First Exploration

¬A tree branch that has gained self-awareness

Ah, that made sense. Didn't this mean he wasn't alone?

He must check.

Having always dreamed secretly for siblings, he formed small legs then inspected every leaf and branch. Naturally, they remained still, disappointing him.

Since the first option failed, he walked to the giant tree. Reaching out energy made hands, he patted the bark.

Hopefully, this action got his new mother's attention.

There was no response.

How could this be? He steadily felt the strong vitality and comfort, yet New Mother was just big and ordinary? Was he the only one sentient?

If he remembered correctly, didn't most fiction stories say tree creatures took centuries to develop consciousness? Would it be the same for New Mother and the Siblings?

This would not do.

His newfound kinship feelings demanded he helped. The first requirement was to sustain life and healthiness. When it came to these things, food was the best source. Or rather, plants did not need anything other than water and sunlight.

So his real goal was finding water. And if he was honest, his signs of famished had long since been overdue.

In that case, the enlightenment-thingy took a toil it seemed.

Without further ado, he made his way to explore the forest. The farther he traveled, the more he realized this forest was spooky.

His original assumption was it resembling an area home to wild animals, like bears, monkeys, snakes, and so on. However, there were plants, vines, plants, weeds, bamboo trees, flowers, bushes, and more plants.

Yes, yes. What he faced was a territorial place dominated by plants. Furthermore, it was eerie in that they were aggressive.

Would he lose his life before he could help New Mother and the Siblings?

Never! It was time to put his former hero skills to the test. Now, where was a blade when he needed it?

Ah, so hungry. It was better to be passive until he found water.

Right, let's look some more.

The good thing about this trip was the light heat hitting his body. That was very good. He never thought he would be so glad to feel the sun.

Sigh. If only he could see its color, though. In fact, everything kept getting darker and darker for some reason. Was his limited sight failing?

Oh, no! That dark shade wasn't his sight playing tricks. It was the shadow of a predator. But what would want a stick for lunch? Speaking of, he wasn't very delicious, you know.

Look at this thing. It was no wonder he missed it. It was completely black. The head parted, forming a five-point star with sharp rows of green teeth.

Such an ugly thing. It was three times his height, and that said much since he was a giant tree's branch. So it was pretty big, he guessed.

¬An ugly plant creature

Wow! That was his exact thoughts. Did the world system read minds?

Nevermind. He needed to procure his little life first.

His hand shifted into a blade point, resembling a spearhead. Like an engle's viewpoint, his glared descended upon Venus-chan. He could call it that, right?

Venus-chan snapped forward, not perturbed.

Come on. He was going to lose credibility as a former hero at this rate. You see, previously, he had two overpowered abilities to let him reinforce and deter. Using them, he was the strongest and most feared hero ever to arrive.

However, for these outstanding abilities, he lost the skill to perform magic.

It sure sucked to be reborn, but he would not give up.

He shot the spearhead at Venus-chan. It bounced off the inner mouth surface and came back his way.

What?!

Unfair! His enlightenment-thingy wasn't a fighting ability? He wanted his gratitude back. Fortunately, he knew how to cancel it. But still, everything was happening too fast. He no longer felt the sunlight, and the ground even became soft.

Hmm...it was soft with no light?

Crap! He was inside! Although the bars preventing his escape was soft as well, he felt loads of water emerge.

Submerge by liquid while inside a mouth? This had to be gastric acid.

Crack!

Ahhh! It was painful! What had he been thinking? A tree branch versus a mutated flytrap? He must have lost his sanity.

Crack!

Urgh! So hungry. Maybe if he had food, the outcome could change. At this point, any water would do. Heck, any liquid would do.

Crack!

If he was going to die by digestion, then he preferred a battle between who ate who first.

Huh?!

No, concentrate. He could not allow distractions. He needed to use his small roots left from when New Mother separated, and feed to his limit.

More! More! To eat or to be eaten, only the one working harder would prevail. And he was no slacker.

Crack!

Not enough. The speed at which he was feeding still paled in comparison to Venus-chan. What else could he do? Of course, feed more!

He must devour it all.

Oh! Something like this was possible too? No pain, no gain.

Yes! He could see the light of hope. It was good to be persistence.

For now on, let be even more persistence.

In the end, Venus-chan stopped producing gastric acid. The dark prison also opened.

Whew. Venus-chan should not blame him. His only desire was to live after all. And on a brighter note, he was overstuffed.

How tasty was it? Honestly, he never wanted to digest that again. Know how food tastes when smashed together after it entered your belly? Or when it comes up, and you get the after taste?

Well, that was how it tasted.

There were still more rewards?!

It was time to change plans. The forest was dangerous. From his encounter with Venus-chan, his body had cracked all over. It would heal, right? He wasn't sure since he never been a tree branch.

The ones on earth and the hero world didn't heal. So maybe it was the same here? How fearful. Going back to New Mother and the Siblings was for the best. Once he recovered, if he recovered, he should try again.

Satisfied, he returned tired. When he laid down, he dreamed of transforming through the world system.

¬Root Branch

¬Deep-root Branch

Was he being asked to choose? Then he would pick at random. He had no idea to tell the difference anyway.

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