Name: Gosh Species: Faux kat (Stage I) Level: 2 (36%) Innate Abilities: Poison Ink Glands, Stretchable Titanium Shell, Night Vision Eyes, Retractable Titanium Claws, Camouflage Pigment Acquired Skills: Spit level 0, Dash level 0, Constrict level 1, Swim level 0, Cook level 0

When I was hoping for something like a status window, this thing showed up.

It seems to generate with will. No need to call out a keyword or something like that. How convenient.

But... isn't it too simple?

Other than my level and experience, there are no statistics.

Where's my strength, speed, endurance, stuff like that? How am I supposed to know how strong I am? Or is it implying that battle power isn't determined by stats alone?

My species' name... Faux Kat... It literally just means fake cat, doesn't it?

I feel subtly insulted.

Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about that.

No wait, there is.

If I recall what the voice said correctly, there is evolution in this world. Evidence is that there is a label of stage I next to my species name.

Therefore, I should be able to change my species.

But how do I evolve...?

No windows with answers pop up no matter how hard I contemplate. With a quick guess though, based on games, I bet it has something to do with level.

As for innate abilities and acquired skills, they sound straightforward enough.

Innate abilities don't have levels, but acquired skills do.

Does that mean innate abilities can't improve but acquired skills can? Something like that difference between the talent a person is born with and the education they can accumulate after birth?

The levels of skills start at 0. Where does it end?

Considering that even Spit and Cook are in there, it seems acquired skills can be pretty diverse.

Since when was spitting a skill?

I guess it becomes a skill when it can kill 4 winged birds.

And so, I was having such thoughts while viewing my status window and grinding fish, bone and all.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I guess when you have titanium flesh, normal animal bones aren't much harder than crackers and meat is as soft as Jello.

The palates in my mouth are even harder than my soft titanium shell on the outside. My drill-like tongue smashes the bones and meat of the fish into paste against them inside, before I swallow the paste.

If I at least had salt, the fish would taste better.

If I ever get into a human city, I have to get some condiments.

Hm? Are there even any humans in this world?

Soon, I finish my meal, stomach full.

The benefit of having a small body is that you don't have to eat much in order to be full.

So what next?

More or less, I have a source of food and water.

Of the basic needs, what I need next is shelter.

That is, a place to sleep and rest comfortably, without having to worry about threats attacking me when I'm unconscious.

I look around at this forest.

Trees, leaves, dirt, and the pond.

"..."

Should I live on top of the branches?

I'm not a bird, and that would still subject me to attacks.

Should I live underwater? What if there are carnivorous fish?

That fish I ate just now had a lot of fangs. I'm sure it was a carnivore.

I thought for a moment.

An idea came to me.

I began walking, crushing the leaves with my soft titanium tentacle tips.

It was around here somewhere...

Soon, I found it, something I noticed while searching for dry branches earlier, a hole in a tree, or a tree hollow.

Using my claws, I climb up that tree and into the hole.

It's dark, provides shade.

It's small, but big enough to accompany me.

I climb in.

Why is there so much grass here?

Whatever. The grass can be used as a bed.

Now all I have to do is build a curtain or a door of some sort, to hide me from predators at night.

Maybe I should store some food here.

Yawn~

I was always the type that gets sleepy after eating.

Huh? What's that?

An ugly green bird face with a thick but sharp beak is peering into the tree hollow. It looks one of those wood gnawing birds that was harassing that tree with a face earlier.

I wave a tentacle.

Hi. Could it be that this tree hollow is yours?

That's what I wanted to say, but the only thing that came out was a "Meow?"

"SQUAWK!"

It opened its beak with its saw-like teeth and screeched at me.

Bleh!

I spit poison ink to its face, blinding it and making it go into a panic. Then, I squeeze past it and out of the tree hollow.

As soon as I come out, I find a flock of these green birds flapping their wings above us.

Extending my tentacles, I hurry and run.

"SQUAWK!"

"SQUAWK!"

I don't know if the one from the tree hollow said something, but the other birds of its kind swoop down together to attack me.

While running away, I whack away those that I could using my soft titanium tentacles, and blind a bird whenever enough of my poison ink spit builds up again.

A few times, I was bitten by a saw-like beak and brought up into midair, close to being lynched as the other wood gnawing birds swarmed in.

Each time, I would wave my tentacles, crazily striking and clawing all around until they let go, causing green feathers to drop everywhere.

I tried to use my camouflage ability, but it didn't work. Apparently, when I move fast, my camouflage can't keep up with the changes in scenery and reveals a visible disharmony that attentive eyes can catch onto.

Thus, I have no choice but to flee in a pathetically ordinary way.

Luckily, their teeth don't seem capable of piercing into my soft titanium shell. But a foreboding itching sensation is still felt whenever they grind their upper and lower beak parts against my shell.

I don't want to let those itching sensations go on for long.

Just because I have a titanium-based body doesn't mean my body is as hard as pure titanium. If it were pure titanium, it couldn't become a living body in the first place.

Since it's impure, it can still feel pain and itches. If it can feel pain and itches, then it can also be cut open.

I don't want to risk that.

That's why I can't fight, not against a flock.

Eventually, as I ran and they chased, the wood gnawing birds let go of me, probably out of fatigue or boredom.

By then, it was already nighttime.

I am now tired, and hungry.

This is not a good way to end a first day.