I slowly opened my eyes while groaning. I found myself laying on the soft grass. I took a look at my surroundings and found that the walls that had previously surrounded me were all gone. They had completely disappeared, as there were no remnants or signs that ruin was even there in the first place.

‘What caused the walls to disappear and how am I on the surface again? I fainted in an underground room, but now I’m here on the surface?’ I wondered. ‘Although I am curious about what happened, I should just move on, there is no real point in thinking about this at the moment.’ I decided to just look around rather than think about the reasons for this disappearance.

With the walls gone, I was about to see what kind of area I had awoken in. It was a dark forest filled with towering trees, each tree had an eerie feel to them, and creepy noises resounded around the area. Apart from the natural noises from the forest, other unnatural sounds occasionally echo through the air. I heard countless growls, roars, howls, and screams at varying distances from me. The closest sound to me was a single grow that seemed to come from some kind of entity that was a few meters from me.

I cautiously looked toward where the sound came from, but I saw nothing due to the amount of interference between me and the sound. I chose not to fly to give my wings a bit more time to heal. I spent a few more minutes watching in the same direction before turning my attention to the general area around me again. This turned out to be quite useless because I could not see anything from how short I was compared to the undergrowth.

‘Where even am I? Those sounds don’t sound like anything I heard on Earth, and I have heard many sounds on Earth. Is it possible that this place is not Earth and instead a completely new world? If that’s the case, how am I going to get revenge on them again!?’

A low growl that was very close to me resounded again and with each passing second, the growl got louder. Hearing that, I immediately snapped out of my thoughts and locked my eyes on where the sound came from.

‘I should try to hide or get an advantageous position to ambush whatever that is. No matter what it is, I am attacking it without hesitation, especially if it’s a weird kind of human.’ I decided to unfurl my wings before quickly spreading them and ferociously flapping them. During this, my wings did not hurt at all. They felt perfectly fine as if they had never been injured before. After about a second of flapping, I managed to lift my body off the ground. I flew into a tree and perched my talons on a low-hanging branch.

Once there, I had a much better viewpoint of the area around me. In the distance, I saw a few packs of wolves eating the carcass of some kind of animal. Grumble. My stomach rumbled at that sight making me think ‘Oh right, crows are supposed to eat carrion and I haven’t eaten since I became a crow.’ I shook off the feeling of hunger that I was feeling and returned to scanning my immediate area. I could see a couple of what seemed like flying lights, maybe fireflies? in the distance. At a different area, a bunch of viscous blobs of liquid with some sort of red orb floating inside the liquid gathered around a rabbit with a sharp horn attached to its forehead.

The rabbit let out a screech before charging at the nearest blob of liquid. Once it was close enough, it stuck out its horn and aimed at the red orb. At the last moment, the orb somehow moved out of the trajectory of the horn. Although the sharp horn did not pierce the orb, it did manage to piece through the liquid followed by the rabbit slamming into a chunk of the liquid. The blob looked like it dispersed and the liquid fell to the group creating a puddle; However, in the next second, the liquid started moving again and reformed the spherical shape of the blob.

The rabbit landed on the other side of the blob and turned around before charging at the blob again. This time, the blob dodged to the side before quickly tackling the rabbit, knocking it off balance. At this moment, the rest of the blobs all slid toward the dazed rabbit, initiating a tackle at the same time. Without any way to dodge the blobs, the rabbit just stuck out its horn and tried to take down one of the blobs with it, but it failed at doing so as all of the blobs dodged out of the way. The next instant, the rabbit was pelted from all sides and screeched a piercing cry before falling lifelessly onto the ground. The blobs stuck to the corpse of the rabbit and did something to it. I couldn’t tell what exactly was happening because the sheer number of blobs blocked my view.

‘Wow, harsh world it seems. I should review what I just saw in case I have to fight either of those creatures in the first place. The blob seems to rely on tackles and hunting in packs, but in exchange for their limited options of attack, they seem to have very high regenerative qualities. The weak spot for them definitely appears to be the orb floating in them, but I think they can move it at will, so it will be hard to hit unless I catch them by surprise, which I’m pretty good at. On the other hand, the rabbit with a horn seems to be able to inflict heavy damage with its horn, but it seems that ramming is their own method of attack.’ I reflected on the fight while thinking of some countermeasures for both types of creatures.

A rustling sound came from directly below me and a low growl soon followed it. I looked down and saw a hideous creature that looked humanoid in stature, but its body was completely green, its eyes were completely yellow, and its nose was slightly elongated. It was slightly hunched and was constantly releasing low growls and hisses. In its right hand, it held a dulled stone sword.

Rumble

My stomach cried out in hunger at the sight of my prey. At this point, my stomach was aching due to hunger. ‘I really don’t want to eat this creature because of how unappealing it looks, but my hunger is killing me.’ My stomach growled again. ‘I’d be fine with literally anything right now and it will do.’

I observed the creature for a bit longer before doing anything. It seemed to hear a sound and began to look around for where the sound came from. Finding nothing, it continued walking forward.

‘This creature seems similar to a human, so I’m assuming they share a similar physiology. The main weakness of humanoids is the neck, head, or heart. The easiest and safest of the three would probably be the neck because it usually contains the least protection and even if you miss, you could damage their eyes or even strike at their chest. I’ll set my sights on the neck, now the question is should I use my beak or talons? My beak would do more damage in a concentrated area, but my talons could deal slightly less damage over a larger area, allowing more leeway for hitting critical points. Hard choice but I’ll go with my talons in case the critical point of this creature is different from that of a human.’ I created a plan of approach while carefully watching the movements of the green creature below me. It was now a bit in front of me with its back perfectly facing me. ‘Now! It’s time to strike!’

I spread my wings before unleashing a powerful flap that propelled me off the branch and into the sky. I hovered in the air for a few seconds to lock on to my target. Once I had, I retracted my wings and let myself get carried downwards by gravity. I shot toward the ground like a rocket, perfectly aimed at the weird creature. Despite all my actions so far, the creature had not noticed that anything was amiss and simply continued to walk forward. I fell directly toward the creature and when I was nearing it, I spread my wings again, slowing down my descent a bit and allowing me to adjust my aim. I stuck out my talons and soon they made contact with the creature. They quickly slid across the creature's neck, causing a large gash to appear on the back of the creature’s neck. It fell lifelessly forward without being able to unleash a single cry.

Looking at the corpse, my hunger grew even more and my stomach unleashed the loudest growl I had ever heard. In a trance from hunger, I absentmindedly started to eat the lifeless creature. Once I finished about half the corpse, I felt my hunger had been satiated, but I continued to eat because I was still not full yet.

‘Eeewww, that did not taste good at all.’ I complained after snapping out of my hunger-induced trance. ‘*Sigh* At least I’m full now.’

Conditions Met

Personalized System Initializing

Complete

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Hello, Host Aiyana! I am your personal guide to using the system!

A voice suddenly said in my head.

‘Who are you!? How do you know my name!?’ I asked slightly winded by the sudden voice in my head. I looked around the area, but I saw nothing close to me. I then tried to fly up to get a better view, but even then, I still saw nothing.

There’s no point looking for me, Host! I do not have a physical body yet. To answer your questions, I am your personalized guide to using the system. As a personalized guide, I am required to know the name of the person I will be guiding.

The voice answered.

‘What is your purpose!? What do you want from me!?’ I asked while retaining my guard toward this person or entity.

My purpose is to help you in your journey through this world Celestora. As for what my creator wants with you, I do not know.

The voice answered.

‘Help me!? Preposterous! I don’t trust you one bit! You’ll just betray me like everyone has before! Everyone will always be against me no matter where I am! I don’t need your help in the first place!’ I lashed back in a fury.

Sorry to say, but you’re stuck with me, Host!

The voice playfully responded. I was getting annoyed at whoever this person was.

‘What do you mean I’m stuck with you!?’ I furiously replied.

I am bound to your mind and soul, Host. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to separate myself from you. By the way, I don’t even want to in the first place, so you’ll have to get used to hearing my voice because you are going to hear it from now on!

The voice told me in an annoying voice. Hearing this, I started trembling in anger.

‘What!?’ My rage reached a level where it was not possible for me to get any angrier. ‘You know what, fine, you can stay, but make sure not to betray me, or else. Know that I am watching you at all times, and I will not hesitate if you do anything suspicious.’ I menacingly threatened while sighing in frustration.

Hurray!

The voice shouted out in celebration.

I just sighed again before spreading my wings again and lifting off into the air to conduct some reconnaissance. Like the other times when I scanned the area, I saw a multitude of creatures engaged in battles with each other, but this time, I also saw a large opening in the distance. It looked like a door or gate of some kind.

‘What is that door in the distance? Surely it can’t be the entrance to someone’s house, right? This forest does not seem too apt for habitation, is it possible that this is an abandoned house built before this first got so gloomy? Unlikely, I don’t know for sure when this forest became like this, so I shouldn’t make assumptions like these. What could that door lead to? It doesn’t look natural, but why would someone place a door here?’ I contemplated in my head.

Oooohhh, a door, you should check it out! There’s surely something awaiting you there!

The voice cheerfully yelled.

‘I don’t care about your opinion,’ I coldly informed the voice before walking toward the door. It wasn’t the voice that convinced me, after all, I did not care about the voice a single bit. I was curious about the reason why the door was there and wanted to satisfy my curiosity.

I set a path for the door and started flying there; however, midway through my flight, I heard a shrill whistling sound, like something cutting through the air. The sound came from above me, and when I looked up, I saw what made the sound. A hawk appeared in my vision, diving straight at me with incredible speed. It dove with such a speed that did not allow me any time to dodge. With no other choice, I braced for the impact. A second later, the hawk tackled me, driving all the air out of my lungs and flinging me straight into the ground. I hit the ground with a thundering thud and a small crater formed.

My entire body ached and blood flowed from several parts of my body. Luckily, my wings were decently unharmed as I had taken preparations to ensure they took as little damage as they could, and instead, I distributed that damage to other parts of my body. I struggled up to stand up again from that impact, but I managed to do so. I flapped my wings again and flew back into the air. There I saw the hawk shooting me a triumphant glare. The look infuriated me.

‘You! I will get you, just you wait!’ Rage started to consume my body. Despite my growing rage, I retained a clear mind because I knew that the slightest hesitation or rage-induced action would be my downfall. Instead of rushing toward the hawk in a fury, I kept my distance, sizing up the hawk. It was about twice as large as I was and had feathers that created an image of an eye on both wings. The wings of the hawk were much bigger than mine, its beak was sharper, and its talons were much more lethal than mine were.

Seeing that I wasn’t rushing forward, the hawk decided to fly after me, determined to land the final blow and presumably consume my body after killing me. I was not going to allow that to happen though so I started flying away from the hawk while creating a plan for turning the table.

‘Let’s review the situation a bit. A stronger and larger opponent is chasing after me. The only advantage I have is my agility and my small size compared to it. Then, I’ll go with one of my personal strategies for dealing with these kinds of situations, misdirection. I just have to adapt this a bit to suit this crow body of mine instead of my usual human one.’ I started smiling as I thought of a suitable tactic for winning this battle.

With a plan in mind, I started flying lower and weaving through the trees, often changing the direction I would fly to throw off the hawk. The hawk managed to keep up with me, which I had planned for. Suddenly, I dropped altitude to briefly escape the vision of the hawk by moving into its blind spot. The hawk, noticing this, also dropped down to continue hunting me, but I was prepared. While the hawk dove down, I flew up, staying in the hawk’s blind spot. This allowed me to ascend and perch on a branch while the hawk was searching for me near the ground.

While I was perched on the branch, I kept my eyes locked on the hawk, looking for an opportune moment to strike. I waited and waited and waited, until now! The hawk realized that it had lost me and began to look around in confusion. I took advantage of this confusion and dove directly at the exposed back of the hawk. This time, I aimed for the wings of the hawk to disable it from flying; as such, I extended my talons when I came into range and quickly tried to rake my talons across the wings of the hawk.

The hawk quickly turned around and realized where I was aiming. It moved its wings back and guarded them with its body, causing my talons to leave three deep scratches in the hawk’s chest. The hawk squawked in pain, but it quickly regained composure. It charged directly at me again, angry that I had managed to hurt it. I saw it rushing toward me, but I couldn’t do anything because I was still recovering my stance after the attack.

‘Is it over? My life in this new place? It was not long enough! I still haven’t gotten my revenge yet! I won’t die here!’ I rebelliously thought to myself; however, I could instinctively feel that I wouldn’t be able to recover from the attack of the hawk. I also knew that it would be impossible to dodge, but I tried anyway. I tried to fiercely flap my wings trying to move backward out of the way of the hawk, but I could not get enough distance in time. The hawk was inches away from me and I was still in the path it was heading. The hawk had a triumphant expression on its face, already convinced of its victory. The hawk got closer and closer and then it was right in front of me. I had no time to dodge and was just about to accept my death.

Suddenly, I felt a pang of intense pain in my head. I slightly winced before starting to regret the fact that I lost concentration on the fight for a second. When I looked back at the hawk, it was still moving toward me, but it seemed to be moving much slower for some reason. I tried moving around and found that I was still moving at normal speed.

‘What happened? Why is this hawk moving so slowly?’ My head throbbed in pain. ‘Ugh, this headache is killing me, well it’s not the only thing trying to kill me. I just have to endure this pain for a bit. I don’t know what happened, but there’s no way I’m not taking advantage of this.’ I moved backward until I was completely out of range of the hawk. Just when I did, the hawk returned to its normal speed and the pain in my head lessened. The pain was still there, just not as strong or agonizing as it was before.

I felt a breeze of wind pass right next to my wing and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the hawk speed by, narrowly missing me. It passed in a second, but I managed to catch its expression turning from confident to shocked. After it had zoomed past me, it tried to flap its wings backward to slow down and stop; however, it could not do so in time. The hawk crashed directly into a tree and its beak was embedded into the bark of the tree. The hawk struggled repeatedly to get its beak unstuck but was not able to.

Obviously, I took advantage of this and approached the hawk. The hawk, hearing me approaching, panicked and started struggling even more, but even then, it still wasn’t able to get its beak unstuck from the tree. It released a few sad screeches as if begging me not to kill it. Of course, I did what anyone else would do in that situation, I immediately raked my talons across its throat granting it an immediate death. The body stopped struggling and fell motionless, beak still embedded in the tree.

‘Why would I give mercy to you? You were trying to kill me. Anyone who tries to kill me is sentenced to immediate death!’ I thought to myself while mocking the deceased hawk.

The battle was over, but I was dead exhausted. I perched on a tree branch and started to relax and regain my energy. I stayed on the branch for about an hour before finally deciding to continue my way to the mysterious door.