New World New Life 28 The Evolution of Dotty

u003cAnalyzing…u003e

u003cAnalysis completeu003e

u003cSubject Assessment results: the boy can learn transformation. Basic tier only.u003e

-Will that change for him? As he improves?-

u003cAdvanced information unavailableu003e

The information she has received was more than enough for her to start. Vy went on to instruct Lycster to picture himself in his most comfortable environment. In that space, he needed to look for something that was unique. Something that was not formed from his thoughts. For Vyrena, it was the wolf.

"I think I see something! What should I do next," Lycster asked. She could sense the excitement in his voice.

"Now, you must go over to it, and accept it as part of you."

"As part of me?"

"Yes, that's right. The form is an extension of you."

Lycster nodded, his eyes were still closed. In his mind, he had pictured the centre of a town, with a beautiful fountain in the centre. There were no stalls all around, it was an empty town square. As he sat on the side of the fountain, admiring the buildings around it, he noticed a creature in the distance.

The creature had long slender legs and antlers on its head. It had a brown coat and a slender snout.

Trying hard not to make too much noise, he took a few steps to get closer to the creature. Having noticed Lycster it did not run away. Instead, it started to move closer to him too.

It was a white coat deer, taller than Lycster. But as he was about to touch its coat, the deer vanished.

Startled, Lycster returned to the present, shocked and confused. He was still a normal boy.

"Wait, why didn't I change?"

"Maybe you're still too young. But if you keep practising, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it," Vy cheered him up.

He was still a little upset about it, but Vy's encouragement put a smile on his face. Since they were already in the forest, Vy decided that they would do some exploring and gathering instead.

She had heard from Carole and some of the others that the forest was filled with precious and useful herbs. One only needed to know how to tell them apart. As the two of them scoured the forest floors for herbs and mushrooms, they did not find anything special. Even using Dotty was of not much assistance.

But, it was at this moment that Vy realised that she could upgrade Dotty.

-Dotty, can you be upgraded now?-

u003cEvaluating particle collectionu003e

u003cEvaluation complete, particle absorption has indeed reached 100%.u003e

u003cWould you like to upgrade, Dotty?u003e

-Yes.-

u003cUpgrade confirmedu003e

Within seconds, Dotty's upgrade was complete.

u003cUpgrade completedu003e

u003cMaterialization initialised, physical form chosen and created.u003e

-Created?-

A bright flash of light blinded Vy's eyes. When she could finally see again, she realised that there was a small ball of light hovering before her. It did not have any wings and emanated a small amount of light.

u003cHello, Vy! This is Dotty here!u003e

The voice was coming from the sphere.

Vy looked around to make sure that Lycster was nowhere nearby. He had gone to the other side to pick some ripened berries from the bushes.

"Dotty?"

u003cYes Vy, it is me! I now have a physical form and quite a few upgrades.u003e

-Wow, this was certainly not what I expected. Can others see you?-

u003cI can choose to reveal myself to them. However, at the moment, only you can see me.u003e

"Are you able to analyse the herbs we have picked? Let's see if your upgrades could help us to identify any more valuable herbs."

u003cMost certainly, Vy! I will do a scan of about a 10m radius around us of all plant life, and the ones you have gathered in your basket.u003e

A pulse of light radiated from Dotty and spread all around them.

u003cProcessing is complete.u003e

u003cIn your basket, there are two rare herbs while the rest are normal. As for our immediate surroundings, there are two locations that have been identified that have precious herbs.u003e

-Oh? Lead me there at once.-

u003cMost certainly, this way.u003e

Dotty brought Vy just steps away from where they were and began circling around a small plant. It was growing in between a bunch of other larger herbs and had been blocked by the rest. Vy plucked the plant and added it into her basket.

-Dotty, what is this plant?-

u003cThis is a plant known as the Curse of Life. It is commonly used in potion-making for curing curses. It is especially effective when brewed together with other assorted ingredients.u003e

-What's it worth?-

u003cThe one you have plucked is worth about 2 silvers, as it can be used to make multiple potions.u003e

Dotty then brought Vy to the second location, which turned out to be near where Lycster was picking berries. They were only a few steps away from him and Dotty circled around a berry bush that Lycster was already picking from.

"Look Miss Vyrena! These berries look interesting so I started to pick them," he showed her the berries.

Chapter end