Seed of Titan-Chapter 115: Assimilating the Siprootberry Essence

Surrounded by dense vegetation, Drai stood motionless for several minutes, staring blankly at the empty space where the portal had vanished. His expulsion from the academy had been too abrupt, leaving him in a daze.

Suddenly, a System notification popped up in his vision.

Although Drai wasn’t in the mood to check it, he still opened the message. His eyes soon widened in surprise.

[Detecting suitable environment. User is ready to assimilate the Siprootberry essence.]

’What the hell?! Hey, System! What’s Siprootberry?’

[Siprootberry is the fruit of the Deepwilds Siproot.]

’Deepwilds Siproot? What’s that?’

[Deepwilds Siproot is a species of tree with the ability to absorb nutrients from its prey using its long, flexible branches.]

’Huh? Is this Deepwilds Siproot the giant tree I fought in the underground jungle?’

[Correct.]

’Wow... I thought the fruit was just a bribe and nothing special since I didn’t feel any particular change after eating it. So all this time, its essence was lying dormant inside me?’ Drai thought. Then, he asked the System again, ’What will happen if I proceed with the assimilation?’

[It is likely that you will obtain something related to the System.]

Drai chuckled a little upon hearing the System referring to itself in the third-person.

’Do you mean I’ll get some EXP or SP?’ he asked, suddenly reminded of Christo’s words when they were discussing the reason behind their weird party name. He felt that this Siprootberry was something similar to the magical mango that Christo mentioned.

[It is possible. Please note that other effects may occur, including detrimental ones.]

’Oh, come on,’ Drai grumbled, feeling a little disappointed by the possibility of receiving negative effects.

He mulled over it briefly before deciding to go through with it.

’I really need to make use of every opportunity to get stronger. And I should also get myself some external aids like the gems that Nero and Zar used. Imagine if my whole body was covered in all kinds of overpowered gems...’

Shaking of the thought, Drai took a better look at his surroundings. ’Another jungle?’ he thought after seeing the types of vegetation around him.

Peering through the dimly lit area, Drai noticed that the trees here were far larger than those in the underground jungle. None of them were anywhere near the Deepwilds Siproot’s size, but they still loomed high above him.

’I wonder where Zar sent me to. Probably somewhere far away from the academy. But this jungle doesn’t feel as hot as the one during our venture. Anyway, I should find a safe spot first.’

Drai carefully made his way through the thick undergrowth, searching for shelter. Eventually, he found a small opening between two boulders. After inspecting the area and confirming there were no signs of any animals, he ducked into the narrow space and sat on a grassy patch.

’System, how long will the assimilation take?’

[Based on the amount of essence and its quality, there is a high chance that it will take less than an hour.]

’And why is the environment here suitable? Why couldn’t I assimilate the essence at the academy?’

[The air in the academy lacked the necessary substances to complete the assimilation, whereas they are abundant here.]

Drai had a small urge to ask for the list of these mysterious substances, but he figured he wouldn’t remember them anyway, so he let the matter go.

’System, let’s proceed with the assimilation,’ Drai finally ordered.

[Are you sure you want to assimilate the Siprootberry essence?]

’Yes.’

[Authorization acquired. Commencing assimilation of Siprootberry essence. Please refrain from moving excessively until the process is complete.]

Immediately, Drai could feel his body heating up. Although the System had mentioned these ’necessary substances’ that were supposedly circulating in the air, he couldn’t sense anything different.’

’Maybe they’re too small to notice—like how I can’t feel the oxygen when breathing or its depletion from a fire.’

Drai decided not to dwell on the chemistry behind the process. Instead, his mind drifted to the situation he had been forced to leave behind.

’I hope nothing bad happens to Zar. He should be able to escape using his own portals, right? I’m still not completely sure if everything he said about the Verdant Order and their goal to help me is true, but at least he saved me from being captured by the Crimson Order.

’And Professor Ravi... did he stay behind with Dean Lua or run away? I hope he’s hiding somewhere safe until all the Crimson guys are gone—he can’t do much without his powers anyway.

’Christo and the others should be fine with Liam helping them, but I wonder if Liam is a match for Nero? I can’t really judge their power levels since I haven’t seen them go all out. Maybe Nero’s ridiculously heavy fireball and Liam’s rapier strike were their strongest attacks, but judging by their nonchalant expressions after unleashing those moves, I doubt it.’

At this moment, a realization suddenly struck Drai. He quickly raised his wrist to check his comm.

’It’s working!’ Drai exclaimed in relief. However, after unlocking the interface, his face immediately dropped.

’No signal? Am I in the middle of nowhere?’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

He tried restarting his comm in case the signal loss was due to a technical issue, but after rebooting it and fiddling with the settings, there was no change to the signal.

’And here I thought I could finally call Mom and Dad... I guess I should just turn my comm off to conserve the battery.’

After shutting down his comm, Drai closed his eyes, relaxing his body and calming his mind. Thankfully, the assimilation process wasn’t painful, so Drai was able to enjoy a brief moment of respite.

Tonight’s events had taken a heavy toll on Drai, both physically and mentally. Even his charred skin from the fireball’s explosion hadn’t fully healed yet. Fortunately, his thick giant muscles had protected his inner organs; otherwise, it might take days for him to recover completely.

Minutes passed, and Drai was still in a meditative state. Suddenly, the heat from the assimilation process began to fade, replaced by a familiar sensation coursing through his body.

’No way...’ Drai muttered as he opened his notifications again.

[Assimilation complete.]

[Experience and skill points acquired.]

[Unique skill acquired.]

[User has leveled up. Stats have been adjusted.]

[Strength +4]

[Constitution +4]

[Agility +1]

[Dexterity +1]

[Intelligence +0.5]

[Transcendence +0.7]

[SP +4]

[New skill available.]