Chapter 8: Adaptations (Patreon)

After refining the Nebula and Vitrum, I made a valiant attempt to search for the baby rat, but in the end, I spent most of my time lost in the labyrinth of tunnels for a not small amount of time. Eventually, though, I finally found my way back, where I discovered five adult rats that immediately fled upon noticing my glowing eyes. I thought this odd as the other rat simply ignored my eyes previously, but I chose to not ponder it for long. As for the baby rat and paste, there was nary a sign of it. So after searching and not finding the rat for a while, I decided it would be better to spend my time practicing with my rope.

First, I set four upright red bricks next to one another and step out over the murky water.

‘Aye, let us see about controlling the noose...’

The continuous use of the word rope and noose causes my body to fidget.

‘In truth, I rather hate calling it by either of those names…’ Musing names for the noose, a memory that seems as if it was several lifetimes before, crosses my mind. ‘Aye! I shall refer to it as cattail! Preacher Daniels flung the cattail cordage I crafted into the hedges calling it poor craftsmanship. Thinking back, it was rather insulting! As retribution and for the sake of my sanity, I shall become Constance Grand Master of the cattail! It sounds rather elegant, in my opinion!’

‘‘Aye! It appears Earl agrees that my ar·na·ent... ar·ne·ment… however thou pronounces that word should be cattail!’

Straining my mind and focusing, the cattail slowly starts to unravel from around me.

‘Although I have never had a tail before, I can imagine the feeling is reasonably similar. Not that anyone shall ever correct me otherwise.’

The feeling is odd as I flex and imagine it as a cat’s tail, purposely ignoring the fact it runs from my neck and not my lower back. Pondering the best way to attack, I eventually decide to bend it in a way that resembles a scorpion tail, excluding the stinger.

‘I shall start with the brick to the far-left, strike!’

The cattail moves quickly, and a moment later, a red brick is thrust against the wall by the cattail. Yet, the cattail is unable to support its weight, and the brick drops to the ground with a thud. Watching the events unfold, my mood declines a bit for a couple of reasons. First, the cattail rammed the brick and continued to do so instead of simply hitting it and stopping as I wanted. Second, what I hit was the farthest brick to the right, leaving the left-most brick utterly untouched.

‘Hmm, but it held the brick firmly against the wall, so perchance, I could try this.’

Lifting the cattail, I glide it over to the poor lamented brick. Moving to its side, the cattail expands like it did when it engulfed the rat, and similar to the rat, I have it engulf the brick. Soon the tail heaves itself upward, and I can see the brick suspended inside the haze rotating within the end of the cattail. Suddenly, I notice a small bit of red haze flowing down the cattail. When I take a closer look, I can perceive the pulverized remains of a roach being digested. An unpleasantly delightful taste or feeling washes over me as a new purple wall appears.

‘It must have been squashed by the brick… I am simply going to pretend that I did not just enjoy the taste of a roach.’

Shaking those thoughts away forever, and with the red brick in the cattail, I swing it around a few times. Although it worked as I hoped, I now find it difficult to raise the cattail, and its speed and dexterity have also significantly diminished.

I hoist it once more and endeavor to strike with it. My actions are awkward, so I repeat them several times to help myself adjust to my unusual weapon. However, I am abruptly interrupted by a new blue wall.

Effectively losing all focus, the cattail slumps to the ground. ‘What? There is the Cosmic System again, except, this time, it says, “+1 Strength?” Is it speaking in some sort of code to mock me? It is impossible for my strength to have literally increased, is it not?... Of course, I am a lady made of haze floating around in tunnels beneath an impossibly large city overrun with massive beasts, so I suppose I should make certain.’

Focusing, the cattail wiggles, and I am surprised to find it easier than I anticipated. Bringing it down upon the floor, a small indication is made in the stone.

‘It really seems to be better!? B-but…’ Lifting my arms, I can see the haze spinning. ‘I do not even have flesh! Is it changing the haze, the shell, the flame, or all of them? I do not know, nor do I know if I shall ever get an answer, but this makes them incredibly important to my survival! I only have eighteen left, and one seems to have been used when I was enjoying the taste of a mouser-sized rat!... There must be a way to view these stat things, right!? I need to know what there is I may increase! But how? I do not even know how to look at the ‘Status’ thing!’

As if knowing I wished to summon it, my ‘Status’ appears.

‘My Status thing! It has arisen!’ I eagerly study the Status wall, searching for any mention of the previous walls the Cosmic System delivered to me. ‘Odd. I do not see “Perception” nor “Strength.” This is the same as it was previously... actually there were more words at the bottom. Well, there is a word in the corner. Chronicles?’

Suddenly, the wall vanishes, and a smaller wall appears.

Before I may even comprehend the words, it disappears, and the wall, I believe, I have been searching for replaces it.

‘This is it! Yet… Good lord. What are all these numbers!? There are a lot of them! What even are most of these? I could take guesses based on meaning for some of these, but Orenda and the… are they meant to represent colors? Regardless they are total mysteries! I can only speculate that Strength and Perception improved because of what I was doing; if that is not the case, I have nary an idea of what is. Still, how does one train something like Fortitude, and why is Mend Rate zero?’

Hoping and praying that Earl will answer a question, I ask,  ‘Earl, is there anything you can tell me? About these “Chronicles” or, for that matter, anything at all that may assist me in growing stronger quicker? Something to do with my ar·e·nent... my cattail perhaps?’

Reading Earl’s message, I raise my hazy arms high. ‘Earl! These are what adaptations are?! This is what the Nebula and Vitrum are for!? Earl, why hast thou never mentioned this!? I have been struggling since I arrived… This should have been one of the first pieces of knowledge thou informed me of! And that is utterly ignoring the issue with the part about “flame will be snuffed”!’

As I have come to expect, Earl does not answer.

‘Nevertheless, I shall forgive this transgression this time, Earl! Let us move past this and look through this “adaptation” business.’

I ignore the odd sensation of wishing to smirk but having a form that is simply incapable of such an action.

‘Aye, the warning is a bit concerning; I cannot let my Essence ever drop too low. Still, I cannot let that dissuade me from gaining strength, so let's see… The first adaptation seems as if it would not be the most suitable choice since even a brick may slow the cattail. However, that strength gain might just solve that problem. The risk would be not knowing exactly how much of an increase in strength it would give me.’

I take a moment to swing the brick around before proceeding to study the remaining adaptations.

’The next adaptation is to add a “spear-like point” that could solve my problem when it comes to killing less cruelly, but it's rather simple, lacking versatility. The third seems to be like snake venom, but if the effect is similar to when people inhale the haze, then it is not that practical. As much as I hate to admit it, the roach one might come in handy, but it is pretty strange and not a sound option right now. As for the last one, it is costly, and my haze already has that effect to an extent; I do not need it to be worse than it already is. Also, Earl, what does this ‘R’ mean?’

Earl does not answer, so I simply push it to the back of my mind.

‘Like everything else, the mysterious ‘R’ will reveal itself in the future.’

I nod at the purple wall while moving my finger between two adaptations.

‘That just leaves the first or second adaptation... Earl, I shall take the first adaptation; I believe it possesses the most potential for long-term variety.’

Suddenly, the flame of the kiln shines radiantly in my belly and releases a thick black haze. The haze flows from the kiln and slithers up my belly, into my neck, and into the cattail. When it reaches the end of the cattail, the threads split and then rejoin. Following this, the entirety of the cattail is dyed dark black with a slight sheen. The red brick that was already floating within the cattail is still visible, but slightly less so. Curious, I again summon the chronicle screen to find that some numbers have changed. The percentage of ‘sable’ increased along with my strength and cattails power.

‘Strength has only gone up by one, but the cattail’s physical power has doubled! Additionally, sable's share of the percentage increased while the others fell. I still do not understand what the supposed colors are, but perhaps it is related to the haze? That is the only guess I have. As for the remaining numbers, I suppose, to put it as simply as possible, I just need to make them higher… I think? Mathematics was not the subject I found most enjoyable, but I at least understand that the higher numbers are resulting in greater benefits. Anyway, let’s see how things have changed.’

Promptly finding it much easier to move and raise with the brick inside, I again lift the cattail, except this time more like an arm holding a hammer.  With all the force my cattail can muster, I bring it down.

**Bang!**

And for the first time since I arrived here, I do not feel like a roach waiting to be squashed.