Melody felt something lightly patting her cheek.

Mmm. Five more minutes. She rolled over, but the patting continued on the now exposed cheek.

Mmm. Let me sleep… Since the arrival of her friends, Melody has been able to sleep the last few nights peacefully. The nightmare, fading away.

"Melody!" Maple cried in frustration.

"Huh?" Melody opened her eyes and sat up.

"Maple? What's wrong?" She rubbed her bleary eyes.

"Melody! You have to come to look!" Maple was clearly excited about something.

"What time is it?" Melody tiredly looked over at the window.

"Sunrise, you mushroom! Get up!" Maple was pulling at Melody's hand.

Melody's hair was disheveled, and she was a bit wobbly.

"Morning Melody, want some breakfast?" Pappy asked from his make-shift kitchen while chuckling, to which she said yes and thanked him.

"C'mon, Melody!" Maple managed to pull Melody's arm up.

Melody looked at Maple, and her eyes shot open. "M-Maple?!"

Maple was looking like that of a young girl going through puberty. Her overall size did not change, but she now had a budding chest and a less child-like face. Maple's dark green hair still had a bun, but she now had hair down to her shoulders. It had also looked like some alterations had been made to her one-piece dress to conform to Maple's new body.

"You finished evolving!" Melody happily exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that." Maple finally calmed down and landed in Melody's open palms.

Fairy: Name: Maple. Age: 18. Level: 1. Danger Level: Low.

A Fairy (female). A mid-level Forest Spirit. Peaceful. Sometimes Mischievous. Fairies are mysterious and rarely seen forest spirits who have strong magic. Loves the giant named Melody. Uses Forest, Nature, Light, Wind, and Water Magic.

Health: 340. Stamina: 870. Magic: 6040. Strength: 60. Endurance: 150. Dexterity: 210. Intelligence: 390. Wisdom: 570. Charisma: 410.

"Maple! You evolved into a Fairy! Your magic skyrocketed."

"What's rocketed?" Maple tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh, uh, something from my old world. Your magic went really high." Melody finished going over Maple's new stats.

"Okay. Now that that is done let's go outside! You have to see it!" Maple took to the air, but the moment Melody tried to get up, Bell held her hair.

"Ouch! Bell?" Melody turned to the adorable gnome.

"Need brush. I brush… your hair!" She said with a smile.

Aw, I can't be upset at that. Bell pulled out a brush that she made last night along with Melody.

Ahhhh, this is nice. It took about ten minutes, but Bell finished combing Melody's hair. Then the antsy Maple called out once more for Melody to follow her outside.

As Melody got dressed in her wolf pelt armor, Pappy called out to her.

"Melody. That demon mole hide will be done later today. Bell and I will work on making some nice soft clothes for you. Any requests?"

"Wow, that fast? It usually takes me a week to get a hide ready." Melody was surprised.

"Just a spot of magic and know-how." Pappy grinned.

"A cloak would be nice. Is it big enough?" Melody replied to the earlier question.

"Hmm, I think so. If there is enough leftover, we'll make some arm bracers and boots."

Melody thanked him and followed Maple outside.

"W-What?! They grew so much already!" Melody commented as she looked at the grown Rampart Trees.

They were about twenty feet tall and six inches thick with branches intertwined between them, creating an area secure to larger animals and monsters.

"This is great! Thank you so much!" Her feelings of thanks spread from her, and the Rampart trees seemed to rustle their leaves in response.

"I love nature!" Melody cried out happily while laughing. Melody nearly lost her balance, though, when Aroo nuzzled into her from behind.

"Aroo? W-Wow, she got bigger." Melody looked over the wooly bison that seemed to be triple their size.

Mammoth Bison: Name: Aroo. Age: 6. Level: 1. Danger Level: Low.

A Mammoth Bison (female). Mammoth Bison are peaceful animals that can grow between ten to fifteen feet tall. This animal can be domesticated. Herbivore. Intelligent enough to learn basic commands. Produces nutritious milk. Can use earth magic.

Health: 2500. Stamina: 4000. Magic: 500. Strength: 560. Endurance: 600. Dexterity: 220. Intelligence: 210. Wisdom: 190. Charisma: 230.

Melody finished going over Aroo's new stats, pushing as much of the information to the bison as she could through nature.

"Rooo!" Aroo licked Melody's face, which made her laugh. Aroo's loving and appreciative feelings washed over Melody.

"I love you too, Aroo. Oh right! Let's see how you like being brushed." Melody popped into the home to grab the large brush she made last night and began using it on Aroo.

"Roorooroorooroo." Aroo sounded like an engine trying to start as Melody began to brush the happy bison.

Aroo seems to be really liking this! Melody smiled brightly and continued brushing Aroo until she was done.

"RooooOOOO!" Aroo nuzzled Melody happily.

"So, what should we do today, Melody?" Maple asked from her perch on Aroo's head.

"I don't know. I guess I could make a new bow. The one I made is getting small. I actually grew another foot." Melody was now eight feet tall.

"Yeah, that bow is getting small." Maple commented.

"Breakfast!" Pappy called out from inside.

They headed inside after putting out some food for Aroo.

Pappy made them a simple meal of vegetables, a biscuit, and some of Melody's smoked meat.

"Mmm! Pappy's cooking is the best!" Melody praised, which brought a happy smile to the old gnome's face.

Maple ate the vegetables and biscuit while Melody and the gnomes enjoyed the meat in addition.

"Maple, I wanted to ask, can you not eat meat?" Melody asked.

"Hmm. I could, but it tastes really nasty to me every time. I have tried several bites with various versions of Pappy's cooking, but there really is nothing I like." Maple tapped her chin while she recalled various things she tried.

"I think the reason fer it is because her kind is more closely related to plants than we are," Pappy added.

Wouldn't this make it cannibalism…? Forget it. Feels like I would hurt my brain thinking about this… They finished and decided to go for a walk around the forest.

As they left home, they found Aroo by the entrance.

"Rooo!" The bison lightly bounced like a dog excited to go on a walk. Melody also picked up on a feeling of expectation and hope.

"You want to come, Aroo? Okay, come on. Bell, Maple, you two can ride on top of her." They then began their trip out into the forest, heading to the west.

As they were walking, Melody saw one of her markers for the copper mine.

"Dig! I know our first stop!" Melody joyfully cried out. Maple got confused, but Bell giggled at Melody's excitement.

Before long, they arrived at the copper cave. Melody checked the area for danger and found nothing. Taking up her Crash Spear, she descended into the cave, followed by Bell and Maple.

Maple expanded her glow to light up the cave. Once Melody was sure they were safe, she stood before the rockface.

"Shin-ey." Bell commented on the lines of copper in the wall.

"Exactly. I tried with an old pickaxe I found, but it broke. Now that I have Dig, I wanted to try to see if I can get the ore!" Melody licked her lips and placed her hands on the rock wall.

"Dig stone!" Activating her skill, she found she needed to pour a little over double the amount of magic than usual. Still, the rock face began to crumble to dust around the copper.

"Yes! It's working!" Bits of raw copper began to fall to the ground.

Melody burned through a third of her magic, and she had a nice pile of copper on the ground.

"My shiny tools!" Melody brightly smiled.

"What tools will you make?" Maple asked.

"A knife… Wait, I have something better… Spearhead? No, the Crash Deerhorn is excellent. I guess a hatchet is the only tool other than the hammer that is stone." Melody listed off.

"Make… plates?" Bell offered.

"Not a bad idea, but I think it might flake off. We'll ask Pappy for ideas later." Melody smiled at Bell.

"Me… Carry." Bell opened her small pack, lifted the copper with telekinesis, and loaded it into the bag.

"It won't be heavy?" Melody worriedly asked.

A wide grin came to Bell's face, "No problem." She said as the pack went onto her back.

Her side goal was complete. Melody and her party headed outside to Aroo, who was patiently waiting for them. Then they were off in search of a new bow for Melody.

A couple of hours into their trip, Melody checked trees with her identify skill but was not finding anything that caught her interest. They did forage several items that Melody was familiar with to top off their food stores.

She sighed, which caught Bell's attention. "No luck, Melody?"

"Yeah. This might take longer than I thought." Melody stopped, feeling a bit frustrated. She thought about going to the grove and asking Gaia for advice when Bell cut in.

"Why not… ask?" Bell offered, sweeping her hand out toward the forest.

Ask? Right! I can just ask the forest! Melody got so happy she leaned over and gave Bell a kiss which caused the little gnome to giggle.

Taking a deep breath, collected her magic, infused her request within it, and released it like a ripple in a pond with her as the center.

Please help me. I am looking to make a bow with solid and flexible wood.

"Did it work?" Maple asked.

A moment after, Melody's eyes shot open. "I got a response." She looked off to the northwest, and they headed in that direction.

After a couple of hours had gone by, they arrived at a small clearing in the middle of a dense forest area.

"Whoa, is that what I think it is?" Maple said as they approached a massive tree.

"What is it?" Melody asked her.

"A treant!" Maple exclaimed.

They arrived before the tree where a face made of wood and moss could be seen. The moss moved, and its eyes looked at them.

The treant's words were long and drawn out. "Ahh. You came. It will be done soon." He said in a low rumbling voice. Melody felt no hostility from the treant, only a welcoming warmth. Melody felt like she was standing before Gaia.

"Oh, um, thank you for responding to my request. I'm Melody. This is Maple, Bell, and Aroo." Melody introduced them to the treant, who chuckled.

"You are welcome. I am Okan. You are the one who named Gaia, correct?" He asked, which Melody nodded.

"Thank you. I am happy my little sapling received a name." Okan's mossy face shifted into a smile.

"Sapling? Gaia is your daughter?!" Melody exclaimed.

The treant chuckled once more. "In a sense. Yes. Ah, it is done."

Melody's attention was drawn upward where she saw a beautiful dark red bow that was grown from one of Okan's branches. A vine reached out and broke the bow free and handed it to Melody.

"This is... so beautiful." Melody commented as she looked over the beautiful design.

The wood was smooth, polished, and looked to be encased in a clear, hard sap. The vine that made up the string was thin and looked unbreakable. Intricate gold-colored designs in the shapes of various plants were etched into the surface.

Okan's Bow: A bow made by the Ancient Treant Okan as a gift to the giant Melody. This is a powerful artifact that if nature magic is used on the bow, the size can be adjusted. If magic is added to the string while being drawn, it can create arrows of pure nature.

"W-What! This bow is insane! C-Can I really have this?!" Melody asked Okan, to which he just chuckled.

"Of course. You named my daughter and called her mother. I see this as helping the family." He smiled like a kind grandfather.

"Thank you, grandpa Okan!" She hugged his broad frame. He's so warm.

"You are welcome. I will sleep some more now. Come visit again." With that, his eyes closed, and he went dormant once more.

"Aw, I wanted to talk to him more," Melody said sadly.

Maple was inspecting Melody's bow. "This is probably the reason. It is imbued with so much magic. That is probably why he went to sleep."

The bow was currently seven feet in height. Melody activated her magic vision and saw a highly dense amount of magic imbued into the object in her hand.

Melody gulped. Let's try it out.

Melody lifted the bow and aimed at a nearby rock. She notched one of her arrows and fired. The missile flew faster than her regular bow could fire, and it buried its tip into the stone.

"Whoa. Now, the magic arrow." She took hold of the string and channeled a bit of magic into it. A stream of loose green energy flowed from where she was holding the line. The power wrapped around itself, forming a beautiful yet loose green arrow of pure natural energy.

Fully drawing the bow, she fired the arrow at the same rock. It flew like it was fired from a gun, pierced the rock, and exploded.

"Wow!" The three girls said in unison, their jaws hanging open.

"Amazing Melody!" Bell cried happily.

"That was an arrow made from nature magic, wasn't it?" Maple asked.

Melody explained the features of the bow that had them in awe.

Melody wanted to do something for Okan but wasn't sure what to do, so she asked Bell and Maple for ideas.

"Magic!" Bell called out.

"Oh yeah, you're right, Bell, that is a good idea." Maple agreed.

Melody was a bit lost, but Maple elaborated that she should give Okan some magic. Melody thanked them and put her hands on Okan's... cheek?

Let's put about seventy-five percent of what I have left. Melody flowed her magic into Okan, lacing her thanks into the magic.

This kind of feels like I am trying to fill an enormous reservoir with a single bucket of water… Melody finished and felt his thanks through her connection to nature.

Hmm… I am curious… Sorry, grandpa Okan. Identify.

Ancient Treant: Name: Okan. Age: 1456. Level: 194. Danger Level: Death.

An Ancient Treant who watches and protects the forest. They are protective of their homes and people. Capable of forming powerful artifacts from its body. Can use powerful magic: Nature, Forest, Earth, Wind, Water, Light, Dark, Life, and Death.

Health: 37860. Stamina: 20060. Magic: 8450/97990. Strength: 10970. Endurance: 23480. Dexterity: 8910. Intelligence: 30420. Wisdom: 56780. Charisma: 4000.

Melody was shocked, feeling like he was a final boss! She bowed to him in thanks and apology. After saying goodbye to him, they continued on their walk toward the west.