Chapter 214: An Armored Heartwood

Lauren set the carrier beside her chair and opened its padded lid. The graft’s leaves rose above a short stem covered in dark bark, with pale lines between the overlapping plates. Luke put their folder on the grass beside her and checked the nursery gate before returning.

Sella had reserved the fallow patch for them again. The ground had settled after Lauren’s earlier test, and nothing obstructed the approach. They had reported the completed pattern before arranging this session. Their new authorization covered one integration attempt and a short manifestation afterward, provided Lauren felt well and the system displayed no warning. They would test entry only after examining the empty tree.

Luke had brought no practice weapon. His spear remained by the gate, outside the growing area, and Sella kept her workers clear while she finished watering the nearby beds.

Lauren lifted the pot from the carrier. "Will you read the message with me? I don’t want to miss a condition because I’m excited."

He crouched beside her as she opened the integration option. Several lines appeared beneath the graft’s description.

[Compatible skill: Oracle’s Heartwood.]

[Recorded growth pattern: Layered Bark.]

[Integration will reinforce the Heartwood’s outer shell against physical penetration.]

[Formation time and mana upkeep will increase.]

[The graft will be consumed.]

Luke read the last two lines again. Lauren waited with her hand on the pot’s rim, letting him finish before asking what he thought.

"We need to allow more time before anything reaches you," he said. "And you won’t be able to stay inside as long on the same amount of mana."

"I can plan for that."

She did not accept immediately. Her thumb followed the rim while she checked the full description once more. The existing warnings about the core and its active connection remained beneath the proposed change. Nothing offered protection from every kind of attack.

Lauren selected confirmation. The three leaves folded toward the stem, and the roots loosened from the growing medium without pulling any soil after them. Pale light traced their branches as the entire graft rose an inch above the pot.

Luke held still while the dark stem separated into thin plates. They floated around the leaves for a moment, then dissolved into green strands that gathered against Lauren’s palm. Her fingers curled slightly as the light passed through them.

A warmth traveled up her forearm. She took a slow breath and let it out without moving her hand toward Luke. The light faded before reaching her shoulder, leaving the pot empty except for the moss and loose growing medium.

[Ancestral Graft consumed.]

[Oracle’s Heartwood modified.]

[Integrated trait: Layered Bark.]

Lauren lowered the pot onto the grass. Luke watched her face as a smile spread across it.

"It’s part of the skill now."

He sat back on his heels. "Anything hurting?"

"Nothing. Give me a moment."

She remained seated while the warmth faded from her arm. Her mana display had settled, and no additional message appeared. Luke read the session time aloud so they would remember when integration had finished, then helped her place the empty pot back in its carrier.

Sella came over once Lauren called to her. She listened to the result, checked that the path remained clear, and took the carrier to the gate. Luke guided Lauren into position on the same flat patch they had used before, then stepped outside the area where the roots would spread.

The tree began with pale shoots behind Lauren’s heels. Luke watched the trunk rise while its first branches unfolded, but the bark continued changing after the tree reached its full height. Dark ridges formed along the lower trunk, overlapping as they thickened around the hollow.

He waited until those last plates settled before stopping his count. Almost eight seconds had passed since activation. The opening still faced the clear path, but its sides were thicker, with a raised lip of bark along each edge.

"The shell’s darker," he told her. "It looks like someone fitted broad scales around the trunk."

Lauren reached back and found the edge of the hollow. She followed one ridge with her fingertips while Luke checked the other side. The plates overlapped without crossing the opening, and pale wood remained visible beneath them.

She moved around the trunk with his help before entering. At the rear, the dark shell was continuous, its ridges following the curve of the tree. Luke ran his palm over one broad plate, feeling the difference between its dense surface and the smoother bark near the branches.

"They’re thickest around where your body will be," he said.

Lauren traced the same section. Her hand paused against it, and Luke left his beside hers until she was ready to move on. They returned to the opening without disturbing the roots beneath the grass.

Her mana had fallen steadily throughout the inspection. Lauren compared the rate with the earlier test and gave Luke the reading before turning toward the hollow. She had enough left for the short entry they had planned and a comfortable reserve afterward.

"I want to check my voice too. Stand by the first stone once I’m inside."

Luke found the marker six paces from the opening. He waited there as the bark closed around her, then noted the time. The outer plates settled over the seam last, covering it with an uneven dark line.

Lauren called his name. Her voice came through faintly enough that he would have missed it beneath ordinary conversation. When she raised it, he could make out the words, though the sound seemed to come from several places along the trunk.

"Go back to the opening."

He approached from the side. "I heard that. Not clearly enough for a fight."

The seam widened before she needed to answer. Lauren waited for the support around her legs to withdraw, then stepped free with several seconds left beneath the twenty-second limit. Luke stayed close without taking her weight while the empty tree began to recede.

The plates thinned from their outer edges. Green light showed through them as the trunk withdrew, and the last ridges disappeared into the same ground that had produced them. No detached bark remained for Luke to collect.

Lauren sat in the waiting chair and checked her reserve. The new shell had cost more to maintain, just as the preview warned, but neither entry nor release had produced pain or pressure behind her blindfold. She rested while Luke recorded the timings in their game folder.

Sella brought the carrier back from the gate. "Do you need me to keep this?"

Lauren took the pot out, felt along its rim, and set it beside the chair. "You can use the pot again. I’d like to keep the carrier."

Luke helped her close it once the loose moss was out. They left the patch clear and returned to the courtyard, carrying no graft and having made no attempt to strike the new tree.

The medical team examined both of them after disconnecting. Lauren described the warmth during integration and the increased mana draw while Shaw compared the recorded intervals. Luke supplied what the tree had looked like and how long its outer shell had taken to finish forming. The monitors had recorded their bodies, not the bark.

They stayed for observation before being allowed home. Lauren could see no change in her ordinary skin, and Luke’s right hand remained at its previous baseline. Shaw wanted the delayed readings before deciding how much of the new form she could use during quests.

While they waited for the follow-up checks, Luke ordered a print of the photograph Lauren had taken on the sofa. He collected it on the way home from one of his appointments, along with a small wooden frame. The shop assistant fitted it for him when the fastenings proved awkward with one hand.

Lauren was upstairs when he returned. She came out of the bedroom as he was taking the frame from its paper sleeve, and her steps slowed when she saw it.

"You got it printed."

Luke handed it to her. She held the frame beneath the hallway light, studying the picture before turning it slightly to remove the reflection. The edge of her robe was visible beside his bare shoulder, and he had chosen a small print rather than enlarging it enough to expose every blurred strand of hair.

"I wasn’t sure where to put it," he said.

Lauren carried it into the bedroom. She moved a book from beside her lamp, set the frame in its place, and adjusted the stand until the photograph faced the bed. Luke remained in the doorway while she stepped back to look.

Then she crossed the room and put her arms around him. He held her with his left hand spread across her back, letting the paper sleeve hang from his other fingers. Lauren kissed his cheek and stayed against him until he set the sleeve on the dresser.

The review came back after the remaining checks stayed stable. Their next supervised session could include one brief defensive use of the modified Heartwood during an ordinary low-risk quest. The limit still included Lauren’s release, and the additional upkeep meant she needed a larger mana reserve before entering. Vision-sharing remained prohibited, along with Luke’s restricted combat skills.

Lauren read the conditions aloud when the message arrived. She stopped at the permission to use the modified tree and read that sentence once more, more quietly this time.

"We’ll need ground I can grow it from before anything starts," she said.

Luke came to stand beside her. "Then we’ll choose a job where we can look first."

She set the phone down and turned into his arms. Luke kissed her with one hand at her waist, keeping his injured wrist relaxed between them. Lauren stayed close after the kiss, smiling against his cheek before she saved the authorization on her phone.