Chapter 4: Need to win.
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— When the future is uncertain, you will claim that the world has not been fair to you.
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“I'm in a complicated situation.”
Damn it! That goddess sent me to an unknown world without even telling me how things work here.
“Huh.”
I sighed.
“Complaining won’t help me at all; to get out of this situation, I must act intelligently.”
I started to check my body; I checked the most important senses, such as kinesthesia, hearing, smell, vision, and finally, touch.
I sighed in relief when I realized that I had reincarnated into an animal that at least had the same senses as a human. Of course, there might be more senses; I was in a fantasy world. However, despite being happy, I… felt strange about my body. Furthermore... I'm still a man.
“...Now, I have to find out what exactly I reincarnated into.”
I tried to find out what I had reincarnated into through repeated self-examination, but the more I tried, the more strange it became to me.
I already expected that I wouldn't be reincarnated into a conventional body, but... sharp claws and hands covered in black fur? And a tail?
“What the hell did I reincarnate as?!”
I have to find a river or at least a puddle of water so I can see my reflection and find out what animal I am!!
I looked around the cave; there are sharp rocks all over its ceiling, and it has a classic stone floor; needless to say, it looked like a regular cave, however, to the north (or south, I don't know how things work in this new world), there was green moss... a beautiful green.
If in my world, the moss had a dead green coloration, here, it has a vivid, intense coloration; as if it were a cry for life.
I think it's beautiful. Also, if there's moss, it means there's probably water nearby... I think.
My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of an insect flying. I quickly turned towards the noise and was stunned when I saw a 2 meter tall cross between a midge and an ant.
I'm in prehistoric times?! How can an insect as big as this exist?! And why does it have such a bizarre appearance?! Is it a demon??!! Did that goddess send me to hell?!
Noise*
The monster came towards me, and before I could make any decision, it started to glow and after a kind of colored liquid enveloped it, it threw something
shiny at me.
“...But what…!”
On instinct, I jumped to the right, dodging the attack, which left a hole in the ground where I was.
“...”
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How… If… If a mosquito and ant mix has this level of power, how powerful are larger animals? How am I supposed to dominate a world full of monsters like this?!
“... Once again, calm down! I need to calm down.”
I took a deep breath.
Even though the goddess is probably someone who only cares about entertainment, she wouldn't give me a difficult challenge right from the start. In other words, she probably reincarnated me into a strong species, and this mosquito is probably significantly weak.
The mosquito shot again, and I dodged again, however, it started shooting several times at the same time. When it did this, I was sure that I wouldn't be able to dodge them all.
When the shots were about to hit me, I felt a strange sensation, and a barrier of colored liquid enveloped my entire body.
When the shots hit my barrier, they caused an explosion so big that it filled the cave with a smoke screen that lasted a few seconds.
When the curtain disappeared, there I was, in a crater in the middle of the cave, completely unharmed.
“Oh, it seems that goddess didn’t just give me a strange body; she gave me powers too!”
Apparently, I also have the ability to create and control the strange liquid that the monster controls; I just need to focus on the sensation I felt when the shots were about to hit me.
I tried to focus on the feeling, but it faded, taking my barrier with it.
It's a little more complicated than it seems... haha.
Noise*
The monster advanced. I barely had time to dodge when it almost hit me in the head, and it launched another attack; tentacles made of the same liquid it had used to carry out the first attack tried to grab me.
I used my tail to gain momentum on the cave wall and spun in the air, barely managing to dodge it. As I landed on the ground, I ran.
“Is that goddess trying to kill me?! There’s no way to win against something like that!!”
I have to think of a way to get out of here!
That insect came from the south... or north... I don't know exactly, I only know that it came from the opposite direction of the moss in the cave, that is, the exit is most likely in the direction it came from.
I ran in the opposite direction of the moss. As I ran, the mosquito shot at me, and I dodged and kept running, and this cycle of attacking and dodging continued for 2 minutes until I finally found the exit of the cave and lost the monster in the forest.
After running for a few more minutes, I stopped upon seeing a river. Unexpectedly, I wasn’t tired at all. At the very least, my new body had good physical fitness… I guess. But that’s not relevant; what’s important is that I’ll finally be able to see what monster I’ve reincarnated into.
I looked at my reflection in the river, and I was so surprised that my jaw literally dropped to the floor.
“I… I was reincarnated as a capybara?! A capybara?!”
I almost screamed; cats, dogs, tigers, wolves, humans, elves, cat girls, and even dragons, and I was reincarnated as a capybara?! Also, in what multiverse is a capybara so fast that it can escape a monster that shoots explosions and beams of light from a long distance?!
That goddess…
“Sigh. Well, at least it doesn’t look like I’m a normal capybara.”
I have a long, strong tail, and I'm very tall and appear to have a humanoid body. I'm definitely not weak... at least, not too weak.
Now that I know what I reincarnated as, I have to prioritize other things; how will I survive here? I could barely defeat a mutant ant, let alone other animals!
Of course, it could be that that mutant ant was not part of the lower class of this world's ecosystem, but rather a strong monster, however, I cannot afford to underestimate this place; I have to be cautious, and most importantly: learn how to control that strange liquid.
“Come on, focus.”
I tried to focus on that feeling again, and even with difficulty, I managed to summon the liquid.
“Hm.”
I started to control it. Although I had a little difficulty handling it, I still managed to make it take the shape of various tools.
First, I shaped it into a sword, and then, I made it into a spear.
“How convenient.”
Will I also be able to create multiple tentacles? Well, this isn't a hentai, but if I can get a human form... with the girl's consent, of course!
*Noise.
The sound of flying has returned. It seems that this ant is skilled at chasing other people.
Even though I'm scared, I have to fight; I console myself with the fact that the goddess wouldn't set an impossible challenge right away, besides, the ant can fly and seems to know the forest better than I do; if I keep running away, it will be an endless chase, and on top of that, I run the risk of encountering a monster even stronger than her.
I have to fight, and win…
“I will fight, and win.”
Unlike his expectations, this time, it wouldn't be like our first fight; this time it would be a rematch! And I would win.
It's ironic, a fight and a rematch on the same day.
I shaped the blue liquid into a sword.
"Come!"
The monster growled; it was as if she understood my order, and, in a gesture of rebellion, came towards me to prove who was really in charge.
I also moved forward.