Wraithwood Botanist

Chapter 8: Soul Strangler

Okay, so fun fact—mushrooms move. It’s a thing. Just kidding, they absolutely don’t move!

Unlike plants that grow downward, mycelium—the body of the mushroom underneath the ground—grows omnidirectionally, allowing it to move up or over in complex networks. It’s an amazing skill that allows parasitic fungi like Rhizoctonia—known for causing "root rot"—to find plants to strangle for nutrients.

That’s why when I read, "Once it establishes a body, it can move omnidirectionally," I said, yeah, that’s an irrelevant detail. It wasn’t. This thing didn’t grow omnidirectionally—it actually moved omnidirectionally.

As soon as I dug up enough of the ground to expose a thin strand of white mycelium—it shot away from me.

I was pissed.

Absolutely pissed.

This thing ran away from me! That wasn’t supposed to be possible. And since I was desperate and time was running out before I, you know, became paralyzed and died, I freaked out, stabbing at the ground with my knife, shoveling the dirt left and right like I was rowing a boat.

So there I was, angry, flinging dirt every which way, listening to Kline yowl as he jumped back and forth to avoid rocks and clumps when I suddenly reached the mycelium’s body—and all hell broke loose.

The entire ground moved and shook. Dust flew out of the hole I was digging, and for a brief second, I saw a white spot as thick as a drumstick moving under the ground like a worm.

Nothing about that was right! Mycelium was thin! How thin? Sometimes microscopic! Sometimes, it grows in thick mats, creating the illusion that it’s thick, but it’s not. But this thing was solid and moving!

"Oh, hell no! W-What the hell is that thi—"

Suddenly, a golden object flew past me with a battle cry. I blinked and saw a snapshot of Kline with rabid eyes, lifting both of his claws in the air.

"Wait!" I tried to yell. But I only got halfway through before Kline slashed down with his phantom claws. Magic flew out of his paws like wind, and the dirt exploded, blooming around us like a sandstorm. I flew backward, nearly dropping my knife as I heard Kline hissing and growling, wrangling with something.

"Kline!" I yelled. "Don’t eat that!"

But it was too late. Kline jumped out of the dirt with a torn chunk of mycelium in his mouth. He was proud, but I was panicked. "Don’t swallow that!"

Kline panicked and tried to spit it out, but it was stuck to his tongue. I grimaced when I thought back to what the Identify screen said: Mycelium hyphae directly penetrate plant roots like threading a needle and then coils up it, using tiny barbs to cling to the plant like barbed velcro.

"Oh, come here," I said, pulling out the water. "I’m gonna release it. But don’t swallow, okay?"

Kline looked up at me with blubbery, panicked eyes.

"You poor thing. Hold still." I opened up the water and then pried Kline’s mouth open. He moved and gnawed, making me click my tongue. "Hold… still!" I said. He trembled as I awkwardly used my hand and forearm to lift the bag and pour some into his mouth. Once it touched his tongue, it healed it, pushing out the barbs and releasing the mycelium.

Kline spat it out along with the water and howled a battle cry, pressing around the mycelium and pawing at it like a soccer ball. Then he looked up with eyes that said, "I killed it, Mom!" and waited for his reward.

"Rinse your mouth out again and then I’ll pet you," I said. This time, he complied, rinsing out his mouth and spitting it out. "You really can understand me, can’t you?"

Kline meowed.

I felt it was a yes—and that was strange. Ever since we showed up, he followed my words carefully. It wasn’t a coincidence. "Alright, have a drink." He did and sighed in relief. Then I took one of my own, relieving the itchiness on my neck. Only then did I put away the water and pet him. "You did good." He purred and rubbed against my legs.

I smiled, but it turned wry when I looked at the wiggling mycelium in front of me. It was time to make a slurry.

2.

While Mira turned a mushroom into a weapon, Aiden lined up outside of the Restam Conservatory Headquarters. It was a large building with a visitor center and gift shop inside, in addition to large buildings for barracks and a massive kitchen. Most importantly, it had cooling magic working like AC. It was wonderful—but the group only got a brief tour before they found themselves lined up outside, sweating like pigs in the summer heat, staring down a massive expanse of trees to their right and a wide range of grasslands ahead of them.

A stern woman stood out front. She was the type that was attractive but had a poise and forceful demeanor that made men back away. She wore a ponytail.

"My name is Alitalia Silviai," she said. "I’m terrible with people—that’s why I work with animals. Any questions?"

A few of the men chuckled but quieted down when she sent them glares. They quieted down.

"No? Then let’s get started. Restam Conservatory. Just down the way is Restam, a town that tailors to alchemists and beast tamers. That’s because the Areswood Forest is filled with animals and alchemic ingredients. Normally you’ve be fightin’ each other, but you got this place to yourself for the week, so consider yourselves lucky."

Aiden suddenly didn’t feel lucky. He hated conflict.

"The Trial of Worth is individually focused and the workshops are voluntary," she continued. "So you’re free to come and go as you please. That said, if you don’t participate in the trial at all, you will be forcefully reassigned to a peaceful class. If you’re not okay riskin’ your life, I suggest you switch to a Peaceful Class before the trial starts so you can get the job you want."

The obnoxious woman from the train turned to Graxan. "I thought you said they weren’t dangerous!"

Alitalia snorted. "Is working with animals safe to you?"

The woman paused, and the crowd fell still.

"How many of you have actually worked with animals before," Alitalia asked. "Big ones. Not your pets."

Aiden raised his hand—so did the siblings. Someone who looked like a farmer and presumably his wife did, too. Only ten others raised their hands, and Aiden couldn’t see them over the crowd.

Alitalia looked at Aiden with narrowed eyes and then swept the crowd. Then she rubbed her tear duct with her middle finger and exhaled dramatically.

"What did you guys do?" she asked the farmers. Aiden was spot on:

"We worked on a farm," the husband said.

"Were there big herbivores?"

"Yeah, most of ’em."

"Were they dangerous?"

The couple laughed. "Oh, yeah," the wife said with a country accent. "They dangerous alright."

The group grimaced.

"What about you two?" Alitalia asked the twins.

He clammed up, looking around with all eyes on him.

"Our mom’s a veterinarian. She works with horses, but she works with other big animals, too."

Are injured animals safe?"

The sister shook her head. "No."

More grim whispers spread through the crowd.

Alitalia looked at Aiden. "What about you?"

"I worked at a zoo," he said. "I worked with all the animals. But mostly big cats… and otters."

A dozen people snorted in laughter at the mention of otters, making Aiden flush with embarrassment.

Alatalia didn’t laugh, she appraised him and moved on. "Well, there’s at least one of you that knows what they’re in for. For the rest, I’ll say this: beast tamers learn to speak to animals—the rest get eaten. You might be able to tame a pet or something. Eke out a living. But if you’re gonna be a beast tamer, you’re gonna have to meet some big animals."

The air became thick, like a membrane bearing down on the group. Many started looking toward the promised town, others held hands with their partners. A few kids cried.

Aiden didn’t move. He was stunned by her verbiage. Speak to animals. Meet animals. This was inherently different from what things were like on Earth. There was magic here, so did that mean that he could actually speak to animals? The Oracle translated people’s speech in real time, and created minor illusions for people speaking. It allows him to speak to anyone with any language without barrier. Could it do that for animals as well? He almost hoped not. He loved animals because they weren’t people, so feared what would happen if animals were just like everyone else.

"Now that you know this isn’t a joke, let’s keep this simple." Alitalia whistled, and a gigantic bird twice the size of an eagle flew across the sky, diving at them. People screamed and ducked, but Alitalia stood still and reached up as the bird dropped something into her hand. It wasn’t a ball—it was cute and fluffy, like a bunny mixed with a squirrel.

Aiden stopped covering his head and looked up, entranced by the creature that was scurrying around her body. It stuck to wherever it touched, allowing it to move up her arm, around her back, and then climb onto her right shoulder.

"As a beast tamer, you can work with beasts and have them work together. You can build trust. You can borrow their eyes and take over their bodies if they consent. The level of power you’ll obtain is up to your prowess and willingness to interact with them. Now settle in. I’ll trigger your trial tomorrow morning."

3.

I’m not sure what I imagined I’d be doing once I got dropped off in this isolated forest, but I certainly didn’t think that I’d be bashing mycelium with a rock like a monkey trying to crack a coconut—but that’s what I was doing. I was pounding the ultra-tough mycelium like a pancake.

I itched my neck. "Alright, hit it again."

Kline walked up and sliced it with his claws. Then I dripped some water on it. I felt rather bad keeping the mycelium alive when it was visibly wiggling, but I could literally chop the thing into a million pieces, and all of them would be equally alive. So I tried not to think about it as I pounded and slashed it.

I took a deep breath once it was mashed up. Then I itched with a passion before opening up the water and drinking some. Then I offered some to Kline. "Drink up," I said. "This’s all we’re gonna get. I doubt we’ll ever be let back near that river again."

Kline smiled wryly and lapped up the water. Things were getting serious, and it made us both nervous.