The snail worked over the basic quality meadow rushes day after day until it couldn’t find any more. With the 31 points the snail received from meadow rushes, it had boosted its physique stat to 23. On the last day, the snail made a big loop around the meadow to try and find any missed points. It came back to the start of the loop to find the snake laying flat on the ground, sunning itself.
“Something seems odd about that snake.” The snail thought. It held still and stared at the snake. The sun crept a few degrees across the sky while the snail sat perfectly still and observed. “It’s the grass.” The snail decided. “The way the grass bends around the snake seems wrong.” It thought.
*ding*
Natural passive unlocked: Pierce Illusion
The snake’s body faded until it resembled a faint reflection. In the grass under the see-through snake, was a smaller snake with completely different coloring. The smaller snake was black, with turquoise stripes on its sides and back.
“What’s an illusion?” The snail wondered.
*ding*
Illusion: Any means, magical or mundane, of supplying false information to the senses
“Huh?” The snail asked.
Illusion: Makes something look, sound, or smell different than it is
The snail took a moment to process this new knowledge, then used Identify.
*ding*
Garter snake (neutral). Level: 3.
“The snake has a level.” The snail noticed. “I have a level. We both have levels? Why are we different than all the other creatures?” It wondered. It pondered this question for a few minutes before it noticed something far more important. “It’s too small to eat me!” The snail cheered.
The snail, feeling confident and happy, left the meadow and entered the forest on the far side. It decided to try and avoid open ground and to stay under cover when possible. The memory of the rodent from before the meadow was still strong in the snail’s mind. The snail’s precautions were forgotten as soon as it found a new source of points.
*ding*
Mushroom (basic)
_“Oh! I haven’t eaten a mushroom in a long time, I hope it’s good.” The snail turned and crept towards the rotting log that hosted the giant mushroom. It had nearly reached its goal when Danger sense flared.
The snail used Hide in shell but felt itself pulled roughly from the ground. Its captor rotated the snail erratically for a few seconds before biting into the relatively soft foot. “Ow!” The snail wailed. Its flesh was greatly strengthened by its physique stat, but that was apparently not enough to stop these teeth.
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The snail shuddered in pain and panic. It used Jump to try and slap the creature’s face away, but that only drove the teeth in deeper. The snail tried Slime shot a few times, but it seemed to have no effect. “Oh no! I don’t want to die!” The snail despaired.
A loud hissing sound penetrated the snail’s shell. The terrible teeth paused, and the snail felt itself be swung around, as though the creature were turning. The hissing sound increased in volume. The snail felt itself fall to the ground and bounce once as the teeth pulled free of its foot. Tremor sense told the snail that something was running quickly away, into the trees. The hissing sound died after a moment, as did Danger sense. Aching in pain, the snail waited in its shell until it had recovered at least one health before extending an eye stalk.
The snake, still wrapped in its viper illusion, lay nearby. Its eye met the snail’s eye. The two creatures just looked at each other for a dozen seconds. The snake was the first to move and slid back a few body lengths. The snail slowly extended its other eye stalk, followed by the rest of itself. With one eye on the snake, the snail climbed up to the mushroom and began eating.
As it ate, the snail pondered the meaning of the snake’s actions. Had it frightened away the toothy predator on purpose? Did it want to keep others from eating the snail until itself, the snake, had grown enough to do the deed? Was there some other motivation? The snail found that it could not understand.
The giant mushroom surprised the snail by providing two points, instead of just one. The snail checked its available points.
*ding*
“I suppose… If I cannot understand something… I should purchase more intellect. When I understand it, I will know what to do.” The snail wavered in its resolve–the previous purchase of intellect hadn’t done anything as far as the snail could tell, after all. With a mental sigh, the snail gave in and purchased intellect.
*ding*
Intellect +1: 5 points. Purchase?
*ding*
The snail approved the purchase and waited through the ever-decreasing feeling of its mind being opened. The snail looked at the snake again. The snake looked up at the snail. The snail tried to think of a reason that it would defend the snake from an attack. “The snake is no danger to me, but that doesn’t seem like enough of a reason.” The snail thought. “What would I want from the snake, experience? Is there anything else I could want?” The snail pulled its head back into its shell when it realized something that suddenly seemed incredibly obvious. “What would I want from the snake? Protection from other creatures, like what just happened. I probably can’t protect the snake from much, but it doesn’t need protection–it needs food.” The snail extended its head again and descended from the rotten log.
The snail used Dig in the rotten wood bits under the edge of the log, pushing it out into the open. A roach, slightly surprised, shook itself free of the debris and looked reproachfully at the snail. The snake’s jaw snapped down on the roach before the insect could take a step.
“There you go.” The snail thought towards the snake. “I help you get food, you protect me. I suppose you must have reached this idea back in the meadow, otherwise you wouldn’t have followed me.” The snail’s thoughts were interrupted by a message from the System.
*ding*
Passive unlocked: Wild intuition
“Huh? What’s that?” The snail asked.
*ding*
The snail watched the snake for a few more seconds before turning and continuing its journey.