Chapter 157. The Green Dryad

The green light kept rising from the Spirit Farmland.

Carlos could not see Rowan properly anymore. Thin roots had come out of the soil around him, but they did not wrap around his legs or pull at him. They moved in circles, touching the dark ground before slipping back below it.

The Tidal Silverwood reacted next.

Its silver leaves turned toward the center of the field. A soft sound came from the branches, like wind passing through them, even though the rest of Ironroot was still.

Tarin had stopped holding his tool. Sela stood behind him, staring at the light.

"Is he okay?" she asked.

Carlos did not answer.

He wanted to say yes, but Rowan had gone into that light as an old man. Carlos had no idea what would walk out.

The roots withdrew first, then the light lowered.

A man stood where Rowan had been.

Carlos looked at him for a moment without understanding.

The man's skin was green, not dark green like paint, but soft and alive like the underside of a leaf. His hair had become black again, with small green strands near the ends. His face was young enough that Carlos could not put him above twenty-five. The deep lines around Rowan's eyes were gone.

But the eyes themselves were green.

White strips had loosened from the old clothes Rowan wore. They floated around his arms and shoulders like pieces of cloth caught in slow water. When he moved one foot forward, he did not fully step on the soil. His heel stayed a little above it.

"Rowan?" Carlos finally asked.

The young man looked at him.

"Who else would I be?"

Carlos let out the breath he had been holding.

Tarin's ears lowered. Sela looked between the new Rowan and the empty clothes near the ground.

"You look younger than me," Tarin said.

"That is not a farming problem," Rowan replied.

Carlos smiled before he could stop himself.

The System panel opened above the Spirit Farmland.

--

[Special Evolution Complete]

[Farmer Rowan → Verdant Dryad Rowan]

[Level: 5]

[Root Network connected to Ironroot.]

[Verdant Growth active.]

[Life Bloom: 2 uses available today.]

[Worldroot Expansion: 1 use available today.]

--

Rowan lifted his hand toward the nearest cucumber bed.

He did not touch it. His fingers stayed above one of the leaves while his expression changed.

"It is thirsty," he said.

Carlos looked at the soil. It was dark and wet.

"That bed?"

"Not for water. It is thirsty for something else. The roots are pressed together below the frame. They are fighting for the same space."

Rowan moved to another row. He looked at it only once.

"This one has too much water under the left side. It will rot if it stays like that."

Tarin crouched and pushed his fingers into the soil. He looked up after a moment.

"It is wet there," he said quietly.

Carlos looked at Rowan again.

He did not have to wait for a plant to turn yellow anymore. Rowan could feel the problem before it showed itself.

"So what, do you communicate with plants now?" Carlos asked.

Rowan frowned.

"Not words. Do not make it sound strange. I can feel what they are missing. The roots pull, the leaves pull, the whole thing is there."

He stopped beside a small green herb plant near the outer path. It had been growing poorly for weeks, one of the plants Mira had asked them not to waste kitchen space on.

Rowan bent over it.

"This one is tangled."

"Tangled how?" Sela asked.

"Inside."

Before Carlos could ask more, Rowan placed two fingers against one leaf.

The plant shivered.

Rowan's eyes narrowed. A faint green thread came out from the stem and curled around his finger. He looked surprised, then pulled it gently.

The herb plant bent hard toward the soil.

Its leaves became wider. The pale edges disappeared, and a sharp fresh smell spread through the air.

Everyone stared at it.

Rowan slowly lifted his hand.

"I pulled something out of it," he said.

Carlos had no idea what that meant.

The System did.

--

[New Skill Acquired: Plant Weaving]

[The Verdant Dryad may perceive and manipulate latent traits within living plants.]

[Warning: Uncontrolled manipulation may cause unstable mutation.]

--

Rowan read it, then walked toward the next vegetable row.

Carlos followed him immediately.

It was an old tomato plant. It had been kept alive in the outer beds, but the fruit on it was still green and small.

Rowan placed his hand above the vine.

"This one can explode," he muttered.

Carlos froze.

Tarin stepped back so quickly that his tool fell from his hand. Sela grabbed the basket beside her and moved away from the row.

"What do you mean, explode?" Carlos asked.

Rowan did not look away from the plant.

"There is something in it. It wants to break outward."

"Then do not pull it out," Carlos said.

"I want to see it."

"Rowan."

But the Dryad had already touched the vine.

Green threads came from his fingers this time. They entered the stem one by one. The tomato plant shook, and its leaves folded inward before opening again.

The green tomatoes on it turned red in front of them. Thin orange lines spread under their skins.

The System panel opened again.

--

[Impactburst Tomato Vine created]

[Uncommon Mutated Crop]

[Ripe detached fruit detonates upon meaningful impact.]

--

Rowan looked at the unripe fruit that had become ready in seconds.

"It needs to be mature before we know," he said.

Carlos looked at the two Life Bloom charges in the panel.

"Are you drunk, Rowan?" Carlos asked, and Rowan only shrugged his shoulder, which made it worse.

But Carlos too was curious now. "Use one. But nobody stands close to it."

Rowan nodded and lifted his hand.

Green light passed through the tomato vine. The leaves darkened. The fruits swelled until they were the size of Carlos's fist.

One came loose and fell onto a flat stone outside the row.

It exploded.

The sound was not large enough to break anything, but dirt and small stone pieces jumped into the air. Tarin covered his head. Sela shut her eyes. Carlos stood still for a second before looking at Rowan.

"You cannot say a tomato can explode and then do that beside everyone, you bastard!" Carlos said.

Rowan looked at the small crater.

"I did not know it would work that well."

Carlos pointed at the vine.

"Every future test happens behind a fence. And goddamn, tell me before pulling things out of plants."

Rowan nodded once.

"That is fair."

Carlos looked at the red tomatoes hanging from the vine.

Ironroot had just grown its first harvestable bomb.