Evolve the Lower Earth Spirit into a Mid-level Earth Spirit?

The tallest tree in Pirel Forest pierced the sky. At its peak stood a man. His long silver hair fluttered in the breeze. Eyes curved in long arcs. Red horns protruding from both sides. And black bat-like wings to top it off. He didn't feel like an ordinary human at all.

At that moment, a wyvern flew up behind him.

Krrrarrr...

Surrounded by black energy, it was clearly poisoned by magi. Yet the wyvern bowed its head submissively to the man, as if brainwashed.

"How's the magi operation going?"

The wyvern dipped its head even lower in response. A sign of smooth progress. The man's eyes curved narrower still.

"Good."

The corners of his mouth lifted softly.

"If we couldn't even find the dragon egg and the magi operation failed too, that would have been a real problem."

Dragons. Creatures stronger than any other being. The pinnacle of magic, with unparalleled physical prowess. They say dragons were only weak before they hatched—as eggs.

Rumors had recently spread of a dragon egg discovered in Pirel Forest. The man's superior was very interested in it. But the problem was...

No matter how they searched, the egg was nowhere to be found.

However.

"We don't need to look for the egg anymore."

Just because the egg was missing didn't mean there were no options.

"Instead, we'll spread more magi."

He stroked his chin.

"Until the entire forest is filled with it."

If the egg was somewhere in the forest, then filling the whole forest with magi would do the trick. A magi-corrupted egg would hatch into a magi dragon.

He pulled something from his bosom. Black gems. Black energy rippled around them—clearly no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ordinary stones.

The man surveyed the forest and smiled.

"Filling this place with magi..."

The corners of his mouth twitched upward. His curved eyes looked even more delighted.

"It'll be beautiful."

With those words, he vanished ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swiftly.

The rain had finally stopped, and I surveyed the village.

Haa...

A sigh escaped me naturally. And why not? The village was a total mess.

Muddy puddles everywhere. Trails of silt from the floodwaters. The houses were completely gone without a trace.

The Totori sat around with gloomy expressions. Even the goblins were unusually quiet.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

But we can't just mope around like this.

We needed new houses. Sturdy ones resistant to water, that could withstand even the fiercest rains.

The first idea that came to mind was elevated houses, like those in survival shows set in jungles. They'd said raising the height with pillars was key. That way, rainwater wouldn't seep in.

Yeah. Building houses up high sounded good... but the problem was,

What do we build them with?

Materials were the issue. Make them out of wood again?

No way.

Wood wasn't great against rain. Wasn't there something better? Maybe something I already had...

I immediately opened my status window.

I quickly scanned my skills.

Hmm... nothing stands out.

At least Rin's evolution to mid-level had boosted my Spirit Power nicely.

As I was thinking that,

Fwoosh!

Fwoosh-fwoosh!

Something kept darting around in front of me. I focused my vision and checked.

...Fireballs?

Two fireballs floated lightly before my eyes. Fireballs out of nowhere?

-Try to hit it! Hit it!

-I can do it!

It was the earth spirits and fire spirits playing around. The earth spirits tossed clumps of dirt, and the fire spirits shot flames to hit them.

Rin scolded them sternly.

-Kids! This isn't playtime.

The spirits stopped at her words.

-Aww...

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-Okay...

The earth and fire spirits drooped their shoulders.

"Kkuung~"

Tori gently patted them. I rustled my branches at the sight.

At least their energy is keeping spirits up.

Thanks to them, the others seemed to be perking up a bit.

But then.

Hold on.

A hard lump rolled across the ground. I picked it up with a root tip. It was solid like a stone. Something the earth and fire spirits had made while playing.

A idea flashed in my mind.

This is it!

Bricks. We could make bricks. Stronger than wood against water. Baked clay would be plenty tough. And we could stockpile them for all sorts of uses.

With the spirits' power, it might just work.

I urgently called Tabu, the spirits, Kan, and Rin.

We're building new houses now. It might be complicated, so listen up.

I drew a rectangular prism on the ground with a root tip.

First, we're making these.

Everyone's expressions turned subtle.

"The house... is square?"

Kan asked, and Rin jumped in eagerly.

-I like square houses!

"But no windows...?"

-Then it'll be dark and perfect for sleeping!

"That... might work..."

Kan looked skeptical, while Rin tried to spin it positively. Tabu and Tori squinted and tilted their heads.

I chuckled inwardly at their reactions.

This isn't the house itself.

I continued slowly.

These are bricks. We'll stack them to form house shapes.

Everyone looked shocked.

"Stack these...?"

-Stack 'em?

Yeah. From what I know, mix clay and sand, then bake it in fire.

The key roles were obvious. I looked at the fire and earth spirits.

You guys are crucial.

-Us?

-We're important?

Their eyes widened round.

Yes. Mix clay and sand and bake it... but I don't know the exact ratios.

So trial and error it was.

The spirits clenched their fists.

-We'll do it!

-We can!

-Our best shot!

Good, good. I'll help with my roots too. Let's try together.

The spirits nodded with determined faces.

And to prepare for floods, we need to elevate the houses off the ground.

I turned to Tabu and Kan.

Support them with wooden pillars to raise the height. Leave that to the Totori and goblins.

Kan straightened his shoulders.

"Leave it to us, Master."

Tabu replied proudly too.

"Kkuung!"

Perfect. Let's get to it!

Right now!

And so the village reconstruction project began.

The Totori and goblins moved in perfect sync, gathering wood.

"Kkuung! Kkuuung!"

Under Tabu's command, logs were sorted by size.

Crunch!

Snap!

Kan chopped them with his axe.

-This one here! No, that goes over there!

Under Rin's direction, the cut logs found their places. Gradually, the house foundations took shape.

Now for the bricks.

First, we needed clay and sand.

The finer the sand, the better!

The earth spirits tensed up.

-Nngh!

-Ngh!

Wet clay and sand plopped onto my roots.

-Done!

-Phew!

The earth spirits wiped their brows.

Good. Now mix in water and knead.

The lower water spirits stepped up.

-Hya!

-Hyah!

Water droplets fell onto the dirt. I kneaded it evenly with my roots.

Knead and knead some more.

It turned into a nice doughy consistency.

Perfect!

Shaped into neat rectangles.

Now dry it completely.

The water spirits sucked out the moisture, and wind spirits blew warm, dry breezes.

Just need to bake now!

The fire spirits cheered.

-Ready!

-Super hot!

I handed the clay lumps to the blazing fire spirits, who popped them whole into their mouths. Their cheeks puffed out.

-Nngguuuh!

Flames roared. Their bodies glowed bright red.

But.

Isn't that a bit too intense?

I knew it needed high heat, but this?

Then—

-Ptoo!

The fire spirit spat it out. A charred black lump.

Uh...

Total failure. The fire spirit scratched its head with a sheepish grin.

-Too hot, huh? Sorry!

No helping it. Let's try again!

Trial and error commenced.

Second try: Baked fine, but cracked when wind spirits blew cold air.

Third: Fire too weak, crumbled.

Fourth: Seemed perfect, but shattered on contact—upped the clay ratio.

Fifth try.

Weird...

Still crumbling. Was my memory wrong? Ratios off?

As I pondered, an earth spirit approached cautiously.

-Um...

Yeah?

-Our dirt has lots of impurities mixed in.

Impurities?

-Yeah... Needs to be pure!

True. Impurities prevent proper hardening when baked.

Hard to make pure clay or sand?

The spirits exchanged glances.

-Well...

-Mid-level can do it.

-Mid-level would be way faster!

A mid-level earth spirit. Makes sense—Rin was a huge upgrade.

One would help a lot. But.

Don't I lack Spirit Power?

I opened my status window again.

Wha—?!

I shouted inwardly in surprise.

53?!

Working on bricks with the spirits must've leveled it up.

Enough for one mid-level evolution.

I said quickly.

Mid-level should work, right?

-Huh? Yeah!

I can make one mid-level spirit. Just one.

The earth spirits' eyes widened.

-Then we can do it!

-Awesome!

I asked.

Who wants to be the mid-level earth spirit?

They glanced at each other. Becoming mid-level was great, but it meant more responsibility.

In the quiet moment, one stepped forward. The one who'd hung out most with Rin back when she was lower-level.

-I'll do it.

A shy, hesitant voice.

Okay, you're on.

Then the window appeared.

Yes!

In that instant, white light began swirling around the spirit in front of me.