Swiftly, I tore through the options, dissecting them intently. I needed to get stronger, and I needed it now. The xaptors were coming back and evolving was the only chance I had to escape them.

As lucky as I’d gotten to be able to sneak up on the one prowling around the worm, I didn’t think I’d have such an easy time getting away with my back turned.

Hmmm. I perused the options quickly, barely having a chance to do what I would’ve liked to and consider every option in detail, meditate on the choices, and make a decision.

The Baby Turco could help me sneak away with the stealth bonus, that was true, but I didn’t want to be confined to living only in the night time. Even if that evolution was capable of seeing in the dark like it was day, being locked into a very specific timeframe did not align with my bad habits. Knowing me, I’d screw up my circadian rhythm in the first week and be unable to function properly.

I could use the evolution to escape the pack of level fourteen and up dinos, probably. It was a viable option if that was my plan for the future, but when else would I see myself really using that upgrade?

So… Turco out.

I could go for Baby Croba, and get the speed bonus to hopefully outrun the pack of vicious xaptors, but then I would be stuck as a dinosaur meant for running from fights. And I’d already decided, in the face of Sailboat, the giant mutant spinosaurus, not to run from a challenge. Not anymore.

The Atha was also out. I didn’t want to be sentenced to the life of an amphibian, as tempting as it might be. The probability of survival for a baby in the water seemed low in this world.

So I was left with three options- Grancher, Inocu, or Baby Dino.

I wonder how much of this worm the Grancher could eat…

Potentially… all of it? After all, the description said it would eat until there was nothing left. Having just a small portion of the meat available had led to me gaining an absolutely absurd amount of experience, not to mention the two skills! How much stronger could I be if I consumed the entire thing?

Was it possible the Grancher would allow me to grow strong enough so quickly that I could slay the Deotrexaptors? Maybe.

That’s feasible. I could get away with this choice...

But did I want to risk bringing about “the end of an era”? That sounded apocalyptic.

Not sure I’m in for that.

The Inocu was an appealing option, since it seemed the only downside was the amount of health it would have. It also seemed like it might give bonuses to my Observe instinct, or at least let me use it from further away.

Then again, could the option only have been available because I had access to that particular instinct? Hmmm...

Sorry Grancher, but that’s only food for thought...

I was stuck choosing between Baby Inocu and Baby Dino. Though the latter didn’t have any particular strengths or weaknesses, my gamer instinct told me that a customizable option couldn’t be a wrong choice. Sure, I might not be as strong at swimming as an Atha, or at seeing as an Inocu. I might not level up as fast as I could if I chose Grancher, but on average, I might be a more well-rounded dinosaur. Maybe I’d unlock stronger overall options later on. Or maybe I’d even be able to design-o my own dino.

Sorry, bad joke.

But in my current situation, Inocu might be the best option. It was fast, like the Croba, so I could escape if the xaptors chased me, but that customization was really gnawing at me. Even if I wasn’t the best at something, being better at more was truly tempting. I could work with that.

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But… Inocu really did seem like the answer to my current situation. There was no way to know which option was the better choice, which is part of the joy of the game. Some people deprive themselves of that joy by looking up the best build paths online. Those kinds of people spoil the story for themselves by reading tutorials and guides.

But guides are for chumps. If you don’t make your own way, despite the odds, and regardless of what others say, then can you really call yourself a gamer?

After all, being a gamer is all about taking risks and learning from your mistakes. I chewed a lip, feeling a flash of pain as I bit into the skin with my sharp teeth.

“Kraaaw!” The call from the woods seemed closer than before.

Time’s up! Let’s do this!

I’d eliminated all the options except the two, but there wasn’t anymore time to consider the pros and cons, and I felt like I needed that time to make a concrete decision that I would be happy with.

I selected the option I was about to evolve into with my thoughts, and everything went black. Blacker than when the crack of light and air had still been leaking through the worm’s mouth.

It was so black, I felt like I was back inside the egg I’d hatched from. And the darkness beckoned me, calling out with its warmth.

I let myself sink into it, falling away from the world, falling away from consciousness. Falling away… from the xaptors that were fast approaching.

Only a single thought still bled through my mind as I dropped into my deep slumber.

If they find me before I wake up, I’m screwed.

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Warmth again. A return to the darkness. Once more I floated in a void, the nothingness simultaneously surrounding and filling me. But this void, however, did not pull me in. I wasn’t in a trance. No hypnotic attraction to the emptiness. It was unlike when I’d first hatched yet, somehow, it felt the same.

This void lifted me. I floated, rising towards... something. I looked up, the black greeting me entirely.

But then, there in the darkness, so small I almost missed it, was a thin crack of white. There it was. The door to freedom. Escape.

I reached forward, grasping with limbs I could barely feel, swimming toward the light. The crack grew as I approached, gaining in length and width.

And then it fractured, a spiderweb shatter of light through the darkness encompassing me, blinding me. I kicked with a leg, pulling my head away.

Scraaaape.

Wait.

I knew that sound. That muffled sound, like sandpaper rubbing against itself. It was the sound of claws on an eggshell.

Damn. I must’ve died again! Is this… respawn?

If that was true, then this world’s fates favored me today. But would this be a one-time thing? Or was this world truly dictated by the logic of video games?

As though I’d waited too long to approach the light, a sudden force from beneath me blasted me upwards, sending me rocketing toward the widening crack in the darkness. It was like falling in reverse. I flailed.

Crack!

The opening widened further, and I reached through, kicking and shredding as I did. Eggshell came away, and I popped my head through, gasping from the effort of breaking out of the shell once more, inhaling the pungent scent of the worm’s innards. My brief reprieve from the stench caused me to reel back onto the broken shell behind me as I reexperienced it.

Eww… I forgot about that.

Several messages greeted me as I emerged from the shattered egg.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully evolved into a [Baby Dino]. Statistics, [Health], [Stamina] and maximum level have increased!

You’ve unlocked the [Guided Evolution] Trait!

Success! Your Skill [Flee Lvl 3] has mutated into Skill [Sprint Lvl 1]!

Success! Your Instinct [Freeze Lvl 2] has mutated into Skill [Blend Lvl 1]!

Failure. Your [Fight or Flight Lvl 2] has failed to mutate into an applicable Trait, Skill, or Instinct and has been removed.

You have developed your sixth sense.

Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the [Risky Business] Instinct.

You’ve developed a new Skill: [Corpse Hatching Lvl 1].

Wow. That’s a lot of data to absorb. What the hell is corpse hatching?

It sounded disgusting, but I didn’t have time to absorb all the data. I had to get out of here before the xaptors found me. How long was I out?

First step in the plan… eat to level up!

I started munching as fast as I could, shoveling meat down my throat without paying attention to taste.

Hehehe… I’m going to burst out of here at max level! Just you wait, you stinky xaptors!