White Flower, Black Feather

Scale Up!

‘Well! They are happy!’ I have no idea what they are saying, but the girl sounds happy at least

The redhead is looking at the wall of text while talking now… she must be reading something, actually

‘Yeah, the oddly shaped pair must have been the wrong kind, sorry about that…’ but I don't have the time to pay much attention to the healthy ones ‘You are awake today, good to see…’ I had barely enough time to get my head through the gap when she opened the door, only to see the grandmother staring at me ‘Well… she is talking with them, but they aren’t looking at me so… she might not be able to tell what I am?’

Cute redhead is giving her a hug, I move closer to, the now clean beam, as she moves to the cauldron below me and prepare to cast magic

‘Time to test that thing I just got’ I stare at the old woman ‘Ia! Imbue Eyes! Ia! That what doesn’t belongs in the body under my gaze, be purge! Cleanse-! OW! Ow! Ow!’ staring at the woman feels like getting my eyes poked and gives me a feeling like I am burning the image of her veins in my brain, so I look away for a moment canceling the Cleanse ‘Ow! What the…? Ugh… um… can’t purge… whatever it is… slow it down?’ I look at her again, it might work… ‘Fine… Ia! Slow ailment! Be inert toxin! Stop poison! Purify!’ this feels better… ‘Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!’ but it’s still giving me a headache! ‘Ia Stop!’

She is saying something now… ugh, I am feeling sluggish…

‘Get better soon~’ I move backwards and down the chimney ‘Bleh… there goes the rest of my magic… why did I call it Purify…?’ now in the ground I shake my head ‘I’ll try another name for that spell, if the “opportunity” comes again… what is that sound?’ I move around the chimney and peek to the north side of the house ‘Ah, that is why you grabbed a mallet’ grandpa is hammering some wood around the plants… and making a roof above them? ‘Do they need shade…? Well… I did find them under a tree so…’

Now he is looking up and whispering something… he is happy, good… and he goes away from this side of the home

‘I need to get out of here, I am lucky he didn’t choose to go around this side of the building… but the door is closer from that side so-’ the door opens and closes ‘Move! Move! Move!’

Sliding away!

Gap in the door… along the road… and to the field

‘Safe-!’ the door opens again, but I can’t see anything from this angle, so I remain low ‘Wonder what are they going to do now… probably going to get water for the plants…’ I relax in the shade made inside the crops ‘Getting all of those out of the forest was annoyingly hard… this whole “quest” was hard… and is not the “main” quest, ugh… no regrets though… mouse?’

That smell is nearby… multiple again

‘What…? Where are they coming-?’

Ding

‘Oh no…’ a shiver runs through my body ‘Ugh… Status?’

‘Hey! The first time I was seen, I almost got smacked to death with a broom…!’ more sneaking is not a bad thing ‘Another bonus to healing…?’ I look to the scales of my left arm, they still look as if there is some kind of white liquid under them… ‘Yeah… I’m going to need those… this forest is more dangerous than-!’ Launch!

Snap!

‘Ok… this is… becoming a depressing trend…’ the heart of the mouse stopped beating, I deliver a small amount of venom and let go of it ‘Yep, the neck again… sorry’ pray and swallow ‘How does that Strength up, works with my Bone and Muscles… oh, right, I don’t know the language, so I don't know what those actually say, these screens get translated by instinct or something… is that why I got the Instinct Trait…?’ another mental note made ‘Now… where are the rest…?’

-----(That Morning)-----

‘Okay… this is… tiring…’

I’m more or less following the vibrations made by the river (to the west) while going up (north), holding the plants with my tail, trying to not damage them by squeezing too hard and struggling, to not let them fall, again. All that, while trying to move using less of my body and actually going up. There is a small inclination to the south that I hadn’t noticed while going down yesterday… like I said, tiring

‘I must be by the shelter next to the crater now, right…? Um…? Wasp?!’ I get a similar smell nearby… ‘Well… I am hungry… ugh… how do I kill one without harming my arm?’

Sleep didn’t help with making my arm look better, it’s still hanging, barely functional and looking at the flesh under the clear scales is making me uneasy

I move next to a tree and lean the plants against the roots

‘Wait for me, I am just going to get breakfast… or fuel for Regrow, that is also a way to look at it…’ I move away from the plants and look up… ‘Do I hiss and hope it hears me? Nah, making a loud noise is stupid in my current condition, or location’

-It would be on character…-

‘Hahaha! Good one!’

There is a faint buzz… west…? Hearing the ground gets me nothing, the sound is only in the air… so, up? I move west looking at the branches of the trees

‘Nothing… nothing… no-there!’ just a couple trees away, the open space above the river is barely visible from here, I look back ‘Yeah, I see the flowers from here, good…’ the wasp is under one of the branches making… a mud nest? ‘Odd… how do I get its attention… I have no ranged options, outside of throwing rocks… might as well’ I look down and see a small rock, I grab it with my tail-

Buzzing

‘No, no, by all means, keep working, I am just planning a sneak attack, nothing to worry about!’ it saw me… is going down…

Hiss!

My threat makes it fall back a little, like the previous one is moving forward and backwards on the same place, this one is just yellow and black and I don’t feel threatened by its mandible… a bit smaller? With the same ridiculous thin waist and sharp stinger…

‘Another fifty percent of avoiding it… no, wait!’

Throw! Hit! Launch! Coil! Bite! Crush!

‘Got your head!’ my stone hit it in the wings and it fell, I am coiling its torso, couldn't get a grip on the waist, while “biting” the head from the back, instead of the antennae this time, just need to pull-!

Snap!

‘Ow!’ I fall back and it my head… I have something on my mouth, I let it roll away while getting up… ‘Uh… sorry?’ I stare at the wasp’s head next to me ‘So… the other was more focused on melee and you… not?’

I let go of the rest of the body and see it curl up while it bleeds… the body is less damaged… and the claws look less dangerous… I give my prayer and move to eat its head…

‘Status?’

‘Nothing else, not quite at ten yet…’ I push and dig the stinger of the wasp in the ground, before moving the abdomen like a lever, to break the pointy bit ‘Not risking that… even if I have a full tank for the first time since I got magic’ stinger off, food in. I start to eat it by the… neck? ‘It should still be called neck, right?’

I don't smell anything else around so I continue eating

‘I’ll use around half in Regrowing my arm, the rest should do something to help the woman with Cleanse… I hope I am not late with the delivery…’ I was trying to not think about that… now I start to feel restless… ‘Alright, done eating… Ia! Imbue Arms! Ow!’ I still get the same painful shock in my left arm ‘Ia! Flesh, bone, tissue and scale devoured by the enemy, grow back and take your place! Regrow!’ it starts to feel better- ‘Ow! Ow!’ never mind! ‘Just… a bit… more…! Ia Stop!’

Falling to the ground… again…

‘Ow…’ I look at my arm… ‘Why is looking like that?’ it looks like there is a white… paint? Under my scales… I move it… no pain, good speed… ‘Is that how scars look on me? Then what is that spot by my tail-’

Ding

‘Yes? Status?’

‘THANKS YOU VERY MUCH!’ I raise myself ‘NO TIME TO LOSE! TO THE FARM!’ flowers first, then to the north and-

‘Eh…? What…? Helper can you tell-’

‘What…? Is this because I compared getting an infection to a war before…? Glad to see that the Deity in charge of this, is having fun…’ I shake my head and close the screens ‘Helper… first, do you have a name? Sorry for taking so long in asking-’

-Trying to butter me up? PATHETIC!-

‘I am not, can you tell me your name…?’ the screen remains static in front of me ‘Fine, but I am really sorry for not asking before… second, why is Strain Resistance a bad thing?’

-Think you STUPID! Snake, THINK!-

‘Great… strain… strain… is not related to disease, or it would be in a Synergy with my last Trait. Poorly translated? Then… stress? This place is stressing, but… is… because my metabolism…? Or rather, the way I am? I know that snakes rest for a lot of time… oh… that would explain why me “meditating” helped with the void… I was trying to relax… like snakes are supposed to…’

The window closes…

‘So, I am overworking my body… yes, that is bad… for anyone…’ but… I… ‘There is no easy answer for this situation… Traits? Ok, there is only one Strain Resistance… I’ll take a… small vacation if I get five of those… Please, warn me of that if I forget…’

Right now, I need to move…

-----

Launch!

Snap!

‘Again…? That is three mouse in a row that-’

Ding

‘Oh?! Status?!’

‘Oh… not yet… please, can you tell me what Plant Care does…?’ nothing… pray and swallow ‘Is it about farming?’ still nothing… ‘Is not fitting for me, but do you have a problem with me calling you-’

-I don’t need YOUR FUCKING NAME! You, nameless idiot…-

‘Fine… how about-’

-What is the point of you giving me a name, if you will die soon anyways?-

…

‘If this Deed is correct, then the three mouses were all what made the threat…’ I am in the other side of the river, that is where the smell trail got me… ‘Is focusing… over there?’ I move towards the source of the smell, is somewhat north of the field closest to this side of the river ‘The fields still look way too small to me… ah, there is a hole in the ground’ behind a small rock ‘Only the smells of the three mice I ate already’

Looking inside… nothing… and no other smells… I open my mouth and “milk” my fangs and drop a few drops of venom around the entrance

‘Is not about killing, is about making mice run away… probably useless, but I don't care…’ I move south along the river ‘Thankfully, there is no one out… to the forest, I want to evolve already’

-----

‘Smells… just that new monster, but no idea of were is it…’ I recognize this area, I am north of the crater, I should see the broken tree soon ‘Since I have that shelter next to the river, south of here, should I fish…? I don’t like the idea, but-!’

Hiss!

‘Fuck! What are you?! Sneaky bastard!’

The orange thing moves backwards, the only reason I saw it, is because I looked up and saw its fur in the corner of my eye

It has a triangular head with two nostrils like slits, between four beady eyes, like the Pest it lacks a tail, but its body is long and has four really thin and long limbs holding it… they bend to the outside and… its whole torso is a long vertical maw, filled with dull fangs

‘Jumpy, ugly, asshole… monsters evolve too…? Of course they do…’

-Different kind, but yes, they do-

The windows closes… this is the new smell I got… it must be an ambush type, but it looks ready to flee, now that I saw it… pure luck, I didn't felt anything, just the smell, if it goes away then I am in danger… how do I taunt…? Pretend to be a boy again…?

Ugh…

‘What?! You scared?!’ I prepare my body to move to a side, it bends its limb a little ‘Come! Is time for one of us to die!’ I spread my arms and move them in a “come here gesture” it doesn't move ‘What?! That little hiss scared you?! Is not even a Little Girl Special! Wanna call you spawner?!’

Eww… it starts growling… from the torso… eww

‘Pathetic…’ I wave it away with a claw

Snarling now, it goes low. Jump to the side!

Slam!

Launch! Bite! Venom! Coil! Crush! Crush! Crush!

‘You. Are. Disgusting! How can you open your torso so wide?! That is not a mouth! It’s a parachute!’ I’m biting it by the neck and coiling the thing it calls body and front legs, the rear ones are trying to jump again, but it can’t lift my-! ‘OW!’ ok, getting dragged hurts! ‘Die already!’ Crush!

Crack!

‘Keep! Crushing!’

Crack…! Crack…!

Ding

‘AAAHHH!’

HISS!!!

I let go of it! My whole body is tingly! What is this…?!

HISS!!!

‘It… stopped…?’ I shiver again ‘Ugh! What was that?!’ I look around… no other smells except for this… ‘How do I eat this…? Well… I still have something in my stomach, thanks to the mouses, so I might leave this for after my evolution… Ugh, more dragging’ at least the shelter is nearby… ‘Status’

‘Oh… amusing coincidence… being honest I forgot about this one… I would have keep killing monsters anyways though’ the bonus to strength is going to be useful to drag this… ‘This thing is still too big right…? No, wait, I can just shove its limbs inside the mouth… ugh… I really want cooked food…’ I shove the corpse, and start moving the limbs, if this gets stiff, is going to get harder to eat later…

-----

‘Get! In! You! Ugly! Bastard!’ I might need to rethink the use of this shelter to store food… the entrance is a bit too small… and yet, I keep pulling ‘Get! In! You-! OW…! Great… now I’m pinned…’ this thing better be worth the effort… ‘Is my first evolution, I have no idea what is going to happen… ugh, it stinks’ I shove the “package” up and start moving around it ‘Is this enough space…?’

The crevice is about two times of my actual length deep… a meter and a half perhaps…? And, except for the entrance, wider that my food… I actually move my face down and facepalm

‘I’m going to be on top of this thing as I evolve… Ugh! Status! Species!’

‘What do you mean “Overqualified”? Please give me-’

‘I am going to puke blood…’ I also have the feeling that I already owe a favor to all the gods… ‘Is that why I have Strain Resistance? I am not supposed to exist…?! No, my evolution is the one that doesn't exist, all my cousins go full venom and have no idea of how to do magic… so, they can’t evolve into the “Ia” species… since the lizard option is also green, I am going to presume they go full venom too… no, they don’t. I would have gotten the Venom Deed from Absorb sooner if that were the case…’

I get out of this section and check that Deed… is in two out of ten

‘So, the two wasps…’ I am trying to remember… ‘I got something from the second lizard right…? What was it?’

-The Hood, you MORON!-

‘Yeah! That! Thanks-!’

-Don’t waste the rest of your existence like this. IMBECILE!-

The window closes… I go back to the Species section…

‘But I am curious… lets assume for now that neither had venom at the time and that the second… I think I ate it before getting Absorb… maybe I damaged the venom organ in the fight…? It somehow got digested first…? That particular one got caught in the automatic evolution, before it got any venom…? The venom of a snake is so different from the one of a lizard, that it got the points back…?’

-That last one, is possible, yes. CAN YOU FUCKING EVOLVE ALREADY?!-

‘I’m never evolving into a lizard… auto evolving SUCKS!’ I shiver ‘Okay! Bracing for pain! My Evolution is Lesser Xetnoxraqia!’ the windows closes!

…

‘No pain…? What is suppose to happen…? Did I said the wrong…?’ my eyes… blurry… ‘Oh… sleepy…’

-----

Hiss!

‘HUNGRY!!! I need food!’

I coil over myself and move to the back, where the head of the monster ended, it’s covered in white stuff now

‘Eating!’ hungry, hungry, hungry, never getting into an evolution again, with just that little in my stomach, hungry! ‘That was a mistake and a half!’ is my stomach going to digest itself, if I take too long to eat? Eat, eat, eat ‘It certainly feels like that!’ stop… this white stuff… is my skin…? Seems I shed in the process… it’s too broken to use, so I don't care about eating a bit… the light outside looks reddish, resuming eating ‘Ugh… this took a while, not something to do in a hurry… the bird and the cow must have suffered, a lot… Status?’

‘No. I don't want that, thanks, but no thanks. Keep it. I INSIST!’

-You can’t return things, IMBECILE! Weren’t you the one that keep saying, that you’ll survive everything? Scared of babies?! COWARD!-

‘UGH! Considering the “parents” I had before this life, lets just say, that I do the whole world a favor, by not ruining the life of any child, mine or otherwise…!’ the screens remain there… ‘Ugh… doesn't matter, I like girls, anyways’ I focus on my actual Status

‘That is a lot of points suddenly… fifteen…? I really hope that my next evolution is not going to ask for twenty-two or twenty-three…’ a fifty percent increase between each evolution would get out of hand, fast. I finish eating the monster ‘Just has bad as the smaller ones… ugh-!’

‘…’ … ‘I… Traits…’ my intimidate and… Absorb… still have those names, they haven’t changed… ‘Deep breaths… don't panic… Those fishes… must actually be terrifying to fight inside the water… what Item did I-!’ the windows close suddenly ‘What-?! Why-?! Magic-?!’

HISS!!!

…

‘Why…?!’ the whole forest must have heard that! ‘Why did magic just accumulated in mouth to make that hiss?! That wasn’t ME! Doing it! What-?!’

Ding

‘Answer me this: is the System trying to kill me?’

-Nope!-

‘I find that… hard to believe… Status…?’ my head falls to the ground…

‘This place is called… what…?’

-The Forest Nesting The Three Rulers Of Death. What? Did the IDIOT! Forgot how to READ?!-

‘Why…? Why here…? Why did I had to reincarnate here? Why not in a safer place?’ I picked the first option, yes… but! ‘Why my choice must affect her?! If I had picked the Second, where would I have landed?! The fluffy land of blankets?!’ I feel my stress about to make me regurgitate… ‘Ugh… deep breaths… I’m sorry Mordauntless… I’m sorry girl… because of me, you are going to be born in a terrible place…’

This time that last Title updated by itself…

‘Please… EP Shop?’

‘UGH!’ My. Stress. Level. Raising. ‘Don’t tell me… of how much was the discount… everything… Senses? Ok, at least those are still the same cost…’ the big one is still in the five thousands… ‘If the Helper is for later, how expensive it is normally…?’ no answer… ‘I don't want to specialize, it would mean that I do less damage to other things… oh right, focus on the Item…’

‘As expected…? So, the Monsters copied the Magic Organ from the Creatures that can use magic…?’ sounds possible… ‘Wait… I have access to both… What happens if I buy them?’

-Extremely. Dangerous. Anomaly. Indeed…-

‘Right, you have no idea… magic accumulated in my mouth, but it didn't became a Spell Focus… I think I can repeat the “Magic Hiss” but not now… I don’t see a way for me to use it, really… how much EP I get by level now…?’ no answer… ‘Hopefully ten… I still haven’t used the sleep venom… do I buy the other two? Or the kill venom and the jaw…? For the next discount I will need a lot of Deeds…’

The only vibrations I am getting are the ones of the river… I lift my head from the ground… the crevice has some scraps of my skin around… too thin to use… but I like the way it glimmers like a rainbow… the sky is red, night will get here soon… I have enough in my stomach until tomorrow… I look at myself…

‘Still glimmering white… my arm looks normal now’ the colors of my scales is even now, no weird paint looks… ‘The missing scale in my tail is still gone…’ birthmark then… I stretch while still looking at me… ‘Yes, I am around a meter now, my arms and claws are longer, but still no thumbs, I’ll see my reflection, get some water, then sleep’ I move to the opening

The forest is quiet… no recent smells, sliding out… down to the river… no shadows nearby… closer…

‘The same, just a bit bigger’ I drink some water… ‘I might have… gotten all that… but I don't… I don't feel stronger…’