Trash: Chapter 121 Gloom Park (Patreon)

Chapter 121

Gloom Park

Just approaching Bloom Park, I could see the lines of extending rot reaching out like unseen tentacles. Tentacles that humans and other animals instinctively tended to avoid. Just watching the subtle but undeniable effects, I watched as people would cross the road early, missing a noted crosswalk by a few dozen paces, just to somehow instinctively avoid walking over the outstretched bands of corruption.

Animals did the same, people walking their dogs would find that their dogs would bark violently at noted areas of contamination and refuse to go closer, even dragging their masters across the street to avoid crossing paths with the tendrils of corruption.

Watching me stare from the window, Mr. Yi ever observant as always finally chose a moment to speak, “you see something?”

Hearing him, I turn and see that his eyes are already yellow, glowing with the power of his bloodline. I nod, wondering if he too could see the outlines.

“Yes, it looks like the corruption is slowly reaching out and expanding. Though it does seem to be dull, almost fading in a way.” I admit.

“Fading?” Mr. Yi asked.

“Yeah, the center of the park up ahead is still dark, but it seems to be covered by an outer layer of brown. Making it seem like it is dying, or at least weaker than before,” I reply just speaking my mind as it comes to me. I’ve seen many patients in my past life. Patients with necrotic skin, where the outer layer looks like it is dying from an infection happening inside. This looks similar, but opposite if that is possible. Like the necrotic part is dying, and the outer layer looks like it is slowly trying to recover. But I can’t state that here, not to Mr. Yi, as far as everyone here seems concerned I am just on my first life. While I might be precocious, I don’t want to pull up the idea of past lives. For that seems a topic that would get me sent to an asylum.

“Do you think it is dying?” Mr. Yi asked, his words short and to the point. I thought about his words, then I stared at the area ahead.

“Hard to say, I don’t know if something like this can die. I do know it is weakened, but can it recover? I don’t know. I assume it almost has to be able to recover in some way.” I reply, speaking truths of regular human biology and applying it to this seemingly alien substance that can apparently hide itself in plain sight. Anything capable of that level of deception, should logically be capable of doing much more.

At that comment, Mr. Yi just nodded, crossing his arms over his chest as he contemplated. Finally, he spoke, “today, you are to conserve yourself. If you find any of these abomination stones, clear their coating and leave their destruction to me. Use only your seal to see the stones, don’t waste your energy on anything else.”

Hearing his words, I paused and slowly nodded. He knew, like I did, that the most taxing part of the whole experience was using my own personal seals from the other day. I also knew that using seals was both a cheat, and a no-win situation. By using a seal, I had an instant victory, but I didn’t actually improve myself. Yes, I could use Skills to increase my waning energy reserves, and the like, but those were secondary effects. Then as if reading my mind, Mr. Yi spoke.

“Using seals is fine, particularly in combat. They are quick use, and reflexive after a point. Your newly enhanced vision is one such example of this, but they don’t improve you. You cannot grow while using seals. Your Skills will stagnate if you rely on seals too much, this is why they only assign them to accomplished healers.” Mr. Yi began, and held up his hand as if to cut off any future protests from me, before he continued.

“Now, you know how to use your seals, and by all means they are impressive, but they will not help you grow. Which is what we will focus on today. Today, you are to only use your passive seals, like your vision, and focus on improving as many Skills as possible.”

Suddenly, his comment about using my Trash Skill to remove the protective coating made sense. It was a Skill, I could also practice other Skills as well, trying to increase my Divine Sight while being protected by the cloud of creepy-ness that coated Bloom Park.

Finally, after a second, I nodded and responded with the only acceptable answer, “okay.”

With that, Mr. Stevens finally pulled to a stop, and let us out. I had my sword strapped to my side. It felt odd holding the blade, and knowing that the closest thing I had to an actual Sword or Melee Skill was my (Uncommon) Advanced Movements – (Dance Specialization) Skill. A Skill that I wanted to use to help me be more fluid in everything I did, from walking, to playing instruments, to fighting with weapons. On the surface the Skill seemed to be a universal catchall, but there were limitations. A fact that I proved by not gaining a single level in it over the past day. Mostly, I think the reasoning why I didn’t improve is that I wasn’t actively thinking about the Skill while moving. I know from my lessons that Skill growth needs to happen from intent as much as doing the noted action. It is not just that I play an instrument, but that I intend to play an instrument in a certain way. The whole thing seems sort of nuanced, and pedantic, but that is the world I now find myself in.

Getting out, focus on my movements, and my stride, focusing on flowing through the first step, and gliding immediately to my next. My moves are still bulky, my weight landing a bit too forcefully as I hop down, but I can feel a difference, even if it is only a mental difference the change is there all the same.

I keep up the movements until I get to the first line of trees. Once there, I activate my Divine Sight, and pause at the level of damage that I see around me. With my Divine Sight active, I can see how the dark cloud that has permeated Bloom Park has cast its stranglehold on all bushes and smaller plants far more clearly. I can even see how the bark of the taller trees has become thicker, more resilient, and seemingly able to produce a divine barrier of sorts.

“You finally see it?” Mr. Yi asks, checking out my gaze as I stare at one of the large trees that stands undaunted in the woods.

“You mean the divine spark from within?” I ask, wondering how such a thing is possible. Are these trees evolving? Could they always create and store holy power? Just looking at the trees caused so many questions to form in my mind.

“Yes, it is something that we noted about this park a while ago. Part of why it was so sacred to Madame Bloom,” Mr. Yi begins, but then seems to stop himself as he glances around. For a moment he looks at me like he wants to tell a secret. Then seeming to nod to himself, he continues. “The Madame has been cultivating these very trees for centuries.”

At that, I remembered my first time meeting the Madame, how she apparently stalked me here. I also remembered how she told me she had a Nature affinity, that was in addition to her healing affinity. I also remember being jealous that I couldn’t exactly heal these plants. Though that was a bit ago, I had grown since then, my Skills had evolved. Feeling stubborn, and wanting to see if I could help, I strode forward and placed my hand on the thick bark of the tree. It was cold to the touch, but surprisingly smooth. Feeling it, I touched and I gently poured a small trickle of Streamline Healing* into the massive tree trunk.

Seeing the gentle thin stream of green healing energy enter the trunk, I paused. Only giving a little, as I didn’t want to flood the tree with energy, particularly if it was unable to accept regular healing energy. But to my surprise, I saw a wonderous sight. Thanks to my new Divine Sight, I could see the immediate effects of my healing energy on the tree. While it didn’t accept the healing energy outright, I could see it absorb the energy before converting it into golden energy.

Watching the work, my mind was confused at first, but then I remembered my own odd Mana Extraction Skill. A Skill that only worked on mana that entered my body. A Skill that helped me to survive being impaled by Death Eater shards. Seeing the tree work, I wondered if it too had a variation of that same Skill, one that let it convert foreign mana that entered its shell and convert it to a usable form.

I stood there in amazement, watching as what appeared to be a blazing sun sucked in a thin sheen of green gas, that I knew to be my own healing energy, then watched as it converted that energy to golden holy energy, and proceeded to apply that newly stolen energy back to its external shell. The entire process was amazing. After a few moments, I found myself blinking when the conversion was at its brightest consistency, then finally it was done. The processes were complete, the core had been emptied, and the external layer had been subtly thickened to protect itself from the external gloom that seemed to hover and suffocate everything.

When it was done, I paused to turn back and watch Mr. Yi who just stood there, arms crossed as he nodded. Seemingly knowing that this was what he wanted me to see. I could see the effect that a magical Horticulturist can have on a park. Watching these trees desperately fight their way for survival and seeing just how much work Madame Bloom must have put into growing and maintaining these trees, I could finally understand why she was so willing to invest in me. These trees weren’t just the working of a lifetime, but they were survivors. Plants capable of surviving through Z-Rot, Death Eaters, and worse.

“You know what this means?” I finally ask, my mind is spinning as I am trying to put into words what I just saw. Trees that could use mana in multiple ways to survive.

At my comment, Mr. Yi just scoffs, before replying, “do you know what this means?”

Hearing his comment, I almost wanted to argue, but I lowered my shoulders as I realized I likely only understood a portion of what was happening, of what this all meant.

“I,” I begin, but then pause as I realize anything I say right now will come across as me just blustering, and I do not want to do that in front of Mr. Yi. He is someone who speaks openly, never lying to me, and never trying to deceive me. That is why he deserves my respect, and an honest answer from me. That is why I give him that exact response, “I don’t know yet. Not fully, but I think I can see multiple uses for such trees.”

Mr. Yi nods, a faint smile forming on his lips as he seems pleased with my response. Seeing him smile like that, I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.

Wanting to go further in, to inspect even more trees, and of course to see if there are any of those shadow stones just laying dormant on the ground around us. I scanned the area and saw that there are dozens of such stones here. While I had expected this, it did come as a surprise. Though scanning up, I was surprised to see that this tree and the other trees nearby were all shadow stone free. As if their natural adaptations had made it so they could not be used to facilitate such stones. An interesting development and one that again went to show how impressive these adapted trees were.

Everything seemed to be going well, until we both heard it, the faint cracking sound of a branch being stepped on. My mind heard the sound, paused and then was about to go on with the day. We were in a park, filled with dozens of trees that all dropped branches. Such acts shouldn’t gain attention. But it was something in Mr. Yi’s posture, the way his muscles coiled like he was ready to strike that caused me to pause.

Looking at Mr. Yi, I asked, “what is it?”

That’s when he hit me with the four words that helped my reeling mind connect the pieces that should have been obvious given the vacant state of Bloom Park. A state caused by a dark ominous cloud forcing all life, animals included to leave, meaning nothing should be here to break a branch in the first place, that’s why his words were particularly gripping.

“We are not alone.”