Chapter 9: At least it is Better Than a Cell...
*Celia’s POV*
Waking up in annoyance and pain, I surveyed my surroundings. There were fish swimming here and there. With that, I had a terrible realization… I had evolved into a goddamn fish!
What’s more, I had lost that cool vision thing, and now I have just a normal field of vision. So I can’t see all around me anymore. At least, a normal field of vision for a fish. I guess that kind of vision that I had, was just a temporary cheat for me being a cell…
Going through my barely hanging on knowledge from college, I recalled that fish can actually taste things, since they have taste buds. Which sucks for me. Look, I will clearly have to hunt for fish, at least until I evolve into something less stupid…
Yeah, that’s right! Being a fish is completely stupid! What’s worse, is that I have always hated seafood… I was super allergic to seafood, and I have never liked how seafood tastes anyway. Even without the allergic reaction… Once again, I have fallen into a new type of hell.
My fishy body was still in immense pain. I can only assume that going from the size of a cell, to the size of a fish, is an extremely painful process. A process that I am still reeling from at the moment.
Testing out my new body, I could swim around quite easily. My range of movement was far better than when I was a cell. Speaking of that, what will I evolve into next? Please don’t be a different type of fish… Thinking that, I was curious about my current Status.
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:Status:
Name: Celia.
Race: Red Tailed Fish. (Infant.)
HP: 125/125.
AGI: 10.
STR: 14.
DEX: 9.
INT: 38.
Hunger: 0/85.
True Level: 20.
Race Level: 1/12.
Current EXP: 0/100.
Skills: Inspect: Level: 2.
Titles: Kin Eater.
Self Improvement Points: 0.
Upgrades Available: None.
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Ah, that’s right! I am fucking starving! Though, it is cool that my Stat’s got bumped up quite a bit. It is also cool that I can now see how many levels that I need to get before I can evolve again.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Having a higher hunger Stat, means that I can go far longer without needing to eat. Other than that, the only other notable thing, is that my race is considered me being a baby fish…
I’ll deal with that later, for now, I need to get some food into my fishy stomach! Ah, look! There is a still wriggling worm like thing just tangling in the water! I don’t care if it will taste bad, I am hungry!
Right as I was about to bite the worm, I stopped. Since I could see that it was impaled on a fishing hook. Wait… fishing hook!? That means that there are people alive in this world! Hooray! Which also means that when I get a human form, I won’t be alone!
As I was thinking this, another fish fell for the fisherman's trap, and got yanked out of the water. Ah, poor fishy… That was almost me, but luckily, I haven’t become completely stupid just yet…
Well, at least I have a reason to keep evolving for now. Though, I am curious on why this entire thing even happened? Well, maybe the System can answer that for me, but for now, I need food!
*Much Hunting Later.*
Even as a baby, I was still able to hunt the other fishes around me. They tasted horrible, but my hunger Stat was full for now. Though, an annoying thing occurred. I didn’t get a single DROP of Exp from killing and eating around thirty fishes…
Granted, they were all infants like me, but even those very small cells gave me minuscule amounts of Exp… Wait… I just realized that I have eaten babies… Hopefully, I don’t get a Title for doing that…
Interestingly, all of the fish were species that I have never seen before. The differences weren’t small at all. Most of the fish, including me, look straight out a of a fantasy world. Which clues me in on this world being different than my original one.
Speaking of that… Hey, System? Can you answer my earlier question? Though, I didn’t direct it to you, surely, you know what I mean, right?
System: “I do. And you’re under the wrong impression.” She said.
Celia: “How so?” I ask with a curious tone.
System: “This is the same world that you have always known.” She replied.
Celia: “What!? It can’t be! I have never seen fish like these ones in my world!” I exclaim.
System: “When you died, the world was still in complete chaos. And that was a few thousand years ago. It goes without saying, but restoring your soul took a long time.” She answered.
Celia: “Huh? So, what happened after I died?” I ask.
System: “Going into that, would take far too much time to explain. Instead, I will just summarize it.” She said.
Celia: “Go on.” I say.
System: “The beings that invaded your dimension, after fighting for many years, most of them settled down, and started making this world their own. The quickest way to explain this world, is to say that, it is similar to a fantasy RPG game. With various fantasy races inhabiting it.” She replied.
Celia: “Is that why I have a System?” I ask with a fishy head tilt.
System: “No. Only you have access to a System. It is a special privilege. As I have already explained.” She said.
Celia: “I don’t recall you doing so… but, why was I given a System? Isn’t that a very unfair advantage?” I ask with an unsure tone.
System: “When you died, you did not go through the normal process that a soul experiences on death. Instead, you were trapped in an empty void for a very long time.” She said.
Celia: “I also don’t recall being trapped…” I say with a confused tone.
System: “As you shouldn’t. Your memories of that time have been erased. What happened to you was the fault of many higher beings, as an apology, you were given a second chance, and the privilege to use a System.” She answered.
Fuck… this is getting even more confusing… Well, I should just put this off until I can actually do something about it. For now, I am a fish. So I should do fish things, like, I don’t know, eating other fish?
I can’t really deal with the realization that the higher beings that well and truly fucked me over, have actually helped me. And unfortunately, I am not stupid enough to believe such a convenient outcome. So, I should just focus on the here and now, rather than worry about complex things like that.
That being, on learning how to hunt as a fish. Sure, I killed the some fish already, but those were far smaller than me. With a still pounding headache, I swam towards fish bigger than me. It is getting to be tiresome, but the hunt shall start once more!