Oh this fucking hurts. I manage to think in a surprisingly calm manner before it feels like I'm being ripped apart from the inside by that guy who bends rims for a living.
My seed-like body cracks and shatters as my half-formed body emerges. Huh, maybe this option was similar to an egg like the other species were. Also ouch.
After some grotesque and wood-based body horror, I stand, pieces of my old self falling off like eggshells.. And finally I can see. I can feel. I can hear. Taste and smell seem a bit muddy; but touch, sight, hearing are all amazingly welcome.
"Attained Evolution: Treechild Lvl. 1. Attained Species Skill, Shadow Step. Lvl. 1.".
Just a single Lvl. 1 skill after all that time and effort, huh? Well at least I can stand. No time to bask in my new body.
I quickly scan the surroundings and my worst fears are confirmed. I'm standing in the middle of a blood bath. There's heaps of bodies everywhere. I realize they're not human. I hadsubconsciously been assuming they were human this whole time, but this was a fantasy world after all.
Before me are piles and piles of orc bodies. Scattered between them are a few human bandits, but mostly the Orcs. Male and female, all of the ones that were fighting age it seems. Beyond that lies a pile of bodies. It seems the bandits had heaped the elderly together and left them to die from their wounds.
I doubt my Minor Bless would help them much considering the carnage I'm looking at. I really doubt I could use it on any or all of them before I crumbled into sawdust, the girl I saved had only been drained of her energies, not torn to bits.
Wait wait wait, the bandits, where'd they go-
I turn around quickly and see it, off in the distance is a caravan, already well on its way. Big wagons with cages on the back. If I squint really hard I can tell that it's almost definitely the orc children. The adults were too unruly for their needs it seemed. My heart sinks, as I am now there's no way I'm catching up, Maybe if I had moved quicker.
Then again what would I have done that a village of highly trained orcs didn't? They defended the village with all they had, I shouldn't sully their memory acting like I could have made a difference as vegan Annabelle.
Wow, I'm kind of bitter too. But I feel like right now it's reasonable. I want to cry again but tears don't come easily to a wooden body it seems.
Watching the carriage fade away, I realize I don't know where they're going. Hell, I don't even know where I am. I don't even know what I'm doing here!
I don't know a thing about this fucked up world. What kind of awesome new world is this? That Alice is crazy acting like this is some utopia when this shit happens! I kick the ground in anger. I look down at my new "hands" that seem more like stubs with twigs sticking out of them.
I evolved into this form for nothing. No, I can't think like that.
I'll get them all. Every last slaver in this fake utopia.
"Uagh..." There's a moaning from nearby that brings me out of my spiral. It's one of the Orcs with a massive gash in their face, obscuring their visage. Vengeance later.
Minor Bless! I think with all my might, pointing in the direction of the bloodied orc, I don't wanna get too close considering the last thing they remember is probably fighting.
"Ugh.... spirit... you.... now?!" The orc wails as it looks at me, as always I only pick up pieces. Oh no, do they think I could have done this the whole time?
"My.... Sivi.... why!!!" The orc continues to wail. I have no clue what to do. Something tells me I wasn't good at comforting people in my past life either. I can't exactly explain to this orc that I'm not all powerful, or that I just recently gained the ability to move. But I have to do something, yes none of this was my fault sure, bit this orc just lost everything.
I put my branch fist over my chest and pound it twice. The orc stops wailing for a second.
"Huh...?" The orc doesn't really seem very comforted or assuaged by my actions but it makes me feel better. I must have been selfish in my past life.
I give the orc my best approximation of a salute with my limited range of motion and turn towards the carriage. I will find them. I will do my best to save them. I will make sure it never happens again.
I will definitely get lost in this forest by myself.
I turn back toward the orc and shrug my shoulders and make a motion with my hand over where I assume my eyes are like I'm scouting for something.
"What.... for.... Abaho..."
Abaho. I really hoped that wasn't just the usual gibberish that this world's language sounded like to me. I give the Orc a nod, they still stares at me in confusion and agony, and begin to walk in what I believe to be the general direction of the forest.
Abaho, huh... wonder what that place is like, maybe they like tree people? Who am I kidding, with what I've seen of how they treat fellow humanoids, a monster like me has no chance! I ponder my probably fatal resolution in my head for awhile, before remember I'm never really alone.
"Hey alice?" I try to say out loud. It comes out more like branches rustling against each other on a cool morning. I wonder if it sounds like any kind of language to a regular human, but with my Language Comprehension skill still so low, I doubt it.
"Yes, New Soul?" Well at least she understands me still.
"Can you tell me anything about Abaho?" This time it's almost like my voice is a babbling brook, what was I a white noise machine?
"Abaho is a city-state in the country of Theovauld. Raise your History or Geography skills to learn more!" Well at least I know now what country I'm in. Or hopefully I'm in. This village could be on a border of course.
"Can you tell me about Shadow Step?"
"Shadow Step, a favorite skill of the Treechild species. It allows the user to teleport between shadows or other spaces where light levels reach below 50 percent."
There was a percentage, huh? Great, like it couldn't get more annoying. History, geography, language studies, statistics. I thought I had escaped these obnoxious lessons at least in this new world. Hey wait? Was I a student before, then?
I try to recall deeper but come up empty, seems I can only stumble into these thoughts when i'm not chasing them. No matter, it's not like I can really do anything useful with them at the moment.
I pass by a small stream on my walk and peer in to check my reflection. I'm almost cute, in a sort of mildly creepy-doll-type way. There's a few leaves on the top of my round, wooden head that sort of look like hair. I have stubby wooden appendages that each have a single joint sort of like elbows and knees. Each of them also end in smaller finger-and-toe-like twigs. The twigs themselves don't have any joints so it's not like I can easily hold a weapon in them, but it's better than just being a seed at least.
I never praised my mobility enough before, but it's definitely something I won't take for granted after my days stuck in the dirt.
Well, figure it's time to give my new Species Skill Shadow step a try. If I'm to become a wooden spirit of vengeance, I should probably start learning to actually use this body. iAlice didn't tell me how long until the next evolution was, and I'm back at Lvl. 1 now. It seems I have an experience point to use, might as well toss it in Shadow Step.
Shadow Step! I think with all my might.
And then everything fades to black, again, seriously?
• - -
[ Unnamed Treechild, Lvl. 1.]
[ Titles: ]
[ #### ]
[ Bandit Slayer ]
[Stats: ####]
[ Skills: ]
[ Automatic Regeneration Lv. 14 ]
[ Life Drain: Subset Total Drain Lvl. 2 ]
[ Wordless Incantation Lvl. 5 ]
[ Language Comprehension Lvl. 1. ]
[ Minor Bless Lvl. 5 ]
[ Shadow Step Lvl. 2 ]