For the first time since waking up in this strange wooden body, Taisho felt a bit of stability. The system voice had gone quiet after the failed contract attempt, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
"Alright," he muttered mentally. "So I can see life forms and try to form contracts… but what about these Evolution Points? What do I actually do with them?"
He focused on the word 'Evolution Points', and the familiar electronic tone answered immediately.
[Evolution Points (EP): Adaptive energy accumulated through various means. Can be spent to enhance skills, improve unique abilities, or increase overall evolution progress.]
"So basically… they're experience points," he thought. "Alright, makes sense."
He decided to test it out. "System, show me how to use EP."
[Command Accepted.]
[EP Usage Methods:]
Skill Advancement: Use EP to increase skill proficiency.
Evolution Progress: Convert EP to advance evolutionary development.
Unique Skill Growth: Enhance or evolve Unique Skills once conditions are met.
[Would you like to allocate 10 EP to Evolution Progress?]
Taisho hesitated. "Ten points just for one attempt? Huh. Sure, let's see what it does."
A faint vibration ran through his trunk. It wasn't painful — more like an electrical pulse running through wood fibers. A moment later, the system replied.
[Evolution Progress: +1%]
"So ten EP equals one percent," he muttered. "That's… slow." He let out a dry laugh in his mind. "Figures. Even as a tree, life doesn't hand out easy upgrades."
After a moment, he asked, "System, how do I actually earn more EP?"
[Sources of Evolution Points:]
Photosynthesis: Passive conversion of sunlight energy — generates +0.1 EP daily.
Familiar Contract: Gain EP based on the activity and strength of contracted lifeforms.
Special Events: Significant changes or achievements may yield bonus EP.
Taisho stayed silent for a bit. "So I get 0.1 EP a day from sunlight. That's… ten days for one point, and a hundred days for a single percent?"
He would've facepalmed if he had hands. "Guess I'm really starting from seed level, huh?"
Still, it wasn't hopeless. The Familiar Contract gave him another way to earn points — but that required something intelligent enough to agree. So far, everything nearby was too dumb to even understand the concept of consent.
"System," he asked after a while, "can I use EP to improve my skill instead of evolution progress?"
[Affirmative. 1 EP increases proficiency by 10 points for basic-level skills.]
"Alright, let's do that. Allocate one EP to Soul Vision."
[Allocating 1 EP...][Soul Vision (20/500): Basic]
Instantly, the forest around him came alive in his perception. He could sense clearer outlines — not visuals, but energy shapes. The scurrying of small creatures, the steady beat of their life force, the subtle resonance of nearby plants — it all became sharper.
"Now this," he thought, "is actually useful."
Taisho relaxed slightly. He still didn't know where he was or what kind of world this was, but at least now he had a system — and a plan.
He couldn't move, couldn't walk, couldn't even talk — but he could learn, adapt, and grow. And that was more than enough.
"Alright," he said to himself. "Let's photosynthesize our way to the top."