Well, well, well. These sound like some pretty hefty concepts. Chaos, Atrophy, Null? Since the description said these Foundations are part of pure mana, I guess they're all around, I just can't see them. I wonder what sets them apart from all those mana types in the other Focused adaptation? If the big list are types of mana, and these are the foundations for mana...
Yeah, my brain is starting to cook, let's move on. I know they exist now, so that's... something.
Continuing my search for context clues, I skim over the various descriptions for any interesting buzzwords or multiple choice options. Over the next few minutes, I come to an understanding.
Trying to figure out context clues without the context required to understand said context is hard. I know a lot more terms, can follow the System descriptions' general flow now, and it's cool that I know a bunch of possible mana types, but I can't actually do anything with that information. Mana Weaving isn't very useful right now, I'll probably need to use it a bunch or even advance it before I can do more than play around with magic string, so knowing what types of mana exist doesn't make a practical difference to my survival.
Going down the last third of the list, I'm almost ready to head back up to the Photo-Receptor adaptation, when my eye catches on a suspiciously short description. There've been a few of them, but none quite this succinct. The shortest so far was the Extended one, which while simple, is still a potent upgrade.
Reading through this adaptation with a glance, my thoughts bubble with incredulity. Sometimes, simple just works.
[Dispersed - The presence of mana can be sensed anywhere within range.]
If I'm understanding this right, this adaptation would essentially give me a mana radar. I'd be able to sense mana not just around corners, but through walls! I can't do that now because whatever is closest to me either blocks or overpowers any mana behind it, but if I could sense mana anywhere in my range...
I was looking forward to seeing colours again, but this is way too useful to pass up! I won't have to worry about peeking around corners to keep monsters in sight, and I can use it to locate tunnels and hidey-holes because of how dense the mana is inside everything around here!
Before I jump the gun, I scroll to the bottom of the list to make sure there aren't any other insane options I've missed. Finding nothing but an adaptation that says it 'improves focus and clarity in a small area of your perception', I select Dispersed with an excited wobble.
[You have chosen an adaptation: Dispersed]
[Please note, you are unable to raise Mutation bonuses beyond your maximum level.]
My mutations are capped at my max level? So, like, +5? Well... I guess that's not so bad, I'll just have to focus on my other mutations until I figure out how to increase my level ca-
The mutation process hits me like a solid one-two punch, way more intense than my previous mutations. Adaptations are no joke, I feel like I'm getting a deep tissue massage with a pressure cleaner! I wouldn't say it's unpleasant exactly, giving me that nice wriggly sensation that accompanies digging in and getting a real good scratch going.
Once the rush of mutation passes, I 'look' around in fascination-
And almost immediately wished I hadn't.
I moan to myself. I've been here for a while looking through all those descriptions, I should have expected something like this, my brand-spanking new Dispersed Mana Sense revealing a monster approaching cautiously not fifteen feet away from my carcass-tle. Wobbling, I snap a look at my hit points, some of the tension loosening its grip when I see I'm out of the danger zone.
[Hit Points - 12/15]
I've only been here for... I actually have no idea how long. Dammit, why'd you have to show up now! I've only consumed inside the torso of the hyena so it didn't fall apart and I could eat in peace, which can't be more than a little over half of the carcass as the whole. Taking a second, half a sense on the approaching blob of a monster, I note I've gotten up to five Impurities again since spending them all to mutate my Mana Receptors to +5.
Observing the approaching shape and the general area through the abdominal wall of my meal, I note absently that I have to focus on a spot to get a good picture, otherwise I just have a general sense that 'some mana' is there. I wasn't expecting omniscience or anything, though, so I'll just have to practice and keep my wits about me, even if I can see through walls now. The monster has stopped about ten feet away, the shape of its body coming into focus now that I know to do that.
Oh. Well, I must admit I wasn't expecting... this.
While a good deal bigger than any I saw in my old world, the crustacean before me is unexpected in its normalcy. For all intents and purposes, it's simply a quintessential crab the size of a Doberman, even if the legs look a little sharper and the claws a lot spikier than your garden variety crustacean. The eyes, little passion fruit seed-looking things, resemble domed sequins set on the front edge of their shell, which would give it a comical vibe if not for the obviously deadly legs, claws, spiked shell, and overall size.
...Okay, so maybe they're starting on the back foot, but there's potential there!
I'd probably even say it's neat, if it wasn't planning on stealing my damn food! I nearly died for this you bastard, where's your sense of decency! Dishonour on you, dishonour on your family, dishonour on your seacow!
Obviously it can't hear me, or it has neither a family nor a seacow, because the crab monster scuttles sideways over to what must look like free food. I debate trying to fight this newcomer, but quickly dismiss the idea. My situation hasn't really changed from my first encounter, and my only protection this time is soft flesh, rather than wood.
I can't swallow my bitter irritation at being forced to abandon such a wealth of Impurities- I don't have a throat -so I shake myself like a dog shucking water. It doesn't have quite the same effect, unfortunately. It still burns but I back up, beginning the process of eating out an escape route through the opposite wall.
Making a snap decision, I pull up my mutations again.
[You have successfully mutated Digestive Molecules to +4]
I planned to do this anyway to boost my combat ability, so I may as well get the benefits now and hope they help me escape, or defend myself if something goes wrong. Maybe if I'd done it sooner I could have finished my meal before this mook showed up!
The now familiar bubbling fizz spreads through me as the crab reaches the carcass, extending a seriously thick pincer down to check that the hyena is actually dead. By the time it's satisfied, my mutation has concluded and my tunnelling accelerates by small degree. I've almost broken through when the pair of claws descend, sharp tips establishing an almost dainty grip on the loose hide of the monster's stomach, only to rip the layer of tissue I left untouched like tissue paper, one claw maintaining a grip while the other reaches inside to find the juiciest meaty prize it can find.
Unfortunately for 'Tha Claaaw', I've already emptied out the hyena's internals. Well, apart from the bones. I needed to keep the structural supports in place so I wasn't left crawling through a macabre, jumbo size sleeping bag.
I could make a small hole and squeeze my way out, but I'm gonna make this as easy on myself as I can. No way am I dying because I got caught out while stuck halfway inside a monster I just killed. I'd die of embarrassment before anything else had the chance to off me. Mutating there was the right call. Making a hole wide enough to accommodate my form doesn't take long, so I manage to break through the other side only a bare second before the crab shoves a carapaced claw into the empty chest cavity, the sound of snapping bone echoing through the trees.
Preoccupied by the puzzling emptiness of its piñata, the crustacean doesn't notice me puddle down and slither slowly for a nearby tree. I'm not a fan of the clicking sound its 'mouth' is making, an unnerving experience coming from something so big.
Ahhh, that's better. A nice, solid pillar of wood between me and things that want to eat me should be the bare minimum, so I'm glad that's been re-established. Taking this opportunity to flex my new adaptation, I focus on the mana on the other side of the tree, getting a clear image of the crab playing amateur butcher.
A little confused by what it's trying to do, a slime twisting CRSHKCKK! signals the dead hyena's spine snapping, cluing me in. Without its central support structure, the carcass is cut in two only a few claw snips later, the front half pulled a short distance away and set upon by the carapacial menace. Maybe it plans to save it for later? I'd love that option, but I'm nowhere near big enough to carry anything it wouldn't be better to eat right away, and I don't have a base of operations down here yet.
I wish there was more I could do right now, I really, really do, but I have no idea how I'd even hurt this thing. Apart from the eyes and the joints, this thing is all thick shell, and I doubt that'll be easy to digest if my experience with the Blade Scarab's namesake is anything to go by. I could probably do some damage, but with such a well armoured foe I'd rather not take my chances. I want to observe how they fight at a distance before trying to go toe-to-toe with one myself.
Casting one final glance at what should have been my rapidly dwindling source of Impurities, I slink off in the direction of the closest body of water, which shouldn't be too far from what I saw while up on the ledge earlier. Lining myself up with that big bell-like crystal as my central landmark, I trek quietly through the forest.
I think I'll call it Big Bell, has a nice ring to it.
Giggling to myself, I focus on my surroundings, practicing this strange new method of sensing mana. I can see everything in my highly malleable 'line of sight' just as before, but now there's an added sense of scope, like I've got a cloudy map overlaying my normal mana sense showing the location of any mana in an area around me. Measuring it out, the area is about a six meter radius, probably a sphere considering I can sense the mana in the leaves above and the ground below me. Focusing on the very edge of my range as I crawl toward a tree, the presence and shape of the trunk pops into my mind the moment I'm within six meters, distinct from my normal vision. It's like I have both a 'vision' screen and a 'location' screen now, the two of them occupying spaces in my metaphorical head that aren't quite the same, but are enmeshed enough that I end up getting the information from them at the same time.
Obviously that should be confusing as hell and give me a wild headache, but I'm processing the information just fine.
Welp, I'm not about to complain about something being too easy! Who cares why I don't have a headache. I don't, so that's that. Reminded of headaches, I try focusing on multiple mana sources at once like I do when I'm trying to be aware of more direction than once. After a bit, the strain hits, but it's no worse than using my vanilla mana sense. Sweet, I'll be much better at keeping an 'eye' out for moving mana sources now, like monsters trying to sneak up on me!
Speaking of mana, I need to keep practicing Mana Weaving! It still requires a bit of attention, but now that I've gotten the hang of it, I don't need to work so hard just to hold the threads together. Pulling my mana into shape and vaguely waving the thread around until my reservoir runs out is the most I can manage, the blue threads fraying into nothing after a moment spent drifting through the air. But I need to keep at it! Even if I don't plan to be a pure caster, I can't not use magic when I know it's an option!
I don't immediately run into any other monsters on my crawl through the trees, the landscape a middle ground between dense woodland and a temperate jungle. There's grass and ferns everywhere, large swathes of uneven ground scattered with round, moss covered stones and gnarled roots, and the air feels pleasantly cool and moist on my membrane. Warm light shines down from the crystal studded ceiling far above, filling the expansive cavern with gentle, diffuse mana 'sunlight' from no specific source. All in all, this place would be idyllic if it wasn't for the knowledge that everything here wants me for dinner.
Well, not everything, I remind myself. That slime had to come from somewhere, and if its desire to interact with others of its kind is as strong as mine, it probably doesn't live alone. I'm not simply aiming for water because I'll find some monsters to stalk, even slimes need to drink. If I wait long enough, I'll probably see one and get a chance to introduce myself! If not... well, hopefully I get strong enough from ambushing monsters as they leave to strike out deeper into the forest anyw-
[Mana Weaving has reached Level 2]
My rumination is broken by a most welcome interruption. Aww yiss, let's go! The improvement is minor, barely noticeable in fact, but it is there. Which is all that matters. Let's get you to level five as fast as possible, yeah? I'm not using mana for anything else at the moment, so I may as well be doing this non-stop.
Crawling over rock and under root for another ten or so minutes, I see a break in the trees up ahead. I'm pretty sure I've been heading in the right direction, so maybe I've reached water? I drop the thread I was about to form as I slink through the low brush, coming upon a large fern situated right next to a tree. Eyeing it cautiously in case it's actually a monster, I crawl closer, ready to attack if I sense anything funky. Thankfully, it appears non-sentient, the roots I can sense under the surface remaining stationary when I slip into the cover it provides.
Concealed beneath these broad fronds at the edge of a clearing the size of a large park, I survey the short stretch of grass ringing a large lake which occupies the vast majority of the space. The waters are placid, no sign of movement to betray the presence of anything beneath the surface. The open grass extends from the edge of the trees to cut off abruptly at the water's edge, bare earth descending into the lake at a steep angle. The only other characteristic of note about the lake besides the lack of monsters is-
[Stealth has reached Level 5]
[Stealth has achieved max level. Advance Skill to [Stealth II], spending 1 Skill Point?]
[Stealth II: Improves the skill-holder's stealth-oriented instincts, and further improves co-ordination to reduce unwanted motion.]
Freezing in place rather than dropping lower and possibly giving away my position, I look around frantically, scouring the surroundings with my mana sense, discovering yet another situation where not needing to move in order to look behind my back proves to be a considerable boon. Who needs eyes anyway, they're overrated organs!
Coming up with nothing, I feel the urge to sweat, but force myself to circulate. It's alright. Whatever is out there hasn't seen me yet, otherwise Stealth wouldn't have levelled up. Reviewing the advancement, I immediately spend the Point. This Skill may have just saved my life, I'm not about to hold back on improving the chances of that happening again.
[Success! You have advanced the selected Skill to [Stealth II]]
Looks like some Skills get tiers when they advance, rather than turning into new Skills altogether. Eh, I don't have any problems with that. As long as they're advancing, I'm happy!
Now, what do I do here? I can't see or sense anything nearby, so whatever I'm apparently hiding from is either super stealthy as well, or is too far away for my senses to locate. It's definitely not within radar range, so it might be too far away for my normal vision to pick it out... but considering I'd never approach an open space like this without even a little bit of caution, I'm thinking the first possibility is the most likely. Now I just have to hope whatever is hidden somewhere around here is a little guy like me, and not an ambush predator.
Yeeeahh, no way am I banking on that.
I debate my options for a minute or two, deciding on just waiting out the threat. I just ate, so I can go a while without food, and the monster blood hydrates me just as well as water (gross). So I settle in, my newly advanced Stealth II keeping me steady as a rock.
....
....
.....
How long is this going to take!? It's only been five minutes and I'm getting antsy; I'm not made to sit still like this, I need to move!
But I simply can't, I have no idea how close I came to being found out before. Whatever triggered the level up could have left, but I have no way of knowing that, so I'm stuck here! I can't even practice my Mana Weaving, because I need to move it around outside my body...
...actually, do I? I've been drawing the threads of mana outside my body because that's what the knowledge imparted by my skill said I should do, but its instructions also expect you to have appendages, so maybe it isn't all that well suited to unique body types? Giving it a shot, I tug energy from my Mana Heart into a thread, drawing it out into a thin strand of mana with one of my currents, then just circle it around inside my body rather than moving it outside.
I frown internally when the thread frays, slipping out of my current. It's like trying to make a balloon follow your hand only using the gust of wind created when you swipe your hand close to it. Mana follows- or is drawn to? -your Intent, and my currents are too amorphous a concept. The mental image-slash-concept of currents isn't 'solid' enough to lead my Intent effectively.
I'm about to declare the experiment of internal manipulation a bust when I remember another instance of manipulating something inside my body; my dearly departed scarab blade. I created membranes inside my body to grip it, could I do something like that for mana? My membrane is like one big palm, a surface that allows me to grip things and keeps me held together; it's literally designed to mould and be moulded by me.
Curious, I can't help wiggling internally, forming a membrane on one of the flat facets of my Mana Heart. How the hell I manage that I have no idea, I haven't been able to interact with it physically yet, but it still feels there, so I just imagine growing a membrane tendril the width of a single thread using the edge of the amorphous Mana Heart as the anchor point, which seems to work. That done, I coax a thread of mana into the tendril, like pushing a needle and thread into a pipe-
With an alacrity and ease that astounds me, a fine thread of mana anchors inside the tip of the tendril, held within the structure like it's been encased in glass. However, unlike glass, my membrane is exceedingly limber; a trait further improved by my Malleable Skill. I haven't really tried doing this since getting the advancement, so it's even easier than I remember, extending and manoeuvring the internal tendril as effortlessly as I once waggled my fingers. Guiding the thread of mana around inside me, I find it much easier to form simple shapes. I begin to wonder why it isn't fraying like it usually does, before an exceedingly obvious explanation comes to mind. Of course the walls of my membrane can hold the thread together without it fraying; my membrane shapes and contains the entirety of my mass without me ever thinking about it.
Maybe that instinctive understanding informs my Intent? I mean, it doesn't necessarily make sense-
Uh uh! It's working right now Luke, don't question it and it might not break.
[Mana Weaving has reached Level 3]
[Mana Weaving has reached Level 4]
Uuuhh... what?