2. Tiny Progress

For some reason, the creature didn’t attack me, nor had the intention. Instead, it jumped around, wiggling its tail pridefully as if it wished for praise. Did it consider us the same species, or did I simply not pose a threat? Either way, I’m still alive, which was all that mattered. The creature actually appeared kind of cute after getting a closer look. Although its weird voice is a bit disturbing at first, its big eyes, glossy scales, and energetic nature made up for it.

After a short celebration, the creature began to feast on the muscular hunter. I felt like an invisible ghost, watching as the predator devoured its prey. It didn’t even need teeth as its acid could melt through the flesh. It started dissolving his clothes by licking them like a person peeling the skin of an orange. Next, it began to eat his whole body, starting from the limbs up to the torso and keeping the best part for last, the head. Not long after, the creature had consumed a body the size itself. Its acid must be hazardous if it could liquefy bones within seconds. Otherwise, there couldn’t possibly be enough space in its stomach.

Satisfied after the meal, it approached me curiously. I backed up carefully while keeping eye contact, trying not to touch any of the acid droplets left on the ground. Its behavior was precisely like a puppy, panting with its tongue out and barking whenever it felt like doing so. Heck, it even started whining out of nowhere.

After circling me, the creature ambled toward the mage and pulled him towards me with its mouth. At first, it struggled a bit but solved the problem when it used its weight by leaning back. Then, it placed the body in front of me and started panting proudly again.

Was it for me? Did it perhaps want to share? I was starving, but I’m not a monster and have barely grown teeth. I can’t just eat a dead person and call it a meal, but would it get angry if I ignored its kind offer?

Then, I started pretending to eat by biting his jacket. It felt wrong, but there was no way to know what this creature was thinking. I could smell something, the scent of something edible, so I focused my senses on my nose. My skill that enhanced my senses seemed to work on more than just sight and sound. The smell came from his left pocket, which was within my reach. Inside were some biscuits, although most of them were crumbs. What a weird thing to bring, but at least I had something to keep me alive.

This was the first meal of my life, so it should’ve been more enjoyable, but the dryness of the crackers made me incredibly thirsty. Was it even my first meal, though? My body must at least be a few months old, right? So, were I reincarnated into this body, or did I simply recall memories from my past life? Thoughts began to flood within me, but I quickly snapped back to reality. It wasn’t time for existential questions yet; my priority was to survive. First, I needed to find water and secure more food. To do that, I simply resorted to using my enhanced senses again. I tried listening for flowing water, but it was hopeless. The creature kept panting and barking so damn loud that I hardly heard my own thoughts.

Perhaps I could extract some liquid from a plant or a fruit. Some roots grew from the ceiling, but they were impossible to reach and looked like the driest life could get. I guess my only choice was to venture out if I would die of thirst.

Before that, I must learn to crawl, so I got into position. Okay, I just had to lift my right arm and place it further ahead. Easy! Or it was what I thought. It was challenging to keep the balance with muscles this weak. On my second attempt, I tried with my left side first. For some reason, I thought this would work, but instead, I collapsed to the ground. It looks like I’m right-handed if that even makes a difference in crawling.

I sighed. It was tough to focus when there was a weird barking creature that could kill me at any time. Despite that, I got back up again for round three. Instead of pushing my arm forward, I tried to move my legs. By starting nudging my knee forward, I didn’t break my balance, and with my stability moved forward, I crawled for the first time! Then, repeating this, on the other side, was quite simple. Finally, I was moving forward! Although I was slogging, significant progress was finally being made.

- [Notice] -

Essential Skill [Crawling] Learned!

Stat Points are awarded for learning an Essential Skill.

[Mobility] 0 -> 1

Huh? It was the skills again, but now there are stat points too? I appear to have been awarded for my strenuous efforts. Does the increase in my mobility allow me to move faster? And are there any other stats?

- [Attributes] -

- [Profile] -

- [Stats] -

Name

Unknown

Vitality

0

Strength

0

Level

1

Intelligence

0

Defense

0

Species

Awakened Hybrid Riftborn

Mobility

1

Unspent Points

0

- [Skill Index] -

Name Level Type Crawling Max Essential Skill Basic Night Vision 1 Passive Skill Basic Regeneration 1 Passive Skill Enhanced Senses 2 Passive Skill

My mere thought brought up the weird interface within my head and what caught my attention was the stats. Everything was zero except my mobility, which I had just raised. How could I be alive if I didn’t have vitality, or how could I move a muscle if my strength was nonexistent? After a bit of thought, two possible hypotheses came to mind. Either I was so weak that my stat points couldn’t even round up to one, or maybe it only served to boost what I already had.

I got up on my knees again to test my improved mobility. But unfortunately, as I was crawling, I couldn’t notice any difference. So did mobility not relate to my ability to crawl faster—no, it must be, as that was how I got my single stat point in the first place. Was the difference so minor that I wouldn’t notice anything until I got much more then? I guess that will remain a mystery until I accumulate more stat points.

The interface also showed that I was level 1, which was pretty obvious judging from my age. Also, it seemed like the interface couldn’t identify information I didn’t know, as my name was displayed as unknown; however, it could prove incredibly useful in the future when there are too many attributes to remember.

The creature has seemed to calm down and rest, so I can finally think in peace. After that, maybe I could try to learn more essential skills to gain stat points. But what other skills were there to know? The only ones I could think of were walking and running, but there was no way I could learn them yet, so I decided to postpone what to do with my stats. For now, I still had to look for water for survival. And finally, as the creature was resting, I could try to listen for water. By closing my eyes and lightly pressing my ears, I could focus entirely on my sense of hearing.

Drip… drip… drip.

Yes! I could hear tiny drops of water, and they sounded pretty close. I hurried down on all four as fast as I could. The droplets began to chime clearer the closer I got, which allowed me to navigate in complete darkness through sound alone. Sure my night vision was excellent, but the tunnels were still too dark to identify anything. Was this how my mother could walk around like she knew the layout of this place? If she could envision the tunnels through sound alone, then the level of her skills must be absurdly high.

Fortunately, when I arrived in the champer with water dripping, it had some light coming from blooming flowers. The water leaked from a tree root in the ceiling, unlike in the previous room, where the roots were dry. I laid myself on my back with my mouth open to catch the water. I don’t know how long it would take to hydrate myself when it dripped in slow intervals, but I’d use this time to ponder my following acts.

That’s right. I needed to get a consistent food source. I can’t just rely on the creature to kill people for me. Returning to the surface wasn’t a possibility. The blizzard outside would kill me, and even if I managed to survive then, I might be caught by search parties looking for the lost hunters. So, I either had to survive off plants every day, or I could scour deeper in this mysterious cave. None of my options were favorable. There was no way to know which plants were poisonous and which ones were edible. I could observe what the creature eats, but it could probably eat anything with that acid it has. The other option was also terrible. If something this strong dwelled around the surface, God knows what awaits further down.

The water dripping from the tree root began to leave a bitter taste in my mouth. I was so thirsty that I didn’t realize the taste until now. My chest began to burn, and my limbs were numb. I immediately shut my mouth before I couldn’t anymore. This water… There must be something putrid or toxic in it. The already dark space gradually faded to black. The liquid had paralyzed my entire body, and I lost consciousness.