Mushroom Escapism (story)

It has been four long years since Akko disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace, or at least that is what most people believe, since someone discovered that the mysterious statue at the fountain is none other than Akko. Since then, Sucy has moved permanently to a forest near the fountain where Akko's statue stands and has been trying to discover the right spell to bring Akko back to normal.

At first, Sucy thought it would be a quick fix, but to her surprise, four years have passed in which Sucy has tested her potential as a witch, creating various spells and possessions without managing to undo Akko's petrification, although she has discovered some rare and different spells in what has turned out to be a long and involuntary five-year study for Sucy. At this point,

Sucy can't believe what has happened. What witch could be so powerful and skilled to cast a spell of that level? Or did Akko petrify herself? And, if so, how could a witch as clumsy as Akko have cast such an effective and long-lasting spell? Could the quality of the spell derive from Akko's own clumsiness?

At this point, Sucy is beginning to believe that she is somehow doomed to remain locked in her makeshift quarters (a house she built inside a giant mushroom) for several centuries while she finds a way to return Akko to normal, something that doesn't motivate her much lately, although at least the place Sucy built for herself, her small, warm little house, is usually quite comfortable and also takes advantage of the ample space next to it, especially the forest, which she uses to plant and harvest all kinds of mushrooms that she uses for her spells. It's also a large enough space to throw all her magical waste and leftover potions into a nearby hole between her hut and the part of the forest where she plants her experimental mushrooms because, whatever happens, what's the worst that could happen? Sucy thinks.

Well, at least this time (Sucy thinks as she takes the final steps to create her next spell-potion), she feels she may be very close to creating the right spell to free Akko from the misery of being a statue. This time she tried really hard and researched some things about magic that immobilizes and magic that transforms things from one material to another, so she believes that this time her spell will work, and even if it doesn't, she can return Akko to normal with this spell, which might bring her closer to finding the right spell next time.

However, Sucy discovers that there is an empty space in her cupboard when she goes to look for the last ingredient for her spell: a large red mushroom from her experimental garden. Luckily,

Sucy has planted these mushrooms right next to her hut, so she simply goes to pick one. Sucy is excited to finally use one of these mushrooms and wonders how much they have grown since she planted them four years ago.

Once Sucy arrives at her garden, she is impressed by what she finds. They seem to have grown alot and look very healthy, even though she may not have taken proper care of them, but greater

Imagine her surprise when Sucy pulls out one of those mushrooms and discovers that... the mushroom is moving! The mushroom has legs and arms and is kicking anxiously! How is this possible? (Sucy thinks). [Page 1]

Then a much larger mushroom (even taller than she is, with arms and legs bigger than the mushroom she picked up and even bigger than her own) takes her by surprise from behind. Shocked by what she sees, Sucy has no choice but to drop the mushroom she had dug up from the ground and run away. At that moment, Sucy wonders: how could these mushrooms have evolved so quickly that they even took on a humanoid form?

Could it have something to do with the magical waste that Sucy threw into that hole next to her plantation? Whatever the case, Sucy doesn't have much time to ask questions right now. When she gets home, she slams the door shut as hard as she can, then tries to cast a different spell than the one she had planned, mixing several of the ingredients she has left, nervous and desperate to create some distraction or something to drive away that large mushroom, which seems to be the protector of the smaller mushrooms.

[Page 2]

Suddenly, the cauldron explodes and everything is covered in a thick, foamy cloud full of colors and magic, which splatters all over the room and absorbs Sucy in the process. Then, as the cloud dissipates, a small figure emerges from the debris and foam. Sucy tries to move, watching as the giant mushroom pounds on the door of her hut, but she is terrified and unable to move. She has been accidentally turned into a small figure, shrunk in size, immobilized, and her body plasticized.

For some strange reason, she has even changed clothes. However, to Sucy's surprise, instead of recognizing her, the mushroom mistakes her for another object inside the hut, so, finding no one, it resigns itself and goes to look elsewhere, confused (since the mushroom, in its senses, believed that Sucy had entered right there). It seems that Sucy has won this battle in some accidental way, but not the war (since Sucy cannot move, she wondershow will she return to normal?

[Page 3]

Meanwhile, Andrew, who arrived to visit Akko's fountain, has gotten lost and is looking for someone more experienced in that world to guide him, and that's when he finds Sucy's hut. As he approaches the place, he discovers that the door is somehow open, so he proceeds to enter the hut hoping to find someone else. However, Andrew only finds a strange foam on the floor, a foam

that seems to move on its own and begins to climb up his leg, making his hips, breasts, and hair grow in the process, along with some other unexpected details.

[Page 4]

Andrew then finds that he has been transformed into a woman by that foam, as if that made sense (at least it doesn't to him). He knew that magic could bring unexpected things, but... That? That wasn't all, and his fate would be even worse when Andrew began to notice that his height was decreasing, leaving him nothing more than a figurine dressed as a maid next to Sucy. That's when Sucy wonders: will they ever return to normal? Or will they stay like Akko?

[Page 5]