Warmth again. Darkness, once more. But this void, however, did not suck me in like a vacuum. I was not hypnotized, as I was when I awoke inside of an egg yesterday.

No. This void was lifting me. I was floating. I rose, back towards the crack of light in the darkness. The doorway to escape.

I swam towards it.

Scraaaaape.

I recognized that muffled sound. It was the sound of claws on eggshell.

Was I really in an egg again?

Oh no! Did I die? Am I… respawning?

The fates favored me if that was true. But was I limited in respawns? Or was this truly nothing more than a game world?

A sudden force underneath me sent me rocketing towards the opening in the darkness, and I flailed.

Crack!

The doorway widened, and I reached through, ripping and tearing with my claws. I popped my head through, gasping, and inhaled the scent of worm meat.

Eww. I forgot I was in the mouth…

As I climbed forth from the egg, a message greeted me.

Congratulations on evolving! You’ve become [Baby Dino]. Dino statistics, [Health], [Stamina], and maximum level have been increased! You’ve unlocked the [Guided Evolution] trait!

You have developed your tolerance.

Congratulations! You’ve unlocked the [Risky Business] instinct.

[Risky Business]- With great risk, comes greater rewards!

You’ve developed a new skill: [Corpse Hatching Lvl 1].

That was a lot of data to absorb. And… corpse hatching? That sounded disgusting. But, I guess it was apt for what I’d just done…? But hey, that Risky Business sounded like something I’d be using. Now I just had to learn to speak, so I could shout my war cry as I risked it all...

I thought the command to pull forth my status page, and the magical boxes obliged.

Baby Dino (F) Level: 1 [0/50] Health: 100/100 Stamina:

70/70

Traits Guided Evolution [Lvl ---] Skills Bite [Lvl 1] Claw [Lvl 1] Flee [Lvl 2] Stomp [Lvl 2] Climb [Lvl 1] Sneak [Lvl 2] Feast [Lvl 3] Dig [Lvl 1] Slam [Lvl 1] Corpse Hatching

[Lvl 1]

Instincts Fight or Flight [Lvl 2] Freeze [Lvl 2] Fearful Flight [Lvl 2] Observant [Lvl 3] Nocturnal [Lvl 2] Risky Business [Lvl 1]

Hmm. So my level was reset, but the general values for health and stamina increased. I glanced over my body, but it was too dark to make anything out.

Hey, can I see some information about my skills? Like… specifically the corpse related one?

I didn’t expect any response, since the boxes had never obliged me before. They seemed quite rigid in what they could and couldn’t do. But then, I was delightfully surprised to see that I’d gotten one!

Corpse Hatching [Skill]

Hatching inside of another creature’s body enables you to learn skills, traits, and instincts that belonged to them. These are often hard to come by in a typical fashion.

Note: You must be able to fit inside the creature to hatch inside their body.

Nice! I’d gotten a buff! It wasn’t too strong, because I’d have to find large monsters to hatch inside, but with how big just this worm was, I didn’t think it was going to be too hard.

Then again, I’d only been able to hatch inside this worm because of the Deotrexaptors in the first place. It might not be so easy in the future…

Well it was always good to add to my list of skills anyway, even if I didn’t use them at all.

Could I see some info about that evolution trait, please?

Once again, I was obliged. I think I was getting the hang of the magical blue boxes.

Guided Evolution [Trait]

Unlike most dinosaurs, you’ve displayed the ability to choose the direction your life will progress in. As you learn more skills, and perform different actions, paths will open and close.

When you reach the halfway point to your maximum level, you will be granted the opportunity to glimpse some of the options that await you, whether or not they are unlocked.

Note: This is a one time opportunity. You may only do this when you reach the halfway point, and only once per evolution.

Huh. That could be useful.

Hopefully, it would be clear to me what options were unlocked and how I might unlock the others, but the box didn’t specify. Still, it was useful knowledge to have.

A quick little exploit allowed me to know when that halfway point would be.

Evolve…

Sorry, you cannot evolve until you reach the [Baby Dino] maximum level: 15.

Heh. Clever me...

Gurgling reached my ears as I pondered the implications of the things I’d unlocked.

My stomach. Hungry once more. Either I’d been in there for quite some time, or my body required a ton of energy to evolve.

Either way, this worm gave me a ton of experience last time! It was time to eat!

I sloppily crammed chunk after chunk of pink meat into my mouth.

Ohhh! It tastes even better than before!

My movements picked up velocity as I continued to swallow piece after piece. I must’ve eaten twice as much as earlier before I started to feel full again.

Makes sense. I’m probably bigger.

Things did feel… off. And after I’d just gotten used to my other body. I guess when you are born as a dinosaur, these are the kinds of sacrifices you have to be willing to make. Being constantly confused by your own body is a bug that might never be patched. A shame, really.

Okay! I thought, as I sat in the pile of meat, which, honestly, is not as gross as you might think. Not when you’re a dinosaur, anyway. So where’s the experience gain?

I looked a slab of meat resting in my hand, peering through the darkness at it.

Giant Tree Worm Meat [Experienced]

This meat comes from a fearsome beast, capable of taking on some of the strongest monsters. It is possible to eat, but it is an acquired taste.

...Eh?

Did that little tag next to the name, experienced, mean that once I’d eaten that kind of food, I could no longer gain the massive amount of experience? What about skills?

No… No! No! No!

If I’d known that, I’d have searched for more mosquitoes before eating the worm meat! I wasted so much experience because my dino’s level cap!

No!

I laid my head against the side of the mouth sadly.

Guess I’ll have to level up the hard way...