Mucus

Alice could feel the first wave of calcium molecules as it streamed through her circulatory system and was sent to her hungering bones, the sticky collagen scaffolding she had created just a few hours before slowly growing sturdier as each one of the tiny building blocks found its place on it. Countless more would be needed but even one molecule meant progress in her book.

She, however, couldn’t stand there and wait. She had other plans to enact in the meanwhile.

“Just… One more.” Huffed the tired biomancer as she heaved the last usable tadpole carcass on top of the giant oyster mushroom she had chosen as a temporary hideout, making sure it was as far away as possible from eventual scavengers and from the spongy layer of mycelia that was sure to immediately latch on and decompose the literal bags of nutrients that were the seventeen creatures she had killed.

As soon as the body rolled over, the young woman stopped for a moment and stared at the remaining ones still on the ground, their torn viscera most likely wafting a nauseating aroma in the air, sure to attract whatever creatures inhabited the nighttime fungal forest. She dearly hoped that any scavenger would be satisfied with what she had left. If they didn’t, however, she would bring them down. She would no longer be the hapless victim.

That she promised.

She brushed away that line of thought as she took control of the now much larger tendril of Lumen still attached to her hand and used it to illuminate the small glade with its glow, checking for any early intruder or anything else she might have missed.

Finding none, Alice exhaled a tired sigh and started cleaning herself and her clothes from the blood and dirt that had covered her during the fight, a small smile of satisfaction appearing on her lips when, after a few minutes of cleanup, the pristine pearlescence of the silk and the warm, green and golden glow of her skin started appearing underneath the grime.

After that, the girl sat down with a soft huff on the fungal ledge that jutted straight over the one she had picked as a temporary pantry for the tadpoles, her legs dangling in the air as she stared silently at the ground below, thinking back to the fight she had just had.

I did win this time. It could have still gone better but damn, I managed to bring down an entire pack of land piranhas without dying. She couldn’t help smiling at the thought, comparing the battle she had just fought to the relentless struggle against the Jumping Spiders and, even longer before that, to the traumatic brawl against the glowing salamander that had taken her right arm.

She had gone a long way from the scared human girl forced to eat raw bat meat for dinner.

Now I’m a slightly less scared human girl forced to eat tadpoles and mushrooms for breakfast.

“An obvious improvement,” she muttered to herself with a soft chuckle, her expression returning serious a moment later as she started inspecting her body once again, only sparing a brief glance at the healing cuts that crisscrossed her bare thighs before she focused on the only real wound she had gotten during the fight, her fingertips hovering just above the scabbed-over surface of the deep puncture wound that lay a couple of centimeters above her hind knee, the flesh below still reforming around her artery.

For her, that wound had been a dangerous hitch in her plan, something she had been forced to resolve on the go; for any other human? It would have probably meant dying within mere minutes in a pool of blood. She was very glad she had access to an entire branch of magic to heal herself.

Despite The Whispering Mother’s utterly alien nature, she couldn’t help but feel very grateful for her boon. Even if it came with some kind of ulterior motive.

“Not that I could really do anything about it even if I didn’t enjoy what I was given,” she reminded herself with another chuckle, “better not to think about it and get to work. I’m on a schedule after all.” She finally told to the air before jumping down on the ledge just below, where the dead tadpoles lay in a somewhat gory pile. Beside it, still struggling despite its barely healed injuries, lay the thing over which hinged her plans for the rest of the night.

Alice took a moment to stare at the legless tadpole she had decided to keep alive for the time being, the short, barely-healed stumps protruding from its main body still twitching as if trying to propel its long-gone limbs. She repressed the tiny bundle of regret at the thought of what she had done, her expression growing stony.

Maath was right. I’ll do what I need to do to survive.

With an expression of mild disgust on her face, the girl wrapped her hands around the injured monster’s slimy body and hefted it with a grunt before hoisting it up on the ledge she had just been sitting upon, ignoring its croaks and ineffectual attempts to wriggle away.

After that, Alice reluctantly ate another mix of crushed bones and bloody meat before climbing back up and placing a hand on the creature’s back. An instant later, she had accessed her magical reservoir and was sending a prodding tendril of her warmth to its body, pushing past its barriers as she sunk in the creature’s system, finding it startingly simple when compared to the marvel of engineering that was the human body.

Too simple… This thing shouldn’t be able to be alive… what the heck is happening here?

For some reason she couldn’t fathom, most of the internal space of the frogling seemed to be taken up by a very large sack whose only function seemed to be that of a reservoir for the nutrients harvested by the creature through the retractile bone syringe that rested in its otherwise toothless mouth.

Confused, Alice stared at the internal make-up of the strange organ, its internal membrane covered in a fuzzy surface that reminded her of the intestinal villi that would absorb the nutrients coming from her stomach, where food was broken down into its more basic components.

But here there is nothing to break them down or even discard the waste of the body… she thought with unease, staring at the complete lack of any kind of sphincter and intestinal tract in the creature.

Instead, the rest of the body was occupied by a two-chambered heart squeezed between two small lungs; a very complex system of compacted bones that, in time, would have probably become frontal limbs; and by a relatively small brain whose main focus seemed to be on the senses of hearing and smell.

Nothing else.

I don’t know what the heck is happening but I need to focus on what I can do right now, she told herself as she moved into the brain of the creature, ignoring its weak struggling as she delved into the smooth cortex of the organ, soon reaching her objective.

As she had expected, the olfactory system of the creature was heavily innervated and filled to the brim with countless receptors that, with their tiny hairlike tendrils, allowed the creature its obviously keen sense of smell.

Despite that, Alice’s attention was somehow caught not by the receptors themselves, but by the thin layer of mucus in which the tendril-like appendages gently swayed, a ping of interest coming from the Biomagical Instincts skill she always used to scour any unknown system for interesting enhancement ideas.

When she focused more closely on the clear mucilage coating the multilayered olfactory membrane of the tadpole, she found it almost completely identical to the one that was normally produced by the numerous goblet-shaped cells that peppered her own nose, trachea, and smaller intestines.

The mucus was basically a mix of water, gooey proteins, and salts that protected her delicate tissues and, in the case of her nose, allowed the tiny particles that formed a scent to dissolve into even smaller molecules before coming into direct contact with the receptors.

Identical, at least, if not for a single component it had over hers.

Alice watched as a tiny and otherwise insignificant molecule suspended in the fluid suddenly clung to one of the countless particles swimming in the slimy substance.

At first, nothing seemed to happen, but when the molecule finally came in contact with one of the large receptive branches that sprouted from the membrane, Alice felt it release a much faster and powerful signal to the nerve it was connected to, promptly sending it straight into the brain of the animal.

Whatever the small catalyst was, it had significantly enhanced the speed and power of activation of the receptor it had come into contact with.

Intrigued, Alice attempted to track down the source of the molecule, scouring the corrugated surface far and wide until, after far too much time spent meandering the place, the biomancer finally noticed a small stream of the activator molecules as they were pushed out of an incredibly tiny bump clinging to the base of some of the larger receptors.

The young woman smiled as the main focus of her next enhancement finally came upon her eyes.

Before attempting something new, however, the young biomancer commenced by reconnecting the main neural pathway that, from the receptors contained within the nose, sent the many olfactory sensations to the small area of her brain that would analyze them,

Slowly and carefully, she oversaw the reconstruction of the severed threads of the olfactory nerve, tying together the frayed ends of the countless axons composing it before initiating the rebirth of an entirely new layer of receptors to replace the ones that had died after the impact with the mushroom tree.

Despite having the ability to massively increase the number of receptors she had available, Alice decided to move in a different way.

After all, she thought, even if it’s important, my sense of smell will never be my main sensory system. Increasing the number of receptors would also mean increasing the neurons connected to them, which would mean putting further strain on my brain. Doing it for my eyes? Absolutely worth it. For my nose? Not really… even less if I have managed to find a better way.

As she worked, the young woman only increased the number of receptors by a small amount and, instead, started trying to copy the small bulbs that produced what she had started calling the activator molecules, using her Biomagical Instincts to access the hidden repertoire of knowledge that had been granted to her by The Whispering Mother.

Time and time again, Alice directed her body to create the same biological construction, using many of the different cells already present in her body as scaffolding and trying to change their characteristics to match those of the model.

She failed every single time.

Over and over again, every cell she created would turn out to be a dud, inert or, in a couple of cases, the tiny organ would simply die the second she attempted to start the production of the new molecule.

On top of that, during a particularly ill-fated attempt, she had even managed to create some kind of fast-spreading tumoral growth that had started propagating far too quickly for her liking. Those had been some very unpleasant fifteen minutes as she mopped up the rogue organisms from her body.

Despite the scare, Alice didn’t relent, and only after many hours and countless attempts did the young woman finally accept the truth.

She simply didn’t have the ability to modify her own cells to such a fine degree.

I guess that changing the makeup of my tendons was already stretching it quite a bit. she thought morosely as her consciousness moved around one of the small, plump bulbs in the amphibian’s membranes, glaring at them.

However, before she could move back to her own body, a somewhat old and almost forgotten memory suddenly resurfaced in the girl’s mind.

With crystal clarity, Alice remembered when her grandfather had had a number of circulatory problems and the doctors had told him that he would need to have a valve of his heart replaced, giving him a choice between one that had been made artificially and one that would instead come from a pig.

Grandpa did pick the artificial one if I remember correctly, but what if…

As the new memory settled into her mind, an idea slowly took form out of it.

Barely able to contain her excitement, Alice used a small amount of her power to direct a thin tendril of Lumen through the nostril of the tadpole and, at the same time, she caused the cells surrounding the activator bulb to start degrading, basically severing the tiny cell from the rest of the body without damaging it in any way.

As soon as it had been detached, she forced the Lumen to envelop it within themselves without consuming it and then quickly directed the tiny tendril out of the tadpole and into her own nose, shivering slightly when it passed through her nostril and entered the newly-rebuilt nasal cavity beyond.

A moment later, the biomancer had forced the bulb to attach to the base of one of her own receptors and used her full powers to keep it alive while the cells knit themselves back together, lowering her own immune system to prevent the strange transplant from being rejected.

After spending an absolutely insane amount of power for such a tiny organ, Alice exhaled a sigh of relief as the bulb rooted itself to the tissue surrounding it and started producing the strange molecules she so deeply craved, a silent prayer touching her lips when, under her rapt attention, the first batch of human activator molecules was finally released in her own mucus.

With bated breath, the young woman observed as one of those seemingly insignificant bundles of atoms connected to one of the many scented particles floating nearby and then reached one of the new receptors, immediately activating the process that would send olfactory information to her cortex.

It didn’t take long for Alice to feel the thin smell of oyster mushroom that had taken shape into her brain.

A shout of exultance left her lips before she could stop herself.

It had worked. She had managed to transplant the organ of a different creature into her own body.

And if it worked once, it will work for the rest of them.

Her tiredness forgotten; Alice got to work.

You have reached Level 26 in the Biomancer of Symbiosis Class.

With abstract thinking, you have managed to boost your sense of smell in a novel way. You have learned the skill Enhanced Olfaction. You will be able to better discern between scents without feeling overwhelmed by strong odors, the activator bulbs will become a part of your own body.

Before letting herself get carried away by the tugging feeling of awakening, Alice stared one last time at the fiery letters in the void, the smile on her ethereal lips appearing on her real ones the moment she found herself back into her body.

She had managed to improve one more sense and that simple fact was working like a sweet balm on her sore limbs and tired mind.

Without opening her eyes, the girl carefully inhaled the earthy scent of the cave, using her new skill to focus on the smell and slowly subdividing it into its countless components.

At first, she found herself slightly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of different olfactory signatures reaching her nose but soon, her brain slowly started analyzing the surprisingly different smells of the fungal forest and she soon found herself sniffing at the sweet aroma coming from the predatory morels, at the sharpness of the enoki and at the gentle earthiness of the oyster mushrooms she was standing upon, every scent mixing with the many other smells that made the forest feel even more real, from the thin scent of mineral water to the slightly nauseating smell of blood and rotting viscera that came from below her ledge and even the almost imperceptible one of her own body.

It was simply incredible.

After a few more minutes of olfactory exploration, however, Alice had to force herself to get to work. She had a goal to reach and it wouldn’t do to waste time uselessly.

With a new energy in her movements, the young woman ate as much meat as possible before using the Lumen to consume the remnants, leaving only a mound of perfectly cleaned bones for her to grab and hastily push into her sack, her body’s calcium stockpiles still far away from being satisfactory.

After that, she quickly grabbed the coiled rope and the already-cleaned mace before stepping into the jungle of toadstools, her goal so close she could smell it.

It took her an entire day and most of a night but, in the end, Alice finally reached the edge of the fungal forest.

During her walk, the young woman had had a few close encounters with smaller groups of tadpoles but this time, instead of meeting them head-on, she had instead chosen to avoid the fights, climbing up on the closest and most reachable toadstool and staying up there until the danger had passed.

Whenever she was forced up in the ‘trees’, the girl took her time to rest her tired body and to take stock of her distance from the smooth wall of stone of the cave which, to her relief, was getting ever closer, the environment surrounding her changing accordingly.

Slowly, ever so gradually, the ground beneath her feet had become softer and moister, the thick layer of mycelia gradually turning into a soft crust of red algae and colorful molds that smelled atrociously and spewed clouds of their spores with each one of her steps, coating her clothes and skin with a thin layer of pigmented microorganisms.

Then, as the hours passed and she walked onward, the mushrooms themselves had started shrinking, getting smaller and smaller the closer she moved to the area that received more light than the rest.

At the same time, the territory of the mold had started being invaded by small islands of dark green moss that had Alice planting her face in its fuzzy and spongy surface the first time she spotted it.

It was the first time she had seen actual vegetation in the caves and she could barely believe her own eyes, her chest filling with a joyous eagerness that pushed her forward and quickened her steps.

Soon, Alice found herself walking on a thick and continuous layer of moss; the waterlogged vegetation forming puddles of murky water wherever she applied pressure with her feet.

It was the most beautiful thing she had seen in weeks.

It was thus in something resembling a trance that she finally stepped past the last fungal tree and witnessed the small stretch of land that kept the jungle separated from the wide, semicircular lake that surrounded the opening and its large mountain of mossy rubble.

The gurgling waterfall that flowed over the massive boulders, following the path of least resistance, then plunged into the placid lake with an eerie silence, the only signs of the water’s passage in the gentle wavelets that constantly perturbed the surface of the lake and caused the swaying of the tall reeds that grew all over its edges.

The young woman stopped to stare at the sight, enraptured by the peaceful scenery; so entranced, actually, that she only heard the wet steps of the tadpole pack when it was almost upon her.

She whirled around, staring in surprise and fear at the five bloated beasties that were barreling towards her, their hollow teeth fully extended as if eager to fill up with even more fluids.

Only when the first one jumped at her did she finally find the ability to react, launching herself to the side to avoid the attack and extracting the obsidian knife from its sheathe, a pained grunt escaping her lips when she fell on the ground and on the mace that was hanging from her waist.

Despite the dull pain that was radiating from her ribs, she was back on her feet an instant later, planting the knife in the head of the first enemy she could reach before rushing away from them and towards the closest mushroom that was at least over her height, she absolutely didn’t want to get caught in the open by more of the creatures.

Like a very muddy sprinter, Alice quickly closed the distance from the elected toadstool and prepared to jump, feeling her feet break through the sodden moss but giving her enough pushing force to leave the ground.

Not enough, however, to land over the natural structure.

Instead, the young woman managed to hit the edge of the mushroom with her solar plexus and lost all the air in her lungs as a consequence.

Nonetheless, her knife and sharp nails dug into the soft flesh of the fungus and she frantically clung to it, feeling the tadpoles as they jumped and tried to pierce her dangling legs, missing completely or, in one case, slamming muzzle-first in the swaying mace at her waist and falling on the ground with a pained gurgle.

A few long seconds of struggle later, Alice was left staring with annoyance at the hungering creature who seemed very focused on getting the prey that had escaped, and were now circling endlessly around her temporary base.

If they weren’t already so bloated after that night’s hunt, the girl was sure they would have actually tried to jump after her.

Now, however, she could only wait.

After spending what was probably more than an hour in a very uncomfortable position, Alice started noticing the first rays of light as they started streaming out of the large opening in the wall, causing the constant ripples of the lake’s water to shimmer and refract their radiance.

From her elevated position, Alice could finally see a number of small, bluish crystals that seemed to be growing out of the stone, just past the opening and its giant mountain of rubble, their smooth surfaces reflecting the rays of light into the cave itself.

A sudden fear of having been tricked streamed into her guts, tying them into a tight knot of convulsing worms that twitched and slithered beneath her skin every time she entertained the idea of still being far away from the surface.

It’s alright. I can see the sunlight, they are just the welcoming committee, everything will be alright.

Her attempts at reassuring herself were interrupted when the froglings beneath her mushroom suddenly stopped their constant circling and, as one, started moving towards the edge of the pond, jumping between the reeds and soon disappearing in its depths with barely any sound.

Seconds later, the young woman started hearing the sonorous padding of at last a couple of packs of tadpoles as they rushed through the stalks and towards the lake.

In the meanwhile, Alice watched with a growing feeling of unease as the somewhat regular rippling of the lake suddenly turned into a roiling maelstrom of rising undercurrents and something started swishing and thrashing from underneath the waves.

She pushed herself flat against the mushroom and stared with fear in her eyes as the true inhabitant of the lake finally made its appearance.

Its loose skin, filled with squirming bores that contained countless twitching tadpoles caused the girl to instantly retch in disgust, the entirety of her body immediately covered in the itchy feeling of wrongness that came from the creature.

It was a toad.

And it was simply wrong.

*****

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