Year 27, Month 2, Day 18
…
[Reincarnator.]
[Reincarnator!]
[Wake up!]
Huh? Just a bit longer…
Wait. No, that's not right. I’m supposed to be checking my updates.
My head is starting to clear. I haven’t felt like this since that one time I… well whatever. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this tired and groggy.
[It has been 1 month since the chosen day for Meditative Trance to end]
That long huh? I keep trying to yawn but obviously cannot. No mouth and all. What happened while I was out?
[Meditative Trance ended. Calculating experience.]
[459900 experience points gained. Reincarnator has leveled up multiple times.]
[Skill Acquired - Roll. Active. Movement by rolling at a speed of 1/5th size per second.]
[Skill Acquired - Written in Stone. Active. Store up to 15 memories in the core that are available for access by Reincarnator at any time.]
[Skill Acquired - Static Cling. Passive. A combination feature from Weak Attractive Force and Roll, enables movement along vertical surfaces or even upside down so long as size is less than 5mm. Improve Weak Attractive Force to improve this ability.]
[Skill Acquired - Weight Adjustment. Active. Ability temporarily to increase or decrease weight up to 1.5 times the actual weight.]
[Skill Acquired - Minor Hardening. Passive. 5% more resistant to physical damage.]
[Weak Attractive Force has improved by 1%. Range improved by 4 μm.]
[Weak Attractive Force has improved by 1%. Range improved by 5 μm.]
[Weak Attractive Force has improved by 1%. Range improved by 6 μm.]
[Weak Attractive Force has improved by 1%. Range improved by 7 μm.]
[Weak Attractive Force has improved by 1%. Range improved by 8 μm.]
[Weak Attractive Force has improved by 2%. Range improved by 14 μm.]
[Weak Attractive Force has reached its maximum level. Acquire resources to advance further.]
[Meditative Trance has improved and will generate 100% more experience.]
[Meditative Trance has improved and will generate 100% more experience upon successful trance completion.]
[Meditative Trance has improved and will generate 100% more experience.]
[Assimilation has improved, now it is possible to absorb biological organisms in addition to materials.]
[Assimilation has improved, take on one attribute or skill of the material that makes up the majority of the Reincarnator’s composition.]
[Weak Blindsense has improved, range is now equal to size.]
[Merged with 327 pieces of dust, 82 pieces of iron dust, 21 pieces of Silt Dust, and 4 pieces of Bone Dust. Size increased. Now large enough to assimilate Sand, Bone Dust, Dust Mites, Saw Dust, and Tardigrades.]
[Form Advancement available. Open the Evolution Tree to see options.]
Talk about a sensory overload.
[Now may not be the best time. Environmental Danger. Reincarnator Advised to move now!]
Huh? What do you mean? I take a moment to examine my surroundings for the first time since waking up and I’m able to spot the danger pretty quick. My vision hasn’t improved much but it has widened significantly since I am so much larger now. I can’t tell exactly what the threat is but I am able to see a massive outline moving towards me. The shape seems to be somewhere between looking organic and like a liquid. The movement reminds me of molasses if it had a mind.
I’m not sure if it’s liquid, living, or what, but I am pretty sure it’s dangerous. Right before it moves, thousands of small tendrils move towards the ground to pull all the particles into the mass. That wouldn’t worry me much, except that each particle’s shape starts to wave and shift before disintegrating. At least that’s what it looks like to me.
No time to consider much more, did I mention it’s coming straight towards me?
I immediately begin to activate my new roll skill which is slow but should help buy me time. I have no clue how large that thing really is compared to a human but to my current form it looks like a mountain!!
Right, focus on escaping. I keep getting bombarded with messages as I roll, alerting me that I have assimilated various materials. I’m not going to get distracted and risk getting myself killed.
Is it even possible for me to die? No no, now is not the time. Focus.
I need to be going faster, I can already tell it will catch up to me in a few minutes. I wish I had someway to distract it or slow it down, but there’s a decent chance that it’s too large to even notice anything on my scale. Might as well be a natural disaster compared to me.
Oh oh oh!
Activate Weight Adjustment. Decrease weight by 50%.
And suddenly I am moving a bit faster. Not as much as I expected but… wait oh crap. One of those rare gusts of air came along and now I’m being moved rather quickly above the ground. I never imagined my first time flying would be as a literal piece of assorted minerals.
Luckily, it seems that my newfound gust airline is taking me away from whatever was coming at me before. I really should come up with a name for it. The Great Devourer? Maybe that’s a bit pre-emptive.
A few seconds in the air then I hit the ground rolling. Physics seems to work differently at this scale because normally, I’ve noticed that other particles around me weren’t able to carry much if any momentum after being moved by the wind. Friction maybe? My roll skill seems to be what is keeping me going, for which I am very grateful.
I roll for several hours before finally reaching what looks like a wall, which takes me another hour to reach the top corner of. I should be safe here for the moment. Let’s check out those updates again. I wonder how many pieces I assimilated while rolling here.
[Merged with 21 pieces of dust, 45 pieces of iron dust, 16 pieces of Silt Dust, and 7 pieces of Bone Dust. Size increased.]
Hmm what are my stats like now?
[Reincarnator: Ja̶ʍҽs Ha̶lvҽrson
Form: Dust Speck LVL 20 ⓘ
Size: 4.9 mm (4998 μm)
XP: 6056
Next Level: 69300 XP]
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
How about my Composition? Open Form Info please.
[Form Info
Composition by Size: Bone 33%, Iron 30%, Silt 27%, Dust 9%
Further info can be obtained with new or upgraded skills.]
Looks like Dust Speck isn’t very accurate anymore. I am getting pretty large. Well comparatively.
Nothing much to change about it now, I guess all there is to it is to open the Evolution Tree and see what I’ve got as my options. I hope they are good. Please Mr. Manager, make them good. Is the manager a god? I really ought to start a list of things to inquire about. Anyways let’s open the Evolution Tree.
[The following forms are available or known to the Reincarnator. Minimum size to evolve forms is at least 5000 μm size. Requirements are listed in brackets.
* Ironclad Speck (Minimum 50% iron composition)
* Dust Giant (100% dust composition)
* Bone Fragment (Minimum 50% bone composition)
* Silt Shard (Minimum 50% silt composition)
* Composite Pebble
* Memetic Cell (50% organic composition)]
Ooh okay, that’s more than I was expecting. I wonder how these will affect my future. Do I have any information on what I will get from each if I chose it as my new form?
[Information is restricted. Summary permitted.]
[Choosing Ironclad Speck creates focus on metals. Skills may be related to magnetism and increased defense.]
[Choosing Dust Giant requires shedding all other materials and focusing on dust progression. Relies on quantity and may include domain like skills.]
[Choosing Bone Fragment creates focus on organism remains. Can learn skills that allow form change and greater offensive abilities.]
[Choosing Silt Shard creates a shift towards movement. May learn skills regarding movement.]
[Choosing Composite Pebble focuses on well roundedness. Skills learned are based on current Composition.]
[Choosing Memetic Cell focuses on living organisms and adapting. It may include skills that modify or compliment Assimilation.]
Hmm all seem to have their uses. I wonder which I should take. Memetic Cell seems to be impossible at the moment, since I haven’t encountered any living organisms I could assimilate yet. That narrows the options by one I guess.
I want to come back to this. I don’t need to choose right now so it’s not a big deal. I’m more worried about my memories. I got a skill that will let me store about 15 or so. I should make use of it as soon as possible so I can ensure I remember who I was regardless of what happens.
Alright then, sounds like it’s story time then. How do I start? I feel like a narrator in a story, perhaps I’m already starting to go crazy. That’s not a comforting thought, however the show must go on. I will recount my life as best as I can remember and then decide what I should keep. Are there any limits to the skill? Can I store skills from my previous life like reading and writing?
[It is possible, yes. If the skill is a higher rank.]
Well I guess I should check what I still remember. I was born in a loving family, I had a younger sibling, a sister? I’m not positive. We didn’t get along well, I remember that but I really can’t remember much about them.
I did fairly well in school, particularly science and math, but I always preferred video games to learning. In high school, I joined the science club and even won an award or two at some competitions. I ended up going to university, much to my parents' surprise. I think they just assumed I would spend my life gaming. I majored in Computer Science with a minor in Physics.
I also got into my first serious relationship. … Yep I still remember and it still hurts. Not saving that memory.
I worked as a software developer for a bit but I struggled to make much progress in the industry. I remember some kind of opportunity came up and I was able to move into Journalism. I don’t remember what led to it but I think everyone was just as surprised as I was. I was never really a writer, but somehow I ended up doing well.
I ended up doing really well in Journalism, though I definitely faced some challenges. I didn’t like sugar coating things and tended to do extensive research to figure out the truth. I ended up angering a few too many people with my articles. For a while, I thought the best case scenario was losing my job. Somehow, my boss took a liking to me and moved me to the gaming sector and had me write under a new pseudonym.
While doing that I got into my second serious relationship and it was going pretty well but once again it didn’t work out. I would have probably given her more time if I knew it would be the last time. It was pretty soon after I was in what I assume was a car accident. This isn’t a memory issue, I just am not positive. I was crossing the street and suddenly was on the ground. I still remember how much it hurt as I lay there, unable to move before finally passing out.
I have 15 slots? Well, objectively if I am worried about losing the mental skills I learned in school and work I should start there. How large are these memories allowed to be?
[Storage able to be condensed to contain up to 100 hours worth of learning or 30 minutes of full detail memory]
Allocate 1 memory for storage of investigative methods.
Allocate 1 memory for storage of scientific principles.
Allocate 1 memory for storage of physics.
[‘Physics’ is two large to store in 1 memory. Would you like to store ‘Physics’ across 2 memories?]
Really? That big? Hmm, yeah let’s do it.
Allocate 1 memory for storage of geology.
Can I store a collection of memories that have been curated to only include certain parts?
[Certainly.]
Allocate 3 memories for storage of happy memories.
[‘Happy memories’ can be stored in 1 memory as information.]
[If you would like to store ‘happy memories’ as full detailed memories, it will require 9 memories.]
Okay that’s too much. I’ll do it this way then.
Allocate 1 memory as information.
Allocate 1 memory as full detail including only my favorite memories.
[Which memories would you like to designate as favorite memories?]
Oh good question. I just assumed you would be able to pick for me and know. Let me think about it for a moment.
…
Okay, the first one I want to save is the time my team won the International Physics Competition. I spent hours on my speech but was so glad to see my parents and friends there to support me. It was one of the first times I felt that I meaningfully accomplished something in my life. Our project was about harnessing kinetic energy but I can’t seem to remember what exactly the solution we created was anymore. Make sure to include the time after where my parents congratulated and gave me encouragement. Their words gave me a lot of support for a long time after.
[Memory of encouraging words are incomplete.]
[Using context to extrapolate possible encouragement.]
Uh great. Thanks. I’m not sure how to feel about that but whatever. Don’t tell me next time. I don’t have much of a choice. Moving on. I want to save some moments from the time I went to Yellowstones with my university buddies. We hiked and camped for about a week. It was so beautiful to see the landscape, star gaze, and share stories. I want to particularly save the moment we hiked to the summit of one of the trails and saw the sunrise. I want to remember that feeling of being alive and free.
…
Alright, cool. I didn’t want to know anyways. The last memory I want to store is the time I slept over at my grandpa’s. He was getting older and needed some help so I volunteered to spend the weekend with him and help out. He was my hero and that night we sat on the porch, drank some hot chocolate, and just talked about life and things he learned in life. We talked about everything from the wonders of the universe to the importance of kindness. I didn’t realize it would be one of my last memories with him before he passed.
[Memories allocated successfully]
I want to save some other things that are important to me. How many memories are left?
[8 memories remain]
Allocate 2 memories for storage of assorted things learned at university.
[Unclear instructions.]
Just choose from information I learned from my general education classes and my introductory computer science classes. I doubt I’ll need most of that here.
[Memories allocated successfully]
Allocate 1 memory for storage of lessons learned from negative experiences.
Allocate 1 memory for storage of information about myself and my life.
Allocate 1 memory for storage of video game references.
Allocate 1 memory for storage of my experience with the manager.
I have a feeling that that last one may come in handy. I would rather not forget it, just in case.
Allocate 1 memory for storage of knowledge about fantasy worlds from pop culture.
[Memories allocated successfully]
Now that that’s done, I really need to make a decision. Which form do I want?
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Reincarnator: Ja̶ʍҽs Ha̶lvҽrson
Form: Dust Speck LVL 20
Composition by Size: Iron 37%, Silt 29%, Bone 21%, Dust 13%
Size: 4.9 mm (4998 μm)
XP: 6056
Next Level: 69300 XP
Skills
Reincarnator's Blessing. Passive. Increase experience gain by 5%. Increase luck by 1. Improve relevance of skills upon leveling up.
Meditative Trance IV. Active. Voluntarily enter a state of meditation for a predetermined time. Gain 3 experience points for every day spent in meditation. If the trance is not ended early, experience points gained will be multiplied in proportion to time spent in meditation. Extra experience gained is increased by 300%.
Assimilation III. Passive. Upon direct contact with objects of similar or lesser size, the material or biological organism will be assimilated into the main body. Take on one attribute or skill of the material that makes up the majority of the Reincarnator’s composition.
Weak Attractive Force X. Passive. 15% more likely to attract smaller or equal sized objects that are less than 60 μm away when active.
Core Membrane. Passive. Prevents unspecified materials from coming into contact with the core. Only one type of material may be chosen.
Weak Blindsense II. Passive. Gain a basic sense of what is around the core. Radius is equal to size.
Roll. Active. Movement by rolling at a speed of 1/5th size per second.
Written in Stone. Active. Store up to 15 memories in the core that are available for access by Reincarnator at any time.
Static Cling. Passive. A combination feature from Weak Attractive Force and Roll, enables movement along vertical surfaces or even upside down so long as size is less than 5mm. Improve Weak Attractive Force to improve this ability.
Weight Adjustment. Active. Ability to temporarily increase or decrease weight up to 50% the actual weight.
Minor Hardening. Passive. 5% more resistant to physical damage.