Body Alchemy

Alchemy. An old science deemed obsolete, but one old science that has led to many discoveries, from the alembic to the table of elements. However, some believed back then that the body and soul could also be altered, like lead being transformed into gold. To what extent? No one had any clues, but it was a theory.

The last time Micah thought about this kinda stuff was a week ago, completing his final project to conclude his prep art school year and trying to find inspiration in some old art or stories. Sadly, nothing came to his mind—the blank page syndrome.

Moreover, one thought had been plaguing him for some time. Nothing he had done so far satisfied him. Either through art, life, making music, or trying to prove his value to people who wouldn't even look at him was useless. In the end, it just tired him.

Regardless, his memories didn't matter to him right now, as he was floating in what looked like a white and dense fluid, drifting there as if suspended in the void by some invisible ropes.

It was good here; he liked it. Time went by, but impossible to know how fast; all was altered. He wasn't even entirely aware of what was happening; he was just there, existing-

{Come forth, my child. Thy time is scarce. May my blessings be with thee.}

These words echoed in Micah's psyche, a tender and soft voice directly speaking into his fogged mind, bringing him back into focus.

—W-What...?

He first felt the scent of fresh verdure and the blades of grass stuck to his cheek. A bright and warm light shone a pinkish-orange light on the back of his eyelids, almost dazzling him even with his eyes closed; something that reminded him of the Sundays when the sun managed to sneak in between the curtains rays hitting his face straight on.

"Dammit..." he growled while opening his eyes.

A few ants were going up a herb to cut it with their mandibles. From where he was, that's all he could see. Nothing more than grass.

Even though his view was obstructed by several dozen centimeters of grass from the very nature of the area, he knew that he was no longer in a densely populated place; the silence alone made him presume.

He pushed his body up with his arms, ungluing the blades of grass stuck to his cheek after being pressed long enough to leave a mark on his skin. A wince broke out on his face while his vertebrae made popping sounds as he straightened up.

—How'd I get here?

A thought that was already clouding his mind. Where he was standing was a large clearing; huge would be the right word. The tall grass stretched as far as the eye could see, but he could see two old-fashioned windmills in the distance at the horizon's edge.

"What the fuck is happenin', man..." he muttered, looking around him. "Whadda hell did I get myself into again...?"

Some of the trees behind him that littered the clearing seemed hybrids between birches and oaks; their trunks were white and wide, with purple sap escaping in places around which bees were flying. Fortunately for him, bears don't venture out of the forest, or else he would maybe have encountered-

The sound of foliage rustling under the weight of a massive individual startled Micah, looking back to the noise source. To the right of the tree stood an imposing, stocky beast staring back at him, a kind of bear with crimson eyes and cheetah-like fur. It was around four times his size, and god knows how many times stronger.

Micah froze momentarily, his brain unsure which choice to make between flight, fight or continue freezing. However, judging from the animal's behavior and sharp teeth, it wasn't there for honey or purple sap. The young man's legs began to run on their own before he even realized that the beast had also decided to rush toward its prey. The thing was quite far, but it was closing the gap quickly, not even giving Micah time to ponder anything that was going on.

—Fuck... fuck!

Nevertheless, he knew that against a bear, he had no chance of survival. Muscle mass, weight, speed; he's not even safe if he climbs a tree or by diving into a lake... The best thing is to curl up, but even so, the animal will maul you as it would do to a fish...

—But this isn't even a normal bear!

His own thought scared him. What the fuck was happening? It wasn't a dream, or else the pain of sprinting barefoot on sharp rocks, thistles, and stinging nettles would have already woken him up.

So what?

Before he could think of his far-fetched theory, the sudden movement behind him made him turn around and widen his eyes. A large paw with five long sharp claws and a fiery aura hit his back. Luckily, he wasn't lacerated, just scratched, but he was thrown forward about ten meters, falling head first, buttocks in the air, and knees on the ground.

〖T:tl€s 0Bta|n3d〗

He didn't have time to regain his senses that his assailant was already about to send a second blow of his claws toward his backside, the ideal target for the animal. The creature's paw struck Micah's buttocks, creating a small shockwave that went through his right buttock, but before anything else could happen, the animal's foot was knocked back. A shockwave sent the animal flying more than thirty meters rearward in a split second, crashing into one of the white-trunked trees.

With apprehension, Micah fluttered open his eyes again, his bloody nose tingling him, coupled with a slight eyebrow scar, as a tear formed below one of his eyes. It was a miracle. Bees were attacking the bear that was chasing him, strangely resistant to the creature's flaming aura. The tree with the purple sap that the beast crashed into after hitting Micah's ass was whipping the animal and trying to stab him with its branches.

"Did I... somehow knock this monster back?" he mumbled, pressing his nose. "This is... I... I got Isekai'ed or something like this... isn't it?"

〖B"^nc|ng #iRp¨ag%〗

—Huh-

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〖Bouncing Airbags〗●〖Your plump arse is your go-to shield. Repel strikes sensually and smoothly, especially any [IMPACT] type attacks. An additional perk of your scrumptious bottom is the ability to bounce like you would a trampoline, giving you a buff of movement speed; it works so well that if you fall from a high spot on your bum, you'll bounce back up like a softball without taking damage.〗〖+〗

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Micah's head was buzzing; he could see a kinda projection in front of him—but at the same time, in his head—it was like some translucent greenish-blue screen floating before him, but even like this, he strangely managed to know the content without even looking at it.

"My scrumptious bottom...?" he murmured before silently chuckling and massaging his temples. "What kinda transmigration is th-"

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► Title: Martyr. [+]

► Class: None.

► Magic Tattoo(s): None.

► Enhancement(s): None.

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► Level 0 — 〖0/1〗

〖MANA〗● 100

〖STA〗● 100

〖STR〗● 10

〖DEF〗● 10

〖AGI〗● 20

〖DEX〗● 10

〖MIND〗● 10

〖CHA〗● 30

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〖ABSORBED〗● 0

〖SANCTIFIED〗● 0

〖ALMS-GIVEN〗● 0

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►〖PASSIVE SKILLS〗

● 〖Bouncing Airbags〗〖+〗

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Micah took a deep breath and took a moment to calm down. His head didn't hurt anymore, but on the other hand, what was happening to him was stressing him out; he had had a hard time believing what had happened, but now it was pretty much a sure thing; he was in a different world. His fear was mingled with relief, fear of the unknown but relief not to have to endure all the things that afflicted him until then. He felt a twinge of guilt but realized he wouldn't even have to pay his first taxes. Lucky.

The young man sighed, figuring there would be no turning back and that it was probably better this way.

After all, saving the world or becoming famous thanks to his knowledge of the future and getting a harem full of fine chicks in a world like this one would be a blast-

"Bouncing Airbags, tho..." he stated while getting up. "I guess it can be useful, but it won't help me protect myself much at first... I mean... As long as I don't know how to use it well." he continued talking to himself, looking around to see if any other threat was approaching. "Also, why does this system use such fancy words...?"

—Anyway, I'm not going to dawdle. I'd better find a place where I can find water. I'm hella thirsty.

Micah was pretty confident that he wouldn't stumble upon a single body of water in the middle of the large expanse of grass that stretched to the mills, so he headed for the woodland a distance behind him. He didn't know much about surviving in the wild, but he at least knew that he could find water, berries, mushrooms, and maybe hares if he could hunt or trap one.

Nothing was sure about his survival skills, but he was only wearing linen underwear, so getting close to civilization like that wouldn't make a good first impression if he ever hoped to succeed in this world.

Having explored the forest for a couple of hours, he eventually came across a river that ran downhill toward where he had come from, perhaps even leading to the mills. He heaved a sigh of relief and took the water in his hands without thinking if it was polluted, but from the clearness of it, it was safe to drink. After several big gulps, he looked at himself in the water's reflection, confused.

"That's me...?"

Strangely enough, his face wasn't totally foreign to him, but it differed from when he was in his home world. He still possessed some slight features of his former self, but now everything had been smoothed out and feminized.

His face was now a tad more egg-shaped, accompanied by thin and rosy lips, and his nose had lost its little bump and was button-shaped. His sharp eyes had become sweeter while retaining their native features, whereas his pupils had turned from dark brown to ruby red; his eyelashes looked thicker and had a slight greenish tint, just like his thin eyebrows. His hair was the strangest: green and straight, cut mi-long under shoulder height.

Instinctively, he straightened up immediately to look at his body to see if it had changed too. And what a surprise it was.

He scrutinized his body; his shoulders had gotten narrower, and his arms were slimmer; it was the same for his torso and abdomen. However, his hips had grown in width, and his thighs looked fatter and bouncier, just like his booty. Overall, he had lost a lot of muscle mass and seemed soft.

However, that's not what got most of his attention; his underwear after he appeared here had fallen off somewhere, probably after the bear had attacked him; it had likely torn it with its claws. Since then, he wandered around with his pendulous dickey, swinging left and right.

"What happened to it...? This is... No..."

His voice wavered from sorrow to shame.

His little pecker was just a remnant of what it used to be. It was undoubtedly limp, but it was also clear that even if it became hard, it wouldn't even be 10 centimeters tall. It was now just a cutesy cock, just a bit wider than the base of his thumb, with a foreskin covering the glans and accompanied by a petite hairless scrotum.

"No way... What about... No..."

There he fell to his knees, starting the five stages of grief, settling his eyes on the reflection of his face on the water, his stomach rumbling with hunger.

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〖 ♥ Emergency Reward ♥ 〗

● Caused by: Hunger, Thirst, Stress, Sorrow, Shame, Confusion, Being naked.

〖Jizz Boozer〗●〖Voraciously slurping down spunk satiates hunger and thirst with greater effectiveness than any food or drink.〗〖+〗

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"Hey! That's not what I-"