I stare at the words appearing before me as the woman's voice mechanically reads them out.

{Greater Forest Raven: Larger in size and wingspan than a Common Raven, the Greater Forest Ravens are cunning, mischievous creatures that use trickery in their hunts. The culture of tying a child to the mother's back is believed to come from the lore of a wandering Greater Forest Raven stealing an infant from the crib while its mother worked in the fields.}

So I had to choose between a zombie and a crib-robber. Huh.

Staring at the two options before me, I tear off another chunk of white meat from the snake and nibble as I think.

Which one had Mother been? Definitely not the Carrion Raven, since some of the mixtures she fed me with had sometimes contained berries and grains.

Maybe she was a Greater Forest Raven, or some other evolution.

Another thought niggling in my mind was the possibility of other evolutions out there. If I could get the Carrion Raven evolution by eating all sorts of meat, what different evolutions would be triggered if I did other things?

There must be an evolution out there that could give me a humanoid form. But were there any fantasy creatures I knew of that were part-raven, part-human?

I think back on all the mythology and folklore I knew in my old life.

A spider could probably evolve into an arachne, or a tree into a wood nymph or an Ent. If I had reincarnated into a snake even, there was the lamia. For the life of me, I could not think of a bird evolving into a clear humanoid creature. Even a harpy was a bird with the head of a woman. That served no purpose for me. I wanted hands!

Plopping back with feet in the air, I let out an exasperated breath, pausing as Greenie lifted me up for a moment, ripping off another large swathe of scales from the snake like he was taking the skin off of a chicken.

The scales were no longer the emerald they had been before. Now, they were dull and brown, like the dirt ground underneath it.

Why were there no bird creatures that I knew of!? I rub my face into the exposed flesh of the snake, eating another piece as I rage-eat.

It was either being clean or being extremely dirty for me. There was no in-between. Since I was covered in gunk, I didn't feel any worse getting some more on me.

Now, why did I want to be a humanoid so badly, when I had the ability to fly anywhere I wanted, and was, as they say, free as a bird?

Because a bird couldn't read a book, cook a good meal, or create a nice, soft bed to lay on.

Just because I was a bird didn't mean I had to live like one!

And another thing. While a human had a tongue and a set of teeth to mechanically break down the food in the mouth and enjoy flavor a little better, a raven didn't have teeth. All I'd been doing was ripping off and swallowing, tasting the meat in small intervals as it slid over my tongue and down my throat.

It was like eating only for your survival, and not for your enjoyment.

The notification boxes were still in front of me as my eyes glazed over from thinking too hard.

The Greater Forest Raven sounded like a better fit for me. Being hungry all the time for meat and not being able to eat other grains or fruits didn't sound good. My formerly human taste buds would go crazy if all I could eat was meat.

I guess that was that.

The Greater Forest Raven was a safer choice, the wiser choice.

A little curious as to how the selection system worked, I paused for a moment before announcing my decision.

It might have been the melancholy I was feeling after being attacked. Or maybe it was the pain from my wing, addling my mind.

If this was a dream, it wouldn't matter what I chose. In my life too, I'd chosen what I felt was the wisest decision, joining the market intelligence firm. The choice that would meet my parent's expectations.

A choice you would expect.

....But what if I chose the Carrion Raven?

It might be fun to have a little mindlessness in my life. Even if I did turn into a zombie bird, this could all be a realistic dream, right?

In a dream, it didn't matter what you chose..

[Carrion Raven has been selected. Beginning evolution sequence]

The moment I select the Carrion Raven, my inner consciousness screams at me to change my decision.

Was mindlessness something I really wanted?

[Processing...]

Uh....Wait! No!

Can I get a redo??

[Title: ??? interferes with Carrion Raven evolution]

The white glow that had shimmered around Greenie was back, this time around me.

The light flickers, interspersed by spots of black the bloom like ink spots around me.

Greenie and I stare at each other with a dumb look on both our faces. What was the black!?

[With the effect of Title: ???, Status: Perpetual Insanity has been changed to Skill: Berserk]

Using his bloodied spear, Greenie jabs at the darkness, but the darkness seems to respond, entangling itself around the rough wood of the spear.

"Kii!! Kii!"

Greenie protests, digging his heels into the dirt and pulling back against the force.

But the strength of the goblin, even evolved, was not good enough. Greenie keeps his hold on his spear until the black mass looks like it's about to touch his fingers, and at that point he lets go. With a schlicking sound, the spear disappears into the mass blooming around me.

[Processing...]

The goblin steps back, looking at me with clear fear in his eyes.

Help me, Greenie! It hurts!!!

As I reach out with my right wing towards Greenie, I stare in painful shock as my young baby feathers slough off my skin, leaving behind the exposed skin that covers delicate bones underneath it. The light flickers, like a lightbulb being turned on and off, as my evolution continues.

Crack!

My wings twist at a strange angle. Pain, the worst I'd ever felt before, runs through me. Pop, pop, pop! The bones of my neck were starting to pop out of place and stretch higher.

It felt like my body was a rag and somebody was wringing it out with all the strength they could muster. Why was my evolution hurting so bad!?!

I tried to hop away from the light, but that was useless. It follows me wherever I go, stuck to me like glue.

Webs of darkness spreading out around me until it overtakes the white glow, Greenie eventually fades from my sight as my vision gradually turns pitch-black.