Treebark: Forest of Life (A LitRPG novel)

Prologue

"Oh, goodie! I think it's finally time!" A slightly high pitched, feminine voice wakes me from my slumber. Confusion hits me like a truck as I try looking around. Darkness envelops me. Not complete darkness, there are faint traces of light seeping through the material surrounding me, but it's still dark enough to make me wonder; Just where am I?

"Have no fear, my little sapling." The sweet, joyful voice resounds again, probably from the outside since there is no room for another person in here. "Forget your bud and come to us." It calls. Should I? Yes, it's a little dark in here, and there's not much to do, but it's also warm and strangely calming. What if I don't want to leave? Will they force me out? I try answering the voice to no avail. Sound just refuses to leave my lips. Wait, I don't even have a mouth. I feel like I should have one. Oh well, I guess leaving my cozy... bud? The voice called it that; I guess leaving my bud is the only chance for answers. Moving my limbs is the next thing I try, and they do, albeit slowly. It feels like running in water - sluggish, and clumsy. When I finally touch the walls of my confinement, I recognize their texture. Bark. But a bit softer. Something between bark and leaves. Bud... Did that voice mean a flower bud? Something inside me wakes with that, sending an instinctual urge to rip the walls apart through my entire being, and I comply.

My fingers sink into the organic matter with surprising ease, tearing away parts with every pull. More and more light invades my space as I work on the bud, opening the way to freedom. "Yes, like that, sapling. Come here, into the light." I can feel the wind now, blowing inside, bringing cold into the warm interior. A picture of birds hatching from their eggs flashes through my mind. Is that what's going on here? I let the thought pass and continue working on the shell of my personal 'egg'.

Finally, the walls give out, splitting, and opening like a blooming flower. The sudden rush of light blinds me temporarily. When the blindness subsides, I begin looking around, hungry for any kind of information. And what a sight it is. All sorts of birds chirp and sing from the crowns of massive trees towering over me like skyscrapers. Skyscrapers? Even the bushes and fungi at their trunks are a few times bigger than me. Or is it that I'm just so small? That thought brings attention back to my own body. There is no easy way to describe it. I look like a tiny humanoid tree, completely made of wood. Miniature branches stick out of my arms, covered in leaves. Well, that would explain why my movement felt so sluggish. Obviously, I can't see my head, but with the help of my hand, I get a pretty accurate image. The same branches on my arms also cover everything on my head, except for the face, making my 'hair' look like the bush I compared my height to a minute ago, just smaller. I don't know why these... memories keep popping into my head. After all, I was just born. Right? At least I think so.

"Oh, what a beautiful sapling you are." The now familiar voice announces from somewhere behind me, making me turn around. A group of humanoids stands before me. Flesh instead of wood, the same size as me. But the most notable are the slightly glowing, colorfull wings each of them has. Fairy. I don't know why I thought of that word. I've never seen these... 'fairies' before, but somehow I just know what these creatures are. The one at the front of the group approaches me, a female fairy with curly brown hair and piercing blue eyes. She seems really young, but then again, all of them do. She hovers slightly above me, circling me, observing as if looking for flaws. It looks like she didn't find any since she lands right in front of me next.

"You appear healthy, Fala's blessing." The fairy seems relieved, like a giant burden falling off of her shoulders. "I know you can't understand or speak to me right now, young sapling, but don't worry, we will help you grow into a powerful tree." The female looks into my eyes, radiating positive energy. I don't know how to react to that, to be honest. I can understand her quite well, but my mouth appears to be missing, so I can't answer her. Quickly thinking about my options, I finally decide on just nodding. All the fairies genuinely look like they want to help me, so I have no reason to suspect them. It's not like I could defend myself against twenty-something creatures at once anyway. 

The fairy looks taken aback, confusion seeping onto her cute face. "You... you can understand me?" She carefully asks, as if stepping around thin ice. I nod again. "But, but... That's not possible. You were just born! I saw it myself!" I was thinking the exact same thing not that long ago, you know. I smile internally, amused by her flabbergasted expression. "Julie! Do you have the core with you? We need to use it now." The fairy turns toward the group of observers, zeroing on one in particular. An elderly fiery who must be Julie approaches from the crowd carrying a (for her size) large crystal in the shape of a prism. "I'm gonna be honest, sapling. I don't really know what's going on. This has never happened to us before. Normally, we would teach you from scratch, but since you can understand Common, that means we can skip the language learning part! That will save us a lot of trouble!" The first fairy exclaims, returning to her cheerful demeanor. She grabs the crystal from Julie and hands it to me. "Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Prinna. I'm so happy to meet you! Now listen carefully. This is an ability core we give to every new Forest Guardian. I know you must be really confused right now, but trust me on this. It will help you talk to us." I look at the crystal in my hand, then back at her. Ok... But how do I use it? I give her the best 'questioning' face a person can make without a mouth, slightly tilting my head to the side in the process. "You don't know how to use it?" Prinna asks, and I nod in reply. "It's quite simple. Just will its power to flow into you. If it helps, visualize a jug of water instead of the core, then imagine drinking from it. That always works for me." She smiles, and I turn my attention back to the core. That sounds way too easy. I think but follow her advice nonetheless.

First try, nothing happens. I try again. Still nothing. I start getting frustrated and havr to calm myself down. Anger won't help anything and the drinking metaphor obviously doesn't work for me. This time I try something new. Sitting down on the ground of the forest, I envision the core as a stormy cloud, and myself as a tree below it. Only natural in my situation. I chuckle in my mind, and follow with the image of rain soaking the soil around the tree-me. Next, I force my imaginary roots to absorb all of the water. Surprisingly, this more complicated approach works without a hiccup. I can feel the energy entering my body, expanding my being. I would say it courses through my veins, but I'm not sure if I have any. It feels like I do, though. I don't expect what follows next, however. A screen of sorts forms completely out of thin air right in front of me, slighly glowing. I read the text it contains.

Congratulations! You absorbed a <speech> ability core!

Please choose one of the following mutations.

<Verbal speech> - You gain a fully working Oral Cavity capable of speaking any learned language relying on sounds. Digestive system not included!

<Telepathic speech> - You gain the ability to project thoughts to any intelligent living creature. This skill is limited to only basic messages unless you engage in a conversation with other telepathic beings. Knowledge of your target's language is needed only for advanced communication with other telepaths.

<Visual speech> - Your fingers gain increased dexterity and receive a boost to 'muscle memory', increasing the ability to learn and use any language relying on visuals. (Signs, gestures, signals, etc.) This boost to motor skills can also help in casting spell glyphs, alongside other advantages.

Choose with care! Your choices are irreversible!

...Wait, what?