Where did it go wrong? What did I do that I had to die?
A painful tingling sensation spread across every fibre of his being, every cell spoke of agony and resurrection. Might as well stayed in the crevice he died in, though he wanted to embrace life instead of death. And death was coming for him at alarming momentum.
Then he opened his eyes, light and darkness came in as a muffled pack of voices, whispers... Some of the whispers told him to live, to move, to open his eyes and see the word. Others whispered of death and hell, of demons and ghosts of the past that might haunt him in the near future. He was in a cave, a cold, dark cave as he concluded whilst cocking his head. With an excruciating push, he got to his feet. He overlooked a magical circle at his feet, drawn in crimson blood and smelt corruption in the air.
He sniffed, followed the pong about half a hundred meters into the darkness of the cave. But the dark never bothered him, his eyes adjusted right away to the point where he saw the inside of the hollow as clear as the day. Further on, he stumbled into a dozen corpses, strewn across the place, mutilated, mangled and maimed like a butcher's shop. The smell was bad, but the blood was worse. The bright crimson red had darkened with time, and his feet swam in a puddle of gore. He was barefoot, and his legs were shorter as well as his arms and body. He was younger, a kid.
Thirteen corpses were counted and he swore that if he'd continued into that cursed hole, he would have found many more farther. He decided to avoid any hassle with whatever was living in there or whoever might have done that atrocity and fled outside.
It took him some time, but as he followed the sounds and calls of animals, he finally made it out. Shimmering light blinded his vision, sweet scents of flowers and honey filled his nostrils. He trailed what seemed to be babbles and burbles coming from a stream or brook until he unveiled a rill of clear water running in a snake formation. The waters that rippled softly mirrored his angelic face of a kid.
His hair was of silver-white, fine threads rich in albinism like his eyebrows and eyelashes. Blue sapphires were sculptured in the shape of big, round eyes. His skin was as white as snow and the sun gently kissed him as he patted his face.
I'm so pretty, he said to himself. But whose body is this? He fondled his chest in the hope he'd feel pointy breasts and hard nipples, though he found a flat torso. Even the boyhood he found between his legs spoke of a male kid.
He leaned over, admiring his newly found beauty in somebody else's body. I wonder how old he is? He asked.
A voice in his head answered.
"The estimated age of this host is close to thirteen years of age."
He was stunned at first. "Who spoke?" he looked right and left, up and down.
"I am a fully mechanical and spiritual working process otherwise also known as a helper, a dictionary, encyclopedia, vocabulary, computing system and much more. Does this answer your question, Master?"
Master? This voice does seem to be only in my head. Is this like a game where I can have a little fairy helper or in this case a female voice in my head? It surely feels surreal.
He closed his fingers in a fist and opened it again. He went on five more times before noticing some black dirt underneath his nails. A duo of deer were drinking at the other side of the rill and further down a grey spider as big as him frolicked in the shallow waters. He'd never seen a spider grow as big as that, neither did its species match with any one of his knowledge.
"Computer? What kind of spider grows that size?"
The female voice in his head answered right away. "This species of spiders is the third evolution of the overall Arachnid. The third Arachnid is called Arachnideus. The second one is called Aracheus, the fourth evolution is called Marach and the fifth and last evolution is called Deusarach. The Arachnids typically live in tropical forests with abundant food and fresh water. This territory is the perfect habitat for these types of creatures. Their alimentation consists of practically anything they can get their fangs under, which compensate their growth."
I was right. If the creatures in this world can evolve, I could evolve as well. Though I like this face.
He ran a finger on his ruby lips. The red mesmerised him to the point that he bit his lip unknowingly and the blood camouflaged in the red of the lip. He stepped into the water. It was cold and he sank to his knees. He trapped some fresh water and swallowed a sip. It tastes like normal water, he thought. But purer.
"Unique Ability in motion... Devourer! New element added to abilities... Scanning water... New ability unlocked... Water manipulation added..."
Water manipulation?
He cupped some water in his hands and focused on it. When his head began to ache, the water rose into the air in a globe of transparent liquid. Then he focused again and the liquid became solid then sublimation kicked in and vapour came forth.
Huh! It's actually quite easy.
The spider down the rill had let itself in the water, the sun had taken it on its hottest hour and the creature wanted to cool down. The boy had an idea. If what I eat can turn into abilities, which means if I eat evolved animals and creatures I can obtain their abilities as well... A risky bargain, but this body doesn't seem to be humane. I have fangs as well...
He swallowed some saliva, a beam of sweat rolling down his brow. He tucked his silver-white hair behind his ear and steadily advanced towards the creature. It had six black, gleamy eyes and four pair of spiky legs that could impale him more times that he could count. That was if he could get to him.
That spider was probably was a lone wolf, it had injuries from a prior fight. The water seemed to calm it.
The deer had long jilted the rill. The boy took a posture, worms of water circled him and with a flick of his arm, the worms went for a meal. He trapped the spider into a sphere of water before it could attack or retaliate. The spider struggled and spewed a black, toxic venom into the water, in vain. Anon, it drowned and died.
He flung it on the shore.
Before going ashore, he let himself take a little dive beneath the waters. His clothes looked of rich quality but torn and dirty and now wet. The spider looked like a nightmare, not at all a good meal.
"Computer, if I cook the spider, will I still obtain its abilities?"
"Negative! The magical particles the spider uses is turned into natural forms of predatory defences. Fire is one of the pure forms of magic and one of the ancient elements. Fire can destroy magical particles in the spider. Raw flesh is the best and only way to evolve in this world. That is for you, Master. But the flesh will sate your hunger as well as your magical core."
It seems I would need to eat the freak raw. It doesn't please me in the least.
Though he complained, he ate it where the flesh was more tender, under the abdomen. It tasted disgusting, slimy and fishy and he retched a dozen times.
"Unique ability, Devourer, in motion... New abilities added... Arachnid Poison listed as unlocked ability... Arachnid Web listed as unlocked ability... Ability Mimic updated... Archinideus listed..."
"What are my unique abilities?" he asked.
"Three unique abilities listed... Devourer Ability... It allows the holder to copy whatever abilities the creature or object he ate had... Mimic Ability... It allows the holder to mimic whatever creature it had eaten... Communication Ability... It allows the holder to change the soundwaves into comprehensible words and allows the holder to communicate in whatever language he desires. End of Unique Abilities."
So now I can turn into a spider! I don't even want to know how I would look like. This face and body might be the prettiest I've ever been. Though in the modern world, I was an architect and a first-year resident doctor. And I was also the king of video games. If this place abides by video games' rules, then I'll beat it. I'll beat this world. But I don't think if you die here, you'll just start again at the checkpoint. And I was already given a second chance. I won't let this life go into squander.
He sat down. His silver-white hair brushed against his shoulders. His wet clothes stuck to him like glue and his stomach cried for food. Not that crappy, inedible spider that had been chipped of its flesh a little over a dozen times. He wanted real food. If he'd known earlier, he'd have started by those deer by the rill. They looked appetizing to him. But he wanted a hamburger, a plate of carbonara, or pizza... All the food made his mouth watered.
Because the sun had been stalling over his head, he'd found some cool shade under a great green tree. He rested his head against the trunk and took a catnap.
He woke up two hours later.
The air smelt the same, the ground felt the same way as before under his bare feet. His clothes dried up a bit, but they were damp. The boy knew that night would fall in a few hours and he was in unknown territory, beasts and monsters will soon lurk in the dark. Butterflies and moths were fluttering, wheeling above his head. Some landed gracefully on his silver and took off, they landed again then took off once again. It amused him and let out a soft, childish giggle.
Night might be the most dangerous time of the day. I need to find shelter and food. Good food. Maybe I should ask 'computer' for directions...
"Computer, do you know where I can find shelter and food? Do you know where we are?"
The voice in his head never failed to answer.
"Magical and non-magical creatures consist of a stable source of food which could be found throughout all the world. Location isn't integrated into my system. I only know that we are in Croeazia, the world divided by kingdoms. Our current location remains unclosed. All I can see are from your eyes. Unless we find some famous monument, I can't help..."
Oh! I should have known that you were limited. I had my hopes up for a second there.
He got up.
I'll find my needs myself.
The first thing that popped up in his mind was the cave he awoke in. His body was laid in that hollow for hours and no harm came to be. Barring the corpses he found deep inside, but the corpses were rotting and corruption didn't lure in any monstrous creatures. He deemed it a safer place than the forest at night and went back to that place.
On the way, he stumbled on a black snake as long as ten meters. Its eyes shone of a threatening red glow and bared its fangs at him.
When it spewed a cloud of black smoke at him, he leapt and dodged. Remembering his earlier encounter, he tried using his water ability, this time he added pressure and boiled the liquid to almost evaporation and struck. The head of the black snake collapsed on the ground and its body went into a powerful spasm and lashed its tail in every direction until it finally dropped dead. The boy wouldn't let that escape his unique ability and chomped into the beast.
"Unique Ability, Devourer, in motion... New Ability, Black Basilisk Poison listed... New Ability, Heat Detection listed... Micmic Ability updated... Black Basilick listed..."
Good. At least with these mimics I'll be able to scare off lesser monsters and humans as well. And now I'm a hundred percent sure I'm not human. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to eat any of these poisonous monsters. Least of all this basilisk.
He took two more bites and walked to the cave. There he used his Web Ability to secure a place in a corner. He made a cocoon of fine white threads and waited until the moon and stars dominated the sky and cradled his head in his hands and slept.
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