Outside my mind, in the bamboo bunker, I could hear the muffled sounds of life. Sal was arguing with Aiya about whose turn it was to wash the dishes in the bucket. Grace was typing furiously on her laptop.
Inside my mind, there was only silence.
I sank deeper.
The darkness of meditation shifted and the black dissolved into color.
I was back in the Garden.
The same one from my previous vision. The colors were violent—greens that burned the retina, golds that shimmered like liquid. But this time, I wasn't paralyzed. I stood up, looking at my own hands and I flexed my fingers.
"Hello?" I called out.
Silence.
The figure on the stump was gone, the snakes were gone and the strange, wheel-shaped creatures were gone.
The sky above me was dark. Clouds boiled into existence, blotting out the light.
A bolt of lightning slammed into the ground some yards away and its impact shook the earth beneath my feet.
Another bolt struck. Then another.
[Tribulation Alert: To advance to the Sprout Realm, one must weather the storm and defy the Heavens.]
The text floated in the air and was glowing red.
"Defy the Heavens," I muttered. "Sure. Easy."
A roar came from the horizon.
Water.
A wall of water was rushing toward me. It tore up the grass and swallowed the landscape.
[Build or Drown.]
The instruction was simple.
I closed my eyes and focused. In this realm, my Qi was limitless. I visualized bamboo. Not the stalks I grew at home, but something ancient. Something buoyant.
"Structure," I commanded.
Massive stalks of bamboo erupted from the ground around me. I wove them with my mind, lashing them together with vines of energy. I built a raft—a platform large enough to withstand a flood.
The water slammed into my raft, lifting it off the ground. I grabbed the center mast I had created and held on as the world turned into an ocean.
I was sailing through a hurricane as lightning struck the water around me.
Then, the water beneath me darkened.
A shape rose from the depths.
It was a sea monster. It breached the surface as its roar shattered the thunder.
It looked at me like it wanted to consume me.
"Not today," I yelled.
I pushed my Qi into the raft. The bamboo glowed brighter and the raft shot forward, blasting through the waves like a speedboat.
The Leviathan chased and its jaws snapped inches from the rear of my raft, sending spray over my head. I kept my head forward.
There was a break in the storm clouds ahead. A beam of golden light in the darkness.
"Faster," I screamed.
I poured everything I had into the craft. My soul felt like it was burning. The monster lunged one last time—
I sailed into the light.
The monster vanished. The storm vanished. The water evaporated.
I was floating in light.
I opened my eyes.
I was back in the greenhouse.
I took a deep breath and it felt like I was inhaling Qi.
My vision was sharper. I could see the veins in the bamboo leaves ten feet away.
I checked my status.
[Cultivation Realm: Sprout (Stage 1)]
[Soil Upgrade: Verdant Jade Loam (Grade 1)]
[Qi Capacity: 500]
[Ambient Generation: 48.2 Qi/Hour via Heavenly Moss (Verdant Jade Loam Grade 1)]
I looked around.
The bamboo walls of the bunker had a blue overlay. The moss on the ground was gold. My sword and armor, resting in the corner, had transformed into a jade-like material that pulsed with blue.
I sat there, processing the power.
"June 5th," I whispered.
"Oh shit," I said aloud. "I missed my birthday. I'm thirty seven."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
I rubbed my face. Thirty-seven. And I had spent the last six months hiding in a hole in the ground while a war raged outside.
I stood up.
Something felt different.
The stiffness in my shoulders was gone.
I stretched, cracking my neck. I felt loose. I felt... like me.
"AHH!"
A scream ripped through the bamboo wall.
It was Grace.
I walked out of the garden and into the living area.
Grace was jumping up and down on the bamboo floor. She looked manic. Aiya and Sal were staring at her.
Grace saw me and ran over, throwing her arms around my neck.
"We won!" she screamed. "Kaz! We won!"
I peeled her off me. "What are you talking about? Did Axehill trip and fall on his own sword?"
"He declared bankruptcy!" Grace yelled, pointing at the laptop screen. "White Hill just announced a total withdrawal! They’re pulling out of Southfield and Midtown! They ran out of money!"
I looked at the screen.
BREAKING NEWS: WHITE HILL RETREATS. WAR ENDS IN STALEMATE.
The ticker explained it. Axehill couldn't pay his soldiers. His supply lines were stretched too thin. He had retreated to Warren to consolidate his remaining forces.
"We did it," Grace said, breathless. "We just have to sue for peace now. It’s a stalemate. We get our territory back."
I looked at her.
She was glowing with excitement. She was regal, confident, ambitious. She looked like a CEO who had just closed the deal of the century.
And then I looked at myself in the reflection of the dark window. A guy in flannel pants and a dirty t-shirt.
"I'm an idiot," I said.
Grace stopped smiling. "What?"
"You," I said, pointing at her. "You should have been running this. You're the Beckenfein. You're the shark. And I was... what? Telling you how to do your job? Who did I think I was?"
"I spent ten years in middle management, Grace! Ten years! And I thought I could run a geopolitical war? 'It’s all about the branding, Grace!' 'We need to be a symbol, Grace!'"
I grabbed my head. "Aghhh! I let an idiot run the treasury! Me! I'm the idiot!"
Grace stared at me. "Kaz? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" I shouted. "I just—"
"Who cares about any of that now?" Grace said, grabbing my shoulders. "We won, Kaz! We survived!"
Aiya, sitting on the couch, started to chuckle.
"He's back," she said, grinning. "Long live the kin— Oop. I mean long live the… What do you go by now?"
"Shut up, Aiya," I said.
My phone pinged.
I pulled it out.
[Official Invitation: Detroit G4 Summit.]
[Time: 6 Hours.]
[Location: Detroit City Hall.]
"Holson," I said, shaking my head. "That brilliant witch."
"What is it?" Sal asked.
"The Summit," I said. "She waited. She waited six months. She watched us bleed each other dry. She watched Axehill go bankrupt and us go into hiding. And now, when we are at our absolute weakest... she holds the meeting."
"It's a power move," Grace noted instantly. "She wants to dictate terms while the factions are desperate."
"Exactly," I said.
I looked at the group.
"Alright," I said. "Changes. Big changes."
I pointed to Grace.
"Grace, you are the CEO of Eden Co. Officially. You run the money. You run the talks. You handle the strategy. I am done pretending I know how to run a conglomerate."
Grace blinked. "Really?"
"Really. You're the boss."
I turned to Bells, who had just walked in from his room, yawning.
"Bells," I said. "Congratulations. You are now General of the First Division."
Bells rubbed his eyes. "What army?"
"The one I just created," I said. "Of Eden."
"We don't have soldiers, Kaz," Bells reminded me.
"We will," I said. "We have money again. We have territory. You'll build it."
"Get dressed," I said. "We're going to City Hall."
"Should we pack bags?" Grace asked. "In case it's a trap?"
"No," I said. "If it's a trap, packing a toothbrush won't save us. Besides, we aren't fleeing anymore."
I walked toward the door, my Verdant Jade Armor forming over my chest.
"I'm done thinking like a CEO or a Warlord," I said. "And I'm definitely done thinking like a Sovereign."
I opened the door to the outside world for the first time in six months.
"It's time I think like middle management."
Character Sheet
Name: Kaz Kaaz
Age: 37
Path: Heavenly Gardener’s Path
Cultivation Realm: Sprout (Stage 1)
Qi Capacity: 500 / 500
Domain Stats:
- Soil: Verdant Jade Loam (Grade 1)
- Ambient Qi Generation: 48.2 Qi/Hour (via Heavenly Moss Verdant Jade Loam Grade 1)
Skills:
- Gathering: Extract Qi/Materials from plants.
- Nurturing: Infuse Qi to accelerate growth/mutate plants.
- Swordsmanship: Proficiency with Spirit Bamboo Sword.
- Dominion: Mental control, teleportation, and acceleration of plants within the Domain.
- Alchemy: Refine plant matter into consumables/artifacts.
- Awaken Plant Spirit: Grant sentience to a plant (Cost: 25 Qi).
Dao:
- Growth: Photosynthetic Regeneration. The user’s body heals at an accelerated rate. Severed limbs can be regrown as long as the heart remains intact.
Active Plants:
- Tim (Awakened Heavenly Tomato): Sentient. Produces fruits that permanently boost Constitution and heal.
- Heavenly Bamboo: Indestructible wall. Active Defense: Thorn Reflex.
- Heavenly Moss: Bioluminescent (Gold). Generates 48.2 Qi/hr.
- Heavenly Mandrake: Sentry. Psychic scream.
- Explosive Heavenly Squash: Explosive impact grenade.
- Heavenly Tuber: High calorie sustenance.
- Heavenly Cucumber: Quenches thirst for 24 hours.
- Heavenly Potato: Wards off hunger.
- Heavenly Filter: Purifies contaminated water.
- Heavenly Whispervine: Dampens sound and energetic signatures.
- Heavenly Gourd of Holding: Grows a gourd containing an extra-dimensional space.
Inventory/Equipment:
- Verdant Jade Loam Bamboo Sword (Grade 1)
- Verdant Jade Loam Bamboo Armor (Grade 1)
- 0 Spirit Stones