CHAPTER 11……………………………………….
4. Suspicious Evolution 010 – Suspicious Evolution #1
I groggily opened my eyes, my entire body prickling with a tingling sensation.
The murky haze that had felt like sinking into a deep swamp cleared in an instant. It felt as though not only my physical fatigue but even my mental exhaustion had been washed away clean.
That said, the sensation of something crawling all over my body was extremely irritating.
The moment I lifted myself up, countless red eyes stared back at me.
—Zzzzz.
—Zzz.
—Shit. What the hell is this?!
While I was unconscious, spiders had apparently swarmed me, biting me relentlessly. Shuddering in disgust, I flailed my limbs wildly, driving them away.
I picked up the blue crystal lying on the ground. As it emitted its clear, refreshing light, the spiders lifted their front legs and hesitantly retreated.
Damn it… are the bites okay?
I carefully examined my body. Slightly longer white fur and thick hide brushed against the soft pads of my front paws. At a glance, there seemed to be no problems, and I didn’t feel as though I’d been affected by poison.
It said I had strong resistance to toxins, right?
I recalled the physical traits of the beast I’d chosen—Grid Ratel. Thick fur and strong resistance to all kinds of chemical substances, or something like that.
There might have been better options, but in forests and jungles crawling with venomous insects and snakes, I figured nothing beat the Grid Ratel.
Without a mirror, I can’t tell what’s changed.
I stopped inspecting myself, turned toward the spiders, and shouted.
—Get lost, you bastards!
Shining the crystal in my front paw, I chased the spiders and scorpions farther away.
I looked at the snake carcass I’d left half-eaten. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but the snake—of which I’d left about half—was now reduced to nothing but bare bones.
—What? You didn’t even leave any?
I glared furiously at the spiders. When I picked up a stone and threw it at them, they screeched—Zzz!—and instantly vanished into holes like rats.
—You shameless little thieves…!
I trembled with anger and injustice.
Back in my previous life, some people praised spiders as beneficial creatures that ate mosquitoes. But to me now, they were no different from cockroaches sneaking into the kitchen—or hyenas.
From now on, if I see a spider, I’m smashing its skull.
Just how long had I been unconscious? No matter how many there were, it would’ve taken quite a while for palm-sized spiders to devour a house-sized snake.
Still, the bones and scales could be useful.
Frowning, I forced myself to think positively and evaluated how I could use the remains.
The massive, sharp snake bones could be used to make fishing hooks or fashioned into spear-like weapons.
I moved my front paw and snapped the snake’s fangs off with a crunch.
I’d heard that snake fangs were designed to come loose easily, but even considering that, they broke off far more easily than expected.
Did my strength increase from leveling up and evolving?
As I questioned myself, familiar letters and numbers appeared before my eyes.
Race: Magical Beast Lv. 5
Strength: 21
Agility: 17
Vitality: 21
Skills: 《Omnivore》《Sturdy Claws》《Low Frequency》《Stealth Movement》
“Ooh,” I exclaimed in admiration. Compared to before, my Strength, Agility, and Vitality had all increased significantly. Come to think of it, even the blue crystal—which had felt quite heavy earlier—now felt as light as a small pebble.
Nice. I’m getting stronger smoothly. Looks like my skills didn’t reset either.
There was no downside to being stronger.
Smiling, I snapped several of the snake’s ribs. They didn’t break as easily as the fangs, but after gripping them with my front paws and straining, they cracked cleanly with a snap.
I looked at the scattered snake scales on the ground. Maybe those could be useful too.
Living in the wild made everything look like potential material—nothing seemed worth throwing away.
Planning to take them back to the shelter I’d made aboveground, I gathered the scales neatly in one spot underground. I broke off all the ribs as well and stacked them together like firewood.
“Hm?”
While organizing the bones, I noticed a smooth object near the snake’s tailbone and tilted my head in confusion.
I’d thought it was an ordinary scale, but it was oval-shaped and smooth—unmistakably an egg.
A snake egg?
It’s small for a snake.
It was about the size of my head. In my original world, eggs that size would be dinosaur or ostrich eggs at best.
Still, considering it came from a house-sized snake, it felt oddly small—like a chicken laying a quail egg.
I tapped the shell lightly. It felt hard as stone. Unless I slammed it full force against a rock, it didn’t seem like it would break easily.
I heard snake eggs were soft. This thing’s ridiculously hard.
It seemed the spiders and scorpions couldn’t pierce the thick shell with their fangs and had left it alone. For me, that was good news.
Emergency rations, nice. I’ll crack it open later.
After some time, the snake carcass was mostly processed.
With my belongings neatly organized, I began looking for a way outside.
At first, I considered using the passage with the iron bars, but the snake had completely smashed it. Clearing all that rubble would take at least half a day.
What about the hole in the ceiling?
My body felt light enough that I was confident I could escape that way. Grabbing as much luggage as I could carry, I headed toward the hole.
Warm sunlight streamed down from the opening I’d fallen through. Standing beneath the shimmering light where dust danced like a mirage, I looked up at the ceiling several meters above.
Yeah… it’s high.
I poured strength into my legs and jumped upward. The sensation of my body lifting into the air was vivid.
I stretched my front paws and extended my claws toward the ceiling—but jumping three or four meters was apparently too much.
I landed back on the ground, managing a stable landing.
No choice. I’ll climb the wall like before.
I backed away slightly from the hole. After a running start, I planned to run up the wall and use the momentum to vault through the opening.
It was a flashy move that only worked in theory, but apparently feline animals could do things like that.
For some reason, I felt completely confident that I could pull it off now. To be honest, my whole body was brimming with energy—I was itching to test my strength.
—Hoo.
I carefully set the crystal down. Then, like a student before a physical fitness test, I regulated my breathing.
After shaking out my body and loosening my muscles, I checked the left wall I’d climb and the hole in the ceiling one last time.
Just do it the way you imagined.
Resolute, I began sprinting on all fours. I was startled by how fast I was moving, but I didn’t stop.
Riding the momentum, I leapt toward the wall and ran up it as if crawling upside down.
This feels good!
I pushed off hard with my hind legs and leapt toward the ceiling. I’d meant to grab it with my front paws—but instead, I flew cleanly through the hole.
After hanging in the air for a moment, I rolled across the dirt ground above. Instead of the damp, moldy stench underground, the smell of grass and trees—and the sounds of insects and birds—felt strangely welcome.
—Whoa, I did it!
I celebrated my achievement with pure joy. When you’re happy, it’s good to fully enjoy it and encourage the release of endorphins and other chemicals.
“Ba… Bakanish!”
“Nish!”
Someone cheered my success—though, of course, they were uninvited guests.
“Bakanish!”
“… …”
Familiar shouts and strange words followed. Only then did I look around and take in the situation.
Three or four Marblings were staring at me, faces twisted into deep scowls. They seemed to be shouting at each other, but I couldn’t understand a word.
They held small stone knives and various tools. Judging by their leather clothing and equipment, they looked slightly more advanced than the ones I’d seen before.
—Hmm… that’s tempting.
I snorted as I looked at the long, thick object held by the one wearing a skull helmet.
It looked like nothing more than a crude vine, but to me, it was incredibly valuable.
With that, I could easily move my underground supplies to the surface.
“…!”
The skull-helmeted one pointed at me. The others flinched, shoulders trembling.
Unlike the previous ones, their eyes were filled with unmistakable fear.
I prowled around them on all fours, my eyes searching for the weakest, most vulnerable target.
That one should do.
The smallest and frailest individual—on the far right, trembling nonstop—became my first target.
I opened my mouth wide and lunged.
—Hraaagh!
“Kieeek!”
Terrified by my momentum, it let out a shrill scream and collapsed. I slammed my front paw into its head—thud!—sending it rolling across the ground.
“Malak!”
The skull-helmeted one shouted loudly when he saw the fallen body. “Malak” was probably that one’s name—not that it mattered.
Three left. And those stone knives don’t even look sharp.
I calmly considered how to deal with them.
Charge the weakest on the far left, bite or punch him. Then take the one to his right. Save the skull-helmeted one for last.
Once I made a plan, I acted immediately—just like when I escaped underground.
—Grrrr!
With a fierce cry, I lunged at the far-left one.
“N-Nish!”
I easily dodged his stone knife swing, then smashed his torso with my right paw. He toppled to the ground in what felt like slow motion.
Without pausing, I sprang toward the one on the right, my body snapping forward like a bowstring. Leaping into the air, I grabbed his shoulder and slammed him down.
Under the speed and weight of my charge—like a living battering ram—he fell backward, flailing.
I bit into his neck and shook my head violently, just like the wolf had done to me.
Crack. The sound of bone breaking rang in my ears.
My body moving exactly as planned—mind and body acting as one—filled me with intense exhilaration.
I rose onto my hind legs, raised my front paws high, and roared. The surge of excitement filling my head and chest felt incredible.
—Krrrr!
“Nish!”
The skull-helmeted one staggered back, then turned and ran.
I frowned as I watched his retreating back.
You think you can run from me?
I crouched low on all fours like a sprinter at the starting line, packing power into my hind legs. Every muscle in my body tensed and coiled.
Not yet.
I waited until he completely disappeared from my sight. Only when he vanished into the bushes did I explode forward, kicking off the ground.
Though I started much later, it didn’t take long before I spotted him again, tearing through the undergrowth.
As I closed the distance, I shouted.
—Got you!
Hungry, I devoured all four Marblings without restraint.
As I gathered and disposed of their small bones, I became intoxicated with my own strength.
Last time I fought creatures like these, I’d struggled against their numbers. I’d even been injured by their clubs.
But today, I hunted similar enemies one-sidedly—killing them instantly. The difference in power between then and now hit me to the bone.
So this is the power of the Grid Ratel.
Purring contentedly, I rubbed my belly. After eating all four, I felt thirsty.
When I went to a stream and lowered my head to drink, a surprising sight was reflected in the water.
Despite evolving, my appearance was still round and cute, just like before. The only difference was that two claw-sized horns had grown on my forehead.
I’m pretty sure Grid Ratels don’t have horns.
I tilted my head. Was my memory wrong? The countless descriptions I’d read before evolving replayed in my mind like photographs.
Grid Ratels definitely don’t have horns. So what’s going on?
As I questioned my own existence, familiar text appeared before my eyes. I stared intently at the words written under my race:
Magical Beast (魔獸).
