SP: 12/15

  It's dark out when I wake up. Behind me is the remains of the egg I broke out of, as well as several brownish eggs that haven’t hatched yet. Shouldn’t there be a mama hen around here? Who’s keeping these eggs safe? I sure don’t think I can fight anything if just cracking an egg completely drained me. At the thought of eggs, I begin to feel pangs within my belly.

  Ah, right. I’m a newborn. I probably need lots of food and rest. I certainly won’t be eating my unborn siblings though. Not that I could even make an omelet considering how much work it was to break a single egg. What do chickens even eat? I know domestic ones eat corn, and probably grains, but what are the odds I find that out here? Well, worrying isn’t going to help anything, so I’d better start looking around.

  The nest I was born in is hidden in the roots of an absolutely massive tree in an even more massive forest. Or maybe I’m just tiny. I’m not sure which is the better option honestly. Well above me I see long vines draping from the canopy, and near the trees are several large plants that seem to be giant heart-shaped leaves on a stem.

  Out of the corner of my eye I catch a movement. I whip my head around, and see it's just some sort of bug. It looks vaguely like a grasshopper, except it has 2 horns coming from its tail end. I move to dismiss it, but before I can my instincts practically scream at me that this is food. I….really don’t want to eat a bug, but I don’t think I’m in a position to be picky.

  I crouch low to try to stay out of sight of the bug. As I sneak towards it, it pricks up and hops forward. I freeze in place. Did it see me? Should I keep hiding, or should I rush it? Oh, oh it definitely saw me, it's still moving.

bah-GAWK!

  I unleash my battle cry and charge towards it! That’s definitely not the sound I was going for, but I’m not gonna get my feathers ruffled, not with a lovely ...bug... dinner at stake! The bug freezes in obvious terror at my mighty roar as I quickly waddle at it! I get right behind it, and peck it! My victory is assured.

-2 HP

  Ow. OK. Maybe not. Those horns hurt more than they look, and I really wasn’t expecting the damn thing to wedge them in my mouth. You haven’t won yet! This is a tactical retreat! I’m just regrouping dammit! OK so if I wanna get this, I’ll have to either catch it head on somehow, or attack from the side. I crouch low, and hide underneath one of the heart-leaf plants while I wait for the beetle to lower its guard. I stare intently at it, hoping for some tell that would tell me I could begin to sneak up on it.

You have learned the General Skill “Basic Appraisal”

  Well hey. That seems useful. I focus on the beetle again and use my new skill on it.

Illphstra Beetle

A species of beetle native to Yushan. This beetle uses the wings on its back to glide short distances aided by its large legs. The horns on its back are used as a defense against sneak attacks.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Well that told me a whole lot of nothing. I mean its more than I hoped, but none of it is really useful to me now. I suppose I’ll have to wait for it to let its guard down, and find out how to beat it the hard way.

  Is...Is it even awake? Cmon man, I’m really hungry and you haven’t moved in forever! Whatever, I’m going for it. Keeping low, I sneak around the plant so I’ll be able to catch the beetle from its side. Hopefully I’ll be able to get close enough before it sees me that those horns won’t be in the way. I slowly step towards it, and it doesn’t even twitch. Just a couple…..more….steps…..aaaaaaand….! I jump at it and peck!

Illphstra Beetle has been defeated!

+5 XP

You have learned the General Skill “Sneak”

  Ugh. This is probably the worst thing I’ve ever eaten. It tastes like salt and vinegar chips, but with some weird funk added on, and its got this nasty slimy texture going down. As if that wasn’t bad enough, this thing has gotta be like 10% food, 90% shell, and it doesn’t even have the common decency to be small enough to swallow whole. At least I don’t feel like I’m starving anymore, but I really hope there's something better to eat than vinegar bugs 24/7.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Status Menu

Name: Grover

Age: 0 years

Race: Rooster (Juvenile)

Level: 1

XP: 5

XP to next level: 95

Profession: N/A

Seals: 1

HP: 8/10

SP 10/15

Mana: [Locked]

HP Regen: 1/day

SP Regen: 2/hour

Mana Regen: [Locked]

Strength - 1

Agility - 2

Constitution - 1

Wisdom - 8

Intelligence - 10

Charisma - 3

Luck - 2

Skills:

Instincts (Chicken)

Chirp

Peck

Basic Appraisal (Lvl: 1/10)

Sneak (Lvl: 1/10)

Titles:

Reincarnated

Spiritual Bulwark