Reincarnated As A Plant Life
chapter-259

"Take all those who passed out back inside. Those of you who want to rest can go in as well," Lucius added right after, now looking at the few leaf-beings and shrooms who remained.

In total, only around 6 minutes of photosynthesis had gone by, amounting to approximately 373,000 helios, meaning that Asclepius had taken around 400 000 helios total to evolve.

No doubt the remaining shrooms - which consisted of only the chieftains - would evolve soon as well. Something that Lucius wasn't ready to go through again. At the very least, he would need to master True Elmando to a level where he wouldn't need to over-exert himself to repair a photosynthetic core.

~Still, they are quite a good size as it is,~ Lucius thought to himself, noticing how the chieftains were now about the size of medium-sized boars—almost a meter tall. And for their height, they were quite girthy; in fact, one could mistake their robust physique for being muscular.

"I faced an issue while trying to get Asclepius to evolve. I'll need time to study the phenomenon, so perhaps we should take a break before trying again," he said out loud, much to the displeasure of the chieftains.

It was clear from the envious looks they were giving Asclepius's pod that they were eager to evolve as well. However, Lucius's word was final, and they bowed in gratitude, whispering words of praise to the Lighted One as they joined Pagan and the others on the outer circles.

~Hmm, the remaining leaf-beings are the members of the first watch, and... wait, I know this guy,~ Lucius thought to himself in surprise.

Of course, he had expected the first watch to be able to push through; however, it was his first time noticing another leaf being who seemed above average.

The leaf-being in question had a smug look on its face and stared at Lucius as if there was some secret that only the two of them were privy to.

"Shall we continue?" Lucius asked, realizing that this leaf-being probably had some issues.

*

The next photosynthesis session lasted around 10 minutes before the entire first watch, except Eleanour, collapsed. With a base rate of 1740 helios per second and an additional 10 helios per second per leaf-being, they accumulated a total of about 1.086 million helios.

Altogether, with the first session, they had moved approximately 1.46 million helios towards evolution.

~If I'm correct, it takes between 6 and 7 million helios accumulated to evolve to Laendyte,~ Lucius thought to himself as the others carried the members of the first watch back into the camp.

They had all grown by a good amount, now around 1.2 meters tall each. With their skin having changed to various shades of brown depending on their variations.

Most of them seemed to have taken after Alpha, having protective bark emerging on their forearms, shins, and head—creating a sort of helm.

The only member of the first watch who was of a different variation was Eleanour, who seemed closer to Hannibal—normal.

"Do you guys want to continue?" Lucius asked, now regarding Eleanour and the odd leaf-being.

Eleanour was barely conscious, only able to nod her head in response. The other leaf-being, however, seemed to be in a better state, though it made absolutely no sense how this was possible.

"Have you perhaps been slacking off the entire time before this?" Lucius asked blankly, regarding the odd leaf-being.

It was the only way this would make sense. The leaf-being had been lazy all along and was only trying right now.

"Ku-ku-ku, Lucius, Lucius, Lucius... we both know how I'm able to do this. Pagan already told me the secret to amassing energy and evolving," the leaf-being replied.

~What sort of conspiracies has Pagan been feeding the children?~ Lucius sighed to himself.

Though he wasn't going to complain, whatever placebo effect Pagan's words had placed on this 'conspiracist' seemed to be working.

"Then let's continue."

*

The next session lasted only a minute before Eleanour fell unconscious. She had tried her best; however, these things couldn't be rushed.

She was now 1.3 meters tall and stocky.

Lucius contemplated whether he should try to work with her towards evolution before having her gain her crux or just give her a crux and delay her evolution for another 4 to 5 days.

~Hmm, I think we'd benefit from having her remain while all the other members of the first watch got their cruxes. Besides, by the time they wake up, I don't doubt that she'll be in her evolution pod,~ Lucius thought to himself.

~I'll speak about it with her and Hannibal later,~ he decided, before carrying on the photosynthesis session.

*

In the end, the 'conspiracist' lasted a total of 30 minutes and had accumulated close to 2.92 million helios.

Though he was now a near-lifeless sack of plant flesh lying unconscious on the ground, he had grown to become the largest leaf-being after the executives.

He now stood at 1.4 meters tall, just a little shorter than Pagan, though he did not have the same girth, and no doubt his internal systems probably was not as advanced. Still, his size was good.

~I should get a sobriquet for him... even if he is a little weird,~ Lucius thought to himself as he inspected the 'conspiracist's' skin pattern.

It was a very peculiar variation, with streaks of green placed randomly around his figure and obsidian highlights around the primary brown of his body.

Lucius hadn't quite noticed it before, but he supposed that this little guy was the closest version to him within the entire commune.

~But what will I name him?~ he wondered to himself.

"Is something the matter, Lighted One?" Pagan asked, noticing that Lucius was inspecting the 'conspiracist' a little more thoroughly than the rest.

"Pagan, do you know this one?" Lucius asked, still staring at the 'conspiracist'.

"Oh, this one, he is one of your greatest followers, Lighted One. He has even taken it upon himself to watch you and everyone else in case something goes wrong. Though he is weak, he has the right attitude," Pagan replied fondly.

~Pagan liking someone? That's new,~ Lucius thought to himself in disbelief.

~Though from the sound of it, this guy's probably good at deception,~ he continued.

"What did you tell him about photosynthesis? He mentioned knowing a secret," he asked out loud after a bit of thought.

"Ahh, that. I told him that true energy can only be amassed once he opens himself to your light," Pagan replied instantly, as if reciting a verse he said every day.

~So random nonsense. Well, the little guy is clearly going to be a useful asset,~ Lucius thought to himself.

"When he wakes up, tell him to wait for me in the altar room," Lucius commanded, before going back to his session.