There were many plants in her repertoire, but Aloe knew that she shouldn’t show them all. Some had the opportunity to cause calamities like the Slowtide, but there were others that she outright didn’t want to reveal out of principle like the Aloe Veritas.

  Could it revolutionize the world? Maybe. That plant kept surprising her after two centuries, but it was her plant. And she didn’t want to share it with anyone. Selfish? Absolutely.

  She had mostly the same thought with the Na’mul Ter’nar, but truth be told, the world already had a massive specimen that covered for a whole species on its own. There was no need for another one.

  The other evolutions that she wanted to keep away from the populace – especially Naila, and especially after the recent revelation – were the Chlorotrophy, the Heartgrowth, and the Dream Spore. The most obvious of these three was the Dream Spore. She couldn’t allow assassins to lay their claws on it. All her Enlightenment abilities came from this fungus, and she was well aware of what the assassins could do if they started using it. Beyond the assassins, the instant sleep capabilities of the Dream Spore were too dangerous. Commonfolk would be completely defenseless, and even a person with half a wit would know what evil-doers would do with a drug that instantly slept people.

  For the other two plants… this was mostly her paranoia. She still didn’t know that the Chlorotrophy was capable of, and from what she already knew, she didn’t want to know. That plant had created the World Tree, and she speculated already that the dryads may also be born from its influence. A theory, but the remote possibility that it was true made it already too dangerous.

  And the Heartgrowth… Oh, the Heartgrowths…

  Those plants had transformed in what she was currently, and whilst that could be mean the end of death, it would also mean the end of humanity. It didn’t help that she had survived the myriad of surgeries through her potent toughness and her legion of Blossomflames. Normal people couldn’t just substitute vital parts of her body like the heart like she had done. And if they tried…

  She preferred not having needless deaths on her consciousness.

  It was better if humanity remained a passing, ephemeral dream. That was the essence of life.

  Of course, she failed to even consider the chimeras she had created between the hybridization of her evolutions. Not only were these weaker versions than their pure prime versions, but they could lead to that evolution. Fortunately, if without the Aloe Veritas people trying to create hybrids would not reach the final step, but better not to risk it by presenting her ‘incestuous’ evolutions.

  It took her a pregnant second to decide what next plant to show Nesrine, but Aloe finally decided on an innocent one.

  On her other palm, a sprout started growing. Because this plant was massive in a different magnitude of the Moonlight’s Tooth, she had to use her trick to suppress the size of plants. The sprout quickly changed into a sapling, and that sapling bloomed into a stump. Finally, long roots hung from the edge of her hand like thick hairs.

  “This plant is the Nature’s Bounty. It makes plants grow faster in its area of effect. If it brings nutrients… that I cannot say. I never had the chance to corroborate it.”

  Whilst she had decided to keep the ter’nar hidden, she didn’t have as many attachments to the Thick Stump – literally, that was its sobriquet – and unlike the ashen tree, this one could frankly be helpful to humanity as a whole.

  “Interesting…” Nesrine stood up and arched her back forward to look closely at the miniature stump. “And how strong is its growth factor?”

  “Twice,” Aloe stated taciturnly.

  “Twice,” the engineer reiterated with a deadpan.

  “Indeed.”

  “This plant does not need of an engineer to wring out its utility. A botanist would be more appropriate.” Nesrine coughed and corrected her posture. “Anyhow, I would like to run tests on the plant to see if there are other utilities and-or properties you have failed to notice.”

  “It’s all yours,” the vegetable woman pushed her palms forward.

  “I… would need some pots first. Gimme a sec.” Nesrine rushed out of the room and came with a ragged breath moment later and a handful of pots on her arms. “I don’t have soil here, but we can handle that latter. Can you place the plants here?”

  Aloe nodded and casually extirpated the plants that were rooted on her flesh. Nesrine’s eyes shot wide open at the sight, but she failed to comment on anything, even when her wounds closed before her eyes as fast as the plants had grown.

  “By the way,” she coughed again. “Is this the size of mature stumps?”

  “For this specimen, yes.” Aloe explained. “But I have purposely grown a miniature. Real ones can get… big.”

  “How big are we talking about?” The druid simply replied with a warm smile. “…That’s not a valid answer…” Nesrine added shyly.

  The vegetable woman smiled yet again, which made the engineer severely blush. Nesrine pushed her glasses back and coughed again to dissimulate.

  “Okay, I’ll consider the interview on the Nature’s Bounty complete. What else do you have in stock?”

  Aloe considered for a moment what plant to show next. She still wasn’t sure if to outright keep some as they could be dangerous, but it was true that their utility was also unparalleled. And that was without her finding most of the possible applications, if modern ingenuity was to keep surprising her.

  “This plant,” she began talking as another entity sprouted on her palm, “I don’t consider exactly useful. At least for society as a whole, but it’s innocent… enough, that I can show it.”

  Much akin to the Moonlight’s Tooth, this plant grew tall. But this new one had a thick and durable stem unlike the frail looking evolved dandelion. Once the plant that resembled a chalice was fully grown, its cup was rapidly filled by a gluey-looking nectar that shone slightly. That glow was specially seen in the previously green stem that now looked orange with the nectar’s yellow glow.

  “This plant is called Grace’s Exaltation,” Aloe explained. “Beyond the very soft bioluminescence, the grace’s main property is that of its nectar. This substance is a very powerful – and I cannot stress this enough, very powerful – aphrodisiac.”

  “I… see it,” Nesrine responded with a sniff and reddened cheeks. “I think that… it may also travel through… airborne means.”

  The young engineer’s visage didn’t only gain a blush, but her heartrate also spiked.

  “How curious, even when I worked this plant prior to stance I didn’t feel any sort of intoxication if I didn’t consume the nectar orally.” Aloe casually commented as she picked up one of the pots Nesrine had brought and placed the Grace’s Exaltation inside. Not before brutally ripping it from her flesh, that was.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  To not pester the young woman, she moved the pot to the other side of the room. With some luck, that distance would be safe enough.

  “Ehem…” The engineer cleared her throat once the grace was away from her. Aloe held from commenting on it, but it was clear Nesrine had some sort of tick because that was like the third time in a handful of minutes. “As my field heavily intertwines with that of medicine, I am aware of the presence and power of aphrodisiacs, but this is in a whole other level. Truth be told, this plant couldn’t come on a worse time.”

  “How so?” Aloe wasn’t particularly worried if the grace was considered a useful plant or not as she let her head rest on the back of her hand.

  “Some recent studies have come out about the secondary effects of the stances, especially on their abuse. In this case, the abuse of the charm stance not only creates a boiling sense of lust but also cures – at least whilst the stance is active – the wielder from genetic illnesses that weaken the sexual prowess, whether it’s lack of drive or difficulties on reproduction.”

  “So the need of aphrodisiacs has completely vanished.” The druid concluded.

  “I wouldn’t say ‘completely’ but yes. This has happened with many medications as wielding X stance can solve certain congenital predilections. Mental, physical, or otherwise.”

  “How queer,” Aloe hummed, but she was fortunate enough to not make it so in an overly sexual manner. Baby steps, she told herself proudly. “I must admit that I am interested in these studies. I have been researching the vital arts for a long time, but I cannot say I have exactly done so from a scholar purview, as some could say.”

  “Well, I have a copy in the office, so I could definitely give it to you.”

  “I would enjoy that,” she responded with a smile.

  Nesrine coughed again as her cheeks threatened to redden once more. “How many plants remain in your repertoire?”

  “Not many, I would dare to say,” the druid quickly went through the ones she had shown and didn’t want to do so in her mind.

  Only two remained.

  She took a deep breath. These two evolutions had a lot of potential to cause harm. Yet they had the potential to cause far more good. It was a difficult equilibrium. Aloe pondered it for a whole minute before deciding to show the prime evolution that sparked this debacle two centuries ago.

  This had been the plant that she had grown most in her body, and now she had complete control not only of how to use it, but how to grow it too. So she decided to give it a bit of flare.

  From her palm blossomed the most beautiful of petals in an orderly and captivating dance. The budding flower twirled its petals in a circular motion before exploding open and revealing its true state as a burst of playful flames flared from its pistils.

  Nesrine didn’t comment on the spectacle, for she was completely beholden to it, her jaw on the ground as she was left agape. Glamour could enthrall people, yes, but it was a forced and fake emotion compared to the simple allure of nature.

  “This plant is the Blossomflame,” Aloe said in a graceful tone whilst controlling a spectacle of flames coming from the flower. “Its properties are twofold. One, it can hurl painful flames at those that consider its enemies. This was the main reason why I was reticent to show it to you, let alone Naila.”

  “Y-yes,” Nesrine added after blinking thrice and recovering her composure. “I can picture how this flower could be used for warfare.”

  The druid softly blew at the engineer’s reaction but otherwise continued unimpeded. “The second property is that it can heal wounds.”

  To show her the Blossomflame’s might, Aloe casually twisted her index finger on a direction that it shouldn’t point toward. The vegetable woman failed to portray any pain, but as a sickly wet crunch sounded with the fracture, Nesrine gagged. The engineer led her hands to her mouth, but nothing came out of it, no words nor bile. Though her mouth opened more when the flames started spurting and displaced themselves from one palm to the other. It took but a second for the finger to snap back into place once it had been enveloped by the cozy flames.

  “I…” If the beautiful spectacle of the Blossomflame had left it without words, this exhibition made it truer. “Uh… does it heal every, or rather, any wound?”

  “Yes…” Aloe responded with a hint of doubt. “It was able to heal a broken femur, asphyxiation, and an extirpated heart.”

  “Uh…” Nesrine’s voice was a mixture of fear, doubt, and utter confusion. “What do you mean with extirpated heart?”

  “Nothing much, but don’t try it with normal people. It only worked with me because I had the heart at hand, and I am way tougher than most cultivators. Also, there’s some sort of recency bias. The wounds need to be fresh to be ‘recognized’ as wounds. And I need to emphasize this, it only heals wounds. Afflictions like diseases are not recognized, but poison is which is weird, yet menstruation is not which is weirder.”

  “Well, menstruation is a bloody process by definition.”

  “What?” Suddenly, the engineer had the unparalleled attention of a being far older than her.

  “Menstruation, the cycle, is the process a woman has to dispose of their ‘infertile’ womb. Dunes, I’m not a doctor, I cannot explain this correctly.”

  “I think you are doing a good job so far, but I would need more information.”

  “Okay, so womb. Where the baby grows, right?” Aloe nodded. “To maximize fertility, and therefore the capacity of having offspring, the body needs to restore it every so often, hence the monthly nature of the process, and it does so by discarding the womb.”

  “Wait, do we shed the whole womb?”

  “No, no! Just a fraction, its inner lining.” Nesrine explained in a panic. “I’m not good at explaining thing… Wait. Weren’t you taught this at school?”

  “Uhm… they didn’t teach this to the one I went.” Whilst Aloe had had some biology classes during her time at the University of Sadina centuries ago, any type of education regarding the female bodily functions was left to the mother, and most didn’t have that type of academic knowledge. Wait, was this even known by scholars back in my day? I don’t think so. Well, not that I ever asked…

  “Right…” The engineer cleared her throat yet again. “So wounds. Just wounds. Any type of chronic diseases, ailments, bodily functions, and whatnot that causes pains will not be healed, right?”

  “Indeed,” the emerald-eyed woman nodded.

  “In a way, it makes me happy that the whole pharmaceutical field hasn’t been dismantled by a single plant,” the cyan-eyed woman said. “But in another… it’s painful having lost a potential panacea or elixir, one cure-all. Oh, well…” She sighed. “I will gladly take this plant and examine how dangerous can it be when it ‘detects’ enemies, but I have high hopes for it. This plant alone will cut workplace accidents and childbirth death to nearly zero, and that’s just with my early estimates. This plant has the potential to change the world.”

  “I know…” Aloe added less enthusiastically. She had seen firsthand how much the victims of the Blossomflame fire suffered, so even if it had great potential for good as Nesrine had stated, she could only see the potential for evil.

  “Now, what else do you have in store?”

  “Not much, just this last one.” Instead of growing a plant, the last of the evolutions she wanted to show her was a fungus.

  From her palm, a white protuberance grew. But it was a slow process. In a certain manner, the Radiating Undergrowth was infinite in size. Unlike all the other evolutions in her repertoire, growing this one to its mature size wasn’t a matter of tens of Haya. No. It was a matter of tens. Of thousands.

  Even though Aloe didn’t need to breathe, her breathing trembled as she poured vitality into the fungus. She had to switch to recovery for a moment just to offset her depleting vitality, but it didn’t take long. This wasn’t the first time she had grown one of these White Hole Caps on these last days.

  Subconsciously, she switched to toughness as the irradiating mushroom burned her palm, but she recovered her glamour a second later. She feared that her form had shifted but if it had, Nesrine hadn’t noticed as her attention was focused on the Radiating Undergrowth, or rather, trying to avoid it.

  “O-okay, this one’s bioluminescence is very strong,” the engineer said as she covered her eyes with her hands. “How is it that all your plants are bioluminescent?”

  “Not all all, per se,” she explained. “It just so happens that most I have shown you have emitted light in one way or another. Anyhow, I don’t think this can be considered as bioluminescence as it also emits hit. It’s… radiation. The name of the pla-fungus is Radiating Undergrowth and when it’s uprooted, it provides great sustenance. A single mushroom is capable of providing satiation for a person for a whole week. That would be all.”

  “That would be all? No, no,” Nesrine rubbed her temples. “Go back on that about radiation. It emits light AND heat?”

  “Yes?” Aloe titled her head to the side, failing to see the issue.

  “Wait, wait, wait. This radiation, is it permanent? Is it seasonal? Does the fungus wither after a while?”

  “Nope, it’s a fungus. And the Radiating Undergrowth doesn’t need to be watered and can grow in any substrate, I used to grow it on pebbles for easy lighting.”

  “No… this does not make sense, am I missing something?” The engineer started talking to herself before approaching her hand to the radiating silhouette.

  “I recommend against that. The temperature is high enough to scorch your hand.”

  “Really?” Instead of being frightened by the druid’s statement, the woman’s eyes ignited in passion. “You cannot understand this! Aloe, this is marvelous! An entity that can produce unlimited amounts of heat! Can grow in any place! Is transportable! I cannot stress this enough! T-this will change industry as a whole! Travel! Manufactories! Engines! The age of coal is over! This is a revolution!”