10-81. Heroic Return
Elijah awoke on a bed of moss, but it wasn’t in his treehouse. He opened his eyes to see a canopy of blue leaves above him. Motes of dust and pollen danced in the rays of light peeking through as the chirp of various birdcalls filled the air. He took a deep breath, smelling fresh rain and earth.
It was home.
“How long?” he asked.
Nerthus stood nearby, as still as any tree – a sentry by any other name. “It has been nearly seven weeks since you descended into the cave,” he answered.
“That’s got to be a record,” Elijah said, still admiring the branches of the ancestral tree at the center of his grove.
“There are many who spend years pushing toward a new cultivation tier,” Nerthus pointed out. “Centuries. Those at the peak likely take even longer.”
“Personal record then,” Elijah muttered, finally sitting up. He leaned against the tree trunk, then took another deep breath as he once again admired the notification he’d received before passing out.
| Congratulations! You have cultivated a Garnet Mind!
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