(Aswelth)

Aswelth was astounded. When he had approached the Archduchess, he had expected that he would be freed, what he had not expected was that he would gain a reward, and he had definitely not expected the magnitude of the reward. The Seed of Military, was one of the best military type seeds he knew of.

It demanded great expertise from its wielders, one would need years of training in each of the weapons and the art of command before ever crossing beyond Seedling realm. But that came with its own reward, any person that broke through to the Sapling realm was sure to reach the Treeling realm without any major hurdles.

The Archduchess hadn't just given him a seed, she had given him the opportunity to breakthrough a bottleneck for one last time and have his name go down in history.

But that was all for later, for now he had a Plant to remake. Aswelth opened his spirit realm, letting the seed into his spirit realm as he dissolved his Plant. It was remarkably easy, the mere presence of the still ungerminated Military Seed had the Soldier Seed dissolving. Aswelth had to just give it a poke and his decades of cultivation came apart.

Knowing what to do, Aswelth pushed the Military seed into the ground, into the exact same location as the Soldier Seed. From his years reading up on the subject, he knew that any Qi spent in this state would not return. It was forever lost. But that was a sacrifice he was willing to make. Any alteration in location could hamper his future growth, the new Plant must grow in the exact same location as the previous one.

Thankfully, he had decades of Qi training to draw upon. It took several seconds of measured work, but the Seed was set. Now to let to grow. Aswelth poured all his mana into the seed, watching it grow.

But grow is not all that the seed did, with it the seed brought memories. First came his germination, he sat in a military tent as he sent his first Qi into his seed. Then it went forward, to the years he spent training under the late Duke, learning every weapon he could.

Next he became a soldier, training to one day command in the army. There he went through his entire journey again, from his first day to his last. From soldier to general. And the seed grew with him.

With every battle, every day that went by the seed grew. And so did Aswelth. The last few months had made him forget why he had come to the army in the first place. The camaraderie, the feeling of being a part of an organization, and the feeling of never being alone.

And then there was the enjoyment of having a mission, a goal. To protect the Selrin Duchy and its people. And he had fulfilled his goal and prospered for it. Then came the day when he was named Selrin. It was one of the greatest honors that the Duchy would award, signifying that the Duke considered the person to be an honorary family member.

The seed had now grown to what could be considered a Plantling, a peak Plantling even. And that brought him to his time as General. Every decision he took, every command he gave was revisited, and Aswelth watched with nostalgia as he remembered those days.

And finally, the battle. The very peak of his tenure as General, the battle that both made him and destroyed him. As he watched, he commanded his army, fighting off three of the Inner sect elders, all in the Plant stage to allow for victory to be achieved.

Oh, how happy he had been, expecting to be rewarded for his efforts. Only to come face to face with a grim faced Duke. Duke Reinar was one he considered a friend, five years his younger, they had played together often as children. But now he found his so-called friend turned against him, stripping him of his titles and honors that he had earned.

To make things worse, he had been assigned as a babysitter. The Blood General, a babysitter! Oh, they called it Lord Protector and said that it was an honor to guide the heir to the duchy, but Aswelth was not convinced. The brat of an heir treated everyone as below her sight and had treated him like a maid.

And that had made him furious to no end. The useless heir had the temerity to turn him into her butler, fetching her toys and setting her bed.

But then even that changed. The time had come for the Archduchess to choose her seed, and that had completely upended his understanding of the world. Not only had her element completely changed, her personality had too.

Gone was the brat and in came the Archduchess. If there was one thing he had learned in the last two weeks, the Archduchess knew way too much for her age. There was no way for her to have learned of this in her time at the Selrin Duchy. It made him wonder whether the rumors were true, that sometimes, when the seed changed a person's personality, it brought with it memories of their ancestors.

And then the seed finished growing. But its rewards were not done yet.

The Military Seed is an evolvable seed. As holder, you gain Qi each time the seed evolves.

Military (Soldier) Qi gained

Military (Squad Leader) Qi gained

…

Military (General) Qi gained

The seed grew some more, the plant growing to nearly the same level as before. But even then it was not done. For Aswelth could feel a hole appearing in the Plant, something very special forming, changing the Plant’s nature.

And then Aswelth sank within himself, entering a strange state. There Aswelth felt his sense of self be questioned. The hole had a question, and it demanded an answer. ‘Who do you wish to be?’

And thanks to the Military Seed’s guidance, he had an answer, he was a leader. A General that led the troops into battle. That was what he wanted, battle called to him. But it was not merely battle that called to him, he attached greater meaning to it. What he wanted was for the battles to mean something, and more than that, he wanted recognition. Aswelth liked being the Blood General, the commoner that rose above his station. Aswelth wanted to be a General again.

And the hole accepted his answer, a fruit forming on the plant changing it forever. Qi poured into it, increasing to just a little more than it was before the switch. But that was not all, the Plant kept switching forms, changing its nature continuously. Aswelth recognized it for what it was. The Half-Step Treeling stage. Aswelth had just met one of the requirements to cross into it.

Now he had two options, either he could go hunt in the forest, gain the Qi he needed by killing beasts. Or he could once more swear loyalty to the Archduchess and be a General again. For a second he entertained the idea of joining one of the other duchies, or some other force, he was sure that any of them would be happy to have a Treeling among their number.

But even if he did, he would not have their trust. Every action he took would be doubted, his options limited, the Archduchess on the other hand had trusted him enough to let him rule the duchy. Not only that, he could make his own army here, and gain the bonuses from it. Making a duchy’s military was assuredly within the seed’s purview, and should give him large amounts of Qi. It was a chance of a lifetime. Now to see if the Archduchess would allow him this chance.

Aswelth opened his eyes, finding himself floating in the air, his Qi surrounding him. Wrestling back control of his Qi, Aswelth kneeled before the Archduchess once more.

“With your permission, your grace, I would like to rejoin this duchy. I wish to be your retainer, to aid you in building the duchy’s military. I hope you shall grant me this wish.” Aswelth said.

Aswelth heard a gasp escape the Archduchess’ lips, he had apparently shocked her. But she soon recovered, back to the Archduchess she was.

“I accept your offer, and accept as my retainer. From this day forth I name you, Aswelth, General. From this day forth I rest upon you this responsibility, to protect this duchy from all threats, internal and external, till such a day that breath leaves your body and your seed dies, you shall be General to the forces of this duchy.” the Archduchess answered.

“I accept this responsibility your grace, and thank you for your trust.” Aswelth answered as Qi poured into his seed.

Class changed! [Disgraced General] → [Blood General]

And a little tree solidified in his spirit realm as in this little valley on the outskirts of the Kingdom, a Treeling was born.

(Narrator)

A phantom wind swept through the Lands of the Six Jewels as its high nobles collectively turned towards the valley. The Core Elders of the Jade water Sect looked at the valley with irritation in their eyes, annoyed that one of their enemies had gained power. The Treelings of the Kingdom called their councils, finding out all they could about the one known as the Blood General.

But the effect of this breakthrough was not limited to only two forces, whether it was the Vassal Kings of the Dark Empire, the Investors of the Confederacy, the Lords of the Singing Valley, or even the Warkeepers of the Warring Nations, they all noted the emergence of another into their number.

Even the six rulers took note, the King most of all. In fact, if one of the servants were to summon great courage and eavesdrop on the King they would hear him mumble, “Perhaps she will be the heir after all.” As he looked towards the valley with contemplating eyes.