A sharp sting. I just want to stay asleep, but this pain in my side hurts. It hurts, but I don't have the energy to get up. I'm just so tired, and cold. I want to pull my covers over me, but my arms won't listen. And that taste? Did I bite my tongue? Someone shut off that stupid alarm blaring out. It's so loud. I just want to go to sleep...

A bright flash filled my vision, only it was like seeing without eyes. I know it’s there, but my eyes are closed. Then an idea pops into my head like an intrusive thought. I'm dead. I must be. I don't remember dying. I mean, I had so many things I still needed to do. I had responsibilities. Me dying is going to make things so hard for everyone else... Why is that all that I'm thinking about? So I'm dead. And this is the afterlife? I look out into the infinite around me and it feels so much larger than I can comprehend. Then it hit me.

"Do you want to start again?" It wasn't so much as a voice, so much as an understanding I had. almost instinctively. Does that mean reincarnation is a thing? Will I forget my memories of my old life? I don't want to forget. Though I guess I can't just stay here floating in this...limbo. Without a thought, my subconscious made the decision for me, and I felt a squeeze, like pressure all over pushing me like water through a pipe.

I opened my eyes again though this time I looked down and saw a very different hand. I hadn't considered when coming back that I'd be anything other than a human. I didn't have the time. My wrist is covered in gray fur, and so is my arm. I hear a clatter and look around, only to see another face looking at me. Big eyes, a bright red nose and two blue cheeks. A monkey? Not one but many, eight, maybe ten, no fifteen? I look at my hand again. So I was born a monkey? I start to silently freak out as I realize the situation I was in. Maybe it was the shock wearing off? Though as that occurred to me I blinked. Wait. I remember what a monkey is, and I'm thinking in English. I still have my memories? So that's good.

I raise my head to look up and see a jungle canopy, standing up, and quickly losing my balance. Right, monkey. I run on all fours now. I can stand on two feet, but my little legs are so short. I sit down in the dirt, open my mouth and try to see if I can speak, but all I manage is a rumbly monkey noise. Which manages to catch the attention of the other monkeys. A couple walked over to me, and a worry crept into my head. Are these a type of monkey that kills each other? I don’t hardly know anything about monkeys. I really should have spent more time paying attention to those documentaries that showed up on tv. They walked up to me and I fought the urge to immediately run. Without a sound they came around behind me, sat down and immediately started picking at my fur. Not murder monkeys then, that’s good.

I sat, letting the two groom me and let myself get lost in thought since I wasn’t going anywhere. I was still seriously stressing out about being a monkey. What am I supposed to do as a monkey? Just survive in the wilderness? And I’m already an adult monkey it looks like, so how long do monkeys live? What do I eat? Wait, am I a female monkey or male? I look down and don’t see anything on my body, so I assume I’m still female? Will that mean I’ll be propositioned by monkey men? That is not something I look forward to.

I close my eyes, trying to take deep breaths to calm myself, and this grooming is actually helping a bit. I just wish I knew more about myself… I opened my eyes again, though as I do something pops up in front of me. Like a flat pane of glass. I jump slightly in surprise, startling the other monkeys, but when English writing appears on the glass I lean back in.

Name: ____

Race: Mandrill lvl 1

XP: 0

Size: 70

Type: Beast

Faction: Unaligned

Armor: 0

HP: 5

Strength: 4/Speed: 8/Endurance: 4/Magic: 0/Plasticity: 0/Luck 6

Senses: Vision 2, hearing 3, smell 2, taste 1, touch 2

Abilities: Balance 1, omnivorous 1, aposematism 1

Skills: Bite 1, strike 1, grapple 1, throw 1, climb 1

[skill points available]

Well this is odd... Helpful but odd. I reach forwards and tap at the name with my finger, and a keyboard pops up. So, this world that I popped into basically functions like a game, at least in terms of mechanics. Not sure what any of that means necessarily, but I figured I may as well fill in my name as I mull it over.

Name: Natasha

Congratulations! You are now a named creature. New features will be available to you, and your name will appear to others upon inspection. When you die, you will now drop specialized loot.

That seems concerning. Firstly it means that I'm not on the player side of this video game. I'm an enemy. Secondly I seem to have just painted a target on my head... Crap. That would have been nice to know ahead of time. Still, new features sound good at least. And a new button appeared.

[ability points available]

I wonder what the difference between skills and abilities is, but that's not really important right now. Instead I tap the skill points button and see what that does. A menu pops up, displaying my known skills, and a second with unknown skills.

Skill points: 1

Known skills: Bite 1, strike 1, grapple 1, throw 1, climb 1

The unknown skills were much longer. showing dozens of listed skills that are possible for a monkey. Though it would probably be best to take up something that made up for the bullseye I just painted on my back. Scrolling through I see a couple that might help. Dash, hide, sneak, dodge, and block. I don't know if selecting one will automatically choose it, or if I can get some sort of description, so I hesitate to select any. Though off the bat, I think I'd rather avoid being hit, so block is out the window. Stealth would make it so I don't get attacked at all, but if I do end up being caught then I'm out of luck. That said, a tiny monkey probably can't outrun a tiger even if I did get dash. So sneak or hide? Hide implies standing still, so best go with sneak. I select sneak, and a description does pop up.

Sneak: A basic skill that allows one to move unseen and unheard.

Well, that confirms that suspicion. Now to check the others.

Dash: A basic skill that allows one to move quickly in one direction for a short burst.

Hide: A basic skill that allows one to use hiding places to remain unseen or unheard.

Dodge: A basic skill that allows one to quickly avoid damage with correct timing.

Block: A basic skill that allows one to lessen damage when struck with it active.

So about as expected, unfortunately these descriptions aren't overly enlightening. Though a basic skill seems to imply that either there are advanced versions of the skill? Which means I might have to level them up, or combine them, or unlock other skills together with it? Who knows. For now, I'll just choose sneak. I confirm sneak and it gets added to the known skills. Now to the abilities list. I click the ability point button, and a similar list pops up, but with different names.

Ability points available: 1

Known abilities: Balance 1, omnivorous 1, aposematism 1, vision 2, hearing 3, smell 2, taste 1, touch 2

The unknown abilities looked different, and I got the sense that skills are things that you can do, but abilities are innate. All the senses seem to be stacked in with the abilities, even though in the first menu they were separate. So maybe abilities are biological? So what is aposematism? I selected it to see the description.

Aposematism: A basic ability that allows one to dissuade predators from attack, either through bright coloration, foul smell, sharp spines, etc.

That's interesting. Though, I don't know how effective that will be. Best not to rely on it. And what about the unknown abilities? Looking through, most of them seem to be ones that apply to monkeys in general, though a few others are around that apply to other mammals. I guess it's limited by my race. Though scrolling through one ability caught my eye as I was scrolling. Voice.

Voice: A basic ability that allows one to call loudly, either in distress or to intimidate.

Darn, doesn't allow speech. Though maybe if I upgrade it somehow. It would need to be an investment, and some of these others actually look pretty useful. I browsed a bit more before narrowing the choices down to three. Voice, coordination, and innate magic.

Coordination: A basic ability that allows one fine control of the hands for precision use.

Innate magic: A basic ability that allows one the use of a single magical skill without using the magic talent.

Firstly, magic. So magic is real, I guessed that from the magic stat above. Not only that, but magic can be innate to certain species. However, I have no clue how magic works, or if it has any consequences. What if this is a world where all magic is evil and corrupting or it drives you crazy. It's dangerous, but what if this is a world where magic is everywhere, and not picking it is just shooting myself in the foot... It's risky, but really, I have to pick it, even if it's just a last resort. I select innate magic, and the menu closes. A new button pops up.

[New spells available]

I go to click the button, when I hear something. A hooting and hollering of the other monkeys around me. I raise my head, whirling around to see the others all scampering up the trees. Not wanting to be left out, in case there was something hungry down here, I quickly scamper after the others and up the tree trunk. It's surprisingly easy to climb, moving up to the high branches of the tree and looking down at the floor, I don't see anything. I do hear something moving though, over in the bushes, something is making its way to us.

Light peeking through the canopy, spotting the jungle floor made it oddly harder to tell where it was. Though once they emerged, I wasn't feeling too confident. Humans. Four of them. One was holding a sword and shield, two had bows, and one had a staff. I knew an adventuring group when I saw one, and was not about to die twice in one day. If they can somehow see my name, I don't want to get slaughtered for loot. I quickly hid behind the tree trunk, hoping my sneak skill was automatic, and not some activated ability.

Below I could hear them speaking, though clearly not in English. That doesn’t bode well. If I could have understood them, then eavesdropping could have been useful, but I suppose watching will have to do. I watch as they walk by, one of the archers looking up at the other mandrill and lowering his bow, waving his hand to the side dismissively. Well that’s good, mandrills seem to be so low level to be beneath his notice at least. The group walks on by and past all the mandrill around the tree I'm clung to. I circle around overhead to stay out of sight, but watch as they continue walking. I only then notice the cliff face hidden by trees, and their destination being a cave in the cliff wall.

So that’s why they didn’t care about us. We are just some low level monsters outside of their destination. Which I’m guessing is some sort of real monster’s home. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, cause that means that a more powerful creature lives in that cave, humans know about that monster, and might just come through and grind for xp by hunting monkeys. Or they might not come by again and some big monster will come hunting monkeys. I’m already back to shivering again just thinking about this bad situation I’ve found myself in, and I’ve only just been born.

As soon as the humans were gone, I sat myself down on a branch and got to thinking. Ok, panic is bad. Don’t freak out. What can I do to make this better? Well on my stats, it did say xp was at zero. Which means it can get higher. So monsters can level up in this world. Which means the best way to stay alive is to try and get stronger I suppose? But how to get xp? I know that in most games you can get it from killing monsters, but can monsters get it from killing each other? And is there any way to get xp without killing? Some games make it so you can get xp from things like farming, mining or crafting. Something to try later maybe. The other monkeys started to climb down again, but I stayed sat in the tree, pulling up my menu again, seeing a list open up as I pressed the button.

Spell slots: 1

Known spells:

Unlike the other menu the unknown spells were all categorized. Elementalism, white magic, black magic, and martial arts. The fact that martial arts is included means that magic is possible for non-wizardly types as well. Good for me now, but also bad considering I’ll probably deal with other people who have like magic laser shooting swords or something. Still, I browse the spells to see what might be useful. Unfortunately, all of them seem to be the bare baseline in terms of magic. No instant game breaking skills for me sadly. White magic seems to be all healing, shielding, and buffs. Black magic is all damage and status effects Elementalism looks to be mostly really basic, making fire and stuff. Martial arts looks interesting in terms of the abilities it gives, all body based.

Though if I’m going to choose anything, it should probably be something from elementalism. White magic looks great, but I only have 5 hp, I probably won’t get a chance to heal if I do get hit. Black magic I’m worried enough about the magic being evil theory, no need to test that theory. Martial arts, while good, isn’t exactly what I was thinking of when I said magic. With elementalism I won’t be making magic illusions or brainwashing people, but fireballs are a thing, and it should have plenty of utility. Looking through the elementalism, the choices are limited to four elements it seems. Of those I narrowed it down to one of each.

Ember: A basic spell, casting small flecks of fire over a wide area near the caster.

Pebble storm: A basic spell, casting small pebbles forward in a line originating from the caster.

Bluster: A basic spell, casting a short burst of wind that can knock the target away.

Spray: A basic spell, casting a spray of water over an area, spreading out the further it travels.

Thinking about it, fire in a jungle is probably a bad idea. As cool as that might be, I’ll have to say no. Pebbles are ok, but really it’s not too much better than just throwing a rock. Bluster could be useful, getting attacked and just pushing people away, could be a life saver. Spray, I’d never have to worry about being thirsty again, but what is a spray of water going to do in a fight? I pick bluster and confirm it. Locking in my only known spell. Now… how to use it?

I blink for a moment, raising a hand and pointing it in front of me, gesturing wildly and trying to make something happen, but nothing did. That’s when I began to worry. What if magic requires you to say some sort of spell out loud? I can’t talk. I may have wasted an opportunity no other monkey had to gain some super powerful ability. I silently curse as I beat my monkey fist against the branch, looking down at the other monkeys gathered around together. One day old and already a disappointment? Has to be a record. Another deep breath and I try again, this time opening up the menu to see if I can manually cast it by pushing a button. Sadly, it just gave me the description again. Though one thing I did notice was my stats changed.

Strength: 4/Speed: 8/Endurance: 4/Magic:1/Plasticity: 0/Luck 6

My magic stat is now one, which is better than 0. Which is infinitely better, but I have now idea how to use it. I look around and see that the number of monkeys has grown much larger. There must be thirty or fourty. I was fairly certain there were not so many a moment ago. I watch as the group begins grooming each other once again, gathered around and socializing. It was cute actually. I really need to focus on exactly how I was going to get xp. I will need to try to hunt something at some point. How do I kill something as a thirty pound monkey? My skills say I can bite, grab, throw and strike. Honestly I don’t want to get close enough to bite anything, so I should try to see how good throwing is.

I climb down the tree, walking around to the edge of our little clearing, picking up a small rock and trying to chuck it as hard as I can. I watch the rock fly over a bush and conk against the side of a tree about ten yards away. It goes a good distance I guess, but my aim is pretty bad. I will need to work on that. Though as I’m thinking about it, I look down at my feet, seeing something round and kind of fuzzy looking. I pick it up and roll it over my palm. It feels like foft grass, but I squeeze and there’s barely any give. A quick sniff, and I smelled something just a little sweet about it. Maybe a fruit? Now, my human brain is telling me not to just eat random things you found on the forest floor, but I’m already hungry, and I’m going to need to risk eating something eventually. With that I very hesitantly raised the fruit to my mouth, taking a bite. The peeling of it was bitter and awful, it felt like eating hair, but the inside was much better. It was green and firm. Like a kiwi but as firm as an apple. I will call them kipples.

After the first bite I started peeling the skin off with my teeth before I ate, but I was happy to satisfy both my stomach and my curiosity. Though next I’m going to need water, then shelter. Then after that I can maybe try hunting. I pause for a moment, looking back at all of the other monkeys sitting around, part of me saying I should really be sticking with the group, but let’s be honest. They’re not going to know all that much, they’re monkeys. And I need to level up fast, and they clearly aren’t in any rush. I shook my head, looking back to the bushes again. I’ll come back after I’ve taken a look around.

I stepped forwards, through the brush… and quickly realized that brush is harder to get through than it showed in cartoons. I had to shove it away to squeeze through and pop out the other side. Taking a look around, the forest looks a very vibrant green, though more of a yellow green than the dark green that I’m used to seeing. Like a chartreuse color. It made it feel a bit more like I was in some fantasy forest that was oversaturated. After about a minute I stopped walking, hearing the sound of water nearby. That was certainly easy enough. Though I suppose it’s only natural we’d live near some water. Walking closer, I hear it from the other side of a bush. Peeking through however, I see something not so comforting.

In the center of a little pond are several frogs, not quite as big as me, but close. Big, round and blue. Though behind them, on the opposite end of the pond was a centipede more than twice my size, with dark brown plates covering it, and two very nasty looking pincers out front. On the near side of the pond, just in front of me was something that looked like a chunky gazelle with zebra stripes. This is not comforting. A six foot long centipede is the very last thing I wanted to see. If anything could have stayed fantasy, it would be that. I gave an involuntary shudder before stepping back out of the brush. I think I’ve had my fill of exploring for today now. I turn around, heading back for my monkey family, pushing aside the brush and into the clearing. I wandered back into the circle, taking a seat near the middle and just thinking for a while.

As I sat, another monkey sat in front of me as she(?) sat patiently. I figured out with a glance that she was wanting me to groom her. So I copied the others around me and started grooming. Though as I picked bits of dirt and gunk out of her fur, I grabbed a bug, recalling from all the movies that I was supposed to eat it. I was about to say forget that and chuck it, when I recalled the very thing I had wanted to do was hunt. Would a bug give any xp? I hesitated, the thought of eating a bug really not sitting well for me, but it was for science… I shut my eyes, trying to think of it just being a walnut. I bite into it, opening my eyes to see a little screen appear in front of me.

1 XP

So, grooming was how the monkeys take care of each other, and how they grind xp while they’re weak. Interesting. So interesting that I managed to ignore the horrible bitter flavor for a solid ten seconds. It was a lot closer to a walnut than I expected, which somehow made it worse. But I better get used to it if I want to level up before next year. I huff slightly, gritting my teeth and continuing my grooming. About an hour passes and I have a total of 34 xp. I was planning to continue grooming all the other monkeys I could, but eventually they all started hooting and scampering up the trees. Having learned my lesson, I quickly followed, no questions asked, looking around for what had spooked everyone. I looked around the tree trunk and spotted them, the humans from before were leaving the cave. They looked a bit banged up, but they were fine. They were still talking, but it was all French to me.

Though… that gave me an idea. The humans are gone, the cave they just went through is empty now. Surely they killed everything. So, what better time to explore, maybe find some free food? More importantly though, free information. I can see what all lives around here, and maybe the humans might have even left some loot behind they didn’t need? It was worth a shot. I nodded, waiting for the humans to disappear out of sight before climbing down, and running straight for the cave entrance.