I can’t help but feel disappointed as I am told the decision of the elders on the next morning.

  Exile.

  I am taken to the edge of the town with nothing more than the clothes on my back, the dagger at my belt, a leather waterskin, and a hatchet.

  I hear people muttering in disagreement as I walk by them. Some argue I shouldn’t even get this much—that they’re weakening the tribe even further by letting me walk away with such precious tools. That I’ve already weakened them enough by taking one of their hunters away from them.

  I turn my head in their direction, unsure if I agree with them, or if I want to challenge them to take them back.

  A few of them stare right back, but most look away as soon as my gaze meets theirs.

  Once I reach the edge of Calythera and my armed escort stops, I keep walking, not even shooting a gnce behind my back. Why would I?

  Even if the elders had decreed I was allowed to stay, the community would not welcome me back in. And I don’t want to stay here. I don’t need Lex’s statue as a constant reminder of what I did to him.

  Not like I can forget, with the power of the [Heart of the Beastkin] numen flowing through my body. I am haunted by the knowledge of having captured a part of Lex and keeping it inside of me.

  I have grown stronger, killed him, and weakened my former tribe.

  I don’t know how long I’ve been walking around aimlessly in the rainforest, but I finally realise just how exhausted I am. My entire body is sore from constantly having to climb over roots and navigate the dense forest. I look down at my bare feet, covered in mud and wince as I finally realise the burning sensation from countless cuts and scrapes.

  I grit my teeth, lean my entire body against a tree, and take a moment to think.

  I have to stop drifting aimlessly, and I have to figure out how to survive.

  “What are the fundamentals needs in order to survive?” I ask myself.

  “Physiological needs; water, food, air, shelter, clothing, warmth, sleep and health,” I answer, reciting old lessons.

  “Okay. Which ones are covered, and which ones will become a problem first?”

  “I’ll need drinkable water. Stagnation begets corruption, so I need running water, like a stream or a river.”

  “Next, I need food. Even if I could hunt animals, I don’t know how to light a fire. So I’m not sure I could prepare or cook them properly. I don’t know if I can survive from eating raw meat. So I should look for fruits, vegetables. Or pnt-based monsters.”

  Some of the pnt-based monsters can simply be washed, cut and eaten raw, simir to how carrots can. Mandragora or treant saplings are used in some my people’s cuisine…

  I grimace as I remember they are no longer my people.

  “Air won’t be a problem, but shelter and warmth will be. I’ll need to find a burrow or den, if I don’t want to sleep in the rain.”

  “Clothing… I have what’s on my back. I don’t know how long that will st, and I know it won’t be enough to carry me through the winter. But that’s not a problem for a bunch of months.”

  I gnce down at my dirt-covered feet and sigh. “Health will probably quickly become a problem if I keep getting cuts like this. Finding some pants, boots or ways to cover my ankles and feet would help with that. I should make that a priority.”

  I inhale and exhale slowly, looking around. In every direction, all I see is foliage, roots, and trees. I only have a vague idea of where I came from.

  “Add ‘Getting lost’ and ‘Not getting eaten by predators’ to the long list of things nobody taught kids where I came from.”

  I frown. Their solution to getting lost was to stop moving, as that increased the chance of getting rescued.

  “But nobody’s going to come to my rescue, so this piece of advice is worthless.”

  I push myself off the tree.

  “Okay, so in order—Find a river, then try to find or build some kind of shelter nearby. Figure out a solution to your ck of pants and boots. Find food sources, avoid predators.”

  I close my eyes and focus on my sense of hearing, attempting to detect the sound of running water.

  Sound travels farther than sight in jungles, even if the forest smothers most noises before they reach me clearly. The leaves and thick vines soak up all the higher sounds, leaving only the deeper ones to roll across the roots and trunks. If there’s a river nearby, it’ll sound like a dull roar, not a spsh or a babble.

  I’ll have to listen for the low, heavy noises — the kind that can push their way through this wall of green.

  With a clear goal in mind, I pick a direction and start walking again. In this jungle, my ears are my best weapons. They can warn me of nearby threats—and maybe guide me to water if I’m lucky.

  I smirk weakly as some distant memory drifts to the surface. “Heh. I feel like I’m pying Silent Hunter…”

  Except I’m not even sure what it means anymore.

  Suddenly, my right ear twitches at the sound of some underbrush shifting nearby. I stop moving and turn toward the noise.

  Less than a metre away, I spot a small mandragora, its two round, bnk eyes blinking in my direction. It fps its little bud-arms like wings, wobbling to keep its bance on two tiny feet. The creature is roughly thirty centimetres tall. Its head reminds me of a turnip—perfectly round and white, covered with green edible leaves. The body underneath is twisted and yellowish, like a nightmarish, twisted parsnip.

  Neither of us moves. While the mandragora doesn’t seem to immediately register me as a threat, it is not breaking eye contact, turning away to run, stepping forward to attack, or backing away in fear. I don’t think it expected to stumble on me like this, and I’m not sure it knows what I intend to do. They are not the cleverest of creatures—and that makes sense, given the tiny size of their brains.

  I grin, and without even thinking about it, my [Scour] ability fires off, revealing information on the tiny creature.

  Creature: Mandragora YouthLevel: 3Species: MandragoraCreature Type: PntoidHP: 53/ 53MP: 0 / 0AttributesStrength: 6Intelligence: 8Dexterity: 7Wisdom: 6Constitution: 9Charisma: 6Agility: 6 Combat SkillsNatural Weapons: 12Evasion: 10Traits[Pnt Body] Allows the use of certain abilities.Active Abilities[Mandragora Scream] Reduces mental attributes of targets in area.[Spread Spores] Reduces physical attributes of targets in area.[Leaf bde] Damage one target with a sshing attack. Inflicts poison.[Head butt] Damage one target with a blunt attack. Stuns target.[Photosynthesis] Grants a powerful, short-duration Regen effect.Quiescent Numina[Mandragora Heart I] Dexterity+5 Accuracy+10 Haste+1%I don’t know if it’s because of my grin, or if it could somehow tell I just [Scour]ed it, but the mandragora’s eyes turn into a frown and the creature squeaks a threatening cry as it assumes what I can only assume to be its fighting stance.

  I take a combat stance myself, steadying the hatchet in my right hand. This will be my first time fighting a mandragora, and fighting with a weapon like this. I have no idea how it will go. However, the extra range of the hatchet feels like an advantage over the dagger. Plus, I’d have to draw the dagger, and to do that, I’d have to take my eyes away from the little onion…

  And there’s nothing more dangerous than looking away from your opponent.

  Since the turnip isn’t attacking, I decide to take the initiative. I step forward, raising my axe high and ssh terally at it, hoping to end the fight in a single blow.

  The mandragora rushes forward towards me with tiny bounds, way faster and nimbler than I had expected from how it wobbled earlier. I try to correct my swing, but I overextended. I still hit it, but only a weak gncing blow with the shaft of the weapon, causing my opponent to roll sideways. But as it comes out of the roll, it suddenly unches itself like a torpedo into a headbutt towards my knee. I shift my weight to my other leg, moving out of the way. I spin around and readjust my footing, never losing eye contact.

  I adjust the position of my hand on the handle of my weapon, gripping it closer to the head of the axe. A sword would be a much better weapon against a target as mobile as this one. A good hit or two with my hatchet should be enough to finish it, but I’d have to manage to nd a hit with the bded edge.

  I rush forward again and prepare an overhead swing. I try to anticipate its movement, and aim not where it is, but where I think it’ll be in just a moment. But the slippery pnt sidesteps my attack almost effortlessly. It rushes forward, intent on tackling my left leg, but I move it out of the way.

  We’re not making much progress, either of us…

  I shift my hand even closer to the head of the axe. At this point, I’m almost treating it like a sharp rock, but given the size of my opponent, I feel this is going to be my best shot. I raise my weapon once more and try to squash the mandragora zipping and running between my legs. What is it even trying to accomplish?

  Once again, the bugger steps out of the way of my blow, and it unches itself forward, zipping along the length of my right arm. I watch in horror as a green bde of grass suddenly sprouts from both of its tiny arms. The grass cuts the skin of my forearm like a shard of gss. I scream in pain at the burning sensation and pull my arm back. The two leaves detach from the mandragora and harmlessly float to the ground.

  That must have been its [Leaf bde] skill…

  I watch the mandragora as it leaps backwards. Once again, it fps its little bud-arms as it wobbles outside of my reach, staring at me. Waiting.

  As the burning sensation in my right arm amplifies, I remember the description of the skill.

  [Leaf bde] Damage one target with a sshing attack. Inflicts poison.I grit my teeth. The bastard! This is why he’s acting so smug? He’s just going to let the poison finish me off?

  I use [Scour] on myself, but I’m really only interested in checking my health.

  HP: 102/115Status Poisoned: Weak poison (-1 HP per second)Shit…

  I transfer my axe to my left hand and charge forward, swinging terally once again. And again, the critter avoids the bded part, but my swing sends it rolling. It spins dizzily and nds head first. Its little legs and arms fil as it tries to get back on its feet.

  I step forward and press the attack, nding my first real blow on the creature, severing one of its arm off.

  Yes! Without one of its arms, the fight might finally turn into my favour! It’ll be over quick!

  But that’s when the mandragora screams! This horrific, high-pitched wail. I stumble back off, partially stunned, as I cover one ear with my right hand. Ow! Oh my, this is horrible… I knew mandragoras were known for their screams, but this is far worse than I had expected. How does such a small thing have the lung capacity to scream such a loud, debilitating scream?!

  Slowly, I force myself to open my eyes. The mandragora is back on its feet, its little head bent sideways, watching the stump of its arm. The stump… that’s regrowing?!

  Shit… That’s [Photosynthesis]? It’s healing itself now?

  I can’t let it do that! But now I understand the combat style of these awful little predators. They have poison and regeneration, and multiple debilitating powers. They weaken you, poison you, and heal themselves until you fall. They’re the crown champions of battles of attritions. I couldn’t have picked a worst match…

  As I dash forward, I readjust the position of the hatchet in my left hand. I’m holding the head of the axe between my thumb and fingers now. I’m going to crack this onion like a coconut!

  I raise my left arm high, telegraphing an overhead swing, and the mandragora’s gaze fixes itself on my weapon.

  Ignoring the pain in my right arm, I suddenly reach out and grasp the creature by the torso, pinning both of its arms within my fingers.

  I scream in pain as its leaf bdes grow on both arms again, cutting my palm and fingers, and letting even more of its poison enter my bloodstream.

  But I don’t care. Because now I’m holding it prison, and I have a bded weapon about to repeatedly smash its bulbous head!

  The first hit is a good one, but when I’m about to hit it with the second, it twists its bdes in my hand, making me scream in pain, and causing me to hit my own fingers.

  DAMN YOU LITTLE…!

  I’m not thinking straight anymore. I just keep smashing. Three! Four! Five! Six!

  It finally goes limp in my hand. I colpse to the ground. I swear, almost half of those hits nded against my own fingers…

  [You have defeated a level 3 mandragora youth]

  [You have witnessed the following abilities: Leaf Bde, Photosynthesis, Head Butt, Mandragora Scream]

  [You have learned the following abilities: Photosynthesis, Head Butt. Abilities automatically equipped as you have 6 unused ability slots.]

  [Your success against this foe has awakened the following numen: Mandragora Heart I. Numen is automatically equipped as you have 12 unused numina slots.]

  I can’t feel anything except for the burning sensations in my right arm. I try to lift it so I can see the extent of damage, but it’s not responding. I shift my position, leaving my back against a root, and use my left arm to bring it up in my field of vision.

  As soon as I see the disaster, I close my eyes, grit my teeth, and let go.

  I shouldn’t have done that.

  Done what, exactly?

  Any of it. Everything had been a mistake. I shouldn’t have fought this horrible little monster. I shouldn’t have petrified my friend. I shouldn’t have pretended to be a member of this tribe. I shouldn’t have come to this world. I should have remained in the other one, unhappy and miserable as I was in that life.

  Why is it that no matter what I do and where I am, I always end up hating myself?

  My right hand is a mess. My arm is useless. The poison will slowly kill me. I’m done.

  I’m sorry. I tried to survive. Look, I really tried to be happy this time around, but it looks like it wasn’t in the cards for me.

  I smile as I close my eyes. I can give up, right? I gave it my best shot, and this is where it ends. That’s fine, right?

  Despite my best effort to just… stop, my brain reviews the battle. What went well, what went wrong. When did everything go downhill? What could I have done better? What was the biggest turning point?

  It’s when I lost my cool because the twat started regenerating, isn’t it? It’s that damn [Photosynthesis]’s fault… I had chopped off a chunk of its body! And it used it to regrow his arm!

  I ugh bitterly as I think of the state of my arm. Wouldn’t it be nice if I could do that too?

  …

  Wait… Earlier, the system message said I learned that ability, didn’t it?

  Can I… fix my arm? But I’m not a pnt. Photosynthesis wouldn’t work on me…

  I open my eyes and tilt my head to the left, looking downwards, and [Scour] myself.

  Name: NiviCss: Vitiated VisitorLevel: 9Species: Vacuous VesselCreature Type: PntoidHP: 49/ 115MP: 78 / 78Status EffectsPoisoned: multiple weak poison effects (-5 HP per second)Mental attributes down: -5 to Mental Attributes from Mandragora Scream. AttributesStrength: 9Intelligence: 4 (9-5)Dexterity: 21 (11+10)Wisdom: 6 (9+2-5)Constitution: 7Charisma: 2 (7-5)Agility: 14 (11+3) Combat SkillsDagger: 12[Piercing Strike] Deliver an armour-piercing attack. Ignores defence.Axe: 3Evasion: 21Traits[Pnt Body] Allows the use of certain abilities.Active Abilities (Equipped: 2/6 abilities)[Scour] Search through a target’s essence for potential[Photosynthesis] Grants a powerful, short-duration Regen effect. Passive bonus: Wisdom +2[Head butt] Damage one target with a blunt attack. Stuns target. Passive bonus: Dexterity +2Numina (Equipped: 2/12 numina)[Heart of the Beastkin I] Dexterity +3, Agility +3[Mandragora Heart I] Dexterity+5 Accuracy+10 Haste+1%Quiescent Numina[Spellcaster Instinct] MP+30%, Intelligence+3[Heart of the Devourer I] All Attributes +3. Auto-Regen 1, Status Ailment Resistance +10%I did learn it! And according to [Scour], I am a Pntoid, now? Does that mean it would fix me? Am I going to live?

  I’m not sure how to use the ability, but I lift myself up, groaning in pain. I look around, searching for the brightest area around me. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it’s precisely where the stupid mandragora kept idling and fpping its little wings. Of course. It probably always kept track of pces where it could regenerate faster. Clever bugger.

  I stand in the same spot it had, and search within for the way to activate [Photosynthesis].

  I find the power, but it’s just sitting there, as if it’s waiting for something before I can turn it on.

  “Come on… What’s missing…”

  Hazy memory of games mechanics from my previous world flood my mind, and I suddenly wonder… “Maybe I have to give it some mana?”

  But I have never maniputed mana before. I don’t know how to…

  So I just do my best to focus on the power, and I push as hard as I can. “Take it! Take everything you need! Please just do the thing…,” I plead.

  It’s a stupid hope, but it’s all I have.

  But suddenly I recall the feeling welling inside of me yesterday, just before I petrified Lex. That must have been mana gathering for… whatever ability I used then!

  I close my eyes and focus inwards, trying to recall how it felt in that moment, and to repeat the feeling.

  … And it works! I’m still bad at it—it’s a slow build up—but I can feel it growing.

  When the power reaches a threshold, I feel it all slip out of my grasp, as if drained by a vacuum.

  [Photosynthesis!]

  Something’s happening! I feel the ability activating, and my entire body tingles. The burning in my veins fades, the rot retreating as new green life blooms inside my skin. Something ticklish runs down my spine, my arms, my legs. Without even thinking about it, my left arm lifts and reaches upwards, like a tree branch trying to get closer to the sun.

  I open my eyes and notice how I’m also staring in that same direction.

  And I see my arm is now covered in green vines and small leaves are growing, budding and facing towards the sun.

  “This... can't be real... Am I… really part pnt now?”