The snail immediately aimed at the nearest patch of glowing moss that grew around the pond. It munched its way through half the first patch before it even noticed that some of the moss was providing points.
*ding*
“hmm, should I purchase some more intellect?” The snail wondered. “Nah.” It decided. It finished that patch of moss and continued around the entire pond, leaving a some of the lower quality moss from each patch to repopulate. In the end, the snail gained 15 points from the moss.
*ding*
Physique +1: 10 points. Purchase?
The snail happily purchased another point of Physique. With the moss taken care of, the snail looked around the chamber. Green light filtered through the crystal walls and reflected off something that sat on a small island in the middle of the pond. The snail used Identify.
*ding*
Aluminum (shell compatibility: excellent). Too distant to absorb
“Absorb!” The snail mentally shouted. When nothing happened, it used Identify again and carefully considered the entire message. “Aw, it’s too far away. How can I get over to it?” It wondered. “I suppose I should check this water for shell compatibility.” It decided. It crept up to the water to get a good look.
*ding*
Water (shell compatibility: none)
Danger sense flared and caused the snail to quickly pull back to its shell. The sense faded slightly, so the snail extended an eye stalk. It spotted a pale creature drifting in the water of the pond.
*ding*
Cave salamander (lesser, hostile)
“That thing is even bigger than the scorpion!” The snail wailed in fear. “How am I going to get that aluminum?” The snail carefully backed away from the water and looked around the cavern again. Giant crystals formed the walls, floor, and ceiling, with no exists other than the borehole. Water occasionally dripped from an inverted spike on the ceiling. The snail tried hard to think of a way it could reach the island.
“Maybe I could jump to the island?” The snail wondered. ”I did just get an active for Jump.”_ The snail tried to measure the distance to the island. It moved around the pond to get to the point that was closest to the island. Gathering its strength, the Snail launched itself into the air.
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The snail popped up and backwards, landing in a patch of moss. “That didn’t work.” The snail sulked for a bit while munching on worthless moss. “Maybe I should spent my last five points on intellect so I can think up a better plan.” The snail thought about it for a while before making the decision.
*ding*
Intellect +1: 5 points. Purchase?
“Yes.” The snail elected to spend its last five points. It felt its awareness expand watched new connections form in its memories. The snail looked up at the ceiling. “I know, I can fall down onto the island!” Exited by this new idea, the snail raced slowly towards the nearest wall. The snail moved up the wall and over to the inverted spike. It carefully gauged it’s position relative to the aluminum. When it felt confident, the snail gently Jumped down.
The snail immediately regretted its decision. “Aaaaahhh!” The snail screamed in fear. It plopped into the water a short distance from the island. “I’m a land snail, not a water snail!” The snail settled unto the bottom of the pond. The snail didn’t need to breath immediately, but it could feel that it needed a breath soon enough to be a problem.
Danger sense drove the snail back into its shell as the salamander drifted close, attracted by the disturbance in the water. The snail very gently extended an eye stalk to track the salamander’s location. When Danger sense eased up a bit, the snail slowly moved towards the island. The snail spent several minutes in a start-stop pattern, trying to avoid the salamander’s attention.
“I need to breath soon.” The snail thought. “The salamander isn’t moving anymore–it’s just sitting there. Camouflage must still work underwater. Can I wait for it to leave? No. I have to try and reach the air before it reaches me.” The snail hesitated for a long moment before extending fully and moving as quickly as possible towards the island. “I’m doing it! I’m going to make it!” The snail cheered.
Right before the snail reached the edge of the water, Danger sense spiked and the salamander turned around to see the moving snail. The salamander swam and waddled towards the panicking mollusk. The salamander opened its mouth to snatch the snail and swallow it whole. The movement partially lifted the snail from the pond bottom and tipped it. With a scream of terror, the snail reacted with Ensnare. A blob of slime shot from the snail and drifted into the salamander’s mouth. The salamander clamped down on the snail.
*ding*
Natural active upgraded: Ensnare replaced with Slime shot level 1
The salamander spit out the snail and began to retch, trying to force water through gills clogged with snail slime. Disoriented, the snail wasted several seconds just watching before it remembered it needed to reach the air and the aluminum. It turned, exited the water, and took a new breath of air as quickly as it could. As soon as it was close enough, it selected the option to absorb the aluminum nugget.
The aluminum began to glow with a white light. It appeared to melt as multiple streams flowed towards the snail’s broken shell. Pale metal patched up the remaining cracks in the snail’s shell. When the light faded, half of the aluminum nugget remained.
*ding*
Quest complete: Fix your shell. Result: Blend materials and improve shell quality. Accept?
“Oh, interesting. Well, a better shell is the best thing I could have, so yes!” The snail accepted the quest reward. The snail felt a touch of fear as its shell heated up almost to the point of pain. It turned an eye stalk around to watch the process. Brown shell, green stone, and pale metal swirled and mixed. The shell color evened out to a pale metal, then blossomed into a pattern of light and dark that was difficult for the snail to look at.
*ding*
Hard shell level up: 3
Camouflage level up: 2
When everything stopped moving around, the snail found that its metallic shell was studded with clear crystals. The snail tried using Identify on its own shell.
*ding*
Quartz-studded Y alloy shell
“I don’t know what that means.” The snail said in awe.
fun alloy.