> Initiating Reincarnation
> Welcome to Universe_42069621
> Error. The Soul is not compatible
> Error. Error. Error...
> Initiating workaround
> Please wait…
> Error
> [Manipulation], [Containment], [Distortion], …
…
I think, therefore I am.
I find myself in front of a desiccated corpse. How unpleasant!
I have no arms or legs, but it doesn’t bother me.
What am I exactly? I’m not too sure myself.
My body is like a cloud of darkness. Contained by a thin film of something. Magic?
I have no eyes, but I can see. I’m somewhere deep within the lush/dark forest.
I have no ears, but I can hear. I hear the sound of a flowing creek and distant birds chirping.
I have no legs, but I can move around. I float? I float!
I float through the mossy ground, my shadow tail dragging behind me. I float deeper into the forest.
A berry bush grabs my attention. It glares at me menacingly. Offensively.
It’s full of red, angry berries. Berries who mock me at every turn. How dare they?
I don’t like it. None of it. Enough!
Suddenly, I am reminded that… I’m rather hungry.
He, he, :3.
Berry Bush, you’ve picked the wrong enemy to mock!
> Manipulation
I pluck a single angry berry. Suspended in the air, the berry floats towards me.
It’s covering beneath my power. Its anger turns to fear.
Be afraid berry! Tremble at my power! Taste my might!
The berry has my full attention.
[RedBerry] – Info dump-like table appears in my vision.
=== RedBerry ===
Type: Mundane Forest Berry
Rarity: Common
Edibility: Safe (Unless allergic to joy)
Taste Profile: Sweet with a hint of earthy mischief
Effects:
[x] +5 Morale (temporary, lasts 10 minutes)
[x] Slightly sticky fingers
[x] May attract bears, goblins, and overly enthusiastic druids.
[x] May anger non-euclidean entities.
Description:
A plump, scarlet berry often found glaring from thorny bushes in shaded woodland glades. While harmless in nature, its vivid colour and defiant appearance have earned it a reputation among small forest folk as the “Warberry.” Popular among goblins for mid-battle snacks and adored by bears for its saccharine burst, the RedBerry is often a contested treat.
Trivia:
[x] Considered currency in some Goblin camps (20 RedBerries = 1 ShinyRock).
[x] Bushes are known to "bite back" if picked without manners.
[x] Some rumours claim that over-consumption leads to the Berserk status effect.
=== End ===
So there is that.
Should I… CONSUME it?
I’m hungry but something irks me about the berry. It’s plump and round, its shape spherical to the point of near perfection, and yet I find it… annoying. This is not a true perfection!
The berry, despite its fright, mocks me further.
It’s not appetising. The berry is infuriating!
I haven’t eaten It yet, but I find myself overcome with a near Berserk rage!
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> Manipulation
With anger, I crush the berry. It implodes upon itself.
The annoying berry is no more. It has been transformed.
A tiny droplet of red liquid, amorphous and trembling, is flowing in its place.
[RedBerry Juice]
If not pleasing, I find it acceptable. This will have to do.
It floats closer, ever closer. Right up to my being. Right up to where my membrane is.
A hungering vortex spins inside me, opening a tiny hole.
> CONSUME!
*Woosh, the juice is sucker right in.
> Energy +1
> +5 Morale (10 minutes)
I feel… I feel!
I feel joy. I feel a sweet sensation in my core.
I’m fuller but not quite content.
One after the other, I pluck the berries. I transform them all.
With great gusto, I shove them into my hungering vortex.
> Energy 100.
Finally, I feel content.
Content… but not satisfied!
In my oh-so-gentle attempts to pacify the angry berries, the bush has “bitten” me.
> BerryBush uses BiteBack
> You take damage
> -1 HP
That’s it. This is War!
I direct my justified anger at the berry bush, slaughtering the offensively spherical spheres one by one.
I show no mercy, none whatsoever. The Bush “bites” back.
> You take damage,
> You take damage,
> You take damage…
> …
Taking damage is unpleasant. I don’t like that feeling.
Eventually, I and the bush make Peace. After all, it has no more berries. So perhaps, it is my victory?
The fruits of my labour are floating right in front of me. A floating ball of trembling juice. Defeated and amorphous like it should be!
I’m not hungry anymore so I could just let the blob go. But something deep within me tells me that I’m not a wasteful fellow.
Instinctually I know what I must do.
It’s something that might break the short-term peace between me and the bush. Not that I care.
I take the floating amorphous blob of RedBerry Juice as my captive. He he he… My prisoner of war.
> Contain
The amorphous blob is disciplined into shape. It’s put within the confines of a perfect cube. A thin layer of mana, not unlike my membrane, is keeping it all in place.
I’m overfilled with joy. I find this shape most pleasing.
I marvel at the perfect cube flowing idly in the air. It’s spinning at a tilted angle.
If anything, I think the cube is happy, and the now-transformed berries are happy too.
Yes! They are freed from the oppressive tyranny of Bush. Freed from their offensive spherical containment.
Welcome to the cubical Utopia!!!
My new captives citizens, cheer in joy:
[RedBerry Juice] x 1 – a message blinks into my vision.
Apparently, I’ve crafted... a single serving of berry essence. Somehow, I just know.
Lacking anywhere to shove it into, I order the cube to float behind my back.
> Manipulate
The cube is eager to do as told. My rule is absolute.
No, I am no despot! I am not the Bush – the cube follows me out of its free will. Of course, it does. YES!
Cube: +1 Social Credit. -– I award it for its efforts.
The cube spins in joy (at a tilted angle).
Alright!
With my Energy Reserves full, I’m eager to capitalise on the remaining minutes of +5 Morale.
Adventure awaits!
But hey… What are goblins? I’ve never heard of them.
Curious. How curious.
…
