AC: Hello all! Chapter 5! now we're cooking with gas! next chapter will have a few twists so just a heads up. as always.

Stay frosty RRL. [th_113_.gif]

~~v~~

“Uuuurgh”

I groaned in pain as my eyes slowly opened, I was face down on the ground.

Lets just say my everything hurts.

Anybody get the number of that bus? Oh wait I’m not in that world anymore…

My Iron Scales seem to have deactivated the moment I lost consciousness. My head feels like its been cracked open, and my vision is still a bit blurry.

I wonder how long I was out… there no way of knowing, unfortunately this outdated game like system needs an upgrade or two, I mean come on at least give me a clock and compass!

Taking a moment to right myself I sit with my back to the closest wall. My vision clears and what I see is… breathtaking.

I’m sitting in a natural cavern, and the walls, ceiling and ground… are covered in beautiful blue and violet crystals. Each one has a feint glow to them, and water is dripping from the ceiling. There are little red mushrooms growing wherever water pools.

Amazing, what are they? I’ve never seen anything like it.

As I’m marveling at the large circular cavern, every inch covered in the unique crystals… I notice a flashing icon. This one is a yellow triangle with the exclamation mark inside.

Since I cant really move much right now, I decide to have a look.

[Alert: Due to prolonged exposure to high density Magical Essence, you have gained a new Ability!]

[Mana Pool: Unlocked

You can now develop special affinities for magic, Mana is affected by your Mind Stat and will deplete with use! You currently have MP:520/520]

[Congratulations! You have unlocked an Affinity: Nature Affinity!

Due to staying in a place with high Magic Density, you have been granted a random Affinity!]

[Congratulations! You have learned a new Skill: Growth Acceleration!

This is the base for all Nature Magic, with time and study, new uses can be found!]

Wait so there was magic too?

So why didn’t I start off with it? Or is it something developed not given?

Well considering the circumstances tied to my developing it I would assume it is more of a mutation than something everything has… Yay I’m a mutant!

As if having scales wasn’t enough…

Also my status has updated a bit, but only a little, my endurance increased by three percent and my intellect by two percent. I guess observing that fight and also surviving the fall gave me some benefits.

However…

How the hell do I get out of here? Nature Affinity is nice and all, but the only plants I see down here a weird red mushrooms growing between the crystals here and there.

Though I suppose I could try using it, maybe something positive will happen! Here’s for being optimistic!

Now how do I use this Growth Acceleration thing? I’m used to using skill with my body, but this seems to be external… ah well, I’ll do some tests, not like I have much else I can do right now.

Pointing my hand palm up to an unsuspecting patch of mushrooms, I activate the skill Growth Acceleration!

Nothing happens…

“Ku ku ku… you are a worthy foe red mushrooms, but what about this!?

I point my finger like a gun barrel at them and try to envision them growing huge, all the while I shout out…

“Growth Acceleration!!”

Okay I wasn’t really taking it very serious, I mean it could be activated by a number of different things right?

Well imagine my surprise when one of the red mushrooms, which kind of resemble Mycena mushrooms with their bell like caps and long thin stems.

Suddenly starts growing!

“Eureka!”

Take that mushrooms, grow even stronger and… well actually you kind of win with this outcome don’t you? Blast it all I need an offensive magic!

The mushroom grows towards me, and stops at my foot, no small feet considering it was at least five feet away and was originally no taller than my hand.

I wonder if I can use identify on them… maybe they are edible? Though from my experience red mushrooms are usually poisonous… on the other hand I’m hungry… Hmm I feel like a lot of my common sense has fled me ever since being reborn.

Should I be worried or chalk it up to being young (again)?

I’ll shelf that concern for now… against my better judgment.

Not really expecting much, I try to identify the red mushrooms. And what came up was a little window above it…

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

[Unnamed]

Oh? So what about if I name it? What should I name it though? I can’t call it something like Red Murder or something, what if it was a perfectly edible little shroom… I can’t condemn it to a fate like that, being named a murderer without any crime… why do I care?

I’m an ARTIST!

Anyway, It looks like a Mycena type so I’ll just call it that. As soon as I make up my mind and label it as such a familiar window appears.

[Confirmed: Mycena has been named, would you like to set it as the Genus or Name? GENUS/NAME.]

Huh, so it does it each time huh? I have to admit I was kind of counting on that. Well Mycena is a Genus so I’ll go with that.

So what to name it then?

Red Cap? Bloody Bell? Hmm, I think I’ll go out on a limb here and give it a name with meaning… why? Because I’m hurting and I’m bored that’s why!

I found it in a dire situation, at he bottom of an unknown chasm… I’m wounded, probably going to die down here.

Hmmm…

How about Painful Luck? Mmmn, it doesn’t fit well, ah I know! When is doubt use the same name with a different language!

“Suerte Dolorosa!”

I am a genius! Spanish makes everything sound awesome! Good thing I got good grades in it or I would have probably just settled with the first one.

After confirming the name I once again tried to identify it.

[Mycena Suerte Dolorosa [Fugi]

Blood red mushrooms of the Mycena Genus that can be used to heal minor wounds and take away pain. Use of too much can cause drowsiness.]

“Well I’ll be damned…”

Or more precisely ‘saved’ I really never thought I would find something like this down here. At best I was thinking it would end me quickly instead of starving to death.

For about tem minutes a maniacal laughter flooded the cavern and any subterranean creatures that were close by went into hiding.

After a good laugh I reach down and pick the cap off the now huge mushroom.

“You know, I think everything is going to be alright!” I say as I chomp down on the wonderful miracle shroom.

It didn’t take long for me to realize my mistake…

However it was far too late as the narcotic nature of the shroom nocked me out into a dreamless sleep.

~v~

I was probably out for a while but when I woke up I felt much better! I flexed my muscles and stretched to make sure everything was in order. Not only did it heal injuries but cured insomnia too!

Finally I was able to move around and inspect the place a bit. Where I fell from was collapsed, there were tunnels’ leading to god only knows where but should I just pick one that looks promising?

Also there are these crystals and the mushrooms, I really don’t want to leave without at least figuring out what they are and if they can help me. And well I’ve grown attached to the mushrooms.

It’s not an addiction I can quit whenever I want!

Anyway, I think I should stay here for a little while, at least until I figure out a solid plan for escape. Blindly walking around with no way of knowing where I am or where I’m going could get me killed or worse.

It was then that I found out something curious.

The crystals had a name!

I hadn’t named them, so someone else must have? Or was this the only thing given a name in this entire freaking planet!?

Shelving the question of who named them however, I was more interested in what they could do.

After using Identify on them they seemed to be extremely useful.

[Resonance Crystal: [Crystalline] Magic infused crystal, each one has its own unique resonance. Even when broken apart, the pieces will resonate with the same sound, too high or too low to be perceived by most.

Can be used to store Mana.

When fully charged, will emit a strong glow. ]

Interesting so if I take one or two of these with me (one since I will obviously take my mushrooms with me). I shouldn’t have an issue if I run into low light areas.

With that in mind, I start to prepare, I picked as many of the small Suerte Dolorosa mushrooms as I could carry in one hand, and had a Resonance Crystal in the other.

I really want to see if I can cultivate the mushrooms above ground with my Nature Affinity. Having something that helps me recover would be a huge help.

With such thoughts on my mind… I left the cavern behind me, but I wasn’t expecting what I would run find on the end of the tunnel.

Who could have expected it?