Crawling out from my hideaway and into the surrounding briar I find my new home much more lively than when I first arrived.

Right off the back I can see several new creatures at varying distances. A trio of small reptilian creatures with long thin legs that lend it an almost dog like appearance with each having a tar black color in stark contrast to the greenery around them as they lounge around near a pool of water near the chasm wall.

A few dozen meters downstream from them a single large seemingly flightless bird, easily the biggest creature I've seen yet standing almost 3 ft tall, a giant in comparison to me. Brilliant rainbow hued feathers cover its body as it stands at the edge of the river staring intently at the water going by until occasionally stabbing forward near instantly with its long spear like beak the arrow shaped barb at the end impaling and then swallowing some unfortunate critter from the water only to immediately resume its vigil.

I see glimpses of several other creatures, but most are too brief or far off to make out any real details. Without the overbearing need for food or sleep I'm actually able to take in just how amazing this place is and it makes want to see all of it…

Having had a good deal of time to think over the course of the last night I put together a general plan for what I need to do today, while a nice place for the night there's no way I can keep living in that stump its simply way too dangerous for me.

So, I know I need to find a longer-term shelter, but the issue is where? Without human hands making any form of shelter is out of the question even if I wanted to pretend I know the first thing about how to do that…

That leaves me with finding somewhere already existing, I definitely need to be off the ground any number of things can kill me if I'm not paying attention down here.

My first thought is just to climb one of the strange trees it's easy enough to climb up but I doubt I could move with any speed or stealth among the branches, I'm probably better off sticking to the briars for now.

It's reassuring to start my day with a plan in mind rather than blindly wandering around in the tunnels.

I set out toward the wall of the chasm where I climbed down with a clear goal in mind, I've noticed that while theirs only patches of cover across the surrounding ground there's a fairly thick growth of thorny plants which runs along the ground where the chasm wall and the ground meet, the perfect cover for exploring from relative safely. Without any issue I slink the short distance from my shelter.

At first I'm quickly distracted from my task as I try to get near the lizard like creatures near the stream only for one to emit a shrill "chirp" sending it and its friend rushing up and squeezing through a tunnel too small for even me to fit in.

They were terrified of me! Maybe I'm a natural predator to them. They don't look like they have anything to defend themselves, but then again, the worms didn't look like they did either… still I'll have to take a try at hunting one if I can catch one off guard.

With my brief hope of easy XP ruined I skulk into the briars and begin traveling along the cliff base stopping every few dozen feet to peer out and look for anything that might help me in my new life.

Its slow work trying to stay quiet and avoid impaling myself on the thorns "some of which are longer than my entire body" while also looking out for anything that might want to eat me.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

As I explore other creatures go about their business giving me a few opportunities to learn about them and how they survive in this place without having to just run blindly into a fight with them.

It seems most of the other creatures "At least on the part of the chasm I find myself confined to" aren't necessarily hostile and prefer to avoid each other.

In fact, most seem to eat the various plants growing from the roots with only a few exceptions. This stays true for several hours until I reach a point where the terrain suddenly changes.

The root growth tapers to an end and with it all the trees and plant growth associated with it, while the shelf on which everything sits reaches significantly further into the expanse of the canyon with its width changing from around a tenth of the width to nearly a third extending off into the distance.

It's at this point I'm forced to turn back and retreat the way I came, putting aside the obvious lack of cover for me to hide in I'm also faced with a huge group of creatures that are significantly larger than anything I've yet to see.

Apparently, I'm extremely lucky to have wandered into the forest like I did, the only thing that's sparing me from dealing with these is probably the sheer density of the forest I emerged in.

While until now the biggest thing I have seen was a few feet tall now just a few dozen meters from the edge of the briars I see at least 20 large canine shaped creatures each standing at least 6 feet high with a dense looking plating of bone over their entire body or maybe the bone is their skin? hard to tell, but one thing I can be sure of is that these things are definitely carnivores. I can see one chewing on what looks like something's leg from here… yuck.

My trip wasn't a total loss however while gazing out of the forest just as I decide to double back and head home I'm interrupted by the now familiar voice of the system.

[Primary Task 1# created: Leave the nest.]

(1: Ascend from the Nursery forest region after reaching Maturity level 2.)

(Reward: "system Perk: Atlas")

Oooh, now this is interesting! I wonder what made this show up though? Was it specifically because I reached the edge of the forest or something else?

Actually, the system said it didn't make the quest, it just received them so maybe something else is watching me… oh well that's over my head for now.

[Additional context sensitive information is now available regarding "growth phases" see new tab in menu for details.]

Excited and not wanting to spend too long near the edge I creep back a few dozen meters the way I came and after making sure I'm safe before taking a look. To my delight one of the grayed out tabs labeled "Information" is now available to view.

___

[Wyvern development phases for utter buffoons *NEW*]

[Sealed *Atlas required*]

___

'Sassy naming choice, I like it.'

A new panel appears .

[ you are in an unsecure location, would you prefer a brief summary of contents?]

'Damn that's convenient, yes I would!'

[summary generated from approximately 30 pages of text]

[Wyvern growth is broken into five defined stages, all of which are explained in this text.

1.The hatchling/spawnling phase

-This phase is the starting point of all wyverns with their form being largely determined by the genetics of their parents or spawning dungeons respectively. While not completely set in stone the genetics and origin of a wyvern like any creature heavily influence its options regarding future growth and individuals that fail to play to their inherent strengths tend to perish before the next stage.

2.youngling phase

-Wyverns that survive to this phase experience a strong shift in their skeletal and muscular structures usually based on their environment and temperament. While an early adaptation the result heavily influences their development for the rest of their life.

3.Adolescent phase

-While the second phase impacts the overall layout and build of the body the third serves to adjust secondary features of their form such as fangs,talons,scales and the tail. At this point most also develop basic gliding skills

4. Catalyst phase

-Often considered the most important part of development it is at this point the natural weapons dragonkin are known for become functional typically in the form of a chemical or magically produced breath weapon though many alternatives exist.

With the exception of ground based species and some heavily armored variants most wyverns also gain the ability to fly for a short time

5. Maturation phase

-While wyverns like all lifeforms in arixia have the capacity to grow and evolve an infinite number of times as long as they survive long enough stage 5 is the last stage of development common to all wyverns before they begin to deviate into more unique entities.

This stage cements the core aspect of a wyverns foundation and adapts or enhances all aspects of prior phases slightly. Additionally some species can also develop a class at this phase.]

Ok that's a lot to digest but at least its all fairly straightforward if I think of it like the systems back home and… wait a second how do I know that?

I grasp on to this tiny incomplete shred of memory from my last life it doesn't help now but still maybe remembering how these things worked in my old life can help me here.

besides I kind of want to remember how I died at the very least…