I always felt as though I was just drifting through life, born at the wrong time when everything I could have explored was already mapped out and had dozens of guides telling me how best to experience it. It was no surprise that I fell in love with fantasy books, D&D, and video games. My favorites were the games where I had to push myself to the best of my abilities, often failing at first, forcing me to become more skilled before I could overcome the puzzle, boss, or whatever it was.
All of that was to say when I finally passed away after a Truck driver thought I'd look better as a pancake. I'm not quite sure what it was other than something that wasn't meant to be seen by mortal eyes. It asked me if I wanted to be reincarnated in a world filled with magic, monsters, dungeons, and, best of all, stats. I had just one dumb, idiotic, absolutely foolish request.
"Make it a struggle for me."
A blue box floated in my vision. It was just translucent enough that I could make out that I started in what looked like an ancient forest, judging by the size of the branch I was on. My head swam before everything rushed back to me: the truck, my death, then meeting that thing and being hurled through something. I gave my head a light shake
'It was all real.'
I thought while grinning like a mad hatter before turning my attention to the message that floated in my vision, only for a voice to read along with me.
System Installing
[■■■■■■■■■____]
Welcome to The System. Your skills, abilities, and spells from your past life will be added to your status once you showcase them in your new life. As you are not from this world, additional information may be added when performing new actions. As a bonus, each reincarnate, often referred to as Traveler, gains the Tongue ability and one random ability or spell beneficial to their race. Rolling gift now.....
A sound I was all too familiar with filled my ears. Dice bouncing against each other and a tabletop before coming to a rest. It was followed by a chime
*Your random gift from the system is Spell: Imbue Natural Weapons*
*Status*
Name: [N/A]
Level:0
Race: Primae Nigrum Sciurus (Primal Black Squirrel)
...
My mind froze alone, reading my race. It couldn't be true. My body felt like it always did entirely under my control and wholly me. I reached up to grab at the box to shake it until it got the information right. Only for fuzzy arms to appear instead of the hands, I was used to. Panicking, I started to pat down my body, giving it a full once over, only to find out that what my status said was true. I was a squirrel with a big bushy tail and all. I started to pace back and forth while trying to stop myself from hyperventilating.
'This isn't so bad. Sure, I wasn't a human like I thought I'd be, but at least I'm not a bug. I'm sure there's some kind of evolution. Right? There's always a way for low-level mobs to evolve. I did ask for it to be a struggle. I was hoping for hard mode, not a new game plus.'
I forced myself to stop and take a deep breath before truly taking in my new body. I didn't seem to have any problems controlling it, so at least I didn't have to learn how to walk again. I looked back down at my "hands," noticing for the first time that I didn't have thumbs, not really. I had a small fifth claw that might help hold things, but it was going to be a problem. Not one I could do anything about, but hopefully, it would come in handy. My claws seem to be quite strong and sharp based on how easily I was able to leave marks on the bark. My feet were a bit weird, having what looked like thumbs. I guess they were there to help me climb, though I'm not sure how. My fur was, as my race would imply, black, all except a spot on my chest in the shape of an elongated diamond that was a dark blue. Using my tongue to poke around inside my mouth, I found my teeth were a lot sharper than I would have expected. It seemed I ate meat along with nuts and fruits. That, combined with how sharp my claws were, meant I was not an Earth squirrel. It appeared that I was a more primal version than the Earth squirrels I knew of.
At Least now I knew why the branch I was on seemed so large. It was because I was no more than two feet long, including my bushy tail. Taking a deep breath, I willed my status to reappear.
*Status*
Name: [N/A]
Level:0
Race: Primae Nigrum Sciurus (Primal Black Squirrel)
Health:10/10 Stamina:10/10 Mana:140/140
Strength:1
Agility:10
Dexterity:10
Constitution:1
Intelligence:14
Wisdom:12
Skills: None
Abilities:
Tongues level: 1
Spells:
Imbue Natural Weapons level: 1
*Tongues*
Cost: None
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Description: You have the ability to learn any language just by having them spoken in your presence.
*Note: this does NOT give you the ability to read any language learned this way, and some languages may take longer to learn than others*
*Imbue Natural Weapons*
Cost: maximum per weapon= spell level×10 Mana
minimum per weapon= 5 Mana
Description: Will your magic into your natural weapons to increase their deadliness. Maybe used in conjunction with other Spells or Abilities. Damage is based on the mana used.
Well, at least my gifted spell would be helpful in staying alive. I focused on my missing name, trying to remember what it used to be, but I kept drawing a blank. It looked like I either lost it as my soul was shoved into this new body or, more likely, a scrub level 1 squirrel like me didn't get to have a name. Well, the only thing to do was get stronger and either earn one or get to name myself. The only way to get stronger, I was betting, was killing, which hopefully my free spell would help. Now, to test out Tongues. I opened my mouth, and all that came out was a squeak.
'Well, shit, I guess It doesn't count from before I had the system. Sucks I lost the ability to speak English, but hey, now I'll never have to sit through classes on foreign language classes again.'
Just as I finished the thought, my ears picked up on the slight sound of scales rubbing against bark. My instance went off like claxons forcing me to move. I went in the one direction I thought nothing would follow straight off the branch and into the open air at least twenty feet above the ground. My head shifted, locking onto a spot on the ground that didn't look too hard. Body twisting, I was able to flatten myself out, increasing the drag on my body just in time to land softly on the ground.
'Holly shit, that was a rush! What the fuck was that?'
I turned my attention back to the tree I used to be in. Just peeking down from the tree, I saw a diamond-shaped head glaring down at me. I focused on the snake, hoping all the anime and books I so loved were right.
'Analyze'
Constrictor level 3
'Well, not a lot of information, but it's something.'
I glared back up at the snake, raising my middle finger up at it only to see a glint in its eye I was all too familiar with. Hate, pure hate, and spite all for defying it and escaping.
'Don't you dare.'
It dared. The snake launched itself from the branch right at me. I hopped back frantically, trying to shove as much of my mana into my claws as I could. The only problem was I had no idea what "will your magic" could mean. The best I could come up with was just focusing on my claws and thinking very hard at it. I felt a drain at the core of my being the flow for lack of a work centered on my claws, flooding them with a whopping ten mana. It felt odd, like I was somehow lesser, even if I could do it thirteen more times. It may sound like this took time, but it happened before the constrictor landed.
The snake landed hard just a few feet in front of me before it coiled up, rising, ready to strike. There was a moment where it seemed we were both waiting for the other to move. Adrenaline was dumped into my system, pushing all the panic and stress right off of my head. An odd noise started to fill the space between us. It took me longer than I'd like to admit before I realized that I was laughing. Even with me acting like a completely crazy squirrel, the snake still did seem to want to strike first. Maybe it was hoping I'd turn around and run, maybe it was confused as to what I found so funny, but it seemed I'd have to be the first to make a move. The last thought in my head before doing one of the craziest things in either of my life was.
'Fuck it, time to go full agro.'
I rushed forward as fast as my four legs would carry me, which was rather fast. I was guessing that my Agility, or Dexterity, or both were the main causes. Unfortunately for me, the damned constrictor was just as fast, if not more, than I was. Its head rapidly closed the distance between us before veering off to my left to circle around me. Knowing that if it completed an entire loop around me, I'd be dead. I took a gamble and jumped to my right, trying to intercept it as it tried to wrap around me.
My claws extended my head, and my body twisted around, landing on what I could swear was the shocked face of a level 3 asshole. My claws scratched off the scales, my body bouncing off its head before I was able to reach down and grab onto its neck? Body? The part just below its head. Scraping, scrambling, and frantically flailing around, I managed to hold onto the constrictor, wrapping my limbs fully around it. The snake started to twist and roll, banging me against the ground and roots of the nearby trees as it tried to fling me off its back. I grunted against the impacts and erratic movements of my unwilling mount. My sharp teeth glinted in the light as I lunged toward the center of its back, willing all the mana I could into my pearly whites. Hot blood gushed into my mouth as scales broke against my teeth, and they sunk in deep until they hit bone. The shock that ran up my teeth and bounced around my head caused me to jerk back, ripping a chunk of flesh out from the snake's back. My instincts kicked in, and I swallowed the bloody chunk whole. To my surprise, it was pretty good.
Now, less concerned about its own health. The snake slammed its back along with me down onto whatever rocks it could find with all the force it had in its body. I could feel my life start to slip away. Not every hit seemed to drain my HP, but the constant assault was more about quantity over quality. I kicked out with my claws ripping and tearing away at its throat. I bite down again and again, desperately trying to win this damage race. Until finally, I heard a ping as the snake failed to rise back up. In the corner of my vision, a dot was lightly pulsing, changing from gold to blue.
Skill learned Acrobatics. EXP awarded for learning a skill without a trainer.
Skill learned: Analyze. EXP awarded for learning a skill without a trainer.
Skill learned Natural Weapons. EXP awarded for learning a skill without a trainer.
Congratulations! You have defeated a Level 3 Constrictor Snake. EXP has been awarded.
*Note: you may loot your kills by touching it and then thinking 'Loot.' all items will be placed on the ground before you if there is no applicable storage device/skill. Those with proper skill or the will to harvest the kill manually may receive more*
I swore I heard a light ding as the following message opened. It differed from the others, having a fancy golden border and lettering.
Level up!
Level up!
'Well fuck.'
The cause of this thought was probably a combination of not having a skill to get the best loot, Coming down off the adrenaline still making me well aware of all the sounds around me, and Not knowing exactly how much EXP [experience for those less into gaming] I gained or needed per level. And not actually knowing how to harvest anything, unless watching cooking shows and YouTube videos counted, let alone not having anything to carry my hard-earned loot.
Prepare for subpar loot. Due to my less-than-expert actions, I decided to put off the level up until I had a safer place than being out in the open. I went to work cutting down the length of my once enemy's spine. I had to recast my spell, so my claws were able to cut through the tough scale of the snake. I did my best to reenact what I saw in the videos, my claws making a poor substitute for a proper chef's knife. By the time I was done, blood coated my paws and mouth, something I'd have to try to fix. But I had a full stomach and a new blinking blue dot for all my effort.
New skill learned: Harvesting. EXP awarded for learning a skill without a trainer.
I eat as much as my stomach would fit while still being able to scurry about. Flesh and bone both seemed to call to me. As I crunched through the bones, I could feel myself getting healed. I moved to a spot of grass without blood on it, the bruises I was no doubt covered in, not even a registering. I rubbed and scrubbed at my fur with the grass and dirt, wishing I could just take a shower.
I checked my paws over, not happy but knowing that I wasn't going to get them any cleaner, when it struck me that I was taking this all too well. Sure, I wasn't one to sweat the small stuff, and I was happy enough to have a whole new world to discover, but I should have been a bit more freaked out. I could have died. Yes, the risk was significantly reduced since I got lucky and clung on where the constrictor couldn't do what it evolved to do. But still, if I had guessed wrong or hadn't gotten such a useful spell. I definitely wouldn't have lived very long in my new life.
'Worry about it later after you find somewhere safer. For now, act on two rules. One, No, where is truly safe, and two, trust that everyone is out to kill me.'
My thoughts momentarily back in order. I picked a new tree and went looking for a space big enough for me to hide long enough to level up.