Gift of Nature

The lush greenery before their eyes was a stark contrast from the murky blend of colors of the surrounding woodland. It was a pocket of paradise found in the middle of hell. A crystal clear pond lay at the center, irrigating the vivaciously growing vegetation that sprawled out on the land. A soft, thick carpet of flowering grass and moss padded the ground, supporting many trees and larger plants. The only thing missing to make the beautiful scenery perfect would be some sunlight and some birds and butterflies.

As early as Chronus had sensed the higher magic activity in the area, he had guessed what could be the cause. While it could have been some sort of essence gathering formation laid by someone who had arrived before them or an active magic crystal vein, these were all unlikely. The most probable cause of all this was that a powerful living thing, be it a creature or a plant, had passed away in this area, its decaying body releasing the magic energy that had been contained in it back into the environment.

Validating his guess, the giant skeleton of a turtle lay silently in the pool of water. The massive shell was the height of two people and twice as wide. The flesh had all been stripped away, revealing pristine white bones draped in creeping vines. From the lack of broken bones or marks on the shell, it had likely starved to death. Chronus could imagine the scene: another plane being devoured and the giant turtle along with it. Deposited in this area, it couldn't obtain enough food to support its large appetite, finally making its final resting place here.

The remaining aura of the monster hadn't completely dissipated yet, protecting this small haven from the ravages of other aggressive plants. From the heavy pressure to Chronus' current body, the turtle had reached the peak of rank 2 during its life.

Every death of these large monsters was a gift of nature and a small treasure trove. In decomposing, it would provide abundant nutrients to the local ecology. The magic energy in the environment would help them rapidly grow and flourish. Chronus could see many diverse types of plants that couldn't exist in the energy impoverished landscape outside.

"I can feel nature rejoicing," said Griffin in awe, no longer paying heed to his burnt and battered body.

The group stood at the edge and admired the picturesque scenery for a moment.

"This water source should be safe to drink," said Edward, "We won't be lacking any for a long time."

They approached the pond and filled all their water containers. Drinking some of the water, it was crisp and refreshing. Griffin lowered his body into the cool water and let it wash away everything, from the filth and grime covering him to the searing pain, with its soothing touch.

With such a treasure trove served in front of them, how could they not accept? The group scurried around, scanning all the mysterious and delicate flora and excitedly gathering everything that caught their eye. While the druid part of Griffin made him uncomfortable seeing these actions, he still joined them in their search. Alice and Emily also took the rare opportunity to bathe and wash themselves. The days of living in the wild and crowded together with everyone's odors had been quite uncomfortable.

During the group's joyous period of relaxation, Chronus stood in front of four trees, diligently comparing them and examining every inch of them for imperfections. These trees were the reason he was so adamant on exploring the forest, and why he was so delighted when he detected an area of higher magic energy concentration. They had been included in his plan all the way back from when he first used the Crystallization of Time.

Magewood trees. That was the name of the trees Chronus was examining. They could be found in any normal mana rich environment. Not an uncommon sight and often used for unflattering tasks. But that didn't take away their uniqueness.

The wood of a magewood tree could amplify the effects of magic and has a high degree of malleability to different types of magic. Similar effects were extremely difficult to replicate in other materials. These specialties combined with the tree's accessibility made them popular for making staves and housing for novice mages in the many planes they originated from. Paper made from the wood was also perfect for low level magic scrolls.

When using an embryonic tower core to detect the rule fragments in magewood trees, one would find complete magic. However, due to the malleability of the tree, this could be easily altered, hence why the wood is so useful in making magic scrolls. It's almost like a whiteboard, where the magic held within can be erased and added at will.

They are not without flaws though. The wood is fragile, not what one would expect from a tree containing magic. The ease of transformation is also often a downside. How can one use this material for an important task if it can change at will? Imagine building a boat for traveling in a fire elemental plane, and magewood filled with ice magic is used for cooling the interior. The wood would be shaped by the environment and fire magic would supersede the ice, rendering it useless, or in this case make things worse.

However, these downsides would no longer exist in Chronus' plan. When the magewood tree becomes absorbed by his embryonic tower core, the condition of the materials consumed at that time become solidified. The rule fragments and characteristics of the items become integrated into the newborn tower core. As such, the magewood tree, along with its magic amplification and any transformations made by Chronus, would be expressed in the core.

The other flaw, the poor defense ability of the wood, would also cease to be a problem. The new tree created by the tower core during its placement is no longer a magewood tree. The restrictions of the species are removed, and aspects of the organism can be freely altered, provided the tower master has the ability to do so.

This is the core of a tower master's responsibility, the improvement and development of their tower. As an example, a tower master birthed their tower out of an ordinary stone, containing only earth magic rule fragments. The initial tower would be made that expresses the nature of the tower, in this case, stones and earth magic. Now with a stone tower, the tower master could replace the ordinary stone with a high tier earth material, improving the defense of their tower.

In a similar manner, the defense of a tower based on a living organism, such as Griffin's tower or a tower made from a magewood tree, would be improved through many ways, including inscribing formations on it, inducing a directional mutation, and grafting or fusing with other creatures.

Chronus could continue with his plans now that he had found a magewood tree in this haven of nature. The tree was the only material that could have been a bottleneck, the others were either readily available or had substitutes. What Chronus had to do next was to prepare the tree for its transformation, but that was best done out of sight of the others he was temporarily working with.

He identified the magewood tree that was the most suitable for his purposes and marked it for when he would return. It was a healthy medium sized tree. Not being too small ensured that there was enough space for him to work with, and a larger tree would be difficult to uproot or transport.

After doing so, Chronus rejoined the other seven in searching through the countless varieties of plants around him. While the area wasn't excessively large, the dense foliage made it difficult to thoroughly move around or identify which plants hadn't been inspected yet.

The group eventually finished their looting of the area. Edward and Kenan had attempted to dismantle the turtle skeleton to use as tools and weapons, but they couldn't break it apart no matter how hard they tried. Helpless, they had to give up their endeavor, vowing to return. Making fresh new torches and lighting them, the team departed from the forest together with their rich harvest.

By the time they walked out of the embrace of the dark forest, the sun was already low on the horizon. In the gloom of the forest, they had no sense of time. Only now did they know it was so late.

"Let's hurry. It's not safe to travel in the dark. Leopold and Charlene are waiting for us too," said Edward. The group promptly sped up their pace and managed to make it back before the sky had become pitch black.