I Turned into a Tree, Who Cares!

2 Evolution Points

"It seems... I've developed a bit of offensive power, and it's not weak either."

Gazing at the two to three meters of green branches swaying freely in the night sky, Jack felt a surge of emotion. He had originally assumed that, now that he had become a tree, his life would be a quiet one, with no choice but to endure whatever came his way. But unexpectedly, within just a few days, he had acquired a "strength" that allowed him to fight back.

Jack grinned, almost able to picture an amusing scene in his mind. Those buzzing, annoying bees—every time one came near, he could simply swat it away, one by one. Over the past few days, Jack had had quite enough of those bees.

He was located in a canyon, filled with wildflowers. Jack couldn’t tell if they were fragrant, as he lacked a sense of smell, but during the day, there was an endless flow of bees buzzing around him, irritating him to no end.

The canyon itself was noteworthy. It spanned roughly a hundred meters in width, and its height… well, Jack figured it must be at least several hundred meters, as it seemed to lie in the crevice between two large mountains. But just how tall it was, Jack couldn’t precisely tell. He himself was only three to four meters tall, and he was surrounded by trees much larger than himself. Through the dense forest canopy, he had no real way of gauging the canyon's full height.

One fortunate aspect of his transformation was that he could see from every branch tip of the willow, giving him 360-degree vision. The sensation was strange but very real—almost like a legendary kind of vision, similar to the “Byakugan” from myths. Through this vision, Jack could observe his surroundings without being hindered by the dense branches above him.

“Can trees really grow this tall?” Jack wondered as he looked around at the towering trees, each so wide it would take several people linking arms to encircle them. Some of these trees were willows, but unlike the typical weeping willows that reached only twenty or thirty meters, these seemed to tower around fifty or sixty meters.

There was another oddity in the air, something Jack couldn’t quite put his finger on. Sometimes, he felt a warm, soothing sensation, as if some unknown energy was flowing into him, almost like a massage. It was so pleasant that Jack found himself absorbing it willingly. Without realizing it, Jack had grown two or three meters taller within a few days. When he had first awakened, his willow form was still just a small sapling, but now he was starting to resemble a young tree.

Despite being a willow in body, Jack’s consciousness remained intact, so he still felt the need to rest. Shutting off his vision, he sank into a state resembling sleep.

Before he knew it, the latter half of the night had passed, and a sliver of light appeared on the horizon, casting a soft glow. The forest was now filled with a damp mist, shrouding the ancient grove in a foggy haze, making it look like a scene from a fairyland.

Buzz, buzz.

The sound startled Jack awake, and his vision snapped open. Before him, a bee was lazily drifting through his field of view.

"Disturbing my sleep again," he grumbled, feeling irritated. Then he paused, as an idea crossed his mind, and he grinned wickedly.

"They say revenge is best served cold. For a willow, even a few days isn’t too late."

With that, there was a sharp "snap," as his branch cracked through the air with a thunderous impact. The green whip lashed through the air, and then... silence. The buzzing ceased instantly, and a fine red mist spread slowly in the air where the bee had been.

"Uh..."

Staring at the mist that used to be a bee, Jack was momentarily stunned. The power of his branch strike seemed almost absurdly strong, far beyond what he’d anticipated.

As he remained in awe, a sudden voice sounded in his mind:

"Ding, you have killed a bee. Evolution point +0.1."

Jack didn’t react with much surprise, as he had heard this voice once before. It was his system’s notification, but it had only appeared once previously. He hadn’t expected it to chime in again now. So, it was only there to provide updates?

Thinking it over, Jack shrugged off the thought and looked at his evolution points. Indeed, there was an extra 0.1 point.

"This... this is quite a pleasant surprise."

Jack's reaction was slightly delayed, but once he processed it, he was thrilled, like he’d stumbled upon a treasure trove. After all, a whole day of basking in the sun only earned him 0.1 evolution points, yet simply swatting a single bee had netted him the same amount.

It seemed, then, that taking from others was a much faster path to evolution.

But no, he caught himself. What am I thinking? He chided himself internally. I’m supposed to aim high, like the legendary "Willow God." How could I sink to mere predation?

He shook his thoughts clear. No, this is simply the law of natural selection.