Chapter 3: Is That Groot?

<Year 1, Month 6: Following a month of guided meditation, you can finally grasp complete control over your Ki. This means you can now navigate Ki to any part of your body and provide it a layer of protection.>

<Year 1, Month 9: Three months of hard work allow you finally launch the most essential move in all of the dragon ball, the Ki Blast. You lament about how weak your talent is and complain to yourself>

<Mark tells you that even if your talent is terrible, it doesn't matter. Speed of improvement isn't what matters. The important thing is you constantly push yourself forward and improve. Your power level is currently at 135.>

<Year 2: You find out that Mark's life is slowly withering away. You learn it is due to your initial attack that damaged him badly. You feel the situation you are in is very ironic.>

Reading this notification, John is left entirely dumbfounded. John spoke to himself, "What is this Irony? Whenever I meet people, I injure them. Is the evil characteristic responsible for such a thing?."

"Not to mention this means when Mark told me three months ago that time doesn't matter, he was dying on the inside. No, I can't let my master die. I must find a way."

<You remember how Master Roshi tried to seal King Piccolo in a Jar. So you ask Mark if there is any such soul technique that would allow Mark to live on.>

<Mark responded that he does have a method, but he is unsure if you will be able to learn it in time. Also, it would require many living souls to be experimented on.>

<You inform Mark about the river and decide to practice this technique with the souls of the fishes.>

<Year 2, Month 3: Mark is running out of time, and you are barely able to learn to put a fish's soul into plants. Until now, out of twenty fish, only one has been successfully converted into a plant.>

<Mark has at most two months to live, and the human soul is much more complicated than the soul of a fish. You don't give up and continue to practice.>

<Year 2, Month 5: The day for the final test has arrived as scheduled. After today, if Mark isn't transferred to another body, he will perish. You decide to try your best and give it your all.>

<You victoriously manage to move Mark's soul into a wooden plant. The fusion of the plant and soul mutates and goes out of your control. You are not sure if Mark is still alive or dead, but you will find out the result tomorrow.>

<Year 2, Month 5, Day 1: The plant wakes up and starts walking around, you are amazed by this development. You then try communicating with it, but the plant can't talk.>

<Year 2, Month 6: With your new companion, you travel to the edge of the forest and unlock a new location, "The Witch's Hut.">

John - "A Witch's Hut? This doesn't sound like good news, but I didn't sense any Ki around, so maybe no one's home."

<You decide to barge open the wooden door and do so quickly. Inside, you see a science laboratory with weird glass jars, test tubes, and thick books.>

John saw the visuals of the lab and scolded, "Science laboratory, my foot. This place looks like a freaking Meth Lab."

<You decide to stay at this lab and finish reading the books idling around. Maybe they will help you understand what all this liquid around you do. It might even help you become stronger.>

<Year 2, Month 7: A month of rigorous studying allows you to gain knowledge of alchemy. It seems that your guess was correct, as you managed to identify all the various magical potions around you.>

<You find that strangely all of them, in some way or another, help increase strength. It feels odd, but you decide to study the effects of these potions in detail.>

<Year 2, Month 8: Following a month of researching the potion's effects on various fish and plants, you find that the potion does help increase the combat power of a living being. You decide to finally consume a potion to test how it affects you.>

<Year 2, Month 8, Week 2: You have drank six potions back to back. All the potions have run out, but you are amazed at the effect of the potions. They each increase a fixed amount of 20 combat power.>

<This has led to your combat power skyrocketing from 150 to 270. You are amazed by this improvement and start to find materials to make potions.>

<Year 2, Month 9: You have now managed to consume only ten potions, as even with more than enough ingredients making the potions is hard, and you have barely managed to make four potions in 2 weeks.>

<Year 2, Month 10: You have realized that you are completely addicted to these potions, but who wouldn't be? Getting stronger without any harsh training. Who wouldn't want that?>

John - "Hmm, something doesn't feel right here. If these potions are so good, why did the person who made them leave them here? There can be only one reason. That is, he must have found a better recipe."

<You decide to start searching for any clues for a better recipe, and in your search, you end up pressing a hidden button that opens up an underground staircase.>

<You contemplate for a moment but sensing no Ki from inside, you finally head downstairs. Inside this hidden underground basement, you find a skeleton sitting on a wooden chair.>

<You notice that this dead skeleton covered in cobwebs has a red-colored ancient notebook in his right arm pressed firmly against his chest. You think this may be a recipe book and rip it out of the skeleton's hands.>

<What could possibly go wrong?>