That was quite a lot of levels, considering that it was just a squirrel. It wasn’t even all that hard to kill.

Arms really are the best.

Now, before I do anything else, I’d better get up in the tree. If the fox came around right now, it would easily steal my food.

Wrapping my tail around the squirrel's midsection, I climb up while hoisting it along with me. Eventually I’m back up again. In the time it took me to climb up here, my size increased quite a lot. Whereas before I was only around as big as the squirrel, I am now almost twice as big as it, which is pretty neat. I’d love to get eating straight away, but since I don’t know how much blood will set off a blood fever, I’ll just have to drain as much as I can.

I try to slit its throat. My nails aren’t quite sharp enough, but after a surprisingly long while of trying, I’m able to cut it.

Normal Skill Claws has Reached Lv.2

Blood apathetically pours out. Right, I’ll need to hang it up somewhere…

A sharp branch presents itself for my use.

Grinning, I impale the squirrel on the branch by the stomach. It looks a little morbid, but it gets the job done as blood begins pouring out from the gaping neck. Fuck, I’m starting to drool. Have I become a vampire or something?

To keep myself from rabidly attacking the dead squirrel, I start snacking on the nuts and things that the squirrel kept.

But while I had my back on it, I suddenly heard the flap of wings.

Turning around, I find myself faced with a bird easily bigger than myself.

Crow(D-)

Stage: Juvenile Health: 20/20

State: Intrueged

Huh?

Its foot grabs a hold of the squirrel.

Hey, stop that! Fuck off!

“Caw!”

It spreads its wings wide, preparing to take off. But, luckily, I was at least fast enough to take back the squirrel. Apparently, despite the rank of the crow, it wasn’t quite able to lift the both of us, as it quickly releases the squirrel and flies off with another caw.

Hahh, hahh, fucking crow… Next time you show your ugly mug around here, I’ll impale you!

Damn idiot bird…

I hold up the dead squirrel. Very little blood is dripping out of it.

Well, I guess that’s good enough. It’ll be a cold day in Hell before I let some asshole bird steal my food.

I look at the squirrel again. Am I really going to eat a raw squirrel, skin and all? Really.

It’s not like I can make up a fire or anything, but I should at the very least remove the organs. Though, that could easily backfire if it attracted other predators. My best bet would be to just eat all of it. People always tell me intestine food is healthy, so I really might as well get used to it.

Tasty, cooked food can wait until I return to civilization.

Raw squirrel it is.

I bite into one of its arms. It’s damn tough. My teeth don’t go through the skin at all, though I am able to crack the brittle bones inside. Damn it, this again?

As expected, my teeth are blunt. Only a few of the front ones are even somewhat sharp, but it clearly isn’t enough. Damn it. Hopefully, if I just keep trying to eat, I might eventually get a suitable skill. If not, then I’ll just have to try something else.

I bite and chew the squirrel's arm until the inside is totally mush. After such a long time trying, I’m eventually able to tear off the entire arm and bring it into my mouth. I chew it for several minutes. Eventually the bones have become small enough to swallow, though the skin remains almost too tough to chew through.

Normal Skill Sharp Teeth Lv.1 gained

Ahh, there we go. Chewing the skin becomes slightly less tough and I’m finally able to swallow.

I bite into the other arm. Chewing and eating this one takes less time, though it’s still an exceptionally long-winded process.

Normal Skill Sharp Teeth has Reached Lv.2

Eating hair has to be the worst part of it, but if I just chew and swallow then I don’t notice it. I move onto the right leg, and then the left.

Normal Skill Sharp Teeth has Reached Lv.3

It feels like I’ve been eating for hours, and looking at the sun, that seems to be true. It’s almost fallen fully. To summarize the day, right before dawn I got chased by the fox during the mouse fight and the evolution, and all day I’ve been eating squirrel. Living the life. Knowing that foxes are nocturnal, it only stands to reason that it should awaken at any time. But I can’t really trust that, since humans are supposedly diurnal, and I’ve been awake nighttime for the majority of my life. It’s a young fox, so I’m sure its rules are unwritten.

I look down at the squirrel. I’m not all that hungry anymore, but I still have space left to eat. If I don’t eat this now, it’ll either go rotten or get stolen by someone else.

Hrm… There’s only the head, torso and tail left.

Frowning, I reluctantly bring the squirrel's head to my mouth. I chew on the neck for a few seconds before it finally snaps off.

Normal Skill Sharp Teeth has Reached Lv.4

There’s a squirrel head in my mouth. Eyes and brain and tongue included. Why did I do this, again?

I try to focus on the beautiful twilight and begin chewing. The skull pops with a crunch and the brain spills out onto my tongue. It has an incredibly loose consistency and tastes very little. I keep chewing, absently watching the sundown. Ah, what a beautiful day. I love life. Two spheres in my mouth pop like watery balls. I want to cry. I can’t tell if I’m chewing bits of the skull or loose teeth.

Once it’s all a homogenous mess of flesh and bone, I swallow.

If I don’t get sick from eating all of this, this body is a lot stronger than I thought.

Alright, onto the torso. The brain was bad enough, but I guess this’ll just have to be something I get used to. Again staring at the sunset, I bite into the shoulders.

Dangling my feet over the branch, I watch the sunset while eating the squirrel’s torso like a very big sandwich.

The organs aren’t all too bad. If I just look at the sunset and don’t think too much about it, I forget that I want to puke.

Eventually, there’s only the bushy tail left, but in all honesty, I couldn’t eat it if I wanted to. It’s pretty much just hair and bone. I’m not that self-hating.

I toss the tail over the branch.

And now… Well, now, I should probably sleep. I didn’t sleep last night since I was fighting and fleeing for my life, but for now I should really get some Z’s. I feel about ready to pass out and/or vomit, so with a mighty yawn I turn around and look at the hidey-hole that the squirrel left behind. Better hope I’m not too big to fit inside.

As it turns out, I was right on the cusp of being too big, but I’m somehow able to make it.

Now, before I go to sleep, one last, quick look at my stats…

Lilltroll(E) Lv.4/30 Stage: Juvenile Health: 25/25

State: Tired, Full

Strength: 7(+0,7) Dexterity: 4 Grit: 5(+0,5) Racial Skills: Absorb, Strong Body, Tail Lv.4, Lesser Hamnskifte Lv.3, Lesser Regeneration Lv.1 Normal Skills: Stab Lv.4, Stomp Lv.2, Choke Lv.4, Lizard’s Tail, Claws Lv.2, Sharp Teeth Lv.4 Titles: Oknytt, Bloodthirsty, Natural Deviant