I'll admit it... I did not PR this one, I just didn't have the time. Too much work too little time, however if there is someone who wants to PR it be my guest. I usually do it myself but a helping hand would be nice. :smoke: Even just commenting on mistakes would be helpful.

~v~

As I walked in silence and solitude I tried out my Infrared Sight ability, and as I suspected it was far more useful in dark places. I was also surprised to find that I could locate water flowing within the walls due to temperature differences. And metals seemed to be cooler than the surrounding rock.

However it was hard on my eyes to keep up the ability. Not only that but my unfamiliarity with it made my head hurt… just not used to seeing things in a different light… or lack of light rather.

After what seemed like hours but might have just been minutes, I have no sense of time down here. I finally found another open area.

… Wow, this place… I never would have imagined I would find something so... incredible.  

Steadying myself upon a ledge overlooking the new area I was awestruck.

“Impressive…”

That’s all I could think to say… before me was a large chamber, I hesitate to call it anything else. Saying that such a beautiful place is a cavern or a cave seems almost insulting.  

If the surface was a blasted wasteland, then underground was a flowing oasis in comparison. All along the walls there were waterfalls that flowed from eroded pathways. And even on the ceiling among the stalactites there was water falling from cracks ranging from small to large.

Below was a beautiful crystal clear lake, with water channels feeding it from the falls and a few leading away to other parts yet unseen. Some of the tunnels were huge, large enough for a whale to fit through!

Along the walls and rocks grew a form of greenish black lichen, and there were even some Suerte Dolorosa mushrooms here and there in places where resonance Crystals were in high quantity. I wonder if they need it to grow? I should look into it later.  

Speaking of crystals though… if I found this place in my previous life I would have struck it rich. All around, everywhere I look there are precious metals glimmering in rich deposits. The Resonance Crystals dot the walls and illuminate the entire chamber just enough so that everything is visible.

There are many tunnels leading out of the cavern… many of them are carved by the streams that run along to god knows where. However I have lost interest in finding a way out for now. The reason for this change of heart is simple curiosity.

Aside from the various forms of fungi I also have spotted a form of seaweed that is yellow and grows in abundance. I also want a good look at that lichen, I heard that boars eat lichen… not pleasant but I am running low on food.

I thought I’d just eat the mushrooms but they have that side effect of nocking me out if I eat too much. Also they don’t really seem to be very nutritious… In other words they don’t help with my hunger.

Just as I was thinking this and making my way along the uneven ground to the lake I suddenly tripped on a rock that… moved?

Nope I’m not crazy… yet. It moved up as I was stepping over it and tripped me.

Looking back in confusion the rock turned around and I saw the reason for my fall. A crab! Or at least something similar to it… the shell blended in so perfectly that I didn’t notice it!

It isn’t very interested in me, and instead goes off to nibble on some lichen; or rather it uses its ‘claws’ like knives and scrapes it up then eats it with its crab like mouth.

Seeing this new creature before me… a slight chill runs up my spine. I forgot to look for something very important. Life.

Sure I’ve seen some plant life, but upon my first glance around this place I wasn’t really looking for animals or other more complex life forms.  

I quickly remedy the situation and begin my search for foo-

I mean new creatures~

Now that I am looking I see a few interesting creatures, one looks like a giant millipede and another, hanging from the walls and ceiling, resembles a four winged bat. I’ll spare the details and just get straight to the names.

[Boulder Crab: [Crustacean]

Large crustaceans that live deep underground or in areas with large quantities of algae… Has a hard shell on top with a weaker underbelly.]

[Quattro Bat: [Flying Mammal]

Completely blind, they use echolocation and special hairs to hear and feel changes in atmosphere to see. Despite lacking eyesight, they are extremely capable. They use sonic attack to stun their prey. They eat mostly small insects and [Unknown].]  

[Metrepede: [Insect/Arthropod]

Large insects that like dark damp places and feeds off refuse and mould]

I found the Metrepede near the entrance to a new tunnel, it was eating mould that was forming around a stagnant pool of water.

As for the Bats, well I was intrigued to know what they eat, but they seem mostly inactive at present… maybe later.

I named the plants and algae too…

[Yellow Lake-weed: [Algae]

A yellow weed like multicellular Algae that grows in clear water, if ingested it will oxygenate blood and relieve physical fatigue. If used too much however it can cause mental stress and or hyperactivity.]

[Black Mould: [Fungi]

A dark mould made up of many spore carrying filaments, when crushed it emits a wet rotting smell. However, it may have more to it than meets the eye.]

[Green Lichen: [Algae Based]

Houses many nutrients due to the composite nature of its formation. Contains several algae and fungi filaments and can be used as a substitute for food... However it tastes horrible.]

Oh... well thanks for the warning about the taste system notification! but next time give me more relevant information instead! Gees, it only seems to give hints and partial information... maybe Identify is meant to be more of a guid then a teacher?

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Oh well.

I also found a strange fungi that grew along cracks and walls, it had a vine like structure and was brown, I got a weird vibe from it so I called it [Creeper Vine] even if it’s a fungi the name suits it… the information stated that it was highly poisonous if exposed to blood or ingested.

Aaargh… All this naming is annoying, but it’s the only way I can fully understand my surroundings. There are so many things about this place that are foreign to me, even a little information now is more than the nothing I started with.

Tired from the little adventure I had to sit down and try to pull my thoughts together again.

My quest when I first came here told me to find Eve and populate the world with my new race. But how do I find her? Where do I start looking? And how do I get out of this place?

Also... what happens if I fail... I only ever had one steady girlfriend in my past life. I can honestly admit i'm no Casanova... To feed fuel to the fire what happens if one of us dies? I take it no re-spawn points are around.

Even if this is game like... It feels way too real for me to feel comfortable testing my luck with a revival... it reincarnated me once, I doubt whoever or whatever did it is going to do it again. Call it a hunch.

There are so many questions but those first three are the ones I keep coming back to.

I guess the only way to find her is to look, the only place to look is everywhere and this place is as good a place as any.

Not exactly cut and dry… but wait wasn’t there something else about the quest?

Oh right… the side objective.

Seed the world with new life… what could that mean? At first I assumed I needed to find Eve and start multiplying but wasn’t that the first objective?

Wait…

Curious, I take some Yellow Lake-weed and Lichen… there was something in my previous world, it wasn’t anything I was very interested in but I did touch on the topic during my schooling days.

Hybridization.

Creating new organisms from pre-existing organisms, and plant life was one of the most successful life forms in this field.

Cross-pollinating a white rose with a red one made a pink rose, and so on.

I tried to mix the two things together, but with little success. I used Growth Acceleration to stimulate the two but the results were… not very promising. I ended up with a huge weed and a lot more Lichen.

So I opted to use the Fungi instead, my precious Suerte Dolorosa and the mould from before. I crushed it together and made a fine mixture of the stems and spores.

I used Growth Acceleration again, this time something interesting happened, the Suerte Dolorosa grew back, but instead of being tall and having a week, long stem it became bushy and similar to the mould.

Upon inspecting it, I found no real change… odd. Maybe I need plants similar to the weeds on the surface to make it work.

Then again it did work but just not as impressively as I had expected. I expected something... new.

I’ll look more into it later. If I can make a place ideal for survival... maybe Eve will find me?

For now I think I’ll catch some Boulder Crabs for eating. At this point I’d even try eating the Metrepede… well I’m not that desperate yet. (Shivers)

I managed to catch a few and using the Lake-weed I tied two shells together, making a rough pack for carrying supplies. It’s a bit heavy and awkward but it does help more than it hinders.

[Congratulations! You have learned a new Skill: Crafting

Created tools and equipment are 5% sturdier, new equipment designs are easier to conceptualize, +5% to Mind.]

Oh-ho~!

Now that I have this I should look for materials and make some pants! I feel kind of naked here… oh right I am naked… funny how your modesty just jumps out the window when you’re resurrected as a new race on a hostile world where every new thing might try to eat you.

Thankfully the Hedge Raptor was the only one who came close though… well there was that Eel thing… I never did officially name that thing. For some reason it only works if I have it within sight and I settle on the name officially without doubts.

Anyway, I think its time to move on, I’ll follow the larger stream coming into the chamber, and maybe I’ll find an exit.

As I get up and ready to leave I heard a rumbling sound. Earthquake?

Hmm no the ground isn’t moving enough... What then? Do I want to know?

Probably not… lets just pretend I heard nothing…

Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance, as a large clawed muscular leg stepped out of one of the larger tunnels... the one I had planned on using... dratted luck.

Massive, was the first thing I thought. A giant monster of a reptile had entered, and its piercing ice blue eyes were staring daggers at me.

A body, covered in hard lustrous grey scales, spikes along its back and brow and two huge wings folded on its back. It had hot breath I could feel from across the chamber and intelligence clearly displayed from its intense stare.

Even though the tunnel was rather large it had to make itself as small as possible to move through it. In retrospect I was fortunate to not be wearing pants... though I never felt so naked in my life.

Breathlessly I whispered out the name of what was before me, a creature that could go by no other name…

“D-Dragon…”

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maybe Hueptiles lol or I can take the old Saurian name from popular names for big lizard like creatures :P they are similar I guess... he may not be cold blooded but he is closer to a reptile than he was when human! :criesBo: can you understand my dilemma here??