From that morning on, Gregory and I tried to head West toward the setting sun to see what was there to be found. At first, I was still extremely concerned about being eaten if I drew the attention of one of the surrounding monsters. It would only take a single misstep to break a twig and that would be me done. Gregory may have spent a while pulling on my hair and getting me moving again after a few close calls. I was just tired from all the travelling after having lived under a tree for so long. Gregory is a great friend though for not judging me for getting tired so often.

Even though I was concerned, I still snuck by many different beasts. Some were common but many were seemingly unique and each was fantastical. In many cases, they were gorgeous though I knew if they survived in this jungle they must be incredibly deadly.

For example, we saw what I swear was an Eastern dragon and a beautiful, gloriously colourful bird fighting tooth and claw. The bird was perhaps ten centimetres tall with a beak that looked more suited to eating fruit or berries than fighting. Amazingly, the seemingly weak bird eventually won the fight and flew off after eating the dragon's brain. Needless to say, I stayed stock still in our hiding place hoping against hope we wouldn't be noticed.

It was only as time passed that I calmed down and became a bit inured to the dangers which surrounded us at all times. This happened for two reasons. The first was that I realized my stats must have been raised significantly by the achievements I had attained since leaving our home tree. I could finally move at a speed that was almost comparable to the slowest monsters. I would undoubtedly lose in a fight but I could at least run away with some chance of success now if Gregory distracted the monster for an extended period of time.

The second reason for my increased confidence was of course Gregory. Every time there was a problem or a monster noticed us, he dealt with it. Our biggest worry was always getting away from the creaming monster as fast as possible before we were surrounded by predators coming to see what all the fuss was about. His poison was incredible. His speed was top notch. His size meant nothing noticed him before it was too late. Seriously, I don't know what he needed me for. Well maybe as bait and a way to distract everything from his approach. That seemed like too harsh of an assessment of my worth though. I was totally good for more than being bait. I just hadn't figured out what yet. Yep.

As time passed, Gregory seemed to get over his depression and start appreciating the beauty of the places we travelled through. While it was all tropical jungle, every day it seemed to be a completely different kind of jungle. One day we might be surrounded by awe inspiring bird songs the whole day without seeing a single bird. The next we were in an absolutely silent forest with flying frogs the colour of the sky covering the trunks of many of the trees. There was always something new and that very freshness made us both look forward to each new day.

I think this is where we got our love for travel. Before this journey we both yearned to get away from our tree and see the wider world. However, it was a dream without substance as we had no real idea as to what was out there. As we travelled through this jungle we realized just how beautiful and wonderful this world really was. We knew that what we were seeing was only a small part of what existed. Seeing it all would undoubtedly take many lifetimes but they would be lifetimes we were happy to spend.

I couldn't speak with Gregory much because the noise would alert the nearby monsters. Instead, I spent a fair bit of time thinking about what I wanted to do in the future. The wonder I felt everyday made me certain that I wanted to spend the rest of my life like this wandering the world. But there are not many professions which allow people to do that. What we should do with our lives? It was no good being useless wanderers. We should try to provide some help or value to those we meet.

I thought about being a wandering merchant or a peddler but I realized pretty much immediately that there was a problem. I could not pick up or handle things without dropping them or destroying them thanks to my curse. I could not exactly be a merchant if I couldn't touch goods or coins.

I then thought that maybe I should follow in the footsteps of all the heroes in the books I read back on Earth and become an adventurer. Immediately after I thought of this option, I pretty much rejected it. It had the same problem as being a travelling merchant, namely my curse of poverty made it virtually impossible. If I can't pick things up, I can't turn in anything as a proof of subjugation nor can I do quests to gather herbs or other materials. The other problem is that being an adventurer is dangerous. Being a traveller is dangerous too but I thought it would safe enough if I just snuck around. Being an adventurer requires someone willing to enter into life or death battles on a daily basis. Everyone can make a mistake and once they do, they will die. I would really rather choose a safer profession if possible.

Eventually, I realized that there was a perfect profession for me. I could travel around telling stories, singing songs, and generally entertaining people with knowledge of the outside world. This would spread knowledge and brighten the days of the people around me. It was perfect.

In games, bards are supposed to have a high charm stat. Mine is terrible. I mean I only had to look down at my misshapen body to know that I was never going to win any beauty awards. That said, if my stories are interesting enough, what I look like should not matter. A stat is not everything. I could overcome a low charm with enough experience and creativity. I just had to put in the effort. That is definitely how it is going to work.

After I found my calling to be a wandering bard, I decided I needed to have some songs to sing. I already had plenty of stories from my time telling stories to the termites back at the home tree. So all I needed were some songs which were similarly informative but entertaining.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I tried to remember some of the songs from my life on Earth but I was never all that great with music and it had been years since I last heard them. I still remembered a few choruses but it was not enough to really cover the whole song. I decided to make up my own songs based on what I could remember of the songs I had heard back then and my own creative additions.

Gregory was not impressed when my humming drew in a few monsters. I am sure that was the reason he pulled my hair to shut me up every time I started to hum. As my best friend, he wouldn't hate my singing right? Definitely not.

As we travelled, I noticed something rather important. The growth rate of the plants in this jungle was extremely quick. I pulled out a blade of grass at one point and it had regrown within an hour or so. If I started to meditate next to a sapling it might well be half a dozen meters taller by the time I woke up.

This might help explain why there were so many creatures in the jungle. It felt like there was a large monster every two meters. This is not counting the extremely numerous bugs, leeches, birds, and other assorted creatures. There were definitely more creatures here than there would be in a jungle back on Earth. It made sneaking all the more difficult. I liked to think it was good training but there were innumerable occasions where I felt I might be more optimistic than truthful.

One day as we travelled through the jungle, we came across a tree much like the one Gregory and I once called home. There was bare ground surrounding a tree that looked to be home to a colony of termites. At the sight of this nostalgic scene, I was overjoyed. I was sure we would be welcomed and we could use this place as a base to explore the surrounding area as I had originally intended to do with our home tree.

Things did not work out quite as I thought they would.

As soon as I stepped out of the vegetation surrounding the tree, a swarm of termites approached us. I could see quite a few of them glowing as they prepared to cast spells.

Seriously, what did we do wrong? We just wanted to visit. Apparently that was not a done thing. I raised my hands in what I hoped was a universal sign of surrendering and took a step back into the vegetation. Once I took that step back the termites who were glowing stopped. Gregory stood on a leaf near me and seemed to be communicating with the other termites. I have no idea what was said but it was clear from Gregory's movements that he was giving it his all.

As the conversation went on Gregory looked more and more desperate. One by one, the termites of this new colony turned around and left. After about an hour, there were none left. We could see some termites flying around near the tree trunk but none came near us.

Gregory seemed really down. I made a funny face at him to cheer him up. I am sure I was imagining it when I thought I saw a few of the distant termites fall to the ground when looking in our direction. I am not ugly enough to kill with my face. That is a complete lie. They were probably so impressed with my funny face that they were rolling on the ground laughing. Yep. That is definitely it.

I made to once again approach the tree to see if I could talk some sense into the termites of this new colony but as I was about to take a step forward Gregory pulled me back by the hair and shook telling me not to. I looked back at the tree and saw a few termites were right at the edge of the bare ground, glowing, looking ready to fight at a moment's notice.

Shoulders slumped, we had no choice but to walk off.

I found a quiet place later.

"Is there anything we can do about our cold welcome?"

*Shake*

Gregory seemed even more depressed.

We came across a few other termite colonies on our travels through the jungle but the results were always the same. Gregory and I were not welcome.

I never knew for sure why but I thought it might have something to do with either the fact that we were foreigners or our appearance. Gregory ended up losing his other wing so he was now wingless. In addition, he had a few scars from his injuries. I could not imagine that he was a particularly attractive termite. In fact, he looked to me more like he would be a disabled one. So maybe he was turned away because they thought he would be a burden? When I asked Gregory about it, I just got a maybe in response so who knows.

By the way, I found a still pond while we were travelling so I was finally able to see what I looked like. My face was ... well I would say only a mother could love it but I am pretty sure my mother either abandoned me upon seeing it or I did not have one. I had a serious under bite, my nose was huge, there were acne scars everywhere, and in general it looked like I had been beaten with an ugly stick daily. Combined with the scars from the bedsores covering half of my face making me look like some kind of cartoon villain, I was pretty sure I beat Gregory hands down in the ugly department.

I thought it was horrible of the termites to not accept Gregory just because he had lost his wings. I wanted to find another reason. I mean if the termites would not accept Gregory because he was not pretty, I was worried about my own ability to be accepted in a human city given how ugly the gods had made me. So I tried to see if there was another explanation.

The other termites at our home colony never seemed interested in exploring their surroundings. They always stayed close to their tree and never ventured out. They were happy to play with me but showed no interest in learning my language to understand what I was trying to tell them. I guessed that termites in general were incredibly insular and was left wondering how they managed to colonize new trees if they were so against travel. I was also curious why I was accepted by them at Gregory's colony. I mean sure I was a baby at the time but I wasn't sure why they hadn't tried to drive me off and instead became my playmates.

When I asked Gregory about it, it turned out that they had tried to drive me out originally. When I appeared one day, they stung me with their poison and kept doing it regularly. This is why I was in such horrible pain for my first few months in this world. Since their bite and poison do no damage, it didn't matter that my HP were zero. They thought I would die of the pain or thirst just like all the other creatures that dared to enter their domain. However, I not only continued to survive but I even seemed to develop an immunity to their poison. Curious as to how I managed to survive, it was decided to watch me. After I started playing with young termites, their wariness towards me dropped and as the years passed I slowly became accepted as a part of the colony.

Getting this story out of Gregory was tortuous. He could really only convey yes or no. This meant I had to guess what I thought might have happened and then change my guesses nearly endlessly until he let me know I had gotten it right.

On a day much like the one before it, we stepped out of the forest. We stood atop a cliff overlooking an endless sea. Blue stretched in all directions while a fresh breeze blew in our faces. It was yet another sight to treasure for the rest of our lives.

The families all reject me. They say I am not worthy to start a family. Fine. I will show them. Together we shall explore this world just like in his stories. Together we shall see what wonders this world is hiding. Together we will show those despicable goddesses that they messed with the wrong people. Who needs a family when we have each other.