The adrenaline that carried me through the fight bled away all at once, leaving my body trembling and my breath shallow. The vine creature's remains lay in a collapsed heap—tangled vegetation slumped like a dissected forest floor. Sap pooled around it in thick red-green puddles, steaming slightly in the cold air.
I swallowed hard.
I knew what Neo was going to say even before the notification pulsed in the corner of my vision.
Would you like to absorb the unknown entity?
· Yes
· No
"Neo…" I groaned. "Please tell me this is optional."
Neo's reply was almost sheepish. "Highly recommended. Not mandatory."
"You say that like a doctor holding a vaccine I never asked for."
Silence.
Then, a small text bubble appeared: "It would be beneficial. I promise no eating this time."
I eyed the creature's corpse skeptically. "You promise?"
"Yes." Neo wrote in a tiny font, as if quieting his own guilt.
"…Fine," I sighed, bracing myself. "But I swear, if I black out and wake up chewing leaves, I'm uninstalling you."
"You cannot uninstall me," Neo replied flatly.
"Then I'll uninstall myself," I snapped back.
Before Neo could comment, my body lurched forward—just like last time—like a string had been pulled from behind my ribs. My fingertips brushed the pool of leaking sap.
ANALYZING…
MANA EXTRACTION: IN PROGRESS…
Warmth spread from my fingers up my arm, spiraling through my veins like a slow-moving current. It wasn't painful—not like the cockroach—but it felt alien. Cool. Rooted. Something quiet and ancient humming through my bloodstream.
Then—
UPDATE COMPLETE.
NEW TRAIT ACQUIRED: Verdant Pulse
Description: You have absorbed a plant-based organism with an adaptive hunting structure. Verdant Pulse enhances your ability to sense life around you by interpreting small fluctuations in mana density. Passive ability: minor regeneration when in contact with soil or plant life.
My mouth fell open.
"…I'm sorry. I get a healing factor?"
"Minor," Neo corrected. "Approximately 0.4% regeneration every thirty minutes."
"So I'll be all healed in—what?—three years?"
Neo paused. "Approximately four months, if you remain in optimal conditions."
I ran a muddy hand down my face. "Fantastic. I'm basically half cactus."
Still, the feeling in my chest—strange as it was—felt stabilizing, like moss growing over a wound. Not painful. Not unpleasant.
The body of the vine monster twitched suddenly.
I froze.
But it wasn't alive. It was deflating, collapsing inward, shrinking like dried seaweed. The absorbed mana was draining the structure of its strength.
Within a minute, the corpse had become nothing more than a pile of wilted roots.
Something gleamed beneath them.
A narrow path.
Broken vines pushed aside.
An opening.
A lair.
I forced myself upright, wincing as my torso throbbed, but the pain felt… muted now. Softer. Verdant Pulse working already, maybe.
The lair's entrance was dark, its interior folding into tight spirals of roots and burrowed soil. I ducked inside, pushing past the curtain of vines. The air inside was damp and strangely warm, like stepping into a breathing cavern.
"What… is this place?" I whispered.
Neo chimed in: "Analysis suggests this was the creature's nest. Temperature levels are stable. Mana levels elevated."
Moss coated the walls in shimmering, bioluminescent streaks. Strange flowers grew from knotted vines overhead, dripping sap that glowed blue. Bones—small ones, probably animals—were stacked neatly in alcoves.
At the far end of the cavern, on a stone platform, rested a cluster of dry vines twisted like kindling. A nest.
And a perfect place to test something.
I crouched down, leaning heavily on the cave wall. I needed warmth. Drying. Stabilizing. And if I could make fire… real magic fire… I'd have warmth, light, and maybe a weapon.
I inhaled deeply, letting my mana sight flare.
Mana danced in the air—O₂, CO₂, N₂—hovering in slow streams like drifting fireflies. Energy waiting. Potential waiting.
"Neo," I murmured, "if I heat the air molecules enough—"
"You will ignite the oxygen and combustible materials present," Neo confirmed. "Proceed at your own risk."
"Appreciate the confidence."
I extended my hand, palm hovering over the dry vines.
I reached into the mana. Pulled. Compressed.
The molecules vibrated faster.
Heat coiled.
Pressure built.
Something sparked—
A snap of light exploded from my palm, a sudden flash of searing warmth, and fire burst to life—small at first, then crackling into a steady orange glow.
I stared, stunned.
Holy.
Holy shit.
I had just made fire.
The flames licked the dry vines, consuming them quickly but warmly. The cavern glowed gold, shadows stretching across the walls like moving silhouettes. I sat down beside it, letting the warmth seep into my frozen hands.
"This is… magic," I whispered.
Neo chimed in, matter-of-fact: "Correction: basic combustion initiated through forced molecular acceleration."
"Neo," I said, staring into the fire, "let me have this."
"…Magic," Neo conceded quietly.
I cracked a tired smile.
The warmth numbed the ache in my ribs and leg. Verdant Pulse hummed faintly inside me like a quiet drumbeat syncing with the earth around me. For the first time since waking in this nightmare world, I felt—if not safe—then something close.
Alive.
Capable.
Changing.
I watched the fire, listening to the rain outside soften.
"What now…" I murmured to myself.
Neo answered before I could complete the thought:
"Now you rest. Your injuries require it."
I leaned back against the cavern wall, letting my eyelids grow heavy.
For a moment, I allowed myself the luxury of believing Neo was right.