They made their way back to the center chamber. The massive tree loomed before them, its branches stretching up into darkness. The treant's massive form lay where they'd left it, wood blackened and cracked from their battle. The smell of burnt wood and sap hung heavy in the air.

  Len approached the opening in the ancient trunk. Unlike before, when they'd been focused on survival, he could now study the intricate patterns carved into the wood around the entrance. The living armor's amulet hummed against his chest as they drew closer.

  "The carvings match some of what we saw in that last building," Rick said, running his hand along the symbols.

  Len nodded, feeling the complex weave of magic emanating from within. "Whatever's in there, it's the heart of this whole place."

  They stepped through the opening, leaving the fallen treant guardian behind them.

  Len stepped through the opening. The interior of the tree was hollow, yet alive with energy that made his skin tingle. His mana sight revealed intricate patterns flowing through the wood - not carved or added, but part of the tree's very structure.

  To his left, thick branches curved and twisted together into what had clearly been the growth chamber for the ancient treant. The wood still held impressions where massive limbs had formed, creating the guardian piece by piece. The magic lingered there, ready to begin the process anew if fed enough power.

  "Look at these channels," Len traced the glowing lines with his finger. The living armor responded to their proximity, its own patterns brightening slightly. "The whole tree is one massive enchantment."

  Rick moved ahead, following the spiraling path upward. "The magic gets denser as we go up."

  Len could see it too - the flowing energy grew more concentrated, streams merging and strengthening as they wound higher into the trunk. The channels converged ahead of them, into a platform in the center of the hollow.

  Len studied the platform's surface, tracing the complex patterns with his fingers. The living armor resonated with each touch, helping him interpret the ancient Sylvani script and symbols.

  "These markings..." He leaned closer, following the flow of energy through the intricate designs. "They're instructions for absorbing and processing mana directly from the tree."

  The patterns described a meditation pose and breathing rhythm that would align with the tree's natural energy flow. By synchronizing with these rhythms, one could gradually draw in and integrate pure mana, strengthening both body and spirit.

  "Damn, a cultivation method that purifies the mana through the body as a filter. Tempers your body and mana," Len studied it.

  "That sounds pretty useful," Rick said.

  "Yeah, though it looks like it would be much slower than our methods. Good for most people though. Better than the basic method we told Lucius. Would keep more people from over cultivating and corrupting themselves," Len said.

  His eyes followed another set of symbols spiraling outward from the center. These showed how the tree acted as a purification nexus, drawing in corrupted mana and cleansing it through natural cycles.

  "The Sylvani had discovered how to work with nature's inherent patterns rather than imposing artificial control. They created systems from the chaos that is mana. This is incredible," Len muttered, absorbing the deeper implications. "They didn't try to dominate or redirect the mana - they learned to harmonize with it. The whole grove is designed to bring balance."

  "Mhmm," Rick said. "This looks like a method to cleanse mana corruption in an area. 'Bring alignment and balance' the translation spell is throwing out."

  "Cleanse the corruption?" Len moved to study it with him.

  "Though it needs a medium," Rick said. "Enchantments, something to draw out the mana and stabilize it."

  Len traced the patterns showing the cleansing process. The more he studied it, the more his excitement dimmed. "The renewal tree acts as a focal point, drawing in corrupted mana through its vast root network."

  "Consumes a ton of mana to grow the tree and balance out the area," Rick said.

  "Look at these measurements," Len pointed to a series of marks. "Even for a small area, it took weeks."

  He walked the circumference of the platform, taking in the full scope of the system. The living armor's resonance helped him interpret the ancient measurements.

  "To cleanse an area the size of Warwick would take..." Len did some quick calculations in his head. "Months, maybe longer. And we'd need a renewal tree of similar size."

  "Makes more sense to work on increasing people's tempering to handle the corruption," Rick said.

  "Still having a renewal tree will help people that corrupted themselves, healing them and stabilizing their mana," Len said. "Growing a tree like this would take years, even with enhanced growth methods."

  Rick examined another section of markings. "What about using multiple smaller trees? Have them with troops and in cities, a way to relieve the issues and allow people to recover. Give them a chance at least."

  "That's a really good idea," Len said.

  "I have them from time to time," Rick turned and held out his fist.

  Len raised his hand too. "Three two one-shoot."

  "Crap," Rick said.

  "Don't worry I won't use your hammer till you've upped your tempering three levels," Len grinned.

  Len watched as Rick stripped off his gear and armor, placing them carefully at the edge of the platform. The living wood seemed to pulse beneath their feet, ancient magic still flowing strong through its core.

  Len set his own pack down but kept his armor on - he didn't want to be completely unprotected. Though he'd hear anything that tried to enter the tree.

  Rick settled into lying on the platform's center, closing his eyes.

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  "The mana density in here is incredible," Rick said, his voice soft with wonder. "I'm already filling back up, and it's pushing me to cultivate more."

  "What grade would you put it at?" Len asked, studying how the patterns in his living armor brightened in response to the concentrated energy.

  Rick was quiet for a moment. "Epic grade? I'm guessing here though."

  "That's two and a quarter times more potent than the world's normal," Len said.

  Len lifted his hammer, feeling its familiar weight. Rick lay perfectly still on the platform, his breathing steady and controlled.

  Len brought the hammer down on Rick's shoulder, channeling mana through the strike. The resonating impact spread through Rick's muscles and bones, breaking down tissue to rebuild stronger. Rick's jaw clenched but he didn't cry out.

  Len continued the methodical strikes, moving across Rick's back and limbs in a practiced pattern. Each blow carried precisely controlled force and mana, pushing Rick's body to adapt and strengthen without causing permanent damage. The platform's magic seemed to respond, pouring mana into Rick's body and passively increasing his healing and accelerating the tempering process.

  "Your recovery rate is definitely faster in here," Len observed, noting how quickly the bruising faded between strikes.

  Len increased the tempo of his hits.

  Sweat beaded on Rick's forehead as he endured the beating. His muscles tensed and relaxed with each impact, working to integrate the changes being forced upon them. The living wood beneath him hummed softly, its ancient magic supporting his transformation.

  Len increased the strength of his hits, taking Rick's body to the limit. His healing and that of the tree worked in concert.

  ***

  Len paused in his tempering of Rick.

  Len noticed the change in resistance as his hammer struck Rick's stomach. Where before it had felt like striking dense wood, now the impact reverberated like hitting solid steel. The hammer bounced back with more force, Len spun the hammer, dissipating the force.

  He studied the point of impact. The bruises from his strikes healed faster , the flesh knitting back together with remarkable speed. The platform aided, healing and flushing him with mana.

  Len grinned, lowering the hammer. Rick had done it - pushed through another level of body tempering. He stepped back from the platform, giving his friend space to complete the transformation. The tree's energy continued flowing into Rick, helping stabilize and reinforce the changes.

  Len gathered his gear, methodically securing each piece. He pulled on his pack last, adjusting the straps across his chest.

  Rick's eyes fluttered open. The change was subtle but unmistakable - a weight to his presence that hadn't been there before.

  His will had grown stronger, expanding his control over both his body and the mana within his domain. He sat up slowly, power radiating from him in silent waves.

  "Let's check the condensing formations," Len said, helping Rick up.

  "Thank fuck, thought you were going to forget that I was under the hammer. You know how much that hurt?"

  "You increased my tempering by two levels so I had to get you back for another level because you 'forgot'!" Len jabbed a finger in his direction.

  "Its not my fault that your body is so squishy! Just hardening you up!" Rick shot back.

  Len rolled his eyes there was no heat in their words at all.

  "I might have just forgotten how many times I hit you and was studying the tree and how they built it," Rick mumbled as he pulled on his gear.

  "You got distracted by a pretty tree?" Len asked.

  "Maybe?" Rick shrugged.

  Len snorted at the ridiculousness of it all.

  "Nice tree," Rick patted the floor with his foot and picked up his pack, pausing. "When you're not being an asshole and fighting us."

  Len shrugged, that was fair.

  They made their way back through the dungeon to where they'd set up the formations. The beast corpses had been fully processed, leaving behind only cores and mana pieces scattered across the stone floor.

  Len pulled out a blanket, holding the edges and started walking across the space.

  Rick took out one of his as well.

  Using will constructs they plucked the cores and mana pieces from the ground, dumping them into the blankets.

  "Good here," Len called to Rick.

  "Yeah got a nice haul here too, head to the thornback's area?"

  "Read my mind."

  Len collected up the condensation formation. I'll use it on the flying creatures and the treant when we head back.

  He stored it away and picked up the blanket.

  It took them longer to clear up the site of the thornback fight. The bodies were spread over a larger area.

  "Giant gave a good amount of mana pieces," Rick held up his blanket that he clenched shut in one fist.

  "Now we can test out what the tree does with all of this fuel."

  They headed to the armory tree, its living wood still pulsing with stored energy.

  Len studied the living armor growing in the armory tree's chambers. The wood had taken shape, forming plates and joints that mimicked their own gear. He ran his hand along the surface, feeling its strength through his mana sense.

  "Common grade," he muttered. "Not as good as what we're wearing."

  "Maybe it was only for the first set we got?" Rick asked.

  "Lets put some of the mana pieces into the receptacle and see what happens," Len said.

  The first mana piece lit up the aligned wood grain with mana, that spread throughout the tree.

  They went back to the armory. Mana flowed through the tree into the alcoves where the gear was being grown.

  They inspected different sets.

  "So one day with a single piece will create a set of common gear, lets see what three days all charged up will do," Len said.

  "All charged up?" Rick asked.

  Len raised his blanket sack and shook it. Rick's eyes went wide in horror.

  ***

  "Forty-Nine pieces," Rick said. "You know that this is like burning money? Oh no its exactly like burning money! Who can say that they have this many cores and mana pieces starting out the apocalypse and your feeding the tree!"

  "Didn't you say that trees were pretty!"

  Rick let out a growl and shook his head.

  Len put in another piece. This one melted into liquid but it wasn't absorbed into the wood, instead remaining in the receptacle.

  "I think that filled it up," Len said.

  "Wooh, small miracles."

  "We are growing weapons and armor out of this…" Len trailed off.

  Rick held onto his blanket filled with pieces and cores protectively. "What are you thinking of you money burner?"

  "Well they're growing armor and weapons here. There's those concoctions coming out of the trees and then there's the plants and orchards," Len said.

  Rick held onto his bag tighter.

  ***

  Fifty mana pieces and fifteen cores later and they'd charged up the alchemy, orchard and plantation tree up.

  "You monster," Rick hissed as they walked out with much depleted blanket-sacks.

  Len cackled, letting it reach outrageous proportions.

  "You have lost it, truly. Just stay still. I'll put you out of your misery," Rick started to slowly draw his hammer, a solemn expression upon his face.

  "Ever heard the expression you can't eat money?"

  "Yes?" Rick paused his draw.

  "Well I just turned a fortune into apples!" Len took off at a run.

  "You sounvabitch!" Rick yelled running after him.

  A stalker took the opportunity to leap at Rick. A bolt of flame tore through the creature's head as it launched itself from the branch it was on.

  "Hey! Dinner!" Rick said.