Fate Shift - Chapter 12

In the days since he first appeared in this strange world, Peter had adapted. The swamps which had once seemed so alien were already a second home to the slime. He knew of many safe places where he could sleep at night, had learned how to traverse the many dangers that abounded in the area, and felt a freedom he’d only dreamed of in the past.

Peter was currently wrapped around a tree branch in the swamp. His body had more than tripled in size since he’d first appeared. He estimated he weighed as much as a medium-sized dog by now. His size wasn’t the only change his body had undergone though; it was actually one of many. Peter had discovered to his delight that his slime body was capable of retaining traits that belonged to the creatures he ate. Even though he couldn’t take in every trait, some just didn’t seem to be obtainable, he was still able to absorb many of the strengths the creatures he ate possessed.

The new Peter had made great use of this discovery. From the Fel Greenscale, his very first kill, he’d gained a resistance to a number of poisons common to the local plant life. That had in turn allowed him to consume many plants, which had granted him various abilities.

From a carnivorous plant that consumed insects, a Hungry Leaf according to his Appraisal, Peter had gained the ability to make his body sticky. To be precise, he could make all of his body or even just a specific portion of it; produce a glue-like substance with an impressive adhesive property.

After eating the leaves of a tree like the one he currently rested in, Peter had gained his own version of photosynthesis. This had also turned his body bright green. From what he could tell the photosynthesis his body was capable of wasn’t enough to support his body’s needs. He still had to eat, just not as much.

In addition to those advantages, Peter had also gained several types of poisons from the other plants he’d eaten. Still, the benefits didn’t end there. He’d eaten plenty of animals too.

Early on he’d hunted small creatures, mostly frogs, small snakes, rodents, birds, salamanders, insects, and really anything else he could consume. The most common thing he’d gained from those early animals he’d eaten had been poisons and resistance to poison. He’d gained other things from them too but nothing that stood out in a major way. As a slime, a lot of the traits other creatures had weren’t suitable for his body. The main benefits he’d gained were enhanced senses, camouflage, and, strangest of all, instincts. Each time he consumed an animal he came to understand it better. By simply eating, Peter could learn his prey’s habits, where it liked to make a nest, when it was active, what it ate, and more.

As helpful as eating small creatures was, eating larger ones had a far more profound impact. Aside from the traits and instincts, eating large prey had a more significant benefit. Due to the uniqueness of his body, Peter could eat animals that weighed more than twice what he did. Even if he couldn’t engulf a creature whole, he could still digest one piece at a time. This in turn almost always led to Peter having to hide somewhere while he digested his massive meals. The result of those meals would initially be a major increase in body mass. This would be often be followed by a kind of evolution where he’d lose most of the mass he’d gained but become stronger.

The change after each evolution was quite noticeable. His strength, speed, reaction time, flexibility, coordination, and even traits he’d gained from things he’d eaten, they’d all be upgraded. Of course, as time went on those evolutions had increasingly smaller effects and, at the same time, his appetite grew larger after each evolution.

The first evolution had given Peter the confidence to explore the swamp. The second evolution had allowed him to start hunting the strongest creatures in the swamp, like the purple-furred monkeys called Bulti and the crocodile-sized Swamp King Salamanders. The third evolution made Peter the strongest living thing in the swamp. Just the other day he’d finished the fourth evolution. There was nothing in the swamp that posed a threat to him anymore.

Peter had already decided to leave the swamp and explore other areas; he hadn’t left yet though. He’d only just woken up and was still a bit groggy. As he extended his senses outwards Peter realized he hadn’t woken up by accident. Something was moving through the swamp brashly, creating quite a racket. No creature native to the swamp made so much noise.

Peter didn’t even think; he just moved. He shrunk his body into a tiny ball; then exploded forwards like a bullet, soaring through the air. Still in flight, he extended a long appendage, made it adhesive, and slapped it against a branch. The impact, despite its speed, created no noise. The tree branch barely shifted. Peter didn’t consciously know how he was able to do that, he just did it.

As he continued traveling through the canopy above the ground, Peter used many methods to move forwards. For crossing large gaps he shot himself using the incredible tension his body could produce. When landing a jump he used limbs he extended from his main body to catch himself. When traveling along a branch he’d slither like a snake or even make his exterior smooth, allowing him to slide downwards. When going from one branch to another one, he’d extend himself into a line, swing one end of his body over, catch the far branch, and then let go of the branch he’d been on before.

It didn’t take Peter long to get close enough to see what was happening. From a new perch in a tree’s crown he was able to spot a man. The man was middle-aged, wearing torn, silk robes of red and gold. The fat man was running with impressive speed, especially since he was badly wounded. His left arm was mangled so badly it’d likely never be used again and the other arm wasn’t much better. Peter noticed with interest that the fleeing man had no issue running atop the turbid swamp water.

Even as he shadowed the fat man, Peter turned his focus towards the men in pursuit. There were three of them, each separated by at least 100 feet. They were positioned around the fleeing man and seemed to be actively herding him somewhere. Whenever the man attempted to head in a direction they didn’t like, one of the pursuers would change position to send the man back in the right direction.

Due to his familiarity with the swamp, Peter was able to guess where they were leading their target. Although the swamp was mostly submerged in low water or small islands, terrain the fat man could no doubt pass through; there were a few locations that could hinder his flight. One such location was a large, mossy rock outcropping. Peter headed there and selected a new hiding spot between two boulders.

It didn’t take long for the fat man to show up and the other men appeared right behind him. The fat man looked ahead, glanced at his useless arms, and realized he’d never be able to escape that way. He turned and faced the three other men with a look of resignation.

Peter was finally able to get a good look at the three men’s appearances. The one in the center of the trio’s formation was tall and muscular. He was a black-skinned man clothed in a mixture of furs and steel armor. Three human skulls held in a rope net swung at the man’s waist; the net seemed to be tied to his belt. His eyes were wide open and visibly red, giving him a slightly feral appearance. His clenched fists seemed to be the only weapons he needed. Peter couldn’t find any other weapons on the tall man at the very least.

The man to Peter’s left was short and skinny, with similar garments. He carried a pair of hatchets in his hands and had a dagger strapped to one leg. This man wore his hair long and had strung bits of bone into it.

The last man of the three wasn’t actually a man but a petite woman. She wore blue and red face paint in a series of lines across her face. She held a spear in both hands and seemed more than willing to stab the fat man with it.

The tall man, who seemed to be the trio’s leader, called out to the fat man. The fat man shuddered and shook his head in response. The tall man raised a hand and the other two members of the trio moved forward, weapons at the ready.

The fat man yelled something and leapt at the three. A colorful wave of something gushed into the fat man from the air and disappeared in his body. The tall man reacted with zero hesitation; he leapt backwards while shouting a warning to the other two. They also began retreating but they were far too late. A dull “whoomp” sounded out, and a moment later the fat man exploded. A wave of multi-colored energy was sent in all directions from where he’d detonated.

Peter was protected from the blast by his position in the rock outcropping. The others weren’t so lucky. Only the tall man still lived, though he was burned badly. The other two had been vaporized; they hadn’t even left ashes behind.

An audible sigh was released from nearby, revealing the presence of a fourth person. Until he sighed Peter had been unable to notice him but now he found himself able to see a fourth person, standing right over the burned figure. Peter was horrified! How did he get so close without being noticed?

The fear from the man’s sudden appearance shocked Peter into action. He began silently moving towards the new arrival. The newcomer didn’t seem to be aware of Peter; his focus was on the tall man who seemed to be dying.

Peter concentrated on the newcomer as much as he could without sacrificing his awareness of the surrounding area. If a fifth person showed up he’d flee. As long as that didn’t happen though, well, he didn’t dare let someone who could sneak up on him go.

The fourth man was hard to look at. Peter’s senses kept slipping off of him and only his exceptional focus allowed him to remain cognizant of the newcomer. As he approached the man’s back he became certain that if his gaze shifted away for even a moment he’d forget the man was ever there. This person had to die!

Peter prepared himself; then he shot forward. He transformed his body as he flew towards the man, extending and condensing himself into a needle. He hardened his body into a solid, green spike. The man sensed something and rotated to face Peter’s body. The newcomer wasn’t able to do much more though; he was already dead. Peter passed straight through his heart and out the man’s back. Before he landed he’d already shifted back into his gelatinous form.

He’d gained the ability to solidify his body after the fourth evolution but he couldn’t maintain it long; it would only last for a few seconds at most.

Peter couldn’t help expecting another figure to appear and kill him; thankfully that didn’t happen. Still, just because no one had showed up yet didn’t mean someone wouldn’t come looking for the missing people. Peter had to move!

He created four appendages and coiled two around each of the two men’s corpses. Peter used those two appendages to pull the bodies even as he used the other two to drag himself forwards. He didn’t look it but after four evolutions Peter was strong; he made good time even while dragging two adult human bodies.

Once he’d moved them a ways away and hidden them in one of the nearby dens he sometimes slept in, Peter returned to the rock outcropping. After surveilling the area to ensure no one had come by he began consuming all the blood that had been spilt on the ground. Once he was satisfied he’d removed any trace of his involvement, Peter returned to where he’d stashed the two men’s bodies. He once again grabbed them and began moving. He was still much too close to where these two had died.

Several hours later, Peter finally stopped. He was now inside one of the only caves he’d found in the swamp and frankly, calling it a cave was perhaps a bit much. It was more like a rocky crevice in the side of a hill.

Peter was tired and hungry. Rather than hunt for something, he striped all the possessions from the burned man and piled them in a corner of the ‘cave.’ Then he enveloped the man’s body and went to sleep.

While Peter slept more people appeared in the swamp. They made their way to the rock outcropping before stopping there. Moonlight was reflected off the armor of one of the figures. He was clad in steel plate armor and carried an ensign that flapped in a light breeze. The design on the standard depicted a circle which contained three vertical lines. Beside the man decked in plate stood a middle-aged woman dressed in hooded robes. She held a small, cracked bowl in both hands and seemed to be looking at it deeply. The ceramic bowl seemed old; it had traces of paint but those traces were hard to notice.

The woman spoke first. “Five people died here. One of them was part of the caravan; the other four were bandits. At least one person self-destructed, so that’s probably how so many people died here.”

The man carrying the ensign frowned and asked “Were any of the people missing from the caravan strong enough to kill four bandits by self-destruction?”

“No and you can be certain I’d have known if such a person was in the caravan. I can confirm that two of the bandits died to the blast instantly and a third suffered fatal injuries. The fourth bandit wasn’t even touched though.”

The woman scowled as she looked at the bowl; eventually she sighed and said “The fourth bandit was skilled in anti-divination methods. I know he died but that’s the most I can say with certainty. My Earth’s Eye seems to be suggesting the fourth was killed by some kind of rare beast but I can’t be sure. It could’ve been a person that looks like a beast, a cultivator’s pet, or even a demon beast.”

“Let’s hope it wasn’t a demon beast. It’s bad enough having to fight demons in Martial Kingdom; if they were to start showing up in Elwur things would become much worse for humanity.”

Nodding, the woman replied “Yes. Still, I doubt it’s a demon beast. The fourth bandit was likely killed by a normal beast. One of the Swamp King Salamanders could’ve done the deed. Despite their size they can be quite stealthy at times.”

The armored man inclined his head in agreement. He said “We should still report this, just to be safe.”

“Agreed.”

The pair turned and headed back out of the swamp.

A new morning came. Peter awoke feeling stronger than ever before. He could tell, since he’d felt the same feeling four times before; he’d undergone another evolution. This one seemed different from the others though. Observing his body, Peter found that it was filled with a kind of energy. He wasn’t certain what it was at first, until he thought about the System of Fate.

‘This is Qi’ he thought? ‘Even if it is . . . what good does it do when I don’t know what to do with it? Hmm, maybe one of the two had a manual or something on them?’

Invigorated, Peter began sifting through the two corpses belongings. Aside from their clothes, Peter found the net with three skulls, a pair of bone daggers, some unmarked stone tablets, one stone tablet with a single symbol carved into it, and an unadorned ring. That was everything.

Peter frowned but didn’t give up. After struggling and fumbling with it, he was able to send some of the energy in his body out. It was difficult but he touched the objects with his energy one by one. Some didn’t react at all, while others barely. Then he touched the marked tablet with his energy and a information burst into his mind.

It took several minutes for the deluge of data to stop. When it finally did Peter noticed a new notification had popped up.

[By studying a foreign language you have unlocked Translate!]

[Translate can be used to convert other languages into your native tongue. Translate works with written and spoken languages.]

Peter was more impressed with this feature than Appraisal. With Translate he’d actually be able to communicate with other people!

For now, Peter decided to use Translate the only way he could. He applied it to the new information that had been stored inside his head. He could feel it working, though how he knew that he wasn’t sure. It was a feeling similar to when he’d gone swimming on his first day as a slime. It was just . . . instinctual.

Soon enough Peter was able to understand the information he’d received from the stone tablet. Some of it was a cultivation art, some of it was a collection of spells, and the rest was a journal. It seemed that today was a good day to do some reading.