In a New World, She Picks Up a Raisin
Pulled from her bed, with her dog, she found herself in a dimly lit, stone temple. The first thing that struck her was the absence of her canine companion.
She called out for Lia, but when her own voice echoed back to her, she was taken aback by how childish it sounded. She looked at her hands and noticed they were small and covered in dirt.
Between the idea of going crazy or having transmigrated, Ana chose to believe in the latter.
"I transmigrated as a child. My dog is gone. I'm hungry and cold. Fuck!" she muttered and then paused. "Wait, I should have cheats, though, right? System?"
[System Activated] came a robotic voice in her head.
"Well, that's…convenient. Am I some sort of protagonist?" she said, her eyes shining. She then looked around the dusty temple in wonder and tilted her head. "There will be…toilets, right?"
[System Scanning Host…Scanning…]
Ana felt a jolt of electricity through her body.
[System has detected Host physique as 'Parasite']
"Parasite?!"
[System has matched Host with three career paths:
A. Scammer
B. Follower
C. Worm
Please pick one.]
"What does that mean? Worm?" Ana said, feeling uncomfortable.
She attempted to elicit a response from the System, but it remained uncommunicative.
"Well, I don't even like talking to people, so I don't want to be a scammer, and as a follower I should be safer but I hate when people tell me what to do…but worm seems…questionable at best," she thought sadly.
She decided to explore what kind of world she fell into before deciding her path.
The sun was already high up in the sky, and Ana felt the heat bearing on her small body as she exited the building.
[Host exiting the Temple of Transmigration. Please choose a Lifestyle path:
A. Con Artist
B. Adventurer
C. Farmer]
"System, can I just look around first?"
[System cannot support 'look around' as a valid choice.]
With a sigh, Ana chose farming since it seemed like the most peaceful option.
[Host has chosen Lifestyle path of Farmer, which aligns with career of Worm. Worm career automatically selected.]
"You- you tricked me! What-" Her body contorted and shifted, her limbs shrinking and elongating until she was nothing but a writhing mass of pale, slick flesh. As she struggled to understand what was happening, she felt a sudden weight in her gut and realized with horror that she had transformed into a massive, squirming worm, the thickness of a large dog but two or three times as long. It was a strange and unsettling sensation.
"System! Change me back right now!" she hissed, unable to speak human.
[Host's body has been changed due to career selection. Transformation irreversible.]
Ana wanted to scream, but as a worm, she could not.
The System went silent as she hissed unhappily. After some minutes of receiving no reply, Ana felt a pain in her gut. She was hungry and suddenly smelled something. The scent was like golden honey drizzling over hot bread, thick and rich and irresistible, coming from below.
Against her better judgment, she began burrowing downwards, compelled by the irresistible scent.
The earthy scent of damp soil filled her nostrils as she burrowed effortlessly through the ground. The musty smell of decaying leaves and roots mixed with the fresh aroma of newly turned soil.
Suddenly the dirt gave way and she plopped into a cavern. The scent changed to a musty, dank odor, like a mixture of wet rocks and moldy wood. But in this place, the scent of honey was overpowering, enveloping all other smells like a thick blanket.
In the dark cavern, she found her 'prey' - a sleeping girl with glowing, translucent skin and an air of innocence about her.
[Host has found a Rare Level 5 NPC - 'Dormant Saintess'.]
As much as Ana didn't want to do it, hunger consumed her, and she slithered towards the sleeping girl, jaws salivating at the prospect of a large meal.
The girl stirred, but it was too late.
Ana wrapped herself around the Saintess and sank her fangs into the girl's frail neck. The moment her venom entered the girl's veins, Ana felt stronger, rejuvenated; the girl's life force flowing into her as she drained her of everything.
When Ana pulled back with a satisfied hiss, she realized that the girl's skin was now as wrinkled as a raisin.
[Host has consumed Rare Level 5 NPC - 'Dormant Saintess'.]
[Host has leveled up!]
[New Skill: Lifesteal Lv 1 (1/5)]
"Why does a worm have fangs! Oh my god!" Ana cried. "I- I killed her!"
But the girl wasn't dead. Her wrinkled form stirred and then opened her eyes, to Ana's shock.
"M-mommy?" The girl rubbed her eyes, looking at Ana with a dazed expression.
Ana didn't know whether to be relieved or more terrified. Whose mother?! And this raisin girl…
[Host has gained a Follower - Rare Level 1 'Lifeless Saintess']
"Raisin…I mean, little girl, um…what's your name?" Ana hissed, forgetting she couldn't speak.
The wrinkled and gray-skinned girl tilted her head, looking like a zombie.
"Mom is hungry?" she said timidly. "You can bite again."
Ana stared at the girl in horror. "N-no, no, it's okay. I'm good for now. Let's… Let's get out of here, okay?" she hissed, even knowing the girl wouldn't understand her.
She began digging a tunnel to the surface and lead the Little Raisin to follow.
As the two emerged from the ground, a small, unassuming village greeted them, the Transmigrator's Temple standing nearby.
[Host has reached 'Ruined Village'].
[Quest activated: 'Recovery']
[Task 1: Build a shelter]
Ana looked at the little girl next to her, feeling guilty. Little Raising looked back at her with round, clear eyes, stabbing Ana's conscience even more. The little girl shivered in the wind.
How to build a shelter?
She examined the broken village.
Tattered straw roofs were strewn everywhere, piles of hay and rotting furniture littering the place. An idea struck her.
Ana mimed building a house, then dug a large hole in the ground for Little Raisin to climb inside.
The girl crawled inside obediently, as if she understood Ana's gestures perfectly.
Ana then got to work, collecting hay and wood to create a makeshift hut over their heads. The pale afternoon sunlight filtered through the holes in the roof, casting stripes on both of their faces as she worked silently with determination.
But alas, she found her lack of hands a hindrance and the most she could do was lean pieces of wood against each other.
[Host has failed 'Build a shelter']
[Unlocking side quest: 'Tentacles']
[Consume 10 Monsters]
[Clearing this side quest will unlock the 'Metamorphosis' skill tree]
Metamorphosis? Perhaps she could become human again!
She hissed, more hopeful than she liked to admit.
"Little Raisin, I'll be right back, okay?"
She darted off into the forest, her long worm body cutting through the underbrush.
"Wait…monsters? Is this dangerous?" She turned back and made sure Little Raisin was hiding well. Looking at her makeshift shelter, she wondered if it would collapse and kill the little girl.
"I can't do anything without hands, though," she thought. "I'll be as quick as possible!"
And with that, Worm Ana wormed off into the forest.