《Slow Progress [Snail LitRPG]》


 Ch 1 - Intellect

    *munch*, *munch*, *munch*


    ¡°Yum.¡±


    A snail chewed its way through the petals of a small, bright white flower. Two perfectly elliptical leaves hung on either side of the flower.


    *ding*


    <code>Partial natural treasure consumed. Result: Intellect +1


    Error: Minimum intellect not reached. Analyzing stats and increasing stats to acceptable minimums


    Minimum intellect reached. System literacy requirement bypassed. Intuitive controls enabled</code>


    The snail paused and waved its eye stalks and olfactory tentacles as it pondered.


    ¡°That¡¯s different.¡± The snail thought. It resumed eating.


    ¡°Yum.¡±


    *ding*


    <code>Partial natural treasure consumed. Result: Intellect +1</code>


    ¡°Yum. I think I am thinking.¡±


    *ding*


    <code>Partial natural treasure consumed. Result: Intellect +1</code>


    ¡°This plant keeps making me smarter.¡±


    *ding*


    <code>Partial natural treasure consumed. Result: Intellect +1</code>


    ¡°Aw, the plant is gone. I ate it.¡±


    *ding*


    <code>Natural treasure consumed. Result: Experience +100


    Level up: 2


    Level up: 3</code>


    The snail rested on the ground. With the snail¡¯s final bite of the flower stalk, all evidence of the flower was gone. No truncated stem or root system remained of the white flower.


    ¡°I wonder what levels are.¡± Wondered the snail.


    *ding*


    <code>Level: A threshold marker that summarizes the general life experience of a System-enabled entity. Level up events are rewarded with "points"


    Point: A unit that may be exchanged in batches to increase "stats" or acquire "passives" or "actives"


    Stat: Measurement of the mind, the body, and the magical body, respectively: intellect, physique, meta-physique.


    Passive: A passive skill (sometimes referred to as a "trait") which is always active or activates automatically, so long as the required resource pool is not empty. Manually activating a passive to activate or increase the effect costs large amounts of health and/or mana and/or stamina


    Actives: A skill that is manually activated. Costs health and/or mana and/or stamina</code>


    The snail retracted its eye stalks as it felt a headache form in its tiny brain. The curiosity of the snail continued to unconsciously prompt the System for explanations.


    *ding*


    <code>Intellect: The mind''s ability to comprehend, remember, and calculate


    Physique: The quality of the body


    Meta-Physique: The quality of the magical body


    Health: Resource. The body''s ability to continue living. Based on physique stat


    Mana: Resource. The magical body''s energy reserves for magical action. Based on meta-physique stat


    Stamina: Resource. The body''s energy reserves for physical action. Based on physique stat. Strongly influenced by current health</code>


    The snail retreated into its shell as the pain from the headache spiked. After a few minutes, the snail emerged from the shell and began to crawl towards the nearest green blur.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    An idle thought entered the snail¡¯s mind. ¡°Do I have stats?¡± The snail retreated into its shell again as a large lump of information was shoved into its tiny brain.


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>Name</th>


    <th>Level</th>


    <th>Experience</th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>N/A</td>


    <td>3</td>


    <td>40/100</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>Stat</th>


    <th>Value</th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Health</td>


    <td>4/5</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Mana</td>


    <td>1/1</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Stamina</td>


    <td>5/5</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Intellect</td>


    <td>4</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Physique</td>


    <td>1</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Meta-physique</td>


    <td>1</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Available points</td>


    <td>20</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table><colgroup> <col style="width: 33%"> <col style="width: 33%"> <col style="width: 33%"> </colgroup>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>Passive</th>


    <th>Level</th>


    <th>Resource</th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Slimy</td>


    <td>1</td>


    <td>Stamina</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Hard shell</td>


    <td>1</td>


    <td>Health</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Tremor sense</td>


    <td>Stamina</td>


    <td>Observe your surroundings through your feet (foot). Based on intellect stat</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>Active</th>


    <th>Level</th>


    <th>Resource</th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Hide in shell</td>


    <td>1</td>


    <td>Stamina</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Ow.¡± The snail complained. Before the snail could decide to emerge again from its shell, the ground began to tremble. The vibrations through the ground told the tail of one or more large things approaching quickly. The snail did not feel good about the approach of large things.


    *ding*


    <code>Natural passive unlocked: Danger sense</code>


    The snail¡¯s mind was overcome with a sense of doom about the approaching large things. A noise of crashing and destruction vibrated through the snail¡¯s shell, increasing the sense of doom.


    ¡°Oh no! I want to hide! Wait, I am hiding¡­¡± The snail thought. ¡°I want to hide more!¡± The little snail crammed itself as far into its shell as it could.


    *ding*


    <code>Passive available: Camouflage (15 points). Purchase?</code>


    An idea trickled into the snail¡¯s mind: it could use ¡®points¡¯ and make itself be harder to see. ¡°Yes! I want that!¡± The snail thought. The sense of doom greatly diminished, but did not disappear. The snail held itself still in its shell as the vibrations caused it to sink a little into the ground. The crashing noise increased in volume until it shook the snail as strongly as the ground did.


    The commotion continued for a long time, but snails are patient by nature, and the snail did not emerge from its shell until the sense of doom was long gone. When the snail¡¯s eye stalks extended, it saw flickering red and yellow and felt heat.


    ¡°Fire.¡± The snail identified the hazard and navigated in the opposite direction.


    <hr>


    The snail wandered around and ate plants all day and into the evening. A few of the plants made the snail feel like its points had increased. The snail remembered spending points so it could hide better. The snail had felt those points show up after it got more intellect. ¡°Can I get more intellect?¡± The snail pondered its memories.


    *ding*


    <code>Intellect +1: 5 points. Purchase?</code>


    The snail waved its eye stalks as it considered getting smarter. ¡°Would it be smart to get smarter? Hmm. Yes.¡± The snail chose. The snail immediately felt more aware of itself and its memories. In fact, the snail remembered that there were other stats. The snail munched on a rotten piece of fruit as it pondered a few connections it found.


    ¡°Health keeps me alive. Hard shell protects my health. Hide in shell protects my health even more. Physique makes Hard shell and Hide in shell better. Physique is a stat. Intellect is a stat. I spent points to get more intellect.¡± The snail waggled its olfactory tentacles in the snail equivalent of ¡°Eureka!¡±. ¡°I can spend points to get more physique and be safer! I want to do that!¡±


    *ding*


    <code>Physique +1: 5 points. Insufficient points (3)</code>


    The snail retracted its eyes in disappointment. It continued to munch on the rotten fruit. ¡°I need more points. I got some points from eating things. Did this fruit give me points?¡± The snail felt inside itself to check its points, but they had not changed.


    "Why do some things give me points, but others do not?¡± The snail asked, sulkily.


    *ding*


    <code>Source of points: Natural energy, such as light from the sun or heat from the planet interior, is processed and concentrated in all living things. Some living things are superior in their ability to concentrate energy. Consuming concentrated energy converts that energy to points. As a living thing becomes saturated with energy, it must improve its processing abilities or find more concentrated sources of energy. The System may also allocate points as rewards for level ups or other accomplishments.</code>


    ¡°Blah, blah, blah, light from the sun, blah, blah, blah, some things have more energy, blah, blah, blah, energy to points.¡± The snail didn¡¯t fully understand the concepts described by the System. ¡°I need to eat plants that have more energy.¡± The snail left the rotting fruit and systematically went from plant to plant, looking for one that gave a point.

 Ch 2 - Experience

    The snail flinched in surprise when a small bundle of information was shoved into its brain.


    *ding*


    <code>Corpse: Ant (lesser)


    Estimated experience: 1


    Absorb experience?</code>


    ¡°Experience? I think I have some of that.¡± The snail thought. It thought for a long time before it remembered a connection. ¡°I remember, experience makes levels. Levels provide points. I want experience.¡±


    *ding*


    <code>Absorbing experience. Estimated time remaining: 1s</code>


    One second later, a final bit of information arrived.


    *ding*


    <code>Experience absorbed: 1</code>


    ¡°Where is the ant?¡± The snail wondered. It waved its eye stalks around, but it didn¡¯t see an ant. The snail slid slowly around in a circle, searching. It glanced back towards the slime trail it left along the ground. A bumpy, angular thing stood out. The snail focused on the thing and learned.


    *ding*


    <code>Natural active unlocked: Identify


    Identify: Ant (lesser, corpse, drained)</code>


    ¡°Oh, there is the ant.¡± The snail continued onwards to climb up the nearest plant stalk. It used Identify on the plant it was climbing.


    *ding*


    <code>Plant (worthless)</code>


    <hr>


    The snail found a few more ant corpses before it found a plant that gave a point. When the snail felt the new point, it stopped eating and used Identify on the plant.


    *ding*


    <code>Plant (poor, partially eaten)</code>


    ¡°Worthless gave me no points. Poor gave me a point. Good to know. I will look for ¡®poor¡¯ plants.¡± The snail finished eating the last bits of the ¡®poor¡¯ plant, but didn¡¯t get another point. With Identify, the snail evaluated and skipped plant after plant as it crept along the ground. The snail didn¡¯t find any more ant corpses, but did see some alive ants. The ants moved quickly, however, and the snail dismissed them.


    After a few hours of searching, the snail found a second ¡®poor¡¯ plant and got a fifth point. It immediately tried to spend points to get more physique.


    *ding*


    <code>Physique +1: 5 points.</code>


    The snail¡¯s mind reeled as it felt a huge change in its body. Without understanding how, the snail felt that it could stretch farther, flex more strongly, and eat harder food. The snail¡¯s eye stalks and olfactory tentacles retracted for a moment then re-extended. The snail could see and smell better than before. The snail hung off the side of the remains of the plant it had been eating. It was several minutes before the snail¡¯s mind adapted to the increased level of detail and sensation.


    ¡°Ow?¡± The snail wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about the changes to its sight and smell. It was more than it had ever dealt with before, but it wasn¡¯t exactly painful. ¡°Oh well.¡± The snail finished eating the plant and got another point.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    <hr>


    Weeks later, the snail finished eating a ¡®poor¡¯ quality plant, but didn¡¯t receive a point. Confused, the snail thought about its stats. The snail flinched from the spike of pain and stopped thinking about its stats. After a few moments to recover, the snail tried to only think about its basic stats.


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>Name</th>


    <th>Level</th>


    <th>Experience</th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>N/A</td>


    <td>3</td>


    <td>56/100</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>Stat</th>


    <th>Value</th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Health</td>


    <td>70/70</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Mana</td>


    <td>1/1</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Stamina</td>


    <td>70/70</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Intellect</td>


    <td>4</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Physique</td>


    <td>14</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Meta-physique</td>


    <td>1</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Available points</td>


    <td>1</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°Ow. But not so bad.¡± The snail thought. ¡±Why didn¡¯t I get a point from this plant?¡°_ It wondered.


    *ding*


    <code>Reminder: As a living thing becomes saturated with energy, it must improve its processing abilities or find more concentrated sources of energy.</code>


    The snail didn¡¯t understand the relevance of this information. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I get a point from eating a ¡®poor¡¯ plant?¡± The snail tried hard to concentrate on the question. After a delay, a drop of information was added to the previous answer.


    *ding*


    <code>Reminder: As a living thing becomes saturated with energy, it must improve its processing abilities or find more concentrated sources of energy.


    Stat point total: 20. Find energy sources of higher quality to gain additional points.</code>


    ¡°Ah ha!¡± The snail cheered. ¡°I need to eat better plants._¡± The snail waved its tentacles in celebration for half a minute. When the feeling of success wore off, the snail pondered its next move. ¡±How do I find better plants? I have found mostly ¡®worthless¡¯ plants and only occasional ¡®poor¡¯ plants. I can see much better than before, maybe I can look far away.¡±_


    The snail stretched out its eye stalks and looked as far away as it could. It mostly saw underbrush and thin trees. It couldn¡¯t see very far because the things it could see blocked its view. The snail pondered this new obstacle for a while.


    ¡°Perhaps if I eat the trees, they won¡¯t block my view any more.¡± With this hypothesis, the snail began to glide towards the nearest tree. Although the tree was below average in hight, the snail climbed for hours before it reached the top. The highest branch of the tree moved back and forth, waving in the breeze. The brightness at the top of the tree was slightly painful, so the snail retracted and extended its eye stalks periodically. It quickly became distracted from the task of eating an entire tree.


    The bushes and trees that had blocked its view were no longer in the way. The snail stretched out and looked as far away as it could. In every direction, a tall something blocked the snail¡¯s view. The something blocked every direction, but the closest part was near enough that the snail thought it might be made of rocks.


    _¡°I don¡¯t need to eat this tree.¡± The snail decided. ¡°I need to climb those rocks and find out what is beyond them.¡± The snail munched on a few leaves and some bark as the sun went down, then struck out in the direction of the rocks.


    <hr>


    In the morning, the snail ran across a live ant. The ant and the snail hadn¡¯t seen each other and the ant was coated in snail mucus before either knew what was happening. The snail noticed the movement of the struggling ant at the edge of its mantel. The ant got its abdomen pointed at the snail and jabbed with a small stinger.


    ¡°Ouch!¡± The snail pulled back into its shell to hide from this attack. The snail instinctually squeezed out some foam and used Hide in shell. The snail hid in its shell for several minutes before tentatively extending its foot and eye stalks to asses the situation.


    The ant was glued to the side of the snail¡¯s shell. The snail looked at the struggling ant for a while before dismissing it as a threat.


    <code>Natural active unlocked: Ensnare</code>


    The snail briefly wondered what Ensnare did.


    *ding*


    <table>


    <thead>


    <tr>


    <th>Active</th>


    <th>Level</th>


    <th>Resource</th>


    </tr>


    </thead>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td>Hide in shell</td>


    <td>1</td>


    <td>Stamina</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Identify</td>


    <td>2</td>


    <td>Stamina</td>


    </tr>


    <tr>


    <td>Ensnare</td>


    <td>1</td>


    <td>Stamina</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hold on to this ant.¡± The snail complained. The ant continued to struggle as the mucus holding it dried on the side of the shell. Without any way to remove it, the snail continued traveling towards the rock.