Chapter 2: 2. New bodies, new tastes

This can’t be right.

 

Denial was the first thing to flash through my mind. I couldn’t be a…’gelatinous cube’ or whatever the voice called me. Yet the more I studied myself, the harder it became to deny it.

 

Where once I had two legs, two arms, a quite toned midsection, and a mess of brown hair, now I had green slime and a pair of insect appendages. When I attempted to gaze to the side, I was hit with nausea as the world blurred together into a mess of brown and black. I forced myself to a halt, waiting for the world to settle down into a somewhat cohesive place.

 

What the fuck is going on? I can’t see.

 

Trying again slowly, I looked. It was honestly quite peculiar; my normal, linear vision was replaced with thousands of tiny images joining to create a mosaic that painted a single, large visual image. I glanced behind me and a giddy excitement filled me when I realized I had essentially 360 degree vision. I could see myself from above while simultaneously witnessing my side view. 

 

It was definitely disorienting, though. Whenever I tried to focus on a single frame, I was only successful for a split second before the slightest shift of rocks turned my attention that way. Inhaling deeply, I concentrated on a side view that showed the best angle of me, and studied my new body.

 

‘Gelatinous cube’ lived up to its term. I was essentially a large, green cube composed of slime. I didn’t understand how I prevented myself from simply dissolving into a pile of goop; as far as I could tell, there was nothing stopping me from doing just that, and I certainly wasn’t exerting any effort to maintain my form.

 

The second thing I noticed was a clear lack of features. On all six of my surfaces, there was nary a blemish or mark. No ears, mouth, nose, or eyes. A twitch of regret rang through me. Everybody always said that my eyes looked so much like my sisters’. It may have been an inconsequential loss for my life, but losing it made me feel even more disconnected from her and my past life. 

 

Oh god, my sister. She didn’t know yet.

 

Looking at me, no one from the village could recognize me. Not Amara, or Mom, or Dad. To them and the rest of the world, I was just another monster, an abomination born from an error in the world that deserved to be killed. The thought of seeing them look at me with horror written on their faces dug into me like a pair of dull, corroded blades someone wrenched around my body for funsies. Memories of time spent with my cherished ones popped up unsolicited and an unpleasant swelling sensation made its presence known.

 

Time spent with my friends and families flashed before my eyes and the swelling intensified. A cyclone of emotions whirled around in my gut like a tornado, slowly getting larger and more powerful. It felt like at any moment, the tumultuous emotions could burst free and flow out of my body. Desperately, I tried to put a stop to the storm, forcing myself not to think about their cooling corpses as they laid lifeless on the dirt, eyes open but unseeing, blood dripping—

 

There was a violent surge of the swelling, and I nearly lost control. A smoldering burn ignited in my ‘chest’—or where my chest had been—and began making its way through the rest of my system. It felt like I was burning away from the inside, trapped in a sea of my memories. This was exactly what I’d worried about! 

 

Fuck this, don’t think about them, don’t think about them. The bandits; they’re your target. The bandits are your target.

 

I repeated the mantra and, to my relief, the raging storm of emotion died down and the heat subsided as I locked away the memories and focused purely on my rage. Knowing that it was only a temporary fix, I scrambled for anything that could distract me from the impending meltdown and out of nowhere, a thought occurred to me and I perked up, my gelatin body jiggling.

 

If I don’t have a mouth, how can I talk? I went through the motions of opening my jaw and a portion of the slime wriggled, but that was the furthest I could go. After several more attempts, I gave up in favor of better uses of my time.

 

Whatever, it’s not like I have anyone to talk with down here? Speaking of, where is this place?

 

I’d been so taken aback by my new appearance, I completely neglected my likewise brand-new surroundings. It looked like I was in some sort of cavern, with stone walls rising higher than I could make out. Stalagmites protruded from the ground every couple of feet, and I spotted multiple holes carved out, leading to who knows where. Several huge ledges stuck out from the walls, crumbling to bits in current time.

 

If I hatched here (I shuddered at the thought of popping out of an egg. The less said about that, the better), and this place looks too big to be any cave system on the top side, does that mean this is a dungeon? 

 

It was like an icy hand gripped my heart. Dungeons were infamous around the world, for its high risk-great benefits challenges. They were reserved for the most courageous of adventurers or the most foolhardy people trying to gain a modicum of glory. And if they survived, they usually found that and more. I’d heard people say there were mounds of gold and jewels in the higher rings, but if you dared descend the dungeon,‌ you could find chests full of powerful artifacts and items. 

 

My mind worked overtime as I thought of all the possibilities. If my theory was correct and this was really a dungeon, this could be the big break for the village! I could locate one of these treasure pits of whatever they were called, snatch some gold, and all our financial problems will be fixed. I didn’t even mind becoming a monster if this was the payoff. All I needed to do was locate the nearest treasure, leave this place, and return to the villa—

 

The crescendoing high I was experiencing reached its peak before plummeting down; reality hit me with all the force of a battering ram. It hurt more since I got slammed with the realization I'd actually forgotten about what happened, even if only briefly. My insides burned and when normally, I would’ve been bawling my eyes out, now the only thing that happened was a minuscule tense of my body. Both to my relief and dismay, my mental barriers were holding. I wouldn’t succumb to mourning–there was time for that later–but my subdued reaction was all the more evidence that my past life was just that—in the past.

 

I was no stranger to death. You didn’t live in an isolated village on the outskirts of the kingdom and expect to have a cushy life. I first witnessed death when I was 9 years old. Waking up to hear the soul-piercing wails of a girl I’d often walked with, collapsed over the body of her father, wasn’t something I could forget if I tried. It didn’t get better when, one by one, everyone I knew had someone close to them die. I thought, how lucky I am that all my cherished ones survived. Little did I know the gods had been waiting to deliver my own share of death.

 

But I refused to be broken down. The bandits will pay. I’ll make sure of that if it’s the last thing I d—

 

growl~

 

I paused in the middle of my heartfelt declaration of revenge. Did my stomach just rumble? Did I even possess a stomach anymore? I doubted the answer was yes.

 

Another quiet growl~ bounced off the walls and I grimaced. Monsters got hungry too? I suppose it made sense. There was a reason they predated the countryside, ripping apart any unfortunate soul they got their claws on. Still, how was I supposed to eat in this body?

 

Ding!

 

Warning! EP going into the red zone!

 

Species: Gelatinous Cube (Level 1)

 

Subspecies: Insectroid Slime

 

Stats:

 

Health Point (HP) : 10/10

 

Strength Point (SP) : 10/10

 

Endurance Point (EP) : 5/10

 

Agility Point (AP) : 5/5

 

Species Skills:

 

 

• [Subsumption] Level 1

• [Infirm Regeneration] Level 1

 

 

Skills:

 

 

• [10 Skill Points]

• [Available Skill Slots: 5]

 

 

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What’s this? Random words popping into existence were not something I planned on seeing today. Scanning the text, there were a couple of things that stood out to me.

 

Okay, I know I’m technically a newborn but aren't 10 strength and endurance points really low? I’m a monster, right? And 5 available Skill Slots…does that mean 5 is the maximum? What happens when I reach that limit?

 

Right before my eyes, the EP changed from 5 to a dreaded 4. 

 

Shit.

 

I forced myself to remain calm. Panicking would just drain my endurance faster. I needed to conserve my movements and search for anything I could eat. Food was the problem here, right? The possibility that it was something else entirely (maybe the world knew I wasn’t a veritable monster and was rectifying its error) came up, but I banished. Indecision could be as deadly as doing nothing.

 

Rock, rock, slightly larger piece of rock, rock, very big piece of rock, rock, ro—what the hell is that!?

 

Next to the fragments of the shell was a grotesque creature, if it could even be called that. Resembling a bloated larva with knobs all over its flesh and thousands of miniscule legs, it was the definition of unappetizing. The fact it looked like it’d been chewed up and spat out by another Gelatinous Cube didn’t help its appearance.

 

It was the only thing in eyeshot that resembled something I could eat though, and when my Endurance blinked to 3, I propelled myself forward. 

 

I envisioned myself lunging towards the food and made a couple inches of ground before snapping back to my new position. Feeling the urge to curse at my stupid body, I lunged again. 

 

Every time, I made it several inches before being forced to reset to that position. It took me over a minute to reach the regurgitated creature, and by that time, my endurance had fallen to 1.

 

The effects of that were kicking in hard. My actions were more sluggish than ever and I was left winded at the end of my endeavors. I didn’t even know slimes could get winded!

 

Okay, what do I do now? I frantically asked myself. I lunged at the food, but the only thing that happened was getting bits of flesh rubbed off on me as I bounced off. What the hell!? Let me eat you!

 

The larvae’s swollen and bloodied eyes rolled to look at the back of its skull, like it was taunting my efforts. Honestly, I felt like laughing too. I was centimeters away from getting salvation and I was going to die twice in one hour, just because I couldn’t work out my bodily functions. Truly, the peak of sadistic humor. 

 

Ding! 

 

Endurance Points at 0!

 

Geez, thanks for telling me. Not like I can’t see the enlarged text floating in the air. Dejectedly, I stared at my precious HP. It was merely a matter of minutes before the hunger knocked the number down to 0, and that would be the end of me.

 

“Come on, Alex, you’re better than that!”

 

I snapped back to reality and almost whirled around in search of Amara. Of course, even before I finished my spin, I knew I wouldn’t find her. Amara was dead, and I wasn’t foolish enough to hope the demon had given her the same opportunity as me. But her words kindled a spark in me, one which soon swelled into a bonfire.

 

Fuck this, I am not going to wait for death again! I propelled myself at the mess of guts and promptly slammed against the side. The moment I hit the ground though, my body reacted.

 

A pair of stick-like appendages shot out from within my green slime and snatched the larvae, sinking back into my body with the larvae in tow.

 

What followed wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation. It was akin to diving into a lake, getting a good way in, and then having the water around you begin to bubble. Gentle at first, before becoming an insistent tingle as the bubbling intensified. Before I could really start to categorize the feeling, though, it was gone, and I was left with a damp puddle of blood and the sinking realization that I’d just eaten it.

 

If I was completely honest, it didn’t really taste like anything. All it did was stop the bludgeoning stomach pains and a sense of fullness spread throughout my slime body. I still had to check if it was all worth it.

 

Stats? Please, creepy voice.

 

Health Point (HP) : 10/10 (+4)

 

Strength Point (SP) : 10/10

 

Endurance Point (EP) : 8/10 (+8)

 

Agility Point (AP) : 5/5

 

Thank the gods, it’s back up. Now that I wasn’t in any immediate danger of dying and had some semblance of what to do in order to keep my Endurance up, I relaxed. Ever since I’d broken out of the egg, it’s been one revelation after another. It was nice to have some time to collect my thoughts and—

 

C̸̢̐͂͋͗̏̓͛ơ̵̺̋͑͛̑̓͑m̶̱̯̟̩̩̅̐͌͜ḙ̶̉̎̃̄͝ ̷̨̳͕̠͍̈́͛̋t̴̤̰̠̮̬̥͝ȍ̵̧̈́͐̒́̕͠ ̷̫̙̰͉̖̎̽̔̋̇̓͜m̶̤̝̈̃̎͑̈́͝ḙ̷̇̋̓̿͑

 

My slime body locked up. Hit with waves of déjà vu, I could only watch on in horror as my rogue body began pushing away from the fragments. 

 

No, stop! Stop, don’t follow the voice, listen to me! You’re my body!

 

Despite using every ounce of will I had, my body stubbornly refused to listen and continued plodding along. To add insult to the wound, I was actually moving faster than when I’d been trying to reach the food. 

 

This was even worse than when the monolith trapped me in a partial incorporeal form and locked me in a parallel dimension, reduced to a passenger in my own body. At least then, I’d still been under the effects of the high the monolith produced in me, presumably to ease the procedure of turning into…..a slime. Right now, I was at the mercy of my hyperactive imagination which was going to town thinking of all the ways this could go horribly wrong.

 

I slid through one of the many holes I’d spotted earlier, making my way through a long tunnel that was clearly built for creatures larger than me. The darkness encroaching on all sides did nothing to detract from my thoughts running at a rapid pace, conjuring every plausible scenario to come out of this.

 

After what felt like an hour, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. An ominous red glow shined from the other side of the hole, painting the curved walls in a crimson hue. As I approached, I could hear the unmistakable sounds of hundreds—no, thousands of people gathering.

 

One last attempt to break free of whatever force controlled me proved fruitful, and I passed through the hole. Emerging on the other end, I was finally free of the restricting force but was too shell-shocked to move. If I still breathed, whatever air that was inside of me would surely have been stripped away. 

 

I was on the edge of a sharp incline, leading to level ground a hundred feet below me. The area I’d found myself in was magnitudes larger than where I’d hatched, with a giant crystalline pillar in the very center. Looking to either side, I saw similar ledges to the one I was on, wrapping around the length of the entire area. Other holes were visible, these tunnels evidently being a well-traversed way of getting around.

 

It was as if a god scooped up a huge portion of the land, leaving a space akin to an overgrown bowl. But even with this architectural masterpiece, there was one thing that held my attention the most.

 

Thousands upon thousands of green cubes, filling the entire pit. Even now, more spilled through the tunnels and tumbled into the pit to join their kin. 

 

As far as the eye could see, there were creatures that looked exactly like me.

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