After a restless night, I woke up, feeling discomfort all over my body. I had the whole itinerary for the day planned out. Mainly, eating… eating and eating. If possible, I wanted little bites of meat to go in-between. Okay. Okay. I wanted to eat a whole lot of them but it was not good to get ahead of myself.

One step at a time, I reminded myself.

I adjusted my clothes… a bunch of leaves stringed together with vines. I made sure all of me was covered, except for my eyes, that is. The assortment of leaves not only helped to keep the cold out but also helped me to blend in with the environment. What better camouflage in the forest than leaves?

All set. I moved out of the cave for the day’s foray.

I munched on the plants around me while looking for small animals like rabbits. So far, no luck.

I felt like screaming at the whole unfairness of the situation. The isekai protagonists I read about would go “BAM!” and they would have all the delicacies spread out in front of them. Heck, they even had entourage of harem following them. And here I was, trying to make end’s meet. How come I had no such fortune?

I couldn’t help thinking back to the measly ‘1’ I had for my Fate value and lament.

It was late into the afternoon when my luck finally observed some changes.

I ran across a nest. There was only a single egg. But boy, it was huge! It was at least two meters tall.

Glorious. Drool escaped unbidden from my mouth. I had the urge to run and hug the pearly white shell. I tried not to let instinct overcome my rationality. But it was tough, I tell you. Every cell in my body was yelling at me to go and just take the egg. It took all the rationality in my head to rein in the impulse.

Whoosh! Moments later, a giant hawk that was at least three meters tall and ten meters long scooped down onto the nest.

I shuddered at what could have happened if I had acted recklessly.

It took all my courage and self-control to resist the instinct to flee with all my might.

I stayed hidden in the thicket I was in, barely daring to breath. With no other alternative, I could only wait. I clutched my stomach, lest it rumbled and gave me away to the giant bird. Good thing I had stuffed in many plants before I came here.

In the end, I had to camp out the whole night, afraid to disturb the brooding bird. I was afraid I would bring down a huge calamity upon myself.

I watched it fly off to hunt when the sun rose. I was finally able to breath out a sigh of relief.

I wanted to return to my cave and get a good rest. The whole ordeal had left me battered and sleep-deprived. The mental strain I suffered was also in no way small. But when I looked at the egg, I felt reluctant. In spite of my cautious nature, I just couldn’t let go of it.

Should I or should I not? Now, that was the question.

After crossing over, I was beginning to understand how Hamlet really felt.

In the end, I decided to make a break for it. I dashed towards the egg with all the speed my movement stat could afford. I hugged the large egg and lifted it.

Too heavy. As soon as I lifted the egg, I knew it was impossible for me to take it to my cave where I was planning to eat it at my leisure. My plans fell through. Now, there was only one thing I could do.

I punched the egg with all my might.

Nothing. Nothing happened to the egg. Apparently, my strength was not enough to break the shell. I felt unwilling. I loathed giving up after all the suffering I had been through.

Then I recalled how my teeth were able to bite through the rocks like those rocks were biscuits.

Without wasting any more time, I bit onto the egg.

My teeth sank into the rock-hard shell my fist could do nothing against, like persimmon. It was a pleasant surprise. A little bit of juice that was egg white seeped out of the hole I made. As soon as it touched my tongue, I felt electric currents ran through my whole body.

It was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten.

It was like I had lived all my life, make that two lives, just for this moment. I felt glad to be alive. Even if I died after this, I felt I would have no regret left.

All my rationality and restrain fled to some tiny corner. The entirety of my head was filled with the heavenly flavor. It felt like blasphemy to think about other stuff when I was savoring this egg. I widened the hole and slurped for all I was worth.

It was the most blissful I had ever been.

Ding!

Congratulations!

You have gained +2 Strength, +5 Physique, +5 Movement, +3 Control, +1 Soul, +1 Comprehension

The familiar notification window appeared after what felt like a long time. I rubbed my stomach in a satisfied manner. If I could see myself, I was sure I would be grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. My stomach was full for the first time since I crossed over. There was no happiness greater than this.

I could feel changes happening to me. I could feel myself grow stronger.

Ding!

Congratulations!

You have acquired the trait [Hawk Eye].

Still in a state of euphoria, I checked my status.

GENERAL

Name

Su Ren

Age

10 years old

Cultivation Method

N/A

Realm

N/A

Lifeforce

150/150 (Regeneration: 0.5% per second)

Qi

0/110 (Regeneration: 0.5% per second)

ATTRIBUTES

Strength

7

Physique

15

Movement

9

Control

5

Soul

12

Comprehension

7

Charm

7

Fate

1

INNATE TRAITS

Innards of a God

Hawk Eye

There were noticeable changes in the attribute points. The biggest change was an extra trait.

I recalled that [Innards of a God] gave me certain chances of acquiring traits from what I had consumed. It didn’t take a certified genius to figure out that I had gotten another trait due to it.

I checked the details of my new trait.

HAWK EYE

You can view objects in the far distance as if it is in front of you.

Range: 3 Kilometer

Range depends on the Soul attribute.

I suddenly remembered a certain matter I had put at the back of my mind in my reckless endeavor to devour the egg. The mother hawk… If she had the same trait…

Not good!

Cursing my complacency, I surveyed the area around me with my newly acquired trait. I thought it would be like using a telescope or binoculars. I was mistaken. I could see everything within three kilometers like I was watching from above. And the images were magnified to appear as if it was happening right before my eyes.

A couple of times, I involuntarily backed away when my eyes lay on the ferocious beasts. This forest was far more dangerous than I had imagined.

No sign of the giant hawk in the periphery. Good.

Picking a safe path, I made my way towards the cave. I kept my guards up. There were far too many dangers lying in every corner of the forest. I marveled at how I had managed to survive through all these with virtually no inkling about it.

I was only able to relax when I reached the cave.

Through the [Hawk Eye], I learnt that no beasts came near the cave. It was like something was keeping them off. I will investigate it when I have more leisure. I put off the study of the cave for now. Even if I wanted to, I had no means. Why make futile attempts at what is not really necessary when there are many necessary things waiting to be completed?

Later in the afternoon, I heard loud angry screeches resounding throughout the forest. It was the hawk. I stayed put in the cave, not daring to venture out.

I looked at the detail of Hawk Eye again.

HAWK EYE

You can view objects in the far distance as if it is in front of you.

Range: 3 Kilometer

Range depends on the Soul attribute.

I could see many possibilities with the new trait I had acquired.

Slowly but surely, a plan started to hatch in my mind.

And thus, began the legend of the Egg Thief. But that’s a story for another time.

No. Not really.

I hummed as I made my way towards the cave.

More than a week had passed from the time I had eaten my first egg. The number of eggs I ate since then had passed hundreds. After acquiring [Hawk Eye], I never had to go hungry. The only complain I had at the moment was, there was no variation to my meal. It was either eggs or plants. Or in some rare occasions, some fruits.

I wanted to hunt animals, mind you.

But this one time, I noticed a tiny rat, which was barely twenty centimeters take down a huge boar that was at least seven meters. That dissuaded me from hunting. A harmless bunny just might kill you within seconds. Until I found a way to gauge the power level, I was planning to put hunting on an indefinite hold.

I looked at the egg I was carrying with satisfaction. My stats had grown strong enough for me to carry a giant egg effortlessly. Yet I couldn’t help frowning. Lately, the beasts in the forest were getting restless. Well, I guess I had a huge hand in it. What with me stealing their eggs all over the place? Still, I couldn't help but feel troubled.

I was afraid, there would be a beast stampede soon. That’s why I was stockpiling my supply of eggs. I was planning to lie low for some time.

“Status,” I muttered.

GENERAL

Name

Su Ren

Age

10 years old

Cultivation Method

N/A

Realm

N/A

Lifeforce

640/640 (Regeneration: 0.5% per second)

Qi

0/540 (Regeneration: 0.5% per second)

ATTRIBUTES

Strength

35

Physique

64

Movement

43

Control

42

Soul

54

Comprehension

23

Charm

4

Fate

5

INNATE TRAITS

Innards of a God

Hawk Eye

All my stats grew, except for Charm, which for some reason decreased by three. Even my luck stat grew. Guess those close shaves that I encountered contributed towards it. I hadn’t managed to get a new trait in spite of consuming many eggs; therefore, I chalked up the first one for beginner’s luck.

Would I be able to go against those beasts? I wondered, not for the first time. The increase in stat points that I was getting from eggs had been decreasing lately. There were even times where I got none. If I wanted to grow stronger, I would have to kill the beasts and eat them.

But I didn’t want to take chances.

Lost in thought, I soon reached my cave.

“What in the world happened here?” A murmur escaped unbidden from my mouth. I unconsciously dropped the egg that I was carrying. Thankfully, it was safe due to its thick shell.

But the eggs that I had stockpiled weren’t. Broken eggshells was lying everywhere in the cave. Egg white and yolk were spread all over the floor.

The culprit, a fat white cat with black stripes with wings, no, a white tiger cub with wings, corked its head inquisitively at me. “Nuu~” it purred.

My eggs. My efforts. It was all gone. Destroyed by a single mischievous tiger cub. The most infuriating thing was, it hadn’t even eaten much of it. Yet there was not a single egg left undestroyed. Rage, like never before built in my head. All I wanted to do was tear the little culprit into pieces.

Ding!

Since you are the first person it has seen, the white tiger cub has imprinted you as its parent.

The white tiger cub has initiated a bond with you.

Would you like to accept it?

I was so angry, I did not read through the notification carefully. I waved it away.

I picked up the cub roughly. It didn't seem to suspect anything. It didn't seem to feel my rage and killing intent. It looked innocently at me.

Ding!

Congratulations!

You have created a bond with the white tiger cub.

Please give it a name…

Before I could figure out the situation, an immature voice said in my head, “Fa...ther...”

I froze.

What?

Things happened so fast that I was left befuddled. I looked at the notification that had yet to fade away and the little white tiger cub. I could sense some sort of connection with the little guy who was purring “Nuu~ Nuu~” in my hand.

Maybe I can eat this fellow. As soon as that thought appeared in my heard, an incredible amount of guilt overwhelmed me. I felt disgust at myself for thinking like that. It was the bond. It had made me see the little white tiger cub as family.

I shook my head in dejection. Forget it. This could also be considered as me accruing good karma. Maybe, the little fellow might grow up to a dependable helper in future.

The little guy looked at me happily, without realizing how close it, no, I should say, he had been from being eaten.

“I guess I should give you a name.” I thought about it for a while. “Byakko.” That was the only thing that came to my mind. It was one of the mythical animals in my previous world. A white tiger.

Ding!

The name ‘Byakko’ has been assigned to the white tiger cub.

The little fellow frolicked happily in my hands. The cave looked as if a storm had passed through it. I sighed. In the end I could only grit my teeth and start cleaning.