As tempted as I was to call out to the Nature Spirit again, he’d made it clear that he wouldn’t, or couldn’t, help me unless I was stronger. And I didn’t feel like pushing my luck with another [Lvl ???] entity.

It would’ve been great if I could’ve gotten him to go taunt the beetles for me and bring them back into the lit room, but he’d mentioned he couldn’t stray far from the waterfall, and I assumed that he probably wouldn’t appreciate being bait.

Well, time to find another way.

I started my crawl back through the hole towards the Dino Cave, which was easier now that my body could compress itself with less of an issue. And since I now had longer arms and legs, it meant that I could travel faster through the smaller area, because they could propel me further.

Unfortunately, being taller also brought with it the side-effect of having to crouch longer to fit through the cave.

That threw off my orientation a bit. I was back in the main section of the cave sooner than I expected because of it.

Eat!

Yes, yes! I know!

I grabbed one of the Macamme nuts with my new hand. Warmth rushed over me as I was finally able to grab things again. It bloomed in my chest, and with my razor-sharp talons, I cracked open the nut, dropping the exposed fruit into my mouth, and enjoying the taste as I swallowed.

I cracked another nut, again swiftly consuming the filling. Wow. These fruits were so much more delicious than I’d expected.

One more. That was it. I didn’t want to deprive Frieda of food if she was going to stay depressed, and not want to go outside.

Pop!

Into my mouth went the juicy red treat, and I happily swallowed, wiping my hand clean of any pieces of shell that had stuck around.

Good! You’ve learned one of the most important and basic parts of surviving: eating. You’ve developed a new skill: [Feast Lvl 1]. You’ve gained 15 experience. Congratulations! You have leveled up! You are now level 2 [5/110]. Your [Health] and [Stamina] are restored.

Well. That was a useful amount of experience.

Though… it was nothing compared to the 500 from eating the worm, or the 1200 from killing a xaptor…

I guess I’d have to do this the hard way. Especially considering that the experience required to level up just increased by a hundred...

That's so much... It'll take forever to level up this way!

After I finished with the Macamme nuts, I turned to examine the sleeping gorlen.

Who… apparently was not sleeping. She stared at me with wide eyes, barely peeking over the dip in the nest. Her claws lightly rested on the edge, and she was trembling.

Hey! I’m the same me! Just different!

Hmm. How could I prove to her that I was myself?

Honestly, I’d forgotten that she wouldn’t recognize me. It kind of floated to the back of my mind. Mostly I was preoccupied with the glitchy system, the beetle, and that water spirit. Which I think are all sufficient reasons to forget that a friend might not understand that you can change your looks.

To be fair I didn’t fully understand it, either.

How would it be best to show her I was the same dino she knew? There wasn’t exactly a secret dino handshake we’d made up.

Which, now that I thought about it, might be a good idea for the future.

But… how to convince her? I cracked open a Macamme nut, the light fading as I rolled the fruit in my left hand. I held it out to her.

Frieda didn’t move. But her nose twitched when the fruit approached.

To be honest, she was a higher level than me, and perhaps capable of killing me with her claws. But she wasn’t the bravest, and I doubt she could tell I was so weak. I dropped the fruit into the nest with her, before looking around in the darkening room. Chair… nuts… nest… herbal packets?

Perhaps they were the key?

Your [Observant] has leveled up. It is now level 2.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I was also observing everything as we went along. I grabbed one of the packets of herbs, and held it out to the gorlen (who was now chewing nervously on the Macamme). With a sigh, I dropped the packet in front of her.

The only meaningful interactions we’d had were over the nuts, the medicine, and the wings. But I didn’t have any wings on me at this moment to greedily eat in hopes that she would recognize the action.

Hmm…

What about...?

I looked at my belly. There, in the same spot as on my previous body, a thick white scar stretched across.

Would she recognize it? I shrugged. Better to try and fail than to not try at all, right? I clicked my talons together, drawing her attention.

Here, I thought as I pointed to the scar. Recognize it?

She frowned, her trembling lessening. One of her hands reached out as though she were going to touch it, before she pulled back, looking to me with wide eyes.

I nodded.

You can touch it.

Frieda shook herself, building up her courage, I’d guess. Then she scampered over to me, and ran her hands along the scar.

It tickled. And as I watched, she rubbed a section of it which was fatter than the rest.

Probably where the knife went in, I mused.

The little gorlen backed away, scanning my new body. Her eyes fixed on my right arm, the one that hadn’t changed much. She moved forward, lifting my arm and examining it fiercely. Then she stopped, backed up, and munched on a Macamme nut she cracked open, running her eyes up and down my body.

A hand went on her waist as she looked at me with an interesting expression. The trembling gorlen that I had been gazing down at just minutes ago was gone. It felt as though Frieda’s existence had grown larger. Or perhaps the room seemed smaller. I imagined her voice in my head.

What’s this mess you’ve got us in, now?

I smiled.

Wouldn’t you like to know? She backed up as I stepped forward. Hey, by the way… how fast can you run in the dark?