Growth

The Ancient One was sitting together with Ororo and Jean. After their daily training, Eagna liked spending time and chatting with Munroe over some tea, and this had become a routine for them ever since the African Goddess came to Kamar-Taj to study about Magic and her ancestors.

Jean also visited them from time to time as she and Ororo were good friends and got along very well. The two were like sisters, always supporting each other and looking after the other.

They also both had a lot of potential for Magic. Jean had the Phoenix Force to draw energy from. Very few have access to an energy source that's pretty much unlimited.

While Ororo was just very talented. Multiple generations from her family have all been Sorcerers, and Magic was in her blood. It came naturally to her, and she learned so fast.

Eagna had already selected who she wanted as her successor after viewing countless timelines, but... she was starting to rethink if she had chosen the correct one.

Ororo was a great candidate for the next Sorcerer Supreme. She was kind, intelligent with a lot of potential for Magic. Ororo also had a mutant ability of incredible power and was also a Goddess of Earth. If she entered the competition for the title, few would be able to content against her.

Then there was William, a variable that appeared about a month ago and completely threw her out of the loop. Eagna wasn't entirely sure what he will do.

If he learned that there was a tournament, the winner of which is granted the title of Sorcerer Supreme, she was sure he would try to participate, just because the title means so much more for him. The question was, how will the Vishanti react to him?

As the three were talking, William's portal opened up next to them. It was always easy to recognize when it's him since his portals have a blue outline.

When he stepped through the portal, the Ancient One looked at him in disbelief. William's energy was radiating like a sun to someone like her, who could sense mystical energies. His physical presence had also drastically changed, making him feel in a way superior to others.

Eagna wasn't sure what to think of him. William had more than doubled in strength yet again. This was just absurd at this point. If he continues like this, sure enough, he will become one of the strongest beings in the entire Universe.

William shared a look with Jean. The two were obviously communicating mentally. It lasted no more than a few seconds, but when you can directly transmit your thoughts to the other, you didn't need more than that.

He then raised his hands in the air victoriously, and with a proud smile on his face, he said, "I'm a god!"

From the portal behind him, his clone walked in. Similarly, like William, he also raised his hands in the air. "Me, too!"

Then he opened another portal and left.

Eagna sighted. As strong as he had become, he was still the same teenager that she met about a month ago, the one that kept entering and exiting the Mirror Dimension because he found it funny.

She also believed in his statement. Not only did Eagna sense his powers and the change within him, but William the way he said it was different than normal.

"He got a Quest for that," Jean said, explaining how it happened, but Eagna already had her suspicions about it. His ability was truly something else.

"A Quest?" Ororo asked, confused by that. She didn't know about his ability and how it worked.

Before they could even try to explain to her, William's portal opened up once more, and he walked out of it.

"By the way, do you happen to have any books on magical herbs? And maybe one or two about elixirs/potions?" He asked.

"What for?" The Ancient One asked.

"I found some herbs, and I want to see if I can make those myself," William said while pulling out a red vial from his Inventory.

Eagna believed him, but for some reason, she felt like he wasn't being entirely truthful. However, she wasn't sure if he was lying or not. That was a first for her, and she didn't know what to think about it. Still, she decided to give him the books he wanted. Maybe he could end up creating something amazing with what he had found.

----

"Thank you!" I said after I got the books I wanted.

I then returned home and created two clones.

[Mana Clone increased to 18.]

I will spam this skill later to at least get it to 20, so I can have three clones, but for now, I just wanted them to read the books I got.

After that, I went to visit Groot and see how he was doing.

"I am Groot!" As usual, he got very excited once he saw me. I bet he will be even more excited once I show him what I got.

"Hey, little buddy," I said and patted him on the head.

"I have something I want you to look at," I said while taking out the Heart-Shaped Herb. I know he had the ability to manipulate plants, but I wondered if he can reproduce them as well. If he can, then I can have an infinite supply of this.

"Think you can make more of this?" I asked.

"I am Groot!" He nodded with his hands outstretched.

I handed him the herb, and he started looking it over while I started fixing up my Inventory. It was a big mess, so I had to do something about it. I was organizing my Inventory when I suddenly heard a burp.

My head snapped towards Groot and the missing Heart-Shaped Herb.

"I am Groot!" He said with a bit of a frown

It tasted sour? What?

I didn't even get to question him as he suddenly started growing until he reached about 3'3 (1m) in height.

[Kid Groot Lvl. 54]

[Powers: Plant Manipulation; Cellular Regeneration; Kinaesthetic Sense; Enhanced Senses]

The plant pot he was placed in got destroyed from his growth, and he walked over to me, hugging me around the waist.

"I am Groot!"

Ahh, he's still a cute fella. If only he stopped calling me "mother."

I hugged him back before asking, "So, what can you tell me about the Heart-Shaped Herb?"

I didn't mind that he ate one. I was already considering giving it to him, but I did want to know more about it, and if it can be reproduced.

"I am Groot. I am Groot. I am Groot," he explained in detail.

Damn, he is a smart one, isn't he? However, I didn't like the fact that the juices were poisonous. That wasn't mentioned in the description of the herb.

Groot didn't have much of a problem with the poison since his regeneration was able to overcome it with ease. My healing factor and resistance to poisons should also do the same, but I don't think the others will be able to eat it just like that.

Maybe I can spam Healing Magic on them after they eat it, but I wasn't sure if that will work. It was still only able to cure weak abnormal conditions. I can raise the skill to a higher level before I give them the herb, or find a way to remove the poison after my clones finish with the books.

Another thing Groot informed me was that reproducing the herb will be hard since it needs a special catalyst, and he didn't know what it is. That's not much of a problem since I already know it should be Vibranium A, something I already have plenty of.

[Hey, Peter, can you come over? I have something I need to show you.]

I contacted him in our Guild chat. There were all the computer parts and various equipment in my Inventory that I wanted to make use of. He will certainly be able to help me with that.

[Peter Parker: Uhm, not right now. I have a bit of a... furry problem on my hands, I will message you later.]

I don't even want to know what he is talking about, but hopefully, he will deal with it quickly.

While waiting for him, I decided to see if I can find anything else about the Herb-Shaped Herb. I also had to find something for Groot to do now that he was able to walk around, but that was easily solvable.

"Hey, do you want to have some fun with some Skeleton?" I asked.

"I am Groot!" He replied, and I created a Dungeon.

"Go wild," I said, and he stormed towards the Skeletons. They were lower than him in levels, and he was also enhanced by the Heart-Shaped Herb he ate.

Even the Fire Magic of the Skeletons had little effect on him as he decimated them one by one. His arms had grown in size, and he was using them like whips, smashing the Skeletons apart.

"I am Groot!" He yelled.

"Hey, watch your language!" I said while sitting down with the herb in front of me.

The description of it was still the same with no information about it being poisonous. However, Groot was sure that the juices of the herb were poisonous, so I had to look there.

Extracting them wasn't an issue. I just used Telekinesis on the herb and squished the juices out.

[Herb-Shaped Herb Juices(Legendary): Juices extracted from a Heart-Shaped Herb. It grants Kinaesthetic Sense, enchases all senses, and raises all physical stats of the consumer to the superhuman level. Highly poisonous to those not blessed by a god.]

...

Can't I bless someone now that I'm a god? How does that even work, and why don't I have a skill for it? Do I have to wait until I upgrade Minor Godhood to be able to bless someone?

I don't like the sound of that. I'd rather boost the strength of my friends as soon as possible, in case something happens. I couldn't get any further information about it, so I consumed the juices.

[80% of Heart-Shaped Herb poison has been resisted.]

The taste was awful, and as Groot said, sour. My passive skills mostly negated the effect of the poison but not fully. That wasn't a bad thing since I can also raise my Poison Resistance from this.

I wasn't scared for my health since I was sitting down and had Meditation activated on top of all my natural healing. I was perfectly safe from this.

[Poison Resistance increased to 4.]

I ignored the pop-ups and focused on the changes happening within me. I felt the juices traveling through every inch of my body.

My stats were already over 200, so I didn't get a boost to them, but everywhere the juices passed, I felt more connected to that part of my body. I was able to sense it better and knew how to perfectly move it.

The process lasted for about 20 minutes, after which the poison disappeared.

[Through absorbing the Heard-Shaped Herb's Juices, the skill, Kinaesthetic Sense, has been created.]

[Through absorbing the Heard-Shaped Herb's Juices, the skill, Enhanced Senses, has been created.]

[Kinaesthetic Sense(Passive) Lvl. Max: The skill heightens the proprioceptive system processes, the orientation sense to the brain, and perceptions in your body. The user moves with grace, being in perfect control of every single part in his body.]

[Enhanced Senses(Passive) Lvl. Max: All the user's senses are enhanced beyond the level of a human.]

The first skill was something I was in need of. With my increased stats, it was becoming harder and harder to control my strength.

The second skill, however, was a bit of a weird one. All of my senses were enhanced. I was able to see, hear, and smell better. And the feeling was a bit weird, kinda distorting as I still wasn't used to it.

I stood up and stretched out. My movements were so fluid, and I felt in perfect control of my body. Man, it's so good to be The Gamer.

I looked over at Groot, who was having a 1v1 with the Skeleton King. The two were about equal in level, but the Boss had the height and mass advantage.

However, that wasn't enough to deal with Groot, and the fight looked to be in a stalemate, even though the Skeleton King had fire magic. Groot's regeneration was just that good, he was able to ignore the Magic of the Boss.

"Need some help, buddy?" I asked.

"I am Groot!" He declared.

Fine, fine, have it your way. I will just watch as you beat him up.

[Name: William Williamson

Mutant Power: The Gamer

Level: 80 Next Level: 9%

Title: Sorcerer; Champion of the Phoenix; Minor God of Deceit and Magic]

[HP: 14,653

MP: 23,567]

[Strength: 201 + 261.3 (Martial Arts bonus) + 310(Enchanted Equipment)

Vitality: 204 + 275.4(Martial Arts bonus) + 310(Enchanted Equipment)

Dexterity: 201 + 261.3(Martial Arts bonus) + 200(Bow and Arrow of Apollon) + 310(Enchanted Equipment)

Intelligence: 401 + 585.46(Meditation bonus) + 100 (Bow and Arrow of Apollon) + 310(Enchanted Equipment)

Wisdom: 201 + 293.46(Meditation bonus) + 310(Enchanted Equipment)

Luck: 69 + 310(Enchanted Equipment)]

[Stat Points: 33

Cash: $123 456]

[Skills:

Mana Clone(Active) Lvl. 18/100 (+1)

Meditation(Passive/Active) Lvl. 73/100 (+1)

Poison Resistance(Passive) Lvl. 7/100 (+4)

Kinaesthetic Sense(Passive)*

Enhanced Senses(Passive)*]