Rays of sunlight were being cast upon the enclosure of the academy. Where the green-haired boy and the coach stood. Just as he was about to turn away from the coach to head toward the courtyard, the bald man stopped him.
"By the way, what's your name boy?"
The green-eyed boy glanced at him and hesitated for a few moments as if he were in deep thought.
Finally, a response came from him:
"My name is Irai, what is your name, old man?"
A startled expression appeared on the face of the coach. Who was the kid calling old? He was just thirty years old.
"Old man?! I'm far from an old man kid! You should learn some manners."
After his brief retort, he smiled politely at Irai and continued:
"So your name is Irai, huh? That's a nice name. Oh, right. Do fifteen laps around the court, I'm not going to let you off easy just because you told me your name," he said, pointing toward the court.
Irai turned away from the coach and began to walk slowly around the large courtyard of the academy, earning a yell from the coach.
"I said fifteen laps! Don't just walk! Jog!"
So Irai began to pick up the pace, jogging around the courtyard. While moving, the name he had made up was completely arbitrary. He just wanted to fit in with humanity more easily, which was why he needed a name.
After his seventh lap around the courtyard, he discovered something – his human body was not as enduring as he thought. Sweat was accumulating all over his face and body. What was the reason? Was it because of the amount of effort that was required to create the body of a human being? And when he had prevented that falling platform from crushing the students?
He couldn't wholly pinpoint the cause.
There was another thing that he had noticed, he no longer was able to transform back into a plant. Initially, his goal was to find out what humans were like for one day, to be a part of them.
And then before the day was over entirely, he could return home before the family did, and remain at the windowsill again.
It was his very strategic plan.
Right now, Irai felt that he had relinquished an enormous portion of his powers in exchange for attaining a human body.
But it didn't matter to him that much. He was just content with his new body. The only problem was how the family would react.
Would he end up in some dark laboratory for testing? Of course, he wouldn't know this. After all, his mind was undiluted. But deep down, he felt a growing gut feeling. That he should be cautious around humans at all times.
Snapping out of these thoughts, Irai had barely survived the remaining laps. The coach was intently monitoring him as he left the courtyard to approach him.
"Not too bad, your endurance needs a lot of work though. Aren't you a Verdant? That should have been a piece of cake for you."
Irai scratched the back of his head, visibly puzzled, and then he asked:
"Coach, what's a Verdant?"
The bald man placed a hand on his face, heaving a frustrated sigh.
"I knew it, you're a human, aren't you? Or I'm going to assume that your parents enrolled you in this Academy because you haven't discovered your latent potential. Yes, that could be it, that explains your oblivious response."
Clearing his throat, the coach continued speaking:
"Alright, listen carefully. I'll begin by explaining to you what Verdants are. A Verdant is not necessarily a human, even though they look exactly like humans. Their DNA is altered, and they can possess a unique power. Scientists have conducted various studies and tests on Verdants, and they discovered that the cells of a Verdant behave in a similar way to the man-eating Flora on Terra."
After letting the information sink in for a moment, he continued:
"The cells are very difficult to destroy, even against foreign cells that invade the body, they are always utterly annihilated by Verdant cells. Pretty bizarre right? That's not the only jarring thing."
Irai listened to him intently, and he asked:
"Is there something else about a Verdant that I should know about?"
The coach nodded at him, and spoke again:
"Yes, all Verdants have an evolutionary system. Which strengthens their biological makeup, their organs, and something called Blossom Essence which has many other names. It's just the natural force that exists within everything. Some call it prana or chi."
***
In the world of Terra, Verdants possess the unique system known as Blossom Essence Evolution.
Blossom Essence represents the life force that flows within everything and can be harnessed and manipulated by Verdants in various ways.
Verdants have the innate ability to sense and control Blossom Essence, allowing them to perform extraordinary feats. The power evolves as they grow stronger.
Each Verdant has an affinity for a specific aspect of Blossom Essence, such as fire, water, nature, or emotions. This affinity influences their abilities and strengths.
Verdants can manifest Blossom Essence in physical forms. For example, they might create weapons, shields, or constructs out of pure Blossom Essence to suit their needs. As Verdants grow, they unlock different stages of Blossom Essence Evolution. These stages grant them new abilities and amplify their existing ones. There are no limits to the number of stages.
Verdants can also channel their affinity to control and manipulate the associated elements. For instance, a fire affinity Verdant can generate flames or enhance their physical abilities using fire Blossom Essence. Some Verdants can even use Blossom Essence to accelerate their own or others' natural healing processes. In advanced stages, they can even regenerate lost limbs or organs.
Some possess the ability to sense and manipulate emotions using Blossom Essence. They can calm others or stir intense feelings, or cause hypnosis, this is highly effective on mundane humans who have no mental defenses. At higher stages, Verdants can temporarily alter their appearance or physical attributes by reshaping their Blossom Essence, although it takes a huge toll on a Verdant, the result being a weaker state of their body.
Verdants can merge their Blossom Essence with others as well, granting them enhanced teamwork and cooperative abilities, this also works on mundane humans that cannot control or sense energy. Overusing Blossom Essence can exhaust a Verdant both physically and mentally.
They can only possess one primary Blossom Essence affinity. Not all Verdants can master every Blossom Essence ability. Some may struggle with certain aspects of Blossom Essence manipulation.
There is also the fact that advancing through the Blossom Essence Evolution stages requires intense training, experience, clarity, grit, and self-discovery.
***
After a moment of pondering, the coach looked at Irai again, who was attempting to make sense of the information that he received, the coach spoke:
"Ah, there is one more thing that had slipped my mind. The VEI."
Irai raised an eyebrow out of curiosity and asked:
"The VEI? What's that?"
The coach stared at him for a moment before speaking:
"The Verdant Evolution Interface, also referred to as VEI, it appeared after the first human was transformed into a Verdant."
The coach cleared his throat again and spoke:
"The Verdant Evolution Interface is a mystical system that activates when a person is identified as a Verdant. It appears as a faint, holographic display visible only to the Verdant themselves and other Verdants who have reached advanced stages. The interface provides crucial information about their Blossom Essence Evolution progress. You will figure out everything else about the VEI once it identifies you as a Verdant."
The coach said, he glanced down at a watch on his left arm, then he looked at Irai again.
"I think that I may have kept you here for too long, enjoy your first day here at the Academy. Come and find me if you have any more questions or if you need anything."
The coach said with a smile, before he turned to leave the courtyard.
"Thanks, Coach." Irai said, waving at the man. His eyes shifted toward the doors of the Academy, he felt rather fortunate to pick up on the language of humans so quickly.
And most of all, he wanted to learn more about the VEI, and what it was capable of. He had a lot to think about.
Meanwhile, far off to the southern parts of the region – a group of Flora were on their way toward Sylvorica, being led by a more unique one that stood out from the rest. The humans it had recently devoured in the cavern were not enough to quench its bottomless appetite. And so – for the first time, this particular man-eating horror was hellbent on invading a human city from the north.
It was following the blood trail left behind by Dr. Ellis.