Quinn returned home to everything where he left it.
'Home? Well, I guess I could call it that. Let me just make a few more rooms.'
This time, Quinn tried to make the rooms more human like. But they kept caving in, and his spherical poop kept getting in the way.
After a struggle, Quinn finally made a single room. It wasn't cube like, since it compromises the structural integrity of the place. The storage room wasn't a pain because he made it on the fly.
But this room was empty. Besides, a small bench made of compact dirt and a pit of top soil he brought from the surface for a bed.
Quinn was tired, but he instead put the dark pine leaf on the bench. Inspecting it, he found that the leaf had a slight glow to it illuminating the small room.
[Appraisal:Dark Pine Leaf(food)]
[ [Pheromone detection] Activated]
'A small number of pheromones are coming off this. I'll need to eat it now'
However, Quinn wanted to try something. He recognized the scent of the Leaf through his skill [Pheromone detection]. So could he try to activate [Appraisal] through this pathway. Wiggling away from the leaf, he used:
[ [Pheromone detection] Activated]
Quinn fully focused on the smell. Retrieving his familiarity with it. But still nothing. But suddenly, a system window rang out in his head.
[ [Appraisal] Activated]
[Appraisal: Dark Pine Leaf]
'Yes, I can use [Appraisal] without touching'
[Skill Levelled up
[Appraisal]Lvl 2 --> [Appraisal] Lvl 3
Exp: 24 ]
[Skill Levelled up
[Pheromone detection]Lvl 1 --> [Pheromone detection] Lvl 2
Exp: 10 ]
[Level up: Lvl:5 -> Lvl 7]
[Exp:2/22]
'Score now, let's eat this'
The more Quinn thought about it, the more Quinn got confused.
'Why are the leaves glowing anyway'
Trees are known for absorbing light. Not emitting light. The only answer is magic.
'Hope this upgrades my Arcane stat'
Currently, only strength, agility, and vitality seemed to increase. Arcane and intelligence showed no signs of growth.
'Ahhh... What the heck!! After all I've been through, still no growth. Pfft, who cares? I'm going to sleep'
Burrowing in the loose soil, Quinn felt comfortable as he drifted off to sleep.
I guess even sentient worms need to sleep.
...
Quinn dreamt for the first time in this world.
He was in the body of a child. The body he used to inhabit. He was playing with some of his friends at the park. His babysitter finally agreed to let him play at the park.
He finally experienced something he had never felt.
Friends.
It could only be described as bliss. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. Until Quinn's mother turned up.
"QUINN!!!!" She shouted. She grabbed his arm, marched over to the babysitter, and scolded her.
Quinn tried to tell her it was his idea. He tried to let her off the hook. But she didn't listen.
'Why... Why... WHYYYY??'
He never saw that babysitter again. He never went to the park again. And he forgot what a friend was.
Blackness surrounded his child like form. As loneliness rooted in him. Blossoming a black flower of depression and anxiety. Bringing out his ADD.
Quinn felt isolated.
"A C-grade. No son of mine is this bad. Your younger brother, Will, always gets A's."
'Stop'
"Why can't you be like him?"
'I'm not him'
"Failure"
'YES, ok, I am!!'
"Ugly"
"Worthless"
"Failure"
'ENOUGH!!!!'
Everything went out. Quinn sobbed.
'It's always me. Why always me?'
And it was gone. Fleeted back into his subconscious. Radiant light of primarily green seemed to surround him.
Trees in the cold breeze. The mountains. And the valleys in-between them. A peaceful refuge.
"Grandpa!!!"
"Hey, you little Gremlin!! Like my home."
'Home?? Tchh, I hate home'
"Yea, it's cool."
"Let's go on a hike."
...
The trees calmed him. Quinn forgot about his loneliness. He felt calm.
"You feel it right."
"Feel what."
"Shinrin-roku... Nature calms us. It's where we belong." Quinn didn't understand anything his Grandpa just said.
"Belong??"
"Your mum and dad dumped you with me because you don't belong. But here among the trees. Everyone belongs. Everyone is just a small cog into something greater."
"Are you crazy?" He was an innocent child. He didn't understand what his grandfather was trying to say to him.
"Your parents like Will more than you don't they," Quinn stared at him. The calm feeling of the fresh breeze drew out tears.
"It's all his fault. If it weren't for him, I'm sure Mum and Dad wouldn't hate me, " he bellowed.
"Ahhh, it might indeed be his fault for existing. But it's also your responsibility for reacting in that manner," his words confused the 11 year old Quinn, but nevertheless, he continued:
"You can't control other people, but you can control how you react to them," Quinn looked at him with confusion. He was not developed enough to take this in.
"I hope you understand one day. But for now, feel the energy all around you. Where we belong is where we choose to belong. Right now, just feel the essence surround you. Feel the calmness it provides you." The calmness of the trees felt like a blanket.
Green energy was all around him.
Moreover, he felt it. He felt the calm.
[ [Mana Sense] Unlocked]