Chapter 2

I'm being eaten!

Ah, lets back up a bit, shall we?

I stopped keeping count, but it's probably been another month or so. I have mostly been experimenting with my perception and control as well as lots and lots of fantasy and daydreaming. I have also been advancing my web of roots. As a result I have mapped most of my surroundings in a 7 meter radius.

So far there are three things of note.

One is a decent water source a couple of meters below me. It's just big enough to carry some nutrients with it, without actually corroding the earth underneath me.

Another is a collection of dead things some five meters east of me. I think it may be a sort of dumping ground for some beast or other. It sounds disgusting I know, but it does wonders for my diet and keeps herbivores away.

The last thing I discovered is a nest of bugs near the edge of my web, that seem to find me extremely tasty.

And so we are back to me getting eaten!

Actually it's not that bad. They are quite far away right now, and I don't exactly feel pain anymore. Besides, I already have a plan. It's rather simple really, they think I'm tasty, then I all have to do, is change the way I taste.

It sounds ridiculous, but by now I can control almost every aspect of my biology.

Not that I understand even half of it, but still … shouldn't be too hard.

Hmm … now there are even more of them them. I wonder why …. Oh! I think I might have just given them more sugar! I should probably try something else.

****

OK. I have lost almost 3 meters worth of roots and exhausted most of my energy reserves, but I have something that apparently tastes absolutely vile, as well as a substance that for all intents and purposes is a highly effective glue.

The bugs aren't really a threat anymore, but I think I will settle down for a while. Make my roots thicker, maybe take advantage of my web and grow some more sprouts.

Yeah. I should probably wait until I'm more than 12 cm tall before taking on the world!

****

So, I'm pretty sure I'm currently living in a different world! (What. You think!?)

Until recently I figured that I was in my old world. I mean sure, it would probably be a different time period or even a parallel universe, what with the reincarnation and all, but I never thought I wouldn't be on Earth anymore.

That is of course until I found out about the two moons!

So, yeah! Unless someone built a new moon, I think it is pretty safe to say, that this is not Earth.

As to how I found out about this, lets just say that it was thanks to experimentation, the desire for a light sensitive organ, and lots and lots of free time.

Speaking of organs, I'm really starting to wonder just what kind of plant I am.

You see, aside from that glorified leaf that was supposed to at least resemble an eye, I've tried growing some other stuff. Namely muscles. And it worked! Seriously! I mean I was just messing around, killing time. It's not like I know how they are made anyways, not well enough to deliberately grow any at least.

Plus, from what little I do understand, the cells that I grew are quite different from anything I'm familiar with.

Point is, that unless my “soul powers” have reached a whole new level (unlikely), then I was capable of growing these muscles from the beginning and they were built according to an existing genetic blueprint. Which, while potentially very convenient for me, is a really weird trait for a plant to have.

Hmm. I wonder if I could grow nerves. After all, I still can't feel anything. I'm aware of my body of course, to rather astonishing degree in fact, but I don't FEEL per say. Even that “light sensor” leaf doesn't actually act as a receptor, I just inspect the appropriate cells to determine the amount and direction of the light. If it weren't for the fact that I spent days inspecting every angle of it, just to alleviate my boredom, I would never have discovered the two moons.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

But back to nerves. The “wires” aside, I don't have any idea how to make the various receptors or for that matter how to “receive” the signal, other than constant monitoring.

Well I'll just go one sep at a time. All this is mostly to kill time anyways.

****

In the end it only took me a few hours to grow a variety of short veins, consisting mostly of different water solutions with a few solid ones in the mix here and there. I even managed to activate another gene sequence, assuming of course that thats what this rather convenient phenomena is. I grew two nerves like that. Weird thing is, they are both different. Go figure.

Now. How to test it?

I suppose I could try coiling them up and moving a magnet nearby, but that would be VERY inefficient. Now that I think about it, I don't have a magnet, or a way to move it anyways, so scratch that.

What else … Two metals in an acidic solution could work. Gathering enough metal is gonna be a pain though.

Maybe I can use that soul energy or whatever … Ah. I should probably explain that.

Basically, I have noticed that whenever I concentrate on one specific part of myself, that part requires less energy. So I figure I'm somehow supplying it with extra.

Anyway, lets just try, shall we?

… Oh! I think it worked! This is definitely not electricity though. Hmm, lets see ….

Seems like most of my “wires” don't really work … Oh! But one of the “natural” ones lights up like a christmas tree. Well, I doubt that it actually lights up, but you get the idea.

Ok lets see what else I can do ….

****

Well, long story short. I have an eye!

Or at least something as close to one as I can get with my current skills and understanding.

At first it seemed impossible. I pretty much gave up, but then I managed to unlock another gene sequence or trait or whatever.

By now I can kind of feel wether something can be naturally grown or not. It's weird and I don't know how it works, but it's extremely helpful. Ah, just to be clear, I don't really understand my genetics or anything and I'm definitely not aware of all my available … what? Transformations, evolutions, mutations? The last one is probably most accurate, but whatever. Basically, to grow something I would need a clear image or understanding of the mutation or whatever and I wouldn't know anything about something with a similar function, but different structure and vice versa.

Now, about the eye. It is basically the same stuff that the leaf had, except a lot more of it, in a bowl, connected to nerves. The next bit is weird, though. The nerves are filled with the “soul energy” except it's kind of … dormant? Yeah … I don't really get it, but whenever light hits one end the other end “light up”, so … it works? Kinda.

Now I just have to hope that my consciousness can interpret the “soul energy” signals as an image …. Yeah …. fingers crossed?

Speaking of which. I've decided to start calling the soul energy mana instead. Cause, why the hell not. Right? It sounds a lot better, and this way I can pretend to be a magician! Yay!

In fact, lets name some other stuff. Like my sensing power can be soul perception and my ability to move stuff … telekinesis? (thats creative.) No idea what to call my experimentation though. Growth control? (comment anyone?) Not that it matters anyway. Just trying to keep myself entertained.

Hmm. I keep getting this weird feeling. Like an itch on the back of my metaphorical head …

Oh well. Back to experimentation!

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So a little longer chapter this time and some development as well. It's gonna be a couple more chapters before the story really begins though.

Anyway, hope you liked it.

P.S Sorry if I'm late by the way. I'm a slow typer and I didn't really plan my time well. I'll try to update every two days or so.

P.S.S Anyone know why some of the fictions (mine) don't show the genres/tags? Just wondering.