Roy Malloy - not quite on Earth
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I dated a hippy chick once. It was a lot of fun while it lasted. Ended when she stabbed me with a fork. I probably deserved it. Not important now. But I do remember her long lectures on astral projecting and power crystals. I wish I had payed more attention. She probably wouldn''t have stabbed me back then. I am fairly certain that was what was happening now. Either that, or I really was floating both inside and outside of every location within a mile of my body completely naked. I’m hoping this is taking place in my head. I''m flashing a lot of squirrels if it isn''t. Its not too bad in the meantime. Everything is grooOoovy.
I can feel the crystal before me. It''s a lot bigger than me, mentally I mean. Its trying to connect to my mind. That doesn’t seem like a scary thing at the moment. Merging with an alien rock, seems like a grade a plan. The stone thinks so. Am I on drugs? Nah.
Let’s do it.
“Accept merge” I attempt to say. The lack of a functional mouth makes it hard, but the crystal gets the idea.
And we did. All at once back into a single location, just above my own body. Whiplash doesn''t even begin to cover it. If my eyes were real they''d be orbiting my head right now.
I got a chance to look down at regular me. I had face planted into the dirt next to Buddy. He didn''t look too good. He had definitely passed out after... whatever it was that he did. A cloth plug and an armature tourniquet may have slowed the bleed, but it hadn''t stopped it.
After the merge I knew what ''it'' was. Roughly. It was more of a feeling than true knowledge. Overheard conversations from several years ago kind of knowledge.
It knew me too. It knew how out of my element I was as a non magical being from a non magical world. The emotion I was getting back tasted a lot like pity. And it decided to help. It prompted me that there was a basic interface that could pop up at my request.
“Core information” I thought/spoke again
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 99.9817%" border="1">
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<td style="width: 33.3577%">Dungon Core Type - Nature Affinity</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Age - Less than 1 year</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Power Level - Very Weak</td>
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<td colspan="3">Abilities - Current - Active</td>
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<td style="width: 33.3577%">Creation</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Transformation</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Destruction</td>
</tr>
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<td style="width: 33.3577%">Energy Creation</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Energy to Matter Conversion</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Matter Creation</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Energy to Energy Conversion</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 33.3577%"> </td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">
Matter to Matter Conversion
</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%"> </td>
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<tr>
<td style="width: 33.3577%"> </td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Matter to Energy Conversion</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%"> </td>
</tr>
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<td style="width: 33.3577%">Other Skills</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Empty category</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Empty category</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 33.3577%">Core Master Mental Communication (You)</td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%"> </td>
<td style="width: 33.3577%"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Well that feels like an understatement of abilities. Probably a lot to unpack there. I''m no physicist, but I feel like some laws are being broken. Learning more is gonna be a task for later.
“Core, can you help Buddy, I mean the alien. The thing beside me out there.”
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 99.9817%" border="1">
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<td style="width: 98.9589%">Insufficient Power</td>
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“Core, how can you gain more power quickly”
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 99.9817%" border="1">
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<td style="width: 98.9589%">-Converting matter into energy</td>
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<td style="width: 98.9589%">-Killing.....</td>
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<td style="width: 98.9589%">.....</td>
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“Enough. I have what I need. Converting matter to energy, how much matter do you need and what kind”
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 99.9817%" border="1">
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<td style="width: 98.9589%">To create *low grade health potion* you will need 14.4 cubic feet of matter local area matter. Material requirements for *low grade health potion* are non specific. Any matter will work as long as it is within 18 feet of the core master and core at current level</td>
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Two birds, meet one stone. I almost wish I hadn’t carted away the other two loads. “core, absorb the pile of garbage, make a low grade health potion and let me out.”
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 99.9817%" border="1">
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<td style="width: 98.9589%">There is significantly more information to disseminate to the core master regarding core operation</td>
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“Time is passing, this needs to happen now or he’s gonna die”
I get what could be considered a nod of approval from a thing with out a head... or a body
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<td style="width: 98.9589%">Proceeding with core master''s orders</td>
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</table>
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Roy Malloy – back in the flesh
Coming back into my body was weird. It didn’t feel like I was moving fast in the astral plane, but I must have been. My body flew back a few feet when I went in. The worst was the perspective shift. One second I’m facing one way, towards my face. The next second I am facing the other way, looking out my own eyes. And also flying backwards. Not fun.
Buddy was laying there still, and the crystal was not. I looked over to the garbage pile to see the detritus starting to orbit towards a lightly glowing center. It was going pretty fast too. It should be done with the pile in a minute or two.
I had a minute to burn, so I took it. Get used to having to breath again was not fun, but just like riding a bike I was able to pick the skill back up quickly.
I crawled back over to the alien. I knew he was a ‘he’ now. Couldn’t tell you how I knew, but I was fairly confident.
“Hang in there buddy, I’m working on getting you a health potion. That is the sort of magical bullshit you''re used to right? Just another minute or two and it will all be a okay.”
He didn’t respond. Shock or blood loss had taken him out of the game. I hope this works.
A short time later the core floated back over to me when it was done with the trash pile. As it hovered over my hand it dropped a small glass bottle, maybe the size of a 5 hour energy shot, into my outstretched palm. That''s a lot of stuff for such a tiny bottle. Buddy’s breathing was slowing down. No time for thinking, just doing.
I pulled the cork, opened his mouth and tilted his head back. When I poured the light green concoction in he choked a little, but got most of it down instead of on his shirt.
Low grade health potions take time to work… I think… but they will keep him alive and healing. For now. And that’s better than where we were a few minutes ago. I can see the bleeding slow as the worst of the wounds close up with ugly scabs.
The worst seems to be over. Now I can take a breath and think about how I am going to get off this mountain.