With a giant, mutant monster rushing towards me, there was simply only one solution I could think of:

Run away!!!

Whether or not the Goddess had truly listened to my wish based off my current appearance I don’t know, but I’m not about to risk my life trying to find out!

So, on instinct, I began to burrow myself underground while keeping an eye out for the frog-monkey.

As I dug myself a nice little hole to hide in, the frog-monkey finally reached us--it’s surprisingly slow?--and, with one fell swoop, it easily crushed two scorpions under each of its fists, both of which were as big as the scorpions themselves.

Crunch! Crunch!

The crunching sounds of the scorpions being squashed like bugs, the frog-monkey even eating the mutilated corpses.

Hm, hm. Well then.

…

Goddess, are you messing with me?

First, you make me a scorpion, and then you have a frog-monkey come out of nowhere and eat my brethren?!

Not only that, but even those who are trying to fight back are being brutally killed!

Their mushy bodies and broken limbs… this is traumatizing for a poor little scorpion like me!

Seriously, though.

This monster was bigger than even me, and I’m a large scorpion. What kind of unfair favoritism is this?

Mm-mm. I demand just and equal treatment!

A few moments later, the thing left, and it left behind a massacre.

It looked like a scene in a movie where the hero left behind a mountain of monster corpses.

Ah, wait. Am I the only one left alive…?

Coming out of my little diggy hole, I looked around to see that I am indeed the only one left alive.

Should I be grateful?

Looking at the mush of corpses around me, I think so. If I had eaten anything prior, I’m pretty sure I would have thrown up at this sight.

Speaking of not having eaten, my stomach growled.

Hm. Well, now what do I even eat?

Seeing a monster like that frog-monkey, I’m not comfortable staying out in the open like this. I should probably find shelter soon, especially since the sun is going down.

If I’m not mistaken, I’m in a forest of sorts, currently smack in the middle of some sort of clearing. Wide out in the open.

Mm-mm. This isn’t a good spot to be in. My stomach is cramping as well, so I should really eat something soon.

Based on my current status, I doubt I can currently fight anything head on.

Hey, if this really is a fantasy world, shouldn’t I have skills and such? Like the classic “appraisal” or something?

Hm. Well, here goes nothing.

Placing a claw on my abdomen, I called out: appraisal!

To my surprise, it actually worked!

「 Lesser Baby Scorpion Lv. 1 」

…

Not only am I a lesser scorpion, I’m also only a baby to boot? Wait, a baby scorpion is this big already?!

How big am I gonna be when I’m fully grown??

My cramping stomach brought me back to reality, and I was reminded of my current dilemma. My current no-food situation.

Well, actually, if I was truly desperate, I could alway just eat the leftovers the frog-monkey was oh-so kind to lend me.

I looked at the pile of dead bodies, and immediately shot down the idea. Before this, I was just a normal human being… I’m not brave enough for that just yet, okay!

Maybe I should look around a bit… As I tried to move forward, my body trembled and almost fell over. I feel too weak to move…!

How long has it been since I’ve eaten??

I wanted to cry, but I didn’t have any tears to shed. Clearly the world was telling me either I eat my brethren or perish from hunger. Well, I’m sure I could force myself to move forward, but there’s no guarantee that I’d find anything I’d be willing to eat even then.

So, with a heavy heart, I turned to the closest body. It was basically just a pile of mush that the very sight of it made me sick to my stomach but I had no choice. I’m not going to die straight off the bat!

Trembling slightly, I grabbed it and bit into it. The taste is awful…! It tastes like rotten flesh that had been left out in the sun for weeks!

However, what other choice do I have?

From my first few minutes in this world, the message was fairly clear:

It’s either kill or be killed.

…

In the future, I should find some good food because, based on this, I’m clearly not going to enjoy myself for a long while.

Does the jungle even have salt anywhere?