[You find a root buried in the soil. You notice that the top is gnawed off, and you understand that the spiritual plant that had been attached has been eaten.]
Lem’s simulated self immediately dropped his spear and began digging around the root.
Once it was dislodged he began pulling it gently, not wanting to accidentally break off the end.
There was a little resistance, so he went back to digging.
He pulled again, this time uprooting it in its entirety.
The root was smaller than he expected. It was short and stubby, with a few hairs on it.
Lem’s simulated self brushed off the dirt, and began taking bites from the long end.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
In a few moments, it had disappeared.
He looked regretfully at his empty hand, before picking up his spear, getting up, and continuing to walk in a western direction.
The additional spiritual energy was not worth the conflict that had preceded it, but at least it was enough to stave off his hunger. It had also healed the cuts on his chest that he had received the deathbear’s paw.
[You eat the spiritual root, and you feel a slight improvement to your energy. You continue searching, unsatisfied with the compensation for your injury…
You do not find any other spiritual plants, and are forced to continue traveling…
You fall asleep…]
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…
[Day 34: Your mind has become significantly impaired due to lack of vitality…
As you are traveling, you see a bush with red berries. As you approach, you feel the pleasant feeling of spiritual energy. You hesitate, wondering if the berries are poisonous. You decide to eat the berries, as you have run out of rations…
As you eat the spiritual berries, you notice a slightly unpleasant taste. The benefits to your spiritual energy are minimal, but they do a good job of staving off your hunger…
After you eat half of the berries, you pick the rest and put them in your bag, intending to slowly eat them…
As night falls, you eat all of the berries that remain, and fall asleep in satisfaction…]
…
[Day 40: You are beginning to hallucinate due to lack of vitality…
As you walk you notice that beasts flee from your presence. You see evil everywhere, like a dark fog that clouds the spirituality of the world…
You fall asleep and dream of strange beasts that are dying in unlikely ways…]
…
[Day 45: As you wake up, you realize that you lack the strength to walk. Your body is wracked with unbearable pain. You chose to stay in place…
You sink in and out of consciousness. You feel as though you are constantly being poked and prodded by an evil presence and you think you are at the bottom of the ravine…]
[Day 46: You lack the strength to move. Your senses are heavily impaired. You are consumed by the evil power within you and die.]
[Simulation ends.]
The memories poured into Lem’s mind.
[Choose one of three rewards:
Option 1: peak cultivation from lifetime (Day 8 cultivation)
Option 2: comprehension from lifetime
Option 3: (one spiritual mushroom), or (one spiritual seed), or (one carcass of juvenile tyrant sloth)...or (one spiritual root), or (one red spiritual berry)]
Lem saw through the simulation that it would be safe to wait until the morning.
He also saw that the simulation had lasted almost two months, which was a promising development. At the same time, if reality deviated too much from what was simulated, he could be put in a far more dire situation if he had to wait for several hours before he could simulate.
It was time to save up simulation attempts.