Palworld; Rhea's Odyssey

Chapter 08: Enduring the Fruits of Labor

"So, what am I supposed to do with this thing?"

"My advice is sell it. They're somewhat rare and could go for some pretty coin if you find the right client..."

"And I bet you know the right person...?"

"Look, I know you think I don't have your best interest in mind because of what happened, but I was just upset that I had finally found another woman...and you just didn't have that fighting spirit in you despite having such a cool ability as immortality. But trust me, you don't want to eat that fruit, and I'm not saying that because I want in on you selling it. We got paid pretty well for selling you, and soon, I'll have a much larger crew. We've got big plans for this island."

Rhea really didn't like hearing Chloe talk. The thought of her becoming more successful than she already was from having sold her really irritated her soul. She didn't think she deserved any of what might come her way positively. So, she decided to try and end the conversation before her emotions got the best of her.

"Well, I should be getting back to collecting berries then."

"Of course, and I'll leave you be, for now... I think I've got the information I was looking for anyway, but you'll see more of me soon enough."

Chloe turned to walk away and left Rhea with her thoughts.

When I'm stronger, I'm going to get her back for what she did, but I know I'm not strong enough yet...

Rhea looked down at the fruit she was still holding wondering what she would do with it.

"Human bodies can't digest this?"

But...is my body really "human". I mean, it's definitely not normal. I heal from everything...maybe my body could actually get it done? But the risk...

Rhea thought long and hard about the pros and cons of eating the fruit.

On the one hand, she could potentially gain a random power from eating the fruit, although it wasn't probable. With that power, it'd make fighting the Mossanda that much easier, and every fight after that. She also found benefit to gaining an ability that Cast didn't know about. Maybe there would come a day when she has a chance to escape from him and the Rebels and a surprise attack would make the difference.

On the other hand, she had no idea what eating the fruit would actually do to her. Honestly, when she wasn't fighting, she felt amazing. Her healing ability kept her in tip-top shape.

I guess I'll really be putting my ability to the test here.

And just like that, she had decided to eat the fruit. She figured there was too much to gain, and despite having gone through hell since coming to the island, she trusted her ability above everyone and everything else. It had been more than a life saver.

She grabbed the large fruit with both hands and bit into the side. Surprisingly, there was no taste to experience. Chewing the fruit was like chewing on solid air, more or less, and she had a hard time believing she was eating anything at all. Before long, she had eaten the entire thing.

She waited a while for something to happen, but her body was quiet, not reacting to eating at all.

That's odd. Eating something of that size should at least give me a stomach ache, but I don't feel anything... How will I know if it worked or not?

She began inspecting her body from head to toe trying to see if there was anything different about it but was interrupted by a large shadow cast over her. When she turned around, all she saw was the  giant Mossanda pal from the shipwreck.

What the fuck!? Did this thing follow me all the way up here?!

Without warning, the Mossanda cocked its arm back just like before and began charging its insane punch attack. The odd thing about this time was that the sky began to turn dark and everything including Rhea and Mossanda changed colors every time the green light gathered around its fist.

Punch back.

Rhea's heart chimed in suddenly telling her to fight back this time. She was unsure of how she knew what to, but she decided to mirror the movements of the Mossanda and begin charging a punch of her own.

Astonishingly, when she pulled back her fist and imagined herself gathering strength into it, she could also feel a gathering of warmth from all over her body into her palm and fingers. When she looked at it, she could see a red light gathering around it much like the Mossanda's attack.

Just like before, the Mossanda punched towards Rhea, but this time she also let loose her attack. Both arms flew forward in the blink of an eye and met in a clash that sent shockwaves through their arms...and then the Pal disappeared, and Rhea was left just standing there in her punching stance.

What?! Where did it go?

Everything was back to normal. The sky was blue again and the colors of the world were back to the way they were before. When she looked around, there was no trace of the Mossanda ever being there.

Was I hallucinating? That all felt so real though...

Rhea shook her head and tried to clear her mind.

I've been wasting too much time. I've got to get back to the shore.

She didn't know why, but as she walked, she had a funny feeling that she had actually learned something back there. She replayed the experience over and over again in her mind preparing for the fight ahead and even felt herself getting a little excited.

Staring at her hands, she felt like she could punch through anything that got in her way.

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