My name was Max, Max Paw, your typical white-collar worker, pushing through the week until it’s the weekend. I was what in Japan could be called an otaku with a fashion for game hunting in the woods. Well, that wasn’t a very “otaku" thing, but, at the very least, I wasn’t some hikikomori, someone who never leaves his room, of which my grandfather would be ashamed.
There were a few things I accepted as facts in life. My father ran away before I was born and my mother died giving birth to me. Yes, it was rather sad for me as a child, but some people had it far worse. That's why I was thankful every day for having with me my awesome grandfather and my loving grandmother.
The first form of love I became familiar with came through my grandfather, who taught me how to hunt in the springtime; the second was when my grandmother spent the afternoon baking an apple pie that sang sweet songs to my nostrils. She was truly like a mother to me: always there when I needed advice or the simplest of hugs.
During Middle School I became fixated on animes, I loved that shit. But their release was always too slow-paced for my liking so, in the natural order of things, I passed to manga and then to light novels. My grandfather always looked down on my hobby; but since grandma supported me as long as I didn't become too obsessed, he was just a little grumpy and always brought up the argument every chance he’d get.
I now should address the obvious past tense, I guess.
The fateful day started like every usual day of summer: I was off hunting, this time, in the forests of Montana, USA’s bear country.
I had a quick breakfast, checked all the traps, and went trailblazing through the woods. I brought with me my composite bow and my favorite hunting knife, a beauty made of serrated steel with a length of 40 cm and a width of a sweet 6 cm. Luckily, I found some raspberries, but, as I went to collect them, the sound of crushed leaves behind me startled me. My eyes caught up with my swiftly turned body, capturing a grizzly I can only describe as enormous.
‘Fuck! Where’d this fucker come from?’, I thought and just that was enough for the beast to begin its charge.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
With no time to pick up the bow, I unsheathed my hunting knife just as the bear ripped into my throat, with its claws gouged into my back. The last thing I saw was my knife piercing through its eye. Then all went black.
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[Beginning Reincarnation Process]
“What is happening? Am I dead?”
*Roar*
[Starting Memories Wipeout]
“No no no no nonono noo-”
*Roar*
My panicked screams were cut short by another notice.
[Error: 2 souls detected]
My mind stopped racing as I questioned: “Why is the bear here with me? And where is here?”
[Calculating solutions…]
[Attempting fusion…Attempt 1.]
[Error. Max Paw's soul and unnamed soul conflict.]
[Troubleshooting…Establishing main and support soul method; Attempt 2.]
[Max Paw soul is considered of higher grade.]
“Hell yeah!”
*Roar*
“Shut up! You rabid fuck, you got us in this mess!”
[Erasing unnamed soul memories…]
*Whimper*
“Well, I guess that’s it for you bud…damn.”
[Commencing fusion…]
*Moan*
“Why the hell do I feel so, what’s the word, euphoric?”
[Calibrating…Fusion complete.]
[Searching for a reincarnation destination...]
“Ok, now all I need is a good start and with my previous memories there is no way I will become a white-collared worker again, I will aim to be a manager, no, a CEO, or maybe I will run for presidency? Well, that’s if I’m even-”
[Destination found.]
[Good luck. You’ll need it.]
And it all went black, again.
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This brings us to the present moment as I’m coming back to my senses. I am inside a big cave surrounded by leaves and fur. Just as I am trying to understand what horrible luck had got me here, and in what backwater family I was born into, a growling sound makes me look up.
I almost die of a heart attack. Above me, larger than anything I have ever seen, is a bear looking down at me with big watery eyes. I try to escape but my body feels off so I fall. I look at my hands, no, not hands, paws. Then it hit me: I am now a bear.