Emery had not seen them for just 8 days, but these five little yellow creatures were not so little anymore. He couldn't help but wonder whether he should continue to call them little or not. After all, their appearance didn't really fit the word anymore.
Now they had all reached the same height as a normal human's waist. Even though they still had round bodies and heads, their four limbs were at least twice as long as they were originally, allowing them to move around the place without the risk of tripping over again.
"Kuuu Kuuuu." "Kaaa kaaaa."
As soon as they saw Emery, the five of them immediately rushed over and gathered around him. Seeing them like this, Emery smiled and went to pat their heads one by one. He could see how comfortable they were as his hand stroked their heads.
Surprisingly, there was a particular bond that Emery could feel between them that was difficult to put into words. It was not about their cuteness, but something else entirely.
It was at this moment Emery remembered something he had read in the [Metamorphosis Theory]. To be exact, it was a note that specifically mentioned this kind of connection.
This inexplicable bond was created due to the use of the caster's blood during the metamorphic process. Hence, it was not something bad for the caster and his creations.
As for the unexpected growth these creatures undergo, it was also stated that some types of plants did have a faster metabolism than others. Moreover, Emery was certain the place where the five were roaming around - a spirit cave filled with highly concentrated nature energy - was one of the main factors that led to their extraordinary growth.
"All right, all right... You all need to calm down a little, okay?" Emery said, as he watched the five creatures move around him in joy. "Let me see if I can bring some more friends for all of you."
With Emery's recent realm breakthrough and the massive increase in spirit power that came with it, he was re-energized and eager to carry out the projects he had put off earlier. He was excited to once again try and work on the [Photosynthesis] spell and the other saplings he had.
The first project Emery attempted after his breakthrough was the one that was nearly ruined due to his carelessness. The dark red plant, [Hellebore] sapling.
Even though more confident this time around, for fear of messing it up again, Emery still approached the [Hellebore] with great caution.
As his finger touched the plant and slowly channeled his spirit force, Emery quickly perceived his nature core react to the stimulus. In an instant, he could feel the plant thoroughly, as if he was part of the plant itself.
The new and improved nature core was able to make Emery sense and understand the plant better. Thanks to that, as soon as he used [Photosynthesis], Emery quickly realized it was impossible for him to metamorph the plant. At least, not this way.
All of this was because within this [Hellebore] sapling, there were cells that only reacted to the fire element, which Emery didn't possess. This discovery was a bit of a letdown, but Emery didn't dwell on something he couldn't control.
Soon, he moved to the next plant, which he had not managed to metamorph the last time, [Dealyus Cap].
This time, with [Dealyus Cap], Emery could clearly feel the relation between the mushroom-like plant with his darkness element. As soon as he used [Photosynthesis] on the plant, without any significant problem he managed to upgrade it to stage 3, turning the seed into a sapling - something that he couldn't do before.
[Dealyus Cap upgraded to stage 3]
Unfortunately, he seems unable to go further. There were major changes to the plant cell after it turned into a sapling making his spirit channel unable to enter the plant. He knew there was something missing, another factor needed to further advance the plant other than just the potion and his blood.
After he failed to metamorph the two saplings into living creatures like the [Chipzur Fang], Emery was much more hopeful towards the one and only [Flora Colossi].
Even though he knew and understood this particular seed was a much higher tier compared to the others, he still believed he would be successful as he had a much better connection to it.
"Alright, let's make this happen together shall we?!" Emery said to the green ordinary-looking sapling.
Quickly, Emery once again prepared the [Metamorphic Potion] and a drop of his own blood. After taking a deep breath to relax his unconsciously tense body, he started the procedure by casting the key spell.
[Photosynthesis]
Just like his previous attempts, once Emery was able to channel his spirit force into the [Flora Colossi] sapling, he felt a deep connection to the plant. He focused his attention as the nature core within him started to do its work, changing and transforming the cell within the sapling.
However, even after his breakthrough, Emery felt a sense of emptiness. The spirit force he channeled into the sapling was as if being thrown into a much larger room. His spirit force simply couldn't fill up the 'room' effectively.
Understanding the problem laid in his spell power, Emery immediately activated his [Day Transformation] ability to tackle this. Right away, once the transformation completed and the boost came in, he could feel his spirit power affect the little plant.
As time passed, to Emery's surprise, the spirit energy required was much larger than he initially thought. It was an amount that was enough for him to lose confidence in his Spirit Pool. Even so, he just gritted his teeth and persisted because he wanted this to be a success.
After a full two hours, just as Emery could no longer keep up with the transformation and the spirit energy's expenditure, he finally felt he had succeeded.
Just like what happened to the [Chizpur Fang] plant, the blood and the potion worked in tandem and created a gathering of energy within the plant. It condensed and turned into a pebble that glowed in the center of the plant.
The plant had finally awakened.
[Flora Colossi upgraded to stage 4]
As soon as the metamorph was confirmed successful, the green ordinary-looking sapling started to change and grew into an arm-length dark green wooden creature with small dark eyes. At the same time, the five [Chizpur Fang] who roamed around the place quickly approached and ran around its body.
When its eyes finally opened, it immediately let out a voice.
"ku... ku... Kuang... Kuang."