“Oh my god, I died and went to game hell. Why is this caterpillar so goddamn delicious, and why is it named Eruca? Isn’t that a female name?” Dante thought, his mind racing as he received those weird notifications. The taste of the creature’s flesh lingered in his mouth, a bizarre mix of satisfaction and disgust.

“Morning, come over here!” Out of nowhere, Dante was suddenly called by his new tamer, Sang.

He could ignore him, which he did, and kept eating. The forest around him was dense, with towering trees casting long shadows over the ground. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and the distant calls of unseen creatures. Dante’s focus was solely on the remains of the caterpillar, its green ichor staining his hands and the ground around him.

Unsurprisingly, Sang came to him instead, lifting him from the ground. Sang looked extremely angry, his face flushed with frustration. At that moment, Dante realized how much shit he was in now. It just dawned on him that he didn’t see any other fakemon beside himself around Sang. That was terrible news, as it meant Sang was new to this, and Dante was going to die yet again. Who knows how much worse it would be in the next life?

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“I haven’t seen your kind before, Morning. I wonder if a zoologist could tell me. I am sure it will be expensive,” Sang said, looking at a very annoyed Dante. His eyes were sharp, scrutinizing every inch of Dante’s form.

It never crossed Dante’s mind to guess what his species was now. He wondered if this world had typings like that in fakemon. Of course, if it looks like a caterpillar and tastes like chicken, it’s obvious as hell it is not an Eruca, goddamn it. Sang then tapped his collar with his ring, and the next thing Dante knew, he was missing a body and complete control of any motion. Oddly, he could now see 360 degrees around Sang. Was he inside the ring now? Holy shit, this is slavery. He wondered if he could escape. Dante pushed with all his mind, and to his surprise, he popped out of the ring and landed face-first on the ground. The impact sent a jolt of pain through his body, but he didn’t care. He was free, if only for a moment.

“Goddamn it, Morning, stay your ass in the altering!” Sang then picked Dante up and stored him back in his ring, which was called an altering. The sensation of being trapped inside the ring was suffocating, like being buried alive. Dante did what any disobedient person would do and kept on exiting, refusing Sang’s orders. Each time he emerged, the world outside seemed more vibrant, more real, and he clung to that feeling desperately.

After the tenth time, Sang finally gave up and just carried Dante toward wherever the zoologist was.