I leaned against the nearest tree, pressing my back awkwardly against the bark to take a deep breath. I jerked immediately with a cough as pain stabbed sharply through my chest.
“So… no deep breaths. Noted.”
I let my right arm hang limp at my side, fingers brushing softly through the grass. Slowly, carefully, I relaxed, trying not to move too much.
For the first time since the spider attack, the forest felt peaceful. Only then did I really look around.
My surroundings were…
Beautiful?
I was still in a forest of sorts, but not as desertic as the oaks and redwoods. The trees weren't as close here. There was a distance between the trunks; three to seven meters.
I opened the LEXICA BOTANICA window.
Two tabs greeted me: [Plants] & [Biomes]
One of them recorded all the biomes I've visited thus far: Redwood Forest Biome; Oak Wood Forest Biome & Flower Forest Biome.
Ah, that explained it.
The grass here grew tall and soft, shimmering with subtle hues. Hidden among the blades were countless tiny flowers of every imaginable colour, peeking shyly from beneath the green.
The plants tab was about flora, obviously, but the only important record was Dreamrot. A plant that seemed to bloom in this very biome, but in rare quantities—and only at the base of the surrounding trees.
My gaze lingered on one of them longer than it should have. Temptation crept in.
If I ate more, I would probably heal faster.
Keyword: probably.
But I didn’t want to... y'know...
[Narcotic] & [Addictive].
I already risked my life through ignorance, thinking I was the protagonist of a cozy, craft-your-life genre, which almost got me killed.
If I made another mistake like that… I might not get a second chance.
Then a realization hit me: this line of thinking itself felt wrong!
The plant wanted me to debate it. That narcotic effect craved a user who argued back and forth on the topic of its consumption—so I stopped thinking about it entirely.
“I’ll heal through my own willpower.”
…And by willpower, I meant another questionable vice: Gambling.
Yeah, I knew how that sounded, but the system wanted me to roll the dice. That mechanic existed for a reason. Even if I didn’t get healing, I’d find another way forward. I promised myself that much.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Before gambling, I prayed. I begged for a healing ability, or a regenerative one, or literally anything useful for my situation! I'd take even the smallest, insignificant heal — just something to get me through the chaos.
But I doubt prayer alone would be enough, so just in case, as a last-ditch effort, I plucked 3 Dreamrots and shoved them in my pocket.
Use only if everything goes wrong!
That's it then. I exhaled slowly and focused on the interface.
“Alright… Use the two remaining dice throws!”
The screen darkened again, just like it did last time I used it. Two glowing pyramid dice dropped from above, striking the invisible surface below with a crystalline clack.
Back then I spent a whole minute watching their stupid dance, but this time?
I waited longer.
Three whole minutes to be exact.
I waited them patiently.
The dice spun wildly, bouncing off unseen walls, ricocheting into the ceiling, skidding across nothingness as if it deliberately tried to tease me.
Then—
They stopped.
Ⅳ …and… Ⅳ!?
My breath froze for a moment.
“D-double four?”
The notification window followed immediately, but this time the system treated the outcome as a whole, rather than separated numbers like it did last time.
Ⅳ – Lucky Roll!
Unlocked skill!
[Poison Resistance]
+4 System Points Awarded
Ⅳ – Lucky Roll!
Unlocked skill!
[Surge]
Cost: 25% of the user's maximum mana
Touch a target with your palm to release a burst of internal heat.
+4 System Points Awarded
EXTRA REWARD
Morph Entry Unlocked: Slime
Poison resistance!? That spider didn't have a poison bite, right?
Appraisal didn't detect any poisonous effects one me either, so I was fine.
Good.
Moving on.
That Surge skill seemed useful, extremely practical. Especially against creatures with tough exoskeletons. A certain armored spider with almost perfect immunity to fireballs came to mind.
So far, the rewards were good, but the real treasure was that Slime.
Finally, some relief!
? Notification!
? 【 Morph Skill 】
Morph had been updated!
Slime Traits Acquired~
Abilities:
None
Togglables:
Slime Membrane
Permanents:
Ultra-Slow Regeneration
Pain Tolerance
Corporal re-structure: Body, muscles and bones will become softer.
My body tingled immediately, loosening slightly—my muscles had become more flexible, less rigid, just like the Permanent's description had explained.
Weird, but not unpleasant, and very, very, extremely-very welcome!
I gained a new toggle, but to activate it... I had to first remove my makeshift healing plank.
I hesitated, then carefully unwound the bindings away. I nearly barfed at its sight.
The wound was still monstrous; torn flesh barely held together by uneven regeneration.
“…Okay,” I whispered. “Don’t throw up.”
I used the Slime Membrane toggle.
The change was immediate.
My abdomen felt better, the hole clearly filled up with something, but with what? The answer to that question was visible in the shoulder.
The open cavity didn’t close with flesh, instead, translucent blue slime flowed into the gap, filling it completely. The substance pulsed faintly, stabilizing the injury as a living organ.
My shoulder no longer sagged and the pain lessened a bit.
Inside, the blood vessels, the flesh and muscle strings floated towards their respective spots.
It looked… wrong, a see-through blue. Very, very transparent. A visible reminder of how badly I’d been hurt. But beneath the unsettling appearance the ultra-slow regeneration ability was doing God's work on me.
? STATUS WINDOW ?
══════════════════
Name: Zephyr Diana*
Race: H?um??aN?
Sex: Female
Age: 17
══════════════════
Level: 5
XP: 7 / 16
══════════════════
System Points: 18 ??
Dice: 0 ??
══════════════════
? VITALS ?
══════════════════
HP: Don’t Die ?
MP: 50 / 50
MP?: 3 / Min
SPD: N / A
══════════════════
? TITLES & SKILLS ?
══════════════════
? Reincarnator ?≡
├ Status Window
├ Appraisal
└ Converse
══════════════════
? Extra Skills ?≡
├ Dice「D4」
└ Morph
══════════════════
? Unlocked Naturally ?≡
├ Carpenter
├ Blacksmithing
├ Accuracy Ⅰ
└ Poison Resistance
══════════════════
══════════════════
? KNOWLEDGE ?
══════════════════
? Arcana ?≡
├ Fireball Ⅰ 「3 MP / Cast」
├ Torch Ⅰ 「5 MP / Min」
├ Sleep ? 「6 MP / Cast」
├ Cleanse Ⅰ 「7% MP / Cast」
└ Surge ? 「25% MP / Cast」
══════════════════
? Weaponry ?≡
├ Sword ? Swordsman
├ Spear ? Lancer
├ Knife ? Rogue
├ Scythe ? Executioner
├ Bow ? Archer
├ Claws ? Savage
├ Shield ? Tank
├ Guillotine ? Executioner
├ Kunai ? Rogue
├ Shuriken ? Archer
└ Trident ? Lancer
══════════════════
? Bestiary ?≡
├ Demonic Rabbit
├ Salmon
└ Dark Spider
══════════════════
? Culinary Grimoire ?≡
├ Roasted Demonic Rabbit
└ Roasted Salmon
══════════════════
? Lexica Botanica (Plants) ?≡
├ Dreamrot
└ Sapling*
══════════════════
? Lexica Botanica (Biomes) ?≡
├ Redwood Forest
├ Oakwood Forest
└ Flower Forest
══════════════════
?? MORPH ?≡
══════════════════
? Demonic Rabbit ?≡
├? Toggles
├ Rabbit ears
├ Rabbit feet
├ Rabbit tail
├ Demonic horns
├ Demonic fangs
├? Permanents
├ Jump boost +
├ Superior hearing +
├? Abilities
└ Paranoia Bite
══════════════════
? Salmon ?≡
├? Toggles
├ Slippery skin
├? Permanents
├ Water breathing
├? Abilities
└ None
══════════════════
? Slime ?≡
├? Toggles
├ Slime membrane
├? Permanents
├ Ultra-slow regeneration
├ Pain tolerance
├? Abilities
└ None
══════════════════
