“I wonder how long it takes for my teeth to grow... I mean, snakes have teeth, right?” I say while curled into a circle. “That’s another question I should ask.”

It’s the middle of the night, based on the position of the moon, and I realize that I’ve been acting like a fool for the past few days.

Well, first of all, I was sort of pushed around by the circumstances at first, then I spent a couple nights inside the corpse, and now that I really, REALLY, have a calm moment, one that I am awake during, I’m starting to see why I was considered the slowest to finish the first, huh, tutorial?

“It was so obvious too,” I sigh.

The answer to most of my problems, at least the current ones that do not involve eating or fighting, is basically: Information.

And what is it that the system has been trying to give me since the very start, with the FAQ stuff? Exactly, information.

As the system herself mentioned, there are dozens, maybe hundreds of frequently asked questions, and it always seems to pick the most viable answer that it has. And this foolish me didn’t think about all this until I saw the new skill of the murder plant.

“All things considered, it’s about time I start asking the system some important questions,” I decide to leave the delicate matter of the murder plant for later, as it affects my well-being severely. “Show my profile.”

 

Name: User#33663 Class: Reptile Species: Core Serpent Growth(Stage): 5 Days(Baby) Stats: Strength: 1.63 | Endurance: 1.55 Agility: 1.14 | Dexterity: 1.08 Mind: 1.33 | Magic: 1 Charm: 0 | Luck: 0 Stat Points: 5 Skills: White Core (Passive) | Grade: Root Moonlit Recompense (Passive) | Grade: Root Presence Control (Active/Passive) | Grade: Root

 

“I still can’t believe I spent three days in there,” I shake my head. “Anyway, the first thing I should’ve asked was, ‘system, how do I increase the stats?’ Even if I already have an inkling of how it works.”

[Frequently Asked Question #007 was triggered.]

[The most well-known answer is: “Stats are increased by several factors such as physical and mental activity, natural growth, external sources, and by active exposure to certain environments, or nutrients.”]

“That’s way too vague for an answer,” this is the first time I wish I had hands just to facepalm.

“Haa, whatever, next question is...” I start spewing questions and waiting a while for an answer.

Most of the questions were greeted with silence, but a few, actually unimportant ones, that I threw into the mix just to not miss any corners did get answered. Things such as, ‘why do species display an element but skills don’t?’ were promptly answered with, and I quote, ‘because the system deems necessary,’ and weren’t treated as frequently asked questions.

I take my time to gather more information from the system until I start feeling sleepy, then before going to ‘bed,’ also known as my tail, I try to sense the white core that’s supposed to be somewhere in my body.

“Well, dang it,” I feel annoyed as soon as I wake up in the morning. “I might be dumber than I thought.”

I go through the answers I got last night, and think back on my questions as well, only to realize that, while my previous assumption wasn’t wrong per se, it was certainly a dumb idea. The reason being that...

“No one else has the system,” I say while getting washed by the new leaf of the murder plant.

*Splosh!*

“The living beings in this place probably don’t even know what stats and skills are, for them it’s all part of their natural abilities. Even the murder plant didn’t need to study its new skill before being able to use it as if it was always there,” I stare at it while thinking.

“I can’t be sure about how sentient beings go about using their skills, but they probably also don’t think about stats as well,” I leave the range of the murder plant’s bathroom, and leave the encirclement. “So, to live in this place, I need to think like the Romans do.”

And with that in mind, I’m heading out to hunt.

I have three goals for this hunt. The first is, obviously, to get some food for now and later, I can’t count on the murder plant to feed me for life. The second is to acquire a new skill, which I already have an idea of how to, based on how the murder plant got one.

And third—

*Pop* *Pop* *Pop*

“Who is that p*kemon?” I try to lighten the mood while sneaking under the roots of a big tree.

A small, or large in comparison to me, creature hops from one side to the other, making a certain noise, like a gum balloon popping constantly. The thing is kind of green colored with a few yellow spots, but that’s not the weirdest part.

“It looks like a muk,” I continue to reference a certain franchise from my previous life. “Actually, it’s more like the previous evolution of it, how was it called, again?”

Ah, well, regardless, I bring up the profile of the creature.

 

Name: (Unnamed) Class: Amorph Species: Nature Slime Growth(Stage): 3 Months(Adult) Stats: Strength: 0.78 | Endurance: 0.28 Agility: 2.45 | Dexterity: 3 Mind: 2.11 | Magic: 4.57 Charm: 2 | Luck: 1 Skills: Nature Core (Passive) | Grade: Root Earth Magic (Active) | Grade: Surface

 

“No, seriously, what’s this?”

Before I can see the details on the screen it hops away from my line of sight so I slowly make my way towards the spot where that thing stood on just now.

“Slimy, indeed,” I touch the substance that was left behind by the gooey creature with my tail. “It smells just like wet grass.”

Several circles could be spotted on the path it took, all of them were covered in this jelly liquid and didn’t take much time for the remaining in the opposite direction to start drying.

“Hmm, I could let it go, since that magic stat scared me for a moment, but~”

With my curiosity taking the lead, I follow the traces left by that slime deeper into the woods while humming a tune from my previous life.

“I wanna be, the very best, tanam~ nanam~ nanam~”

*Chirp* *Chirp*

“Is there a bird nest around here?” I pause for a moment to try and find the source, or at least the direction where the noise was coming from. “Aah, if only I could climb trees.”

“Wait, don’t get distracted now, me.”

After shaking off the thoughts from my head, I continued to pursue the spotted slime, which became increasingly difficult since my slow speed was causing me to barely keep up with the wet spots left behind. After all, once the ground dries up it immediately becomes indistinguishable from normal grass.

 

---

 

“Haa... haah... how is it moving so fast... and why,” I barely manage to complain in between my gasps for air. My body, specifically the muscles below my neck feel sore after moving for so long through such uneven ground.

“Haah... huh?”

Climbing to the top of a hill I seem to find an unexpected place, or perhaps it is normal in this world.

“That is— Whoa!” I open my eyes wide, several colors stretch as far as my sight can reach.

Flowers, of several species and sizes, stood like a rainbow on the open field, several rows swung to the gentle breeze and moved in a wave-like motion. Other rows stood still, as if opposing any external forces, asserting their prideful and vibrant petals. Some flowers moved so lively that it reminded me of children playing freely while calling their parents... It was the most beautiful sight I’ve seen in years.

“I wanna take a closer look—”

*Rustle*

Before I can move, something jumps out of the bushes next to me. It’s a... bunny? It looks like one but with greenish-white fur, and a leaf growing out of the top of its head.

“I guess there’s no end to the weirdness of this place,” I quickly snapped out of my awe with a sigh. “System, show me their profile.”

*Splash!*

[There’s no target in sight.]

“Huh?”

*Thump!*

Indeed, the only thing in my sight now is crimson red.