Chapter 11: Chapter 9: Swarmed

Swarmed

I don't like this

“No!” I pull her to the clothes I want, the pretty ones

“No, Those are for girls” she pulls me back

“No! That!” I don't like what she wants for me

“You are a boy! You don't wear dresses!” she is angry, but I don't like it

“No boy! That!” I try to break her grip, but she squeezes harder “No!” I feel tears on my face and keep pulling

“Listen to me!”

Slap!

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‘…!’ I shake awake… ‘Did… did that actually happened… or it was just a dream…?’ I can’t remember ‘Can you see my dreams?’ I lie down in the crevice I found yesterday, after cleaning the blood of the wasp in the river

-Why would I waste my time IDIOT?!-

‘Just a question, nothing else…’ now that I think about it… ‘Are you aware that I have my memories of a previous life?’

The screen closes and opens, but closes again before I can read it… it repeats that for a while…

-That explains a few things. It doesn't justifies becoming a FUCKING ANOMALY! But explains why it happened-

‘… let me guess, every time I did something that surprised you, you just assumed it was related to the Anomaly, right?’ the windows closes ‘Hehehe’ I look out of my shelter, moving slowly because its still cold, there is a boar drinking water so I don't move, even if it is on the other side of the river… ‘I don’t think that the fishes are going to get close to it…’

This crevice was made by the roots of one of the light colored bark trees, pushing a rock, it lacks fruits… I wonder if its because the ones I saw with fruit were hermaphrodite trees… the rest of the trees don't show any kind of flower or production of seeds… no idea why…

‘Seasonal reasons? They only do it every few years? I have time, I’ll figure it out eventually… right, the flower… I am south of the crater, I’ll go east then south… I still have a fair bit of distance before the “danger” zone’ hopefully I get that plant today ‘Plants would be a miracle… or not… I still have to take them out, even if I find them… Status, EP Shop…?!’

‘So… that wasp could have chopped me in half… Crushing sounds better than Stronger, so I guess that what I get is the prerequisite, then I will see a… Crushing Jaw? In the Shop, but… is that why the Pest was bigger? It had a Magic Stone in it?’

-Not all monsters have one of those, you LUCKY FUCKER!-

‘I don't see it as luck with that cost…’ I’ll probably save the points that I get until my evolution, just in case something else appears in the store ‘Those two… yeah, I want them… need to figure out what Deeds give more EP…’ the horned boar is smelling the air now ‘Go away! I am thirsty and hungry!’ and cold… ‘How I am casting spells then…? I know I have “Magic” in my species name but-’

-Hey IMBECILE! Do humans have Magic Stones inside them?! Or are you an STUPID! That failed biology?!-

‘Oh… I am using human magic… ok, thanks!’

Focusing in the void… a bit over the half mark…? It does feels bigger… but I should save my magic for today…

‘Thinking about magic… if I get the flower today, then I might peek inside the house and cast Cleanse on the old woman, just to see if it does something’ hopefully it does… and its something good… ‘It “purges the unwanted” I am pretty sure she doesn't want to be like that!’

The boar snorts and goes back into the woods… wait… wait… moving to the water now

‘No other smells…’ I look to the water, but I don't see much… ‘Don’t try to jump at me again you…’ surely the fish that tried to jump at me yesterday, while I was cleaning the wasp blood, wasn’t the same one than before… right? I take a couple of mouthfuls of water before moving away ‘I’m going to murder a lot of fishes… not today, but eventually…’ I glare to the water while baring my fangs ‘I’ll feast!’

There is a smell coming from the north, is mixed with the smell of yesterday’s wasp, but I ignore it, and move east

‘Not interested in actual carrion eaters…’

-----

There is something off… not like the Grudge… but I do feel something really bad around here… what worries me the most is how… subtle, it is

‘It reminds me of the bad smell from the city…’ I have been sliding east for about half an hour… I am hungry, but the only thing that I have seen, was a bunny that saw me first and ran… ‘Blood…’ that is also coming from further east, is a blood that I don’t recognize… ‘South for now… this… is for after I evolve… or maybe even later… thanks you Instinct…’

I move under a bush, but stop once I reach the other side, right in the ground in front of me is the footprint of a boot going east, another reason to not go there, but… I don't get human smell from it, looking around reveals nothing. I slowly get closer…

This looks like an animal trail… a line in the ground of the forest that has nothing, but compacted earth… this is the first one I recognize and only because the print…

‘It doesn't look old enough for the smell to disappear completely…’ I can see the edges of it clearly… ‘That should mean that is fresh… right? I know it hasn’t rained yet, but still!’ I still get no smell, I cross this trail and move further into the south ‘Humans that can conceal their smell…? Better equipped than the others…? More dangerous zone…? Magic…? Up to no good…?’

All of those, trigger my possible correct answer response…

‘All of the above then… Avoid, not that I could do anything else… Um?’

One of the bushes nearby, after passing by another tree, has a lot of red flowers on it… they don't smell at all? I get closer and taste…

‘They are not masking the smell of the bush… I still can tell this has a plant smell… but the flowers themselves are… either not producing, or beyond my smelling capabilities…’ this is odd, to me, for multiple reasons… ‘Why some bushes are with unripe berries, others already ripe, and this one flowering…? Is the ecosystem in that much of a mess…? Me, that I don't know enough about plants? Or the plants here aren’t following a schedule? Can I blame magic on this one?’ not quite the right answer… except for the one about my ignorance, that is probably the reason, but… ‘There is something weird about this forest, I just can’t tell what it is…’

Something for later… but now I am worried that winter is closer than I think…

‘Um…’ looking inside the flowers I see stamen surrounding… ‘Can’t remember, or I never knew the name of that part of a flower…’ I touch the stamen of one of the flowers and deliver, the small pollen that sticks to the back of my claw, to the center part of another flower ‘Sorry if that was useless…’ the wind flows around me for a moment and I see some of the pollen moving from the flowers ‘Oh! Nice! I have a way of training air magic now! Thanks!’ I move away

I need to find that sweet smell

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‘I have a bad feeling…’

So far the trees are the same, the same kinds, the same height, but I can’t help but feel… unrest… the more I move in this direction, the more my unrest grows… the same subtle scent as before is nearby… together with the monster’s rotten presence… I peek behind a tree to look forwards and-!

‘Flowers!’ under one of the trees, that is taller than the rest, there is a small patch of white flowers ‘Finally! Now I have to find something to eat…’ I slowly move forwards to the plants ‘I’m not south enough to get a “danger” alert so I might try to track a-!’

One of the bushes to the east of the tree shakes, I stop and stare as three pest tear through it and run to the-!

HISS!!!

‘STAY AWAY FROM THE FLOWERS!’

Ska! Ska! Ska!

‘Three versus one?! EASY!’

HISS!!!

I have their attention and they slowly walk towards me while growling

‘Ia! Imbue Arms!’ not how I wanted to test this but… my claws glow and the three monsters roar at the same time

One starts running while opening its mouth, another one moves to my side and charges to me with its mouth closed and the last one goes low, preparing to jump

HISS!!!

They ignore my threat, so I wait, before moving to my right to avoid the open mouth, while using my left claw to slash at it, making it bleed from the mouth. I swing my right claw down, on top of the other charger, pinning it down and biting-!

‘Ow!’ I avoided the jumping one with my bite, but it glanced the back of my neck as it flew by, I let go of the one I am pinning and move away turning to keep them in front of me

The one that jumped is turning around and growling, the one with the cut in the mouth goes low, the envenomed one is thrashing in the ground

I move my head from one side to the other, quickly “Sliced” and the “Jumper” charge, stopping with the idea of another jump, I move to the side preparing my tail, and when they get close, I slam it down on the one I haven’t damaged yet, I looks stunned. “Sliced” tried to move away, but I manage to bite and envenom it, before pulling back

‘Did they got smart-! AAAHHH!!!’

HISS!!!

BITE! BITE! BITE! BITE! BITE!

‘MY ARM!!!’ HOLD! CRUSH! CRUSH! CRUSH! ‘DIE!’

Crack!

The one I envenomed first jumped and took off my left arm!

HISS!!!

‘IA! STOP!’

I let go of this one, it should die soon! The one stunned, hit! Hit! Hit! Hit! Hit! Stay down! The other one is rising! Bite! No venom! Hold! Crush! Crush! Crush-! IT KICKED ME! Crush!

Crack!

Let go! The last one! Bite! Coil! Crush! Crush! Crush!

Crack!

Keep crushing!

Crack!

Ding

‘AAAHHH!!!’

HISS!!!

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I let go of this one, is death, blood is pouring out of the remains of my left arm, I also have blood going out of the place where I got kicked, two scales cracked, one got pierced

‘Ia! Imbue Eyes!’ the infection first ‘Ia! That what doesn’t belongs in the body under my gaze, be purged! Cleanse!’ as the glow focus in the hole, the blood coming out gets darker and it squirts out, before becoming crimson again ‘Ia! Flesh broken from the outside, grow back and take your place! Regrow!’ once again I am seeing how the tissues under my scales knit together, but it stops before it reaches my “armor”

I am still bleeding from my arm… should I still Cleanse it…? Probably not a bad idea…

‘Ia! That what doesn’t belongs in… ugh… the body under my gaze, be purged! Cleanse!’ unlike the other wound, there is less “dark blood” coming out this time… I am getting low… ‘Ia… Flesh knit together, bandage, bind, seal, Suture’ the bleeding stops as my stump contracts ‘Ia Stop… good enough… speak to me’

-If you can Regrow your frontal leg before evolving, it will become fully operational afterwards-

‘Thanks… I still have some magic… I will wait until sunset to Regrow it for a bit…’ I am tired and hungry

Ding

‘Again? Status?’

‘Noted… ow…’ I move to the monster that ate my arm, is the one that I injected with more venom, so I am eating it first ‘But they where stronger than before- OW! Right?! I am not mistaken?!’ need to be more careful as I move… ow…

-Swarming: Improves Characteristics when attacking the same target with other members of the same species. More members, more power. Yes, IDIOT! They were stronger…-

‘Thanks, but they were going to attack the flowers, I panicked… ow… excuses, I know, you don’t need to tell me…’ I finish eating the first one ‘I have 25 points… might as well, EP Shop, Buy Stronger Fangs for 20 EP’ the warmth spreads in my head and focus in my jaw for a moment before going away ‘Okay, now lets-’

‘Uh… that is good to know… I wish I had know about this sooner, but I am not complaining… my arms count for this Deed? Or they were in the same List as… ow… some kind of evolution trap?’

-Reptile Legs aren’t part of a snake normal evolution path, so, no, your LEGS! Are not part of the Deed-

‘Thanks… ow… what can I do now…?’ I am trying to relax for a bit, my arm hurts and the adrenaline is going away, making it more annoying to deal with… ‘Traits? It as been a while since… what?’

‘What?’ if I focus on them I get another screen with the description, but I still remember what most of these said, the problem is… ‘Why is that one repeating? The weird shape of the list I get it, its because below that, is what something that eats me receives, but why-?’

‘What the…? Wait… that is one of the message screens… unknown three times… message? Unknown five times, snake…? I, or, You? Understand? The? Message. Or…? Wait… so the Status I am seeing is… fake? I am getting a translation or an approximation because I don't know the local language…? Then why I don’t-?’

-Do you want a “Nail” in the head right now IMBECILE?!-

‘Nope! I’m good! Gardening time-!’ the daily roar shakes the forest ‘Asshole! One… two… wait… those are not the right flowers… three…’

I count to ten and slide to the plants… the closest one just has four petals and they are completely white… the next one has six and the blue is too intense…

‘UGH! Really?!’

HISS!!!

‘Frustrating…’ I look to my other “meals” ‘I don’t want to waste… “food”… lets look for a hole by the roots of this tree, or nearby zone, then we check the plants… delivery… ow… delayed until tomorrow… maybe…’ I move to one of the monsters and bite to-!

HISS!!!

‘OW! Ow! Ow! My arm!’ by trying to pull it with my mouth, I strained the stump ‘Fuck! It hurts!’ this is going to be annoying ‘I… I’m going to drag them with my tail… slowly… but lets check the roots first, before pulling anything…’

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‘Ow… it hurts!’ I hiss again… there was a cavity in the roots, big enough to stash the monsters, pulling them here was beyond painful… I look at my arm… ‘At least I am not bleeding…’ using my other claw I make a small hole in the ground near the opening, moving this arm also pulls the muscles of the other side ‘Ow! Ugh… good enough… how many does she needs…?’

I get the feeling that more is better in this case…

‘Ugh…’ I look up, to the branches covering me and the flowers, enjoying the light that manages to sneak towards me… the subtle smell is mixing with that of monsters and is overpowering the one of the flowers ‘And I am next to the flowers…’ I look at the plants ‘I might be able to identify the smell by getting close… why did so many copycats spawn here? Is even one of the plants she needs here?’

I slide to the plants again… red edges, you are not the one… three flowers in the same plant…? None of them is the one… solid white, nope… four petals, negative… this one is aquamarine, and the petals are too short… this one hasn’t bloomed yet…

‘Come on! Two people might die if I don't find it…’ this one has eight petals… ‘Three, actually, I don't think the old man can survive the grief, not at his age…’ black edges? I move away from that one ‘Yeah, you are poisonous-! OW! What?! OW!’ I got close to one with thorns and it poked my stump ‘WHY…?! Purple edges… you are pretty, but damn it! Not worth it… not bleeding, thankfully’

This is not working, this is not working, this is not working-

‘Calm down!’ my wound is hurting, a lot ‘Lets rest, I still have sunlight, there is not need to find it this instant-! YOU!’

Five white petals, light blue edges, just one flower, this is it! This is… the…?

‘Not…?’ something is off… ‘The leaves…’ on this plant the leaves are pretty big, sharp and pointy ‘Another copycat?!’ the stamen on it are also really big, even if I don't remember the exact size of them in the previous flower, in this one they are so big that I don believe they are the same-! ‘UGH! Bitter!’ definitively NOT the same plant!

I move out of the flower patch and coil next to my food

‘All of this, for nothing…? No, I still have time, I just need to keep looking… I am going to rest, may even try to… how do you meditate…? Does that help with filling the void?’ I look to the flowers… ‘Empty your mind…’ I lift my head staring forwards ‘Focus in the breaths…’

…

…

Wind moves the branches, the leaves, the flowers

‘Breathe…’

…

…!

‘There! Light blue! Move!’

Is on the northern side of the patch, five white petals with light blue edges, small leaves, sweet smell, perfect!

‘You will save lives! Thanks you!’ I slowly dig it out, I only have one hand to do it ‘Careful, careful, there!’ I hug it with my claw and move it to the hole I made before ‘Moving more than one out of the forest is going to be slow… but I’ll try it anyways!’

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‘Seven! Not a bad haul…!’ I don’t know if its because my poor attempts to meditation, but staring at the flowers gave me this many… ‘Well… two of them look a bit different from the others…’

The difference is in the inner part of the flower, some of the shapes are… different enough, to make me doubt if I got five, or two, of the correct flowers. There was also one plant that had two flowers instead of one… but I didn’t pick that one, even if it was perfect in every other way, I also should leave some behind… even if I see another one now I am not picking it

‘Seven, or five should be good… I’ll deliver all of them and… hopefully in the text, the one that wrote it explains everything in detail. I didn’t pay enough attention to the first flower, or the drawing, my bad’ something to improve in the future ‘Void… near the half mark… so, is either this place, the plants, or I am actually meditating, but I have some magic now’ I ate the second one, not long ago ‘Time to Regrow!’

I coil near the entrance and look at my wound, I have been wondering about the spell, as my mind wandered in my meditation, so I’ll try a new variant

‘Ia Imbue Eyes! Ia! Flesh, bone, tissue and scale devoured by the enemy! Grow back and take-! your place-! Regrow! OW!’

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

‘AAAHHH!!!’

HISS!!!

‘Ia! Stop!’ I fall to the ground

…

The smell of monsters is still prevalent, but is to the northeast, I’m going to be worried about them the whole night… right now…

‘Ow…’ I cannot move it… the claws on it are short and blunt… the scales are barely there and they are transparent, instead of white… ‘Ia… Imbue Arms-!’

HISS!!!

‘Ia! Stop!’ that took almost everything I had… the sky is getting red… ‘My right arm got imbued like normal, but my left gave me a painful shock, from it, to my head…’ I try to lift it… it trembles, a lot, but it moves ‘Good… I am hungry again… this spell is really expensive…’ I move to my last meal of the day ‘This one is the one that died by constriction’ I bite it and deliver most of the venom I have made after the fight

Now I shallow it

‘Status, Spells’

‘As expected… I was wondering if imbuing my arms and then attacking something, was going to give me some kind of power up, or a variant in the spell… but I will need to make a custom spell for that, I guess…’ I finish swallowing and look at my arm, the flesh looks an unhealthy red under my clear scales… my scales are not the right size either, they are supposed to be interconnected, but I see gaps in my arm ‘This is not good enough, right? I need to use Regrow more?’

-Right now is barely acceptable. Evolving will fix the rest, but are you STUPID?! Or do you know what will happen if you leave it like this?-

‘Evolving and Regrow use the same kind of resources? If I don't do more, then I starve to death the moment I evolve…? Sunlight will also harm me a lot…’ the windows closes ‘Alright, meditation for a while… sleep and tomorrow after breakfast, with the void full (I hope) more Regrow’

I am near the level cap… despite everything, I feel like smiling…

‘Tomorrow I might evolve!’ I lift my head from the ground and look at the flowers ‘One step closer to… a happy life…’

…

‘Breathe… Clear the mind…’

…

…!

‘Another one! Good! I am not taking all of them!’ that takes a weight off my “shoulders” I look at the seven plants near me… ‘I feel really happy right now!’ but I need to try and calm myself to meditate ‘Breathe…’

…

…

‘Hehehe!’ ok, this will take a while…