History class was dismissed a few hours later, and I headed straight to the family farm. Today, my task is to care for the Ostean Giant Flytraps. Swarm season is upon us, and mother had spoken at great lengths about the importance of keeping the pests from her fields. She handled the watering and general upkeep, so all I had to do was empty the flytraps. The swarm greatly outnumbered the flytraps’ capacity to hold them, and when a trap closed, it usually took a week before it opened again. If they weren’t emptied daily, the fields would be overrun with locusts, curious children, and other pests within a week.
I dropped my backpack, grabbed a notebook labeled “encyclopedia”, and turned to the page for Ostean Giant Flytraps. Since mother was both nature-aligned and a druid, I'd kept a notebook on every species I've encountered, and wrote whatever knowledge I had on them. I had hoped that it would aid in gaining and controlling my powers, assuming I took after her, but nothing ever came of it. My hope is gone, but the habit still remains.
‘Ostean Giant Fly Trap:
Size: averages 3 feet tall and 10 feet wide
Alignment: n/a
Rank: F
Description:
The Ostean Giant Flytrap produces a sweet and acidic substance that attracts, sticks to, and dissolves most tiny insects. For larger insects and other species, the hair-like teeth are usually enough to capture its prey.
Ostean giant flytraps can be emptied by pouring a basic solution into their mouths. This will neutralize their acid, and cause them to open.
Ostean Giant Flytraps are considered a delicacy in some areas. It is usually wise to neutralize them beforehand, though.
Personality: n/a
Diet:
The Ostean Giant Flytrap primarily gets its sustenance from the insects it eats. It does, however, still require soil, water, and sunlight.
Combat:
Although the Ostean Giant Flytrap is magically engineered, and can contain more mana than other natural plants of its size, it is not a monster, and cannot make use of its mana. As is standard for plants and creatures incapable of using mana, it has a ranking of F.
Although the teeth will not puncture skin, small children may become trapped by them, should they be dumb enough to climb inside.
Origin:
The Ostean giant flytrap is a domesticated and magically engineered species of flytrap created by crossbreeding the Kyhun Giant Snaptrap, the Ostean pitfalltrap, and several other similar plants.
’
I finished the passage and took out a jug and a straw broom from my pack. For the next few hours, I poured the mixture into each trap then swept out the partially dissolved insect slurry. I was most of the way done when a weak voice came from one of the closed traps. “Help, please! I’m stuck!” it cried.
I walked over, sighing, and went to pour the solution into the trap. I stopped, and felt a sadistic smile creep over my face. “Hey kid, are you in there?”
“YES, yes, I’m in here. Please save me!”
“You know, you’re not supposed to be on this property. I’m fairly certain your thrashing around in there killed the plant. The owner does not appreciate her property being trespassed, nor killed.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please let me out.”
“I don’t want to hear sorry. I just want to know you’ll never be back here again. Otherwise, I’ll just leave you in there.”
“I won’t! I’ll never come back so long as I live.”
“Promise?”
“I Promise!”
Satisfied, I poured a good amount of the jug into the plant and over the kid. When it began to open, I yanked the boy out, and checked him for acid burns. Thankfully, the damage wasn’t bad. I stuck a thumb over my shoulder and spoke “exit’s that way.” The boy ran, without uttering so much as a thanks.
I stared at the corpse of the flytrap. Given the area it was in, I'm fairly certain I had been the one to plant this a few months back. “Explains the dislike for children” I muttered. “Wow, I really need therapy. Maybe I’ll visit a mind-aligned one of these days.”
My stomach grumbled. I skipped lunch today, and since mother and father are out, I have to make dinner. Thankfully, it seemed the main course was right in front of me.
I dragged the flytrap to a clearing, and grabbed some salt and firewood to cook it with. After an hour of prep-work and cooking, I took my first bite. The outer skin was crispy, and the inner flesh was soft and juicy. It tasted sweet, salty, and slightly sour, almost like pork belly cooked with pineapple, but with a good deal of earthiness to it. I stuck my feet into the ground, and absorbed the nutrients and mana from the earth, sun, and food. “Maybe I’ll never get to be an adventurer, but I guess a simple life isn't so bad.”
The sun had set, and I stood up to go back home. I tried to move my feet, but stumbled, firmly rooted in place. I looked down, and found my limbs to be rapidly shrinking and turning green. A dull burning sensation spread throughout my body, quickly growing in intensity until I felt I felt as if my nerves had caught fire. My consciousness blurred. My eyes shut and dissolved into my face. My mouth rapidly grew outside of my head, until it was as large as I had been. I screamed, my scream turning to a hiss, my hiss turning to a gargle, and my gargle turning to silence
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