Chapter 5: Steam

Ning didn't realize how long it had really been since he was unconscious, but for him, it was only an instant. He woke up to hear part of the system's notification.

He suddenly started feeling like gravity wasn't a thing anymore. He could tell which direction was down, but he could feel himself completely ignoring gravity and going upwards.

His Thermoception also told him that his surrounding was very hot. Way hotter than even the warm water he had felt down the waterfall.

Most weird of all, he could feel this weird sensation around him. Like he was surrounded by something very soft.

'Why can I feel this?' He wondered. 'Status,' he opened his status page to check how far he had gotten along in his quest to gather Energy.

[Status

Energy: 5298

Task: Collect 4702 more energy

Reward: You gain Pressure sense

Shop: LOCKED

]

'Wait, What?' he was startled. The last thing he remembered was him getting Gravity sense not even a minute ago for him at 2000 points. Now he had reached above 5000 points.

He quickly opened the list of unlocks and realized he had unlocked something called Texture sense. 'Hey, system. What is this texture sense?' he asked.

<Texture sense: Lets you know the texture of the object in contact with the object you inhabit.>

'Hmm… so it's like normal human skin. I can already tell the temperature. Thanks to this now, I can tell what sort of object I'm touching. What else can a human skin do?' he started to emulate his sense of touch from when he was still a human.

'Temperature, texture…. Pain. Yes, that is one more. God, I hope I don't unlock pain. That would be so bad.'

'As for another one… hmm… what about being able to tell how much force something is pushing on your skin wi— Wait, is that what pressure sense is?' he quickly checked his status once more.

'Hey system, is pressure sense similar to a skin being able to tell when something is pushing on you?' just as he asked that, a huge howl of wind started tumbling him away. He could barely hear the confirmation from the system regarding his question.

'By the way system, where am I? What am I?' he asked.

<You are currently in the sea between the Southern Continent and the Central continent>

<You are currently in steam>

'Steam? Wait, no go back. You said I'm in the sea? How long was I asleep for?' he asked.

<You have been unconscious for 12 days and 17 hours>

Ning tried to understand what the system had just said, but he couldn't comprehend it at all. He stopped thinking about other things and focused on what the system had just said.

'12 and a half days? I've been asleep for nearly 13 days? Why didn't you wake me up earlier, system?'

<Host's condition for waking up was when the host was no longer in water>

<It took host 12 days and 17 hours to leave water>

Ning thought for a bit. 'I did say that, didn't I?' He thought for a bit more and realized that something didn't add up.

'Hey, system, why don't I have a lot of Energy? I should have gathered a ton during the many days I was unconscious, right?' he asked.

<Due to the high temperature outside of the glacier, most of the energy you gained left you as they evaporated>

'God, am I ever gonna enough energy to not worry about losing them?' he thought. Then he realized that he hadn't asked the system for an opinion on this matter directly.

'Hey, System. What ways are there to gather more energy?' he asked.

<Water is a bad object to inhabit for energy>

<Please switch to another object for better energy conservation>

'Hmm… I didn't think about that. How do I switch to another object.' He asked

<Wait for it, or unlock Body Switch>

He dreaded the answer to the question he was going to ask, 'And how do I unlock this Body Switch?'

<Please gather more Energy>

'Are you f*****g kidding me?' he couldn't help but scream internally. He had felt like was making some progress, but he was back to step one.

The air carried him high into the air where he started feeling cold again. He could tell from the sound that he was in a very, very vast sky. He steadily gained more energy even as the air around him was getting colder.

When he asked why the system told him that the friction between the air and the steam was generating heat energy. Also, it was sunny outside and he was getting the full brunt of the sun.

As he reached higher and higher, he realized that he wasn't losing as much energy as when he was in the water. Even when condensed in the air, the steam was still together as water droplets.

Slowly, he started feeling cold. In fact, he could tell he himself was getting colder. 'No, not me, but the steam.' He needed to learn to differentiate himself from the object he inhabited.

He couldn't see what was happening and only heard some noises. Although the cold didn't harm him, it started making him feel uncomfortable.

Slowly, he started to feel gravity more and more. Suddenly, he stopped feeling gravity as he started rising up and then falling once more.

The kept on happening for a few more times where he would start falling, but then suddenly start flying up once more.

'Hey, system? What is happening to me?' he asked.

<You have been caught in a massive thunderstorm>

<The steam you inhabit has changed to ice particle, and you are starting to gather a lot of supercooled water>

<The updraft in the thunderstorm is keeping you afloat, but not for long>

Ning couldn't understand what the system meant. 'Can't you say what is happening in simpler terms?' he asked.

<Yes. In simpler terms, you are going to now fall to the ground as hail>