Symbiotic: Chapter 9

Sara stood in the cave, focusing as she called into being new robes to protect her. Her first robe had already been reabsorbed into her fungal network, leaving her only in a torn shirt and pants, fabric shredded from claws, stone, & fire. She shivered slightly in the damp air, but her focus was absolute.

She closed her eyes and summoned the System.

[Create Advanced Object Activated] Item Created: Mycorrhizal Battle Robes.

[Cost: 200 Microbes. Remaining Network 800 of 1000]

The spores around her shimmered, threads unraveling from the air and weaving themselves into form. At first, the familiar green fabric appeared, threaded with silver fungal veins. But this time, the weave thickened in places with almost plate-like patches of hardened leather like fungus forming over her vitals, arms, and legs. The robe was no longer just cloth; it was armor, grown to protect the places she had been struck hardest.

The chest glowed faintly, reinforced with layered fungal plating. Her forearms and thighs bore hardened ridges, silver veins pulsing through them like living steel. The robe flexed with her movements, but she could feel the weight of its protection, a living armor that remembered her wounds and grew stronger where she had been weakest.

She exhaled, then whispered:

[Identify]

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Mycorrhizal Battle Robes (Advanced)

Type: Armor (Fungal Network)

Appearance: Deep green robes threaded with glowing silver fungal veins, reinforced with plate-like growths over vitals, arms, and legs.

Bonuses:

• +3 Body (Defense) – Hardened fungal plating absorbs and deflects blows.

• +2 Body (Force) – Reinforced weave channels strength through limbs.

• +1 Body (Speed) – Lightweight fungal fibers adjust to enhance agility despite plating.

• Passive Effect: Adaptive Growth – Robe thickens in areas where the wearer has sustained repeated injuries and repair function heightened in combat.

• Active Effect: Sporespill – Minor fungal spores drift from the robe, slightly obscuring the wearer’s outline in dim light.

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Wow. Now THAT was an Item. Sara was in love. She flexed her arms, feeling the robe shift with her, protective yet alive. She smiled faintly as the robes seemed to thicken and thin based on her movements. Always protecting, but never impeding.

She then turned to the crystals scattered across the cave floor — green, brown, and red. Muttering curses as she went, “Teleported into some Fantasy Game, and I’m still stuck doing the Fracking housework!”, she gathered them, again, carefully, their faint glow reflecting off the silver threads of her new robe.

Curious, she tested her [Dimensional Pocket]. She held a crystal in her hand, willed it away, and it vanished. When she called it back, it reappeared instantly. She tried again with her punch dagger, her bat, and then all the crystals at once.

To her delight, the crystals didn’t scatter individually, they stacked neatly in the mental image she was able to summon of her personal pocket. She could remove one, half, or all of them with a thought. “Have I mentioned how fracking much I Love Pockets?!?!”

Sara laughed softly, joy breaking through exhaustion. She now had armor that remembered her wounds, weapons she could summon at will, and a pocket dimension that organized her treasures into stacks.

“Ok Sara. Chores are done. It’s time to go risk life and limb some more!”

“Huh.”, she muttered, “Honestly? That sounded better in my head.”

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Dagger at her hip, but Bat, Spear, and Shield stored in her Pocket Dimension now that she had practiced and knew exactly how fast she could pull then to hand when needed, Sara stepped out of the cave to peer around in the dim ‘night’ of the Tutorial.

The area was dark, but not pitch black. It reminded her of walking around during a full moon night. “Except, you know. No actual Moon in the sky, and anything and everything you see wants to eat you.”, she said softly to herself as she looked for any potentially dangerous surprises.

She felt a few pings of [Danger Sense] and, for once, moved away from them instead of towards them. “Plenty of killing and feeding her network to do tomorrow. But for now, time to find a good tree and get some rest.”

The night was heavy with silence, as seemingly any creature in the area had already raced to meet its doom in the Hold Your Ground event. Sara moved carefully through the dim Tutorial landscape, every step measured, every breath shallow. Her [Danger Sense] pulsed faintly in the back of her mind, little pings of warning that guided her away from unseen predators lurking in the distance.

Ahead, she spotted it: a massive tree, its trunk broad and its branches sprawling upward like a staircase into the sky. The bark was rough, easy to grip, and the branches thick enough to bear her weight. Relief flickered across her face. This will do.

She pressed her hand to the trunk, then began to climb. Her muscles burned from the day’s battles, but she pulled herself upward, branch by branch, until the ground was far below. The air was cooler here, the night sounds muffled. She paused, scanning for a spot that felt secure. A crook of branches where she could strap herself in, high out of reach of prowling beasts.

But then, a thought struck her.

[Ability Activated: Create Basic Object]

[Cost: 100 Microbes. Remaining Network 700 of 1000]

Spores shimmered around her, weaving together in strands of green and silver. They stretched between two sturdy branches, forming a hammock that cradled her weight perfectly. The fungal fibers thickened where they needed to hold weight, softening into a comfortable sling while anchoring themselves firmly into the bark.

As she settled into it, the hammock shifted, adapting. Its surface darkened, the green fading into muted browns and grays, mimicking the bark of the tree. From below, it looked like nothing more than another shadow among the branches. Hidden. Safe.

Sara exhaled, tension draining from her shoulders. She lay back, the hammock swaying gently, her body finally allowed to rest. The fungal weave pulsed faintly with her heartbeat, holding her secure, shielding her from prying eyes.

For the first time since the waves began, she felt a fragile sense of peace. High above the ground, wrapped in living armor and hidden by her own creation, she closed her eyes.

The Tutorial night pressed on, and Sara would face it. Tomorrow. Tonight, she would sleep.

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Sara stirred awake, the faint glow of spores drifting off of her fantastic robes in the early Tutorial dawn. Her body felt lighter, her mind clearer. It had been the best sleep she could remember, cocooned in the hammock’s gentle sway. She placed a hand on the fungal weave, whispering thanks to the living fibers that had kept her safe through the night.

The hammock pulsed faintly, then unraveled into spores that flowed back into her network.

[Microbes Absorbed: +50. Remaining Network: 750 of 1000]

With renewed energy, Sara climbed higher into the tree, pulling herself up branch by branch until the canopy opened around her. The air was crisp, the horizon vast. She shaded her eyes, scanning for anything that might guide her path.

Far below, the jungle stretched endlessly, its green expanse broken only by the shimmer of a wide river. The sight made her stomach tighten. The river screamed ambush, its banks perfect for predators to lie in wait.

Beyond the river however, the land shifted. Jungle gave way to mountains and valleys, their shadows long in the morning light. And there, in one of the distant valleys, something caught her eye. Straight angles. Too precise for nature. Structures? Buildings? Fields?

Her breath caught. Civilization?

And carved into the mountainside of the valley, a dark spot loomed. A cave entrance. Large enough that she could see it even from here. Its shadow seemed to swallow the light, promising danger, but also shelter… and perhaps rewards?

Sara’s pulse quickened. The jungle, with bigger and deadlier creatures appearing, was growing more dangerous by the hour. The river was absolutely a risk. But the valley with its straight edges and looming cave. She was too far away to see if anything moved there. But it was the closest she’d seen to civilization. How could she pass up looking?

All that stood between her and the valley was a Jungle of predators, an almost assuredly deadly river crossing, and whatever hunted the mountains and valleys across the way.

“How hard could it be?”

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Sara paused as she began what she decided would become her new morning ritual. Robes checked, weapons confirmed in her Dimensional Pocket, crystals and other stored inventory accounted for. She glowered faintly at the memory of chasing those damn crystals across the cave floor more than once, but this time, they were neatly stacked, organized, and secure.

Then she noticed something strange. The stacks had changed.

Her inventory shimmered in her mind’s eye:

• Small Brown Crystals: 3

• Small Green Crystals: 6

• Small Red Crystals: 0

• Medium Brown Crystals: 2

• Medium Green Crystals: 1

• Medium Red Crystals: 1

Somehow the crystals in her pocket dimension had combined? 10 smaller crystals had become one medium crystal. Would medium crystals become large ones? Why? They had to be for something important! She pulled one of the new medium Brown crystals out, turning it over in her hand. It pulsed faintly, heavier than the small ones, but when she whispered [Identify], the System remained silent. No information. No hint of its purpose. With a frustrated sigh, she tossed it back into her Dimensional Pocket, where it neatly rejoined its stack.

As she began to climb down, she froze. Her body felt different. Stronger. Faster. More resilient. She flexed her fingers, tested her balance, and realized the truth: the full night’s sleep had triggered something deeper.

[System Notice: Full Rest Achieved] Effect: Full Rest Counts as Full Body Regrowth.

Her stats unfolded before her eyes:

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Sara Bloom

Level 2

Core Stats

• Body: 22 (18) (Growth Energy Stored)

o Force: 22 (+1 Spear, +2 Robes)

o Speed: 24 (+1 Spear, +1 Robes)

• Mind: 18 (Growth Energy Stored)

o Thought: 18

o Knowledge: 18

• Soul: 15 (Growth Energy Stored)

o Self: 20

o Sum: 15

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Defenses

• Physical Defense: 22 (+3 Robes, +2 Shield)

• Mental Defense: 18 (+2 Shield)

• Soul Defense: 15 (+2 Shield)

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“Ok, add Status check to the new morning ritual, future Sara!” She grinned, the silver threads of her battle robes pulsing faintly in response as spores wafted into the air around her.

The valley with its possible buildings loomed in her mind. The Jungle held its threats. The river screamed danger. The cave promised risk for rewards, but her body was ready. Stronger than yesterday. Ready for the day’s punches.

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