The forest was a normal one. Well, the word normal was subjective, but for the ancient enchanter who had visited thousands of forests and knew tens of types of them, he could objectively state that it was fairly normal.

One oak there, a birch over here, a pine or tree around the corner… It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary with the woods. If one ignored the strong presence of Death, of course.

“The undergrowth is thin, and then temperature is just right.” Nido mumbled to himself. “It’s either spring or summer, or I’m inside in an evergreen. I hope it’s the former, evergreens tend to be enormous. It could take days to get out of the forest.” He groaned in laziness.

The Death-tainted ether didn’t worry the enchanter, though. Not only it was common enough for elements to infuse the ether – not as violently as the Void did – but Death was as present as life in a forest. There were hundreds of reasons for the element to get this thick. And yet, the young old man was worried by far mundane matters.

“Ouch! It hurts, it hurts!” He shouted as he hopped from one patch of grass to the other. “Why are there so many rocks here?” The adrenaline from his previous ritual had left his system and he finally felt pain. But he would have preferred otherwise. “I want some boots, ouch!”

The sharp pebbles may hurt him, but his health showed no sign of decaying. His mighty ring would heal any wounds he would suffer. Even if the Arcane Records didn’t say so in the preview of the item.

“I would have preferred being teleported on a plaza full of people before this shit… Ahh… I hate my life.” One would have to wonder if this was the millennium-old Divine Enchanter that everyone knew. “I got trapped in the void, I lose my core, and now this fucking shit with a paradivine entity. This must be a joke.”

As the march towards the cumuli of Death proved rather dull and painful, Nido distracted himself with the [Status] page.

“It feels weird that I’m identified by my pseudonym.” He sighed. “I have been called uncountable times by it, but I’ve never thought myself as Nido Risea.”

Beyond the matter of his name, there were more serious matters at hand.

“I know the null plane has affected me in some ways. But changing my race? It doesn’t make sense; genetics don’t work like that. What’s a Voidborn, either way? An eldritch creature like the voidlord? How do I even look human then?”

The enchanter found his answer somehow while he was toying with the purple hologram before him.

Voidborn Perks:

-Stranger from the Beyond

“Huh, couldn’t have you told me before?” The Voidborn asked to the Arcane Records, but he was ignored as before. “It looks like every class has a perk. Ugh, I’m too lazy to read them. Maybe later. Firstly, let’s see what the hell is a Voidborn.”

Stranger from the Beyond: You are a chimera of the Void that has infiltrated in the physical world. Your Race Class will be displayed as Human [Common]. You possess properties of the null plane, 10% absolute reduction to physical damage.

“Alright, that told me nothing.” The enchanter read the description once more. “It says my race is displayed as human, yet I can see I’m a Voidborn. Am I loosing something? Maybe it means that other people can see my [Status]. Maybe?”

The physical reduction didn’t phase him as he had enchanted that were a whole lot better than that. Or at least the equivalent of how this record registered damage.

“The Death is getting denser; I must be getting closer.” He closed the perk window and focused himself in the matter on hand.

The distance between trees became farther and farther as the enchanter got closer to the nucleus of Death. The undergrowth not only became thinner, but it gained the warm colors of the autumn.

Nido began sniffing as a sweet smell caught his nose. “Mmm, I recognize this scent.” He breathed deeper, filling his lungs with the sweetness permeating the air.

Without noticing, the enchanter found himself on a clearing, totally devoid of vegetation or life, for that matter. Only an undead tree stood mighty in that patch of land.

“I knew it was a spectral birch.” He said when he saw the tall white tree. Unlike its common counterpart, the spectral birch’s leaves were a ghostly blue. Shimmering with a low glow, the leaves were translucent.

Nido approached the undead tree without worries. Whilst a forager could run away in fear at the sight of undeath incarnate, the old man knew that those trees were nothing more than a gentle being.

He touched the dry bark. It was rough but thick, something one wouldn’t expect from a tree that no longer absorbed nutrient from the soil and performed photosynthesis. It wasn’t tall, no as the other spectral birches he had seen. Reaching only the five meters, it was a sapling compared with the towering heights that the undead trees aspired to.

“You don’t mind if I take a branch and a bit of your sap, right?” Nido asked the tree while his left ear caressed the bark. “I knew, right. Don’t worry, a branch would be more than enough.”

Now I do appreciate those lessons from the druids when I needed to craft the Life aspect of the tenet. He recalled as he patted the young tree, ignoring the weird thought of a naked man alone in the forest hugging a tree.

“How do I get to the sap, though? I don’t have any syphon…” When he was thinking a way to do so, a gap across the bark opened, an amber sap sipping through. “Oh, you shouldn’t…” The enchanter said politely. “Well, if you give me such a tree-at, I’m no one to deny it.”

The young tree seemed to crack a laugh at the simple wordplay as its canopy began swaying albeit of the presence of wind.

“I don’t have a way to store it, so I guess I should I use it know.” With a jump, he began climbing the tree with juvenile vigor. “Oh, known I do notice the change in age. How weird is it to not have my back constantly cracking.” Nido secured himself a place on the canopy and talked to the tree.

“Do you care what branch I take, or I’m free to decide myself?” The spectral birch swayed once more the whole canopy, this time in affirmation. “Alright give me a minute to find a suiting one.”

Though the ordeal with the tree had been improvised, the enchanter already came with a way to make use of his available resources. He leaped from one branch to another, searching for the perfect stick.

“This one is perfect!” Nido told as he touched a branch with a length of a meter and a half. “This might sting, mister birch.” He carefully separated the thin stick from the main branch as to make the process as painless as possible. “Alright, thank you for your help. Really appreciated.”

The enchanter jumped from the canopy, totally disrespecting his well-being, falling four meters to the ground. Hmm, I did lose some health. Whatever, the ring will heal it.

“With some magical sap and a death-imbued stick I may be able to enchant something good out of here.” He rambled, ignoring his broken ankles. “I may not have my tool, but I have good ingredients and a good ether… Let’s see what can come out of this.”

The enchanter covered the branch of the spectral birch with the amber sap that it was leaking. He wove the elemental ether through the branch as he carved some basic runes across the surface, carving them deep with his nails. Once again, he ignored the pain and the blood trickling from his fingers as they would be healed in a matter of minutes.

Then he moved away from the birch and planted the stick on the ground deep enough so it would move around. It began shining with the energy of the sun as he imbued mana charged with the Light element. The carved runes became filled with the sap, which had changed from an amber color to a more tangerine-yellow one.

Nido emptied his mana pool, trying to amass the most possible quantity of the Light element, while keeping Death at a minimum. He thought about using the Light aspect of the intertwined ring but dismissed the notion as it was currently blocked since the events from the null plane.

“This should be enough.” He said while holding his head that began to hurt from depleting his mana pool too fast. The enchanter took the completed staff from the ground and examined it.

Spectral Staff of Minor Illusion

Rank: Uncommon

Price: ~80 silver

Description: A staff constructed by the energies of Death yet reinforced by the blinding properties of the Light.

Effects:

-Mana regeneration increased by 20%

-Effectiveness of Illusion magic increased by 100%

“Kinda disappointing, I got good materials, yet I made this failure. I wish I had time and tools, but I should get out the forest before it gets dark.” The enchanter sighed. “Wait… what’s this?” He looked at the purple window that popped before him.

Crafting complete! You have leveled up! You have leveled up!...

The windows continued popping up for a long time. Or at least enough time for the enchanter to lose interest and approach the undead tree again.

“Thanks for your help, mate. Really, really appreciated.” Nido thanked the tree and it swayed in modesty. “See you later I guess, I should get out of here before it becomes to dark to see anything.” The bark crunched in a farewell.

The enchanter sighed and looked again at the windows.

You have reached level 9 on Enchanter! +18 Intelligence, +9 Dexterity!

“Wait what? Is this thing broken? Arcane Records, I think your leveling system is broken!” He shouted to the skies, but the alien entity continued to ignore him. With a sigh, he looked at his [Status] and, in fact, his attributes and resources had increased. “Why so many levels, though? What I crafted is no different than garbage. I’ll take it I guess, but I’m not happy for you pity. Do you hear me?” He shouted in feign rage.