Ugh... my back hurts. Tense, I guess. I flex my arms to pop my spine between my shoulder blades and hear a few pops.

I feel better. Collecting myself, I use my hands to push off from the ground, my face no longer in the cave dust.

Something smells bad. I'm closer to the mammoth than I was earlier. Luckily, my kidney doesn't hurt anymore. I don't know what's so exciting about that- the woman from the service window stabbed me with that pretty dagger right in it. I feel my side with my left hand, and there isn't a wound. There is, however, a stain. I can tell there's a stain because the cloth is dryer there, but also harder? Like when you spill ketchup on your shirt and don't clean it off and it dries and hardens.

I've clearly lain here for awhile. The mammoth doesn't smell rotten, just bad body odor, so it can't be that long, right?

Anyway, I stand up, and... that feels really different. I'm taller than I was in any of my previous lives- so I turn around- or try to, and find I can't turn all the way. Well, okay, I can turn my torso as much as I could before, but my back hits the cave wall. Two of my legs hit their knees on... wait.

There isn't anything shiny in here, and the lantern is not that bright. Well, it is, but not as much as I want. It's only about five candlepower, if I judge its brightness.

But this IS a cave tunnel. So it should lead somewhere. Plus, there was that breeze earlier, so I'll go the direction it came from. Which means climbing over the dead mammoth. I... okay, I know exactly what this feeling is. But I have to be sure. I want to see myself. I want to check this out- I've fantasized about this species for a really long time, and I want to see if it's real or not. If I really AM one.

After a minute or so, I see that the cave tunnel isn't a perfectly flat path, but one that has slight bumps in it, but only bumps and inclines and declines that would be noticed after at least twenty feet of walking; maybe fifty. But there is a light, and it looks like a tunnel entrance. Exit from this side, I guess.

I get to the entrance and see outside- it's bright. Trees, but not the common types I'd see on Earth. I mean, only so many shapes can even be called 'trees'. These look like baobab or dragonblood trees, I could never really remember the difference between the two. But that's what this looks like- a forest, not a jungle (because it wasn't hot or humid and also there were bushes and not vines all over). There's even a nice little clear water pond over to the side with a dirt path in front of it. It doesn't look like foot traffic made the path; just... it is one anyway?

I walk up to and look into the water of the pond. Maybe not a pond, but a small lake. Anyway, I really am what I thought. I hear a sound in my head and in my mind's eye, I see a few things appear.

Species Designation: Drider

Gender Designation: Hermaphrodite

Class Designation: Plague Bearer

Gift: Empathic Affliction

Gift: Parthenogenesis

Starting Equipment: Not Applicable

Okay, I read enough 'resurrection'-genre comics and light novels and such that I know exactly what this is, even if I wasn't a gamer. A lot of those let people investigate their own user interface pop-ups...

Huh. How would I ask for information, on say... the drider? I mean, I know what it is, but this world might think of it as being somewhat different.

Information: Driders are a combination of humanoid and arachnid. Usually, the arachnid half is spider, but it could also be scorpion. The humanoid half is usually human, but rarely elvish. Abilities are usually based ont he mix.

Okay, that's pretty cool! I wouldn't mind meeting a scorpion elf drider. Not all scorpions are aggressive. Some people even had them as pets back in my previous life. All of them, I guess, since it was the same world. You know, since that's the case, I wonder if I can just say 'information plague bearer'. That seems interesting.

Information: Plague Bearers havea symbiotic relationship with any diseases or viruses they encounter. Additionally, medical abnormalities can be inflicted on other individuals. Unique class. Viral agents may gain host abilties.

Okay, so... yeah. I don't really see a benefit in me using that actively, but at least the passive benefit seems fine. I won't be able to get sick in this world, at least. It would keep me from dying FROM A LAME JOKE AGAIN!

*deep breath* Fine. "Information parthenogenesis", I mutter, displeased.

Information: Parthenogenesis is the ability to produce offspring without mating or external fertilization methods being required. Restricted to lower life-forms and other inconsequential organisms.

Standard response. Wait, no it isn't! Who even wrote these? I doubt it was the lady at the service window. I'm pretty sure this kind of thing is above her pay grade. Do they even get paid? Whatever. I don't care. 'Inconsequential'? 'Lower life-form'? Bite me. Well, then again, maybe it's just because of the spider half of me. I better get a better response from 'information hermaphrodite'. I somewhat vaguely know that word, but forgot its exact meaning.

Information: Some species are entirely hermaphroditic, though rare individuals of all species are able to be hermaphrodites themselves. Hermaphrodites have the sex organs of both male and female genders.

Well, I was a female human, two female spiders, and two male humans. Wait, the caveman. Three males, three females. I guess this makes sense. Either that, or it let me breed without having to have sex since I was asexual before? But then again, that's probably why I have parthenogenesis. I don't know or care, I just know it's appreciated. In a somewhat leery manner, I ask "information empathic... affliction"?

Information: Empathic Affliction is the ability to inflict one or more pre-designated causes of death to other individuals; the afflicted becomes empathic to the inflictor's own pains. Restricted to reincarnated or resurrected individuals.

What the heck kind of ability is that! I don't wanna do that to people! Or animals. The lady did say there were monsters, but what did she mean by that? Monster could mean a lot of things. Something without a genetic history, something that's corrupted with magic or curses, maybe something that no one has scientifically discovered and logged yet, maybe everything that isn't a human is a monster. I guess I'll figure it out. Maybe a rancid asshole that isn't capable or willing to interact with people in a dignified or respectful manner. Maybe myself.

But besides being a race I've always thought was awesome, I noticed something else rather obvious. The breeches I was wearing as a peasant farmer were ruined. They were bunched up around my waist, over my belt. Of course, it wasn't a belt like existed in the Information Age on Earth, but the medieval ones. Dark age? Whatever. It was made of long, thin strips of linen braided together, then a basic square knot kept it together in front. Belt loops, clasps, and buckles weren't invented yet. Neither was elastic, or zippers. That's why the top of my breeches were bunched up and curled around the belt, so it stayed on. That was still there and fine, though dirty, smelly, and partially blood-stained. But the leg parts were totally trashed. I didn't see my shoes, either. It isn't like I had feet anymore so it didn't matter. But when I was dead and reincarnating into this new body, I guess my spider abdomen extended from me and tore my clothes.

My tunic was fine, but its sleeves and neckline were frayed, as well as the bottom of it. I could maybe fix it or something later. Or replace it entirely, preferably.

Whatever genitals I had were spiderian, so I didn't need my destroyed articles of clothing, so I removed them. Kept the belt, though. Might be useful later. Actually... the ruined cloth was useful for something... *looking around* No, actually, it isn't. I just toss it aside on the ground. It lands on a bush, but who cares?

I look around and pick up a few leaves from the ground, all dry. The ones partially wet or still fresh I ignore. I find a few pieces of wood, mostly twigs. It takes awhile, but I find a thin tree branch and break it into manageable pieces. It's kind of difficult to carry it all, but I manage. I start getting hungry, so I go back into the cave. Once I get to the mammoth's corpse, I use the leaves as kindling and then put the sticks on top of it in order of smallest first. The thinner part of the branch I keep and use as a skewer. Luckily, I have claws, which are relatively long and hard, so I use those to tear out some of the mammoth's meat.

I never noticed it before, but there were a few arrows sticking out of the other side of the beast. I didn't shoot it; I was busy... I don't remember clearly. I wasn't in that life very long, and I wasn't intelligent before I entered. Maybe I was supposed to piss the thing off and get it to chase me so others could attack it? Lead it to an ambush? Anyway, these could be really good weapons! If I made a bow. I didn't know how. Maybe someone or something else in this world already could.

But I did do some research on weapon qualities through history before. Checking, the arrows were what I hoped- obsidian arrowhead arrows. Exactly what I hoped! What I researched was that even laser-cut weapons were less sharp than prehistoric chiseled weapons. Laser-cut special alloy blades were six molecules thick, but prehistoric obsidian ones could be four. No wonder the arrows were lodged so deeply. Anyway, I clawed around near the arrows instead of using the stick, making oversized steak-kabobs. To light the fire, I... had no idea how to do the Boy Scout thing. But I did have a lantern! So I lit a leaf on fire on its internal flame and dropped it on the pile, and it caught after a little bit, just the flame on the leaf had to grow a little bigger before it would jump to another leaf, then all of it ignited. I like rare steak- always have- so I didn't need to cook it long.

I ate a huge amount- three big giant kabobs of wooly mammoth meat- maybe... I'm not sure. Six pounds? I didn't feel super great. Maybe I overdid it.

There were three arrows, so... you know? Why not. But now I knew why I shouldn't. I'd more than likely do it again. But I had to retch. I HAD to. So I did it over against the opposite side of the cave tunnel wall, so it was at least a dozen feet away from my hat and other stuff. I felt a bit better.

After resting for awhile to settle my stomach...s? Stomachs. Wait, do spiders have stomachs? I mean I had them as pets and friends, but I didn't pay super huge amounts of attention to their internal organs. I think spiders just have goop inside them that does stuff. I guess being a drider, I'd figure out how a warm-blooded creature with an endoskeleton and circulatory system merges with a creature that... I'm not even sure if it's complicated enough to be cold blooded. But I know it breathes through spiracles, so I guess even if someone tries to strangle my throat, it won't actually work.

Anyway, I take off my tunic, and set it aside. Pick up some corn seeds and put them in one of the pockets of my robe and put that on, put on my straw hat, lantern (it's bright out but I don't know how long I'll be gone), and pick up my hoe. It's time to wander around this world a little bit. Might as well bring my tunic with me to wash in that pond, too. So I do that first and lay it out on a nearby bush. No soap or perfume for it, but at least it got washed.