[Author’s Note] Thank you always for your recommendations and comments. Chapter 11
4. Suspicious Evolution010 – Suspicious Evolution #1
My whole body tingled, and I groggily opened my eyes.
It felt like my mind had been submerged in a deep quagmire, but suddenly, it cleared up. Not just the weariness of my body but also the fatigue of my mind seemed to vanish in an instant.
However, I had a weird feeling that something was crawling all over me.
As I lifted my body, countless red eyes greeted me.
—Zzzt.
—Zzzz.
—What the heck is this?!
While I was out cold, apparently, some spiders decided to have a bite party on me. Shivering at the creepy sensation, I flailed my arms and legs, sending those little eight-legged monsters scurrying away.
I picked up a blue crystal lying on the ground. The crystal emitted a bright and refreshing light that made the spiders step back, raising their front legs as if in surrender.
‘Geez, I hope the bite marks aren’t too bad.’
I examined myself closely. I felt a slight stretching of the white fur and the thick skin on my soft front paws. At a glance, everything seemed fine, and I didn’t feel like I had been poisoned or anything.
‘Right, I remember I have a strong resistance to toxins.’
I recalled the physical traits of the beast I chose: “Grid Ratel.” Thick fur and strong resistance to all sorts of chemicals—that’s what it was said to have.
There might have been better choices, but I thought the Grid Ratel was the best option in a forest and jungle crawling with venomous insects and snakes.
‘Can’t check a mirror, so I have no clue what’s changed.’
I stopped inspecting myself and turned to the spiders, shouting.
—Get lost, you little brats!
I held the crystal up to shine it on the spiders and scorpions, driving them away.
I glanced at the leftover snake carcass. I had no idea how much time had passed, but the half-eaten snake was now just a sad pile of bones.
—Did they really eat it all without leftovers?!
I glared at the spiders with a mix of rage and indignation. Picking up a stone from the ground, I hurled it at them, causing them to squeal and vanish into a hole like a flash.
—What a bunch of morally deficient punks…!
I trembled in anger, feeling completely wronged.
In my previous life, some folks praised spiders as beneficial creatures that eat mosquitoes, but to me now, they were nothing more than cockroaches hiding in the kitchen or hyenas.
‘From now on, if I see any spiders, I’ll smash their heads in.’
Just how long had I lost consciousness? No matter how many spiders there were, it surely would have taken a while for them to munch on a snake as big as a house.
‘Though I can still use the bones and scales for various things.’
I grimaced but switched to positive thinking, assessing the corpse’s usability.
The huge, sharp bones of the snake could be fashioned into fishing hooks or weapons like spears.
I moved my front paw and crushed the fangs of the snake.
I think they said snake fangs are usually quite weak, but considering that, they broke more easily than I expected.
‘Could it be my physical strength has increased from leveling up and evolving?’
As I pondered my strength, familiar letters and numbers popped up in front of my eyes.
Race: Magical Beast lv.5
Strength: 21
Agility: 17
Stamina: 21
Skills: 《Omnivore》《Strong Claws》《Low Frequency》《Stealthy Movement》
I couldn’t help but gasp in awe. My strength, agility, and stamina had all shot up compared to before. The once hefty feeling of the blue crystal now felt as light as a pebble.
‘Awesome, things are going smoothly, and my skills don’t seem to have reset.’
There’s no downside to getting stronger.
I smiled and broke a few of the snake’s ribs. They didn’t break as easily as the fangs, but I held them with my front paw, giving a good tug until—clack—they came off neatly.
I stared at the snake scales scattered on the ground. Could those be useful somewhere?
Living in the wild made everything look like valuable materials—nothing felt wasteful.
I carefully gathered the scales to take back to my previously made hideout underground. After breaking all the ribs, I stacked them neatly like firewood.
‘Hmmm?’
While organizing the bones, I noticed a smooth object near the snake’s tailbone and lifted my head in question.
I thought it was just a regular scale, but it was an oval, smooth object—definitely an egg!
Could it be a snake egg?
‘It’s small compared to the snake.’
The round object was about the size of my head. Of course, in my original world, an egg this size would be like a dinosaur or ostrich egg.
But for an egg from a creature as large as the snake, it felt small—like it was laid by a hen instead of a massive serpent.
I tapped the shell, and it felt as solid as a rock. It didn’t seem like it would break easily unless I slammed it on the stone floor with all my might.
‘I heard snake eggs are supposed to be soft. This one’s ridiculously hard.’
It appeared the spiders and scorpions couldn’t penetrate this thick shell with their fangs and left it untouched. That was definitely good news for me.
‘Well, I’ve got some emergency rations. I’ll crack it open later.’
After some time, I tidied up the snake carcass.
With my belongings well organized, I searched for a way to get outside.
At first, I thought about exiting through the corridor with the iron bars, but it had been smashed to bits by the snake, and removing those stones would probably take all day.
‘Should I check that hole in the ceiling instead?’
I felt light enough that I could probably make it there. Grabbing as much of the stuff as I could carry, I headed towards the ceiling hole.
Sunshine poured through the hole I fell through. Standing in the warm light while dust danced like a mirage, I gazed up at the ceiling, which stood several meters high.
‘Man, that’s high.’
I tensed my legs and jumped high. I could feel the sensation of my body lifting off the ground.
Reaching out my front paw, I extended my claws toward the ceiling. But it turned out that jumping three or four meters was a bit much for me.
I landed gracefully on the ground.
‘Guess I’ll have to climb up the wall, just like last time.’
I moved a little away from the hole in the ceiling. After a running start, I aimed to climb the wall and use that momentum to reach the roof.
Sure, it sounded flashy and almost like something out of a theory book, but apparently, feline creatures can leap over obstacles like that.
For some reason, I felt utterly confident that I could do it too. To be honest, my whole body was brimming with energy, and I was itching to put it to the test.
—Huff.
I carefully set the crystal down and, just like a student before a gym evaluation, took a deep breath.
Shaking out my body to loosen up, I once again checked the left wall and the ceiling hole I was about to climb.
‘Time to give it a shot like I envisioned in my head.’
With my resolve firm, I took off running on all fours. The speed at which I was running caught me off guard, but there was no stopping my legs.
I surged toward the wall and began to climb it like Spiderman.
‘This feels amazing!’
Pushing off with my hind legs, I leaped toward the ceiling. I intended to grab the ceiling with my front paws, but I flew through the air and leapt clean through the hole instead.
Soaring through the air, I landed among the soil above. The earthy smell of grass, flowers, and chirping insects and birds were like a warm welcome after the musty underground.
—Wow, I did it!
I celebrated my achievement with pure joy. When it’s time to rejoice, one should absolutely indulge in happiness—releasing endorphins feels great!
“B-bakunish!”
“Nish!”
Someone cheered my success. And unsurprisingly, they were uninvited guests.
“B-bakunish!”
—Huh.
Familiar snorting and weird languages echoed around me. It was then I realized the situation as I looked around.
Three or four marbling creatures grimaced at me with scrunched-up faces. They seemed to be chatting with each other, but I couldn’t understand a word of it.
They were holding little stone knives and various tools, and it looked like they were dressed in outfits that appeared to be an upgrade from the previous ones I’d seen.
—Hmm, now that’s tempting.
I let out a breath while eyeing the long, thick item in one of their hands—particularly, the one in a skull helmet.
It looked like a crude vine, but to me now, it was incredibly valuable.
‘If I had that, I could easily move the gear from underground to above ground.’
“—. —!”
The guy in the bone helmet was pointing at me. The others shuffled back, shrugging their shoulders.
Unlike the last creatures I’d seen, there was a mix of fear and panic glimmering in their eyes.
I moved around them on all fours, my eyes darting about looking for the weakest creature among them.
‘That one looks like an easy target.’
The small and frail one, trembling uncontrollably, farthest to the right became my first target.
I lunged at it, opening my mouth wide.
—Haaah!
“Gyaaa!”
Startled by my fierce attack, it shrieked weirdly and collapsed on the spot. My front paw smacked its head, producing a thud as it rolled on the ground.
“Malak!”
The one in the bone helmet shouted loudly at the sight of its fallen comrade.
I clearly heard the name “Malak” as it must be that creature’s name, but honestly, that wasn’t very important right now.
‘Just three left. Those stone knives don’t look sharp at all.’
I pondered how to take down the remaining creatures.
It seemed solid to rush the leftmost one, bite its neck, or punch it, then tackle the next one over before finally going for the bone-helmeted one.
After setting my plan in stone like when I escaped from underground, I dove right into action.
—Arrgh!
With a mighty shout, I charged at the leftmost creature.
“N-nish!”
Easily dodging the creature’s swinging stone kn*fe, I walloped it with my right paw, watching it slowly crumple to the ground as if in slow motion.
Without a moment to bask in the satisfaction, I sprung towards the right creature, using my momentum to slam it into the ground.
With a force like a tank, it tumbled over, struggling to get up.
I clamped onto its neck and shook it, just like the wolf did to me before.
Crack! The sound of breaking bones echoed in my ears.
The rush of following my reckless plan, my mind and body in perfect sync, made my heart race with excitement.
I stood on two legs and raised my front paw in triumph. The exhilaration pouring into my head and chest felt absolutely amazing.
—Huurrrr!
“Nish!”
The creature in the bone helmet staggered backwards. It turned to flee immediately.
I frowned at its retreating back.
‘Trying to run away from me, huh?’
Like a sprinter in a starting position, I crouched on all fours, gearing up my back legs with tension. I could feel the muscles throughout my body tighten.
But it was still too early to make my move.
I waited for the moment it completely vanished from sight. As it hurried into the bushes and disappeared, I explosively pounced forward.
Even though I started later, as I dashed through the underbrush, it wasn’t long before I spotted its back.
Seeing the distance close in, I shouted.
—I got you!
*
As my stomach growled, I devoured the four marbling creatures with gleeful abandon.
I gathered the little bones into a pile, reveling in the power I had gained.
The last time I fought such creatures, I had struggled, suffering injuries from their sheer numbers pounding on me.
But today, I had hunted down these critters one-sidedly, killing them in one strike—it vividly illustrated the difference in power between now and then.
‘This is the strength of the Grid Ratel.’
I purred contentedly, rubbing my belly. Maybe it was because I had eaten all four, but my throat felt dry.
Headed to the riverbank for a drink, I lowered my head, only to see something remarkable reflected in the water.
Even though they said I had evolved, my appearance was still the same round and cute as before. The only difference was that two little horn-like claws had sprouted on my forehead.
‘I thought Grid Ratels didn’t have horns.’
I tilted my head in confusion. Had I recalled incorrectly? The letters I had read countless times due to my hesitation before evolving clearly flashed before my eyes like a photograph.
‘Definitely, Grid Ratels don’t have horns. What in the world happened?’
As I questioned my existence, the familiar letters appeared before me, just like always. I stared intently at the word “Magical Beast” listed under race.
