By this point, Sunny has learned how to use the slime as an extension of his body. If he wanted to move, the slime moved. If he needed to grab something, he made the slime grow a tiny, floppy arm and grab it. He was a fish in an aquarium, but one that bent to his desire.

As such, it was easy to pull the curtains aside and enter the temple. The walls were covered with other rugs bearing the same meaningless shapes. There weren't any windows, only a purple campfire burning without smoke.

Behind that was a small tent. Skulls of many shapes and forms hung from the leather it was made out of, giving it a dangerous but mystical effect.

"Hey!" Sunny approached the campfire. "If anyone's in there, let me tell you: I learned karate when I was a child! You try anything funny and I'll chop you into pieces! HI-YAH!"

The leather pulled aside as a large caped figure emerged. Small pieces of teeth and mandibles hung from its mushroom-like hat. It wore a wooden mask, round with a blue square painted onto it. Its clothes were loose and ragged.

The figure's movements were unnatural. It crawled, then emerged on two feet, then spun around just to crouch back down. The oversized clothes followed its crazed dance, making the creature appear much larger than it really was.

"Freak…" Sunny whispered, checking its status.

[ Name: --- ]

[ Race: Fungoid ]

[ Subrace: Deep Cave Mushroom (Sentient) ]

[ Level: 3 (15/75) ]

[ HP: 10/10 ]

[ Strength: 2 ]

[ Agility: 3 ]

[ Constitution: 3 ]

[ Intelligence: 5 ]

[ Boons: 'Shaman' ]

The shaman picked up a bottle. It was full of white sand which he poured into the fire. As it burned, a purple smoke emerged.

"Master!" Luna stepped closer. "What is he doing?"

"Cooking up a spell."

"A spell? Master, are we in danger?"

The shaman reached into the fire and grabbed the now purple sand. Sluggishly squirming, he approached Sunny.

"Master! Be careful! We don't know what he wants!"

Reaching the slime, the shaman invitingly waved.

Sunny couldn't resist. His curiosity got the better of him. He emerged on top of the slime and watched as the mysterious creature leaned closer and…

Puff!

It blew the sand in Sunny's face.

"What the-- You crazy asshole!"

But as he reopened his eyes, the world changed. He wasn't in the temple from before. No, he was in space! Purple nebulas and yellow constellations surrounded him, burning with a thousand color in the empty void.

"Huh? W-Wait, my body!"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

He wasn't trapped inside a gemstone anymore. He was a human! He had arms, legs, and an entire body! He felt the hair on his back, the taste of his lips, the smell of space!

"I'm… I'm me! This is me!"

A lone teardrop fell from his cheeks.

"I am me! I am finally me! A human!"

He flew around, dancing with the stars. He felt alive. No, he was alive!

But like all good things, his joy didn't last long. While he was enjoying the body once lost, the mist of space moved. The stars and planets came together, building up the shape, then the body of a majestic dragon.

"I am me! I am—UWAAAH!!!" Sunny tripped as he noticed the dragon gaze down at him.

It was so large its tail reached around the universe, pulling a rainbow of golden stars as it moved. Void mist came out of its nose whenever it breathed, filling the space between galaxies. This godlike being had two hands, four fingers of sharp claws on each. It used those to pierce into the fabric of reality and birth stars into the vastness.

Two shapes emerged below its claws. A rabbit and a human.

"H-Hey! That's me!" Sunny pointed to the man. The dragon didn't speak. It quietly watched as the stars moved on their own.

First came the rabbit. It hopped around, playing with the stars.

Then came the human. He tried to catch the rabbit, but couldn't. The rabbit was too fast.

"Heh, it's pretty accurate. I look stronger than other monsters, yet I'm still the weakest of the bunch."

The human grabbed the stars and bend them to the shape of two items: a fishing rod and a carrot. He attached the carrot to the fishing rod and cast the line.

The rabbit feared the human. It avoided him.

But the rabbit loved the carrot. And the carrot was far from the human. So it approached the carrot. And when it sunk its teeth into the carrot, the human snatched the fishing rod and caught the rabbit.

"So the human used his wits to capture the smaller creature. In a sense, it's just like how I used influence and got the beetles and slime to obey."

The dragon reached out and helped the rabbit escape. Then, it took away the carrot.

"Heh, that really is me! Life always finds a way to make things worse."

The human sat down. He closed his eyes. As he did, Sunny noticed the stars act strangely.

The black holes and blue dwarves vibrated, the moons trembled. As if it was steam escaping from a hot bathtub, a blue aura of energy emerged from the cosmic shapes. The human siphoned this energy, gathering it above his head.

A chill ran down Sunny's spine as he realized: it was influence!

"What is he doing? Why is he using it like that? Hey, dude! You're doing it wrong! It's like shouting! You collect as much air as you can and burst it out in the form of a shout! That's how you use influence!"

The energy siphon came to a halt. The human used the collected mist and formed an orb above his head, shaping and smoothing its surface until it was perfectly round.

"Nice job, dude!" He bitterly remarked. "Now what are you going to do with that? Play space-basketball?"

As if removing the red skin from an apple, he peeled at the orb. A long blue line arose. It slithered to the smaller animal, climbing up its tiny feet and entering through its mouth.

"W-What are you doing? Oy-oy-oy, this is disgusting!" Sunny tried covering his eyes, but the large dragon didn't let him do that. He had to watch. He needed to.

The orb slowly disappeared as the last of its remains became one with the long blue line. As the last of it entered the rabbit, something changed. The eyes of the creature became blue.

It turned towards the man. It moved towards him. It was a strange sight as if the creature had forgotten how to walk.

"What's wrong with that animal? W-Wait… could it be…"

The human opened his eyes. They were shining blue, the same color as the rabbit's eyes.

"He used his influence to take control of the rabbit! That rabbit… he's controlling it!" Sunny chuckled. "That's so cool! How did you do that? What's your secret?"

The figures disappeared. Only Sunny and the dragon remained. It leaned close, observing the boy's eyes.

"You look cool." Sunny giggled before the vision came to an abrupt end.

"MASTEEER!!!" Luna jumped on the little gem, hugging it with all six legs. "I THOUGHT I LOST YOUUU!!!"

"Huh? Why are you crying?"

"I WAS SO SCAREEED!!! WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU??? DID IT HURT?" Luna charged towards the shaman. "BASTARD! I'LL MURDER YOU!!!"

"Stop it! He helped me!"

"Ha?" Luna stopped.

"I don't know why he did it… but he helped me." He ordered the slime to pick him up and help him bow down before the shaman. "Thank you."

"HA?!?!?!" Luna shouted.

Though that moment didn't last too long. Bells rang in the distance. Hearing it, the helpful samurais rushed out of the temple.

"What was that?" Luna asked even more confusedly.

The shaman equipped his staff and rushed out of the temple. It ran on all fours, which made him look like a very hungry monkey. As wacky as it was, seeing the stressed-out shaman made Sunny understand the direness of the situation.

"Jeez, they really can't give me a break, eh?"

"Master, what are you talking about?"

"The moment I set my foot here, someone attacks the village. Well, whatever. Come on, boys! We have some ass to beat."

And as such, they left the temple for the approaching menace, leaving Luna to wonder what an 'ass' may be.