Unknown Cave, Kai's POV

Main POV

Zipping from crystal to crystal, Kai absorbed every last crystal in the cave. His size had increased with every crystal he absorbed, though the amount it increased seemed to gradually decrease as well.

As Kai spent time practicing his motor controls, he managed to make his entire liquid body move altogether, causing his speed to increase drastically. Not to mention the increased size and Mana also allowing him to increase his speed.

Kai understood why his increased size would help, while he would get heavier, he would be able to slide faster by spreading out his body on the ground. However, he couldn't quite understand why Mana would help, he could sense it was clearly increasing his speed but he wasn't able to grasp how.

If he had to describe it, it would be that it felt like adding stats points in a game. Every time he absorbed a crystal, it would automatically be distributed across his body. However, the increase seemed to be universal, not just increasing his speed but every aspect of his body.

Ah, his rate of absorption had also greatly increased with every crystal he consumed. Kai had gradually honed the instinct that had taught him to absorb the crystals. I feel like a competitive eater... Kai thought as he ate up the final crystal in the cave.

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Taking a look at himself, he discovered his size had gone from a measly 50 by 15 centimeters to a whopping 4 by 1.5 meters. hehe... Kai giggled internally as he felt a sense of accomplishment.

Now then... Kai took a good look at his cave once more, scanning over every detail... was what he would have done if not for the very obvious fissure in the far-left corner of the cave; yes, it was the crack that dripped that strange liquid.

Moving his large blob-like body, now looking like a moving puddle, he headed to that crack. I really look like a sentient, moving puddle. Kai thought as he watched his body.

Shrugging off that thought, Kai quickly arrived at the fissure; still depositing that weird liquid - which Kai decided to now call Mana Water - onto the ceiling of the cave, the Mana Water somehow sticking to it as it made its way down to the, now empty, pond.

Kai watched in silence as the trails of Mana Water trickled down the ceilings, to the walls, and finally to the pond. He noticed a second trail, leading down to the stalactite directly above his birthplace.

Shifting his focus back to the fissure, Kai first tried extending a thin string made out of his body into it. Kai had figured out something else during the time he was absorbing the crystals, his 360º vision also applied to parts he makes out of his body. In fact, he was able to have two points of view at the same time and it wasn't disorientating at all.

Kai deducted that in theory, he could have vision on as many body parts as he wanted, but when he tried to see the points of view of 9 parts at once, his "head" started feeling tired; extremely tired. As though he had been studying the entire day and the fatigue finally hit him; not that had before, but it felt like it.

Anyways, back to the present. Kai focused as he maneuvered his metallic string through the crack, speeding past the occasional plant-life he saw, despite piquing his interest.

*Splash*

A sound echoed from the outskirts of a specific Lake, the first that had been heard for centuries.

Unfortunately, there was not a single creature to record this strange lifeform's first appearance in the world.

The residents of this world had no idea what it was in for.