Evolution: Oh, No! I Became a Sentient Tree Branch

Darkness, his entire being was engulfed into it. The sensations that came along were panic and fear. Next was...,

Well, imagine it.

To be trapped in one spot, movements are restricted, and no sense of awareness. Need more? Think of no arms, no feet, no voice to speak, no eyes to see, and no ears to hear.

That was him.

Besides it installing memories of past times, you would think he would be used to this feeling by now, but he wasn't.

You see, this wasn't his first time experiencing this pitch-black space of nothingness. Oh no, not by a longshot. Neither was it his second time. Instead, when he did a total count, this made his third time.

But it was always better to get a clearer picture of these things, so let's begin with the first time.

An average student of 17 years, and attending the go-home club. Nothing strange or unusual there. Then was his lifestyle. Perhaps play a few games, do a couple of non-official sports, a part-time job for extra pocket money, and a kind mother's cooking to eat.

Still nothing worth mentioning.

However, there was one thing of note. You see, this mother of his was a lady in the education department. She loved kids, taught at a junior high school close to home, and did he mention she was a kind mother?

But that was where the problem laid. On one day of regular teaching, she and her students disappeared. It wasn't until a year later that she reappeared, but different.

She had been traumatized.

The world she visited was a fantasy world surrounded in chaos. Wars waged every day, children died or became child soldiers, the fate of the world loomed overhead because of a crisis, and she was tasked to change it all, killing endlessly to make it happen.

Could a kind person easily change their nature for this kind of mission?

Of course not! At least not his mother.

However, he was forced to stomach her change and ease the pain as much as he could. All the while, wishing sincerely for a way to fix it.

And it came, along with his first experience.

He traveled back to the same day she disappeared.

He and his childhood friend then rushed to the school, on his insistence, and managed to take her place. And you guessed it, that was the second experience.

So what about the one he was experiencing now?

It was because of a hater. It absolutely was, no lie. To believe it, just let him explain in detail.

After he saved the world, a madman came and used the Hero Summoning. Low and behold, the person to be summoned was his mother...,

again.

Why do this? Why loathe such a kind mother? Even more, why was he the main target of that hate? He asked these very questions after the madman penetrated a sword through both his mother and him, but...

...using one word.

"Why...?!"

He had asked.

Despite the emotions raging wild, he stilled them for that sincerest wish. Although if asked, it would be hard to claim valid since the madman mirrored their crisis, having a spear ram in the throat.

Still, how could that minor issue prevent him from knowing?

"Gargh... hehe..."

The sound of blood being coughed up and laughter, regardless of the fact for every second passing, death arrived closer, was the madman's response.

Was it so hard to believe now? To make matters worse...,

'F*ck you,'

Is what the madman's lips read

Weren't these signs of a madman? If the madman wasn't replying to him, was it to his childhood friend bleeding out, since she glared hatefully? Nevermind, forget it.

Back to the main topic at hand, he came to acknowledge something. There was indeed awareness. The sense of touch he neglected to realize beforehand was telling him, the wind blew.

So maybe outside? No, wait. Not only was he outside, but there was also grass underneath.

Going in accordance, he experienced time travel, world transfer, and now rebirth? Did the others reincarnate too?

Sigh. He wanted to hear, he wanted to smell, he wanted to move, he wanted to see, and most of all, he wanted to find his kind mother.

Oh, and his childhood friend too.

The repeated darkness gave him yearning. Yearning to reach out and touch the new world. Or rather, 'connect with' was a better fit than 'reach out.'

Unknowingly, there were changes. He began to feel light. Then there was warmth similar to a mother's embrace. Next, the world turned black and white.

That was when it happened...

...his wishes came true.

He could see in a small radius of 6m, in a complete 360. Sound vibrations transmitted into noise that could be recognized as if breathing life, strange energy would filter smell, and above all else, it wrapped around his body, extending to form hands and feet.

The only thing lacking was the wish for his mother.

<Acquired Reinforced Nature Enlightenment>

Whoa...

...If he wished hard enough, anything was possible. Just look at him now, he got a new ability on his fresh start at life. But if he was truthful, he didn't understand it.

Maybe there was a world system in place to help hard workers and kind individuals because he definitely was that type of person.

Hmm... let's move along.

His newfound senses were what intrigued him most. When he put it to use, his former thoughts were correct. He was in a clearing that was part of a forest. Trees cluttered the area with a temperature the time of the autumn season.

To prove it wasn't his imagination saying so, utilizing his unique sight, he saw there were also scattered leaves and broken tree branches lying on the ground. In the middle of the mess, he felt the warmth of familiarity coming from a giant tree that had to be the largest one in the entire forest.

Unexplainable, he got the urge to shout mother, but he refrained. He, at least, was well dignified in that regard. After all, his mother couldn't be a tree. Instead, what gave him the kinship vibes was because it, no that was inaccurate, it was better to call her 'she.'

She was his new mother, who just gave birth to his new brothers and sisters.

The sight of himself and the message he obtained made him think this way.

<Sentient Branch>

¬A tree branch that has gained self-awareness