****

Part of the old story, make sure to check out the remade Alteration here.

***

Blake watched with amazement the scene which unfolded before his eyes.

How did I miss this...

He stood on the side of the clearing and looked at the canyon.

The angle and grass are already good enough to fool most in my opinion, this is just ridiculous.

The continuation of the forest that he saw previously wasn't as normal as it looked before. It was quite far from Blake so he only noticed now that he was at the right angle that the forest was floating . Chunks of earth were in the air above the canyon camouflaging it. There was a lot of them, but no truly massive ones. Most were smaller and distanced from each other. Also there wasn't just pure earth up there or else it wouldn't have been much of a camouflage. Trees and other plants were everywhere, growing out of the earth and filling everything with a dense and refreshing green, similar to the rest of the forest.

The space between chunks was still there, but it wasn't really noticeable unless one really inspected it carefully.

I bet that this works on a lot of people.

The earth under Blake started to shake lightly again. His eyes widened and he immediately threw himself flat on the ground. Surrounded by the deep grass he slowly peeked out of it.

His body visibly relaxed when he noticed that the minotaur wasn't returning, but just walking towards somewhere.

Good he is going even further from where I am. But I'll continue to crouch through the grass just to be on the safe side... If he gets me in the middle of the plains then it's enough that he sneezes in my general direction and I'm dead.

He slowly lifted his head body and started to approach the canyon. The tremors were quite weak, but they could be still felt. They were making Blake very unnerved and he started to consciously concentrate on the sound of grass rustling that followed every step he made.

Huh? What is..?

His head shook lightly for no reason, but the confused expression went away after a second when he understood.

****

Blake took off his goggles and faced his sister that was right next to him with an irritated expression. She wore casual clothes and glared at him.

-''I guess the twenty minutes are up?''

Rose sat on his bed behind him and responded with an annoyed tone.

-''You crossed the twenty minutes mark quite some time ago.  I hope it is at least something worth retelling during breakfast.''

He smiled wolfishly and rose from his chair, carefully putting the goggles down.

-''It just might be.''

A knowing smile appeared on Rose's lips.

-''That good, huh? Then lets hurry downstairs.''

Before leaving the room she turned around once and ruffled his hair.

-''But you should take a minute to take care of yourself. You are an eyesore right now.''

He lightly shook her hand off.

-''Well it's not easy to always look impeccable. Right, miss bed hair?''

-''Agreed, but I'm not the one who insists to be always presentable.''

Blake headed towards the bathroom.

-'' Yeah, yeah. You go ahead, I'll get down in a minute.''

They both went out of the small room and split in the hallway. Blake walked towards the bathroom sometimes looking absentmindedly at the paintings and photos that hung on the wall.

I wonder what's up with that canyon... A dungeon maybe? Or a hidden monster village? I won't really do much with guessing, better stop thinking about it.

He entered the bathroom and turned on the light which revealed an orderly, white room with everything that a normal bathroom needed. Blake walked to the sink and let the water run. A big mirror was in front of him and he took a look at it.

My chaotic schedule is starting to show on my face... It doesn't matter, I will soon get it back to normal. Now better wash away the drowsiness.

He splashed a few handfuls of water in his face and felt refreshed.

There's no better feeling than this to clear your mind...

After drying his face with a towel he took a comb and tried to tame the mess that his hair turned into.

I wonder what I should try next with the Lava orb? It seems like it's the best way to get stronger fast, also I'm quite sure there is more to it than it seems. Even now that I have tinkered around with it a bit I feel like I barely even scratched the surface.

With one last look in the mirror he went out and headed towards the kitchen.  When he arrived an already prepared table was waiting for him and his sister was just pouring in some tea into her cup. Seeing him she pointed at the tea box that was still on the table.

-''Do you want some tea? Something else?''

Blake walked to the table and took a look at the box.

-''Green tea, huh? I'll rather go with black tea.''

Rose shrugged and started to make herself a sandwich.

-''Suit yourself. So... what happened?''

Blake took a tea bag out of the shelf and started to make his tea.

-''Hmm... Well I will just start from the beginning. I messed around a bit with Lava orb and found out something fascinating.''

He took his cup and walked to the table.

-''There's actually a lot more to it, also I unlocked a very interesting stat named Natural potential.''

Rose took a sip of tea before replying.

-''Tell me first about the ability. What do you exactly mean when you say it's fascinating? Wasn't it just an orb that flashed without doing any damage?''

Blake sat down and took a croissant that was already prepared on the table.

-''It looks like that was just the most basic side of Lava orb. Also it seems like it partly fused with me because I can somehow feel it as a part of my body.''

Rose stopped eating and looked at him with a concerned yet interested look.

-''How do you mean that it has fused with you? I don't understand, it isn't a part of the game aspect?''

Blake shook his head while he put jam on his croissant.

-''No, it isn't part of the original game. It is caused by my condition. What I meant was that I feel it like a part of me that I just discovered. Invisible, yet there. It's like discovering a whole new limb and not knowing what it can do and how to handle it.''

Rose listened to him with great interest.

-''This is connected to what you mentioned earlier isn't it? Something unexpected happened while you hunted those squirrels?''

He shuddered from the thought of the small monsters for a second and then continued.

-''Yes, that was what made me tinker with the ability. At that time I threw a Lava orb at a running squirrel and instead of exploding it killed it. I asked later on Teruna if she knew anything about it, but she was as clueless as I am to why the orb changed. We came to the conclusion that it was caused by me as a player or because of my unique constitution and that I should see exactly how I caused that the next time I play.''

Rose interrupted Blake and he used the opportunity to eat the croissant while she was talking.

-''So you discovered an unique ability that's available only to you... it is probably a hedgehog ability that is turned into a player ability and got all new possibilities. But wait, when you say that it is a part of you how exactly do you mean it? You can move it with your will or..? And how did you manage to change it to an offensive ability?''

He took a chug from his cup and replied while carefully choosing his words.

-''No, I didn't mean that I can control it in that sense. I can feel it as a part of my body and I was slowly testing what I can do with it. Originally it changed to an offensive Lava orb because I threw it with all my strength after the squirrel. It seems like my tensing up affected also the new part of me and changed the orb.''

Rose silently listened and nodded letting Blake continue.

-'' The orb turned into a more solid form. After i discovered this new part of me that let me change the orbs nature I kinda got a bit too playful... Well to cut a long story short I tried to wield condensed Lava orbs in both of my hands and they blew up in my face so to say.''

Her eyebrows rose amusedly and she waved her hand.

-''No need to cut it so short. Why exactly did they explode? ''

He sighed and continued.

-''I had only minor problems with getting two basic orbs up, but they turned wild when I condensed them. It was impossible to make them similarly sized and I lost control. I guess I bit off more than I could chew because I couldn't deactivate the orbs... I tried to overpower the previous tensing impulse but it seems like I went too far. My guess is that all the destructive energy within it concentrated around the outer parts of the orb until it couldn't take it anymore. Afterwards they made a huge explosion and caused me a fair share of pain.''

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Rose started to peel an apple and commented while being deeply in thought.

-''So if we go back to your new part of the body metaphor it would mean that you just discovered two movements, right? And very crude ones to boost. It would be optimal to just continue exploring the possibilities, a bit more carefully though... How bad did the explosion hurt you?''

Blake smiled awkwardly.

-''Well it left me smoking hot... Nearly died there. Now to another topic. After I discovered the other form of Lava orb I gained a new stat called Natural potential.''

Blake explained in short lines what the Natural potential stat is while Rose carefully listened. When he finished she started commenting.

-''If I see it right it's a stat that makes you more like a hedgehog and could potentially give you the strength you need. I find the rising of strength in the fields where you have potential particularly interesting. You could understand that like a bridge between your real body and game body where you get bonuses for things you tend to outside of the game, for example toughness or speed... But I think that the whole ability is purely hedgehog bound, here solely to adapt you to the faction. I wonder what will happen if you put points there.''

He smiled awkwardly again.

-''Umm, you see... I sort of spent all my available stat points on Natural potential.''

Rose froze and watched him for a moment with an expressionless face.

-''You spent all your points on Natural potential?''

Blake writhed uncomfortably in his chair.

-''Yes.''

-''Without knowing what it actually does?''

Blake sipped his tea nervously before answering.

-''Well I knew that it had something to do with the hedgehog faction... They were fierce in the past so I just guessed that the stat would be good. Conventional strengthening methods won't really be of much use to us. We have to take risks.''

Rose sighed and nodded.

-''I guess it's true, but it is still too reckless... So, how did you feel after assigning the points?''

He stopped for a second to think about it.

-''I had just one fight after that but I think that the most notable changes are in my defense and the strength of the orb. My general strength also probably rose. I will have to see it again in another fight, one really isn't enough to make a picture.''

-''I think we should think of how to further explore your Lava orb ability, that would probably be very useful. Do you have anything else to say or can we continue with this?''

Blake thought for a moment before replying.

-''Actually I do have something else, but that can wait.''

Rose paused a bit.

-''I think you should explore combat a bit more in depth.''

He looked at her with a confused look.

-''You mean things like combos or element advantages and disadvantages?''

Rose shook her head as she stood up to put her empty cup in the sink.

-''No, that's not what I'm talking about. I was thinking more about the normal aspect of it. Like how hits to different places actually affect the damage.''

He nodded understandingly.

-''So something along the lines of critical hits.''

A troubled expression appeared on Rose's face.

-''Yes and no... I mean attacks that would be deadly. Usually in games a critical hit means that you take double damage or even more, but it might be a bit different here now that you are some kind of hybrid of a monster and a player. Basically what I am wondering is if one hit kills are available to you.''

Blake thought for a moment before answering.

-''So an example would be slashing with a sword at an unguarded throat? You wonder if it would be a one hit kill or just a critical hit?''

She nodded, letting him continue.

-''Hmm... Some games actually do have that mortal move system so Alteration as a game might also have it. I should check the net for a bit more knowledge about fighting. Looks like I focused a bit too heavily on faction strategising without covering the basics properly.''

-''Good, do that. You have still a lot of time so you should continue exploring or grinding . By the way I think I have a good idea for making your grinding more efficient.''

Blake's brows rose.

-''What would that be?''

A mischievous smile appeared on her lips.

-''First tell me two things. How small can you make the Lava orb and can you change it even when not in contact with it?''

Blake answered with a confused tone.

-''Umm when it got out of control and started to shrink and grow rapidly the minimum was around the size of a marble i think. Also I can control it even from a distance. I did dispel it once like that, remember?''

Her smile got wider.

-''A marble you say? Good. What I thought up was that you can make very good traps with Lava orbs. A marble sized standard Lava orb could be hidden inside some meat that you use for bait and once the monster swallows it you simply turn the Orb offensive from a distance. If that isn't a one hit kill then I don't know. Fufufu...''

An extremely forced and awkward smile appeared on Blake's face.

-''Ah, yes thanks... That sounds very... effective. Also your evil side is starting to show again.''

Her smile turned into a genuine one.

-''Say what you will but this is a great move for easy kills.''

A troubled expression lingered on Blake's face.

-''Well I will try your suggestion out. I just hope you don't show this side of you too often to other people.''

She answered playfully smiling.

-''Don't you worry about me.But enough of that. How do you plan to further  explore your Lava orb.''

Blake stood up and started to put the used dishes in the sink while replying.

-''I have turned the pain settings down so experimenting won't be that punishing anymore. I will be a lot more careful than that time, but I need to try a lot of different things to grasp all my options. I think that I barely even scratched the surface of that ability.''

-''You might want to have some water near you when you do that.''

Blake laughed up and nodded.

-''That might come in handy, yes.''

-''Also how's the area you are exploring like? Anything interesting?''

He thought for a moment.

-''Actually, yes there is something interesting. I found a more or less hidden part of an area. It seems like it also has a guard, that or I accidentally into a high level area with crazy strong mobs. Either way I will go proceed deeper and see if there's something useful.''

Rose looked at him with curiosity.

-''Message me once you get deeper, I want to know what that exactly is... High level areas are very risky, but also very rewarding. Who knows maybe you can manage to get your hands on some good item or quest.''

-''I will message you, but don't get your hopes up. I might have just found the entrance to a monster village or something similar.''

Blake started walking towards the stairway, but suddenly turned to Rose again.

-''Oh I forgot to ask, what race did you chose? I totally forgot with all this happening around us.''

Rose also headed towards the stairs and answered him while walking.

-''You will see when we team up. My starting town isn't that far from where you are so it will be soon.''

A smile spread on Blake's lips.

-''Oh, a surprise worth waiting for? I'm even more interested now.''

-''Well we can continue talking later when you check that area out. I will also do some quests in the meantime.

And with that both siblings went to their rooms and started Alteration up.

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*****

Hello, sorry for not posting at all in the last month or so. I was in a bit of a slump but it's ok now.

This chapter is quite short but the next one will be bigger for sure.  It's something like an icebreaker for me after such a long pause.

Here is the link to the thread of Alteration. Feel free to comment or ask anything.

During my Alteration slump I wrote a prologue to a new story: Deep, dark night.

I'd be very happy if you check it out, but be aware that it isn't a VR setting.