The first thing I felt when I woke up was the wind blowing sand into my face. I sat there confused for a moment as I had gone to sleep in my bed last night. I tried getting up but fell flat on my face. I looked at my body and noticed I didn't exactly have arms.
Instead I had thin legs like a dog, however mine were covered in scales. I once again tried to get up and managed to unsteadily stand up. I looked around the place I had woken up in and saw that I was on a beach. I was starting to freak out. This couldn't be a dream. It felt too real. I could smell the salt water and could feel the sand under my feet. I could hear the sound of birds chirping nearby. As I was analyzing my surroundings words appeared in front of me in the air.
Welcome Onyx, to the world of Karum. You have been selected as one of many from your world to join ours. You will be given an objective to complete. Once you complete your quest you will ascend to become a goddess . Your objective is to bring the ailing race of the Dagoon back to prominence. We wish you the best of luck as the newest Queen of the Dagoon. Your first mini objective is to form a nest with five Dagoon in it. Your reward is class selection and the ability to view your status page
I stared at the words for a few seconds. Processing the information in my brain. After a few seconds of staring blankly I collapsed to the floor. “Deep breathes, deep breaths” I muttered to myself as I started to freak out.
Like any other fantasy nerd I had dreamt of waking up in a magical world. However I had always imagined myself waking up and instantly being able to cast powerful magic in my own body. Not waking up on the beach as some sort of reptilian wolf and being told to create a whole entire species.
Another thing that worried me was when it said I was among many others. In my experience humans weren't the nicest people, especially if they were given an excuse to go savage. I decided the best thing to do would be to keep a large amount of land in between me and other people.
The reward was very tempting. Ascending to a higher plane and becoming a Goddess would be one of the best things that could happen. And as a Goddess nothing would be able to hurt me. If I became a Goddess I would gain the love and adoration of thousands.
I laid there for a few more minutes calming down until finally I got up and wobbled over to a puddle. I looked at myself and sighed. My head looked like a mix between a wolf and a crocodile. I had four legs, scales and a long tail which ended in a spike. My scales were a mix of gold, green and black. I was about 3 feet tall and without including my tail I was about 5 feet long. My tail was as long as I was and had a sharp 6 inch long blade at the end. I moved my tail around, it swished through the air with little resistance. I decided to take it slow so my first objective was to learn how to run.
If I compared my situation to books I had read then there would be monsters trying to kill me. I would need to be able to escape. Although, I already seemed to fit the bill of a monster. That made me think. Would I one day have to kill other people? It was a scary thought so I decided to avoid it for now. I started walking down the beach and slowly picked up speed. I was able to walk pretty fast but as soon as I started trying to run I would fall. After a few tries I remembered that most animals used their tails to help them balance. Using my tail as a counterbalance I was able to manage a slight gallop pretty well.
The sun was starting to set on my first day in this new world and I felt decently happy. My life had been a train wreck so I wasn't too sad about leaving it behind. My parents had kicked me out of the house as soon as they could so I was never able to fully complete my education. Instead I worked part time jobs and lived in my two room apartment. The first time I had felt loved was when I met my ex John. He was nice at first but quickly began to show his true colors. He used me for my body and the second he saw the pregnancy test he “Mysteriously disappeared” After that I tried preparing myself for being a parent but before my son was born I was transported here.
Thinking of John made my paws clench and my face turned into a snarl. If I ever met someone who had done something like that I would tear them apart. No one deserved to be betrayed in such a hurtful way. I decided to explore the beach more the next day. I dug a small hole where I squished my body into to hide from anything outside.
I was woken up by the sound of snuffling nearby. I quickly became alert looking around and saw something that shook me to my tail. A man walked around. However one of his arms was replaced by a crabs pincer and he had a vacant look in his eyes as he stumbled around. I got up and started to walk away hoping to avoid his notice. I managed to put a decent amount of distance between us but I was paying too much attention to the strange undead pirate and didn't notice the actual crab until it was too late. With a loud “Crunch” I crushed the crab underfoot instantly alerting the shambling monster as it turned and started howling while sprinting toward me.
I started sprinting away but before I could get away I felt a sharp pain in my side. I turned to look and discovered a harpoon tied to a rope deeply embedded in my skin. I tried using my tail to remove the harpoon but it was too late. The undead pirate gave a tug and I was starting to be dragged toward him. I noticed with rising horror that there were now three undead pulling me toward them. One gave up on waiting and started running at me with an ax in hand. In my fit of panic I slashed at the rope with the sharp part of my tail cutting the rope.
The zombies fell to the floor and I got up and started running. The undead with the ax however managed to chop at my leg, slicing into it. I turned and without thinking chomped down on the zombie's arm. I tore the arm right off black blood sprayed around me.The arm tasted like rotten meat someone had left in a sewer.I spat it out then started sprinted away from the undead. This time I was able to get away.
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I managed to get enough distance that the undead gave up on chasing me. The sun was just starting to rise but I collapsed falling on the ground. I had never been so close to dying. However I knew that from now on that would be the norm. I could feel myself growing more and more hungry. The first step to surviving in this new world would be finding food. I decided to put my sense of smell to the test. I had read that wolves had 100 times better sense of smell than humans.
I started sniffing and instantly felt overwhelmed. I could smell everything nearby. I could smell the rotten flesh of the undead nearby. I tried focusing in on a single scent and found the others start to melt into the back of my mind. I decided to try remembering the smell of the crab that almost killed me. I could smell one nearby. I could smell the meat inside but it almost felt as though the smell was much larger than the from before. I started running towards the smell, excited for my first meal. After half an hour of galloping as fast as I could with my injuries I found my prey.
The crab was bigger than normal and its shell had a purple hue to it. I cautiously approached it and when I was in range I shot the sharp part of my tail forward aiming for the creatures head. I expected my spike to embed itself in the shell or hopefully instant kill the giant crab. Instant with a dull thunk my tail scratched against the shell leaving a small gash. I jumped back wary of what the crab might do. It didn't retreat, instead it started making strange noises that sounded like a cat with a hairball.
After a few seconds of this it spat a liquid at me. I lunged forward dodging the spray and bringing myself closer to the crab. I decided to try my jaws out on the crab shell.
I jumped onto the crab and bit down in between its eyes. With a loud “Crunch” the shell shattered giving way to my powerful jaw. The crab realized the danger and started trying to fling me off. I dug in with my claws and bit down again. This time on the now unprotected part. The crab tasted much better than the undead but it still wasn't exactly delicious. I ripped into it and with a violent tug ripped part of its head off. The crab flopped to the ground, its arms and legs going limp.
I stepped back tired. I noticed that my wounds from the undead had stopped bleeding and were starting to scab over. I laid down on the sand letting myself recover. I had never been violent. I was the type of person who cried when they ran a squirrel over. And now I was ripping crabs apart just because I was hungry. In my mind though I knew that even if I felt bad that it was necessary. If it was a choice between my survival and the crabs then I would choose my own. With that thought in mind I walked over to the now dead crab and started tearing in. I finished half before becoming full. As I was about to leave I saw the floating words once again appear.
You acquired the necessary biomass to produce a single Dagoon hunter. Would you like to see the Dagoons you are capable of producing with more biomass?
I stared for a second before deciding to pick yes. It seemed that I could use the food I ate to produce others of my race. I didn't really know much about the world but I assumed it would be safer in large numbers. My mini quest also required for me to have five Dagoon so I decided it would be smart to start making some. With that thought in mind the words changed
Dagoon Hunter: cost 2 biomass
The most common Dagoon they are relatively strong but are not intelligent. Their job is to gather food and fight off weaker threats to the nest. They are completely devoted to the queen that produced them
Dagoon Soldier: cost 15 biomass
These Dagoon are much more powerful than the Hunters and are deployed to protect the nest. Their tail spines are venomous and their claws can rip through steel. They are completely devoted to the queen that produced them
Dagoon worker: cost 5 biomass
These Dagoon are weaker than the Hunters but are more intelligent and are capable of creating buildings. They are the ones that care for the young and dig new tunnels for the Hive.
Dagoon ogre: cost 40 biomass
A giant behemoth of scales and claws. They are the size of titan bears. They have have acidic saliva and a six legs. They are normally used as siege monsters but like all other Dagoon will kill anything that goes near their nest. They are completely devoted to the queen that produced them
I was taken aback at the amount of information. It seemed the hunter was a bit weaker than me but the soldier was stronger. However it also seemed that I have more intelligence than any of the other Dagoon. I put that away and started walking away from the meal.
If I was going to have young creatures around me I needed to find a place to live. It could be temporary but it had to have some shelter. I hadn't had the chance to be a mother in the other world and I wasn't going to fail here.
I started searching the area around me. It seemed as though the beach went on forever. After a day of searching I found nothing. A bit discouraged at my failure, I dug a hole in the sand and went to sleep.
This time I was able to sleep without disturbance and in the morning I woke and started walking around. However I felt pain in my abdomen so I settled down waiting for it to pass. After a few minutes the pain became blinding and with a cry of agony I fell unconscious.
I woke up from my forced nap to find an egg about the size of a person's head sitting in front of me. I stared at it for a moment before realizing what had happened. I had laid an egg! I studied it for a few minutes before sitting back and staring at it. It was a dark red with small golden splotches. As I looked at it I wondered how I was going to transport it.
I decided the best course of action was to carefully hold it in my mouth. Thankfully after only an hour I found a sea cave that could only be accessed by land at low tide. I liked the security so I carried my egg over and plopped down near the entrance. After resting for a bit I put the egg in a part covered in moss and started investigating the cave. My eyes could see in the dark so I started investigating.
The cave continued for another hundred feet before abruptly stopping. The stone was slick from the sea water and there were large patches of moss throughout the cave. I ripped up pieces of moss and made myself a 5 ft by 5 ft area completely cushioned with moss in the back of the cave. I plopped the egg in the middle and let myself sit down and think.
I now had a safe place to sleep and another of my race was still in egg form. However I didn't know anything about the environment around me which was frightening. I decided it was time to actively scout around my new home. With that thought in mind I got up ready to start scouting.