Harper opened his eyes with a grimace. It smelled like death. He looked over at his own corpse. It was bled dry by leeches and had flies all over it. It was also missing the head and an arm.

He looked forward and sighed deeply. The dripping of tears hit his chest.

What, so I can come back not once, but twice from death, and she gets nothing? What a fucking joke.

He shook his head. When he did, a memory returned, unbidden, to his mind. Before he died, words had appeared in his mind’s eye.

“I think it said Clone?”

Clone(Rank 0) RP: 0/10 > 1/10

No sooner had he spoken than a ripple went through his body. Nothing happened, but he knew something would happen. He scrambled out of his fridge and collapsed to his hands and knees. The rippling grew stronger.

Harper screamed out in confusion and sheer feeling of wrongness. It felt like his face was being stretched forward. In his peripherals he saw movement and whipped his head over to the right.

I have two right arms. Why do I have two right arms?!

He could feel both hands touching the floor, but only for a moment. The other arm quickly went dead and collapsed to the floor. This started a cascade of ripping sensations as something tore away from him.

His screams went from confused to disturbed. He shoved himself to a half-seated position and shuffled backwards in fear. He bumped his head against his fridge, and he could move no further. He shakily pushed himself to a standing position. He squinted at the figure across from him.

There, standing across from him, was himself. Equally naked, equally confused. No, equally was the wrong word. It was exactly the same level of confusion. He slowly raised a hand, and the doppelganger mimicked him. He went to take a step forward, and it copied him.

What the hell is going on here? Wait… is this that clone thing from before? Why the fuck can I clone myself n—

The fruit. It was all bulbous and glowing blue. When he ate it, he got the clone thing. Did that mean… were there more of those fruits out there? What other kinds of powers were out there? The possibilities were endless.

He needed to know more. For now, he had the clone. Come to think of it, didn’t it say it was Rank 0 or something like that?

“Clone?” A ripple went through his body again, but this time nothing happened. “Thank fuck. I don’t think I wanna relive that quite yet. Skills?”

Skills

Clone(Rank 0) RP: 1/10

Ok, so it is Rank 0. Weird. Not just that, it’s got 1 RP now, which I’m guessing is Rank Points. I’m just gonna assume it is for now. I’ll also have to assume that each use is 1 RP since nothing’s telling me otherwise. Fuck man, just what the hell is going on!?

He looked back up at the clone. It was scratching at its stubbly jaw just like he was.

That was starting to annoy Harper. “Will you stop copying me?!”

The clone immediately stood ramrod straight, arms at its sides with a neutral expression. Harper found it off-putting to look at.

“That’s… just… relax a little, will you?” He waved a hand dismissively and looked away from the clone. He couldn’t think while it was like that.

Ok, so I can clone myself. Not only that, it even follows my orders exactly. That’s actually pretty helpful, creepiness aside. I can use that.

A smile graced his lips. He looked back at it again. It was standing in a slouched position with hands clasped behind its back. It looked like a crotchety old man. “I mean, I guess that’s relaxed. Anyways, listen up, I’ve got an order for you. Get rid of these body parts for me. I don’t wanna look at it anymore.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the clone sprang to action. It walked over to the nearest bits and promptly faded to dust. Harper let out a terrified yelp. After taking a moment to allow his heart to calm down, he thought it through.

Timer? Probably, I’d say it’s been maybe ten minutes. Good to know.

Harper shook his head. “Clone.” A few uncomfortable minutes later and a fresh nude clone stood in front of him.

Clone(Rank 0) RP: 1/10 > 2/10

“First, stop copying me. Second, get rid of all this gore.” He gestured around the area.

The clone looked around and, upon registering its orders, got to work. It started picking up the bits as though it were picking up litter. Harper shuddered.

That done, he set to work on his next task. Food and water. Water probably first. He was unbelievably thirsty upon waking up, though not dying of thirst by any means. After that, he should set up some shelter. He needed somewhere to sleep that wasn’t constantly being hounded by the creatures of the jungle.

Before any of that though, he needed light to explore the dark depths of the jungle. Luckily for him, Harper was literally hiking just before he found himself in this jungle. He had a regular habit of hiking in the fall for weeks at a time, so he was no stranger to survivalism. Granted, he’d never survived in a jungle, so that was sure to be a fun time.

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Three clones, one sprained ankle, and a migraine later, he had a respectable campsite. There was a lean-to, a bonfire, and he even had several torches prepped. He nodded to himself in satisfaction. He didn’t need an entire bonfire, but he’d gotten carried away.

Clone(Rank 0) RP: 2/10 > 5/10

He took a deep breath and sighed. Now, time for him to do what he’d been procrastinating. Time to explore the jungle.

“Clone.”

Clone(Rank 0) RP: 5/10 > 6/10

Something was wrong. The cloning process started just fine, but his migraine was getting worse. He clutched at his head and squeezed the sides. The clone started to step out of him. He screamed out in pain. The clone stepped away and he felt something snap. He collapsed to the ground dead.

* * *

“Damn it, I shouldn’t have pushed myself so hard, my head was already pounding! At least I can start fresh, though…” Harper let out a long, slow yawn. “Fuck am I tired. Seems like I don’t gotta worry about starving or dehydrating, but I do gotta worry about sleeping between spawns. Clone.”

Clone(Rank 0) RP: 6/10 > 7/10

His clone fully stepped away from him, and he nodded at it. He picked up a torch and lit it up. “Let’s get going. Follow me.” He said that, but really he was just walking towards the fridge lit side of the jungle again. Either way, it was better than going nowhere.

He walked off in said direction, seeking out water or at the very least food. The jungle was no less treacherous than before, but this time he felt ready for it. At least, somewhat ready. Okay, he didn’t feel ready at all, but he’d make it work.

The pacing of his clone behind him unsettled him, but he did his best to ignore it. Actually, rather than ignore it…

Harper turned around. “Clone, pick up a nice big rock. If we’re attacked, I’m going to use the torch to try and scare them off. If it doesn’t work, bash them in the head as hard as you can.” He turned back around and continued walking.

The underbrush wasn’t quite as intimidating when he could actually see what was going on. It was rather disgusting though, as now he could actually see everything wriggling around in the muck.

As a test, he picked up the most normal looking grub he could find and held it over his torch. He then realized that wouldn’t work, and instead opted to just eat it as-is. It tasted just as horrible as he expected, but at least it wouldn’t kill him. Hopefully.

By contrast, the canopy was even more terrifying. Despite a torch illuminating their surroundings, he still couldn’t see anything up there. The smoke from the torch would rise and almost immediately get caught at the lowest layer of branches.

That’s not even the problem though. Why the fuck isn’t there any noise? Like, not even a single chirp. I come through here before and it’s a damn cacophony, now I have a torch and there’s nothing? Uh-uh, something’s wrong.

And yet, nothing attacked him from the canopy. He walked for at least two more clones with not a single mishap. That was the more ridiculous part. He could literally stop and make clones. Nothing would happen.

Clone(Rank 0) RP: 7/10 > 9/10

One thing he did notice was a temperature difference. He was wiping sweat from his brow with just about every single step. It wasn’t the torch, that was burning just the same as before. No, his body itself was just unusually hot.

That’s when he heard it. Running water. His eyes shot open.

He whirled around. “Clone, let’s… Damn it, gone again! Fuck it, I can do it by myself!”

He ran off in the direction of the running water. It was barely a trickle in his ears, but he knew he could hear it. It was at opposites with the loud cracking and popping of his torch.

Hell, maybe I could’ve heard it sooner if I didn’t have this torch. Definitely not leaving it behind though. But fuck am I thirsty!

The sound of running water went from a trickle, to a pour, all the way to a roar. The excitement and adrenaline filling Harper’s heart was so much it might explode. He used that energy to push himself even harder. He could make it, he knew he could.

That’s when he saw it. Light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. One second there was nothing, the next, a brightness in the distance.

No fucking way, an end to these damn trees? But god damn it, why’s it gotta be uphill? I feel like I was on flat ground for like an hour now!

The trees indeed started becoming less numerous. Such that he felt he could actually see more than two feet in front of him. In fact, had they been becoming less numerous that entire time?

His body temperature was at the point that it genuinely hurt. He felt like he was being cooked. He ignored the heat however, practically skipping up the hill. He was so close now. The sound of rushing water was filling his ears. He licked his dry lips, to absolutely no effect.

The several feet of muck melted away to maybe an inch of mud. He could run in a straight line without hitting a tree. The smoke was rising through the canopy. The air itself was burning his lungs, yet it was so fresh. It smelled of dew and life and even held a hint of citrus. It smelled like home.

Finally, finally, he broke through to the edge of the tree line. And it was beautiful. A roaring, frothy river dozens of meters wide ran right outside the jungle. Flowers were in full bloom just on the other side. He even saw orange trees and normal, mud free grass. It was like the difference between heaven and hell.

And the sunlight. Dear lord, the fucking sunlight! Praise the sun!

Harper closed his eyes and took a step forward with outstretched arms. He took a moment to just bask in the sunlight. It was hot, but damn it if it didn’t feel good on his skin. Besides, it was nothing compared to the heat he was already experiencing. Maybe the water could cool him down!

Well, he was already naked. Might as well take a dip. Actually, he had a thought. His clones had worked long and hard to get him to this point. They deserved a break too.

“Clone.” He sat in the shade while he waited for the clone to remove itself from him. No point in getting here if he collapsed again.

Clone(Rank 0) RP: 9/10 > 10/10

Rank Up

Clone(Rank 0 > Rank 1)

Awesome! I find water, the literal fucking sun, and my skill ranks up! Everything’s going perfect!

The clone finally wrenched itself free from him, then stood there and looked down at him in silence.

Harper waved his hand at the clone, choosing instead to stretch out his legs and just relax a moment. “Clone, go ahead and take a dip. I’ll be in right after.”

The clone took a look over its shoulder at the river, then up at the sun, shielding its eyes. Well that was new. What was also new was the clone walking up to him, picking him up, and tossing him into the river. He was so weakened and shocked, he didn’t even have the strength to resist.

The water was boiling hot. Literally. He had assumed the bubbles on the surface were froth from the river’s speed, but apparently not. His skin was melting off as he screamed in terror.

The clone looked down at him as he screamed. “Thank you for the Rank Up. See you soon.”

Those were the last words Harper heard before death.