Turning his head, Emery saw the little Chizpurs creatures fall to the ground one by one like a domino. Then to his horror, he saw the body of one of them start to wither and turn into dry husk, before eventually dissipating into the air as a cloud of dust.

One of the Chizpur Fang he gave life to died right in front of his eyes, and the one next to it soon followed the fate of its brethren, confusing and terrifying their creator.

"What the hell is going on?!"

A joyous event worthy of a big celebration suddenly turned into a nightmare.