《Metamorphic Reincarnation [LitRPG/Monster Evolution/ Isekai]》 (0) Prologue I shivered, cold wind blowing all around me. This high up it was no longer the gentle breeze I associated with spring. But I didn¡¯t mind, rather it felt fitting. This was it, then. I stood at a precipice, both a figurative and a literal one. It almost feels freeing, standing here, just before the end, finally with no worries. Maybe this is how birds feel, free to do whatever they want. Well, not really. Excuse me, I¡¯m not usually like this. I guess the situation is making me a bit emotional after all. Oh well, might as well get it over with. I took a step forward¡­ and fell. The cold wind now felt absolutely frigid, my fall stealing the last bits of my body¡¯s warmth. I fell and I fell, the ground still far away. I suppose this is how it feels to be weightless. I mean, yes, obviously. That¡¯s kind of what relativity is about. The ground is getting closer now. Just a little bit more and then it¡¯ll all be over. ¡­ I¡¯m- not sure if I made the right decision. Do I really want to do this? Shit. Oh no, no, no, no, no. I should not have jumped. The ground is almost here. And then I¡¯ll go splat. Why did I do this?! And then a portal opens underneath me. Before I have a chance to realize what¡¯s happening, I plunge into it, narrowly avoiding the ground.
I suddenly find myself¡­ somewhere. There¡¯s not really anything here, except for me. And I feel like I¡¯m still falling. Or am I? It¡¯s hard to tell without a reference point. And then there¡¯s someone else. A¡­ human¡­ person¡­ thingy¡­ Yeah, I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before. Kind of has that weird uncanny valley aesthetic to it. Aaand it¡¯s shifting. Of-fucking-course it is. At least the weirdness of its looks is slowly going away. Though it is just being replaced by the unsettling sight of a human morphing in front of my eyes, so I¡¯m not sure which is worse. At last, it stops changing and settles into a human shape. The most generic human to ever exist. There¡¯re barely any discernible features on it. It looks more like a template for a human that an actual living and breathing creature. ¡°Are you done criticising my first body?¡± it asks me, but the mouth movements are completely out of sync with the actual sound produced. And the voice itself is also really strange. Like, its appearance, it¡¯s the most unremarkably average voice I¡¯ve ever heard. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying,¡± it says. This time to mouth to voice synchronisation is better, even if it¡¯s still a bit off. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve got to stop doing that,¡± the coordination of its mouth continues to improve with every word, ¡°it¡¯s really annoying, continuously interrupting me and also completely unjustified. How¡¯d you feel about someone criticising your first attempt at something?¡± I suppose it does have kind of a point. Still, it¡¯s not really my fault. It should have just stuck to one form and I would have gotten used to it. ¡°Sure,¡± I say. ¡°Good, finally,¡± it nods its head. ¡°Now, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re wondering where you are, who I am, what¡¯s happening and all that jazz, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, kind of. Mostly I just have one main question though.¡± ¡°Alright, shoot.¡± ¡°Were you just reading my mind?¡± my voice is perfectly neutral, not giving anything away. Even then, the being in front of me pauses for the briefest fraction of a second, hesitating. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Um, no? Not really, anyway. At most, if we stretched the definition, it could be considered the reading of your most surface thoughts, but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m doing anyway.¡± ¡°Then how. Did you know. What. I. Was. THINKNING.¡± Okay, I may have lost my poker face there for a bit. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s actually kind of why I got you here! See, it¡¯s all connected!¡± it pauses for a second, as if awaiting some response to that. Not that I¡¯d grace it with one. ¡°Uh, just¡­ at least try to work with me. Just a little bit.¡± Before I have a chance to respond, it continues. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get to the matter at hand. I, am humanity,¡± another pause, but it seems to have learned its lesson and soon continues, ¡°Yes! Humanity has developed enough for its collective subconscious to finally coalesce into a personification. That¡¯s me!¡± ¡°You want to tell me that you represent the whole of humanity? You?¡± I say, more than a bit incredulous. ¡°Yes!¡± it¡¯s completely oblivious to my disbelief. ¡°And that¡¯s also how I knew your surface thoughts! You¡¯re also connected to me, after all.¡± Interesting, let me try something. I stare at the supposed personification of humanity with all the focus and intensity I can muster. Its eye twitches. I don¡¯t stop. ¡°Argh! Stop trying to make me slap myself!¡± it finally shrieks out. Good, it does work. Satisfied with my little experiment, I relax and put on a smug smile. Or maybe an evil smile? A snile, for short. ¡°You¡¯re insufferable,¡± Humanity mutters. ¡°Likewise,¡± I reply, with the snile still on my face. ¡°Can we stop beating around the bush and finally get to business?¡± ¡°Be my guest. I¡¯d never even dare to interrupt you.¡± With a suspicious gaze it clears its throat, which I assume is completely unnecessary for such a being (oh look, its eye twitched again!), and begins to give me the whole spiel. ¡°As humanity is entering a new era, many things are about to change. The most important of which is that Earth will remain isolated no longer. Other species may soon find their way onto Earth, but more importantly, magic. Earth will soon find itself no longer categorized as a magical wasteland. Both of these bring with it many an opportunity, but also challenges. And humanity is, quite frankly, not ready for it. It needs time to adapt and learn the rules of its new reality.¡± ¡°Sorry to interrupt,¡± there¡¯s another twitch of Humanity¡¯s eye, ¡°but when you say humanity do you mean actual humanity or yourself?¡± ¡°It should be rather obvious, especially with such a context heavy language. When I say Humanity, I mean myself, and when I say humanity, I mean the whole human species. There¡¯s a clear difference of emphasis between the two.¡± Okay, it is beginning to sound irritated by now. Maybe I should lay it off for a minute. So, I just nod and listen. ¡°As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, humanity needs time. Which is where you come in. Your job will be twofold. First, you¡¯ll explore, learn, and gather information for me, so that I can help the others adapt quicker. Second, you¡¯ll be leaving behind a false trail, confusing anyone who tries to contact humans. Any questions?¡± ¡°Eh, kind of? By the sound of it, it looks like I¡¯m about to be isekaid or something, which is fine by me.¡± ¡°Yes, that is indeed how I¡¯m going to do this.¡± ¡°Good, good. And do I get any extra help with my oh so grand mission to save humanity?¡± damn, it¡¯s actually really hard to keep a neutral tone. ¡°Yes, you¡¯ll receive two, or perhaps two and a half, gifts,¡± ooh, goodie! ¡°The first, is reincarnation. You¡¯ll continuously get born again and again, so that you leave behind an even more confusing trail.¡± Oh, hell yes! This would have been worth it just for that alone! ¡°Second, you¡¯ll be able to keep one ability from each life permanently,¡± my hand instantly shoots up. ¡°No, that¡¯s not how it works. Your memories are an intrinsic part of you and as such are part of the first gift. By abilities I mean things specific to a creature. A spider¡¯s ability to make spider silk. A dragon¡¯s ability to breathe fire. That kind of stuff,¡± my hand falls down, my question answered without even having to voice it. ¡°And the last, kind of gift. Since I will be a bit more focused on you, others will find it harder to read and influence your mind.¡± Ah, good. Honestly, that¡¯s a huge boulder off my shoulders. I won¡¯t have to worry about that at least. ¡°Do not misunderstand, it¡¯ll still be possible, just much more difficult to do,¡± Humanity sharply adds. Okay, maybe just a medium size boulder then. Still, it¡¯s good to be protected against the worst kind of thing. ¡°Now then, anything else?¡± it asks me. Hmm, was there something? Oh, yes. I almost forgot. ¡°Why did you choose me to do this?¡± I say, ¡°Even if you needed someone versed in fantasy tropes or some such bullshit, I¡¯m sure there were other people just as, if not more, knowledgeable in it that also have some more useful knowledge.¡± ¡°Ah, that? That one¡¯s simple. It¡¯s because you were about to die anyway, and therefore it¡¯d cause the least amount of disruption for me to take you away.¡± That¡­ I did not expect. Maybe I should have, but it¡¯s still surprising. Sadly, it does make sense. Now I don¡¯t know how to feel about what I did. On the one hand, I definitely regretted it in the end. On the other hand, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten this opportunity otherwise. ¡°Oh, and one last thing,¡± I look up, pulled form my pondering, ¡°I¡¯m not really powerful enough to reincarnate you into the more complex creatures yet. Anyway, byeeeee!¡± And just like that, everything goes dark as I can¡¯t even say goodbye to my life on Earth. Next time I¡¯ll wake up, I¡¯ll be in fantasy land. (1) Chapter 1 When I come to, I¡¯m surrounded by darkness and a claustrophobic feeling. As if the whole world was pressing down on me, threatening to compress me into nonexistence. I have to get out! So, I push and encounter walls. I strain against them as hard as I can and then¡­ they simply give way. Huh. That went much easier than I expected. Especially in contrast to all those stories I read. At least I assume this is something similar to that. Anyway, if what is happening is what I think is happening, then I should have been reincarnated inside an egg. But in the stuff I read, it¡¯s always much harder for people to break out of the egg. Ah, no matter, I¡¯m sure to figure it out soon enough. I continue to push against the walls of my (presumed) egg. The weirdly mushy walls. Okay, yeah. Something weird is definitely going on. Finally, I manage to stick my head (at least I think it¡¯s my head) out and see¡­ And see¡­ And. See¡­ Nothing. Just light. Or rather, just brightness. Oh no, no, no, no, no. Is this what that stupid Humanity was talking about just before it sent me away? Am I truly stuck in creatures that are so simple so as to not have proper vision? Oh, this is going to suck so muuuuuuch! After my brief bout of despair, I give into my fate and continue wiggling my way out of my egg. Which isn¡¯t that hard due to its softness, but that just makes me worried about how safe I actually was inside. Then, already resigned to do what has already been repeated by so many other reincarnators, I begin eating the egg remains. And it is while I¡¯m doing that that a notification pops up in my head.
CONGRATULATION! You¡¯ve reached sufficient maturity and are now considered and independent actor of your creature type: Caterpillar! Your base physical stats are 1! As a caterpillar you gain: >> The caterpillar ability Metamorphosis!
Ah, that¡¯d explain it. I¡¯m a weak ass caterpillar, and I guess those don¡¯t have exactly stellar vision. But it seems we¡¯re not done yet.
Your innate trait, Past Life Holdover, activated! Select an ability to keep permanently! Metamorphosis automatically selected! Metamorphosis has become innate! Innate abilities can be levelled! Metamorphosis reaches level 0!
Ah, of course. Well, that¡¯s my first life wasted. Didn¡¯t even have a choice. I really hope Humanity can somehow fix this, because that trait is pretty useless if I can only choose from stuff I have from the very beginning. By the time the notifications finish, I¡¯ve already devoured my whole egg, sating the hunger I almost didn¡¯t even notice. Now then, if there are notifications, there must surely also be a STATUS!
Name: None The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Creature type: Caterpillar Level: 0 Strength: 1 Dexterity: 1 Constitution: 1 Abilities: >> (innate) Metamorphosis Level 0 Traits: >> (innate) Past Life Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
Okay, scratch that. I¡¯m not only weak AF, I¡¯m downright squishy! Yes, yes, I know. Caterpillars are, in general, squishy, but that doesn¡¯t mean I have to be! How am I even supposed to do anything like this? A bird could fly down at any moment and gobble me up! It¡¯s not like I¡¯m left with much choice here though. And at least there¡¯s the safety net of reincarnation if this goes badly. When it goes badly, more like. And so, I do as a caterpillar does. I begin to crawly in search of some juicy leaves. I¡¯m already beginning to feel hungry again. There¡¯s just one problem. I¡¯m in a weird and unfamiliar body. Which I can¡¯t properly control. Oh, I just know this is going to be hell. How am I even supposed to learn this? Don¡¯t caterpillars have like, a hundred legs? Actually, are they even called legs? They don¡¯t really resemble them in any way. Not that that¡¯s important here. I pause as I smell something in the air. Something delicious. A nice and juicy leaf. Before I know it, I¡¯m already scurrying in the direction of the smell. Which is still pretty damn slow, since I¡¯m a caterpillar. Also, I make sure to pay attention to what my body is doing. I¡¯ll need to be able to replicate this once I can no longer rely on my instincts to move me. After a little while I arrive at the correct spot. I think. It¡¯s not like I can see much. But my sense of touch sure is telling me that this is a good fresh leaf. Okay, that¡¯s also pretty trippy. I don¡¯t delay any longer and munch down on the leafy goodness under me. And the taste is¡­ oh god damnit, not this too! I meant, the taste is fine, good even, but it¡¯s just coming from the wrong place! Seriously, who designed these creatures? And why would they give them tastebuds on the outside of their mouth? I continue like this for a little while, just peacefully munching on a leaf. And then it moves. It¡¯s nothing major, just a slight wobble, but I can immediately distinguish it from the regular bobbing of the wind. I freeze. Damn! Is that a predator? Is my first second life truly going to be so short? I haven¡¯t even become a butterfly! No, I won¡¯t let this be the end of me. I¡¯ll face whatever it is in combat, even if it may kill me. I slowly turn around, thankful that my opponent is apparently similarly slow. And then, I bravely approach my enemy. I can¡¯t actually see what it is (I can only detect brightness), but the vibrations in the leaf give me a pretty good idea of where it is. The distance between us shortens, out battle epic battle approaching. I can almost feel the cold grip of death on me. We connect and¡­ it¡¯s¡­ wriggling? Like me? What? Shocked, frozen solid, I found myself unable to move for the longest while. And then it clicked. It¡¯s my sibling! Or cousin, or whatever. Whew, I was beginning to worry there for a minute. I for sure thought this was the end. I distance myself from my distant (maybe not that distant) relative and get back to munching. This time, with company. It¡¯s actually kind of nice, knowing there¡¯s someone else with me and I¡¯m not alone. Sure, it¡¯s just a mindless caterpillar (unless I¡¯ve been the victim of a cosmic joke and we are both reincarnators), and I can¡¯t actually interact with it in any way, but I like it. Sort of like simply silently hanging out with a friend, both of you comfortable in each other¡¯s presence to just enjoy it in silence. More time passes and I the brightness I see begins to dim. I suppose the day would have to come to an end eventually, wouldn¡¯t it? I slowly shuffle under the, by now much smaller, leaf and curl up. It¡¯s time for sleep! And nothing much happens. Huh? Is there something wrong with me? Then again, I don¡¯t really feel tired. And now that I focus on it, my leaf mate is still out there munching on greens. Oh, what the hell, might as well continues too. I¡¯ll get some rest when I actually feel tired. And that¡¯s how the next few days pass. There¡¯s not much variance in the life of a caterpillar. Every now and then I¡¯d move to a different leaf, but otherwise my days consisted of just constant eating. I did eventually fall asleep, but even that lasted just a couple of minutes. I think I¡¯ve grown a lot since I was born, but it¡¯s hard to tell without some kind of reference point. But even with that, I¡¯m starting to feel bored. There¡¯s just nothing to do as a caterpillar! Worst of all, my system hasn¡¯t updated even the slightest bit! Not level ups, no experience gain, no new skills. Nothing! Honestly, this is not what I was imagining when Humanity told me I¡¯d be getting isekaid. I¡¯d have hoped for at least some kind of growth on my part, and I do not mean the literal kind. Maybe I could try to do something special, maybe gain an achievement or something. Are there even achievements? No idea. What about skills, could I get some of those? Well, what can a caterpillar actually even do that I can master and can be considered a skill? Not much, really. I can only chew and move. Don¡¯t exactly have the appendages for much more than that. Oh well, back to chewing it is. (1) Chapter 2 I never want to be an insect again. This is hell. The true depths of hell. Three weeks! Three whole weeks of nothing more than chew, chew, and even more chew! I swear, if I have to spend another life as a caterpillar, I¡¯ll just skip to the next one. Luckily, it seems my suffering is finally at an end. I just finished another leaf and no longer feel the hunger that drove me to eat all this while. Which can mean only one thing. It¡¯s time to use my one and only ability. But first it¡¯s imperative for me to find a suitable spot. That also doesn¡¯t take me too long. I just crawl under a leaf that¡¯s relatively inaccessible for any would be predators while also hiding me enough. Then, there¡¯s not much else left but to activate Metamorphosis. First, I produce a tiny amount of silk that attaches my backside to the leaf. Then I let go and start convulsing. Oh god, this is strange. I¡¯m¡­ not sure how to describe this. I feel like I¡¯m throwing up. Except the thing I¡¯m throwing up is myself. Throb after throb, I shed a bit more of my skin, or what passes as skin for a caterpillar. Ugh, this feels disgusting. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s even more bizarre from the outside. Eventually, I¡¯m left with a kind of solid membrane around me, my former skin discarded into a roll above me (since I¡¯m hanging upside down). Is this the chrysalis? I kind of expected to weave myself a cocoon. Do only some species do that? Hmm, what now? As far as I know, I¡¯ll be stuck here for quite some time. Actually, what even happens now? How does one go from an ugly caterpillar to a less ugly butterfly? I seem to remember reading somewhere that I¡¯ll be liquified? Is that a real thing? I hope not. I feel like that¡¯d be agony. Then, agony came and I passed out. --------------------------------------------------------------------- In a space between, similar to where we first met Humanity, two figures stand in silence. One of them, the familiar form of Humanity. Nonspecific as ever, it nonetheless manages to show its dislike of the other person. The other one is the same and yet, in an impossible to describe way, completely different. It too is of a humanoid shape and it too has no distinguishing features. In a way, they are exactly the same. but despite that both of them give of something that makes sure nobody would ever mix them up. The unknow figure, likely also a personification of some species, is the first to break the silence. ¡°We¡¯ve given you more than enough time to think this over. What¡¯s your response?¡± it asks, voice as cold as iron. Humanity scoffs, ¡°As if you¡¯ve given me any kind of choice. Your ¡®offer¡¯ is nothing more than a thinly veiled threat.¡± ¡°So, you agree then, great. My representatives will soon come to meet your people, with others close behind them,¡± it begins, but is interrupted before it can say too much. ¡°You misunderstand, Tralag-Urd. I have no plans of joining your little cabal,¡± says Humanity. Its voice is full of venom and barely contained anger. There¡¯s a brief moment of silence, Humanity¡¯s response shocking for Tralag-Urd. It almost seems as if it too is about to erupt in anger, yet just as fast as it appeared, it¡¯s hidden behind a mask of calm. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Are you certain? This is not a decision you can easily reverse.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even try. I won¡¯t deal with bullies, especially the likes of you.¡± ¡°Very well. Just know, you¡¯re making a mistake,¡± Tralag-Urd says before disappearing, leaving nought behind. Soon afterwards, Humanity also disappears and the reappears in its own space between. It¡¯s silent for a while, contemplating what just happened. ¡°I hope I did the right thing. You better not disappoint me, my unofficial champion,¡± it mutters to itself. ¡°Actually, I might as well check on what¡¯s happening with them.¡± Humanity concentrates on the special connection it formed with its chosen human, thus stealing a quick peek at the surrounding at the other end. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me. A fucking caterpillar!?¡± ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Metamorphosis reached level 1!
Ugh, what? I feel like my head is at the bottom of the ocean. Also, why am I inside some kind of super small container? I try to move a bit, but there¡¯s no space for that and instead I poke a small hole into whatever it is I¡¯m surrounded by. Oh. I remember now. I got isekaid. Well, that¡¯s¡­ nice, I suppose. Not the fact I¡¯m a caterpillar, but at least I still have more options later down the line. And I guess I¡¯m no longer a caterpillar, am I? Maybe I¡¯ll finally be able to accomplish something worthwhile. Before that, I have to get out of this cocoon though. Or chrysalis, to be correct. It takes me a little while to do so, but I eventually figure out the trick. I simply had to flex me new wings a bit for the chrysalis to tear open and let me out. Ah, that¡¯s much better. There¡¯s nothing quite like stretching my wings after being liquified by my own digestive acid. Yup, completely normal sentence right there, nothing weird about it. Now then, flying lessons are in order. And also, a snack, I¡¯m starting to feel hungry again. As I try to take off, it comes naturally to me with almost no difficulties. Like I¡¯m getting used to a non-human body or something. Which is nice, I won¡¯t have to struggle after every reincarnation. And as I¡¯m flying about randomly, just enjoying the movement, I realize the biggest benefit of becoming a butterfly. I can see! Not well, mind you, but at least a thousand times better than before! There¡¯s colour in the world! Oh, hell yes! This was definitely worth it!
CONGRATULATION! You¡¯ve transformed your creature type into: Butterfly! Your base physical stats are 1! As a butterfly you gain: >> The butterfly ability Flower Feeding, Flight! You are no longer a caterpillar! You lose all caterpillar abilities! Metamorphosis is innate! No abilities lost!
Aha! Screw you System or whatever you are, I¡¯m keeping all of my stuff! Wait, hold on. Does this mean I can go through another metamorphosis? What would a butterfly even turn into? A bird? No, that¡¯s silly. Interesting thought, but let¡¯s see my full STATUS first.
Name: None Creature type: Butterfly Level: 0 Strength: 1 Dexterity: 1 Constitution: 1 Abilities: >> Flower Feeding >> Flight >> (innate) Metamorphosis Level 1 Traits: >> (innate) Past Life Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
Alright, still not that much for me to work with, but better. It¡¯s a shame I can only keep one ability from each life. I could¡¯ve had flight unlocked for all much future selves. Stupid automatic activation. Bu now I¡¯m getting hungry again, so I let my senses guide me. It doesn¡¯t take long for me to pick something up, my instincts telling me it¡¯s food. Following the smell, I soon spot a bright spot of colour in the distance. Yes, score! Landing on the flower, I can immediately taste the wondrous meal awaiting me. OH, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Another creature whose tastebuds are in the wrong place! Damn it, I need to make sure to never land on something disgusting. Next up is the second ever use of an ability of mine. Or rather, the third. I did already fly after all. Either way, I activate Flower Feeding. My proboscis extends from my head and into the flower, searching for nectar. And it¡¯s good. Don¡¯t get me wrong, there¡¯s nothing wrong with the taste or anything, really. I mean, it sure sates my hunger, and that¡¯s the main point of it. But it doesn¡¯t do one very important thing. It gives me no option for advancement. It doesn¡¯t matter how much I eat this sweet nectar; it¡¯s not going to level me up and the ability itself also doesn¡¯t have levels. And even if it did, I still wouldn¡¯t keep it to my next life. All that to say, I need to figure out how this world actually works. It¡¯s not yet time sit on my laurels and enjoy my semi-infinite lifespan. I make eat as much as I can, making sure I won¡¯t be hungry for some time, and head off. It¡¯s time to see what gives me experience. There are only two actions that usually do so, and I don¡¯t feel like a butterfly is something capable of killing. Not even an extremely small creature. We don¡¯t even have mouths to bite with! No, I¡¯ll have to see if crafting works. Not that I even know what I can craft as a butterfly. But I¡¯ll figure it out. Just need to see something interesting to gain inspiration. (1) Chapter 3 After a bit of fluttering about, I¡¯ve come to the conclusion that even as a butterfly I won¡¯t be capable of doing much, especially delicate work like crafting. But I did notice something interesting. A bird nest. Yes, that could work. Of course, I won¡¯t be building a bird nest. Something smaller should be withing my range of abilities though. How hard can it be to gather some small twigs and arrange them? And since construction is basically also crafting, this should work. Now just to get the materials. I fly close to the forest floor, scanning the underbrush for any suitable stick. And by that I mostly mean small enough for me to carry. Turns out, that¡¯s much harder than expected. No matter how long I look for or how hard I search, there¡¯s nothing quite small enough. Alright, new plan. Are there any coniferous trees here? Looking about, I can only spot the usual broad leaves. Okay then, up it is. Heading upwards, I bop and weave between foliage. I sort of imagine this is how it feels like to navigate a spaceship through an asteroid belt. Fortunately, I don¡¯t crash into anything and make it above the tree line. An endless see of green extends before me. There¡¯s no end in sight to it no matter which direction I turn. Yes, my vision is not the best, but enough to know this is a big forest. Big enough to, hopefully, also have some coniferous trees. Is that how it works? By size? Probably not, but one can hope. Now then, let¡¯s see. How do I even differentiate my target trees from the rest? Is there even a way to do so? I hope so, otherwise this was for nothing. Leisurely, I set out again, enjoying the sight. The breeze up here is strong enough to carry me a little and I don¡¯t have to flap my wings that much. Just nature and me, gliding on the guiding hands of wind. Sadly, as all things, I get bored of this too. Perhaps if I didn¡¯t have the looming threat of death and loosing most of what I worked for, I wouldn¡¯t be so quick to lose interest. Just all the more reason to figure this out. The search continues with no end to be seen. I must have flown a considerable distance already, yet there¡¯s not much change in the sea of leaves under me. Ugh, this is so unnecessarily complicated. Why couldn¡¯t I have been born as something with hand? Or even just any kind of appendage would be an improvement. Not like this butterfly body that can only move and fly. Makes me wish to be born as something more interesting next time. A human shaped and or sized thing is probably too much to hope for, but a rat. I feel like that¡¯s a reasonable option. Especially since I¡¯ve already had to suffer as a caterpillar/butterfly duo. Like, that¡¯s probably one of the few species that completely changes shape throughout its lifespan and yet both of them are useless! Once again, who designed these? There is one plus, if I may call it that, to all this. It¡¯s given me time to properly think over and digest all that¡¯s happened to me. It is, to understate it, not normal what I¡¯ve been through. And yet I can¡¯t deny I¡¯ve always secretly dreamed of something like this. Hours pass and there¡¯s still nothing. I¡¯m beginning to think there aren¡¯t even any coniferous trees here. A shame. And I¡¯m getting sort of sleepy. Not completely, there¡¯s no similarity with human sleep. It¡¯s more like the thing I did as a caterpillar, the sort of ¡®stay still and rest¡¯ state. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Well, there¡¯s no use fighting it. I land on a high branch of the nearest tree and settle down under it. Then there¡¯s not much more for me to do. I¡¯ll jut suddenly realize time passed and be ready to go on. You know what? That¡¯s bullshit, actually. I likely don¡¯t have that much time left to live as a butterfly. And I refuse to spend a big chunk of that spacing out. So, instead of just surrendering to oblivion, I consciously try to stay awake. Not completely, that¡¯s bound to fail eventually, but only partially. To at least be aware of the time passing, maybe also continuing my train of thought if I¡¯m lucky. And believe it or not, I¡¯m successful! Partially, at least. I still fall into a weird trance, like zoning out. But a small part of me remains. That small part is also able to pay attention (a little bit) and tell me how long has passed. Which is the good news. The bad news is that butterflies, in contrast to caterpillars, apparently sleep through the whole night. But that¡¯s not all. As morning comes and the first rays of sunshine greet me, there¡¯s an unexpected gift waiting for me.
You gained the Meditation skill!
Oh. That¡¯s nice. ¡­ Wait. A skill. I finally got a skill! Yes! There are skills after all! Oh, this opens up so much! Does it? I¡¯m actually not sure. Just the fact that there exists a difference between skills and abilities tells me something. And going by the names, it could very well mean that skills are actually, well, skills. In which case I¡¯m not sure how many skills a butterfly can gain. Most of them would probably have to be in the same category as meditation, so mental. Alright, what can I do with my mind? Math? Not sure why I¡¯d want that. Magic? Oooh, that would be nice. Two problems though. First, there¡¯s no mention of any magical stats on my status page. Second, I don¡¯t know where to even start learning it. That reminds me, has anything at all changed there?
Name: None Creature type: Butterfly Level: 0 Strength: 1 Dexterity: 1 Constitution: 1 Skills: >> Meditation level 1 Abilities: >> Flower Feeding >> Flight >> (innate) Metamorphosis Level 1 Traits: >> (innate) Past Life Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
It would seem not. Except for the new skills section, but I already knew that. Seriously, why is this so badly made? Why can¡¯t butterflies gain experience through something simpler, like drinking nectar? Okay, I know why, but it¡¯s still unfair. Besides, a giant high-level butterfly wouldn¡¯t even be that terrifying. As I already said, we don¡¯t even have mouths to bite someone. Well, I can imagine such a butterfly might accidentally stick its proboscis inside a corpse and develop a taste for blood. But how likely is that, really? Truly, there¡¯s nothing to be worried about. Yet nobody answers my extremely legitimate complaint. Huff, a bunch of stuck-up snobs, whoever designed this. I bet they don¡¯t even consider butterflies as sapient. A sharp pain pulls me out of contemplation. Right, gotta feed this mortal vessel of mine. Hmm, let¡¯s maybe not go with the mortal vessel shtick just yet. Maybe a couple iterations in, once I¡¯m less attached to it. Finding another patch of flowers isn¡¯t hard at all, almost as if I was built with that purpose in mind. And thus, I feed. Until a friend comes by. Another butterfly, almost identical in colouring to me. Hey, is that you! My leaf-mate? The first other creature I met in this new world? Oh, it¡¯s been such a long time since we parted. While I¡¯m getting emotional about our reunion, the other butterfly rapidly approaches and land on the same flower as me. Then it begins walking towards me. Closer and closer. Hey. Hey! Buddy! I know that this is how we first met, but respect my personal space, alright! But no matter how much I shout at it (inside my head) it doesn¡¯t stop. Suddenly, the realization hits me. Fuck, this guy wants to mate. Oh no. no, no, no, no, no. I can¡¯t do that! That¡¯s disgusting! As fast as I can, I take off and fly away. Yet the bastard follows me, close in pursuit. Fuuuuuck! Hey, don¡¯t you know when to back off, take a hint! It does not back off. In fact, it only gets closer and closer. I change tactics. Instead of flying away, I fly higher. As high as I can go, even higher than before. I¡¯m now far above the tree tops below. And the bastard is still hot on my heels. Ugh, higher it is. The air is getting colder and thinner. Not by much, I imagine, but noticeable enough for a small butterfly. The good part is that my unwanted pursuer also seems to be affected by it, gradually slowing down. Hell yes! Take that sucker! Alas, all good things must come to an end, and my triumphant victory doesn¡¯t last long. I just briefly manage to spot a bird swooping in to swallow my pursuer, before the same thing (presumably) happens to me, and I die. My first life, kind of well lived, is over now. (2) Chapter 1 I wake up in a familiar situation. Surrounded by pressure from all sides. And darkness, can¡¯t forget darkness. Another egg then. Oh well, I know how to deal with this. I begin to push against the walls until I get out. Something gives and I¡¯m no longer under pressure. Though I¡¯m still not 100 percent sure I got out. Why? Well, it would seem like whatever I turned into is blind. Again. Goddamn it. I¡¯ll just have to wait until my status is active again. Which shouldn¡¯t take too long, based on my previous experience. Before that I might as well see what my instincts have to say. Which is basically just one thing: move. And so, I move. It may have taken me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the direction I was supposed to go, but whatever. As I¡¯m crawling, I realize I¡¯m not on the ground. No, I¡¯m climbing on a wall of some kind. And in fact, I appear to be heading for the roof of this place. Huh, not many places in nature that have roofs. Actually, I can think of only one, caves. So, I¡¯m some kind of cave creature? And I really should have noticed this sooner, but my movement method is¡­ strange. As a caterpillar I at least had those little nubs that helped me walk. But now? Not even those. I seem to just be a tube. Ah, I appear to have reached my destination. I¡¯m just about to start the next step of whatever process I¡¯m in the middle of, when the long-awaited notification appears.
CONGRATULATIONS! You¡¯ve reached sufficient maturity and are now considered and independent actor of your creature type: Glow Worm! Your base physical stats are 1! As a glow worm you gain: >> The glow worm ability Metamorphosis, Silk Production! >> The glow worm trait Bioluminescence! Metamorphosis merged into Metamorphosis! Metamorphosis reaches level 2!
A Glow Worm? Is that a thing? I think I vaguely remember something like that, but it could just as well be a fantasy creature. Sure sounds like it.
Your innate trait, Past Life Holdover, activated! Select an ability to keep permanently!
¡­ Is it- is it actually letting me pick? Even though I only really have one option? Huh. I would have expected something like this to not mistake the already innate Metamorphosis as a valid target. Unless, by picking it again, I¡¯d gain something special. Similarly, to how it automatically went up a level just now. Argh, a dilemma. My one weakness. It¡¯s also technically possible that my trait is eligible even though it says pick an ability. But that just seems stupid to have such a basic mistake is something that governs basically all life. Then again, I could just, not pick. See how long I can hold off on it. Maybe if I gain a skill in the meantime, I¡¯d also be able to select that. Or, I could wait to metamorphose again and see if that gives me better options. Yeah, I¡¯ll do that. Maybe at worst it¡¯ll select randomly and I¡¯m okay with that. It¡¯s not as if I have a great selection here. Alright, I¡¯ll do that. Hopefully it works. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. But now, onto more pressing issues. What does a glowworm actually do? I can see I have Silk Production as a new ability. Presumably something to do with that. Activating the ability just produces a long and wet string. I can¡¯t shape it or anything. So, not the spider strategy then. Playing around with the one thread I have; I can¡¯t figure out what I¡¯m supposed to do with it. It is my hunger that swoops in to save the day. Just like when I was a caterpillar and didn¡¯t know what to do, my hunger activates some deep instinct buried in glow worms that tells them what to do. Before I know it, I¡¯m attaching my silk strand to the ceiling, letting it hang, and start producing another one. Alright, not sure what the purpose of that is, but I can do that. After about 10 minutes I have another one ready. I attach it a little bit off to the side of the first one, so that they don¡¯t tangle. Which is apparently not enough of them. I begin producing more and more. It takes me a while to make enough. In the end, I end up with 30 of these long, wet, and thin lines of silk hanging from the ceiling. And none of them intercept with each other. Yeah, I have no idea what this was supposed to accomplish. Worst of all, I have no idea what to do next. The glow worm instincts have just gone quiet since I completed my silk array. And when I try to leave, they almost literally scream at me to remain in place. So, I can¡¯t even go and explore without apparently disturbing whatever it is I have here. So, it¡¯s time for the only thing I can do. While stationary, blind, and without limbs. Meditate. I may have lost the skill, but not the memories of it. Hopefully that means I can gain it quicker this time. And actually level it this time around. I want to know what a non-level one meditation skill does for me. I stay completely still and just try to let time pass. To just observe time from the sidelines.
You gained the meditation skill!
Suddenly, I feel a tug. Huh, what? I¡¯m confused for a bit. Wasn¡¯t I just meditating? Oh, I seem to have gained the skill. But the tug? There it is again. It¡¯s coming from¡­ the thread? Indeed, it would seem like something indeed got caught in my strands of silk. So, I am going for the spider strategy! But before that, I¡¯ll have to check on my first ever prey. Letting my instincts do they heavy lifting again, I slither down one of my silk lines (wow, I¡¯m light!) until I reach the struggling critter caught in my web. If you can call one thread a web. Anyway, I can¡¯t actually tell what it is (since I¡¯m blind), but my glow worm instincts don¡¯t seem to have a problem with that. I begin to chew a tunnel through my victim. Yes. Through the still alive creature. I really hope there aren¡¯t any human sized glow worms.
You killed a level 0 Moth. You gained minimal experience.
Oh god. This is¡­ I don¡¯t know how to feel about this. I, I think I¡¯ll have to digest this. ¡­ Pun definitely not intended. I¡¯m not that morbid. But damn, not only was that my first kill, it happened because I was eating something alive. Eugh, this is so fucked up. Just, just focus on the positives. I finally have a way to gain experience. Yay. It is only minimal though, whatever that means. Is it an absolute value? Or is it minimal in proportion to how much I need to reach the next level? Or maybe proportional to something else? Damn it, why can¡¯t this System be more transparent with its calculations. You know what, screw this all. I¡¯m just going to meditate until my emotions get sorted out. Besides, it seems like that¡¯s what glow worms are supposed to do anyway. ------------------------------------ On a different world, inside an ancient looking tower, an old wizard was ordering his apprentices around. ¡°Terithrow, be careful with that inscription! Emenderty, mix some more GrukGrob juice into that ointment! Spirmarvily, get over here!¡± he constantly shouted into the spacious room. He was an old wizard, not just by normal standards, but also by wizard standards. In fact, he may very well have been the oldest tralagix in existence at the time. That did not stop him from being extremely active though. Almost aggressively active. ¡°Yes, Grand Archwizard Lord Magus?¡± the skittish Spirmarvilly asked. ¡°Is everything proceeding to plan?¡± the old wizard said. ¡°Um,¡± Spirmarvilly looked around, ¡°yes? Grand Archwizard Lord Magus,¡± luckily, Spirmarvily quickly remembered to add the honorific. ¡°Wrong!¡± shouted the old wizard, ¡°Nothing¡¯s going according to plan, gods damnit! The best time to have had the ritual prepared was yesterday, but since we¡¯ve only gotten word earlier today, today will do. And everybody is doing sloppy work! You¡¯re not supposed to strive for perfection, you¡¯re supposed to be perfection!¡± Spirmarvilly, along with every other apprentice who overheard him, cringed back a bit. And that was with them being used to such a verbal onslaught. Despite it, one brave, or perhaps foolish, apprentice asked a question, ¡°E-excuse me, Grand Archwizard Lord Magus, but exactly what kind of ritual are we preparing?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard! A new species-collective emerged! We must locate them immediately, unless the others get to them first!¡± the wizard shouted, his voice that of a crazed man. ------------------------------------
You killed a level 0 Moth. You gained minimal experience. You reached level 1!
Oh, finally! It¡¯s been ages! Now then, show me what goodies I get from a level up. (2) Chapter 2
You killed a level 0 Moth. You gained minimal experience. You reached level 1! You gained 1 Attribute Point!
Oh, come on! You can¡¯t be serious. Is this really it, is this all I¡¯m getting for my hard work? Sure, it may not have been that hard, it did involve me mostly just waiting and meditating, but still! Only one, measly attribute point for all my troubles? I bet this is because I¡¯m just a weak worm. Anyway, on the topic of meditation, I had the, ahem, ¡®opportunity¡¯, to practice it a lot lately. How much is lately, I hear you ask? No idea! Since I¡¯m blind, I can¡¯t really tell the time and even if I weren¡¯t I highly suspect I¡¯m deep underground inside of a cave. Huh, what about sleep? Turns out, I can substitute that by meditating, so I can¡¯t even really track the time by how many times I slept! The best approximate would be my meals, of which I mostly lost count. Event then, things don¡¯t get trapped in my silk lines on a regular schedule. So yeah, who can really know. The best I can recall is I¡¯ve eaten more than twenty times so far. As I said, I lost track after a while. And after all that, something that¡¯s drive a normal human insane, I¡¯m only rewarded with a silly little one attribute point. I swear this is just being a caterpillar all over again. Except somehow even more boring. Anyway, since it doesn¡¯t seem like I¡¯ll have much use of anything else anytime soon, I stick the point into constitution and admire my STATUS.
Name: Creature type: Glow Worm Level: 1 Strength: 1 Dexterity: 1 Constitution: 2 Skills: >> Meditation level 27 Abilities: >> Silk Production >> (innate) Metamorphosis level 2 Traits: >> Bioluminescence >> (innate) Past Life Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
I mean, it¡¯s a little better compared to my starting values. Yes, a little. Negligibly so. Argh, this is so frustrating! Worst of all, I can¡¯t even do much to speed this up, since the entire hunting strategy of glow worms seems to be wait and see. At least my meditation is getting along nicely. Not that I¡¯ve really noticed what difference those levels do yet. Maybe it¡¯s a little easier to do now? Then again, that¡¯s happen naturally back on magicless Earth too just due to all the practicing. Really, the biggest difference is in my constitution stat. a whole doubling of it. Woo, so excited to have a grand total of TWO in a stat. Can you feel the excitement in my voice? That¡¯s weird, because I was being sarcastic. Sigh, what am I even doing. The best strategy I could employ is speedrunning my lives until I get a good ability. But that feels wrong. Especially so after nearly doing just that, and doubly so because I did experience death already. Sure, it was a quick one in the beak of a bird, but it was one nonetheless. Ah, what the hell, it¡¯s not like I have anything better to do. Back to meditative hunting it is. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ------------------------------------------------- Finally, after another, even longer time period, I¡¯ve finally done it.
You killed a level 0 Moth. You gained negligible experience. You reached level 2! You gained 1 Attribute Point!
Sadly, it would seem that the world still hates me. Just another lone attribute point. Maybe if I could eat something other than moths, I¡¯d level faster, but no. The only prey in this shitty cave has to be something that doesn¡¯t eat other things (which means it doesn¡¯t gain experience). Damn it, off you go into constitution again. I¡¯m going to brood. --------------------------------------------------
You killed a level 0 Moth. You gained negligible experience. You reached level 3! You gained 1 Attribute Point!
Yay, I¡¯m so happy about this. Please ignore my completely monotone voice. At least I finally managed to figure out one benefit of a high levelled meditation skill. It seems to help me preserve my sanity. Which is nice, I guess. --------------------------------------------------
You killed a level 0 Moth. You gained negligible experience. You reached level 4! You gained 1 Attribute Point!
¡­ --------------------------------------------------
You killed a level 0 Moth. You gained negligible experience. You reached level 5! You gained 1 Attribute Point! You can select a Path!
¡­ Wait, huh? A path? Am I finally going to gain a super awesome skill that¡¯ll make me overpowered and save me from this boring hell? Please? Okay, hold on. Just, calm down for a second. Manage your expectations, there¡¯s still a chance this¡¯ll give me absolutely nothing. There, are we done? Good. Let me just assign my points. Oh please, Humanity, if you¡¯re hearing this make this be something actually useful! I don¡¯t want to be stuck here for any longer.
WITNESS, FOR YOU STAND AT A CROSSROAD! A Path is your way through life, a road you yourself will build. Previously just a mere animal, you now step into the realm of Beasts. In time, your Path may branch, but its core will stay the same. This choice may be postponed. To settle down or to not walk your journey is a Path in and of itself. Choose carefully. Your achievements open you these Paths: >> Path of the Silk Trapper >> Path of the Life Feeder >> Path of the Patient >> Path of the Mindful Gain achievement, Skills, and Attributes to reveal further Paths.
Oh-ho-hoo, this is wonderful! I still have no idea what this¡¯ll actually do, but it sure as hell looks promising. Especially the names. I can¡¯t believe how epic they sound. Alright, I can sort of guess how I got each of those, but it¡¯s time to try something I should have done ages ago. There really wasn¡¯t any reason not to attempt this. System! Give me more info!
Path of the Silk Trapper: You hunt passively, waiting for your prey to walk to its doom of its own volition. Silk is your main weapon. Path of the Life Feeder: You show no mercy, eating your prey as you find it, alive and breathing. Path of the Patient: No matter what happens, you wait, wait on things to pass, to happen, to come to you. Path of the Mindful: Introspection is your main tool, staying present in the moment yet letting time pass. What secrets shall you uncover withing yourself?
Nice! Maybe a little less detail than I¡¯d like. Then again, this life hasn¡¯t been exactly exciting. Will need to take that into consideration in the future. The options themselves are more or less what I expected. Don¡¯t really like the second one though. It¡¯s not my fault that that¡¯s how a lot of us bottom feeders eat! It could give me some nice abilities though, considering how devouring style creatures usually go in fantasy stories. Maybe I¡¯ll turn into some kind of vampire worm? Ooh, and there¡¯d probably be some nice synergy with metamorphosis. The others are a lot less¡­ thought provoking. Patience especially. That one just reeks of laziness and nihilism, or whatever you¡¯d call it. Best case scenario, it¡¯ll make me into a kind of fate or destiny worm. And I hate those things. Hmm, it could swing the chances for me and gain me a better reincarnation though. And it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll actually have to be as passive as it says. Silk trapper is just going deeper into what I already do. Could be nice, could be boring. Maybe there¡¯s something hidden in between the lines, but I¡¯m not seeing it. And lastly, my dear old meditation. I haven¡¯t checked in on it in a while. Its level must be approaching the hundreds, if it¡¯s not there already. The problem is I can¡¯t actually tell much from this one. Is it just going to make me better at meditation? Make me some weird dream worm? Magic, perhaps? Hah, I doubt I¡¯m so lucky to unlock magic this early into my reincarnations. You know what, it¡¯s the question that¡¯s throwing me of. Why is this Path the only one to contain a question? Hmm, since it¡¯s so high level, I might as well use it to decide. Besides, it very clearly told me I can postpone this decision. Maybe meditation will help me order my thoughts. (2) Chapter 3 Alright, I¡¯ve decided. It¡¯s become clear to me that meditation is my most integral skill of mine. For now, at least. After all, I doubt I¡¯d be sane without it.
Path of the Mindful selected. ERROR! Select an ability to keep permanently before proceeding.
Oh, you¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Seriously? And here I was, thinking that trait would actually be useful. Such a shame. Great, now I have another thing to decide on. And I just made another difficult choice. But I suppose having too many choices can¡¯t be a bad thing, right? Wait, no. it absolutely is a bad thing in this case. It¡¯s forcing me to choose way too early, thus limiting my choices! Curse you, System! Ahem, anyway. Might as well see what my options are.
Name: Creature type: Glow Worm Path: pending Level: 5 Strength: 1 Dexterity: 1 Constitution: 6 Skills: >> Meditation level 63 Abilities: >> Silk Production >> (innate) Metamorphosis level 2 Traits: >> Bioluminescence >> (innate) Past Life Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
Right then, now we¡¯re back to my old dilemma. By ¡®ability¡¯ does it literally mean an ability or can it also be from the other options. Hmm, there¡¯s only one way to find out, and as I already said, meditation is currently my most vital skill.
ERROR! Invalid target!
Alright, so no skills. That puts a bit of a damper on my plans, but whatever. How about traits, can I select those? I don¡¯t really feel great about wasting one of my selections on something like bioluminescence. But what the hell, it¡¯s for science!
Bioluminescence selected! Bioluminescence has become innate!
Sigh, I guess that¡¯s good. At least I¡¯ll know it¡¯s possible for the future. It is sad that I had to give up silk production for it. That one could come in handy much more in the future. Oh well, I can still get it one day. With my luck I¡¯ll end up as a spider or something next time. Now then, now that I have done that it should finally let me do my Path choice.
Path of the Mindful selected. As a Mindful Glow Worm you additionally gain: >> The mindful perk Squinting Eye! >> Increased Attribute growth of 1 Ego every second level >> One perk every 5 levels
Oh god, that¡¯s an awful lot to unpack in such a small box of text. Might as well start with the easiest one. Apparently, other than the (not yet clear to me) split between skills and abilities, there¡¯s now also the additional perks to accompany traits. And like, semantically there¡¯s a difference in the meaning of the words, sure, but I feel like they are basically the same, right? And then there¡¯s the attribute growth. I¡¯m now gaining a point in a stat I didn¡¯t even know existed. Just, how? And why wasn¡¯t it listed on my status page? Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I suspect the culprit is my newest trait. Let me see if I can do the same thing to it that I did to my Path selection.
Trait: Squinting Eye ¨C You¡¯ve cracked open your third eye. Unlocks the soul attribute Ego.
Yup, just as I suspected. And now I have to worry about more hidden stats. Do I even have all the body ones unlocked? The worst thing is, I won¡¯t ever know! Not unless I happen to stumble into another perk that unlocks it for me. Now I really wish I could¡¯ve kept my Past Life Holdover selection for after choosing a Path. It¡¯s just not fair being aware of the new attribute and yet having it locked in my next lives. Perhaps there¡¯s another way to keep things permanently through reincarnations? No, squash that though. Even if there is one, it likely requires a super high level which I won¡¯t be reaching anytime soon with my levelling speed. And that seems to be it. So much for a great occasion that¡¯ll decide my future. sure, there¡¯s still the Perk I¡¯ll gain in another five levels, but how likely is that? I must have spent multiple months, at least, getting to level 5 already. And the experience to the next level is only increasing. With my only prey being level 0 moths, I have no chance. Not to mention I¡¯ll likely be metamorphosizing again soon. Aaah, this is all so frustrating! If only I could do anything other than waiting and meditating. Really, the only thing worse that this would be becoming a plant. Then I¡¯d really not have any other options. Not that I currently have a wealth of options. What else could I do, other than silk making, waiting and eating? That third one doesn¡¯t even really count, since it¡¯s dependant on chance. So really, I have just two options. Sigh, might as well see if I can develop a skill related to silk. Yeah, might as well. And it looks like I¡¯m in luck. Inspiration strikes me completely out of the blue and I get to work. I produce a strand of silk, but instead of letting it grow and then attaching it to the rocky ceiling, I attach it immediately. Then, I lengthen it as usual. While moving a little bit away, where I attach the second end to the ceiling. Repeated a couple of times this results in a kind of partial hammock. There are still many gaps between the silk, but that¡¯s where this next step comes in. I repeat the same process, except this time perpendicular to the previous bunch of strands. Once done I have a crude square of silk hanging from the ceiling. A sort of pocket if you will. It¡¯s still not fully sealed up though, so I repeat the process even more times. Each cycles the mesh of line gets more and more solid, becoming a proper piece of fabric. Only the corners of my silk square remain empty, but I consider those entrances. Ta-da! My very own house, a home made of silk. I¡¯ve finally completed what I set out to do as a butterfly.
You¡¯ve constructed a simple silk sanctuary. You gained some experience.
Oh¡­ this is awesome. Better than awesome! I can do much better things than sitting on my butt and meditating! And that experience, just look at it! Some! It says some! Even when both the moths and I very level 0 I only gained minimal experience! This is huge! Okay, let¡¯s plan this out. How fast can I build one of these houses? It feels like it¡¯s been at least a day, but I don¡¯t really have any way to judge that. And all my meditating certainly hasn¡¯t helped my sense of time. Argh! Now I wish I had selected the Silk Trapper Path. I bet it had some perks that¡¯d help me right now. No matter, no matter. A lesson for the future, that¡¯s all this is. I mustn¡¯t get distracted by mystical sounding shit. As the saying goes, all that glitters is not gold. Not that I expect myself to follow that rule. But now, houses! It¡¯s time to do some levelling! It¡¯s not too long into my construction spree that I hit the first roadblock. I¡¯m slowly running out of silk. Damnit. Downtrodden, I return to my nest and start waiting again. I hope some food and time is all I need to replenish my supply. This does put a brake to my plans though. If I can only create so many shelters at once, I won¡¯t be able to level nearly as much as I thought. Maybe a level or two before I metamorphose. That¡¯s another thing. Ever since I selected my Path, I¡¯ve had this weird sense of when things will happen. Just simple stuff, like hunger or sleep. I guess silk availability too, even though I was too focused to notice that. And now my transformation date too. Sounds like those are all things related to me. Kinda like¡­ introspection. Is this the power of the mindful worm? Or Ego? Could be both, could be neither. But ego does mean a sense of self as far as I can remember. It¡¯d make sense then. Useful stat, in that case. As long as it doesn¡¯t become over the top at higher numbers, like making me aware of the food passing through my intestines. That¡¯s just be gross at best and distracting at worst. Ah, but it would seem like I¡¯ve gained enough silk for a little while. It¡¯s time to build houses, this time for real. I zoom off (slowly worm-wiggly my way over) to where I started another silk net. Over the next hours I do the few simple steps necessary for the creation of a simple silk sanctuary. It¡¯s repetitive work, yet still much better than not doing anything. Keeps my blood pumping. Do worms even have blood? Not important. I do sadly have to take a couple more breaks. During these I do the usual, meditation with a side dish of eating the occasional moth alive. I¡¯ve learned to ignore the second part by now, mostly thanks to the first part. Even with these breaks, it feels like almost no time passes and I¡¯ve already finished my second house. Which just means more experience for me. Level 6, I¡¯m coming for you! (2) Chapter 4 It doesn¡¯t take too long for me to finish yet another shelter. Accompanying the usual message is something unexpected but welcome.
You¡¯ve constructed a simple silk sanctuary. You gained some experience. You gained the weaving skill!
Huh, interesting. So, I don¡¯t gain a construction skill but something specific to the material I¡¯m working with. Would someone who builds brick houses gain a ¡®brick laying¡¯ skill then? Or is this another example of me being limited by what I am. Not that I¡¯m complaining. A construction skill would likely give me a weaker boost than weaving, even if it were more versatile. Suddenly, I know it¡¯s time. It seems I won¡¯t get a chance to reach level 6 or higher. At least not before I evolve. I mean, metamorphose. It makes sense, I¡¯ve been at it for many months now. And yes, most of that was spent just chilling in my spot and waiting for moths, but time waits for no one. Let¡¯s just hope I gain something good, since I¡¯m going to be losing my silk production ability. How does my status actually look like after all this time?
Name: Creature type: Glow Worm Path: Path of the Mindful Level: 5 Strength: 1 Dexterity: 1 Constitution: 6 Ego: 10 Skills: Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.>> Weaving level 1 >> Meditation level 64 Abilities: >> Silk Production >> (innate) Metamorphosis level 2 Perks: >> Squinting Eye Traits: >> (innate) Bioluminescence >> (innate) Past Life! Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
Ah, my beautiful status sheet. Ever expanding, if only slowly. I am a bit surprised about my base Ego being as high as 10. I didn¡¯t even have to put any stats in it and it¡¯s already my highest stat. it is a soul attribute though. Hold on¡­ does that mean it won¡¯t reset once I reincarnate? Should I focus all my stats into it now? Wait, no, forgot about my one and only perk. I¡¯ll lose access to it once I lose the perk. Damn it! Alright then, note for future self: if possible, stockpile attribute points until you can put them into something permanent. That should do it. As long as there isn¡¯t a bullshit mechanic like with my permanent ability selection. And now it would seem my time has come to an end. No, that sounds too ominous. I¡¯m not dying. I¡¯ll simply become a different creature type. Once I¡¯m ready, I let my instincts, or perhaps the ability, take over and guide me through the process. The first step of which is a bit surprising. Not because of what it actually is. But because I take the structure of my simple silk shelter and I start modifying it, changing its shape here and there to make it resemble less a hammock and more¡­ cocoon. OH, hell yes! I finally get a cocoon! I must be truthful and say that I was disappointed when my caterpillar-self got a chrysalis instead of a cocoon. And I¡¯m just going to ignore why my shelters already resembled glow worm cocoons a bit. Once I¡¯m done and am snuggly fit inside, I get ready for the next step. The painful dissolving of my body. Last time I barely got to this step before passing out. I¡¯m not sure if that was from the pain or that I didn¡¯t have a brain though. Maybe a bit of both. This time, however, I have an ace up my sleeve. I¡¯m holding out hope that a level 2 ability will give me something better than a level 0 one. And indeed, as I¡¯m slowly liquified and the pain hits me, I manage to hold on to consciousness. It¡¯s not easy, not at all, and much of my mind is focused on just staying awake. And yet, it is enough. Enough for me to notice a faint feeling in the back of my mind. Just the barest hint of something, barely distinct enough for me to see it. It¡¯s a choice. A bit of potential I can assign somewhere. Before I can do so, the pain becomes too much and I pass out. The last thing I sense is my unmade choice defaulting to a set path. (2) Chapter 5 It¡¯s strange, waking up again. Especially when a long time passes between going to sleep and waking. Doubly so when on wakes up in a new and unfamiliar body. Familiar muscle movements cause the wrong limbs to move, senses may be added or completely removed. And despite all these horrible things, the worst may just be the hunger.
Metamorphosis reached level 3!
Yes, yes, thank you for the update. Not much happens for a little while. I just sit there, my cocoon still around me, waiting for¡­ something. I myself don¡¯t know what. I¡¯m-, I don¡¯t-, I just-, Sigh. Let¡¯s just get this over with. The System seems to agree with me, showing up just in time. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
CONGRATULATIONS! You¡¯ve transformed your creature type into: Glow Worm ¨C adult (gnat)! Your base physical stats are 1! As an adult you gain: >> the ability Flight! You lose the following abilities: >> Silk Production >> Bioluminescence Bioluminescence is innate! Trait not lost!
Right, there¡¯s the update screen. Forgot about that one. Oh well, goodbye silk production. You¡¯ll be missed. Well then, I guess I should go on and actually get out now. Yes, I certainly should. I¡¯ll get right to that. Ten minutes later, I¡¯m finally crawling out of my modified simple silk sanctuary that became my cocoon. I stretch my wings and take off. Aah, this is something I missed. It truly was a shock to go from the freedom of a butterfly to the slowness of a worm. But now I¡¯ve gained it back. Makes me hopeful about silk production. Just a bit more time passes while I fly around. I avoid others of my kind, wary after my experience last life. But then my strength slowly leaves me. As I land on the cave wall, I wonder. I wonder about many things, life being one of them. And then, well, then my life runs dry. It would seem like the adult form of glow worms doesn¡¯t live for very long. Oh well. There¡¯s always next time. (3) Chapter 1 I wake up again, but something feels wrong this time. My thoughts are sluggish, barely able to form. It doesn¡¯t take long for me to pass out again, darkness embracing me. And then I wake once more. My mind still slow, even if less so now. And then I¡¯m gone again. Wake and sleep, wake and sleep. The cycle repeats itself over and over again. Eventually I¡¯m not even sure whether I¡¯m awake or dreaming. My mind is muddled, thoughts barely able to distinguish between one idea and another. It comes as a surprise when, as fast as it started, it stops. Suddenly, I¡¯m shunted into full wakefulness. Not that that does me much better. It seems I¡¯m some kind of tiny creature that¡¯s simply¡­ floating about. Floating? Yes, it would seem so. I can distinctly feel the air currents all around me. I try to move, wiggle my tiny body in even the slightest way, but no luck. I can¡¯t manage to shift a single bit. So, left with nothing else to do but to float on, I do just that. Just float, let myself be carried away wherever the currents deem I should go. At some point I fall into a sort of trance, hard to not do that when there¡¯s nothing else to do. All I feel are the currents around me. How they move and shift around. How they grow and wane in strength. How they push me. All I feel are the currents around me. I am the currents. More time passes. It¡¯s nice. Just me, and nothing. Perhaps I¡¯d like to stay like this. Forever? Probably not. For some time though sure. At least five more minutes. Time passes and I¡¯m lulled out of my torpor like state with a familiar screen.
CONGRATULATIONS! You¡¯ve reached sufficient maturity and are now considered an independent actor of your creature type: Starfish (larva)! Your base physical stats are 1! As a starfish(larva) you gain: >> the starfish ability Metamorphosis! If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Metamorphosis merged into Metamorphosis! Metamorphosis reaches level 4!
Ah, hello again old friend. But it would seem we¡¯re not going to stay long like this. I can already feel the urge to transform, to begin a new chapter in my life. Strange beings, starfish. To gain the System just minutes before metamorphosis. Very well, let¡¯s do this. I¡¯ll just consider it an extra opportunity to learn about the weird stuff happening while I evolve. Putting to use muscles I didn¡¯t know I had, I slowly swim down to the seabed. Oh, yes, apparently, I was wrong. Those weren¡¯t air but water currents. As I touch down on the ocean¡¯s floor, something begins to shift within me. The process has already begun. But it¡¯s strange, much different to the other times I¡¯ve done this. I don¡¯t vomit up my insides to form a chrysalis, I don¡¯t spin a cocoon around me out of the finest silk available. No, all I sense is something¡­ shifting, moving withing me. As if my organs were rearranging themselves. Without any warning, something pops and explodes into unimaginable pain. At the same time, I also explode out of my former body.
Metamorphosis reached level 5! Milestone reached!
Once my pain, like the current, ebbs away I can finally collect myself. That¡¯s¡­ an extremely gruesome way to transition between life stages. Do all starfish go through that? Makes one think. Well, I suppose I¡¯m a starfish now. Or, I will be as soon as I¡¯m deemed sufficiently mature, or whatever. Shouldn¡¯t take too long. In the meantime, I make sure to get acquainted with my body. Having five appendages equally arrange around me is new, but not that strange by now. My mouth, the circular maw of death that it is (but only for tiny things), is likewise weird. What throws me for a loop are the tube feet. Hundreds, maybe thousands even, of tiny tubes at the bottom of my arms. If I remember my starfish biology correctly, that¡¯s my main source of locomotion. Yeah, the only way I¡¯ll be able to move is by perfect synchronization of uncountable mini-appendages. Just perfect. Speaking of perfect, this time not sarcastically, my status decides to show up.
CONGRATULATIONS! You¡¯ve transformed your creature type into: Starfish (adult)! Your base physical stats are 2! As an adult you gain: >> the starfish ability Harden and Mucus Production! >> the starfish trait Regeneration and Water Breathing! You lose the following: >> Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is innate! No abilities lost!
That¡¯s¡­ a lot. The most I¡¯ve gained so far. Even my stats start out at something other than one. It does make sense though. Starfish are, after all, much bigger than insects. I¡¯m sort of surprised I managed to luck out into something like this. And all those abilities. It makes me salivate. It also makes it harder to decide which one to keep, but that¡¯s a good problem to have. Just have to make I don¡¯t choose stupidly. Like last time. In hindsight, I¡¯m too embarrassed to even think about it. Anyway, life¡¯s short (not) and time¡¯s a-wasting. It¡¯s time for me to check out the ocean.
Name: Creature type: starfish (adult) Level: 0 Strength: 2 Dexterity: 1 Constitution: 5 Abilities: >> Harden >> Mucus Production >> (innate) Metamorphosis level 5 Traits: >> Regeneration >> Water Breathing >> (innate) Bioluminescence >> (innate) Past Life Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
(3) Chapter 2 Living life as a starfish is surprisingly peaceful. I get to move around, which is a big thing after last life, feel things and most importantly I can actually see things. Mind you, it isn¡¯t perfect vision, nowhere near the sight of a human, but it¡¯s good enough for short distances. Not to mention that it¡¯s basically a full 360-degree line of sight, so that¡¯s pretty cool too. It took me a while to figure out how to eat though. Turns out it¡¯s not much better than the method starfish use to metamorphose. Why, you may ask? Well, it¡¯s because to eat I have to actually turn my stomach inside out and digest whatever it is I¡¯m eating outside of my body. Quite gruesome, if you ask me. Still, better than having to eat things alive. By burying inside them. Yeah, the life of a glowworm is weird, especially in hindsight. Anyway, starfish life. It¡¯s good, I like it. And I¡¯ve also managed to decide which ability to keep forever. I¡¯d have expected it to take me much longer, what with having so many options this time around, but no. It wasn¡¯t even that difficult. After all, the only truly useful one is regeneration. Sure, I am basically immortal and don¡¯t need to worry about an early death, but that¡¯s not all life is about. What if I¡¯m severely maimed, lose a limb or something? There¡¯s a myriad of scenarios where I can imagine regeneration as the clear winner out of the options given to me.
Regeneration selected! Regeneration has become innate!
There, that¡¯s done now. All I need to figure out now is how to actually, properly progress. Yes, life as a starfish is cool and all, but that doesn¡¯t mean I want to spend the next however long like this. Which means I have to either find a really good Path, along with a good source of experience, or a way to trigger further metamorphosis. And something tells me option number two is going to be somewhat easier. But what could the requirements be?
As a not naturally metamorphosizing creature, you may trigger one at any time once you reach maturity or a number of special circumstances. The number of available targets, and the quality of those targets, depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to attributes, skills, abilities, perks, traits and achievements in general. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Trigger metamorphosis?
Aha! I knew it¡¯d be easier to go with this option! So, it really is that easy, huh. I could just do it right now, nothing¡¯s really stopping me. Except that I¡¯d be a shit evolution. At the very least, I should try to gain a couple of skills, since those definitely affect this. Meditation should be easy, but what else can I get? Maybe climbing? Then again, my mucus production ability appears to be geared towards that, so who knows if I could even get that. Swimming? No, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the species of starfish that can do that. I spend a couple of minutes on it, which is enough to gain the skill. It would appear I¡¯m getting really good at it.
You gained the meditation (64) skill!
Huh, something is different about it this time. Why¡¯s it got a number next to it? Hold on¡­ that¡¯s the level I reached it my last life! Does it get transferred after all? I need to check this in my status sheet.
Name: Creature type: Starfish (adult) Level: 0 Strength: 2 Dexterity: 1 Constitution: 5 Skills: >> Meditation level 0 (64) Abilities: >> Harden >> Mucus Production >> (innate) Metamorphosis Traits: >> Water Breathing >> (innate) Regeneration >> (innate) Bioluminescence >> (innate) Past Life Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
I was right, it is there! Level 0 (64)! So, which one is it, then? You know what, no. I¡¯m not dealing with this. It just is like that and that¡¯s as much as I need to know. Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes. Trying to improve my evolution, er, metamorphosis. The other options all depend on my level, so it¡¯s time I figure out how to do that one. I am once again left with no easy way to craft things, so I¡¯ll have to hunt. However, as a starfish, I don¡¯t have that many natural predators. Sure, I¡¯ve been eating some ocean detritus (is that how it¡¯s called?) here and there, but either it¡¯s all dead or too small to give me experience. Let¡¯s see, what else could I feast on? Fish? Don¡¯t even have an inkling of an idea how¡¯d I catch those. They are damn fast. But what else lives in coral reefs? ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ I may be stupid. Everyone is always going on and on about how corals are not plants, but animals. And yes, somehow, I¡¯ve managed to ignore them despite that. Ah, whatever. At least I have a target that has no chance of running away from me. I look around, which is very easy with my 360-vision, and begin moving to a nice-looking coral. Once there, I climb a bit onto it and then regurgitate my stomach onto it. Don¡¯t worry, it sounds worse than it is. Then I wait for my stomach acids to do their work. And I realize this is going to be the slowest, most boring hunt in the entire history of ever. At least I¡¯ll have time to level meditation again. (3) Chapter 3 On the shore of a great sea, there lay a small, unremarkable little town. It wasn¡¯t big enough or placed in a good location to be a point of trade, so most of the townsfolk made a living through fishing, in one way or another. One of these fishing families was just about to set sail for another day on the open sea. There was, however, something special about this day after all. The youngest of the family, the small Hubbe, was also aboard. It was to be his first day learning the family trade. ¡°You ready, Hubbe?¡± asked his father. Old man Wilkompf was only one of many in the town, but his years of experience were nothing to laugh at. ¡°Mm,¡± Hubbe nodded his head. Like most children of the town, he¡¯d long been fascinated by the sea, though in a bit of a different way to the other kids. While they wanted to sail over mighty waves and catch giant fish, he was more fascinated by what lay beneath the surface, what mysterious creatures lurk beneath the sea. With everything prepared and ready, the duo finally set sail. ¡°Now, for today I¡¯d mostly just like you to watch from the sidelines, alright Hubbe? That way you can see how it¡¯s done and have an idea of the whole process.¡± Hubbe nodded once more, already fantasising about other things. For example, what he may find if he leaned overboard, surely then he¡¯d get to see the denizens of the watery depths. The day passed, slowly but peacefully. With the sky as clear as can be, there was no worry over being caught in a storm or being flipped by large waves. Meanwhile, Hubbe was bored. He had been since pretty much the very beginning, when Wilkompf admonished him for not paying attention to him but the water. So, he had to resort to his usual tactic, appear attentive while secretly daydreaming. Only once the sun began to fall from the sky, and they gradually turned around to head back, could be do what he wished. Which ended up simply staring into the water again. This time, however, it wouldn¡¯t be for nought. Just as they were approaching full speed on their way back, Hubbe spotted something. There, deep beneath the water, shimmered a faint light. Only barely strong enough to be seen in the setting sun, it would have been invisible during the day. ¡°Dad! Dad, look! There¡¯s something in the water!¡± Hubbes face took on a childlike glow. This is exactly what he¡¯s always dreamed about. His father, ever the stoic fisherman he was, didn¡¯t let that shake him. The ocean was a strange and mysterious place and there¡¯s no telling what one might find within. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked, ¡°Is it moving?¡± ¡°No, I think it¡¯s still!¡± said Hubbe, still excited. ¡°And do you think you can reach it?¡± Hubbe was a bit taken aback by this question. No one had ever really understood his fascination with what lay in the water, so his father actually being on the same wavelength as him came as a surprise. Still, he didn¡¯t let it bother him for long, much more excited about the prospect of seeing what he discovered. ¡°I think I can.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Then what are you waiting for, daylight¡¯s wasting.¡± That was all the encouragement Hubbe needed. Barely waiting for a moment more, he jumped straight in, swimming down as fast as he could. ----------------------------------------------------- Ahhhhhh, eating corals is such a long and arduous process! If only I could be a different starfish species, something with actual hunting capabilities. But alas, I have to sit still and let time do all the work. Once again. I know this is only my third life so far, but it isn¡¯t really promising that two of them have relied on afk strategies so far.
You killed a level 1 Coral. You gained some experience. You reached level 3! You gained 2 Attribute Points!
Yes! Took me long enough. There are still two more levels to go until I get to select a path again. At least I gain more points per level now. Maybe it''s based on my starting attributes? I think those were 2 too this time. Oh well, onto the next one. Levelling doesn¡¯t just happen by itself. I slowly untangle myself from the now dead coral and begin moving. My next target isn¡¯t that far away, they are corals after all, but I¡¯m also not exactly the fastest creature in the west. Is west even a thing in the ocean? Actually, does whatever world I¡¯m in even have a west? Anyway, progress report!
Name: Creature type: Starfish (adult) Level: 3 Strength: 2 Dexterity: 2 Constitution: 10 Skills: >> Meditation level 31 (64) Abilities: >> Harden >> Mucus Production >> (innate) Metamorphosis Traits: >> Water Breathing >> (innate) Regeneration >> (innate) Bioluminescence >> (innate) Past Life Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
Yeah, just as I¡¯d expected. Meditation is growing much faster than it did previously, faster than it has any right to be. I mean, I¡¯m almost halfway to my previous best and it definitely hasn¡¯t been half of my last life. And, hopefully without jumping too far to a conclusion, I can guess this expedited levelling is going to stop at my previous max, so 64. So that¡¯s pretty neat. It does mean I have another option for more or less permanent strength other than my innate abilities. This avenue does however need time to ripen, so I shouldn¡¯t focus on it to the detriment of others. In other news, I decided no to dump all of my attribute points into constitution this time. I¡¯ve graciously allowed one of them to go to dexterity. In the hopes of just a little bit more speed and maybe, if I¡¯m lucky, also in the hopes of gaining enough fidelity in my arms to do some crafting. I¡¯m ripped out of my musings by a sudden shift of the ocean currents. Something new is swimming in these waters, and it¡¯s big. Several magnitudes larger than me. A bit panicked now; I do my best to look around. The visibility isn¡¯t the best, but surely, I¡¯ll be able to spot something with all my eyes. Yet, there¡¯s nothing. Just the same old coral landscape. Despite what my sight is telling me, the currents do not lie. There¡¯s definitely something large in the area and worst of all, it seems to be getting closer to me. What could it be? An octopus? I think those eat starfish? But why now of all times? Surely, I would¡¯ve known of it sooner it this were the hunting ground of an octopus. Then something grabs me, and lifts me off the ocean floor. Shit, I forgot about looking up. I can¡¯t properly make out what it is, but I think I see a sort of humanoid silhouette. Oh, I¡¯m really screwed now, aren¡¯t I? We start moving up. Up, up, towards the surface. C¡¯mon, there must be something I can do here! What abilities do I have? Harden, mucus production, metamorphosis¡­ wait, that¡¯s it! Harden! I really, really, really wish this works and isn¡¯t just a badly remembered factoid I read once. I concentrate and harden just one of my arms, the one by which the creature is holding me. Then, with a bit of trepidation, I flex and twist my muscles. Riiiiiiiip. Oooooh, ouch! God damn it that hurts! But at least I¡¯m falling back down to the floor. With one final look back, I notice something I almost forgot about. The arm held by the creature, the one I just ripped out of myself, is emitting a soft, bluish-white glow. How I could I have forgotten about that! My stupidly selected trait! Oh, I must¡¯ve been a beacon for any predators the entire time I¡¯ve been here! It¡¯s a miracle no one¡¯s bothered me until now. Great, that¡¯s another problem on my plate now. Not only do I have to figure out the whole ¡°becoming a better creature¡± thing, now there¡¯s also worrying about missing an arm (and how long until it regrows) AND I have to figure out how to stop my bioluminescence. At least with regeneration I don¡¯t have to worry about my arm missing permanently. Alright, whatever. I¡¯ll deal with this all tomorrow, after a good night¡¯s sleep. With that I crawl into a crevice just small enough for me to enter, use harden to increase my size so that nobody will be able to pull me out, and promptly fall asleep. (3) Chapter 4 You know, this incident made me reevaluate some stuff. I may not ever die, not in the usual sense of the word, but it does not mean I don¡¯t feel pain. And truth be told, pain has always been higher ranked on my fear list anyway. Besides, I have infinite time to grow and become the being I want to be. There¡¯s no reason to maximize what I can achieve in one life. Especially when it brings needless suffering. Sure, the pain from going through metamorphosis is unavoidable, but I see no reason why that should mean I can¡¯t avoid other types of pain. And losing limbs is a pain best experienced never. So yeah, I¡¯ve decided. I will be investing into defence and survival for now. And the most immediate thing I can do to contribute is getting this bioluminescence under control. Especially since I now have to time while I wait for my arm to regrow. How long will that even take? Anyway, right, bioluminescence. I will, naively, assume it can be controlled, because otherwise I am, quite frankly, fucked. The best option I have for figuring it out is what is slowly becoming my signature skill. That¡¯s right, the ever-repeating meditation. I swear it¡¯s what I¡¯m spending most of my time on. Right then, let¡¯s get back to it. Another meditation montage, here I come! -------------------------------------------------- As Hubbe and Wilkompf pulled into port, the silence between them was palpable. How could it now, with what happened? They both knew, everyone in town knew, what kind of omen they inadvertently pulled out of the ocean. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. They also knew they couldn¡¯t tell anyone. At best, everything to come would be blamed on them and they¡¯d be ostracized. At worst¡­ well, it¡¯s best not to talk about that. The heavy atmosphere didn¡¯t dissipate as they hauled the day¡¯s catch onto land, it didn¡¯t dissipate on the journey home, and it still hung heavy once they were in the safety of their house. ¡°Should we tell someone?¡± asked Hubbe, a faint tremble in his voice. ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish, boy! Think of the consequences!¡± shouted Wilkompf. ¡°Sorry, sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to blow up on you like that Hubbe. But there¡¯s nothing to be done now. We¡¯ve both seen the omen. You even touched it!¡± The small child cringed back. Eventually, he asked, ¡°What about mom?¡± ¡°She, she should be fine. As long as the caravan doesn¡¯t return anytime soon, she should be fine.¡± And yet, while the duo despaired in the privacy of their house, the rest of the town went on as normal. Even in the sea, nothing unusual was happening. After all, the omen they saw was nothing more than an imposter. ---------------------------------------------- Alright, status report. No, not the System kind, an actual status report. I may have really screwed myself. With a lot of time and effort, assisted heavily by my best skill, I¡¯ve managed to bring down the amount of light I produce. Sounds good, right? Well, wrong! Because now I¡¯m still only half as bright as before. And I¡¯m slowly going hungry, which means I¡¯ll have to go out again and risk being caught by another creature that¡¯s attracted by my light. And worst of all? My missing arm shows absolutely no sign of regrowth. Yeah, turns out regeneration by itself isn¡¯t all that powerful. And the System description confirms it.
Regeneration: allows for the regrowth of any body part
Turns out it¡¯s nothing like a troll¡¯s mythical regeneration, but just the key towards full-body healing. I feel a bit scammed. Okay, very scammed. Either way, I stand on a crossroad. I can risk going out as I am and maybe get eaten (or worse), or I can risk triggering metamorphosis. Both options aren¡¯t exactly ideal. I would¡¯ve hoped to at least get a path before evolving, to capitalize on the extra abilities it¡¯ll give me. But I did say I¡¯d focus more on survival, didn¡¯t I? Oh, the dilemma! (3) Chapter 5 Perhaps I need to think about this differently. It is a bit of a convoluted scenario after all. No matter what I do, I''ll grow over time. There''s no question about that. What I can change, however, is how long it takes and how I feel during that time. Option one is the worst. Basically, it involves speedrunning reincarnations in quick succession to gain abilities. I don''t have to explain why that''s not a great idea. My second option is to milk every life to its full potential. Of course, I''d need to know the specifics of how this System works for that. It''d involve a lot of risks and delayed power ups, so that I can get better evolutions due to that. I''m... not exactly sure about that one. Sure, it would be quite fast, at least it''d keep my deaths to a minimum. On the other hand, there are so many ways it could go wrong. Sort of even feels like this strategy is just option 1 with extra steps. And of course, there''s the last one, the one I thought I wanted to do. The one that''d prioritize survival. Which does mean I''d get less from each life and my growth would be slower, but each life would be longer. And won''t I have more opportunities to grow if my lives are longer? Argh! I just don''t know! Why''s it got to be so complicated? You know what, screw this! I''m a starfish with god-damned regeneration! I may as well take a few risks. I careful extruded myself from the little crevice I was in and once again beheld the open ocean. Not that I could see that much anyway. Huh, I can see... I can see on the bottom of a sea... Where it''s usually quite dark. Wow, I''m an idiot. How did I not realize sooner that I''m glowing? Anyway, ignoring that, it''s time to explore. If I try to ignore paranoia and just focus on the facts, then I can assume there really isn''t a predator in these waters. Even so, just in case, I''ll only be out and about during the day, when a teensy bit of light does shine here and I''ll hopefully be less noticeable. Now then, let the hunt begin. I''m willing to risk it for another two levels. The I''ll evolve with a path. Sounds like a fair compromise. -------------------------------------- Humanity watched, hidden behind a layer of reality. What was it watching? It watched as, in a certain world, a powerful ritual came to completion. The magic surged, thrumming with power and energy, and pierced an unseen veil. Then it stabilized the resulting tunnel. That was, of course, another tralagix incursion. Specifically, an attempted invasion into Humanity''s world. But as Humanity watched on, and the many tiny specks that were parts of Tralag-Urd passed through the portal, nothing happened. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. At least, nothing on Earth. The portal exited in the wrong place, thus buying humanity more time to prepare and adjust to its new reality. "That''s already the third one," Humanity murmured. "If this keeps happening our decoy, my champion, is going to have to face them soon." The portal closes, leaving Humanity staring out into nothing. "I should maybe give them a small boon. It wouldn''t be good if the tralagix caught on to my scheme too quickly, which could happen if they catch my little hero." ---------------------------------- Ocean life is weird. It¡¯s sort of paradoxical, I¡¯d say. There are so many creatures here, so many species all living in the same place. And yet at the same time it feels so empty, like there¡¯s nothing for miles and miles in all directions. Sort of¡­ lonely. I¡¯m trying to find a better prey than corals right now. Or it could still be corals, I just want it to be at least a bit hidden. With my eyes on lookout in all directions, literally, it shouldn¡¯t take me too long. Oh, yeah, that¡¯s another thing. With my practice to dim my bioluminescence, I¡¯ve also inadvertently learned to temporarily strengthen it. Makes it a bit easier to look for things, at the cost of being even more visible than usual. But I¡¯ve come to slowly accept that. Besides, it¡¯s not as if I have it on full blast at all times. No, I only pulse it every now and then. Mostly because I can¡¯t actually have it that intense at all times. Probably something like an untrained muscle. So, that¡¯s how I search. A flash of light to look around and then a bit of shuffling along in whatever direction looks best. Which, for the most part, include a bunch of holes and crevices. My search continues for a while, without bearing any fruit, until I feel a strange impulse. The same sort of feeling that causes one to do a double-take flows through me, so I flash my light once more. Then, a similarly strange instinct tells me to dim my light as much as I can. And then I see it. Hidden in a small divot, there¡¯s just the slightest hint of a soft glow. A different glow to my own. Wait, I thought sea creatures usually glow in the really deep depths, not here relatively close to the surface!? Sure, sure, I¡¯m an outlier, but that¡¯s because I gained that trait in a past life! How could any old animal do that? My mind immediately turns to thought of another reincarnator, but that¡¯s just wishful thinking. I better go check it out before I convince myself of something foolish. Filled with trepidation, I approach the glowing spot. Then, once I¡¯m close enough to see, I look inside and see¡­ and see¡­ What the hell is that? I kind of expected it to be another starfish, because, well, because I¡¯m one? That doesn¡¯t really make sense, but yeah. Anyway, what I¡¯m seeing here is a¡­ long¡­ and thick¡­ pulsating organism¡­ Wait, no, it¡¯s not how it sounds! I think it¡¯s a sea cucumber! Yes, that¡¯s definitely what it is, nothing else! Just a regular old sea cucumber, laying on the sea floor, chilling and¡­ glowing. Wow, almost forgot about that important detail for a second there. Yeah, glowing sea cucumber. ¡­ I should eat it, shouldn¡¯t I? I mean, it¡¯s basically begging me to. Every single person who even just tangentially knows video games would do it, right? Like, a rare glowing version of a creature that¡¯s hidden? how could it not give me something special? Surely nothing bad can come off this. Just don¡¯t think about the suspicious circumstances surrounding my discovery of it. I¡¯m sure it was just a coincidence, or maybe something benevolent. Yes, good. Now let me devour this thing and get myself a power up. I regurgitate my stomach and throw it onto the sea cucumber. For a little while, nothing happens. Then, all of a sudden, probably because my stomach acid ate through the outer layer of skin, the cucumber starts to writhe and thrash on the sea floor. At the same time, I begin to feel something, some kind of energy perhaps, flow into me, strengthening me, filling me with power and potential. Before long, the current dries out, leaving me energised to the point I feel like I¡¯ll burst, and the cucumber dead. (3) Chapter 6 It was simply too much, the raw energy from the now dead sea cucumber coursed through my small starfish body. Like a raging river that had just broken a dam, it surged forth, hoping to ravage as much of my body as possible. It was too much, and my System seemed to think so too.
Over-abundance of energy detected. Initiating emergency metamorphosis. Starting in: 3 Abort?
I had no time to wonder about or be surprised that the System had emergency functions to save me. I could barely even comprehend the prompt it threw at me.
Starting in: 2 Abort?
It seemed to be asking me to stop whatever it was doing. Why? What reason would I have for that? Why would I stop something that''s save me from this pain?
Starting in: 1 Abort?
No, I wouldn''t abort. This is exactly what I wanted anyway, doesn''t matter it came a bit early.
Starting metamorphosis Generating possible evolutions
Silence, like nothing I''d ever experienced before. It wasn''t just the absence of sound, no. Everything was suddenly gone. Sound, sight, touch, everything. I couldn''t even sense the ever-present ebb and flow of water. Just nothing. This definitely wasn''t like my previous metamorphoses.
You have one creature type available: >> Heralding Omen of the Beckoning Depths
... Oh... this, this can''t be good. I knew that sea cucumber must have been somewhat special, but this much? To erase my every other option and force me down this ominous sounding path? Pun not intended. Well, it doesn''t look like I have much of a choice, with this being my only option and all that. All that''s left is to hope it won''t be all bad. I select the only option available to me and wait for the inevitable pain that metamorphosis always brings with it. What awaits me, however, it something much stranger. Instead of the usual, slowly transforming in some kind of cocoon or chrysalis, the energy swirling within me freezes for a pregnant second. Then, as if it had a mind of its own, it begins moving with purpose, changing my body wherever it goes. I''m not yet sure exactly how I''m changing, I''ll have to look at myself later for that, but one thing is for sure, I''m growing. Not proportionally though. I''m not simply growing larger, I feel like my arms are also lengthening... and gaining in dexterity. Simultaneously, there''s also definitely growth in another direction. But while I''m certain it is happening, I have absolutely no idea what it actually is. Or what it does. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. A thousand other, small changed happen, but I can''t keep track of them all. Not that I''d even notice most of them if I tried. And then, it''s all done. As quickly as it began, it stopped. Most of the energy spent, though some it it appears to remain and settle down within me. And it all happened painlessly too. I don''t have much time to wonder about my transformation before the System hits me with the whole report.
CONGRATULATIONS! You''ve transformed your creature type into: Heralding Omen of the Beckoning Depths (starfish variant) Your base physical stats are 23! Your base magic is 42! You gain: >> An upgrade to Regeneration and Harden! >> The abilities Caller of the Depths, Weak Commanding Aura - Omen >> The traits Rousing Presence - Omen, Usurper Scourge No abilities lost!
Oh boy. Call me pessimistic, but none of that sounds exactly good. Especially that last one, neither of those words are ever used it positive contexts. Well then, no point laying it off any longer, might as well see what has happened to my status
Name: Creature type: Heralding Omen of the Beckoning Depths (starfish variant) Level: 0 Strength: 16 Dexterity: 24 Constitution: 29 Magic: 42 Skills: >> Meditation 53 (64) Abilities: >> Caller of the Depths >> Weak Commanding Aura - Omen >> Harden I >> Mucus Production >> (innate) Metamorphosis Traits: >> Rousing Presence - Omen >> Usurper Scourge >> Water Breathing >> (innate) Regeneration I >> (innate) Bioluminescence >> (innate) Past Life Holdover >> (innate) Reincarnator >> (innate) At Least A Little Human
That, by itself, doesn''t look so bad. I doubt that''ll remain the case once I look at the details. Let''s start of slowly with something relatively normal. Regeneration.
Regeneration I: allows for the regrowth of any body part. Regrowth occurs at an accelerated rate.
Alright, so far so good. Next, harden.
Harden I: tense a part of your body and increase its defence. Strength of hardened areas approaches that of steel.
Oh wow, that''s interesting! I''m sort of a living armour, a living tank! Sadly, those were the only easy ones. All of my other new abilities sound bad, in one way or another. Sort of evil, I''d say.
Caller of the Depths: You are the Omen, the one who heralds what''s to come. Call upon that which you shall bring upon the surface, and give the world a taste of its power. Let the magic of the Depths submerge all.
Yup, definitely evil. Was that innocent sea cucumber really going to do this? I can''t imagine it doing much, it is basically just a tube of flesh after all. Maybe it just wasn''t levelled enough yet, in which case I''m sort of glad I managed to stop it in time. Anyway, does this mean I can do magic now? I did have the attribute in my stat sheet, so it''s likely. But don''t get distracted now, I still have more troublesome abilities to go through.
Weak Commanding Aura - Omen: You wield a weak aura, letting all know you as the Omen and intimidating those that are not yours. It allows you to somewhat command weaker beings that recognise you as their herald, as well as others you manage to intimidate.
I feel like cold sweat should be running down my back. Can starfish even sweat? Probably not. Still, this is bad. Very bad. Not the aura itself, as far as I can tell I don''t have to have it active. No, it''s the flavour text that worries me. What have I gotten myself into?
Rousing Presence - Omen: You are the Omen, and you bring forth the Depths. Your very presence rouses the being of the deep, awakening them from their slumber and luring them to shore. Like a bright beacon, you shine and show the way for apocalypse.
Dammit, I knew it! This''ll be so much trouble! And all for what, a single upgrade to regeneration? Is that worth it? Let''s just get this over with, this last one can''t be that bad compared to the others.
Usurper Scourge: You take, take and leave nothing behind. A scourge upon the land, you bring devastation, poisoning the water and earth in your wake in an attempt to eradicate all that is other. You take so much, you even took this trait from its rightful owner. Consequently, neither the Land, nor the Depths will look favourably upon you. Both shall desire to end your terror.
Alright, that''s just ridiculous. I feel like, for the first time in ever, I really have a reason to say this: I''m fucked. (3) Chapter 7 With my evolution complete, I''d received a huge power-up... along with an almost tangible timer ticking down to my doom. Sure, the abilities I received were powerful, at least they sounded like that, but Usurper Scourge also meant I wouldn''t be spared from the consequences of them. It sounds like whatever this Herald is, it''s supposed to lead some sort of invasion onto land, that''s what Rousing Presence is for. Unfortunately, since I usurped this power what its rightful holder, those very same invaders will not only attack land-dwellers, but me too. And I can''t even defect to the side of the land-dwellers because they''ll hate me for bringing this whole invasion to them in the first place. It''s really a lose-lose situation for me. Well, there''s maybe just a teeny-weenie chance for me to make it out alive from this chance. It''s highly unlikely, but maybe if I can level up enough before my timer runs out, I''ll be able to fight off anyone that comes after me. A quick test of Caller of the Depths assures me it may just be possible. As soon as I activate the magic ability and point it at a random fish nearby, a dark cloud coalesces around it. A few seconds later, it dissipates, leaving behind just a cloud of blood and the crushed remains of said fish. Yes, this may just work. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ---------------------------------------------------------- It didn''t take me long to reach level five and select a path. I had more options, unlike with my metamorphosis, but only one of them was really something interesting. It wasn''t even really a choice. The Path only provided me with an initial Perk that reduced the cost of magic based on the pressure around me. Nothing too grand, especially since I hadn''t even experienced any issues regarding running out of magic fuel. Other than that, it just provided some extra stats, just like my previous Path, and more Perk choices at regular intervals. Not that I''d even have a chance to take advantage of those. Again. Perhaps I''d just gotten extremely unlucky, perhaps the creatures I was supposed to herald were already on their way, called by the sea cucumber. Either way, it turns out I wouldn''t get any more time to prepare for the invasion. The first sign that anything was happening was the sunrise. Not an actual sunrise, those happened above the water and didn''t have much of an impact on the ocean floor. No, it was a sunrise beneath the waves. A source of light as bright as the sun somehow illuminated the whole ocean floor for miles in all directions. It took me a while to adjust to the brightness, but when I did I saw the source. An enormous angler-fish, at least a dozen meters in size, was slowly ascending from beyond the reef. One of my new abilities, I''m not sure which, helpfully informed me it was a Nefarious Angler-fish. And it was many levels higher than me. Too many. What happened next shouldn''t have come as a surprise. As soon as it spotted me, it locked on and swam right at me. I didn''t have much time to react before it swallowed me whole, and this life as a starfish came to an end.