I had to start as a Generation 0 monster. That meant bottom of the barrel, lowest of the low in the totem pole. That was fun to say. Anyway.
“What are my choices?”
I blinked because in front of me were 9 pieces of paper. Well, no, they were flat but they looked more like floating computer screens than anything else. The first listed the 8 options I had and the rest seemed to list the evolutions.
“Here are your choices. Please, take your time and look thoroughly.”
Chaos gestured behind me and a beanbag chair had formed. Well, alright. I slammed my behind down in the beanbag and started reading. I wanted to know what I could become too badly to really appreciate how awesome this beanbag chair was. My god, it was really great. But no, focus Mark.
[Slime:
Gain 4 Astra per day
+2 END
Requirements: N/A
Skill gains:
Melt - Use your slime to corrode through materials, can melt up to Steel Tier items.
Absorb - Envelops a target into your body, then slowly eat away it. This is akin to eating.
General info:
The lowly slime, one of the most common monster types. Do note, that you will unable to see, only able to ‘feel’ your way around the environment. Some metals, like gold, are naturally resistant to your melt skill.]
PASS! Pass pass pass pass. No way. Slimes were cool and awesome and amazing, but being blind? Are you kidding me? I’ll probably die before I can ever evolve into any sorta slime with eyes. My heart hurt at having to refuse but, Next.
[Goblin:
Gain 5 Astra per day
+2 STR
Requirements: N/A
Skill Gains:
Goblin Breeding - Able to mate with all creatures but the children will always be goblins. Children gain enhanced stats or skills depending on parents.
Minor enhanced healing - Wounds close faster and blood is quicker to replenish. About 100% faster.
General info:
A common monster group, Goblins. They rape, pillage, and are a general menace to all creatures of the world. They tend to form communities with fellow goblins and due to this it is very rare to find a lone goblin out in the wilds.]
Hmm. That’s a really good choice actually. My crown abilities specifically work with people underneath me. Like a king. A Goblin King doesn’t sound too bad. It wouldn’t take me long to probably get up to that point with my system it sounded. I didn’t exactly want to lead a roving band of evil though. Still, a solid choice because I had arms, legs, eyes, and could just leave if I wanted to.
[Imp:
Gain 3 Astra per day
+2 INT
Requirements: N/A
Skill Gains:
Tier 1 Magic Skill (Illusion) - Conjure and manipulate the illusion element.
Minor Flight - Able to fly through the air at a walking pace. Can hover in place with effort.
General info:
Rare pranksters that go around and cause mischief among the various creatures. Seen more as pests than actual threats.]
And that was it? Well, that was still pretty interesting. This is clearly a road leading down into magic. Chaos had explained to me that there were 20 Tiers of Magic. T1 was so weak you had to be touching something to cause anything to happen, and even then. Still, with this, I could eventually get better and better magic. Honestly, I wasn’t seeing a downside. It just overall seemed like a better choice than goblin. Flight, magic, pests but not an evil threat, etc. It was currently well and truly in the lead.
[Ghost:
Gain 3 Astra per day
+2 WIS
Requirements: N/A
Skill Gains:
Drain - Drains a targets MP. If MP is 0 or lower, you can drain HP instead. Killing someone with Drain gives you 1% of their total stats as Free Stat Points.
Ethereal - Able to pass through objects and possess objects. Hovers through the air at a walking pace.
General info:
A specter of a creature that died horribly and due to the traumatic death has risen from the grave. You don’t have legs but you can still ‘walk’ and ‘run’ though. Can choose any base look, like wolf or elf.]
I clutched at my heart. No, no way. A ghost? I was going to live, then die, and then what, stay dead but alive? No, no absolutely not. The shivers of death still hadn’t left me. I wasn’t ready to stay dead and live like that, no fucking way. Nuh-uh. Not happening. I don’t care how cool and awesome and useful drain is, I’ll probably kill myself out of fright just by looking at a mirror or go into an existential crisis of dread.
[Cat:
Gain 3 Astra per day.
+1 AGI
+1 DEX
Requirements: N/A
Skill Gains:
Night Vision - Able to see better in lowlight environments. About 200% better or so.
Silent step - Your footsteps are silent and can not be easily heard.
General info:
A generic cat. The bane of all mice and mayhaps men as well. To some they are pests that breed out of control, to others, a fluffy companion. Which will you become I wonder.]
I blinked. Blinked again. A third time for good measure. Nope, I was looking at cat. Were, were all cats monsters in this new world? How on earth did people deal with that? Your cat could just become- I quickly flicked through the evolution pages. A PANTHER?! Your cat could just become a panther at nearly any time? What the hell? Were dogs a monster too? Were all animals? Wait, could all animals evolve? That was crazy.
But also, hell no, I’m not becoming a cat. No way. Over imp? I’d have to be insane.
[Huge Snake:
Gain 5 Astra per day
+1 AGI
+1 STR
Requirements: N/A
Skill Gains:
Swallow Whole - able to swallow creatures that are smaller than you. You will slowly digest them over time. Make sure not to swallow anything that might be able to cut their way out of you.
Inject Venom - You are able to inject a venom into creatures that you bite. This venom slowly kills your victim. You are immune to this poison.
General info:
A larger than average sized snake that slithers about looking for food. You smell through your tongue instead of your nose. Commonly found in jungle environments.]
Alright, that confirms it. All animals are technically monsters. So, a snake huh? Could I eventually become something like a hydra or maybe even a dragon? No, maybe a dragon is too much but a wyvern might be possible or something? Maybe one of those cool snake like dragons? Still, I can’t say I’m in love with the idea of being a snake or an animal at all. The first four options were at least monsters to their core. But now, animal after animal?
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
[Wolf:
Gain 3 Astra per day
+1 STR
+1 END
Skill Gains:
Tracking - Able to see details that help you follow or find creatures.
Scent - Able to detect and sense other creatures and objects through smell.
General info:
Ravenous creatures that are commonly found in wooded areas and sometimes encountered in plains. Wolves tend to naturally form communities with fellow wolves.]
I had to resist a yawn. Yeah, sure, being a wolf is cool and I’m sure its evolutions were amazing but I just wasn’t interested at all.
[Huge Rat:
Gain 6 Astra per day
+2 CON
Requirements: N/A
Skill Gains:
Infectious bite - Your bites have an increased chance of becoming infected and potentially killing your victim.
Carrier of illness - Your body is a carrier to a host of many different viruses and parasites. You are immune to the negative affect of these carry ons.
General info:
A bigger than normal rat. These fearsome creatures are hunted down before they can reproduce and cause more problems. A Huge Rat is often seen leading many smaller rats.]
I grimaced. That sounded utterly awful to become and be for any length of time at all.
So, these were my 8 choices. Slime, goblin, imp, ghost, cat, snake, wolf, rat. Well, I wasn’t going to be stupid about this. Let’s check their evolutions, last to first.
First is rat. Hmm. Mhm. Hmm.
I threw the paper at Chaos’s feet.
“Burn it. Burn it right now.”
Chaos seemed surprised but she was nice and instantly, the offending screen paper thing burst into flames, never to be seen again.
If I never saw another rat, it’d be too soon. The horror of some of those early evolutions alone had convinced me to never, ever, go into a city if I could help it. Shudder. The horrors. The horrors.
Next is wolf.
I don’t know why I’m surprised but I really wasn’t expecting multiple werewolf options. Now that sounded more interesting. And this was only the early levels. Chaos had let slip that most monsters have an “end of the line” of evolutions between Generations 7 and 14. I could only see up to Generation 2. What on earth would a Gen 14 Werewolf even look like? That sounded pretty godly to me.
There were also just bigger and badder and more magical wolf options. So that was, neat I guess.
Alright, snake.
Snake was fascinating. Sure, one row seemed to lead towards bigger and badder snake, but another was clearly snake women… specifically snake women and no men. Hmm.
But they also led to kobolds! Those lizard, slightly dragon esk, people! A snake really might one day lead to me becoming a dragon. That was, wow. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad choice after all.
With a heavy sigh, I looked at cat again but more thoroughly this time. On one hand, yeah, you had bigger and badder cats. Panther into Shadow Panther or Iron Clawed Panther. But you also seemed to have Magic Cats. There was even a path towards becoming a “cat-girl” but the less said of that option the better. Mainly because that whole line required becoming someone’s familiar. And I quite liked not having to have a partner in crime. Especially when I read that to become a cat-girl you needed to have a “special” connection with your master. Nuh-uh, no way.
Ghost. I gritted my teeth but forced myself to read through the line up. And it was about as horrible as I imagined. All of the options were good and in another life, maybe. But I wasn’t going to stay dead in a world where I could be alive again.
I did know that if I ever ran into these things, I’d probably run away screaming. What the hell even was a Soul Leech? And ghosts could become skeletons, ghouls, and zombies. Yeah, that was all hella spooky. Cool but it also just hit home too close to my heart. I didn’t think I’d ever develop a fear of undead but just seeing them reminded me of my own mortality. Hard pass.
Ah, imp! Finally, some of the good stuff.
Imp was, really weird. I knew imps were demons but some of these choices… at the end of the line that I could see were devils, fey, dopplegangers and redcaps. I wasn’t sure which road I wanted to go down. Devil was straight out, I wasn’t evil. Redcaps were too specific on the requirements. But becoming a pixie? That could eventually probably become like a Fairy queen or something right? And doppleganger, well, I could blend right in with any town or city.
I hadn’t considered it before but that might be pretty important. Clearly, some monsters were fine and others weren’t though. No one complained about the animals that existed, judging from the descriptions. And imps were outright called pests at worst. So it wasn’t that necessary but stronger monsters, well, I’d have to see when I get to wherever I’m going.
Now, Goblin. I flicked over to the page and was nearly blinded by choices. Goblins, goblins became so many things. Hyena people that were called gnolls, oni, a bunch of special goblins, a succubus, and more.
That was, kind of a tough choice. The pure variety goblin offered wasn’t expected. It would help me specialize in anything I wanted as I went down the line.
With a now thoroughly confused mind, I read about slime evolutions, with a heavy heart. I wanted to be a slime, I did. It was just so cool. But I couldn’t be blind. Even at evolution 0, that was just way too much. Slimes were weak starting out and if I couldn’t see, anything on earth could kill me.
Still, I read through the evolutions.
And then my heart felt like it had stopped. I read again, and again, and again. My eyes were glued to the paper, my heart rate increasing. No way. I thought it through in my head, again and again. I tried to resist, to not choose what felt like certain death out of pure greed and ambition but I couldn’t help it and the words slipped out of my mouth.
“I want to be a slime.”
“Excellent!”
I looked up. Oh crap, I said that out loud. I wanted to deny it, to choose imp, but I couldn’t. Slime was just too powerful! If I could master the Gen 2 option I saw… no, If I could get a special evolution version of a Gen 3 I knew was there…
It was suddenly and quickly occurring to me that low Gen monsters weren’t necessarily weak, they just had less of a max badness potential. The Gen 2 rat I saw could have wiped out a city. I’m sure a Gen 7 rat could wipe out a country. So if, this was only my options at Gen 2… my heartbeat was heavy and I felt like I was shaking. Strong, way way too strong. I looked back at the second and third evolution I was going to be aiming for.
[Core Slime:
Gain 3 Astra per day
+2 STR
+1 INT
Requirements:
60 Astra
Absorb 30 Creatures
Absorb 5 Human Hearts
Skill Gains:
Slime core - A magical core made from solid slime, which acts as your heart, brain, and eye. You can see through your core like one Huge eyeball.
Remote control - Able to control severed parts of yourself at will.
General info:
A slime that has eaten enough creatures to use their mass to make a core. These slimes are feared by humans due to the fact that these slimes can grow out of control.]
[Princess/Prince Slime:
Gain 2 Astra per day
+2 Con
+2 INT
Requirements:
50 Astra
Spend a total of 600 hours controlling your slime remotely.
Skill Gains:
Tier 1 shaping - Able to shape parts of your body. Now you can make cute little slime soldiers that march about.
Enhanced control - You are now able to manipulate a huge amount of slime and are able sense through them.
Royal core - You now have control over lesser slimes and are able to command them. Your core now sports a cute little crown to signify your royalty.
General info:
A slime that is actively hunted down by humans and monsters alike, before the slime evolves further.]
So strong, way too strong. I could become a one slime army. If sensing through slime is at Princess level, what would king be? Could I cast magic through my slime? Become a massive hivemind? It straight up says I’d be so strong that both humans and monsters will come for me. This is Gen 2, Gen 3 is obvious, but what about the rest? Chaos was clear, Every line has at least 7. That doesn’t make those with only 7 weak, far from it. I can barely, kinda, imagine a Gen 4 but that’s it. I have no idea what could come after that. Even at just Gen 4, I feel like I’d be unstoppable.
And… what about hidden evolutions? Even just being able to see the other slime lines, like Metal Slime and Medicine Slime, gives me more than a few ideas. I, if I wasn’t already sitting down, I’d need to. Isn’t this kinda really strong?
Then a sobering fact came my way. Almost everyone who had tried this challenge had failed. Chaos had said so. I wasn’t the first to see this combination, even if other people didn’t get memories of their past life. Someone else must have tried. And they must have failed. It was easy to see why. This was declaring yourself an enemy of the world, that your potential was too high. Everyone would be gunning for me and that fervor would increase into a world wide hunt as I evolved further.
It wasn’t enough. I needed more or I was going to be a smear before I ever got to that point. I had to think this through and-
“Are you ready for your crown abilities Mark?”
…what.
“Huh?”
“As part of being a Crowned Monster, you get 3 authorities and 2 Crown types.”
WHAT?!
“We’re not sending me now?”
She seemed to blink in confusion.
“There’s still plenty more to go through though? We need to select your authorities, your crown typing, your skills, your items, the world to send you to, and where to send you in at.”
I opened my mouth in shock. The Crowned Monster system already gave me a massive leg up on everyone else. Just being able to see future evolutions and their requirements were worth their weight in gold, especially since I could extrapolate from those requirements what some secret options might be.
But now, apparently I was also getting a bunch more stuff, down to selecting the world and where I ended up at? My blood ran cold. That, I think I finally understood that thing scientists said about discovering ancient civilizations on other planets.
The saying goes that the closer we find life to our own, the less chance we as life will make it, because other life had failed. To the point that finding any kind of advanced structure was said to be a death knell for our whole race.
Most people had all of these abilities, all of these options, and I’m willing to bet were far smarter or stronger or just more lucky than me. And they had all failed. Or at least most of them. Can I really come up with better synergies or ideas than everyone else?
Even if all of those abilities made me stupidly OP, I was starting to really feel the pressure. Because it meant that someone else, many people in fact, had been stupidly OP.
And failed. Again and again.
I took a deep breath.
“Please show me them.”
I wasn’t going to die twice. I’d find something to get me a leg up. I’d have to take every opportunity and scrap of strength or I was going to hopelessly die, again. I could still feel my blood pouring out of my chest as I tried and failed to write my final goodbye.
Never again.