Start of Volume 2 (Pond)
Chapter 11
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In the stillness of a pond, a remarkable world thrived beneath the surface, a world teeming with life, energy, and interconnectedness. Here, in this microcosm of nature, a delicate balance was maintained between the living and the non-living, creating a unique ecosystem that was both simple and complex.
From this fragile balance flickering on the edge of collapse and ascension, a spore came into being. It was a spore not like the spores that already resided within the pond.
This spore was aware… It knew exactly where it was, why it was there, and what it was meant to be doing.
Wiggle, Wiggle.
Getting a feel for his new body, Astaroth still had the same slimy sensation as before, and his bodily functions were very similar to what they were.
"This body of mine… It's both the same, but better than my old one…"
Even though Astaroth had yet to develop a face, appendages, or anything of the sort, he felt that it was but a matter of time.
However, for now, he had to procure some food as he was utterly famished…
Opening his eyes and viewing his surroundings, the first thing that Astaroth noticed was the color of the scenery. Contrary to the splash of dynamic color combinations that was the Multiplicity Precipice, this place was pure white.
Within this blanket of whiteness, there were wiggly creatures, hard to describe and yet still alive.
These were all the tiniest of spores, and just like him, they were part of a small ecosystem on the side of a baby sponge. Though their kind usually stuck to fungi and the such, this was a world of magic, and in such a world, weird things happened all the time…
After looking away from all the weirdly shaped, wiggly things inching around him, Astaroth opened up his system interface and scrutinized all the most recent changes.
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{[Infinite Energy System]}
[Host: Astaroth]
[Evolution Stage: Spore] - [1/10 (G6)]
[Evolution Area: Spore Sanctuary]
[Energy Level: 1] - [0/10 (G6)]
[Energy Storage: 0/10 (G6)]
{[Current Energy Abilities:]}
[Level 1 (Spore): (Energy Absorption), (Unlimited Energy Absorption), (Spore Slash), (Spore Propulsion)]
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"Hmm… Hey, system, what is this all about?"
[Ding! The host has advanced through a major area, and thus the level of energy quality has surpassed all previous notions! Though you will actually be absorbing something called (Spore Energy), derived from (Universal Grade 6 Energy), it's much simpler to just keep it as (Energy), no?]
[Ding! As for your Abilities: since you evolved past a major area of existence, all previous abilities have been deemed completely useless. You no longer have an absorption speed indicator, meaning that you can absorb everything instantly, and absorb that thing in its entirety.
Similar situations are the common occurrence among your past abilities. All have been rendered useless and pointless…]
"Ahh… So it's like this…"
Upon getting the gist of the situation, Astaroth decided to put the system's words to the test and try out his new abilities.
First and foremost, he activated |Spore Propulsion| and pushed himself across the smooth, whitish brown surface below him.
He assumed it was the topmost layer of a sponge and made sure to use it to his advantage. Unlike the other defenseless and virtually motionless spores, he was nearly capable of ice-skating across the sponge.
In a flash, Astaroth was already right in front of a Spore Cell around twice his size. It was round and mushy, like a dough ball. However, the rough texture of the Spore Cell made for a vast contrast to its almost fluffy-like exterior.
"System, how long will it take to absorb something twice my size without my previous abilities?"
In response to asking the important questions, the system answered with:
[Ding! From this point onward, for absorption, everything larger than the host will be measured in 'blinks,' which vary depending on time dilation.
If something is twice your size, you will need two blinks to fully absorb and assimilate it. For something five times your size, you will need five blinks, and so on.]
"Ho? If that's the case."
Putting one of his slimy tendrils up to the slightly wiggling spore, Astaroth used |Energy Absorption| and counted the length of 'two blinks'.
"On-"
Before he could even finish saying the word 'one', the Spore Cell had already rapidly shrunk in size before being sucked into his existence, all done within an instant…
If viewed from a third-person perspective, it was like a miniature black hole was attached to Astaroth's 'stomach'. The black hole then gazorped up the Spore Cell in the time it took one to blink in repeated succession!
[Ding! You have absorbed 0.00001 (G6) Energy from a Tiny Spore Cell!]
"I see… This is too overpowered, is it not…?"
Astaroth looked down at himself and saw that he was now three times the size that he once was! And he obtained all this energy in two blinks of the eye!
After taking a few moments to revel in how overpowered he was, Astaroth figured it was time to try out the last newest ability.
"Spore Slash… This ability is surely some form of attack ability, no? I mean, I would be surprised if that wasn't the case…"
Fortunately for him, he was right this time around…
|Spore Slash|
With the activation of this ability, Astaroth watched as a light brown crescent-shaped energy blasted out from his body. Roughly half the size of himself and faster than his Spore Propulsion, it launched toward the nearest Spore Cell!
SLASH!
The Spore Cell was twice Astaroth's size, and even then, it stood no chance of hoping to defend against the devastating arc of energy. In one clean slice, it was perfectly cleaved down the middle, ending its short-lived life just like that.
"Hmm…?"
For some reason, Astaroth was expecting a different kind of system notification, but he forgot that this wasn't that sort of system…
It was a more overpowered one!
|Spore Propulsion|
Astaroth shot toward the Spore Cell and slurped up its body in the span of two blinks, causing his energy mass to once again triple in quantity!
"Even though this isn't that sort of system scenario, I seem to recall it saying something about absorbing 100% of everything I devour. So that begs the question: Why haven't I received any additional abilities from the things I've absorbed?"
Not even needing to bring up this question himself, the system flashed a bright blue and golden light. Shortly after, a system notification appeared.
[Ding! The host is correct in what he says, but with the lowest of lifeforms, the host will obtain nothing that he doesn't already have the best version of. Once the host ascends the wider level area 'Pond', he will then have more choices for absorption and evolution.]
"Wow… So I will eventually become some freakish monster with thousands of different abilities from thousands of varying species? How interesting…"
Not even particularly bothered by this daunting information, Astaroth was slowly but surely veering further from his humanity, becoming something different, something superior…
As the minutes passed by, a rogue Spore Cell went around and devoured anything that populated a small section of a baby sponge. While absorbing and assimilating, his evolution went on for quite a while. At least, that was until he encountered something capable of fighting back…
{[Info on new Abilities]}
[Level 1: Spore]
[Energy Absorption (Active)] - (The classic. Absorb any energy source in existence, assuming that one is capable enough.)
[Spore Propulsion (Active)] - (Propel oneself forward and travel on a sponge or anything like it.)
[Unlimited Energy Absorption (Active)] - (Absorb anything in existence without restraint. Needs to either be stronger or sit around long enough to finish the absorption process. Can also partially absorb existences…)
[Spore Slash (Active)] - (Condense arcs of spore particles and shoot them outward - |Deals 250% Energy Damage| for the Spore Sanctuary Evolution Area.)
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