Wraithwood Botanist

If fruit is nature's way of saying, "I'll reward you for spreading my seeds," poisonous plants are its way of saying, "Get used to me, 'cause I'm the only option you have."

That's not completely true, but it's generally true. Poisonous plants produce poison to prevent getting eaten or knocked down. They produce poison that poisons the soil to tell other plants, "Buzz off—these are my nutrients!" and ward off fungus and parasites.

This comes at the expense of lower reproduction rates. Whereas animals eat berries and poop them out miles away with ease, these nasty suckers often create pods that literally explode to fling the seeds, use the wind to disperse the seeds, live near water to send off seeds like coconuts, or merely drop them and say, "I did my job. Hopefully something kicks them around this year."

So yeah, they're generally the opposite of fruits.

The question is: why are some plants more deadly than others?

There are many reasons. Sometimes it's just an evolutionary dice roll that just happened to make plants more poisonous, but the main reason is to… you know… actually work.

After a year of eating aura and neara, my body flushed toxins faster than any bacteria could take root, and my stomach lining was harder and stronger than steel when it needed to be. I could eat hemlock and be fine. And when all the beasts can eat hemlock, the hemlock needs to get deadlier to prevent the plants from being eaten or trampled. So it's not necessarily that Areswood Forest was particularly poisonous—it was simply that its weakest poisonous plants had to be horrific by Earth's scale just to survive.

And just as Earth created freakish abominations like the manchineel tree, where the fruit, leaves, bark, and sap were horrifically poisonous, and eating the apples causes severe mouth blistering, and being near it when it rains could blister your skill (and eyes if you touch them), this forest created some freakish entities that could kill creatures up to the realm of demigods.

So yeah, it was poisonous as fuck—and I knew it was poisonous fuck, but it realize how poisonous as fuck it was until Litcho added a poison scale and suddenly the neon purple plants were rarely just neon purple. They were red and crimson, signs that they could kill third and fourth evolution creatures.@@novelbin@@

"Okay then…" I said as I approached a bush. "Stay away from this thing."

"Is it really poisonous?"

I read the description.

"It'll cause acute paralysis if you just touch it."

"And you're touching it?" she cried.

"Of course not!" I said. "Have you forgotten? I have Kira. She's like… a cheat code for life here."

Kira walked out like a runway model, posing twice for Felio as she cut the plant with shears and put it into a preservation chamber and handed it to me.

"That's so not fair," Felio said.

"Of course it's not," I said. "If it were, I would die."

Felio giggled and said, "What're we doing now?"

"Well, first I'm giving you a warning not to tell Cassain."

Felio covered her mouth as she giggled.

"Next, we're gonna find some burrs," I said.

Burrs are seed pods that are spiky and stick to a person's jeans or an animal's fur like velcro. It's their genius method of spreading seeds far and wide.

They're also annoying as hell.

"Oh… I see! So you're going to… poison the burrs and have Kira lob them like steel balls at it? Or… actually, I don't see at all. I kinda get it but not at all."

"I'm not sure if you could visualize it even if I explained it. But let's just say… I'm not getting near it. That's the main thing."

Felio nodded solemnly, and I said: "Come on. We gotta find some burrs. Actually… This's gonna feel like a chore. Lithco. Give me the best poison recipe for this plant and use an info request to show me where the ingredients are, plus the burrs."

Lithco sent me a list, and we simply hiked to the next location.

"So?" Felio asked. "When am I gonna meet your Guide?"

I snorted. "Never."

"Oh, come on!" she cried.

"Maybe when you're older," I said.

"I'm older than you are!"

"Where I'm from, that saying means, 'Never.'"

She pouted.

"Maybe when I return," I said. "Which won't be long."

"When are you doing it?" she asked.

"The second I'm done," I said. "It's gonna take a few days. Maybe weeks… It's not exactly a 'do it at will' sorta plan."

"Well that's relieving," she said.

"It is. Now let's make some poisons."

We returned to the lab, and she asked, "Okay. What's the game plan?"

"Well, the odds that I can pierce something strong's hide is out of the question," I said. "So what I was thinking is something that can bypass fur and absorb through skin."

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"So a skinseep," she said.

"Yeah, a skinseep," I said. "One that can break alotta fur. So, I was thinking of adding a surfactant. Maybe just… soap."

Soap breaks surface tension, which would allow the barbs to actually move past the fur and reach the skin.

"But if there's a surfactant on the barbs it might not stick…" she said. "Unless you're just adding it to the poison?"

"That's the one," I said. "Somehow we gotta distill the oil from this plant, dilute it with water… but not too much water, and mix it with soap so when the burr breaks on this thing's fur, the poison splashes onto the skin."

Water helps pass the body's membranes to allow the poisons to reach inside the skin; then, the oils stick to fat, which keeps the poisons present.

"And while I got a recipe to do this," I said. "Actually doing it is a different matter."

"And that's what I'm here for," she said. "Can you show me the recipe?"

"How do I do that?"

She clapped her hands. "Bring out your Guide!"

"Absolutely not," I said.

"I'll bring out mine," she said.

"I… Whatever. Lithco. Come out."

"Yes, mistress," Lithco said as he walked through the flap door of the alchemy like a gentleman.

My entire face spasmed.

"Ooooh!" Felio said. "Polite and handsome! Strange attire but…"

"Thank you, Lady Helara," he said as he approached.

"Oh, no," I said. "He's neither. Actually, handsome… eh. But polite? Absolutely not. And those clothes? He looks like Edgar Allen Poe."

"Who's that?" Felio asked.

"Someone quite handsome," Lithco said.

"He wasn't handsome!"

"And I don't look like him," Lithco said. "I'm clearly modeled after the Roaring Twenties. Poe looked like a beggar who just so happened to live in a stylish era."

I rolled my eyes, and Felio giggled.

"You two are close," she said.

"He tucks me in and reads to me at bedtime," I said. "Now, can you bring it yours?"

"Oh, sure!" Felio said. "Keenai."

A kid around thirteen suddenly appeared, sitting on one of the counters. He lifted his hand. "Hey."

That was it. Hey.

"So… chill," I said. "Maybe I should've asked for someone who talked less."

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea," Keenai said. "I talk the same amount when I'm asked questions. It's just that Felio keeps me out around the clock, so I have to be quiet."

"Keenai!" Felio cried.

"What?" he said. "She clearly finds it cute."

I practically had a grinch smile when I learned that Felio had her guide out at all times.

"I just don't like to be alone," Felio whispered.

"And that's perfectly normal," Lithco said, turning to me. "Perhaps you should—"

"I'd rather die," I said. "Now can we make some poisons?"

"God, you're like one of those toxic lovers who's ashamed to show off their partner to their family and friends."

I pouted. It really was like that, but…

"You're not my lover," I said. "I designed you to be intentionally rude and critical of me. Who would want to have someone around like that when they have guests?"

"What?" Felio cried with a bright smile. "You asked him to be rude?"

"She did," Lithco said. "And she doesn't even have daddy issues. Strange, right?"

I trembled, feeling picked on.

"Ah, it's cool," Felio said. "But… why?"

"To keep her alive," Keenai said. "If you ask me, it's genius."

I frowned. "Isn't it… kinda normal?"

"Not really," he said. "Most people pick enablers or trainers. People who tell them what they want, or people who instruct them like teachers or coaches. There's not a lot of people who pick counterweights specifically designed to adapt to their personality, let alone for practical purposes."

I blushed slightly. "Well… the world was exploding and I needed answers. But… Whatever. Can we make some poisons now?"

Lithco smirked. "I suppose. Lady Helara, if you would. I humbly suggest you let Kira and Mira desiccate and crush the plant. You can create the safety domains and prepare for distillation. We'll take it one step at a time."

"I like him!" Felio said.

"Suck up," I grumbled to him and we began.

Two hours later, I was staring at three liters of transparent liquid.

"It's hard to believe this is poison…" I muttered. "Let alone…"

I read my pop-up:

-

"Congratulations! You have made your first Fourth Evolution poison.

Name: Deadly Craskina

Description: Nicknamed the "Frozen Moment" by yours truly, this poison seeps through the skin and causes instant paralysis to lower beings, including the seizing of the heart and other organs. To a fourth evolution beast, it will have a smaller effect due to their size and cleansing ability, but it will certainly slow or kill them.

P.S.: It's technically a Fourth Evolution poison simply because it works with a Fourth Evolution poison. It's not special, but it sounds cool, regardless. Little victories, am I right?

Note: Rewards for this achievement will be added to your alchemy chain quest. You can cash in this chain quest at any time for lower rewards.

-

"But I guess it is…" I picked up a golf ball-sized barb with dozens of spikes with telekinesis. I had over a hundred. "So… let's get filling."

Felio smiled wryly. "Okay…"

"Not you," I said. "Kira. I wouldn't let you touch this to save your life."

"That doesn't make sense," Lithco said.

"No one asked you," I said. "But… thank you."

"So cute," Keenai said dryly.

"Right?" Felio squealed. I sighed, and we moved on, watching Kira fill these balls with syringes like filling donuts. Then we loaded them into a special bag within my backpack.

"Are you sure they won't poke out the back?" Felio asked.

"No," I said. "But that's why I'm covering myself with Kira at all times."

"She's way too useful," Felio said in awe.

"She's a gift from the gods," I said. "Anyway…"

"You leaving?" she asked.

"Tomorrow morning. So… let's eat a nice dinner."

That night, we ate a wild mushroom soup with salad and regular meat for simple pleasure and told stories, and then Aiden said:

"Hey… I know this'll be dangerous so…"

"You're not coming," I declared.

"No," he said. "I'm too much of a wuss for that." He turned to Kline. "I'm just wondering if Big Man over here wants a power up."

Kline hissed.

"Fine," Aiden said. "Let Sina get stronger than you. You'll always be the favorite, but…"

Kline scrunched his nose in and looked at Sina, who rolled her eyes and pretended she didn't even care, and Kline turned away sharply. Yet he opened one eye and peeked at Aiden, who had a slight smile as Felio, her guards, and I giggled.

Then Kline yowled, and Aiden said:

"No strings attached. This's just my way of helping protect this place. And… Mira."

Aiden glanced at me, and I looked away like Kline. Like Mother, like Son or… whatever. Learned behavior. I was a mess.

Kline huffed.

"No, I won't play with your mind," Aiden said. "Or hurt you. Seriously. Mira would kill me. Okay, know what? Forget it."

Kline shot up and hopped off the bed, and I chuckled as he paraded over to Aiden in a way that said, You may accompany me back to your quarters.

"Hey," I said. "Wait up. I wanna see!"

Aiden chuckled. "Mira… he's never gonna let you see him training. Never show your cards till you've purr~fected them. That's his philosophy."

Kline hissed, and Aiden chuckled and said, "We'll be done by morning."

I watched them leave with a bit more warmth and respect for Aiden. It was just nice having more people around, but he was actually coming through. It was nice.

The night slowly came to a close shortly after, and we said our goodbyes. It was a somber moment. Even Cassain and Asail and some of the other guards gave me hugs. They could tell that this was a big deal and they might not see me again after. And it got harder as I hugged Felio, and she started crying.

"Oh, come on…" I groaned. "Look, I'll survive just to avoid these tears or whatever. So just… cheer up."

Felio rubbed her eyes and said, "Come back to us."

"I will," I said.

Then they left, and I practiced mental shielding at the peak Second Stage until an hour before morning. When I opened my eyes, I saw Kline staring at me with a mana core that shone like a star.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked.

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He strutted back and forth proudly, and I laughed.

"I was kinda worried about this mission, but now…"

Kline puffed out his chest.

"We got this."

It was time to poison a Fourth Evolution beast.