CHAPTER 40: PRACTICE ATTACKS

"Of course I did! I designed it myself into a marvelous Talent to help you complete this challenge!" Goddess Freya declared proudly.

Gara grinned like an idiot. For once, he didn’t feel like arguing with Goddess Freya.

In fact, he felt like hugging her, even though he had no idea what she actually looked like.

"Wise and kind Goddess Freya, does this mean I can use any plant and the numbing effect will still be the same?"

"Yes. All you need to do is add the wate—Figure the rest out yourself! Hmph!"

Gara chuckled. He had hoped to trick her into spilling all the secrets, but apparently she caught on rather quickly.

Still, her words were already a big help.

Even so, he knew he needed to test the numbing effect firsthand.

His eyes fell to his smooth, pale forearm... and he immediately shook his head.

No way he could bring himself to injure his own arm.

"Maybe someone will get hurt and need my help later. If no one does, then I’ll try a small cut on myself."

His voice was filled with hope.

One major problem, solved.

He glanced toward the fence and walked over without realizing it.

The sprouts of belladonna and poppy had already broken through the soil, their tiny stems holding several healthy-looking leaves.

Even the dangerous Nerthalis plant had begun to bud.

The three plants he had been watering for the past two weeks were clearly growing much faster than they normally should.

Not that he minded. It was actually a good thing.

He was considering testing the effects of those three plants as well.

Even though Goddess Freya said he only needed to add his water, there might come a time when someone discovered another substance that could neutralize these poisons without needing his Talent.

If that happened, knowing the true numbing properties of each plant would be essential.

After tending to the Lumora tea leaves, he made his way to the back of the house, specifically, to the cluster of large trees standing tall behind his yard.

Yesterday, he had easily sliced through a tree with a trunk diameter of 10 nails.

Today, he wanted to test the limits of his Water Slash.

He tried trees with trunks ranging from 20 nails... all the way up to 30 nails.

Every single one was sliced cleanly.

"Damn, my power’s insane," he muttered, never forgetting to praise himself.

Alone in the house, with only the sound of crickets for company, he got carried away.

He ended up felling five trees, all with trunks between 20 and 30 nails wide.

"Oh crap! If the other villagers see this, they’ll definitely start asking questions."

The forest behind his house wasn’t within the his house’s barrier zone, so people could still pass through and notice his handiwork.

Quickly, he made the stumps look more jagged, less clean.

Sure, they still looked unnatural, but at least not too suspicious now.

His gaze fell on one of the fallen tree trunks.

It was still intact with branches, leaves, and all.

Grabbing the end, he began to drag it across the ground. The trail left behind was obvious.

His stamina had clearly improved, he wasn’t that tired. But his hands were sore, scraped from dragging the rough bark.

Suddenly, he remembered Langga’s Talent: Telekinesis.

Just yesterday, he had lifted a fish straight out of the river.

"I wonder... can I move a heavy, long tree trunk like this too?"

He took a deep breath and directed his hand toward one of the logs, wrapping it with his water, and—whoosh!

It floated.

He was so excited but kept his emotions in check because this Talent was influenced by the mind. He had to stay focused.

With his Talent, he could move the log quickly to the side of the house.

His mother still hadn’t returned from the field.

So, he went back behind the house, looking for a bigger tree.

There was a large tree with thick roots protruding from the ground, lush leaves, and what looked like nests for birds and other animals.

The trunk was very thick about a meter and a half in diameter. If it were in his world, a tree like this would probably be considered haunted.

He didn’t know the name of the species, but it looked like the perfect next victim.

If he could cut it down, it would be easy to mutilate a human, whose waist diameter was only around 30–50 cm.

But he didn’t intend to use it on other humans, unless they, or people from other races, messed with him first.

Just imagining himself being that strong made it hard not to smile.

With a creepy smile that might make a child cry, he aimed his water slash at the tree.

Hik!

The tree didn’t fall like the one before. His power wasn’t enough to bring it down, yet.

He approached the tree and saw that his attack had cut 40 cm deep into the trunk.

"Not bad," he murmured, touching his chin.

If he hadn’t remembered how his legs gave out the day before from using too much Talent, he might have tried to take the tree down today.

But he still had plenty of time, and to make sure his body and his baby stayed fine, he decided to continue tomorrow.

"A wise choice," said Goddess Freya suddenly.

"If it’s wise, then give me a reward," he replied shamelessly.

"Hmph!"

Gara chuckled softly and returned home.

...

More than a month passed quickly, filled with Gara’s daily routines.

He was almost two full months pregnant, and for the first time, he experienced typical pregnancy symptoms, morning sickness.

He would feel nauseous every morning for no clear reason, and only felt a little better after drinking his own water.

"Gara, you don’t need to go to the field," Wina said, eyes filled with concern.

"It’s okay, Mom. I feel better after drinking my water."

Because he was so stubborn, she didn’t force him to stay home. In the end, they headed to the field together.

...