Ken lay on his bed, he stared at the ceiling in a daze, he couldn't see what the sapling is doing to his body so he could only stared at in bewilderment. But he knew one thing, that is, the sapling didn't have any malicious intentions. So, he grew curious instead. "Hey, what are you doing to my body?"
Ken have read plenty of this kind of scenario in novels, the mc encountering a fortuitous event, changing his physique, obtaining special abilities and changing his life for the better. He knew this cliché scenarios like the back of his hand but he didn't expect that it would also happen to him. Heck he didn't even believe in super natural things, that's why its a bit far fetch that it happened to him. But not believing doesn't mean it doesn't exist, facts have been slapped hard on his face, his belief being over turned. Hence knowing that the sapling invaded his body and seeing as it didn't have the intention of harming him, he grow hopeful that it would give some kind of abilities.
Ken's vision suddenly grew dark but was immediately restored, his jaw drop, astonished at what he's seeing, he didn't even have the opportunity to panic when his vision was momentarily lost, he was overwhelmed at sight of his bodies internal structure.
That's right, his bodies internal structure was laid bare before his naked eyes. He saw his stomach, lungs, liver, brain and even his nerves, he saw all of his organs and his bodies control center in a third person view. He could even zoom in and zoom out, allowing him to even see his cells and quite remarkably his DNA, that's right, he was able to see DNA, the material that is nearly present in all living organism, the carrier of instructions for a living organism to develop, survive and reproduce, with his bare eyes.
He tried to bring back his sight to normal, he successfully did it on his first try. He looked at the sapling in astonishment. "Did you do that?!"
The sapling merely swayed its leaves in response.
"Well, you're really magical just so you know," hesitating for a bit he continued, "what other ablities do you have?"
The sapling swayed its leaves again in response to his questions.
"Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway."
He said and turned his vision on what is happening inside his body, he saw the roots of the sapling injecting something in his heart, what he deduced to be its sap, with the sap being injected to his heart, it was being spread in his entire body through his heart every time it pumped his blood. He could feel the sap coursing through his blood vessels, unclogging his blocked arteries and widening it for better circulation, the sap was also breaking down his muscle, from the major muscle group to the small muscle group and strengtening his muscle tissues multiple times. He could see his muscle growing stronger, more taut and full of explosive strength.
He even belived that he could lift several tons of weight with his bare muscle alone. Not only that, his skin is also being nourished, it started to crack and shed the old tissues, the new skin has healthy brown color, it looked smooth and soft but at the same time gives of the feeling of durability, looking as if it could repel bullets and remain unharm under the sharp blades of knives. And of course, and possibly the most important, strengtening his motor nerves, the nerves that send impulses from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles all throughout his body, giving him the ability to coordinate and control his strengthened muscles.
His sensory nerves, they collect information about pain, pressure, temperature and so on from sensors in the skin, muscles and internal organs and send it back to the spinal cord and the brain. Sensory nerves are even capable of relaying information about motion apart from what the eyes themselves already do. And with his skin being revamped, he couldn't even begin to imagine what he could perceive with his senses. 'I might be able to do those scenes in the movies, fighting with my eyes closed and maybe even do bullet time.' He thought.
His autonomic nerve too, but this time instead of strengthening, the sap give him complete control of it, it's one of the key reasons why humans manage to survive till now. Because the autonomic nervous system regulates the activity of heart muscle and other organs, it includes two functional divisions: the sympathetic nervous system, involved in speeding up heart rate and other "fight or flight" responses, for example the cold shock response, the most common cause of death from immersion in very cold water, the immediate shock of the cold causes involuntary inhalation, which if underwater can be very fatal. The cold water can also cause heart attack due to vasoconstriction. And the parasympathetic nervous system, which regulates digestion, excretion and other metabolic activities. By giving him control of this nerve it allowed him to boost his survival rate, he could store energy, speed up his digestion and turn it in to fuel for his body and more importantly the ability to control his fear, reigning in his fear would allow him to think clearly even in intense fear and pressure.
And lastly his cranial nerve, this time he is given partial control of it, because cranial nerve is in control of the olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, spinal accessory and hypoglossal nerves. These are essential in vision, smell, eye and facial movements, salivation and tongue movements.
And while the sap was strengtening his muscles and nerves, the root started dissentegrating his skeletal system, starting from his head to his toes, turning it to dust and expeling it through the pores of his body. And at the same time it bundled its root, forming the shape of leg bones, hand bones, pelvis bones, rib cage and skull. It solidify its roots, severed it from the branch and place the new bones from its proper place, essentially creating a new skeletal system for Ken. Considering his whole internal structure was revamped, it needs a more durable and stronger skeletal system, something that could withstand his newfound speed, power and agility, to house his new internal organs.
Looking at his new skeletal system, he felt the durability of his new bones just by seeing it, he felt that even if he died his bones would't turn to dust, capable of existing for an eternity. He observed his body again, from top to bottom, his skin was a color of a healty brown, his stomach was defined by his well chiseled six pack abs, well defined biceps and leg muscle, capable of bursting with explosive power.
After marveling at his new body, he looked at the sapling with a complicated gaze, although he was grateful that the sapling gave him a new body, he was afraid he would have to pay the price for it and might be forced to do something against his principle and moral boundaries.
Regaining control of his body, he sat up and started to stretch and flex his body, feeling the changes. He notice that he immediately got used to controlling his body, of course he would, the body was tailored specifically for him. He looked at the sapling with a complex look.
"Why did you do this? although I'm grateful for giving me this opportunity, but I won't do anything immoral."
"Relax, I won't force you to do something against your will, it is beneath me." An arrogant male voice suddenly sounded.
Ken breath in sharply and stared at the sapling with widened eyes. "You can talk now?!"
"Of course not, I'm just transmitting electrochemical impulses to your brain as a way to relay message to you. How would I be able to talk without a vocal cord, it's basic biology." It said with a tinged of arrogance in it voice.
Ken scratched his face and said, "oh if you can do that, why didn't you do it before?", he wondered aloud.
"Because I only gained access to your body when we reach this plane." It said as if a matter of fact.
He suddenly remembered the dark place and the pillar of light again. "What is that place and that pillar of light?"
"You're not qualified to know." It said with a dignified tone in its voice.
Although he wanted to ask more question, he decided not to pursue the matter and asked the most important question for now.
"What are you?"