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Grace explored Verdant Farm, having decided to investigate her surroundings while looking for Arina. She walked out the front door and got as far as the front gate before a pang of doubt stopped her. ‘What if Arina is ignoring me? Maybe she doesn’t want me to find her.’

She furrowed her brow, placing a hand on her chin. Arina was much like a puppy, always excited to see her and spend time together. Up until the last couple of days, Arina was generally the first person she saw every day, and they would spend a large percentage of their time together. If Arina wanted to spend time with her, surely she would have made her intentions clear.

Grace’s heart sank. Theorizing over what Arina may or may not be feeling wasn’t a productive use of time, but repressing her concerned thoughts proved difficult. Her arms dropped to her sides as she took a deep, slow breath and stared into the horizon, a gentle breeze wafting through the courtyard. When she wasn’t worried about Arina, she thought about Lucius, the other contestants, and her own apparent lack of knowledge on worldly matters.

She finally walked forward, heading down the dirt trail. Her steps suddenly grew heavy as she started ruminating on Uma’s prophetic knowledge. “E Mud?” She muttered, staring down and expecting to see her shoes stuck in gunk. It only took a moment for her to register that the ground was parched. Beyond that, it made no sense for there to be any mud; there definitely hadn’t been any rain since they came to live on Verdant Farm.

She raised one of her legs, her eyes widening in horror as an adrenaline spike surged through her sweat-dampened body. Reality hit her like a ton of bricks; her movement difficulties resulted from a mysterious, terrifying transformation she had no control over. To make things worse, she felt an uncomfortable, sticky sensation when moving her limbs, which could only mean the slimy sweat had returned.

‘Dammit all,’ she cursed, taking slow, labored steps forward as her body trembled. Embers of anxiety took root in her psyche, burning hot as her sense of control and autonomy melted away. ‘Move faster-- come on,’ she gritted her teeth, trying to repress tears.

What was she even turning into? With many of the others, it was apparent what they would become. Rose appeared to be turning into some kind of rabbit, and Phoebe’s transformation appeared reptilian in nature. So far, Grace had suffered periodic bouts of sluggishness, slimy sweat, and strange sensations she couldn’t describe.

She stopped dead in her tracks and raised her hands, examining the viscous, translucent sweat that coated her pale flesh. As the days passed, it grew more evident to her that she likely drew the short end of the stick regarding her metamorphosis. There was a deep, primal fear building within her.

All she could do was clench her fists and close her eyes tight while waiting for the ‘flare-up’ to pass. ‘I just need to win… That’s all.’

She knew it wouldn’t be good to freak out over things outside her control. As horrific as her changes were, her time would better be spent on ensuring she won the current round of Mollusk Match. She recalled the goals she set after losing the first match and quickly realized she was heading down a dangerous path. Lucius had successfully weaponized many of the contestants against her, which led to her trying to make friends while repairing her image. Social networking was only a single aspect of surviving Mollusk Match; she had to use her brain and start problem-solving.

She would need to overcome four significant challenges from what she currently understood of Mollusk Match.

Firstly, the contestants were forced to interact in a group social setting. Those in charge, whether the VVIPs, Yulia, or someone else, took special care in ensuring they would be forced to coexist. Forming bonds and making friends would surely be important down the line.

Secondly, they had to deal with their transformations. The slow and uncertain nature of their changes meant that feelings of dread and helplessness would inevitably fester. It was exceedingly important not to fall into despair.

As Grace considered the third and fourth challenges, she grimaced. These were the most important, after all.

The third obstacle was actually winning the Mollusk Match games. Friendship speeches and emotional resilience wouldn’t help her if she continued to lose.

Last, and highly important, was the need for the contestants to endear themselves to the VVIPs, who all had a vested interest in Mollusk Match. Each VVIP obviously had their own unique agenda. While Lucius carried himself like a sadistic sexual predator, Nigel showed genuine warmth and kindness. As of right now, she couldn’t be sure how often they would get to directly interact with the VVIPs, but she knew they were watching the contestants’ every move.

After considering all these factors, she hesitated, biting her lower lip as she contemplated her choices since relocating to Verdant Farm. Ultimately, she was competing against the other girls. She would inevitably have to throw others under the bus at some point if she wanted to win and retain as much of her humanity as possible.

The heaviness in Grace’s legs gradually subsided, and her heart rate decreased. Her day goal had been locating Arina, but she now understood her time would be

better spent elsewhere. Arina would make herself seen when she wanted to be; if she wanted privacy, it would probably be best to respect her wishes. Every contestant had unique baggage and issues to deal with; it was only natural for Arina to have bad days and to need time to sort through her emotions.

She achieved total clarity, a new mission guiding her. ‘How can Arina and I win the second match?’

Grace walked forward, deciding to locate the farmer. Maybe she could unravel the mystery of match 2 by observing him. She could also hunt down Uma and try to get more answers from her, but she got the distinct feeling it wouldn’t be that easy. Nonetheless, she made a mental note to pull Uma aside and speak with her privately at the next opportunity.

She stood on the dirt trail, sixty or seventy yards from the gate, and scanned her surroundings. A few dozen yards to her right were the stable and pasture where she last talked with Uma, and beyond that, there were acres of farmland that appeared ready for cultivation. If she followed the trail all the way to the end, she would find herself at the entrance to Verdant farm.

She shifted her gaze to the left, where a few lush, green hills rolled into the horizon, with a mighty oak tree sitting undisturbed at the peak of the tallest hill. ‘I could get a good view from up there,’ she mused, heading in that direction.

By this point, Grace had pushed her episode from a few minutes ago into the back of her mind. She could only press forward by putting one foot in front of the other and refusing to get stuck in the mud.

She trudged up the hill, reaching the top as she let out a low sigh and sat against the great tree with her legs crossed. Soft winds cascaded through the hills, causing the grass to gently sway. She could smell the grass and feel the sun’s warmth, even though the natural sun was nowhere to be seen.

“It’s kinda peaceful…” Grace briefly closed her eyes, basking in the artificial mother nature’s brilliance. The city she had lived in her whole life had been relatively urban, with only a few small parks to give them any semblance of natural beauty. This was the first time in her life she had lived somewhere so lush and fertile, but it was all a fabrication, an isolated, self-contained biome made with advanced technology.

She recalled words of wisdom offered by Margaret. If one felt utterly overwhelmed by life, it helped to temporarily disconnect from reality and remove yourself from the stress. The longer she could think about absolutely nothing, the more peace she would find. She sat like that for five minutes before opening her eyes and sighing deeply. The brief reprieve was appreciated, but she, unfortunately, didn’t have all day to waste sitting atop a hill with her brain turned off.

She faced Verdant Manor, with the dirt trail dozens of yards to her left. To the left of Verdant Manor and beyond were fields made for tilling, the pasture, and stables, and even some silos off in the distance. More fields stretched into the distance to the right of the manor, with a small spattering of trees that she hadn’t recognized before. ‘Are those new?’ She wasn’t sure how anything worked at this peculiar farm.

From her vantage point, she finally noticed the farmer from before walking around and inspecting the fields near the stable and pasture. “Alright, let’s head that way,” she whispered, standing up as she stretched and picked at her sweaty clothes to peel them away from her flesh. Without access to her room for the next few hours, she could not change, leaving her in an unfortunately damp state.

As she walked down the hill, her bouncing breasts offered some minor discomfort. Her lips curled into a grimace as she picked at her bra straps and began to walk more carefully. Was she due for her period sometime soon? Maybe, but she swore her chest was larger and more sensitive than usual. On top of that, her ass strained just slightly against the fabric of her pants. If she weren’t competing in a series of sadistic games, common logic would dictate that these changes were likely due to hormones or over-eating. Unfortunately for her, the more likely answer was that her tits and ass grew due to her ongoing transformation.

‘Great. Fun.’  Grace winced in frustration, attempting to push those worries into the back of her mind. Her only goal right now was figuring out how to win the second Mollusk Match game, nothing else.

Minutes later, Grace approached the field only a couple of dozen yards from the farmer. Upon looking closely at him, she noticed how skinny he seemed. She would have assumed him to be emaciated if it wasn’t for the lean muscle packed onto his thin, tan arms. He had short, graying hair, beard stubble, and slightly oversized blue denim overalls.

“Okay, okay…” The farmer muttered, pulling a piece of paper from his overalls’ front pocket and unfolding it to read.

Grace approached the wooden fence separating the field from the pasture, placing her hands on the railing before observing more carefully. A few farming tooling lay strewn about the ground near the farmer, but nothing else. ‘Is he supposed to start working with just those?’ She mused, furrowing her brow. She contemplated her next move before quickly deciding it wouldn’t hurt to approach the man. The fence seemed sturdy and only went midway up her abdomen, so she climbed over and made her way forward.

“Hey! Are you going to be doing some work here?” Grace curiously asked with a positive inflection.

The farmer stopped and turned toward Grace, squinting his dark, sunken eyes as he carefully examined her. His lips then curled into a pearly white grin. “Yup. That’s right, Young Miss,” he curtly responded before looking back at the paper.

She took another couple of steps before stopping. “May I ask what kind of farm work you will do here?” Another realization hit her; she hadn’t introduced herself, which could be seen as rude. “I’m Grace, by the way. What’s your name?”

“Rich. Nice to meet ya, Grace,” he stated simply, keeping his eyes on the paper. “Gonna plant some crops soon as this land’s tilled.”

Grace averted her gaze back to the tools on the ground and then to Rich. “Are these your only tools? How are you going to plow the land?”

“I got my spade, my hoe, some other tools, and some good old-fashioned elbow grease to help me,” he insisted, folding the paper again and placing it in his pocket. He then grabbed his spade and shoved it into the ground, starting the first leg of what would almost assuredly be a hellishly difficult task.

Grace was confused. How was a single man supposed to cultivate all these fields and grow crops? It wasn’t as if it was impossible, but Rich looked pretty old. Beyond that, the S.O.U government obviously had a vast amount of money and technological resources at its disposal. “If you don’t mind, could you tell me why you’re farming here? What’s the purpose of having a single man do all this work?”

“Can’t tell ya that, Missy,” he plainly responded. “Verdant Farm was used long before you lot came to live here.”

Grace just nodded. Of course, he wouldn’t be willing to divulge much information. Maybe the goal of the second match was to help Rich cultivate the land, and that’s why he hadn’t been provided with the proper tools. “Can I help you? I could use the exercise.”

‘Nope! Not while I’m working,” Rich chimed, continuing to upturn the ground. “Only got one spade; you’d just get in my way.”

Grace frowned. Well, that was one idea shot down. “Fair enough. I’ll leave you to it.” There didn’t seem to be any other helpful information to glean, so she turned and headed back toward Verdant Manor.

After walking inside, she quickly examined the room. Eun-ju was in the front-left corner, once again playing pool. Rose sat at a table in the dining room area, slumped in her chair as she picked at a salad of leafy vegetables. A look of pure anger was spread across Rose’s face as she ate, prompting Grace to decide not to bother her for now. It didn’t seem like Rose’s rabbit transformation had progressed much since last time, her ears still elongated with tufts of white fur.

‘The library then, I suppose.’ Grace made a beeline toward the front-left corner and entered the room.

Ornate, oaken bookshelves lined the walls, with dim lighting and lounge chairs strewn around the room’s center. Small lamps sat upon end tables near each chair. Since she couldn’t make any further progress toward deciphering the riddle of Mollusk Match’s second game, she decided to see if the library could help her determine just how sheltered her upbringing truly was. As she approached the center of the room, a sudden voice called from her left.

“Grace?”

That voice could only belong to one person. Grace’s heart rate shot up as she turned to face Arina. “Arina? I was-- no… How are you?” She decided not to tell her she had been searching for her on and off.

“I am okay,” Arina replied with a strained voice, offering a weak smile. She held a large book under her arm.

Grace knew something was off. She had known beforehand, but seeing Arina like this only confirmed it. She saw dark bags under her dear friend’s eyes, adding to her concern. “Do you-- umm… Want to do something with me?” All worries and goals melted from her mind, replaced with a burning need to spend time with the person she had formed the closest bond with.

Arina paused, biting her lip as she stared at Grace. “Actually, I wanted to talk with you about something.”

CHAPTER END

Read Mollusk Match chapters 3+ months early on Patreon!  I also write FTF stories, MTF stories, captions, patreon-driven CYOAs and more!  Check out my welcome post for a list of my benefits and content!          



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CHAPTER END

Read Mollusk Match chapters 3+ months early on Patreon!  I also write FTF stories, MTF stories, captions, patreon-driven CYOAs and more!  Check out my welcome post for a list of my benefits and content!          https://www.patreon.com/posts/welcome-everyone-85451577