Kev, now acutely aware of his existence as a small pool of lukewarm water in what felt like the surface of the sun, took stock of his surroundings. Sand. Lots and lots of sand. Rolling dunes stretched to a hazy horizon in every direction. The air shimmered with heat, and the silence was broken only by the occasional whisper of the wind.
[Environmental Debuff Active: Extreme Heat. Mana Regeneration Rate Reduced by 50%. Water Capacity Slowly Decreasing.]
"Great," Kev thought, or rather, felt, as the edges of his watery being seemed to shrink almost imperceptibly. "I'm going to evaporate before I even figure out how to unlock 'Minor Healing'."
Days blurred into what felt like weeks. The sun beat down mercilessly. Kev could feel his water level slowly but steadily decreasing. Despair, a feeling he hadn't expected to experience as an inanimate body of water, began to seep in. Had Truck-kun just delivered him to a slow, watery demise?
Then, one sweltering afternoon, a shadow fell over him. Kev "looked up" (a purely conceptual action, given his lack of eyes) and saw it: a creature. It was roughly canine in shape, but with coarse, sand-colored fur, sharp claws, and disturbingly intelligent golden eyes. Its tongue lolled out, and it whined softly.
[Scanning Entity…]
[Desert Scrabbler (Level 3 Beast). Threat Level: Low.]
The Scrabbler cautiously approached the edge of Kev's being, sniffing the water. Then, with a grateful sigh that Kev could almost feel, it began to drink.
[Water Capacity Decreasing…]
Kev felt a pang of something akin to… generosity? Or maybe it was just the primal urge to not be the only source of moisture in this godforsaken wasteland. As the Scrabbler drank, a new notification popped up.
[Action Detected: Providing Sustenance to Living Entity.]
[Gaining Experience Points: +1.]
[Mana Reserves Increasing: +0.1.]
Kev blinked his non-existent eyes. Experience? For letting something drink him? This LitRPG gig might have some potential after all.