I made my way out of the cave looking around to make sure nothing was waiting to ambush me outside. I started sniffing around trying to see if I could identify anything. I already knew that there were undead only a day's walk away from here. I went the opposite direction of the undead following the coast the same direction I had been walking for the past few days. I was still too nervous of the other monsters that could be living inland to try going anywhere near them. Instead I continued along the beach.

After only an hour of walking I found a monster that could easily crush me. It was a bear the size of a whale . Its fur was the color of blood and its teeth were about as large as a person. It bounded into the water, splashing water everywhere and causing a giant wave to wash over the beach. The bear turned back to the beach looking almost anxious. I kept my distance, scared of what might be able to frighten this titan of a creature. but what came charging out the nearby forest made me want to scream and run as fast as I could.

A horde of horned rabbits ran out from the forest. There were easily 5000. They swarmed into the water, drowning themselves in their frenzy. The bear stood on its hind legs and started smacking the rabbits away. The bear killed dozens with every strike but it wasn't enough. Within minutes the rabbits swarmed the bear and devoured it to the bone. The water was painted an ugly red color because of the amount of blood.

I was about to turn around and sprint away when I heard a squeak from behind me that made my blood run cold. A horned rabbit stared at me and without a hint of hesitation charged at me. I stabbed at it with my tail impaling it through its stomach. It kept trying to get at me as it died of blood loss. I quickly broke its neck with my powerful jaws then took the body and made a run for it. I didn't stop running till I made it back to my cave. I collapsed to the floor panting. I ate some of the rabbit but decided to save the rest for later.

After resting I went back out this time to check if the rabbits were staying. What I found was horrifying. Most of the horde had left but at least 400 of the horned rabbits were ambling around. I decided that these rabbits would be my prey. They were numerous and aggressive which meant they needed to be put down.

I dug a hole in the sand large enough to fit me then covered myself with sand using my tail. I waited till a rabbit came near me without any friends. When one did I shot my tail forward stabbing the rabbit right through the head. I picked the body up and ran. I sat myself down about 300 feet away from the rabbits and chomped down on my meal.

As I ate I observed the rabbits. They would mostly just wander around but I noticed some ramming into each other. They would either kill or maim whoever they were fighting. Whoever lost was devoured. I watched this brutality and became scared of what may soon happen. I devoured the rest of my meal and went back to my cave. I walked at a relaxed pace but as I neared my home I stared in shock.

I saw a miniature version of myself facing off against three horned rabbits. The young version of me didn't look injured but I could tell it would quickly be overwhelmed. I noted that one of the bunnies had a nasty bite wound on its leg. Without thinking I dashed forward slamming one of the rabbits to the floor. I slashed at one with my tail but it dodged and lunged at me. The horn embedded itself in my shoulder and I hissed in pain. The upside to this was the rabbit's head was right next to my mouth.

I opened my mouth as wide as I could and slammed it shut right on the rabbits head. The rabbit's head couldn't take the pressure and with a loud “crunch” the rabbit flopped to the floor, missing its head. One rabbit down I batted one away with my paw and stabbed the other in the chest with my tail. As I stabbed the horned rabbit with my tail the last remaining rabbit ran in and sunk its horn deep into my side. I kicked it away and then pounced on top of it crushing it underneath my paws.

I collapsed to the ground tired. The rabbit's horn had snapped in half meaning part of it was still embedded in my side. Using my tail I gingerly pulled the horn out. The horn fell to the ground along with a large amount of my blood. I turned to look at the other Dagoon who stared at me with concern and was starting to grab the rabbits and bring them inside the cave.

It seemed that the Dagoon Hunter was prioritizing the food. Although it made sense as I didn't see myself being able to hunt anytime soon. I got to my feet and limped over to the cave. I collapsed in the back and laid there. Not falling asleep but waiting for some of the pain to go away. After a few minutes I got up and looked around. I had assumed the Dagoon from outside had been my egg and I was glad to see I was right.

The Hunter walked over to me and started nuzzling me. I thought it was cute until I noticed that he was pushing me. I let him push me back onto the moss. He yapped once before tearing off small strips of the rabbits and then giving them to me. I was surprised by this but decided that for now the best thing for me to do was give the little fella a name.

I first checked to make sure I was right when I said he was a boy but was surprised when I didn't see any reproductive organs at all. It made sense in a way. From what I knew about my new race, which wasn't that much, the queen was the one who produced more Dagoon. I decided to keep calling it a he. I thought of his name as he continued to bring me food. I decided to name him Felix as that was what I was going to name my firstborn when I was a human.

After I ate my fill I got the notification again that told me I could produce a Dagoon Hunter. I pressed yes but this time I tried to lay the egg instantly. After a few seconds the pain started but by then I was so exhausted that I fell asleep instantly. I woke a short time later with an egg in its own nest of moss sitting nearby. I tried getting up but collapsed as soon as I tried too. I felt embarrassed being in such a condition from overly aggressive rabbits.

I looked around and noticed that I didn't see Felix. Worried, I tried calling out to him but I realized I couldn't talk. At least not like a human could. So I did the next best thing, roaring as loud as I could. Felix dashed over and I felt as if I could actually feel his concern. After a few seconds I realized I actually could feel how concerned he was. Testing this strange feeling out I tried mentally pushing my thoughts toward him. I did a simple command telling him to spin around. He did so without question spinning until he became too dizzy and fell on the floor.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

I was thrilled with the ability to communicate with my new child. I asked him to take care of the egg while I got more rest. After that I went back to sleep. When I woke up the next day I was able to walk around with some difficulty. I spent the day playing with Felix and making a larger moss bed.

Felix quickly tired of staying in the cave so I let him play in the ocean. We lived next to a coral reef that was filled with all manner of fish. Felix was even able to grab a few small fish while I watched him from the entrance of the cave. We had run out of rabbit after the afternoon meal but I was satisfied

When the sun was starting to set I laid down on the moss bed and motioned for Felix to go to sleep. As he curled up next to me I noticed that in the time he had been alive he had grown larger. I went to sleep happy that my wounds were recovering and that I was no longer alone.

I woke up to a sound that was almost like glass breaking. I looked around, still dazed from just waking up. I saw the egg cracking, pieces falling to the ground. A Dagoon crawled out, still covered in the fluids from the egg. This Dagoon had dark blue and green scales similar to mine making him look very regal compared to Felix.

As the Dagoon tried walking on its wobbly legs it kept tripping and falling on its face. I decided to name him Trip. I had also just decided to call the Dagoon hunters and other Dagoon he/him. It felt better than calling them “it”. Felix cheerfully walked over to Trip and started nuzzling him.

I felt proud of my accomplishments. I had managed to not only survive in this world but also bring new life into. For the first time I felt like I would be able to pull this off. I felt that I would be able to thrive in this world.

----------------------------------------

After observing Felix and Trip playing I got up and tried walking. Most of my wounds had healed except for the gaping hole in my side. It still was difficult to walk but I was able to manage. We didn't have any food in the cave and I could hear their little stomachs growling in hunger

Thankfully I had a plan. My tail was fast and could be used to snag fish out of the water. I walked out of the cave enjoying the sun on my scales. I walked into the water, my wounds burned as the salt got in them but I ignored it.

After wading in I sat still so the fish grew used to my presence. After ten minutes of waiting I saw a big enough fish. I shot my tail forward piercing through the water. My tail skewered the fish and I pulled it out of the water, flinging it towards the shore. The fish floated to the top, most of its head missing. Felix saw what I was doing and waded out into the water.

He sat patiently and after a few minutes skewered a small minnow. I smiled at his attempt to help as I picked my fish up and left it by the cave entrance. Trip wandered over and took the fish. He brought it inside then came back out to fetch Felix’s fish.

We spent the rest of the day like this. Me and Felix would pluck fish out of the water while Trip came to fetch it. When I noticed the sun starting to set and how tired Felix was I brought everyone inside. We had gathered a large amount of fish so we all ate until our stomachs were too full for us to move. After eating I got a message.

You acquired the necessary biomass to produce two Dagoon hunters. Would you like to produce both?

I said yes and after a moment felt the pain overwhelm me. I woke up to see two eggs nestled into moss nests and my significantly smaller stomach. I looked outside and saw that the sun was rising. It seemed that I had slept the night instead of the usual ten minutes. I got up and was surprised to find that my wounds no longer hurt. However I decided that it would be safer for now to continue relying on fishing for most of our food.

Although we now had a steady food source I was still worried about the undead that had attacked me my first night in this world. However, leaving Felix and Trip alone didn't feel right to me. I decided to just hang about until the eggs hatched and I got my first reward from my mini quest. I decided to go check on what the horned rabbits had done in my absence.

When I got to where they were I was astonished. In the center of their camp was a pile of dead animals towering over anything else. As I was walking around I saw something that made me want to scream. There was writing in the sand and what surprised me the most was it was in English. It said “kill nearby threats then focus on the mini objective. It was almost like another person had used sand to write a to do list.

As a human I understood how essential they were but it still made me shake in fear. I looked closely at the camp of rabbits and noticed one seemed to be commanding the others. It had two horns and was bigger than all the others. I wanted to try talking to the other person but didn't know if they were good or not. I didn't want to accidentally gain the attention of a serial killer. And with my luck I didn't want to risk it. At least not until I had gotten more Dagoon. I went back to the base and told Felix and Trip that the part of the beach with bunnies on it was off limits.

I went to sleep but was woken up by the sound of someone moving around outside the cave. I looked around and saw that both Felix and Trip curled up next to me along with the two eggs. Now a bit wary of what might be sniffing around our den I got up and started walking out. As I neared the entrance the rancid smell of rotten meat assaulted my nose.

I instantly recognized the smell from when I had been attacked by undead. I started sniffing trying to find out how many were there. I could smell two near the entrance but I couldn't tell how many more were outside. I stalked forward, vigilant against the approaching threat.

The two undead by the entrance noticed me and started howling. I growled as threateningly as I could trying to scare them off. They just started howling while sprinting at me. One of the zombies lunged at me with a wooden club just as I shot my tail forward. My attack hit, skewering the undead through their head. The other zombie didn't have a weapon so it tried to bite me. I swatted at it and backed away. However I knew I couldn't retreat as that would mean the undead would be able to get near my children deeper in the cave. I jumped onto the one with a weapon and started mauling him. As I was doing this the other undead grabbed my tail and bit down.

I yelped in surprise at the pain and tried swatting the undead away with quick slashes from my tail. After I had torn the zombie to shreds I finished it by biting down on its neck and ripping its head off. The meat was still too rotten for me to eat but I decided to bite down anyway. I felt a straight burning but ignored it. The head went flying and I whirled around onto the last remaining undead. I decided to finish him quickly by jumping onto him and instantly trying to bite his head off. After a few awkward seconds of me nibbling the neck I was able to separate his head from his body. I sank to the floor tired but I quickly got up and poked my head outside. I could see some undead wandering around nearby but it seemed like none of them planned to go near my base.

I looked back at Felix and Trip and noticed that Felix was approaching my size. Trip was still a bit small but it seemed like it would only take another few days for him to reach my size. I sat at the entrance of my cave watching for any threat that might try to touch my children.