A week later, John has grown his second branch. Yet he didn’t feel happy as he watches the stupid bull eat his hard work. ‘Joe, you’re going to get fat if you keep eating like that. How will you find a cow wife if you’re out of shape?’ John cries as his hill mate, continues to torment him.

Joe eats the last of the grass on the hill and snorts at the bush. While he doesn’t understand what is going on, the bull can at least associate the abundance of good food with the bush. The demonic bull stays alert while waiting for his food. His eyes are continually scanning the area. Recently he has felt the presence of other demonic beasts. Joe isn’t willing to give up his treasure hill to anyone.

John is frustrated with the beast’s endless appetite. But what can he do as a bush? The only thing he knows how to do right now is help grow grass. ‘Look, you are just a Joe, while I’m a John! That’s one letter more! So you should be more respectful to me,’ John complains. He glares at the demonic bull, which ignores him while watching the ground around him expectantly.

Joe drools with expectations as he watches his food grow. Yet why did it feel like this bush is being uppity? The demonic bull glares at the bush, as he munches some grass. The beast has the feeling that the bush is somehow challenging his dominance.

‘What you don’t like it? Well, you can’t do anything about your name! Wait, what are you doing?’ John lectures Joe. As he is giving this fat bull what fore, he notices a strange gleam in Joe’s eyes.

Joe is going to put this bush in its place. The demonic bull came up with an idea as it looks at the immobile bush. Soon it turns around, lifting its tail up and without any ceremony releases itself, right on the offending plant. There is quite a lot of excrement since he has eaten so much recently. Joe feels quite lovely after finally letting out all that waste. With his superiority proven, Joe continues chowing down on his buffet, with a satisfied look.

‘Joe! I have to live here. Don’t be disgusting,’ John grumbles to himself. The bush feels frustration in being a plant for the first time since his reincarnation. ‘If I could move, I would run away and not have to be the slave of a stupid bull,’ he laments. Yet, he can not move or even show his anger to the offender.

If he wants to be able to defend himself in the future, he’ll have to learn how to move. However, for a plant to move isn’t easy. Unlike beasts and humans, they have no muscles. The only way to move is through the manipulation of energy, which will be difficult with his tiny core. Even so, John swears he will gain the ability to move someday! ‘This bush will show Joe the bull, who the real boss of the hill is! Well, perhaps I can just run away while he’s sleeping?’ John contemplates, instantly reneging on his vow.

In any case, John isn’t one of those great mystical plants that can teleport. For now, his only choice is to practice diligently. John doesn’t even want to think about how many years it will take to uproot himself. When the time comes, he’ll run away from his predicament. However, John is already spending his energy on growing and feeding the bottomless pit leaving little left for training. Still, he will set a small bit of his strength, aside, and every few days, he will shake his branch. Was it the wind? No, this is the excruciatingly slow-paced practice, John does to escape from this hell.

The months fly by, with Joe and John on a hill, one eating, and the other complaining. Every so often, a battle for the hill occurs, tearing up the hill. But as of yet, no demonic beast has stolen the hill from its current master. Many demonic beasts look at the hill, with envy considering it a treasure hill. Fortunately for John, only weak demonic beasts consider his grass as a prize, worth cherishing.

To John’s surprise, both the excrement and corpses put badly needed nutrients into the ground, acting as a fertilizer. The soil on the hill had been greatly sapped of nutrients over the year. This is especially true, with John continuously speeding up the growth of the local vegetation. The revitalized soil brings new strength to a weary, John. With this newfound boon, his training and growth speed increases significantly. He is now a majestic bush, with four whole branches! These branches have twenty leaves, with five leaves per branch. ‘See Joe. You have to be like me and focus on quality over quantity.’ The bush thinks, lecturing the oblivious demonic bull who was forcefully named Joe. ‘Look at my leaves, all nice and green filled with life! Now look at your gut, it practically reaches the ground. Soon the other competitors won’t even need to fight you. They’ll just roll you down the hill,’ John lectures internally. The proud bush happily continues cultivating while reveling in his accomplishments.

Most would be ashamed of this bare looking bush wanting to hide under a rock. Yet, John has no face to throw away and so is happy to brag, to the hill monster that is his neighbor. Over this time, John has also trained the ability to move a single branch, about an inch. Considering the circumstances, John believes this a huge success. However, the difference between uprooting oneself and moving a branch is night and day.

There is a chill in the air recently, causing John to shiver. ‘Fall will soon arrive,’ John reasons. He frowns internally. ‘I’ll surely lose my precious leaves soon,’ John cries. He is also very close to Seed Coalescing stage. A plant with a core will typically start at this stage, but due to his mishap during its creation, he’d started at half Seed Coalescing stage. John wants to reach the base stage of plant cultivation, before fall. With this goal in mind. He decides to neglect his movement training for now.

John won’t be able to rely on his leaves for much longer. It is vital that he reaches this goal before they all fell off. This will allow him to at least take a bit of mystical energy, out of the air. Which he hopes will sustain his growth through the winter. John now focuses on his new goal with the shifting of the seasons. Who knows what may occur, while he is at his weakest.