I was dead. Or dead-to-be, for what it's worth. I just had to accept it anyway. That's the way. The only way. Thinking back on it, I really was lost, all things considered. And now, it was all over…
—Suddenly though,
Ring!
The current Receptacle's HPs are under 1%. As such, the current Receptacle is deemed defective. ?
That same voice rang out.
Huh? Did I hear that correctly? My ears had picked the words up. They clearly entered them. Or maybe not, since the voice rather came forth from within my head. I was still lying on the floor and I could hear it. Though my vision had been blurry, I could read the notification's text, too.
Wait up. Isn't it completely dark already? I mean, what's happening right now? There was no mistake: I didn't see anything but those blue, floating writings. The world was plunged into darkness, now. This wasn't all, apparently. Several other messages carried on after the first.
Ring, ring, ring!
The Player doesn't have completed the Mandatory Quest 'Character's Creation' yet. No Character(s) has been found. Therefore, the Player needs a new Receptacle to ensure survival. ?
Eh? What?
Dwelling Procedure has been activated. Undertaking finding a new Receptacle… ?
All right. I won't even ask what's it all supposed to mean. If there was another thing I learned today, it was that, you don't know anything regarding what's going on around you? Just go on with the flow. Who cares about what's happening? freewebnov(e)l
Just go on with the flow — where was the flow even going, in my case? Well! Let's just not mention that either. Thinking that I was already dead anyway, I kept my composure. What worse could possibly happen, now?
Dwelling Procedure: Undoing the current 'Dwelling State'… ?
Just going on with the flow, let's take up where I left off. It was dark. Completely dark. I couldn't see one thing. My body felt off, too. I had priorly been lying on my flank on the cold ground. Now, I barely felt anything all over my body. All over my Receptacle. What I could feel was my breathing growing weaker by the minute. The grip I had on my throat weakened, too. And then… everything disconnected. I didn't feel anything anymore. I didn't have all of these anymore: no lying body, no left flank, no breathing, and no left hand. Also, I wasn't cold anymore. On the contrary, the atmosphere felt hot.
My body didn't feel off any longer. It felt normal. In comparison to the human body I had, it felt different, but not exactly off. As I said, it felt right and normal. Comfy, even.
When you die, you just die, right? Was I moving right now? I was. But, was it only on instincts? Surely, yes. When I leaned forward, I felt myself moving. When I stopped myself, I no longer moved. I felt shapeless. Watery, also. Oh, and… what's the word… jelly-like, in a way? Wait! Didn't the girl from earlier call me that? Animated aqua thingy, she said. People also called me a water elemental? I'm not going to reach any conclusion like this!
Well, I had no idea of knowing at the time, but that was me. And as I didn't stop cogitating and being excited about my situation as things finally started to make sense, it was just as the System had said. A new Receptacle. I needed that. Why? Because the 'Character's Creation' quest hadn't been touched yet—but that story's for another time. (That quest would basically allow me to have my own human form, thanks to some 'Evolve' skill, but as I said, it was a story for another time. For the time being, I didn't even know what the System meant with the term "quest," so, well.) Presently, I was a ball, orb, or slime-like-shaped lump of water. A unique monster. And slowly, that unique monster crawled out of the boy it had attacked. Soundly, I reached out to the outside. And then, I felt a change in the environment. The thick, floating lump of living water stood up, trying to assume a humanoid form but it couldn't.
I came to a stop, it seemed.
The blue writings mentioned a Dwelling State of some sort. It said it was successfully undone. And now, ? Dwelling Procedure: Undertaking the finding of a new Receptacle… ?, it went on about whatever its business was.
Another Ring went off, and the voice explained to me the following: a new receptacle had been found. As the Player, I was urged to go and take over it. As I said, I'd just go on with the flow and whatever felt natural at the moment. So I acquiesced. There was a technical problem, however. I couldn't see anything.
Just as I thought that, as it felt natural to do so too, I concentrated on my ability to perceive things. It was all sketchy and vague and confusing, believe me, but with time, it just came to me. It felt natural, and I could even name the Skill I was using: Mana Perception.
All at once, just by thinking about it, I assumed a slime-like, round, shapeless body of water, and with a Boing~, I was shot through the air. I jumped, basically. Or no, I blasted off. The air opened a path for me as I pierced right through it. Working all my way up to my target, it didn't take long before I landed on him with a Splash. To illustrate how quick I was, the swordsman didn't notice me up till now. And thus I landed on him. All over him.
"Huh?!" he let out. His eyes widened and he shouted. "Damn! I've been too careless!" His former calm sharp dangerous aura was turned to an even sharper, but agitated one. The man was quick-witted, huh. That's my slayer for you. I had to commend him for his quick reaction. "Can it actually do that?! Move from one body to the other! Blasphemous!" Right. Blasphemous. He didn't dare to be slow as he hurriedly tried to cover for himself. But he was too late.
A notification rang out. The Dwelling was apparently going without mishap.
The swordsman muttered some words. He said he had been too careless, and he cursed himself for it. He just had to accept his death, though. No one told you to complain, though I can feel for you. As his senior in 'The Art of Life: The Art of Resignation' I intended to help the man out so he accepted his fate. Just like I did earlier.
So far, the man had been agitated and restless. Now, he gained back his composure. "Your father is sorry, Inera. I'll wait for you on the other side." It was only a whisper, but dang, it struck me as very loud. The next thing I knew, he drew up his sword to slash his own throat—
Thankfully, he was too slow. The cut was too shallow. I still win.
I was purely from water. The essence of life, basically. Does that mean I'm the purest form of life? I'm supreme. Of course I win.
I was now in control. Despite that, I fell to the ground, unconscious.
Now, however, I wondered. Why is it that I need these Receptacles, to begin with? I mean, I can do just fine on my own, can't I? As I longed for this, still barely conscious, I overheard a Ring. The System went about the following: ''Compulsory Quest: Character's Creation'… is not available yet.' My level wasn't high enough, it said. I first needed to 'evolve' and hop onto the next stage.
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