Moment Of Uncertainty

[Level Up

Status

Name: None (Pick a name? Yes/No)

Species: Lesser Avian Infant

Level: 4/5

Rank: E-

Life: 95%

Condition: Slightly Injured

Magic Reserves: 12 → 13

Attack: 20 → 22

Defense: 13 → 14

Speed: 17 → 18

Endurance: 9 → 11

Magic Potency: 0

Magic Resistance: 4 → 5

Skills:

Magic Gizzard Lvl 2 → Lvl 3]

After killing what had to be the fourth Black Rat I found for the day on top of the fifteen or so other Ugly Worms that have crossed my path, I finally reached Level 4. Though it's been well over a couple hours, I've found that my Life regenerates exceedingly slow. Since I was ambushed last night, I haven't even been scratched, yet I've only recovered two percentage points. Even more troubling is the fact that I've just confirmed that Leveling Up won't instantly recover whatever is left of my Life.

In fact, after studying how my Status changes, I've come to the conclusion that I haven't exactly been made into a game character. Rather, like a game character, I may be able to see the quantitative values for qualitative things like how healthy I am or what my physical parameters are. But this is still as realistic as my first life's incarnation; well, as realistic as it can be with magic, reincarnation, and gods, anyway.

Level only seems to increase the rate of my maturation as I've noticed my body subtly changing and growing with each subsequent leveling. Aside from that, the only questionably unrealistic aspect of this world, or universe, rather, is the existence of Magic. I still can't make heads or tails of how or why Magic is even a thing, but everything else can be explained logically.

For instance, I can't increase my Attack without physically exerting myself through attacks. Like an athlete in my past life, I need to exercise my legs and constantly hop, to increase my Speed. I haven't lived long enough to experiment with increasing my other Stats, but I can already imagine the process is virtually the same. Aside from exercising, the only other way to increase my Stats is through leveling up, which would align with my view that the action matures my body.

Signing, an action I don't doubt would look silly for a little bird like me, I finished devouring the Black Rat whose death pushed me through to Level 4. As the sun looked to be at its zenith, I understood that reaching my goal of reaching Level 5 before night fell would be unlikely. After all, despite the rather realistic system of progression in this world, Leveling Up was still governed by a universal rule; subsequent Levels were harder to reach, succeeding Levels required more experience.

[Speed 18 → 19

Hop Lvl 2 → Lvl 3]

I continued my wanton search for prey to slaughter, finding it slightly easier as both my Hopping Skill and Speed Stat increased from all the hopping around I did throughout the day. From my estimate it was around five or six o'clock, as the evening sun was starting to settle, when the monotony of my search was finally broken. After all this time, I had finally found a plant in the forest that wasn't a Yellow Flower and after appraising it, my stagnant Appraisal Skill Leveled Up as well.

[Appraise Lvl 2 → Lvl 3

Summary: Makes use of relatively useful memories you've kept in your subconscious to guess the details of the subject of an appraisal.

Appraise Successful

Name: Unknown Banana Plant

Description: Looks to be a fully mature fruit bearing plant. Going by the shape and color of the fruit of this plant, the fruit will probably be plantains rather than sweet dessert bananas. Additionally, there seems to be a mild magical air coming from the fruit.]

Useful memories? I guess that might be a reference to memories I don't immediately draw upon without using the skill. Like how I completely forgot the difference between bananas and plantains without Apprasial's input. Maybe Appraisal also made use of my short encounter with my summoner's magic to come to the conclusion that there's a "magical air" coming from the fruit.

I strolled over to the Banana Plant relaxed as I continued thinking what else Appraisal Lvl 3 would reveal when I used it on things I've already appraised, when, in the corner of my vision, I caught something moving erratically towards me. Hopping to the side as I turned my head to face whatever was charging at me, I grimaced as something sharp pricked the right side of my chest.

[Life 97% → 96%]

It's just a light scratch, not even deep enough to draw blood, but what caused it concerns me.

[Appraise Successful

Name: Unknown Infant Small Tapir

Estimated Rank: F+/E-

Description: Appears to be half a foot tall, over ten kilograms heavy, and territorial. With short coarse fur styled in a dotted black and white pattern and long nails, despite being a herbivore, it should be treated as a dangerous nocturnal and crepuscular type of mammal.]

Great, now I have to deal with an aggressive monster more than triple my size. Compared to the humans of my summoner's party, it wasn't the most intimidating thing I've seen, but given it's been appraised as potentially E Rank, I might be heading into an uphill battle.

Alas, now was not the time to think as the baby Tapir was charging at me once again. Hopping once more, I completely dodged the Tapir as it wasn't intelligent enough to hone in on me while I dodged. After touching ground, I hopped once more with the aim to land on its body. Sadly, even after landing on its back, it managed to shake me off under the threat of rolling over.

This was, without a doubt, the hardest anything I've fought thus far, but after retreating into a strictly defensive style of fighting, I wasn't much of a threat. Assuming a battle of attrition, wherein all I had to do was chip away at the Tapir's Life whenever I had the chance to land a peck, it only took around five minutes to draw the troublesome fellow to death's door.

It wasn't a grand battle, more gruesome and unforgiving than anything I supposed, but even I had to recoil with apprehension as the curtains to the fight came to a close. Around us, the grass and trees were speckled with the Tapir's blood and as it came close to finally dying, it released wails of misery unlike anything I'd heard outside of a nature documentary in my first incarnation.

In spite of already having slaughtered several Black Rats and dozens of Ugly Worms, I couldn't help but feel sick at the sight of the Tapir as it cried in despair. With blood spilling out of the open wounds I had caused, covering over 80% of its body, I almost didn't want to eat it anymore.

Still, the thought of just leaving it as it was at the moment seemed even less appealing as it would just suffer until it bled out. So, with a couple more pecks I succeeded in ending its suffering. Looking at the corpse I had just created, my expression must have changed over a dozen times in the span of the minute I took before finally starting to eat.

This wasn't an Ugly Worm that simply flailed around until I killed it, or even a Black Rat that might have squealed once or twice before it drew its final breath. This was a large animal that conveyed expressions with its face, ranging from anger at first, to pain, and finally despair before I finally ended its misery.

Thus far this had been the most disturbing thing I committed myself to doing, but I couldn't let myself get discouraged. It wasn't like there was another choice. If anything, this only reaffirmed the fact that this was real life and not some game. This was what I had signed up for and despite the discomfort I felt, I'd just have to get used to it. This was the natural cycle of the weak falling prey to the strong, so if I didn't want to be on the receiving end of that cycle, it's for the best that I continue pursuing power.

If only it didn't taste so good…

I couldn't help but feel like some sort of savage as my body looked forward to continue eating the Tapir's flesh after it got my first taste. I mean, I hadn't forgotten that I was now an infant bird monster, I still retained my human levels of intelligence from before reincarnating. The sheer juxtaposition of feeling sick from understanding that I had effectively tortured the animal to death, combined with the positive signals my taste buds and stomach sent as I consumed the same animal's flesh…

I honestly felt like I was about to have a mental breakdown.

Once again, I had to thank my obsessive compulsions to assume the worst to bring me back from my madness as I couldn't help but reason that this was the right thing to do. Why should I even care about the pain I forced onto that moronic Tapir? It was the one who attacked me first and even if it hadn't, it could only have itself to blame for not being capable of forcing me to retreat or die. If I had been up against a stronger or smarter enemy, perhaps things wouldn't have ended this way.

Right?

I know I'm right… But the cynicism still bothers me. Oh well, that's just how life goes for a monster like me, I guess.