Congratulations-You have defeated a stronger foe!

You have leveled up!

You have gained [One] leveling point in addition to [Three] Victory Points!

I breathe a sigh of relief as I feel my body begin to stitch itself back together, grateful for the benefit of leveling up– and that the monster was enough to get me to it. It takes a minute of laying there to realize its finished and the weirdness of my body is due to intentional changes, leaving me to focus on drawing the muzzle back into my side and reform it where it should be, then fix my hip and leg bones as I return them to their natural shape. 'Well, natural for this form at least.'

Looking over at the dead creature I feel an overwhelming desire to kick the stupid thing. 'Freakin sucking my blood like a vampire. Hmmm…' I pause in thought, then shove its head hard in annoyance. 'It's effective, but still, screw you!'

I missed the chance of getting corrosive poison from the Stone Stalker, but this would have a slightly better effect. I can't lace an arrow with it, but if I take the skill I can use it in a fight.

'But first thing, I need a bigger body if I'm going to eat it.' I go with what I've been using and stick with the Giant Armored Rat and just add mass to it, bringing it to my maximum 11 pounds. The name updates to "Armored Dire Rat" as my size listed changes from 20 inches to 36 inches. That includes the tail though, so my body just went from 11 inches to 20.

Despite the increase my mouth is still too small to eat this thing, so I repeat my other prior act, this time shifting my hand into the Aztec War Club shape and start hacking the body apart. Between quartering it and some extra width to my jaws I eventually get it all in and Devoured.

Consume and Devour

You have consumed a [Chupacabra]. Please select one of the following:

Skills: Na

Racial Trait:

* Heat Vision: You can visualize the heat of objects in your environment.

* BloodSucker: you can consume an additional amount of a creatures blood when bitten.

Language: NA

Class: NA

I choose BloodSucker and open my Menu, only to feel a little let down when I find the Skill conversion dropped the damage output.

BloodSucker[1]: Your melee attacks can consume an additional amount of a creatures blood when struck. (+1)

'It's weaker, but I can also use it in a claw attack, so it's more versatile.' There are pros and cons, but there's nothing I can do about it, so I move on to my Stat points. I decide to dump all four into Strength, bringing it from [08] to [12]. The Level up gave me one more point to health, which is always good.

Finally done with that mess I take a look around and pick a random direction. Despite running blind my ratty brain has kept a decent map of where I was previously and I can tell where I am compared to that.

After walking a few hours the air begins to smell fresher, the stagnant scent of the dungeon having been ignored till now.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

I shift out of rat form and choose to turn into the Bullet Roach, only to be met with a feeling of resistance. Checking the Mimic Menu I find all the bug forms have [NA] by them, leading me to shout "Come on, I just made some of those!"

In a fit of defiance I attempt to modify the size of the Iron Spider to make it as big as possible, which turns out to be nineteen inches, and is now available as a form. Its description also updated from small to large.

Not having a big need for them I leave the Venomous Spider and Iron Pill Bug alone. The Fire Roach and Bullet Roach are both increased to 14 inches, but the Bullet Roach changed further, now stating "A large Earth Mana infused roach capable of firing small projectiles.".

As a test I Disgorge the Earth Crystal and shift to the Bullet Roach form, touching the stone while mentally feeling out the purpose for the magic when I realize my body is missing the air bladder I had created to fire the pebbles. After a moment of confusion I mentally gasp in excitement as a thought comes to mind and I focus on the space in front of my face while drawing from the Earth crystal.

In front of me the Mana solidifies, coming together into the physical form of a perfectly round stone that remains suspended between my mandibles. With a bit of excitement I fire it out, watching as the stone ricochets off the wall instead of shattering on contact.

I stand there feeling proud of myself for a minute until embarrassment sets in and I remember why I wanted to take the form.

The cerci appendages on my abdomen faintly detect air flowing down the tunnel, the speed of it fluctuating as if a passing wind and my antenna taste moisture in the air being carried with the faint breeze.

I temper my excitement; as much as I wish for it, I have a hard time believing I may have found a way out of this place.

Reverting to my base shape I consume the earth crystal, then return to the Armored Dire Rat form. I still want to make something more "battle ready", but trying to support a weapon with this form while moving would be too unruly.

—

It takes longer than I expected to follow the air current; even as faint as it is the wind has passed through the area long enough to freshen all nearby passages thoroughly. In order to follow it at every intersection I have to shift to bug form to check the air, then back to rat. I'd consider sticking with the bug form if I had Earth Mana, but without it I'm at too much of a disadvantage.

Coming to the latest turn, fresh air in full force, I finally see a change down the path as the stone walls, floor and ceiling just- end. Like whoever built this place just up and quit. Approaching the end of the hall I activate my Stealth skill, my form slightly blurring into the surroundings as I creep forward. The space before me is a small cavern, half filled with water on the right side and open on the other end. I stop and watch for a few minutes, only seeing a few cave crickets hopping around the ground and nothing hunting or being hunted. I think about getting a drink of water, but seeing a large blue salamander in the clear waters depth makes me reconsider; likely it's waiting in the water like an alligator, hoping something will be foolish enough to get close. Instead I give the water a wide berth and only take a moment in passing to catch a cave cricket, disappointedly finding it has no usable skills.

Passing the pond the cave opens up and i realize it looks nothing like I would expect, with no stalactite or stalagmite mounds on any surface. 'Stalactites form from water seeping from the ground above it; I think it's calcium and Limestone? If there are none here, does that mean the stone around here is a different type, or is there something else at play in how it was formed?'

There are no rough cliffs or edges to be seen. Rather the walls look as if they had been smoothed by the hands of time, as if all the surfaces had their sharp edges sandblasted away.

I have to keep reminding myself I'm not on Earth and what I know or expect may not apply here, but it's hard not to be mesmerized by the environment. While a 20 foot tall cave may not seem big by human standards, as a two foot tall rat-thing it's huge and the path through it, while only four feet wide, feels like a road at this size.

After following the path for an hour, all the while gaping at the smooth half sphere depressions in the walls, my attention is drawn back to the path in front of me as a heavy wind blows into the cavern. With a sudden strong scent of plants carried on the wind I speed up and finally see an end to the cave!

'Oh please please please let it be real!' I think, then catch myself and come to a sudden stop. Moving more cautiously I creep towards the end of the cave, keeping my eyes and ears open for possible predators.

My concern falters as I reach the end, my sight greeted by a wide tree filled valley with sharp cliffs on each side reaching up to a star filled sky.

'Stars– by the gods, I'm out! I actually made it out of there!' I make ratty squeaks of glee in celebration, taking a moment to bask in the nights light.