A man once dreamt he was a butterfly. Once he woke, he was not sure. Was he a man who once dreamt of being a butterfly, or a butterfly currently dreaming of being a man.
Neither, actually, since he's dead now, and has been over 2 millenniums. But I pondered.
Am I a man currently dreaming of being a puddle, or am I a puddle who once dreamt of being a man? Do men actually even exist or are they a figment of my imagination, a mental construction of taller, pale goblins? Was my past life real? Or, since I remember so little of it, was it all a dream?
Am I real?
Is the goblin currently trying to kill me real?
Is the fireball rushing toward me real?
[Took damage from external attack. Lost 132.6 kg water.]
Was that message a delusion?
Systems don't make sense, right?
Like, where is it even located?
Perhaps, they do, and it's my sense of sense that doesn't make sense. Sensible.
No. I'm not trying to run away from reality.
I'm not doing my absolute best to run away from the situation at hand
I'm only trying to run away from this hoard of goblins trying to kill me.
[Took damage from external attack. Lost 111.1 kg water.]
I'm using absorb at full force while flowing at full speed in the other direction.
As long as I escape this with 1000 kg left, all is golden. If not, I'll expand, flow will level down, absorb will level down, and I'll be a bigger, slower target which is even worse at fighting back.
If I go below 1000, I go to 0.
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If I manage to drain them of stamina (Cuz they're running), mana (Cuz fireballs are the only thing I'm scared of), and/or water (From Absorb) before then, all iiz well.
I activate sense. Only 3 goblins left.
There were only 3 that were shooting fireballs ayway, so I guess the rest of them just gave up.
Two of the three look exhausted. I take a risk.
I send 2 thicker supply lines towards them. Perhaps, if I can get their last bit of water, I can make his a 1v1 situation.
[Took damage from external attack. Lost 2.3 kg water.]
[12 kg water disconnected from Puddle Gavan]
Dammmm. He saw through me. I don't know how I feel about that, getting outsmarted by a goblin.
Then again, I don't know much about goblins. Maybe they're really smart. I mean, they can use magic...
Humans can't use magic, far as I know. And humans are really smart, if they exist. I mean, they made planes and stuff.
...
This is a long shot.
Maybe...
[128 kg water disconnected from Puddle Gavan]
...
[Took damage from external attack. Lost 0.3 kg water.]
I don't know much about planes, but I'm sure they're supposed to fly for more than half a second.
I mean, this can barely be qualified as jumping.
...
That actually turned out better than I thought.
One of the goblins slipped.
He's probably too tired to get back up.
I mean, it makes sense. You're sprinting after a blob of water for over a kilometer, occasionally shooting fireballs, a highly mentally taxing activity. Then, it drops over 100 liters of water right at your feet.
I'm surprised the other one didn't fall.
The third goblin is way powerful, so I expect nothing of him.
No, wait...
They're stopping to help the fallen goblin.
Perhaps they're afraid of me sucking him dry.
I'm a huge anamoly to them, so they shouldn't know how I work.
Phew, survived by the skin of the teeth I don't have.
Don't expect me to be here when you return.
I have a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very short lifetime. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.
Skills that I don't quite yet have.
This quote is falling apart.
I'm not good at this.
Whatever, wash your necks and wait.
I will be back, and when I am, I will drain every last drop of water from your blood, muscle, and bone.
[Due to the mass of dihydrogen monoxide content of puddle Gavan's body decreasing beyond pre specified amount (1000kg), the level cap for puddle Gavan's skills has gone from four to three. Also, puddle Gavan has lost skill {Compression}. Also, level of {Information} has decreased to three. Also, level of {Sense} has decreased to three. Also, level of {Absorb} has decreased to three. Also, level of {Flow} has decreased to three. Also, level of {Shapeshift} has decreased to three.]
F@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Due to fear of heat detected in puddle Gavan, skill {Heat Intolerance} leveled up. Would you like to see the changelog?]
You know what, I don't even care anymore.