Name: Gosh Species: Faux kat (Stage I) Level: 7 (2%) Innate Abilities: Poison Ink Glands, Stretchable Titanium Shell, Night Vision Eyes, Retractable Titanium Claws, Camouflage Pigment Acquired Skills: Spit level 1, Dash level 1, Constrict level 1, Swim level 0, Cook level 0, Whack level 1, Scratch level 2, Leap level 0

The level to exp turnout of the worm wasn't very high. Maybe it was because it was a worm.

Different monsters seem to have different level to exp ratios. There's no set conversion rate between the different species. It's troublesome to even calculate, so I won't.

Killing the worm, in addition to the deaths of a few tree gnawing birds that I poisoned during the daytime, my level rose from 2 to 7.

Dash leveled up once. I've gained a few more acquired skills like Whack, Scratch, and Leap.

Scratch quickly went up from nothing to level 2.

I used it a lot in my battle with the worm, and desperately so. ...Do skills level up quicker when used during battle?

Learning also goes better in practice, so that makes sense.

I get the feeling that different skills also have different growth rates, once again, something that I'm too lazy to calculate.

More importantly, I have to go wash off this slime. It still burns.

Making my way through the darkness, I go to the pond I found during the daytime.

At night, it seems so tranquil.

The moon in this world...

I look up.

It's blue.

"..."

If I wonder why that is the case right now, I might as well wonder why earth's moon was white.

Anyway, it's casting a pale blue light upon everything at night, including the water.

I dip myself into the water and start wiping off the slime.

I call it slime but it's actually stomach acid.

Titanium is said to be resistant to corrosion, so the damage turned out not so bad. It's only at the level of losing a layer of skin in some parts, or in this case, a layer of soft shell.

Unfortunately, my self-healing abilities in my new body don't seem any better than my former human body's.

It'll take time to heal. Until then, I'll have to endure the fur-like patterns on my shell looking like they have bald spots.

Sigh.

Hopefully, that's something that can be fixed via evolution.

Next morning, a gray kitten-shaped creature with a few bald spots can be seen eating burnt fish by the pondside.

It was too dark to hunt underwater at night, but as soon as morning came, I, hungry as I was, immediately went for it.

Setting up the fire became easier after the first time around, as I didn't have to experiment as much for the right way to rub dry branches.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

The fish still tastes as bad as before.

I tried wrapping it these blue leaves that I can find on any of the trees here before cooking it, allowing it to keep some moisture, making it easier to swallow, but that didn't do much to improve the taste.

But it fills the stomach.

Also, I found out the leaves are edible. They neither taste good nor bad. They taste just like... leaves.

I thought up a plan.

If it works, it'll kill 2 birds with 1 stone, or just a bunch of birds. It'll also be a form of vengeance for myself.

After I finished eating, I walk through the forest, searching for that moving tree with a face that was being attacked by wood gnawing birds yesterday.

Eventually, I found it,

and as expected, it's once again being attacked by a flock of those annoying green birds.

They constantly aim for its trunk, while the face tree (tentative name), waves its branches to strike them away.

But it seems its force is a bit lacking. Even if the branches hit, those wood gnawing birds don't stay down for long.

They usually fall to the ground and then come back up right after, or just fall and then pick themselves up before hitting the ground. Once they're hurt badly enough, they fly away, probably waiting for their injuries to recover so that they can come back another day.

Even once in a while, a wood gnawing bird would bite onto a branch of the face tree, saw it off, and fly away with their prize.

I walk closer.

The birds don't pay attention to me, focusing only on the tree.

And the tree simply doesn't have the leisure to pay attention to me.

I watch and wait.

Whack.

Soon, one of the wood gnawing birds is struck to the dirt.

Before it could get up, I extend my 2 of my tentacles.

One wraps around its beak, and the other wraps around its neck.

"!" The green bird starts writhing and flapping its wings once it found itself constricted. It tries to let out a voice to call its comrades, but nothing can come out of its wrapped-up beak.

CRACK

Killed stage 1 level 3 Mok Cuisor. Gain 26 Exp.

"..."

I waited for a moment,

but nothing happens.

The other Mok Cuisors... weird name. I'll continue calling them wood gnawing birds.

The other wood gnawing birds continue attacking the face tree, focused only on the tree. They didn't even seem to have noticed that one of their comrades just died.

Another bird falls. I kill it, the same way as before.

Killed stage 1 level 3 Mok Cuisor. Gain 26 Exp.

"..."

A short while later, another wood gnawing bird is knocked down.

It doesn't fall all the way however, balancing itself in midair before it hits ground.

That mattered little to me though.

My tentacles shoot out and catch it at its moment of pause, wrapping up its beak and body.

I exert some strength and

CRACK

Killed stage 1 level 4 Mok Cuisor. Gain 34 Exp.

As my level rises, it's getting harder to level up. I might need to seek some monster farming spots in the future.

It wasn't until I killed a 5th wood gnawing bird, leveling up once in between, that they finally noticed me, both the birds and the face tree.

I wave a tentacle. "Meow (Hi)"

The flock of birds, with still around 2 dozen left, fly at me, beaks bared.

Normally, in this case, wouldn't you split your forces in 2? To fight against me and the face tree? Why are they all coming at me?!

If it's like this, I have no choice but to run.

Luckily, the face tree cooperates with me and swings its long branches, striking 3 or 4 of those green birds down from midair.

That cause about half the flock to turn around and stab at the face tree again.

If there's only about a dozen, with my soft titanium shell, I think I might stand a chance... maybe.

The first wood gnawing bird comes at me.

I extend all 4 tentacles, grab its 2 wings, its beak, and tie up its legs. Then, I wring it in all directions.

CRACK!

Killed stage 1 level 4 Mok Cuisor. Gain 34 Exp.

Feathers fell off, blood spilled, and bone peeked out. The outcome was more gory than I expected. I'm sure my constrict skill leveled up before this.

A second bird swoops in. I spit poison at it, blinding its eyes and causing it to go off-course.

A third one comes.

I pull my body over toward the corpse of the mangled corpse, dodging it.

Then, waving my tentacles, I grab another wood gnawing bird and crack it.

Killed stage 1 level 4 Mok Cuisor. Gain 34 Exp.

Now, I'm in the middle of this half of the flock though, in a danger zone.

The 9 or 10 remaining wood gnawing birds gang up on me.

Their beaks gnaw on my shell.

I feel pressure, but I ignore it and wrap my tentacles around the closest bird.

CRACK!

Killed stage 1 level 5 Mok Cuisor. Gain 42 Exp.

When I break them so close to me, the sound reverberates louder.

Excerpt from Aberna's Cyclopedia of Monster:

Mok Cuisor - stage 1 wood eating birds. They are green birds with strong beaks designed to poke holes into trees and teeth born to saw through branches. They usually travel in flocks and live in tree hollows. Their favorite food are monster trees with high vitality. But it isn't only trees that they eat. If your house is made out of wood, it is best to take countermeasures against this monster.