Fantasia

Xasha and the others now had confused looks on their faces. Was this thing they were looking at not dangerous after all? But, if so, how could that be?

They saw what looked like a green transparent egg around 30ft tall supported by a large trunk and branches wrapped around the egg, holding it in place. Inside, they could see the silhouette of a person they could not identify the gender of. The aura of that person was so unfathomable. Xasha's body still had goosebumps long after being told there was no threat.

"This is a Fantasia," Mylyn informed.

"Fantasia? What does that mean?" Xasha questioned.

"I told you about Fantasma before. They were normal beasts who got mutated by Imperium. A Fantasia is a plant that is mutated by Imperium and gains intelligence. There are some famous Fantasia on the continent. I was even acquainted with a few of them."

"Fantasia are plants? So is this one sleeping? Will it wake up and attack us?" Xasha was still worried. He may not be a threat to Mylyn, but it was one to him. He was not sure if she would choose to protect them were they in trouble, as that was not a part of their agreement.

"Asleep?" Mylyn burst out laughing. "It has not even matured yet. All it is right now is a cultivation treasure. It has been absorbing Imperium for thousands of years and is soon to mature. Should a nature energy cultivator absorb all that energy and assimilate with it... You are one lucky brat, Ash, one lucky brat."

"How does one extract and assimilate with it? And won't it fight back if we try to hurt it? I mean, these things must have defense mechanisms," Mocha voice her concern. Xasha wasn't the only one wary of this strange creature.

"It doesn't. As long as it hasn't matured, it is completely vulnerable. This one still has a few years to go before it's matured, it's still weak. By my estimate, it will mature as an Earth Sage. Right now, it should be a peak, Aqua Sage."

"Peak Aqua, so does that mean if someone absorbs all its energy, they can reach that stage?" Xasha became excited immediately.

"Of course not, fool, you know well that it takes more than absorbing Imperium to break through cultivation barriers, and there will always be wastage when absorbing Imperium." The constant questions annoyed Mylyn, but she answered them all anyway, as she had her reasons.

"What do we do now?" He blurted out absentmindedly.

"Do you need me to answer that?" Mylyn side-eyed him.

Xasha coughed nervously, he stepped forward and formed a blade of wind in his hand.

"Don't cut it, that tree is also a cultivation resource," Mylyn informed.

Xasha paused, thought for a second, then the blade expanded into a Cloud Octopus. The octopus floated up and over the fantasia, opened its wide toothless mouth, and lowered itself. It took the green egg and the tree's trunk into its mouth. It then extended its tentacles in all directions, wrapping around all the individual roots, and began pulling them from the ground.

"Wait!" Mylyn shouted in a panic.

Xasha froze in fright. He'd never heard Mylyn panic before.

"I just remembered something," she quickly regained her calm. "This place, it must have a lot of nature Imperium for a fantasia, to grow here. Making it a perfect cultivation ground for your nature cultivators. That's not the important part. The fantasia, until it matures, do not remove it from its source of Imperium, or it will die, and the Imperium it collected will waste."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was just that and nothing worse. Thankfully, she spoke just in time before Xasha uprooted the entire thing.

"How do we extract this thing without uprooting it?" Xasha looked at Mylyn with pleading eyes.

"Don't ask me. You are the Artificer. Figure something out," Mylyn said in resentment.

"He's a what?" Alexi, who'd been silent the entire time, blurted out. It was not just him. Everyone was now staring at Mylyn with endless curiosity.

Mylyn paused, realizing that she had said too much already. After a long sigh, she looked over and addressed the crowd. "I'm an imperialist, someone who fights using Imperium as my weapon. There are other kinds of cultivators in this world. One is Engraver, someone who uses Imperium to create artifacts. Another is martialists, who use their aura and willpower as their weapon. I know almost nothing about these things, so don't ask me about them. I've already told you all I know."

Xasha's eyes lit up with fervour. "What about Jackle and the old man? Maybe they know these kinds of things. Knowledge that you don't possess."

"Jackle is an idiot who spent his entire existence in an abyss. The old man won't help you. I was the queen of the harpy race and ruler of... never mind. The point is, I was in a position where I had to deal with cultivators of all disciplines. That is how I know what I know." Mylyn explained slowly. It was obvious she felt wronged.

Xasha's gaze turned apologetic as he realized he had been insensitive in asking such a question. He opened his mouth to voice his apology, but the moment he did, blue and gold lights flashed.

"Xan, what do you know about Artificers and the other disciplines?"

"Umi, what are Artificers, and what other disciplines are there?"

Ari and Alexi had the same thoughts and actions, not missing a beat.