"...Meow? (What the... Human?)"

I pull off the armored man's helmet and indeed, the face of a human male appears in broad daylight. Neither handsome nor ugly, he's just an ordinary-looking guy.

I was shocked frozen for a moment as I stared.

So there really are humans in this world? How?

It's not like this is some parallel world. It's a whole nother planet damn it!

I would really want to take my time processing this shock and going through the emotional conflict of killing a human despite myself being a former human, how wrong it is, how I shouldn't have done it, how I should turn myself in to the police and get locked in jail, possibly put on death row, to pay off my crimes...

If my ordinary weak-hearted parents from my last life, brainwashed by the laws of human society, were to find out I did this, I'm sure that's what they would want me to do.

But I don't have the time to wallow into this.

I get off the human warrior and trudge over to the unconscious lizardman.

"...Gahhhhhh!!!"

I stabbed the knife deep into his scale-covered neck as hard as I could. He woke up from the pain for a moment, his bloodshot eyes bulging out, his broken arms reaching for his neck, then died right after.

Killed stage 2 level 36 Iza Dard. Gain 1600 Exp. Level +1

I couldn't allow myself to wait and give him time to rest, to wake up and fight me. I'm already exhausted enough. I don't want to go through another tough fight, at least not today.

I walk over to Number 1 and Number 2, getting closer as I observe their wounds.

The knives plunged in deep. Light red blood trickles out.

These poor little guys...

It's strange how I feel sorry for a pair of fat and furry worms. But what can I say, although I originally kidnapped picked them up to use them as silk production machines, time passed, and they grew on me. Now I view them as cute, innocent, and harmless pets.

So harmless in fact that I wonder how such a species survived the law of the jungle till now.

"Meow... Meow. Meow... (Don't worry guys... You have been avenged. Pass on in peace...)"

"Squeak..." "Squeak..."

"?" Did I just hear something?

I squint my faux kat eyes at the two white and furry corpses.

It's very weak... but I think I see movement!

"Meow!? (You guys are still alive!?)" I shouted, pleasantly surprised.

Sara seems happy too, as she rustles her wounded branches and leaves with a smile.

An idea quickly came to my mind. I rush over to the lizardman's corpse and pick up the potion? bottle that had fallen near him.

I came back to Number 1 and Number 2, unscrewed the cap of the small bottle, pulled out the throwing knives, and carefully and precisely poured half the bottle onto each of their wounds.

The blue liquid, of a color different from what I expected, poured down, filling up the holes that are their wounds.

What happens next confirms my guess.

Although it isn't instant, Number 1 and Number 2's knife wounds closed at a rate visible to my naked eyes.

It really is a potion after all. Thankfully, I was quick-witted enough to not give my enemies any chance to swallow it.

& Thankfully they had such things. Otherwise, Number 1 and Number 2 would have been doomed.

After their wounds healed, the two siliwors stayed motionless for a while longer, causing me to start worrying. Then, they suddenly twitched.

They wriggled around in place for a while, getting more energetic with every movement. Then, in unison, they look up at me ...not that they have eyes to look up with.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

You have gained the trust of the Siliwor, Number 1. Do you want to acknowledge it as your pet?

You have gained the trust of the Siliwor, Number 2. Do you want to acknowledge it as your pet?

"Meow?"

Another pleasant surprise. The question comes to mind though: Why now?

Obviously, it's because I saved their lives, but why did these messages not pop up earlier? I've been with them for a very long time. The time it took me to gain Sara's trust was a lot less.

I think. I think. And images come to my mind of the little guys squeaking in pain as I spank them for trying to run back to their home.

"..." Okay, let's stop thinking about that.

Anyway, "Meow, meow. (Yes, and Yes.)"

Siliwor, Number 1, has become your pet. You may now view its status.

Siliwor, Number 2, has become your pet. You may now view its status.

Name: Number 1 / Number 2 Species: Siliwor (Stage I) Level: 20 (0%) (Awaiting Evolution) Innate Abilities: Silk Glands, Poison (Pain) Blood Acquired Skills: Spit level 8, Weave level 6, Endure level 5, Flee level 2, First Aid level 0

Both the Siliwor's status are the same. Looking at one is the same as looking at the other. It's probably because both their experiences ever since they were caught, and probably even before that, were the same.

The surprising thing here is that both of them have an "Awaiting Evolution" tag on their levels.

It seems that level 20 is the max, at least for a Stage 1 monster. Proof of that is the tag following the follow at the level progess itself seems stuck at 0%. I wonder how they even reached level 20 anyway. All they ever did was spin silk and eat. Do they get exp from food?

As I focus on the "Awaiting Evolution" tag, another screen pops up.

Evolutionary Options

✦ Hurs Silimor - A moth with a single x-ray eye, sensory antennae common to many insect monsters, and pain inducing toxin spreading wings.

✦ Ars Siliwor - A Siliwor whose fur has hardened to become able to act as armor. The silk they produce has become more durable.

Hmm... so there are more than one evolutionary options.

Which one should I choose for these little guys...

I go into thought.

Both options seem a little lacking. Neither of them provide any combat ability, unless you consider pain inducing toxins something meant for combat. ...Or is it?

I imagine my enemies suddenly groaning in pain in the middle of combat. It's not lethal, but it might be able to provide an opportunity for me to attack. Though this also means that the moths have no way to finish off opponents on their own.

In the end, I'm more attracted to the second option.

I don't want the little guys to nearly die again. It's better they be more durable. As for becoming moths and gaining the ability to fly, so long as they are still worms, I'm sure that option will come up in another evolution later on.

I pick Ars Siliwor.

During the evolutionary process, the subject, Number 1, will enter a state of hibernation. Proceed?

"?" Hibernation?

So... in this world, monsters don't just suddenly light up and turn into something else when the light wears off?

Now that I think about it, that makes more sense.

Do all monsters have to hibernate when they evolve? Or are some an exception? Aren't they defenseless when they hibernate? How long is the hibernation?

Questions that I don't receive the answers to pop into my head.

"Meow. (Abort for now.)"

With that, the evolution process did not begin.

Number 1 and Number 2 just recovered and escaped from the jaws of deaths. Even though they look healed on the surface, I don't know how their insides are right now. It's better to let them have some rest for some days and fill their stomachs full before putting them to hibernation. Don't want them to starve during their hibernations.

Then I look to Sara.

The facis arbor's branches are covered in carving-like wounds, with many branches having been shortened compared to what I remember from before.

There's still a little bit of the potion left.

I walk over to Sara, had her lower some of her branches and then dripped the rest of the potion on her wounds.

The result?

The carving-like wounds can heal, but the severed sections cannot, even when I try sticking the cut off branch parts back on. Using the potion like glue, it slips right off. It seems that's the limit of these potions.

Sadly, that third of a potion was nowhere near enough to heal all the wounds on Sara's many branches. If we talk about it in terms of HP (health points), then Sara's big tree body has far more HP than the small siliwors. The same amount of potion would have far less of an effect on Sara than on the Siliwors.

It made me realize how nonsensical and overly convenient those healing items in games that heal HP on percentage rather than fixed numbers are.

I used up the potion that the human warrior tried to use on the lizardman, so I go and dig through the lizardman and the birdwoman's bags. The lizardman's bag had been crushed, along with a lot of the stuff inside, a potion bottle included. Luckily, the birdwoman's bag still has one.

Although I feel a bit apologetic, rather than use it on Sara, on whom it would have relatively lesser significance, I drink it myself.

"Meow! (Bitter!)"

It's bitter, but effective. My worst wounds, that were seeping blue blood not long ago, soon began closing up. The smaller scratches disappeared altogether. Even my old scars, produced from old battles, stop hurting. Even through the scars themselves don't disappear, it's as if they're only for show, existing only on the surface.

I feel much better now.

Now then, what was I talking about before?

Right. It's the emotional conflict resulting from killing a human being as a former member of the human race.

"..."

"... ..."

Somehow, I don't feel like thinking about it anymore.

After calming down, that feeling of remorse is gone, to the point that I wonder whether I really felt it at all.

Perhaps, it's because I already killed intelligent beings other than humans, dampening the emotional effect. Or perhaps, after months of staying in this new world as something other than human, I already lost my humanity.

Grrr...

My tummy rumbles.

Between emotional conflicts and satiating my own hunger, it's obvious which comes first. Time to get some food.