《One Of Many: The Story Of A Walking Bush》Chapter 1 – Bad dream
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I woke up, at my home lying on my bed. “man I feel like I had woken up from a really long dream.” I said to myself, as I slowly stumbled to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich with some coffee. Normally that how every morning starts for me, but today something was bugging me, something was missing something important.
But I couldn’t put my finger on it, after taking few bites of my sandwich, I suddenly opened my eyes and stood up in shock, as my coffee mug and my sandwich fell onto the floor. I mumbled to myself something, just a second after that the surroundings started to shift and shatter, and everything went back to being pitch black.
In fear, I said to myself: “Where I am? Why is it so dark? I remember that I was at my home eating breakfast ugh… it was so hazy, was it a dream?“ I tried to look around but only darkness was present, I mumbled to myself. “Darkness my good old friend…”
Yep, that’s the only thing that I could see, and not only that I couldn’t even feel anything at all. Recalling the voice and the self awareness status, I said to myself “What’s going on, did the universe had mercy on my soul and killed me on the spot? No, surely it wants me to suffer a little more.”
I waited few minutes in a haze but nothing happened, I couldn’t see even a single ray of light, with the thoughts of what happened before I mumbled. “If that really wasn’t a dream… maybe if I do that status thingy again I can understand what’s going on, or all that was really a dream and this is the afterlife, at least I have nothing to lose.”
After saying those words to myself few times: “Please be the afterlife please be the afterlife…” I hoped for a failure, as I said. ”*Self Awareness*.” Just as I finished that sentence my head got filled with information.
*Self Awareness Status*
-Ontopary bush-
Rarity: Common
Health: 4/4
Mana: 12/12
Stamina: 3/3
Race: Berry bush.
Status: Unique-Intelligent
Skills:
*Self Awareness Lv1* *Magic Perception Lv1* *Calm Mind Lv1*
Titles:
*Clutz Lv1*
“Ugh god dammit, I am still a bush, at least it worked. I guess this stupid nightmare will not end so easily, or more correct to say it’s only the beginning. For now, I need to check my status…” After few minutes of examining my status, I thought: “If I remember correctly my mana was little empty but now it’s full. I guess it’s because I slept, but I wouldn’t really call it sleeping I just blacked out, wait do plants even sleep?…”
Not thinking about it too much I looked at my skills. “Looks like the calm mind skill have added to the skill list, wait didn’t the *Magic Perception* skill was active?” Seeing that I had a hunch of what happened and said the next two words: “Magic Perception…”
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With a blinding flash of light the colors of the world came back to me one after another, it gave me the same feeling as turning the lights in the middle of the night. “A mighty blinding light it is.” After looking at that beautiful scenery yet again I said. “So it wasn’t a dream… Looks like I ran out of mana and because of that I fainted? It was already morning so I slept for quite a long time, so *Magic Perception* helped me to see, and hear the world around me and even feel my surroundings.”
After few moments of thoughts, I came to a conclusion. “I can’t move and there no really any part of my body that can move, does it mean I am bound to see only this view for my entire life? NO! What happens if some animal will come and try to chew on me, will I only be available to look and scream inside my mind…” I interpreted the situation with concern.
”But first I must see for myself the state of my body, I still don’t believe it even if this stupid voice tells me that I am a plant!” I tried to focus on the thought of *Magic Perception* and tried to look around, to my surprise my view moved. I was really happy that I almost cried, even though I couldn’t.
Like a newborn child I looked around with excitement and forget my original goal, I understood that I was on a cliff. That explained why I could see so far away into the distance, and behind me there was a huge tree that almost pierced the sky, its leaves were golden, they even shined like a real gold in the sunlight.
The tree blocked most of my view, it was beautiful but I hoped it would move a little and give me some space to see what’s behind my back, not like I really had a back, but still for now let’s call it my back.
Then without much of a choice, I concentrated down the cliff. “Looks like the fall is long if anyone were unlucky, and they fall down they will surely die, but that should be the last of my worries (for self-explanatory reasons). I can see some movement down there as well, wolfs maybe?” I guessed, but the movement was too far, so it didn’t bother me at all.
“Now that I think about it I don’t have eyeballs but I can see, surely then there a way to see myself?” I tried to focus and change the perspective of my view, and make my body enter my sight, after few attempts I succeeded! By the looks of it I could change the source of my sight to every part of my body, from the start of my branches to the edge of my leaves, and yes my worst fear came true I really was a bush.
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My body looked like a regular berry bush, half meter long and there were small red berries on top of my branches, horror slowly started to fill my mind. “Not good, not good at all… not only I am a useless plant but I have fruits as well, this mean that I will attract insects and birds and if that huge bird came and took a bite from me nothing will be left…”
*Magic Perception leveled up to Lv2*
“This mysterious voice again looks like I really reincarnated into an RPG pseudo world, what can be better?… If I had a real body!…” Normally people would be happy to transfer to another world, be a hero try to save the “princess” etc etc… But I knew those dreams and hopes, in reality are naive and sad, and after confirming my looks my opinion got even stronger.
”So if I am correct there still a chance for me to get out of this mess, but how the hell can I get legs and hands? Maybe I can reincarnate again? Yes, the only thing I need right now is another three lightning strikes. Agh, no thanks, I will think about something else, but first if I want to get out of this mess, I need to learn about my body stats and my skills.”
After hours of trying to move my body, playing with my perspective, or trying to use any kind of magic, like a fireball electricity or even wind control with no avail… “Yep looks like it’s no use, I lack information. I need to know how do my skills work, and how do I get them. Is there a limit to the numbers? Can I use magic? Even though I didn’t succeed in the first place, maybe I just don’t know the words for the spells, or maybe it’s not possible at all for me, surely it should be possible, I have magic perception so there should be magic in this world, so maybe even a bush like me can learn magic, and then I will rule the world as its emperor!”
“Muhahaha.” I laugh to myself, as I imagined a bush with an emperor crown, cape and scepter stuck on its leaves sitting on a throne. “At least I still got my great sense of humor, but really I need to do something right now, let’s check my status again maybe I can learn something from it, *Self Awareness*”.
*Self Awareness Status*
-Ontopary bush-
Rarity: Common
Health: 4/4
Mana: 7/13
Stamina: 3/3
Race: Berry bush.
Status: Unique-Intelligent
Skills:
*Self Awareness Lv1* *Magic Perception Lv2(Active)* *Calm Mind Lv1*
Titles:
*Clutz*
“I really want to know what this title mean, and get some explanation about my skills, ah I have nothing to lose… For now, let’s try everything! Explain Title…. What is Title… Nothing lets try this then, what is Magic Perception… Looks like it won’t turn off be saying it in a sentence without the need to use it, I really didn’t check if I can turn it off and on again *Magic Perception*”
Everything turned pitch black. “It seems to work as needed *Magic Perception*.” I turned it back on again. “It uses mana but it drains it really slowly, I guess I should still have time till my mana will be exhausted, I should check if I regain mana be just waiting as well, but wait didn’t my max mana rose by one?”
“Looks like the stats can rise even if I don’t level up, that’s good to know but what raised it, my skill usage or the skill level up? Still too little information, for now I just hope that nothing will come and eat me before I find a way to move. Even if I turn into a tumbleweed and fly with the wind, it’s better than being eaten by some kind of a cow.” I imagined a cow running after me when I dragged be the wind. “FLY, FLY YOU FOOL!!!”.
I returned back to reality “Tell me about Title… not smart enough to explain I see ,search title… guess there no connection to a search engine in this world as well, how do I get Title…” after an hour of trial and error. “Inspect Title… YES, YES I CAN FEEL IT, IT’S!… My stupidity, it’s overwhelms me… Nothing works!”
I tried everything from, asking the voice to praying to the voice, or even calling it mom nothing helped. “Maybe I am doing something wrong, maybe it will work the same way as the *Magic Perception*. What was it again focus on the skill? I guess I just focus on the *Clutz* title and try to understand it.” Just a few moments later it happened.
*Skill learned “Inspect”*
*Clutz Title* – given to those who, making fools of himself for no apparent reason, one of the few most embarrassing and useless titles.
Effect: a small chance added for people to not take you seriously, no matter what you say.
“Thank you great mysterious voice for hearing my prayers!” I almost started to cry. ”Wait didn’t I said the name of the skill already? Why didn’t it fired before? Looks like the skill system does not connected to keywords and more to the understanding of itself I guess?” I asked myself with confusion.
“System, keywords why those words feel so familiar?” I brushed that question aside as I had more important stuff that needed my attention. “But man this title is useless indeed, I got this title so easily surely at least half of the world already have it, embarrassing? At least… I feel funny.” As I finished that sentence, everything went pitch black and I dozed off yet again.
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