When I woke up, my body was covered in a thick, black, gluey substance.
"Ack... my back and face hurt."
I started scratching myself. My skin felt strange, like it didn't belong to me. It was smooth, firm... new.
Like I'd been reborn.
I walked over to the river and looked at my reflection.
I froze.
My hair had grown longer and was now completely white. My face looked sharper. More defined. Like someone else entirely.
'I look... handsome.'
I stared into the water for a while, trying to understand what I was seeing.
"Hmm..."
"Where's that giant bird? And why am I naked again?" I sighed.
"Never mind. No one's around anyway."
I examined my body. My skin felt solid, harder than before, like stone. I clenched my fist and punched a tree as hard as I could.
The tree didn't just crack.
It broke.
It split down the middle and collapsed.
I looked at my hand.
No damage.
"...Is this what they call the OP character starter pack?"
'It seems I'm strong now.'
'At least the red mushroom didn't have any side effects.'
Or so I thought.
I kept walking along the river, pretending everything was fine. Acting like nothing had changed.
But something inside me had.
It was quiet.
It was dangerous.
I couldn't feel it exactly, but... I also couldn't feel much at all.
My emotions were fading.
But I didn't give it much thought.
I just kept walking.
"Night's coming. I need to build a place to stay. Can't sleep outside naked or I'll catch a cold."
I punched down a few more trees and stacked the logs together into a rough, cave-like shelter.
It wasn't pretty, but it would do.
I gathered large leaves and wrapped them around myself to stay warm.
Night arrived.
Rustling.
I tossed and turned.
'I can't sleep. This is so annoying. I haven't eaten anything all day... How long do I have to walk?'
'How long can I keep going?'
Eventually, I started drifting off to sleep.
Then I heard something.
Noise.
It was faint, like something crawling beneath the earth.
Then, without warning.
BOOM.
I jumped to the left just in time as something exploded out of the ground beside my shelter.
A massive worm shot straight into the sky.
I wasn't afraid.
I was stunned.
"A worm... just flew into the sky?"
It didn't make sense. It twisted upward, higher and higher, then slowly began to fade. Like smoke. Like it had never been there at all.
This was the second time I had encountered something so massive. First the bird.
Now this worm.
Bigger. Stranger.
And it could fly.
'A worm that can fly… this is awesome.'
Stomach growls
"I'm hungry."
That night, I fell asleep again.
Still no food.