Time passed. The water flowed. Dot listened.
He didn't count the hours. He just existed. Each pulse of mana he gave off felt cleaner now. More natural. He could feel the world reacting to him. Not in fear. Not in confusion. Just recognition.
He wasn't an intruder anymore.
He was a part of the current.
That was a weirdly nice feeling for someone who spent his old life feeling like background noise.
The Lesser Mana Crystal sat embedded in a small dip in the stone nearby, quietly refining. It gave off a low, comforting hum that synced with his own core. He liked that too. It was like a little campfire he could sit beside — except made of magic, underwater, and not remotely warm.
Progress.
Seek hadn't said much lately. Maybe that was a good thing. Seek only chimed in when something new happened. No alerts meant peace. Growth. Stability.
But peace doesn't last forever.
It started with a vibration.
Faint. Small. Different from the usual tremble of flowing water or drifting pebbles.
This one had… rhythm.
He pulsed a soft Mana Pulse. The ripple stretched through the water and came back with strange feedback. Something large was moving downstream. Slowly. Cautiously.
[Unknown lifeform approaching.]
"Friendly?"
[Undetermined. Large. Non-aggressive posture. Curious?]
He waited. Not much else he could do. His domain — Rocky, Steve, Grandma, Neon Bed — felt small all of a sudden.
And then it arrived.
A long, sleek creature. Almost eel-like, but with glowing fins and tiny gemstone-like eyes. Its scales shimmered with mana. It stopped just outside his little rocky den, hovering.
It tilted its head. Like it was confused.
Dot pulsed again. Gently.
The creature flinched. Then slowly copied him.
It sent a pulse back.
"Oh."
They stood — floated? — in awkward silence for a moment. Then another pulse. Curious. Probing.
[Initiating Basic Mana Communication Protocols… success.]
"Wait, we're talking now?"
Kind of. Not in words. In feelings.
The creature shared an impression. Water. Curiosity. Safe.
Dot responded with calm. Welcome. Stay.
The creature seemed pleased. It drifted closer and curled around Steve like a cat circling a pillow.
He had a guest.
"…Do I name you?"
It pulsed softly.
"I'm calling you Wigglenoodle."
Seek did not approve.
[Naming complete: Wigglenoodle (Tier 1 Mana Beast)]
It was ridiculous.
He was proud.
Wigglenoodle came back the next day. And the day after.
Sometimes it brought shiny pebbles.
Sometimes weird glowing water plants.
Sometimes it just floated in a circle and tried to match his mana pulses.
They weren't words. But they were something close.
Company.
For the first time since being reborn as a dot, Dot wasn't alone.
[Core Synchronization: 6%]
[Affinity Detected: Mana Beasts – Low Tier Bond Established.]
[New Ability: Mana Link (Prototype) – Share minor mana pulses with bonded creature. Range: Very Short.]
When Wigglenoodle brushed against him again, Dot felt the tiniest sliver of thought.
Not words.
Just an idea.
Friend.
He might've cried if he had eyes.
A few days later, another vibration.
Not like before.
He sent out a pulse.
Nothing returned.
Then another.
Still nothing.
[Caution advised. Presence detected: multiple lifeforms. Mana signature: chaotic. Predator class.]
Wigglenoodle stiffened. It sensed it too.
They retreated deeper into Rocky. Dot pulsed to warn the moss, the fish, even the shrimp. It was silly, but it felt right.
And then the shadows passed.
Long. Spined. Fast.
Predators. Scavengers. Something reptilian and hungry.
They didn't stay long. Just passed through, hunting.
But Dot understood something then.
This world was peaceful.
But not safe.
He would need more than mana pulses soon.
He would need power.
But not the kind that destroys.
The kind that protects.
He looked at Wigglenoodle, now nestled near Grandma.
"Let's get stronger. Quietly. Together."
A soft pulse answered back.
Together.
And so training began.
If you could call it that.
Wigglenoodle started dragging things back. Not just shiny rocks now. Bigger things. A bent piece of dark iron. A broken chunk of monster shell. Even a tiny mana herb, still faintly glowing.
Dot tried absorbing the mana from the herb. It tingled.
[Minor Mana Absorption: +0.3 Core Efficiency]
Well, it was something.
Seek finally chimed in again.
[Experimentation with external mana materials detected. Unlocking Passive Skill: Mana Osmosis (Beginner).]
[You may now absorb ambient mana from select objects over time.]
Cool.
Slow. But cool.
The days rolled on. He started practicing.
Pulse. Delay. Pulse again.
Tighten the rhythm. Match Wigglenoodle's.
Soon, they could pulse in sync for almost a whole minute without misfiring.
"Feels like a weird dance class."
Wigglenoodle sent back a ripple that felt suspiciously smug.
Then came something new.
A glow. Further down the stream. Dim, but rising.
[Environmental fluctuation detected. Mana storm forming downstream.]
"Storm? Like… magical lightning?"
[Unknown. Caution: Unstable energy build-up approaching.]
He and Wigglenoodle retreated again.
The glow intensified. Water vibrated. Rocks rattled.
Something exploded, muffled by distance.
Then silence.
Dot waited. No movement. No follow-up pulses. Just… quiet.
[Unstable zone stabilized. Residual mana levels increased in river.]
A few brave fish wandered out again. Then a moss strand started glowing faintly.
Dot pulsed curiously.
A gift?
[Environmental Affinity Bonus: +1.2% Mana Flow Efficiency.]
"…Free buffs from mana weather? This world's wild."
But he liked it.
He really did.
One last thought as he sank back into the stone crevice beside Grandma:
"I think I like being a dot."
Wigglenoodle purred.
Seek sighed.