I became a legion lich

95 A new life

10 years later.

In the middle of a desert camp, a high elf boy was hurriedly running somewhere. His right side was green and with plant features that made him stand out from the rest, but no high elf or orc judged him or looked at him crookedly.

His name was Treevor, obviously Selena’s son. He was named after his grandfather who rescued him and his mother from the clutches of the yggdrasil bud and also as a pun on his plant side.

Clan Gor was currently encamped in an oasis, one of the few in the desert. Originally this oasis was the territory of Gray Trolls, but they took the oasis by force and enslaved the Gray Trolls.

Gray trolls were demihumans that could grow up to 5 meters tall, with gray skin and a bulging belly. Their arms reached up to their knees when they were standing and accumulated large amounts of fat to maintain their regenerative abilities. His species was exclusively male, being able to spawn a new troll whenever it accumulated enough mass.

The gray trolls’ regeneration was among the best in the world, but the orcs used alchemical items and fire to inhibit their regeneration and defeated them after a bloody battle.

Little Treevor entered a particularly large tent, with the name Elven embroidered on the entrance.

“Mom, I’m here!” He yelled as soon as he entered the tent. The tent was divided into sections with leather curtains dividing them.

“What happened my grandson? Why so much noise?” her grandmother Malena asked, peering through the gaps in the curtain.

.....

“I formed my core!” Treevor screamed, causing Malena to nearly drop the potion bottles she was holding. Forming a nucleus was a painful and tiring process, and the more life force one possessed, the more difficult the process would be.

“How, how did you do that?” Malena asked shocked.

“I felt that my chest suddenly started to itch and my right eye suddenly started to glow, and the itching went away. When I went to see, my core was already formed!” Treevor puffed out his chest with pride, making his eyes glow with mana for a second.

Since birth, Treevor’s amber eye has accumulated world energy, so he was already used to manipulating mana. As his elven body was unable to support energy yet, he needed to expend the absorbed energy from time to time. Malena used this opportunity to teach Treevor about runesmith since he was 7 years old, then he could already create simple enchanted weapons.

“I’m glad for you, my grandson. I’m going to make you a special dish today, so tell me what you want?” Malena smiled fondly as she tousled his hair.

“Roasted red scorpion! Ah, have you seen the mother? I want to tell her soon.” Treevor asked, remembering his goal.

“She’s in the training area ‘educating’ the new clan members.” Malena spoke, feeling internally sorry for the gray trolls.

“Okay, see you later grandma!” Treevor wasted no more time and ran out of the tent, making Malena smile at how energetic he is.

Treevor hurried to a secluded spot in the camp, where the clan decided to create a makeshift arena. A small crowd of orcs, trolls, and high elves were gathered here, watching the arena as if it were a show. Treevor tried to squeeze between them, but the massive bodies of the orcs pushed him back. He thought about going under the trolls, but what he would have to see down there would traumatize him for the rest of his life.

Treevor thought about how to get through the crowd, until a pair of strong, calloused hands grabbed him under the armpits and lifted him up.

“Can you see better now?” Grork asked as he slung it over his shoulders.

“Uncle Grork! I formed my core, look!” Treevor gathered light on his fingertips and displayed it right in front of his eyes. He didn’t possess a mana body, but the plant arm was far superior to a mere wand.

“Can you use magic yet?! You’re amazing boy!” Grork was genuinely happy for him. Before Grork could begin to fawn over him, a battle cry came from the middle of the makeshift arena.

“ORAAAAAA!” Selena was in the middle of the arena, riding a troll as she beat him to death. Her fists were surrounded by gauntlets made of incandescent stones that she had conjured, and Selena rained punches all over the troll’s body, opening holes with each blow.

The troll tried to slap and crush her, but Selena jumped away before circling the troll’s body, punching every opening he made. Each punch tore off whole chunks of flesh, the heat searing the wounds and inhibiting their regeneration.

“What an irritating thing!” The troll screamed in his own language as he tried to get away, but Selena didn’t understand what he said and gave chase.

Selena raised both fists and the stone gauntlets flew like rockets, hitting the troll precisely in the knees, before exploding and knocking the troll down. Selena hit him with an uppercut just as he started to fall, knocking him backwards with the whites of her eyes showing.

“OOOHHHHH!” The crowd around watching squealed in excitement, even the trolls who were supposed to be on the loser’s side. Although they were forced to join them, the trolls were also descended from the giants and enjoyed war as much as the orcs. They accepted their defeat at the hands of the orcs and agreed to serve the Gor clan.

What they were doing now was a friendly match, showing off their best warriors to each other.

Selena stomped on the loser’s shoulders and raised her fists in the air, causing the crowd to scream again. She wore only a sports bra and short shorts made of leather, showing a lot more skin than she usually did in the sea of trees. Her white skin was tanned from constant exposure to the sun as she proudly displayed a 4-pack on her abdomen.

She was initially afraid to come out of the tents and interact with other people, but time and the orcs’ friendly attitude helped her overcome her fears. Today she could smile brightly in the midst of this crowd and show herself proudly, without fear of being attacked.

“Uncle, let’s go to her!” Treevor yelled animated, poking Grork’s head.

“Yes, yes. Just make sure you don’t fall!” Grork put strength in his legs as he spoke, jumping the entire crowd at once without using mana, landing in front of Selena.

“Leader??” Selena was surprised by Grork’s arrival, especially since Treevor was on her shoulders.

Grork took Treevor off his shoulders and placed him right in front of Selena. Treevor was still a little dizzy from the sudden jump, but he spoke excitedly once his vision had adjusted.

“Mom, I can use mana!” Treevor made his eyes spark with energy, causing a chorus of cheers from the watching crowd. A strong child was always welcome, after all.

“Very well, my baby! You’ve been my little mage for a long time, but now you can use magic with your own core!” Selena took Treevor from Grork’s arms and lifted him into the air, her eyes shining with happiness. She rocked it from side to side, until she suddenly remembered something.

“We have to test your affinities! We also need to know how much you can strengthen your body! Also-” Selena started to list everything she wanted to do with Treevor, making Grork who was listening to the side smile with her excitement.

“I’m also curious about his powers, but there’s no use turning him around like that. Look, he’s almost foaming.” Grork ‘rescued’ Treevor from Selena’s arms and set him on the ground. Treevor staggered for a few seconds before his vision adjusted again.

“I already know what my affinities are, look!” Treevor made his left eye glow white, orange and blue, showing their respective affinities. Your plant side has given he a high sensitivity to world energy and small elemental imbalances. Identifying the excess energy in his own body was child’s play for him.

Treevor was about to show that he already knew how to cast simple spells, when his right arm started to tingle. A sensation he had never felt before, but at the same time familiar, coursed through his right side.

Treevor looked around as if looking for something, his right side drawn in a certain direction.

“Is there a problem, boy?” Grork was the first to notice his change, as Selena was too busy thinking up a training plan for him.

“Yes, there’s something approaching.” Treevor muttered. Grork frowned, not understanding what he meant, but the sound of horns began to blare in the distance. And then a second horn sounded in a different direction. Soon the horns surrounded the entire oasis.

“We’re under attack!” Grork roared, his mind growing sharp as he readied himself for battle. He put strength in his legs again and jumped much higher than before, watching the surroundings.

And what he saw was a grand coalition of demihumans furiously approaching the oasis. Ogres, minotaurs, desert lizardmen, goblins and kobolds attacked from all directions. Even from this distance, Grork could see that they were outnumbered.

“All alert! We are retreating from the oasis! Use the alchemical items and magic to buy time, orcs and trolls protect the elves! We are retreating to the west!” Grork started screaming as soon as he hit the ground and everyone started running to obey his orders.

“Let’s go Treevor!” Selena grabbed Treevor’s arm and started dragging him towards the tent where Malena was. Treevor couldn’t resist, his gaze focused in a different direction as he tried to understand what that sensation was.