'Hmm, some new skills, huh…I wonder what these do.' Yi Chang ruminates; going over the two new skills that were added to his stat sheet.
[Using skill:
[Using skill:
'Huh, another defense skill. That might come in handy if another Rice Bug decides to take a bite out of me.
And this
Moving that aside, Yi Chang turned his attention to the rest of his loot. 'Hmm, to use the item cards or to not use….'
The thought was pretty tempting, but he decided against it. 'Ahh, I'll just save them for later when my luck gets better.'
[Would you like to use 1x
This action cannot be undone.]
"Yes."
Ding!
[Used 1x
Suddenly, a green orb popped off the semi-transparent blue screen and into the ground. Soon, a tiny, green sprout appeared, which then promptly started to grow upward, creating the form of a humanoid plant warrior no taller than 30 cm.
'Wah, that's a lot bigger than I expected!'
Yi Chang figured that the plant golem would be only a few centimeters tall, but he sure wasn't complaining! Just having arms and legs again was already enough for him.
'Huh, wait. How do I get into this thing?'
[To use item
'Really? It's that easy?
Okay, I'll give it a shot, I guess.' Yi Chang tried to imagine himself possessing the plant golem. The feeling of being able to use the legs to walk and the movement of swinging one's arms.
Ding!
[Achievement: Form feet and legs; form arms and body, and I'll form the head! Successfully, assimilate with a proxy.]
[You've obtained +5 system points!
Total system points: 41 points.]
"Wah, it feels so fucking good to have limbs again!" Flexing his stiff, tiny mitten hands, Yi Chang felt a bit giddy as he did a few experimental laps around his original form. 'Hmm, but what do I do with my rice body?
Is there somewhere I can safely store this?'
Suddenly, a small cavity opened up in his chest. 'Well, that's convenient.'
Scooping up his true body, Yi Chang carefully placed it into his chest cavity. As soon as he did so, the hole closed up and he 'felt' his true form become cocooned in leaves and vines. 'That should do a decent enough job of protecting me for the time being.
Hmm, I wonder what my stats are now.'
[Name:
Titles:
Species:
Stats:
Lvl: 1/20
EXP: 0
HP: 16
MP: 0
ATK: 5
SPD: 5
DEF: 10
Luck: 0
Skills:
"Oh yeah, it's all coming together." Yi Chang smiled, satisfied with the growing numbers on his stat sheet. Closing the system screen, he decided to get used to his new form and do some exploring. Wandering around the grassy highland, he was barely taller than the long blade of grass.
'Hah, this can be a bit troublesome.
But hey, this is a lot more efficient than moving as a grain of rice.' If he were still in his original form, it might take him months—or even years, to get out of these fields.
At least with this plant golem, he might be able to make it out of here within the proxy's time limit; with some time to spare. Pulling open the system screen once again, a map of the surrounding area appears. 'Hmm, [Lintos Forest] seems promising, and it's only a bit north of here. Perhaps, I'll be able to find something small enough for me to fight so I can finally get some EXP and level up.
"Alrighty! The clock is ticking and the sun is retreating, I better get out of here soon.
I don't wanna know how well this body holds up against a stronger enemy."
After centering navigation onto the center of [Lintos Forest], a dotted path appears in front of him, guiding him towards the forest.
'Ohh, that's convenient. Okay, Linto's Forest —here I come!'
—
"Appraise!"
[Appraising… please wait…]
[Grass.]
"Appraise!"
[Appraising… please wait…]
[Rock.]
"Appraise!"
[Appraising… please wait…]
[Soil.]
Ding!
[Proficiency in skill:
'Oh, noice, noice!' Yi Chang nodded in approval. 'Looks like all of that shouting paid off!'
Since his departure from his stalk, Plant Golem Yi Chang managed to cover a sizable distance of land, despite his small form. Perhaps it was because rice grains don't grow tired, or the fact that he was too excited, but Yi Chang barely made any stops along the way.
'I suppose the good thing about being an inanimate object is that you don't grow tired or hungry.' However, that isn't to say that he didn't miss those sensations. After all, food was one of the finer things in life and to not need it all, was a strange feeling. 'Hmm, maybe when I evolve, things will change.'
By then, he would be considered a "living being," so perhaps his circumstances will change.
'Oh, wow, that's a HUGE bee!' In the distance, Yi Chang could see the fat, black and yellow bug lazily resting on a flower. It seemed to have fallen asleep, as its fuzzy, pollen-covered body splayed out over the flower's anther. 'Aww, it's kinda cute.'
"Appraise!"
[Appraising… please wait…]
[Species:
Lvl: 5/20
HP: 12
MP: 0
ATK: 8
SP: 7
SPD: 6
DEF: 3
Skills:
---
Small Honey Bees are eusocial flying insects that inhabit hives, in which they work to serve their queen and young for the rest of their lives. They are known for their construction of perennial colonial nests from wax, the large size of their colonies, and surplus production and storage of honey, distinguishing their hives as a prized foraging target of many predators. However, if one were to come too close, one might have to deal with the sting of defeat; as bees don't stray too far from one another.]
'What the fuck! For such a normal-looking bug, its stats and skills look pretty broken!
Especially that
Even though its skill duration is kinda short, that skill could make or break certain battles when dealing a final blow.
Hmm, too bad I don't have an SP stat… I wonder if I ever gain that skill I could still use it regardless.'
Ding!
[New Mini Quest Unlocked!]
[Defeat !
Reward: 25 EXP!]
'What the fuck?! You want me to fight that thing?! Isn't that the equivalent of me walking right towards my death?!"
'Plus, what the hell? That bee didn't do anything, so why should I jump into things unprovoked?
I'm just a humble rice grain, trying to get to Lintos Forest, don't mind me haha–' Yi Chang turned to leave; however, before he could, a sickening crunch was heard underfoot.
'Shit.'
..Bzt?... Bzzt! Buzz, buzz!!
The groggy, angry droning of a grouchy bug rang behind him as the fat honey bee drew its stinger.
'Oh my fucking god!'
Buzz, buzz—bzz!!!
The bee buzzed in a fury before charging right at him as its sharp stinger gleamed in the afternoon light.
"Sway!" Barely dodging the unforgiving stringer of the honey bee, Yi Chang suddenly felt an odd stinging sensation on his left arm. "Shit!" Right down the length of his arm, the threads of vines and leaves were sliced through!
[ -2 HP!]
[14/16 HP remaining!]
"Are you fucking serious?! Ugh!" Why couldn't he just appraise things in peace? Was it so hard to afford him this small thing? 'I can't believe even after dodging that thing; it still managed to land a hit!'
However, Yi Chang didn't have time to curse as the bee circled back for a second round!
Bzz, bzzz..!!!
Stinger raised, the bee narrowed its eyes at Yi Chang as its antenna twitched furiously. Within a blink, the bee was already zooming towards him!
Ding!
[You have obtained a new skill:
'Ahh, you couldn't have given that to me earlier?!'
"Duck!" Yi Chang felt his body suddenly throw itself on the ground, barely avoiding the vicious bee stinger again.
[ -2 HP!]
[12/16 HP remaining!]
"Fuck! When am I finally gonna get some attack skills and not all of this shitty defense stuff!
You know what?! Fuck it! Come at me, yah bastard!"
Bzz, buzz, buzz!!!
The Honey Bee seemed to grow infuriated with Yi Chang's taunts as its antenna thrummed rapidly and its stringer gleamed with a particularly healthy sheen.
'Gulp.' Yi Chang suddenly felt a bit sorry for his own well-being.
Bzzz—bzzz—BZZZ!!!
Charging right into Yi Chang, the Honey Bee's killing intent could not be masked as its stinger came down with one final blow.
"Huah!"
[ -4 HP!]
[Warning! 8/16 HP remaining!]
"I got you, you bastard!" Yi Chang triumphantly laughed as he held onto the Honey Bee's stinger with an iron grip as it tried to break free, stinging him multiple times in the process! "Heh, let's who would last longer, you—or me!"
As the bee wrangled to break free, Yi Chang started to bash its little head in with as much force as he could behind his tiny plant fist! 'Hah! Thankfully, this fucker's defense is as thin as tissue paper!'
The bee gradually stops stinging as its strength wanes and weakly tries to evade Yi Chang's hits, to no avail.
"Haha, not so tough now, are you, punk?!" Yi Chang laughs darkly as he sees the bee glare back at him with tired, hate-filled eyes. 'Tch!'
You brought this upon yourself fucker! Don't blame me for ending what you started.'
BzZZzzZZZ! Buzz—bzzZZ!
The bee thrashed in pain and anguish, but Yi Chang didn't relent on his attack. In fact, it only pushed him to keep hitting harder!
[ -2 HP!]
[Warning! 6/16 HP remaining!]
'Fuck!' Seeing his HP bar slowly get into the red zone, Yi Chang, 'I better finish this fucker off quick before it takes me down with it!'
Ding!
[You've obtained a new skill:
'Hah! Fucking finally!'
"Plant Punch!" Dealing one final blow to the Honey Bee, the satisfying bell sound rang of his victory.
Ding!
[You've gained +100 EXP!
Current EXP: 100/500]
Ding!
[Congratulations! You've completed {Mini Quest: Defeat !]
[You've gained +25 EXP!
Current EXP: 125/500]
[Achievement: You Like Jazz? Successful complete {Mini Quest: Defeat !]
[You've gained +10 system points!
Total system points: 51 points.]
"Haha!" Seeing the text on the blue screen made Yi Chang want to jump with joy! "I did it!
Oh my fucking god, I did it-
Ack!" Feeling pain run through his body, Yi Chang halted his celebration.
[Warning! 6/16 HP remaining!] Plopping onto the ground, Yi Chang tried to shut off the blaring alarm to no avail.
'Hah, maybe if I heal, then this annoying noise will stop.' Unfortunately, Yi Chang had neglected the fact that not only was he a homeless rice grain, but a broke one at that.
'Shit, I really have nothing?'
Looking around, he tried to appraise the surrounding area for anything that could help him.
"Appraise!"
[Appraising… please wait… ]
[Item:
'Whoa! Just my luck!" Picking up the Purple Honey off of the dead bee, Yi Chang observed the strange syrup. He had heard of bees producing purple honey back in his old life; however, he never got the opportunity to see it for himself.
The honey had a deep, amethyst color and glittered like stars under the sunlight. 'What do I even do with this?
I don't even have a mouth, so do I just slather it on me? But wait— wouldn't that just attract more bees?
Yi Chang pondered for a second before shrugging. 'Well, there's only one way to find out!'
Slapping the purple syrup onto his face; he waited for it to take effect.
'Hmm, this honey is surprisingly sweet!' Before, Yi Chang wasn't a fan of overly sweet foods, as he preferred savory and spicy flavors. However, whether it was because he was a plant or the fact that this was the first thing that he had tasted in the world — the honey was incredibly delicious!
The sweet and delicate honey had a very fruity flavor to it that he couldn't quite place and the texture of the honey indicated that it was freshly made.
He would've finished the rest of the honey off; but, he knew that it was better to save it rather than squander it away for some momentary pleasure.
Soon, Yi Chang could see his health bar rising until it was nearly full.
'Hmm, now that that's settled, what should I do with this bee corpse?' Yi Chang pondered as he looked at the crushed bee at his feet.
He didn't want to leave it, as he was hoping that by killing it, he would've gained some of its stats. And he didn't want some other beast getting to it, or the bee's buddies finding it.
It was truly a huge dilemma.
'Hmm, maybe one of those random item cards could help me.' Opening up the screen, he clicked over to his inventory and selected one of the cards. 'I should probably save the other one for when I might need it later.'
[Would you like to use 1x
This action cannot be undone.]
"Yes."
Ding!
[You have obtained item:
'Ooh! Now this could be very useful!' Especially for when he might evolve into a Rice Plant! 'I'm sure then, I'll need plenty of nutrients in order to grow big and strong!'
Stashing away the bee's corpse into the fertilizer box, Yi Chang figured that he had delayed his trip long enough as he could already see the treetops of Lintos Forest in the far distance.
"Alrighty! Continuing on to Lintos Forest!"