The spell dropped her unceremoniously on the ground as it dissipated. She rose to her feet hastily, ignoring the pain that the sudden fall inflicted upon her body. She warily turned her head, scanning over her new surroundings. The moon offered just enough light. Straining her ears, she listened for anything hiding in the undergrowth nearby. An empty grove with no immediate danger and I'm alone.
Her hand rested on her belly. Or am I? She relaxed visibly. A gentle smile crept onto her face.
She tensed, turning her attention to the surrounding forest; she peered over the canopy. I don't recognize anything here, neither landmarks nor trees. She forced her tired body to move forward. I can’t stay here.
The adrenaline rush that fuelled her body ceased in the absence of danger. Exhaustion crashed through her body; her legs buckled, and she collapsed bodily to the ground. A stream of tears flowed endlessly from her eyes as consciousness abandoned her.
While she lay prone, her body shimmered and emitted an eerie pure blue light. The shimmering stopped just as suddenly as it began. The blue light lingered behind a few moments, but it too also disappeared without a trace.
----------------------------------------
Integration successful
Preliminary scan complete
Relaying basic information
Name Vivian (Previously unnamed) Age 22 (Determined from host memories) Race Jadendajuda Racial ability Error (Data integrity lost) Miscellaneous This host stands four feet, eight inches tall (142 cm); her tail is five inches long (12 cm). She is suffering from malnourishment, starvation, and dehydration. She is currently unconscious due to fatigue. The host is in the first stages of pregnancy.
Racial history The first people to walk this world after the last of the great cataclysms came to an end. They strive for peace and harmony in every aspect of their lives. When their god perished, their appearance changed permanently. Their fair skin clouded into the grey they have exhibited ever since. Many believe the silky smoothness of their skin pales in comparison to what it had once been. Only their god knows the truth. The majority of the race rarely grows over four feet tall (121 cm). In ancient times, the tallest of them grew to be ten feet tall(304 cm). There are some unconfirmed speculations that their height suffered due to the growth of a tail; smooth and thick, lizard-like appendages, tapered down to a rounded tip.
Displaying status
Level 1(0) Health Pool 1/3(2) Mana Pool (restriction removed) 0/2(0) Strength 1(1) Constitution 2(1) Dexterity 1(1) Agility 2(1) Wisdom 2(1) Intelligence 1(1) Error (Data integrity lost) 3(2)
Issues detected with data integrity
Task aborted
Time until basic stability restored
Estimated duration: three weeks
Initiated self-diagnosis and data integrity recovery
Estimated task completion: twenty years
----------------------------------------
The morning sun bathed Vivian in a warm light. She carefully raised her upper body off the ground and propped herself up with her left arm. Her right hand instinctively rested on her abdomen.
She gently rubbed her belly. A fullness permeated her being, filling her with a sense of satisfaction, contrasting directly with how hungry she was. Dirt and tears had dried on her face. The side she had collapsed on could serve as camouflage.
"Where am I?" she asked rhetorically, casting a wary glance around.
Current location
Ominous Forest (Formerly Forest of Tranquility)
"Who's there?" she questioned as she pushed herself to stand, her body tensed in preparation to confront the unknown entity. Her belly grumbled, accompanied by pain. Both served as a reminder of her hunger.
The demand had intensified due to her pregnancy sucking up additional nutrients from her body. A problem she would have to resolve soon. She ignored her hunger and continued scanning her surroundings.
Map integration successful
Now displaying: Animal entities
"What the?" surprise evident in her voice; she was caught off guard when her vision became blocked by an image filled by dots of varied sizes skittering about to and fro, causing her no small amount of difficulty concentrating. She blinked her eyes futilely. With a deep sigh of frustration, she closed them to calm herself and alleviate the overload of visual information. This whole experience almost overwhelmed her. Is this what grandfather meant "the challenge is just beginning?"
"What is this? What’s wrong with my eye?! As if I don’t have enough problems to deal with!"
Compromising
Vivian sighed heavily in relief as the map slowly faded from her vision. She wiped the sweat from her brow as one issue at least seemed solved. Her stomach voiced its discontent again, gurgling loudly. The hunger is real enough. Vivian, in her frustration, looked at her balled up fists, uncurled her fingers, and slapped her face. Alright, that confirms I’m awake.
"Let's try this again. Who- or what- are you?" Vivian voiced her question into the air with uncertainty, feeling a little crazy.
Apocalypse Prevention and Host Augmenting System
"That's a mouthful," Vivian commented.
Often abbreviated as Aphas
"I'm calling you Sasha instead," Vivian stated with no room for argument. A full minute of silence passed while she waited for the system to respond.
Update complete.
My name is Sasha.
"Now, what did you do to me earlier?" Vivian asked, ignoring the changes she caused in the system.
I am utilizing all of my available functions to ensure your survival. That said, my capabilities are currently incredibly limited due to an unknown anomaly corrupting my data.
"Sasha, you didn't answer my question. What did you do to my eye?" Vivian folded her arms across her chest, noting that the system had become much more verbose.
Initial scans revealed the following problems: long term starvation and dehydration that led to malnourishment. Your health pool is dangerously low. I can only provide the tools; you have to address these concerns for your survival. I supplied a map with possible food sources to that end.
"I see, and you had to use my eye for this?" Vivian asked, "You couldn't put it somewhere for me to look at?"
My current options for what I can do are severely limited.
"I don't suppose you could fix my eye? I have an afterimage of the map burned into my vision, and it’s quite distracting."
You are incorrect. I have not removed the map. I adjusted it to not interfere with your vision. I suggest adapting as your chance of survival increases tenfold with it. To that end, I have slowly reduced transparency.
"Sasha," Vivian wanted to voice a long list of concerns, but her belly interrupted with its raucous rumbling. "Forget it, for now, that will have to wait. Can you fix the map to make it a bit more detailed?"
If I have the ability, I will comply.
"I just need to have something other than a generic dot used to indicate, literally everything. Are these white dots moving on the map animals? I'm guessing that the larger dots represent bigger animals?"
That is correct.
"Can you assess their strengths and habits? I need to know what to avoid. Animals aren't necessarily violent unless provoked, and I only need to be wary of the meat-eaters. Color them in a meaningful way."
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
What I find logical and you find meaningful will not be the same.
"Use my current strength and display me on this map as a grey dot. Compare all the animals in the forest with my strength. If the animal is weaker than me, then color it closer to white. Otherwise, adjust the color closer to black. Anything that would like to make me their next meal, change their mark to a square. If there is anything out there actively looking to kill me, mark that as a star."
Current functionality does not include the detection of actively hostile entities. I will implement that change when the functionality to do so is restored. The map is updated with all options currently available.
"Can I control the map?"
There is a way however, it requires a deeper connection than you and I currently share due to-
"Limited functionality. Yes, I’m aware." Vivian interrupted impatiently. The flaws of this system are frustrating, but I can't wait to tap into the near-unlimited potential it has.
"Can you make it easier to see without having it block my vision? Yes, yes, just a little more and perfect! I'll work with this for now." Vivian's belly rumbled again. She quickly surveyed her surroundings. There's not much here I can use. I'm far too weak for hunting at present.
"Hey, Sasha? Can you add edible plants to the map? Don't show me anything poisonous."
What is this feeling? This Host-was I made with her in mind? She very quickly accepted not only the map but me as well-going as far as gracing me with a name. The flaws in my tools do not deter her. Instead, she found ways to improve my functions. I hope I can continue to be useful. I look forward with anticipation to see what she does with my other tools when they become available. Speaking of which, I cannot stand it that I keep disappointing her. Having most of what I have to offer unavailable is very frustrating.
"Sasha?" Vivian asked impatiently, slightly frowning. "Can you? Or is this more of the unavailable functions?"
Vivan. That hurts. This request is within my current capability and completed. I can guarantee that I am more upset about my broken state than you are.
"If you say so. On another note, do you perhaps have any other useful things like this map? Nevermind. It isn't worth knowing if I can't make use of it. How long will it be until you clean up that abnormality you mentioned?" Vivian shook her head. I’m lashing out on her unfairly. I need to sort my hunger.
My previous calculation for complete recovery came to twenty years. However, I should be able to restore partial functions before then.
"Do your functions include providing food or water? Anything tangible?" Vivian asked as her belly grumbled again. Seriously, I know I'm hungry, alright? You hear me up here trying to find something to eat?
If I could provide food, why would I give you a map when my ultimate goal is keeping you alive?
"I figured as much. Adjust the map to make it just slightly more visible." She kept her attention split on both her map and the undergrowth in front of her. A deep breath and she abandoned the safety of the grove. She maintained a long distance from anything close to grey and darker on the map. She gave extra space for every square on her map; they were all pitch black.
Sticky saliva clung to her dry throat, but she forcefully swallowed the offending wad as she cautiously made her way through the undergrowth. Even though she knew where her biggest threats were, she couldn't just turn off a lifetime of living in fear. The greatest threat to her survival was the map’s inability to display actively hostile entities. Vivian traipsed in the undergrowth. She grew irritated before her head started pounding from world data influx.
Phoenix Manticore Beldereaver Wild Boar Wild Raspberry Horse Radish Rice Yam Dragon Leaf Wild Grass
"Sasha. I'm getting a headache from all these things popping up in my vision just because I'm looking around. Can you stop throwing information in my vision unless I ask specifically to see something?" Vivian groaned.
The more information you have, the better your odds are of surviving.
"I fail to see how the gestation period of manticores and the beldereaver courting and mating process will help me survive." Vivian visibly shivered as she continued, "That added nothing of value. The only useful bit I obtained from all that information you overloaded my head with at present is that the wild raspberry bush right there isn't poisonous."
Valid point. Very well, I will refrain from giving detailed information unless specifically requested.
Vivian approached the raspberry bush in question and began slowly plucking the tiny fruits from the vines. Slowly and cautiously, she worked to collect the fruit, avoiding the thorns as much as possible. A pile started to form at her feet. Unable to resist trying one, she tossed a berry into her mouth.
Sweet and tart assaulted her tongue in equal measure. Her hunger jumped to the forefront of her actions. Caution lost to the opportunity of filling her belly, her hands and arms became riddled with scrapes from the thorns in her haste to harvest. Raspberry juice covered her hands from pinching a few too hard.
The aroma from the juice inciting her hunger further, she hurriedly stuffed berries into her mouth even as the pile of raspberries still managed to grow larger at her feet. Saving face long abandoned, raspberry juice leaked down the corners of her mouth.
Vivian, would it not be more rewarding to lace these berries with dragon leaf and wait until a small critter ate it? They are more filling, after all.
"Allow me to explain why that’s not better. You have some measure of how weak I am, correct? There are very few small dots on the map on the lighter side." Vivian sat down and started eating ravenously from the pile of scavenged raspberries.
Yes, I know almost everything about my hosts. That's how I became aware of the anomaly.
"Then you know I lack the physical strength to kill an animal with my bare hands, even a sleeping one. You mentioned my malnourishment earlier. Also that I'm starved and dehydrated. These conditions make me even weaker physically.” Vivian stopped eating to explain.
“I refuse to eat raw meat; I can’t stomach the taste. That alone is enough to avoid it, but add in it could make me incredibly sick. I’m even less inclined. I’m pregnant on top of that. I won't eat anything that could harm my baby.” Vivian’s right hand trailed down to her abdomen and stopped over her child. An act more comforting than filling herself with raspberries, even taking into account the pain her hunger put her through.
“Thereby, eating any meat would require making a fire. That by itself would attract unwanted attention. Additionally, the smell from cooking meat would undoubtedly attract hungry beasts that wouldn't mind adding me to their menu." Vivian casually filled her mouth with raspberries, chewed, and swallowed.
"Before I'll consume any meat, I'll need materials to make some basic tools. Tools for killing, skinning, and properly preparing the animal for consumption. Finally, proper protection for when much bigger and more dangerous animals show up is also necessary." Vivian stated as she eyed the last raspberry stuck to her finger. She ate the final raspberry and licked the remnant raspberry juice from her hand. I gathered these rather hastily.
Thank you for taking the time to explain. I have learned a valuable lesson today.
"Helping you helps me." Vivian shrugged. She wiped her face and rose to her feet. "These berries are delicious. If I could live off these, I would."
Scanning. It is possible; your starving and dehydrated conditions have diminished considerably. However, I would recommend eating a variety to counter the malnourishment.
I need to get this map sorted; it’s barely usable in its current state.