⸮lɒɘя υoჸ ɘяA

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Whoever designed the character models and terrain settings clearly had just as much input into making the enemies.

Standing in a small patch of hair-grass, squatting fat and round against the terrain, is what I can only describe as the grossest little abomination I’ve ever seen. I love it.

It looks almost like a ball of snot, wrapped around a wriggling knot of what seem like centipede legs. The whole thing is, quite frankly, an abomination of the highest order, a rolling ball of goop- and yet, deep in my weird little heart, I can’t help but find it just a little bit cute as it rolls awkwardly across the ground, an occasional centipede-leg coated in slime poking out to roll it in a new direction. It drops the same bits of weird gravel that make up the ground behind it as it walks, though I notice a distinct lack of redness to the pieces left behind, like sucked-on scabs.

Disgusting, terrible, no good, nasty.

But like… it’s a small little rolly-baby. I can’t hate it all the way!

Ah well. The siren song of EXP calls.

Even if the game is only in VR, it’s still gross to hit the thing. My avatar’s awkward arm swipe slaps into the ball of ooze, which bounces away with further awkwardness. It half-deflates, turning into a loose collection of ooze on the ground as it spreads out, but the legs remain, slowly pulling it back together.

I go to hit it again, swiping just a bit more smoothly than before as I compensate for the awkwardness of the controls. I manage to hit near center mass on the whole thing, the haptic sensors on my arm providing me the thrum of vibration as a reward. The creature, on the other hand, gives off a sound like an angry teakettle, oozing itself towards me rather than away. Before I can pull the awkward movement controls back, the snot-thing has wrapped its way around my foot.

The haptic feedback on my leg goes wild, buzzing angrily and constantly. There’s no health-bar anywhere on-screen, but whatever it’s doing, there’s a visible effect ongoing, eating through the skin of the avatar’s leg. The effect, once again, promises a good deal of immersion, showing her model deteriorating progressively more and more.

It’s kind of ticklish, actually, feeling the haptics constantly vibrating, even if it is way too intense to be comfortable, let alone enjoyable.

I yank my foot out of the ooze, which lets go with barely any struggle and splatters pitifully on the floor. It’s coloration has shifted, from snot-grey over to a pinkish red, and the reason feels fairly self-evident; the skin of my leg has turned from a furry, fuzzy purple and pale white skin to a mess of half-disgested slime. Apparently, the creature is more stomach than snot, and a quick check of my (my avatar’s) knuckles confirms it- there’s a layer of fur that’s been eaten away, but the skin there remains intact.

Adaptation in action.

I start focusing on using my other hand to strike it, keeping the fur between skin and impact. Strike, strike, then again- it’s got a core, so it ain’t all acid, and it it ain’t all acid, then it takes damage.It’s not enough to keep from burning into her hands nearly as much as her leg, but she ends the situation a lot more intact than the slime. The creature deflates, losing surface tension and cohesion. The centipede-eels in the middle of it wriggle for a few more hits after, but it only takes a few moments for them to stop too, some of them uncoiling from each other but ultimately failing to divide in time to escape. If that is, in fact, what they’re trying to do, which I’m not entirely clear on. It seems… almost more like a bundle of symbiotes than a singular creature, honestly. It’s some really nifty biology stuff that, frankly, has me hyped up as all hell to see whatever’s next on the menu.

And then- the dopamine. The juicy, delicious, phat as all hell dopamine.

ENEMY DEFEATED

ADAPTATION ACQUIRED: SWIPE

A quick re-opening of the menu and there it is, written in the synthetic-looking flesh of the boxes.

SWIPE: A swinging attack, usually open-handed and dependent on claws or strong digits. While there is little chance of lethal damage, it is a simple set of motor-functions that even beings as pathetic as Fleshlings and other prey-species can evolve.

Two possibilities there- either they’re going to give me a new ability for every possible attack pattern or ability in the game, or there’ll be a way to upgrade and fuse later. The trend of complexity and immersion has me wondering about the possibility of the former, but really, who’s to know until they know? I’ll find out at some point, or I won’t. Either way, I take a quick practice swing with the ability, and rather than a button-prompt, it seems like it falls more in line with some kind of upgrade. The movement has none of the awkward delay it had a minute ago, and my arm moves a lot faster and more fluidly this time.

And then, joy of joys, the only thing that can tempt a gamer more than a new ability or levels: loot.

It’s not much, but each of the leftover eels, and some of the leftover slime, seem to glow ever so slightly, outlining them against the backdrop of the surroundings. Just bright enough to have attention called to them and not much else- but once noticed? Oh what a temptation..

I lower the POV down to them, crouching down in the real world to get a better look. To my surprise, once I get close enough, the more writing begins to appear, glowing bright crimson and swimming through the air like little fish.

MATERIAL ACQUIRED: Twitching Digits

MATERIAL ACQUIRED: Digestive Sludge

Hovering my hand over them, I pick one up, finding the selection process easier than last time, as if the SWIPE ability has added greater dexterity in general to the avatar’s hand-movements. The centipede-leg twitches as I pick it up, but I suppose, in the right light, possibly while very drunk, it could be described as a very strange finger. And that is in fact sludge, and it did, in fact, partially digest me.

…so the last material I found, I put in my mouth. Then, the game rewarded me with cool fur.

On the other hand… synchronicity mentioned something about organic technology. And I put, like, half of my starting total into that. So maybe I should… look into that? Before I start putting other people’s digestive sludge in my mouth?

I’m all for a good time, but some build-up first, you know?

SYNCHRONICITY: The Entity's communion with higher ideals, improving its understanding and ability to use organic technology and the mechanics of reformation.

…Dare I hope?

I pick up a couple of the still-twitching “digits” (they’re centipedes with joints, its terrible and awesome), and nothing new pops up. Instructions don’t just appear out of nowhere. But…

Huh. Gamer instincts, maybe, or just a hunch, but there’s just… a feeling.

You can make rope out of filaments, right? And it’s not like this thing, whatever it is, was eating through the grass. And my fur partially protected me.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I grab a handful of the hair-grass, and almost as if by instinct, I watch my character’s hands grab it differently, not the clumsy grasp it had earlier. I bright enough long clumps of it, pulled out of the pale dirt and gravel, to make something, and I don’t need to do much more than prompt things before my hands are moving for me, some… animation? Or something, anyways, ensuring a smooth weave. Almost as an afterthought, I pick up the digits, watching my hands move as if under someone else’s control. In about thirty seconds, I’m holding something that looks like a mix between a necklace and body-jewelry, fitting easily over my hand. I put my left one through it, the haptic feed back of it sort of tingly, but…

Hmm. Still something missing. Going off only the materials I’ve got in front of me…

I pick up the Digestive Sludge, feeling a tingle in the control on my right hand as I dribble it over my left and the necklace of mismatched, twitching things. The left controller starts to vibrate more, then more, until my actual hand starts to feel a little numb, and then-

SYMBIOTE CREATED

ADAPTATION ACQUIRED: TWITCHING DIGITS

There it is.

The fur has mostly melted off from around my left hand, but in return, the five fingers I had previously are now met by seven more, all of them longer and emerging semi-randomly from points around the hand. These long, black fingers, with too many joints and weird little mini-fingers on one side of them, act according to their name, twitching and spasming lightly as I turn my hand one way, then the other.

I can feel the haptic feedback responding to the changes, sending tiny little twitches against my (real) skin as the grass blows in the breeze all around. It’s like I can feel it without touching, the increase to sensitivity jumping up pretty high, even as I marvel at the sharp-tipped points of my strange new anatomy.

Still, the decrease to health is obvious. My avatar’s skin, marked with the colorful patterns of character creation, has partially melted, turning to a goopy mess, and the aforementioned patterns, fur, and feathers have all melded together in a waxy mess. The wrist is stiff and locked, the original fingers looking like runny wax from the digestive goop, but still, I can’t help but consider it an upgrade: the original fingers still move a bit, but the slew of new animations and sheer responsiveness of the new additions more than make up for it.

And yeah I can see how this could synergize with SWIPE.

Grinning like a lunatic, I charge off towards the nearest patch of moving hair-grass, on the hunt for another delightful little snot-ball.

I’m gonna call them sludgelings!

The second fight goes much better than the first. Two swipes and I’ve torn open the membrane holding all the ooze in, dissolving the creature much faster. Lefty does indeed do a lot more damage than righty, the wax skin seeming not to provide as much feedback to my haptics and the many points on my new fingers tearing as I swipe. It does still take a little damage, turning more pink and red as the acid eats away in droplets, but the new adaptation itself seems as immune to the acid now as it was when she first dug them out.

Still, no reason to lose both hands. The new addition act almost (almost) as dexterously as the originals in weaving a long string out of the hair all around, and decorating it with additional Twitching Digits, Low-Grade is easy compared to doing the same with acid. I put the impromptu necklace on my right hand, making an improvised way to store at least some of the rewards from ongoing looting.

It doesn’t take long for the chain of digits to be really, really long, and for the next grand idea to come up.

I keep heading in a straight line, for the most part, keeping on-course for the distant mountains, but the hills… they call to me. Specifically, the trees on them. I could probably kill another ten-odd sludgelings before I run out of space to put new fingers on, but that’s a pretty boring idea, even if it might end up being an upgrade. Grinding out the perfect set of bonuses and upgrades is fine and all, but it’s also boring, and the sort of busywork I’m happy to save for a later playthrough- ergo, time to experiment with new pieces.

Up one hill and there, I find myself staring up at a tree that’s… well, not that hard to stare up at, to be honest. It has no foliage, and it’s barely taller than my avatar, maybe six and a half feet, tops. Each tree has one, maybe two branches on them, not even enough to really call a canopy, but that’s ok- I only need the one to start with. They’re dry, brittle, but tough enough that it barely bends as my avatar grips onto it hard. I have to add the hand equipped with my new adaptation to finally manage to yank a piece free.

Almost immediately, the highlight pops up again, forming letters the closer she looks.

MATERIAL ACQUIRED: Brittle Bone Sprig

I swing it a few times, feeling how the haptic feedback and such shows a change in movement. To my surprise, it’s a fluid motion, sort of imitating the- ah. Imitating the pattern of SWIPE. It did mention it was partially muscle-based, the adaptation, meaning it might be that without it, the branch would be just as clunky as everything else- but with it? The game provides a satisfying whistle as I swings through the air.

I giggle a bit, grinning. I’ve got weapons, I’ve got upgrades, I’ve got a direction. Let’s-

And then, almost as if in response to my good mood, I hear something growling.

Turning, I catch sight of something more or less the size of a dog, though significantly more stout, about three feet high and solid all the way through. It looks like a sludgeling’s older cousin, the cluster of digits in the center replaced by multiple exposed and more spider-like limbs, all of them keeping the heavier body up off the ground and forming something like an internal skeletal structure. It’s like watching a bunch of rigid eels bite and pull on each other to imitate tendons, moving a much thicker piece of sludge up off the ground.

Again, a whistling sound, but this one sounds deeper, more haunting. Like wind through cliffsides rather than a cute little kettle screaming.

I have just enough time to get my weapon up before it throws itself at me.

I stumble back, the difficulty of movement made all the more difficult by having to make snap reactions. The delays and awkwardness of some of the controls, matched to needing to maintain at least some idea of the surroundings in my actual, real-life room, double-up to make the whole experience send a thrill of adrenaline running through me, just as the creature slams into her avatar.

Immediately the haptic feedback goes nuts, sending an actual jolt through me from how suddenly all of them light up. A constant, full-body vibration starts to kick up, making my teeth grind and putting me the fuck on edge, even as spider-digits wrap around me, squeezing tightly and pinning me against the acidic ooze.

But I still have my hands free.

I swing, my SWIPE ability doubling down on tearing through part of the creature’s body and sending it splattering away as my newfound club carves into it. It screeches, loud and angry, maintaining its hold, I swap the club to my right hand as the twitching mass of my left gets shoved straight into its center mass.

The fight is going badly, and fast. As an ambush predator, this thing is doing wonders for itself, and the grey slime is rapidly turning pink as it eats into me. Sacrificing a limb is no minor thing, but sometimes to win, you need to do crazy stuff and accept the price. I push my arm in harder, all the way in, and shove.

I manage to get it just a few inches off, my avatar’s flesh running like drooping wax and runny colors. I’m bleeding from several holes where it’s eaten through into flesh, the blood strangely pale, but my own twitching extra fingers wrap tightly into the ooze, maintaining their form even as my original hand keeps melting. Another swipe, and two of the creature’s limbs break, splattering black blood and something like tendons from inside their exoskeleton.

From there, it gets easier. I slip free of its grasp, tossing it aside and slamming my club down onto it, once, twice, three times. With a final thick, disgusting splat, it bursts like an overripe fruit, falling apart into the scab-gravel and oozing its remains down the hill.

In and out of game, I collapse onto the ground, my whole body numb from the constantly vibrating haptics. I might need to find a settings menu to tone that down, honestly. It’s nothing if not accurate- the feedback pads on my stomach and shoulders are still vibrating, just a bit.

Then again… fuck, what an immersion. To almost literally feel the danger, the risk, the incredible graphics matched by sound design and physical feedback. This… this wasn’t worth 200 dollars. This was worth more. This could be a launch title for a whole new VR gaming setup.

ADAPTATION ACQUIRED: SKIN-DENSITY

Instantly, my haptic sensors send a subtle, calmer pulse over my body, leaving me a bit tingly, and I see my avatar’s appearance shift slightly beneath the cocoon-screen. Where before the parts touched by acid looked like runny scars, now they look more like dense, hard packed beeswax, rough and uneven but thicker, more solid. It looks out of place on the rest of the skin, thin, light and pale as it is, but I can’t help but feel a little thrill at just how customizable and responsive everything is.

Next priority- finding more shit to craft with. Without the adaptation I made and the bone club (or sprig, technically), that would’ve gone far, far worse, and this is just a low-level trash mob in the starter area. If I can get at the much larger spider-things of the sludgelur (like sludgeling, but bigger!), maybe see if my character can eat some of the stuff that fell out of it for the side-objectives-

Everything lights up. The haptic feedback gets loud, screaming at me, every part of my body lit up with tingling sensations and borderline electrified. I spasm in shock, feeling like every funny bone in my body got smacked at once.

An instant later, my vision gets blocked by the same snot-grey coloration as the other creatures. I try to call up a menu, pause the game, but it’s like they’re a real object affected in the physics engine, unable to be seen through the ooze.

The game doesn’t pause.

I yank off my headset as the game makes a disgusting crunching noise and the screen goes black.