Upon appearing in the forest Mercer lifted his gaze and observed the sky, but his gaze rested longer on one of the visible foliage covered mountains in the distance. His vast knowledge of plants easily informing him of what surrounded him. “Leminea sporae,” he muttered, the words escaping his mouth.

  Looking at the mountain in the distance, he spoke. “Fuck,” he began, disappointment obvious in his expression. “It’s covered in greenery.” Shifting his gaze upward, he stared at a visibly green planet. “Also covered in greenery. This is a fallen system, maybe even galaxy.” Shaking his head and keeping an eye on the grass and trees, he continued, “The mushroom has already taken it over completely.” Suddenly, his expression turned serious. “I have to leave, now.”

  As if confirming his thoughts, the System announcements began.

  Congratulations on your first entry into the Tower of Revelation.

  You have entered the first floor: Trial of the Body.

  New quest!

  Quest: Trapped on a living planet.

  Objective: Survive the infested planet.

  Rate of infestation: 15%.

  Portal time remaining: 57:42

  Rewards: Access to next floor, +1 Reward point.

  Skills will be hindered.

  Magic will be hindered.

  Concepts will be suppressed.

  Storage items will be limited.

  System windows will be disabled.

  You will receive notifications as your rate of infestation increases. Every breath, every step and every action you take will invite the infection deeper into your body.

  You who has reached a new level in your cultivation, discover the limits of your new form.

  Mercer used everything at his disposal to run away from the forest and its eternal desire to consume anything that entered it. The fight was not one he could win. Most of his arsenal was sealed in his storage and the System only allowed him access to potions with weak effects. Any poison that it didn’t restrict was not potent enough to cause great or lasting harm, at least not to something as extensive and spread out as what he and everyone else was currently facing.

  As he did his best to run, he came across an unexpected sight, a barren clearing completely devoid of any and all greenery. The earth was scorched, the edges of where the clearing began were still burning bright with a blue tinted flame.

  Corpses of various shapes and sizes littered the ground. Some were remarkably human; others were far too alien to even make out, even with his vast knowledge of anatomy. But even then, his eyes held a hint of recognition in them.

  They were people that he had observed during his patient wait near the platform. They, just like him, were eagerly awaiting the tower’s arrival, some with hope, others with a hint of trepidation. But this is where their journey ended, not even making it out of the first floor, and dying to what appears to have been an explosion.

  “Is that… blue flame?” Mercer murmured, focusing on some of the still burning pieces of clothes. He immediately recognized the blue flame. “Shit, a believer is here,” he added, contempt in his voice.

  Not wanting to risk being found by said believer, knowing that they were probably perfectly fine, Mercer retreated once more into the forest. “Better to die by the trees than by that fucking flame,” he said, his words oozing with venom as he rushed through the forest.

  Not long after, he stopped once more, not due to another crater, but because an explosion of ice and magma occurred nearby. Ice fragments and pieces of molten rock falling so close that Mercer had to jump away from the area of impact.

  “Dammit!” he exclaimed. “Was really hoping not to encounter either of them here.” As he was about to dart away, reconsidering his approach, he observed what was happening before him, an idea forming in his mind.

  As the ice fragments touched the ground, it froze, covering the ground in a thick sheet of ice. Though, it didn’t last long. As soon as the molten rock touched the ice, there appeared to be a brief exchange, as if reality was deciding between freezing the rock or melting the ice. Instead of deciding on one or the other, it did both.

  The ice melted creating heavy amounts of steam, only for large parts of that very steam to freeze, creating odd patterns midair, but just as that steam froze, it was destroyed by the seemingly unending flow of molten rock and ice fragments. The pattern repeating almost an almost unending manner.

  Hitting himself on the head, as if an idea had just struck him, he spoke. “Why did I think that would be blocked too?” he asked himself as he began to tense muscles within him.

  Every pore in his body twitched imperceptibly, even those who had undergone their first evolution would struggle to notice such movement. Channels within him opened, connecting without issue. And as simply as it was to breathe, poisonous air began to surround him.

  Immediately, anything that had survived the impact of the ice and molten rocks, died. There was no struggle, it was decisive.

  Rate of infestation: 0%.

  With a grin, Mercer reached toward his upper left arm, the tattoo that covered it seeming to expel the toxic air that surrounded him. Reaching to grab the staff tattooed on his arm, it suddenly became a solid object. The poison that exuded from his arm connected with the staff and spread forward, not only increasing his reach but also increasing the potency of the poison that coursed through it.

  Mercer eyed the direction from which the ice and molten rocks came from, shaking his head. “Not yet,” he said, changing directions and going around the destroyed terrain.

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  His pace was much calmer now, as he only advanced with a walk, taking in his surroundings and sure that as long as he avoided those two that had flung debris his way, he would make it to the gate with ample time to spare.

  Not long after he began his leisurely advance toward the gate, he picked up the sounds of someone struggling. Curious and certain of his safety, he walked in the direction of the sound, slowly reducing the radius of his poison. When he was close enough, he heightened his eyesight, focusing entirely on it, and peering through dozens of meters of trees and foliage.

  The man that was struggling to resist the plants was odd. Mercer could easily tell that he had evolved, but for some reason, the strength he displayed was way below what his body should be able to do.

  Even if his stats are low, ten points at F rank and ten points at E rank are completely different, he thought, not wanting to voice his thoughts and make noise. It’s almost like his body and mind are out of sync. He paused his thoughts, a grin of curiosity appearing on his face. Is that possible?

  The man in the distance suddenly exerted more strength, closer to what Mercer knew should be his real limit. But, not long after, the spores and the plants they controlled increased their efforts and the man started to falter, his strength leaving him.

  That’s the problem with this universal invader, he began, analyzing the spores as if it was a school lesson. It’s normally docile, unless it detects rapid or forceful movement nearby. If it does detect it, it uses whatever means it can to bring that movement to a halt.

  Shaking his head, he watched the man be enveloped in branches, roots and leaves. Deciding if he was curious enough about the man to save him, or if studying his corpse would suffice. “Would the System even allow me to store his—”

  “There you are, you bastard!” someone exclaimed from behind, cutting Mercer off.

  As he turned, he came face to face with a woman that looked far too prim and proper to have run through the infested forest for even a second.

  “Wu Ling!” Mercer exclaimed, a fake smile covering one of dissatisfaction. “I was just look—”

  “Shut it,” Wu Ling said, her voice just as neat as her appearance. “The little emperors are already fighting, so we have to do the full quest before they finish.” Her tone wasn’t that of someone giving a suggestion, but one of someone giving orders.

  “You don’t decide what I do!” Mercer exclaimed, his dissatisfaction growing. “I’m going to the gate.” He pointed at the gate. “Come if you want. I don’t care.”

  “Did I fucking ask for your plan?” Wu Ling said, completely ignoring what Mercer said. “I don’t care about you or your plans,” she said, her voice carrying a hint of threat, “I just want points, and I need you for that.” Then, just as suddenly as she appeared, she disappeared, along with Mercer.

  ----------

  Eric could feel himself be encased in greenery, with it slowly tightening around him. But he could tell, the spores somehow wanted to reassure him, and the fact that he wasn’t completely crushed confirmed that fact.

  Rate of infestation: 25%.

  He could feel something build up within him, and it slowly infiltrating his thoughts. It wasn’t forceful, nor did it feel invasive. In fact, it was the complete opposite. It was soothing, memories accompanied by their respective emotions. But Eric, wasn’t affected and instead let it proceed, amused.

  The process was slow and meticulous, it was a spore, but Eric could tell that it could think to a certain extent. As it searched through his memories, it brought them all to the surface, but quickly, its plan cracked further, this time, because it made a mistake.

  The memories that Eric related to home stopped given the same emotion, in fact, they stopped conveying any emotion at all, as if he had felt nothing when they were created. The assault shifted, now any memory with any emotion began to surface, but again, it didn’t last long.

  Rate of infestation: 40%.

  Eric, being freed from the brief assault of emotions could once again feel himself think, he felt the foreign entity forming within him, struggle to blur his mind and bring him under control, but Eric had never been worried about that. If I win, it won’t be a problem, and if I lose, I probably won’t notice, he told himself.

  Ignoring the spore and its efforts completely, Eric focused on his mind and body. He examined it as much as he could. At the edge of his mind, he could feel a faint sense that he was sure could help him delve deeper into the state of his body. He had no clue as to what was wrong with him, he could feel the disconnect but he felt that it shouldn’t be a problem.

  Something like that should probably be fixed with time, he thought. But right now, it feels so restrictive. The difference between my true strength and what I can exert was breathtaking.

  No matter how much he thought about it, his mind kept going back to his evolution, specifically, to final moment when he made his choice and the System ignored his choice—Wait, was it the System that ignored my choice? he asked himself.

  Rate of infestation: 50%.

  Through that simple question, he felt something crack open, as if something was allowed to peer through, but was still not visible enough to distinguish.

  If not me and it’s not the System, does it have to do with that memory.

  The crack grew, and that sense that teetered at the edge of his mind became more pronounced, expanding his understanding of his body.

  Is this the finished container? he began, recalling what he heard. Prepare the samples for cataloguing.

  Analyzing that short bit of dialogue, really told him nothing. It was too vague.

  Rate of infestation: 80%.

  A container for what? What are the samples? What were they cataloguing? And more importantly, am I the container? As he considered the questions, more arose. When did this happen? Was I kidnapped mid evolution without noticing it. But then what about the second scene that I saw? Was I kidnapped twice and didn’t notice?

  He now recalled the dialogue that he heard immediately after the first.

  Is this it? It’s completely intact, Let’s get to it then, the words came to his mind easier than before, even without the aid of Mental Focus. The voice was different, as if surprised by what they saw.

  No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn’t arrive at any reasonable conclusion with the little information he had. Also, his consumption of media really clouded his mind with an endless sea of possibilities. With the information he currently had, he could easily fit any idea into his situation.

  One thing I know for sure, he paused as if examining his body with his now completely liberated sense of self, is that my body is different from others and because of that, I have to discover everything about it on my own.

  Rate of infestation: 90%.

  The crack grew so big that it could no longer contain the energy that it was holding back. His mind now knew that his body belonged to him, no matter how foreign it felt when it connected with it.

  Once more, Eric confirmed that enlightenment came from multiple sources, not just grand revelations about the heavens. This was small, related only to him, but it allowed a breakthrough within himself.

  Rate of infestation: 95%.

  A stream of power and energy coursed through him. His muscles expanded and contracted repeatedly, high pitched noises assaulted his hearing, ceasing just as suddenly as they appeared. He could smell every inch of himself, smelling the remnants of the droplets that had left his body last.

  Rate of infestation: 96%.

  The strength he felt was slightly greater than what he felt during his initial struggle with the roots. Slowly he broke from that which encased him, feeling his muscles flex and settle comfortably within his body.

  Rate of infestation: 97%.

  As he opened his eyes, he could once again see as vividly as he did earlier in the day, taking in far more detail than he would have been capable of before.

  Rate of infestation: 98%.

  When he had completely broken free from the hardened greenery that encased him, he found himself surrounded by figures covered in foliage.

  Rate of infestation: 99%.

  Rate of infestation: 100%.

  New quest!

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