Ch 135

  Matt was captivated by what he perceived as the progression of life on Earth, witnessing it as if he were at the very center of it all. Yet, along the way, he realized that with each step, he survived by transforming into a younger organism, leaving his old host to perish. More than once, Matt discovered that he should have failed to survive, only to pull through, if only long enough to be transferred to another being through the consumption of his old host. As time went on, he came to understand that nothing mattered any longer beyond simply ensuring his ability to survive.

  Having long since realized that he was following the path of his bloodline, Matt felt as though he had been infected by a parasite more than anything else. He also came to understand that for his bloodline, dying in a dungeon without being consumed was its greatest fear. This fear was the reason it had intervened to save him when he should have perished the first time. It was likely at that moment his bloodline truly became one with him, as it was forced to do something it had never done before—commit fully to a host. As for what exactly his bloodline was and how Matt had come to possess it, that remained a mystery, the history of it all flashing past faster than he could comprehend. The few glimpses he caught were like still images of a host or a violent end before a new beginning.

  Through this bizarre experience, Matt witnessed phenomena he was convinced no other human had ever seen, as whatever he was became a nomadic presence, moving from host to host. Sometimes, decades would pass between switches, while at other times, he found himself in a new host every other day, experiencing the cycle of being consumed repeatedly. This peculiar journey led him to contemplate the nature of his bloodline, pondering whether it was simply trying to reunite with a greater whole it once belonged to. Observing the bewildering transformation from an apex predator to a scavenger, then into a tree, followed by a fungus, and then morphing back into a hog, before becoming a bird and eventually a fish, struck him as a path lacking cohesion. Exactly how Matt fit into this strange sequence felt like a mystery that could take any form, and he wondered how long his bloodline had resided within him.

  That was until Matt saw himself pulling a fish from the shimmering water near his cabin. After cooking the fish over an open flame, Matt realized he had become the host of whatever mysterious power his bloodline possessed. Matt initially thought that the vision would end there, but instead, it continued. He watched as Bob wandered in and Apricity made her first move on him. One event after another unfolded, showing him interacting with the few people he still kept in touch with, and for the first time, he noticed how they seemed to be more tolerant of him. This revelation made him question several things, as he realized that even back on Earth, his bloodline had been subtly influencing the world around him. Exactly how this influence worked was something he found difficult to comprehend, but it was undeniably present.

  Matt could see that something was drawing others to him, despite his personality, which normally would have put others off as it had all his life. Was that why the others turned to him when things got tough? Was Tempormr noticing him because his bloodline was searching for a new host? Could his bloodline even find a new host at this point, or was it stuck with Matt? These questions, and more, plagued Matt’s mind as he began to question everything while the vision drew towards a close. There was one last twist, however, as Matt found himself standing before his own likeness. This was clearly an avatar of his bloodline, and it seemed to be about to speak to him.

  Yet it said nothing; rather, Matt felt as though it was merely a presence within him, threatening to take control if he couldn't find a way to navigate the current situation. Matt interpreted this as an unmistakable sign that he was losing the ongoing struggle as he attempted to think through everything at his disposal. It was then that Matt recalled the bag he had acquired from the Tomb of the Restless Defenders. With that realization, Matt found himself back within his own body, which was still nothing but tooth enamel and blood. It was evident to him that he would only endure for a little longer in his current state, so Matt returned to what he considered a normal form. He opened his spatial storage and, after searching for a short while, found the forgotten bag buried beneath the pilfered gold he had accumulated.

  Pulling the bag out and removing the boar carcass that was still inside, Matt shifted in the liquid metal and attempted to slide into the bag himself. This was easier said than done, and he worried about the possibility of the time-freezing features of the bag failing, as he knew his life force would resist being frozen in time as he hoped. Still, he pushed forward, trusting his bloodline to handle any issues that might arise. He had just managed to get his head inside and was about to close the bag when Tempormr reached out once more to try to persuade him.

  "If you close that bag, there is a chance that you may never come out again," Tempormr warned with a hint of urgency in his voice.

  "That's fine," replied Matt, smiling to himself with a sense of defiance. "It's not like you ever intended to let me survive in the long run."

  "You'll be making it easy for them to dispose of you," Tempormr cautioned, his tone laced with concern.

  "What's easier than waiting until after I die?" Matt countered, determination in his voice. "At least this way, I won't die right now."

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  Matt didn't give Tempormr a chance to dissuade him any longer. He closed the bag and found himself suddenly in a place that seemed to be nowhere. Yet that didn’t feel right, nor was the fact that he was still able to perceive anything. He had thought he would simply wake up the moment someone opened the bag, or it failed. Instead, he felt himself in two distinct places. One was within the bag he had sealed himself in, and the other was a realm both infinitely far and yet infinitely close. He concentrated, willing himself to perceive where his other self was, feeling the strange duality of his existence.

  What Matt discovered challenged his beliefs on what was possible. Tucked inside Rose's shirt were some of his own hairs. These were hairs that had once been part of his body after it had undergone its transformations. Suddenly, Matt recognized his bloodline's influence at work as he concentrated on the hairs. His intention was to establish a connection with the hairs on such a level that he could utilize his spatial storage with them. Simultaneously, he willed the bag that contained him to enter the very same spatial storage, laughing in disbelief as it worked. His consciousness was almost involuntarily drawn to the small bundle of hairs—hairs that were astonishingly reforming into a minuscule version of himself.

  Rose

  Rose felt an unusual sensation beneath her collar, which stirred her awake from the break they had all taken shortly after entering the instance dungeon. As she looked down, the first thing she noticed was the absence of Matt's hairs. She pulled up her collar and discovered something the size of a grain of rice nestled there. However, it had tiny hands, feet, and even a head. Though he was minuscule, Rose realized that it was indeed Matt.

  Initially, she thought she must be dreaming, but that couldn't be right; if she were dreaming, Matt would be at his full size and certainly not so comically small. No, this was reality. When she turned and saw Bob rushing over happily, it only reinforced her certainty. Even though Matt was too tiny for his voice to be heard, he should still have been able to communicate with Bob. As she turned her attention to Bob, she frowned, knowing that although the oversized bobcat could understand them, his ability to converse with them was quite limited.

  Matt

  Matt couldn’t believe what he was witnessing as he gazed up at Rose’s chest, which loomed above him like a pair of majestic hills. Although he wasn’t at a scale he would consider truly microscopic, he was still much smaller than a human body was designed to function at, and he wasn’t truly human at the moment either. Rather, it was more accurate to say that he was a rice-sized puppet, a puppet that for some reason didn’t have access to his spatial storage. Nevertheless, he was at least with his party, even if only in rice size, as he concentrated on reaching Bob.

  The pure excitement that surged through his link with Bob made Matt realize just how difficult things had been since his departure. Even though they hadn’t been attacked during that time, everyone had been on edge. As Bob came over to sit next to Rose, Matt was eager to seek updates on everything. Bob was quick to provide answers, although he did toss in a bit of attitude about how leaving them had been such a foolish decision. Still, Matt was relieved to see them all safe after the threats that had been directed their way. However, having it confirmed that Greg had been contacted by Tempormr and had fled instantly because of it was chilling. It told Matt that things were far from good as he pondered what the future held for all of them.

  There was at least one piece of good news amidst everything that had transpired since his capture. That was, he was now certain there was something that prevented higher-level entities from entering lower-leveled areas. If it weren’t for that fact, Matt was confident that all of his party would have been annihilated the moment things went awry. Yet, it seemed that at least a week, if not more, had passed since Greg had been contacted. Now, Matt needed to figure out how to regain his size and, hopefully, gain access to the rest of his skills, as he could feel they were all distant, like echoes of a forgotten past. To make matters worse, when Matt examined his stats, they all read significantly lower than he would have hoped for, a sobering reminder of his current predicament.

  Matthew Pierce Puppet.

  Level NA

  Strength: 28

  Dexterity:29

  Durability: 147

  Stamina: 412

  Spirit: 940

  Mind: 61

  HP: 13820

  MP: 2498

  Luck: 61

  Species Human hybrid puppet(C)

  Notice: this body isn’t your real self and has limited access to all skills just like its stats, it has 1% the total essences of its true body.

  Upon reading the final line, Matt realized that although his body was now stored in his own spatial storage, it remained anchored to the spot it had originally occupied, due to the system's constraints. He pondered whether Tempormr was aware of this situation, but regardless of Tempormr's knowledge, Matt doubted it made any significant difference. Matt's strategy was to bide his time until the timer expired, allowing him to return to Earth before attempting to liberate himself. This plan was one of the first things Matt communicated to Bob, along with a peculiar request to harvest dead skin cells from him.

  After all, although Matt's regeneration was limited in his current form, it was still an intrinsic part of his being. He was confident that he could process and incorporate the surrounding matter into this puppet, eventually gaining enough size to actually communicate with the others. The only issue was that they were in an instance dungeon, and he wasn’t likely to be afforded the luxury of time to gradually double his size each day. Instead, Matt needed to adopt a full-on gluttonous approach, attempting to incorporate as much mass as he could, as swiftly as possible. Fortunately, with the items they had looted from those who had attacked them in the dungeon since Matt had departed, along with the organization's efficient exchange system, food wasn't hard to come by.

  Even though the guild exchange system was currently inaccessible due to their presence in an instance dungeon, Matt was puzzled about how he had managed to access his cells that Rose had been carrying with her initially. This led him to ponder the mechanics of the spaces that instance dungeons occupied, including the intriguing question of whether he would be disconnected from his puppet the moment they exited the dungeon.