Ch.2 Curiosity killed the cat.
I wake up.
I look around, my head moving in an unfamiliar manner.
Giant blades of grass loom above my figure.
My body feels too close to the ground.
I try to look at my body, but my neck is too stiff.
Feeling for my legs, I feel that I still have them, so I guess I did not turn into a snail or something similar.
But something is wrong.
There are four legs and no arms.
It was kind of to be expected, simply because of the slim chance of being human, but it’s still a shock and I stiffen up.
Great, so I am not human, but what exactly am I?
I look down.
My feet have three toes and some sort of red scales. Maybe a kind of newt, lizard or salamander?
It seems so, because as I start to move around I can feel a tail at the end of my spine.
As I skitter around it occurs to me that despite the sudden change I adapted to my new body very fast and do not have any problems moving around.
Overhead the blades of grass, trees are looming in the distance, like mountains in comparison to my current size.
"Consciousness fully injected - Status is now accessible"
With that notification the last feelings of nausea disappear.
“Status?”
A window opens in front of me.
Status:
Species: Lesser Red Lizard (1)
HP:10/10
MP:-
Strength:2
Agility:3
Dexterity:1
Constitution:1
Intelligence:11
Magic:-
Skills:
Lesser Hungering Flame 1; Information 1; Lesser Flame Resistance 1;
Traits:
Outworlder; Monster;
Titles:
-
I knew that magic was coming, but seeing it directly in front of me is kind of terrifying.
Now, what the hell is this, the stats I can still understand, but what the hell is the “Lesser Hungering Flame”? And what does the one mean? “Information”, is this like an appraisal skill or something? But how am I supposed to use it, do I concentrate?
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So I attempt to concentrate on this “Information” skill I apparently have.
Skill: Information
Tier:- Lv.:1
A skill that allows you to view the nature of things.
Well that description doesn’t help at all, but I guess at least I figured out what it does. Now onto the next one!
Skill: Lesser Hungering Flame
Tier:1 Lv.:1
Obtained through a deal with a demon, this skill forms a dark flame that absorbs lesser foes.
What does this say? A deal with a demon? I didn’t do that, the skill must be faulty, right…?
The only deal I made was with the goddess, she’s not a demon, the word “demon'' might be used for gods in this world, yes that’s definitely it.
Alright, the “Lesser Flame Resistance” is self explanatory, moving on.
Trait: Outworlder
Coming from a different world, you made a deal with a powerful entity. This gives access to the Skill: [Information] and a comprehension of the Languages of the Land you are in.
That seems obvious, I am thankful to be able to understand the language, even though I am not sure when I will be able to interact with other People. Based on this, it seems like I’m not the only one this happened to, maybe I’ll even find someone from back home?
“Home”, only now that I am gone can I think of it as so.
Monster, am I a monster?
Trait “Monster”
Born from a dungeon's ambient mana, you can not reproduce naturally, instead strengthening the dungeon to further your kind. This gives access to racial characteristics.
Alright, so racial characteristics, let’s take a look at my race.
Race: Lesser Red Lizard
A lesser Variety of the “Red Lizard”, A wyrm’s descendant. This race gives the Skill: [Lesser Flame Resistance]
Does that mean I’m related to dragons? Or rather Wyrms, that sounds like a kind of dragon at least.
As I finish up this exploration of my Status, I hear voices in the distance, they seem to be arguing about something. I scuttle over to a clearing and take a look.
In this clearing there are two people, who are talking to each other. I listen in.
“... have been spotted in this region, can you do something about them?”, Says a stocky man he is hooded and I can’t see his face well, except for a bushy beard
“Possibly, I can ask some of my followers to investigate, but why can’t you do anything?” answers the other person.
“You know I can’t do that, that is not under my jurisdiction.” replies the man.
“I know, I am just messing with you.”, The other person answers.
I am getting a bit bored of this conversation, so I decide to check out if this Information skill works on others as well, the description seems to indicate this.
As I try to concentrate, I hear: “Abnormal Condition: [Charm] cleansed by divine Power”, immediately after I suddenly feel a blinding pain, and then nothing.
The previously mentioned man standing on a clearing in the Ithkalian Forest suddenly perks up, having noticed something.
“Is there something?”, his conversational partner asks.
The man looks disgruntled: “Some pesky fly just tried to sneak a look at my Status, they’re gone now.”
The other person seems surprised: “Wouldn’t they need a very strong skill for that? I haven’t heard of such a powerful adventurer who would dare attempt such a thing in years, especially not in this region.”
“That’s the thing, the mind I destroyed was incredibly feeble, normally not even worth a glance.”, The man responds.
“We’re going to have to ask Sclera to take a look into this later”, The other suggests.
“I guess that’ll have to do”, The man says, as they both disappear in a flash of light: “Someone who is willing to piss off a god must have taken at least some security measures.”
At the exact spot where a certain lizard vanished earlier a small, black flame arises from the ashes of our old hero. Moving like a panicked animal it zaps around on the clearing, clearly looking for something, which it seems to find on the other side, on a rock, sleeping. Another red lizard, seemingly from the same species as its previous host.
In another realm of existence:
A Woman dressed in black stands up from a seat in front of a telescope-looking contraption facing a wall.
“Damn it, I wasn’t even able to hear what they were so concerned about, what use even is it to find someone so suggestible if they aren’t even remotely competent!”The woman exclaims angrily, shifting her form into one with Horns, bat wings and a spiked tail.
“Lady Vex, are you alright?”, an Imp like creature asks, drawing her gaze.
Shivering, the small demon attempts to retreat, however he is not fast enough and Vex grabs him by the throat: “Do not speak to me when I do not speak to you first. Understood?”
“Y-, yes, Lady Vex, It w-, won’t happen again.” the terrified imp answers.
“It won’t.”, Lady Vex states, snapping the servant's neck and tossing his glossy eyed corpse to the side.
“Now where’d my little flame go?” she utters.