I regain myself standing outside, and, as before, my tentacle grows back in just a few seconds. Alright. I’ll just develop my tentacles and eyes and everything first, yeah? Yeah. Right now, I only have seven primary tentacles, which is way too few. So, my first order of business is to buy two more to make a total of nine!

760 000 -> 759 790

Two more primary tentacles sprout from my sides, all the others shifting ever so slightly to make place for the two new appendages. And now for the modifications. As is, each primary tentacle has three secondary tentacles and each secondary tentacle has two tertiary tentacles. Together with the very small ones on the sides of the secondary tentacles and the two at the end of the tertiary tentacles, there’s a total of a bunch of tentacles on every primary tentacle. And I want more.

Most importantly, I really want small ones. But, first, I’d like to put more mouths on the ends of my tertiary tentacles.

First of all, I want to put two small tentacles on every one of the small tentacles on the sides of the secondary tentacles. Just a small modification.

759 790 -> 759 682

Right, there we go! Honestly, I’m just doing small changes at first since the rest seems so big, heh. Alright, now, let’s see… Each secondary tentacle branches into two tertiary tentacles. I’d like to make this into three main ones, alongside two small grabby-arms. In other words, I add three more tertiary tentacles for each secondary tentacle.

759 682 -> 759 439

And now to add even more tentacles onto these tentacles! I’m thinking four very small tentacles for each tertiary tentacle, all of these branching into two even smaller tentacles. How much will that cost, sir?

759 439 -> 758 467

-And now I’m actually happy with these tentacles! Ah, but don’t worry, I’ve got more plans yet!

See, these large, fanning tentacles are really good for catching smaller debris and all, but when I get large stuff, having to bring it to my mouth can make me lose possible profits. My solution? Grow two long, thick tentacles for each primary tentacle, each possessing no mouth but plenty of grabbing power. Two at the base of each primary tentacle.

758 467 -> 758 449

-And here they are! The 18 extra thick tentacles are a glorious and deeply welcome sight. Heheh.

And now to make these even better. Firstly, we’ll add two pairs of symmetric tentacles on two parts of these that will help grab things.

758 449 -> 758 377

And then, as the very final part of this design, I’ll add a three-fingered hand of sorts to the ends of all these tentacles. Each of these hands will do a two-tentacle branch. Twice. That means that the smallest tentacle on these ends are very small.

758 377 -> 757 999

-And that’s it! Well, it isn’t it-it, but it is it!

I got all my tentacles done, now for the rest of it, namely the mouths, eyes and cores. There will be six eyes for each of my new grabby tentacles, an added eye for every tertiary core, and then three on each of their tentacles. And, as a final note, for every one of my very smallest, tiniest tentacles, right on the end of the tertiary tentacles, there will be one eye just to see everything at the edges.

757 999 -> 756 865

As for mouths, there’ll be three added for each secondary tentacle, making for a total of a lot.

756 865 -> 756 450

Last but not least-,

Eye-Mouth formations discovered. Add separate consciousness? Cost: 810 (you have 756 450)

Thank you, yes, I’d love to.

756 450 -> 755 640

And there it is. My new body. Let’s just take a lookie here…

755 640

Size: 24

Cores: 118

Tentacles: 1 854

Eyes: 486

Mouths: 118

Carnivorous

Gastrolithic

Fungivorus

Increase

Regeneration

Immunity

Resistance

Strength

Uh. Yeah. Jesus Christ, that’s a lot. And I feel no discomfort or anything using them! Like, at all!

As for the rest of my points, I’ll just…. A fifty-fifty split between size and skills, which includes Immunity.

Increase Size? Cost: 25 000 (you have 755 640) Increase Size? Cost: 30 000 (you have 755 640) Increase Size? Cost: 40 000 (you have 755 640) Increase Size? Cost: 55 000 (you have 755 640) Increase Size? Cost: 70 000 (you have 755 640) Increase Size? Cost: 85 000 (you have 755 640) Increase Size? Cost: 100 000 (you have 755 640)

...I think this might go over the budget a little, but I’m sure it’s both fine and worth it.

755 640 -> 350 640

My body quakes as I grow higher and higher, for once thankful for my new quantity of tentacles, since they keep me on my feet as I wobble without any real certainty. The temple on the other side of the mountain starts appearing smaller and smaller as my tentacles grow longer, the very smallest ones being small enough to hold the small tools at the mining site while the largest ones have become too thick to fit pretty much anywhere. But with how long I am, I could easily slip a single long tentacle inside the mountain. I think I might be three or four times the size of the temple? Something like that.

...That’s about fine, I think? Yeah, yeah. And then… fifty percent into the Strength and equal parts for all the others. Right, right.

350 640 -> 1 100

...There it is. Body? Developed. Points? Spent. Strength? Good.

Everything is ready for take-off.

-Since I don’t want to cartwheel away from the temple and mountain, I decide to walk. The deep grooves in the glaciers that I previously walked through in awe, small as a dot, are now short enough for me to easily step over. I see a few cows in the distance. They are minuscule and freeze upon noticing me, eliciting a pang of guilt in me. I hurry away from them, and once I find a proper spot, I get ready.

Ten. I lean down. Nine. All my 27 primary tentacles touch the floor. Eight. Power courses through me. Seven. My body presses down, tenses up, every little tentacle and core readying themselves. Six. My many hundreds of eyes face the skies. Five. Had I had a heart, it would be beating like a war-drum. Four. I am a coiled iron spring, ready to blast off, but not yet. Three. Not yet, not quite yet. Two. Not yet. One. Not yet.

Zero.

I shoot up like a released arrow, piercing through the skies, my body forming an arrowhead, my tentacles flying behind as I speed off with such force that I can feel myself exploding through some sort of unseen, unknown barrier, pressure grasping at my throat and body like an iron vice, pressuring me to become smaller, thinner, more concentrated, shooting skyward, coming ever-closer to the purple barrier above, catching faint glimpses of the ground as it disappears behind me, until, finally…

I crash through the purple barrier.

I shoot further and further, out of the atmosphere until the world goes from blue to black, out and into space, and out of Ilsa’s gravitational pull, further and further until the asteroid field finally picks me up again.

...I’m free. Out.