"I accept your call Avahni Rudras," a soft, almost feminine voice echoed throughout the small clearing.

Avahni nodded, dropping down to one knee, feeling somewhat overwhelmed from the amount of spiritual energy she had just expended. Despite the increase to her Wood Mana Cores maximum mana capacity, summoning abilities still required an immense amount of spiritual energy to be completed.

The lutin had promised Roland that in the future she would integrate a Fragment Of Heart. Other than the Fragment of Spirit, which she had already integrated, it was the one of the few other fragments which could guarantee an increase her maximum mana capacity and would be beyond useful as she progressed from Mortal to Knight, and from Knight to Lord.

Her Wind Mana Core did not possess any fragments yet, so Avahni was considering leaving a slot open for a Fragment Of Heart.

"Metzli… can you hear my voice?", Avahni asked, peering through the aquamarine light.

The violent surge of wood natured spiritual energy subsided, leaving behind a lone woman standing in front of large patch of dark-green coloured moss. If it was not for the fact that Avahni could feel the connection between herself and the living being in front of her, she never would have realized that this patch of moss was the Shade-Seeking Shield Moss.

The gentle aquamarine hue that dyed this little forest grove provided an excellent place for Metzli to manifest itself, its surface rippling as it slowly moved towards Avahni.

"I am Metzli, pleased to meet you, Avahni Rudras," said Metzli, shrinking the entirety of her form to dwell within Avahni's shadow. Several square metres worth of verdant night moss condensing into the thin, lithe figure of the green-haired lutin.

Avahni blinked, noticing a couple of familiar looking notifications appear in the corner of her vision.

[Blooming Night]: Increases physical stamina and endurance.

[Self-regenerating wood natured spiritual energy shield in effect]

Looking down at herself, Avahni noticed the faintest traces of a dark-green shimmer spread throughout over the entirety of her body. The shimmer lasted barely a few seconds, but in the dim light of this small forest grove, was quite noticeable.

Glancing towards Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu, Avahni patted the verdant night moss growing within her shadow, smiling softly as she gestured towards the other summons.

"Are you more comfortable with my shadow, or would you prefer remaining outside with the others Metzli?" Avahni asked, brushing her fingers against the cool, damp surface of her newest summon. The lutin increased the amount of spiritual energy her Wood Mana Core could release, somewhat overloading the effects born from her Asherah-Shamrock Hair.

The subtle aura that Avahni passively released, grew ever so slightly stronger, exerting its effects over Metzli. While both Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu had gotten used to the presence of her motherly aura, both admitted to being influenced by it for the first couple days after being summoned.

Avahni smiled, watching as the verdant night moss leaned into her touch, growing up and around her fingers and hand. The Asherah-Shamrock Hair did not increase anything that did not already exist, which was part of the reason why Avahni had no reservations using the ability.

Before she knew how to overload abilities, the effects of [Hold Thy Hand Child, Green Is The Colour Of Our Lineage], did not quite work on Jon. Roland had told her that the human possessed some sort of mental construct born from a Fragment Of Mind and had reached a level of mastery which allowed him to resist most singular effects at the same Rank.

It was a small reason as to why Avahni liked Jon's presence so much. While the others, including Wilheim to a degree were influenced because of her Asherah-Shamrock Hair, Jon was able to resist it just a few moments after meeting her.

His willpower and mental resistances were quite strong, so Avahni knew that he had become her friend of his own free will, rather than through the subtle influence of her Fragment Of Mother.

"I prefer the shadows," Metzli replied, causing Avahni to nod before gesturing towards Roland and Lily from across the grove. Both the ginseng and the nine-tailed carp moved closer towards their summoner, allowing Metzli to get a better look at them.

"This is Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu. Both are summons just like yourself. While there might be several… distinct differences between the four of us, I hope that you can manage to get along with these two. Can you do that for me Metzli?" Avahni asked, her tone sweet and gentle, reminding her of the times her mother chided her as a child.

The verdant night moss did not make any gestures of affirmation towards her summoner but instead extended a portion of her physical body towards the ginseng and nine-tailed carp.

Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu glanced down towards the approaching patch of dark-green moss, watching as the Shade-Seeking Shield Moss came into contact with both of their shadows. The two-summons glanced at the notification that Avahni had once received, nodding their heads as a similar green shimmer encased their physical bodies.

Avahni twitched, feeling the smidgen of wood natured spiritual energy she had recovered immediately vanish, fuelling the manifestation of three different shields including her own.

Metzli, sensing that the wellspring of wood natured spiritual energy that she drew from was almost completely empty, halted her actions, releasing the shields that she had manifested on Roland and Lily.

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"Sorry Avahni," said Metzli, causing Avahni to shake her head in response, ignoring the small headache forming in the back of her mind.

"It's alright. It was just an accident. Perhaps we should wait until my Wood Mana Core is full before reapplying the shield effect, okay?" the lutin suggested, earning what she thought was a nod in response from the verdant night moss.

Metzli retreated into Avahni's shadow, her form vanishing as she dwelled within some unknown space none of the other summons were able to talk about. Despite her curiosity on the manner, Roland had mentioned that figuring that out without assistance would award her with a Mortal Title Fragment.

"If you need me, just call my name and I'll appear," said Metzli's, her voice echoing throughout Avahni's mind. The green-haired woman nodded, feeling the verdant night moss settle somewhere within the depths of her shadow.

One of her newer abilities, [Mine Is The Rivers And Oceans, The Seas And Rain] settling down as the surging waves and strong undercurrents gradually calmed, her mind growing more at peace with a new companion in tow.

Taking a deep breath, Avahni smiled, placing her hands on her hips before turning towards Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu. Her infectious smile causing both the ginseng and nine-tailed carp to perk up, the latter swimming through the air around her summoner.

"Well, now that that is settled, why don't we go foraging for a little bit! I cannot speak for Wilheim and Jon, but I'm tired of eating grilled meat and fish," the lutin said, tapping her finger on her chin before strolling off in a random direction, "Let's see if we can find some more of that vegetable that Jon seemed to like… what was it called, a "potato?"

Somewhat used to the fickle nature of their summoner, Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu trailed after Avahni, strolling through the woodland thicket towards the location where she first found those "potato" vegetables.

The effects of both her Asherah-Shamrock Hair and Vesta-Inferno Spirit increased her maximum mana capacity and mana regeneration, so even after just a few minutes Avahni felt her Wood Mana Core produce enough spiritual energy for her to activate [Silence Is The Verdant Flowers Daydream].

It was the ability which, unbeknownst to her, allowed Avahni to resist the effects of Jon's [Monstrous Intuition]. Adjusting her breathing pattern, Avahni entered the [Muet La Marche], which when translated from Nain into English, spelled something along the lines of "the silent advancement".

[Fragment Of Concealment] [Silence Is The Verdant Flowers Daydream] (Wood, Concealment, Ability, Technique, Passive, Sensory, Buff)

Effect (Mortal): Enter the [Muet La Marche] concealing the physical and spiritual form with a shroud of wood natured spiritual energy. While the [Muet La Marche] is active moderately increases resistances towards all abilities with the Sensory Trait and Perception Trait. This effect scales with the amount of wood natured spiritual energy around oneself.

[Muet La Marche]: Increases the effectiveness of all abilities with the Concealment Trait. Prevents sounds from being released while active.

Avahni felt herself being shrouded in a veil of wood natured spiritual energy. It did not cling tightly to her form in the same manner than Metzli's shield effect attached to her, but rather, hung loosely off her figure, fluttering amidst the ambient spiritual energy around her.

Each one of her steps, which might normally have produced a soft crackling, or gentle crunch did not produce any sound at all under the effects of [Muet La Marche]. This was the ability that Avahni possessed the greatest level of mastery in, having some experience in moving silently throughout nature back on Svarlfin.

Although the effectiveness of the ability was somewhat hindered due to the presence of both Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu, the lutin was able to slightly manipulate the shroud of wood natured spiritual energy the ability manifested. If she imagined the form of the shroud as a single piece of fabric which coiled around her body, then by extending the ends of the fabric, she should be able to grant the effects of [Muet La Marche] to other willing targets around her.

It required an immense amount of practice and imagination to change the form of the ability to such a degree. Although, she had received some help from both Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu in that regard.

Feeling Avahni's wood natured spiritual energy wrap around him, Ru Luan Di nodded, communicating with Avahni mentally as the sound suppression effect of [Muet La Marche] prevented him from speaking out loud.

"Not too bad Avahni. Although I can feel you overloading its effects. Mastery over an ability is measured by how well an individual can manipulate its effects. Of course, each individual ability requires a different method of training, but abilities with the Technique Trait are often the easiest to master," said the ginseng, causing Avahni to smile while giving her summon a thumbs up.

"I dare say that you might be quite close to completing the first mandatory task. Quite an accomplishment all things considered," Ru Luan Di continued.

The lutin tilted her head to the side, glancing at him while also communicating through their mental and spiritual connection.

"Did you not suspect that Jon had also completed this task as well? What would that say about my accomplishment if he managed to complete it first?" Avahni responded.

"There is a plethora of reasons as to how and why he might have completed it first. Jon might have a natural disposition towards certain Traits or abilities like yourself or might have even obtained enlightenment from that bodhi tree summon of his. While the chance is near infinitesimal, enlightenment is not an uncommon method of obtaining mastery throughout the integrated universes," the ginseng answered, causing Avahni to nod.

She had seen the enormous bodhi tree that Jon had summoned once or twice now. While incapable of movement, it provided two distinct buffs to anyone that bathed beneath its golden-green light. The fact that it could increase mana regeneration to multiple individuals at once, caused the ginseng king to reevaluate its capabilities.

"Perhaps in the future I might also integrate some sort of Fragment Of-." Avahni found her words being cut off, as the lutin narrowed her eyes, hearing the faint sounds of groaning echo throughout the forest.

The green-haired woman glanced towards Ru Luan Di and Huo Liyu, gesturing for them to move closer to her as the three approached the source of this sound.

Peering out from behind a tree, Avahni could see two figures leaning against the root system of an enormous looking tree. One of them, seemed to be clutching at their shoulder, their clothes torn and dirtied from their time within the small realm. Bright, blue-coloured blood soaking most of their upper body, giving their blueish skin a pale quality to it.

The other individual, one with greenish skin looked towards their companion, a worried expression marring their face.

Both were distinctly humanoid, with hair matching the colour of their skin. Avahni watched as the two communicated with absolute clarity, the blue-skinned humanoid occasionally wincing, causing the green-skinned humanoid to gesture for them to stop moving.

Avahni felt Ru Luan Di tug at the hem of her pants but ignored it as she stepped out from behind the tree she concealed herself with, raising a single hand and waving at them, an innocent looking smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Greetings!"

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