“Huh?” A deep voice resonated in a dark place. “How did this...”

“Hm? What’s wrong~” Someone else asked in an extremely mellow and playful voice.

The sound of leaves rustling against their body echoes as the two move. Their eyes opened and became the only thing visible in the darkness, one pair boasted jewel-like green iris with a sharp black line for a pupil. The other pair of eyes contained a similar black line pupil, but their iris was pink and spread like a flower.

“No, it’s nothing much,” the deep voice lowered their tone.

“Mhm~ You always say that now~” the mellow voice’s owner approached them in the dark. “Go on~ Tell me~”

“Haa, I just sensed one of my marks disappear from the forest of Eld.”

“Ooh, did it get eaten~?”

“Maybe. It was too sudden though. I think it was destroyed by someone instead.”

“Hmm~ I guess we can’t track it then, right~”

“It’s not worth the effort anyway.”

The two got back on what sounded like a bed of leaves, and soon after the owner of the soft voice fell asleep. The other pair of eyes kept staring at the ceiling while humming a melody, only stopping once it was their turn to get back to sleep.

“Just one mark isn’t gonna be that much of a loss,” they closed both eyes before whispering again. “Just one, that is.”

I had only seen such things in animations, prank videos, and jack-in-a-box toys in my previous life. Stuff like faces or animals suddenly jumping towards the camera, probably made up with the intent of scaring the viewer into backing off, or at least flinching.

Of course, said animals included snakes as well.

“Time. To. Go!”

I pressed my upper body down on my coiled lower body, and within an instant I loosened the pressure while also pushing myself towards the immobile slime and, very much like a metal spring, my body naturally ‘flew’ into the slime’s body.

*Pop*

There was no time to think, and I could barely see anything in that green goo. Above my still moving body were the yellow spheres, I couldn’t count how many though, and below was the bloodied body of the frootare, its fur still being dissolved.

“...!” I found what I was looking for.

Without thinking twice I opened my mouth as wide as I could. “Aaaahn~”

*Pop*

For a moment I felt like I was drowning in a lake of wet grass, from how disgusting and sticky everything tasted, then in the next I was bursting through the other side of its body, holding a large and equally as green sphere in my fangless mouth. And immediately...

*Splosh!*

The slime’s entire gooey form collapsed into a green puddle.

*Thud*

And during my unprepared landing, I fell face first on the ground which pushed the sphere all the way into my mouth, and consequently down my throat.

“Gulp.”

“Ugh... I really don’t feel lucky,” I complain.

*Ping*

“Hm?”

[The host has ingested an adequate amount of nature essence. Magic +1.31.]

“Huh!?”

[The host has successfully absorbed nature essence of low-quality. Magic +0.28.]

“Whooa!”

My wet body swings from side to side in joy. I don’t even feel like doubting the system and just focus on celebrating this victory.

“I take it back, I am super lucky!” With a bit of difficulty I raise my head high.

“Hm?”

I feel the cold jelly reach my tail and turn around to see three glass-like spheres with yellow stuff inside rolling on the puddle. Just thinking about the amount of stats that I might gain from eating them makes me drool.

“Ah—” but something dampens my mood right away.

The washed up frootare’s corpse laid beside the puddle, a small portion of its fur had been dissolved, along with the tip of its ears and one side of fruits that were hanging on it.

“Thankfully it’s night time,” I let out a breath of relief. Looking at the tip of my tail and the lower side of my body, I could tell that even an extremely short dive into that slime’s goo was enough to dissolve a bit of me.

“Even the sides of my mouth, huh.”

As my agitation began to die down, I started to feel a sting of pain in several spots inside and outside my body. However it’s bearable, and I can feel them slowly healing as well.

While enduring the stinging sensation, I slide towards the corpse.

“I think I avenged you guys, so... Sorry for not being able to help,” I lower my head and close my eyes for a few seconds before continuing. “But I will make sure to not let your meat go to waste!”

I might be getting used to setting aside my disgust at an alarming rate.

[The host has ingested a decent amount of nature essence. Magic +1.02.]

[The host has absorbed nature essence of high-quality. Magic +2.48, Mind +0.41.]

“Ohh boy~”

As soon as I swallowed one of the spheres, an immense amount of... ‘something’ flooded a certain part of my body, it was soothing and refreshing, almost sweet. I knew that that part had nothing to do with my stomach or my digestive muscles, but it felt like I just drank some delicious juice and it got stuck in a spot that lets me taste it whenever I want.

“Wait,” I snapped out of my bliss with a thought that crossed my mind. “Could that be my core?”

[The host has learned sufficient details about a species. Mind +0.03.]

“I will take that as a yes.“

After a few seconds, however, the sensation coming from the core began to dissipate, not completely, but very close to imperceptible, unless I focused entirely on it, which is still as hard as before.

“It’s okay, I have two more chances to get the hang of it,” I say as I scoop up another sphere with my mouth.

“Gulp.”

[The host has ingested a decent amount... Magic +0.87.]

[The host has absorbed... Magic +1.24.]

[The host has reached...]

“Hmm.”

I ignored the system’s voice and focused on the feeling of nature essence flowing into my core. There was a perceptible difference with it this time, it was fainter and less fluid than the previous essence. Regardless of why, it wasn’t a big issue, I still got some good practice in.

“Phew,” I took a deep breath in and out. “I think I caught a grasp of it now.”

I look around the area to make sure it’s safe a few times, there’s nothing but flowers and trees nearby, so l assume that no creature will walk at night during this gale and close my eyes.

With my mind, I channel all my focus on the spot below my neck, and above what I consider my torso, where I can feel the presence of nature essence. The rustling of grass, the whistle of the wind, and brushing of trees, all my surroundings become faint like a dim background music. My senses can only feel my core and almost nothing else.

Sea essence. Sky essence. Life Essence? And, of course, Nature essence. I’m barely able to discern one from another now, either by their amount, quality, or heaviness. Anyway, this is a big step ahead in comparison to before.

“I think could bargain with the murder plant if I brought this to it.”

An idea occurred to me once I slowly woke up from my focus. The situation that is prone to occur with the murder plant was, and probably still is, a matter of whether I’m capable of fighting back, or if I’m willing to succumb to it. However, now there is a new opportunity to trade the last sphere of essence in exchange for its collaboration.

“...Even so, at the very end, one of us will have to kill the other.”