The next day... right?
I'm not sure. The world, this world, whatever it is and wherever it was is weird. I've been here for some time already and even with my limited senses, I couldn't help but notice.
The world isn't right, the sky especially. Sometimes it glitches, or cycles unnaturally between twilight and noon.
It was just confusing. Well, just one of many things that is confusing about this world. Or how else will I, a human suddenly be living as a plant?
Did I die? Is this reincarnation?
I honestly don't know, my memory's been feeling a bit hazy since waking up.
Another thing I noticed is the threats I've faced since awakening as a seed. Maybe it's just my paranoia talking, but I can't shake off the feeling that the insectoid and plantoid threats feel a bit too... deliberate.
Like they're spawned, not natural.
It was a crazy thought. And also the feeling when I just woke up as a seed as if something flashed before me and I didn't pay attention enough or I forgot.
All in all, this world is just plain weird. Well, it can't be helped.
All I have to do is simple, focus on living. And growing.
The soil trembled with life, and threat.
It's been some time already since then but victory still left a strange aftertaste. The rival plant I had consumed had become part of me, its nutrients woven into my being, its essence now another line in the web of my roots.
I should've felt safe, even proud. But instead, I felt watched.
Every subtle movement in the ground seemed louder now. Every root I brushed against could be prey, or predator.
My parasitic roots slithered beneath the surface with growing confidence. Under the soil, I felt at home now. My roots? They were longer now, stronger, fed by the spoils of my first kill. And they wanted more.
Hunger pulsed through me like a second heartbeat. This world didn't reward patience, it rewarded dominance.
And then, I found a cluster of nearby sprouts. Fragile, naïve, barely aware.
Before I could do anything though, the now familiar interface lit up again, interrupting me.
[WARNING: Territory Violation. Trial Hostile Entity Deployed!]
>Objective Progress: 0.3%.
'Objective? What objective?'
'These weird notifications again'.
I didn't pay too much attention to the notification this time. After all, I had juicy prey before me. I didn't want to alert them due to being distracted.
With careful stealth, I extended a single probing tendril toward the closest one. The moment I made contact, I unleashed a silent invasion; piercing its soft root, siphoning away its meager life force.
This guy couldn't even present a resistance. It withered in seconds.
A rush of nutrient points surged through me. A second followed, then a third.
[3 Sprouts Absorbed- NP Gained: +9]
It was too easy. My confidence swelled like sunlight on my leaves.
Until something moved.
The soil beneath me shifted violently all of a sudden. A deep pressure pushed back against my expanding roots. Something thick, coarse, angry.
A massive root, gnarled and pulsing with dark sap slammed into me, severing one of my tendrils.
Pain lanced through my body.
[WARNING: ROOT SYSTEM BREACHED!]
>Defensive Action Required.
I'm an outskirts kid right? I should be used to pain right?
But no, pain feels the same every single time, raw, unpleasant, and unfailingly vile. If I had a throat, I would have snarled in anger.
I recoiled, instinctively redirecting energy from my growing leaves to my underground network.
[Invest 5 NP to fortify parasitic roots?]
I didn't even think to understand what it meant. Anything to alleviate my pain and most importantly, survive.
The change was immediate. My roots thickened, sprouting barbs and curling like vipers around the intruding limb.
A violent, silent battle erupted beneath the surface. No sounds, no roars; just the tearing of the earth, the writhing of roots.
It was a plant, yes, but not a passive one. Not like those foolish bastards who died to me without even knowing how. And yet, I could not help but which that all my rivals here were like those fools.
Its own roots lashed at me like whips, coated in natural toxins. I felt parts of my network die, seared by chemical burns. But I was faster. Hungrier. Smarter.
I burrowed beneath its main stalk, aiming not for its defenses, but for its core.
Pierce. Drain. Consume.
It shrieked, not with sound but with vibration. A last, desperate struggle as I stabbed my roots upward, into its lifeline. Sap burst like blood.
[HOSTILE PLANT ABSORBED]
>Bonus Trait Fragment Detected: TOXIN RESISTANCE (25%).
The heat of victory filled me again. But it was different now.
That fight had cost me. Parts of my body were damaged; roots blackened, energy reserves drained.
Something brushed my leaves.
I screamed internally as a chunk of my upper stem was torn away. An insect. No, worse, a rodent. I couldn't see it, but I could feel it chewing.
'Just f*cking godamn...!'
'Can't a plant grow in peace?!'
I was blind. Vulnerable.
I had no teeth. No claws. Nothing to stop the slow devouring.
[WARNING: UPPER STRUCTURE DAMAGED]
[PHOTOSYNTHESIS EFFICIENCY- 40%]
>Recommend: Evolve Defensive Mechanism.
I trembled. Not from fear, but fury.
Above and below. There were enemies everywhere.
The hunger in my roots had become a fire. But now that fire crawled up my stem, demanding more than growth.
I needed to be dangerous.
Not just beneath the surface.
[EVOLUTION OPTIONS UNLOCKED- CHOOSE ONE:]
>Thorned Stem: Defensive barbs to deter predators.
>Lure Scent: Attracts nearby insects (Unstable).
>Camouflage Bark: Temporarily conceal presence.
I stared at the options, my damaged leaves trembling in the breeze.
In this world, there was no such thing as peace.
And I would grow teeth.