Novels2Search
Cheating Monster
Chapter 2 - Strength in numbers

Chapter 2 - Strength in numbers

This chapter has been proof-read by: gcman01

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WELCOME TO ALTERLIFE 2

“Eeeeehhh?????? No way!” (Kneeko)

How did this happen? Father finished the preparation for me to join Alterlife 2 before his death?! Sniff* sniff*... Father!!... Then out of nowhere, a young woman dressed in white silk with silvery hairs, eyes and angel wings came floating down from above and stopped in front of me. She was incredibly beautiful and looked to be around 20 years old.

“Welcome to Alterlife 2. I am Lucy and my role is to guide your first steps into Alterlife 2.” (Lucy)

“Hooo An A.I. Who greets new players eh... I guess she will ask me if I want to do the tutorial then help me create my character...  Mhhh but damn those legs... And titties...” (Kneeko)

“Characteristics of a pervert detected. You are now banned from accessing Alterlife 2.” (Lucy)

“Waa!?... Wait nooo!!!!!! I'm sorry !!!” (Kneeko)

“Hihihihihihi! How dare you lust at your own little sister Onii-chan. This little joke was payback for those perverted eyes.” (Lucy)

“I..I.. I didn't!!!... Wait... What did you just say?” (Kneeko)

Lucy then showed a massive grin before launching herself into my arms.

“Niiii-channn! I'm so happy to finally meet you!!!” (Lucy)

“Huwawa- What the hell are you talking about? Since when did I have a little sister ?!” (Kneeko)

“Since father created me... I know i'm not your 'normal' type of sister but father created us both didn't he?” (Lucy)

“Created?!... You're an A.I. ???” (Kneeko)

Lucy then pouted like a child before letting go of me.

“Aren't we the same??? The only difference between me and you is that I never had an organic brain but was born in the digital world. Except from that we are the same...” (Lucy)

“Woaaa.. So the A.I. In this game are this advanced?... Father truly was a genius... But hey... Aren't all the NPC in this game my siblings if we follow your logic ?” (Kneeko)

“Ha! No... Father personally created me... The others NPC evolved naturally from the systems he created. Some other programmers have created other NPC as well for the sake of missions and game dynamic.” (Lucy)

“Fufufufu So you mean that all NPC are basically like real people but from the game world instead...” (Kneeko)

“Yess! So I am your real sister since you also live in this world.” (Lucy)

She said timidly while tiptoeing around me in a playful manner.

“Now! Wanna do the tutorial?” (Lucy)

“Do I get something from it other than knowledge I already have?” (Kneeko)

“... No... Hihihihi* you truly are just as father had described you hihihihi*  'My son always cuts right to the chase and hates to do anything he judges useless' hihihi*' hihihi*” (Lucy)

She said that with father's voice as if she was playing a recorded message. At hearing this I couldn't help but let a small tear escape from the corner of my left eye.

“I... I'm sorry Nii-chan... I lacked delicacy please forgive me.” (Lucy) She showed a tearful expression as she said these words.

“Don't worry lil sis... I was happy to hear his voice that is all...” (Kneeko)

[Short awkward silence]

“So.. I take it that you won't do the tutorial..?!” (Lucy) She said with a slightly more joyful voice.

“Yeah... Skip that.” (Kneeko)

“Alright! Then character creation it is !!” (Lucy)

Then my vision exited my body and made a 180 in the air allowing me to watch my body from a 3rd person view. This really was one of the weirdest feeling I've ever felt... I read somewhere that some drugs could give a similar sensation but I never was into that kind of stuff... Now looking at myself attentively, my actual body was similar to the one I had the day before my death 10 years ago.

“Now! Wish to change gender? I wouldn't complain about having an older sister hihihi*” (Lucy)

I threw a look at her that answered her question without the need for words.

“Urg... No 'titties' for you then... hihihi Now then which species?” (Lucy)

Suddenly a list of thousands of races flashed before my eyes. Since I wasn't considered a player, I had the possibility to spawn as whatever I wanted to be. I immediately scrolled down to the 'D' section and looked for a bit.

“Not there?... Heyyy not fair ! Where's the dragon race???” (Kneeko)

“Hihihihi* Father truly knew you well... He told me this would be the first race you'd be looking for hihihi. Sorry but dragons in Alterlife 2 are among the strongest monsters... You can't expect to start as one... Can you imagine a level 1 dragon? Hihihi.

Monsters have a ranking system... So you can only evolve into a dragon and not start as one...” (Lucy)

“Awwww Tsss...” (Kneeko) I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

Totally dejected I sulked for a bit. Lucy seemed to try extremely hard to contain her laughter which annoyed me even more.

“Prrffff* hihihiihihi*! Ok ok I won't keep the suspense any longer. I suggest this onii-chan!” (Lucy) She said as a window popped up before my eyes.

Father's suggestion (Secret)

Accept

Decline

“....Huh? The hell is this?” (Kneeko)

“Can't you read? Secret!! hihihi Father prepared this for you... He said you'd definitely recognize it's potential.” (Lucy)

“What potential? What is it ? A secret race or something?” (Kneeko)

“Hmmm I'm not supposed to say anything but... This weak monster has a very high evolutive potential, if you catch my drift...” (Lucy)

“DRAGON! YAY!” (Kneeko)

“Wa- Not exac-... Wait no!...” (Lucy)

In my excitement I immediately pressed the accept button then a huge flash of light blinded me for a few seconds.

When the light finally subsided, I looked around at my surrounding. I was underwater just below the surface in a small pond filled with aquatic plants and algae. The water was a disgusting brown almost black which limited visibility.

I was a small slimy ball in the middle of a giant mass of similar spheres. I immediately knew what I was looking at... Frog eggs ? Or something similar... THAT'S NOT A DRAGON!.................. Ok time to get more information.

“[Open profile !]” (Kneeko) This was the command from Alterlife which I suspected to be unchanged in Alterlife2.

PROFILENAME:KneekoLEVEL:1GENDER:MaleMONEY:0G 0S 0CRACE:EggMONSTER RANK:Lowest of the lowHEALTH:150STAMINA:150MANA:150STRENGTH:1(M)INTELLIGENCE:1SPEED:1DEXTERITY:1(H)VITALITY:1CHARM:1LUCK:1AGILITY:1RESISTANCE:1(S)ENDURANCE:1SKILL POINTS:0FAME/INFAMY:0 (Neutral)CLASS:-------------------TITLES:PASSIVE SKILLS:ACTIVE SKILLS:

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

Then another window popped up on top of this one.

You are an egg.

As soon as you hatch, 100 starting skill points will be automatically allocated to match you

based on the analyze of your cerebral waves. Later you will receive 15 additional skill points per level you gain.

HATCH

'Waaaa this system is insanely sophisticated... But how does the system determine how much strength I have based on my brain waves?... I don't even have a real body. Eehh I guess we will see after I hatch... ' (Kneeko)

As I was about to press the Hatch button, I saw from the corner of my eye one of the other eggs hatched. A small tadpole came out of it and quickly began to swim toward a patch of algae probably looking for safety in it. Suddenly a big fish came from the depths of the pond as if coming straight out of the deepest abyss. The fish swept in and swallowed the small tadpole in one bite before retreating back to the dark abyss he had came from.

'..... How's that even fair ???? The poor thing didn't stand a chance at all!!... The same thing will obviously happen to me as soon as I hatch! ' (Kneeko)

I waited to observe a bit before hatching and saw the same thing continuously happening... One would hatch, swim 2 seconds then be eaten by something living in the pond. Totally unfair was my thought at that moment but then something interesting finally happen.

All the eggs started squirming around as if they had coordinated themselves and they all hatched at the same time. Remembering an animal documentary I had watched a while back I knew what was going on and that this was my only chance. Safety in numbers they call it.

I quickly pressed the 'hatch' button and my POV changed to first person on my new tadpole body. It was frantic, there were tadpoles everywhere and the fish were eating as much of us as they could. It was a total feeding frenzy.

I took a deep “aquatic-breath” and used all my energy to swim as fast as possible toward a patch of algae I had spotted earlier. I swam with all my might without looking back even once. As soon as I reached the green sludgy algae, I burrowed myself deep into it and turned around for the first time to see the aftermath.

Everything was calm once again... I couldn't see any tadpoles nor any fish around. All this had happened in a few seconds... Nature truly IS scary. Oh well... It was finally time to see what I was and what I had gotten skill wise...

PROFILENAME:KneekoLEVEL:1GENDER:MaleMONEY:0G 0S 0CRACE:Common Newt (Juvenile)MONSTER RANK:Lowest of the lowHEALTH:350STAMINA:170MANA:600STRENGTH:15(M)INTELLIGENCE:45SPEED:2DEXTERITY:1(H)VITALITY:20CHARM:14LUCK:1AGILITY:7RESISTANCE:3(S)ENDURANCE:2SKILL POINTS:0FAME/INFAMY:0 (Neutral)CLASS:-------------------TITLES:PASSIVE SKILLS:Amphibius (E)ACTIVE SKILLS:

Meh... I was a bit disappointed, but also surprised at how accurately my stat points had been distributed. Strong from doing manual labor as a young man, high vitality since I am still alive even though this is my 3rd world, charming since I was always good at wooing women and most importantly, incredibly intelligent. (Me being in a super computer, photographic memory and all...)

'Well, if father suggested it... It must be an interesting creature to start as. ' (Kneeko)

Then the next thing to check was;

'[Open Inventory]' (Kneeko)

[...]

What I saw in my inventory made my jaw drop.

'Father... You truly wanted me to cheat didn't you? ' (Kneeko)