A Better Life...for Muffin

Damien stared up at the roof of his apartment, eyes blank and despondent. How did it come to this...

His last couple weeks had been a whirlwind of misfortune. He'd failed out of university, been fired from his part-time job, and now in two days he would be kicked from his apartment since he couldn't afford rent. His parents refused to help him, demanding he come home to the countryside instead. And his girlfriend had dumped him, saying she didn't want to be with a jobless, homeless loser.

But worst of all, his cat Muffin was missing. It wasn't abnormal for him to wander around the area, but he hadn't come home in days, nary a meow to proclaim his presence at the glass door of his veranda. Of course, he hadn't been able to feed him much, lately, so he was sure Muffin was scrounging food elsewhere or begging from the neighbors.

He turned his head, checking to the patio again to see if he'd returned. Instead, all he saw was the lights of the city around him.

Surrounded by millions of people, but I'm alone. Not even my cat here to keep me company. A couple tears came to his eyes as he thought of Muffin rubbing against his legs, meowing for food. Or jumping in his lap when he was studying. Or crawling onto his face when he was trying to sleep.

Damien put his hands together, praying (to whom, he didn't know). Please just let Muffin be alright. If he doesn't come back before I leave, I hope he finds a family that can feed and dote on him. I'd trade my pathetic life for it.

After that, he sighed, watching the glass door, until he was so exhausted his eyes could no longer stay open.

 

Damien heard muffled sounds around him.

What is it...

As he lay there, they got louder and louder.

Just go-...wait, Muffin!?

He sat up and opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a blinding light. As he blinked a few times, his vision finally adjusted. He was looking at...a cloud of white, extending in all directions. Did I...die?

“Not quite,” a soft voice replied behind him.

Damien whipped around, to see a woman clad in silvery robes, standing there smiling warmly at him.

Damien just blinked a few times. “So...I'm not dead? Why am I up in the sky then?”

The lady giggled, shaking her head. “You didn't die, you traded your life away.”

Damien thought for a moment, before remembering his prayer. “Oh, I did, I guess...”

The lady nodded, waving her arm, producing a screen in front of him. Damien watched as the orange silhouette of Muffin walked along. Then, it cut to the living room of a house, where a young girl was brushing Muffin while a man (he presumed her father) smiled and watched. Then it cut to Muffin cuddling with the girl while she slept in a bed.

Damien wiped a few tears from his face as the lady whisked the screen away. “Well, if Muffin is happy, that's more than my life was worth...”

The lady shook her head and wagged a finger at him. “That's not a great attitude to have. It's good Muffin is happy, but you should have valued yourself more as well.”

“But I-”

The lady cut him off, “Ah ah ah, I don't want to hear excuses. Well, I know already anyway. Sure, you didn't get any lucky breaks, but you could have made better decisions, too.”

Damien just looked down, not having any rebuttals. “Well, I'm dead now, so it doesn't make much difference.”

The lady shook her head again. “I told you, not quite dead. You just traded your life, it didn't end.”

“So, I'm stuck here?”

The lady smiled, “Not that either. You see, we goddesses have a thing for cats, so we're willing to give you an opportunity elsewhere.”

Damien was confused. “Elsewhere? You mean, like a different world?”

The lady (goddess?) nodded, “Exactly that. One of those reincarnation stories you watch all the time.”

Damien blushed a bit. “Do you just know everything about me?”

The goddess nodded, whirling her hand as a scroll appeared in front of her. “You're twenty-one. Your favorite color is blue. You normally bathe once a day, but twice when you'll be in class with that girl you have a crush on but have never spoken a word too since you already had a girlfriend. You're favorite-”

“Okay okay, I get it...” he said, blushing further. I don't want my whole miserable life repeated to me.

The goddess shook her head again. “Tsk tsk, I just told you, that's not a good attitude to have. If we're going to give you another shot you need to keep a better outlook.”

Damien winced. “Sorry...”

The goddess smiled, “No need to be sorry, you're the one suffering if you don't change your ways.” She whisked away the paper. “Now, is there anything you want to ask before you go?”

Damien scrunched his face. “Um...are you going to be giving me some OP abilities in my new world?”

The goddess giggled, “No, nothing like that.”

Damien sighed but nodded. “Guess that's too much to ask for...” he paused, then asked, “Could....could you at least help me not be as lonely?”

The goddess looked up, thinking for a moment. “I think that's fine. It won't be anything that others in your new world can't get, but I think we can help you get start in the right direction.”

Damien gave her a smile, which seemed to almost catch the goddess off guard. “Thanks.”

The goddess nodded and smiled back, before tapping him on the head.

 

Damien felt a rush of air as the world around him spun. Suddenly, everything stopped moving, and he felt his back hit something. He was looking at blue sky and clouds again, although this time there was waves of green grass surrounding him.

He felt a rush of excitement Wow, I really am in a different world! Looking around, he was on a hill in the middle of a grassland. To his north was a forest, to the south he thought he saw the blue of a sea in the distance, and on either side the grassland stretched out as far as he could see.

After taking in the scenery for a minute, he remembered the goddess's words. This is supposed to be a reincarnation story, right? “Uhh...status!”

As he shouted, a game status screen appeared in front of him. Alright! he thought, pumping his fist in excitement.

In his head, he heard “You don't actually need to say it, you can just think about your status screen and it will open.”

Oh, that's cool. Damien thought back. After a moment, he realized, Wait, what!? Am I going crazy!?

He heard a giggling in his head. “No, it's me, the one who sent you here. Since you're my responsibility, I'll check in on you from time to time. Don't expect too much help, though, or the other goddesses might get angry at me.”

Damien nodded at the voice in his head. Okay. Um...thanks! I promise I'll make the most of this!

He heard more giggling. “Good. Now, I need to go take care of the next one. Tootaloo!”

Damien stood still for a moment, but the voice didn't return. Well, let's not disappoint her. Looking at his status screen, he read the info:

 

Damien

Summoner – Level 1

STR – 5

VIT – 9

MAG – 27

DEX – 8

 

What is this!? I understand being level one, but I feel like my stats are too low! Well, besides Magic. He tapped his chin, Maybe they're not too low? I guess I don't know what the scale is.

As he was mulling over his stats, he was distracted by a blinking red icon at the top right of his screen. Uh...can I just click on it? He did just that, and a new box appeared:

 

New Summon Available

 

New summon! Oh, well, of course, if my class is Summoner I need a summon, right? Underneath that in the box was a list of summons. Can I get anything cool!? I'm sure something like a dragon is too much for level one, but...

As he scrolled down the list, disappointed started setting in. What is this!? Rabbits? Rats? Chickens? As he was about to have a change of heart on his class, he found one that he at least found interesting. Slime!? That's kinda cool I guess.

He selected Slime, and the box changed, showing a slime with two eyes. Oh, its a customization screen! Can I make it huge!? However, the only option was a simple color choice. Sighing, he clicked blue. One more small box popped up:

 

Name your Summon

 

Hmm..I probably won't use the slime much after low level, except maybe as a mascot. I'll just name it Bluey or something. Typing it in, he clicked the green checkmark underneath.

When he did, his status screen disappeared, and a glowing light on the ground in front of him appeared. After a moment, the light dissipated, and the slime from his status screen was now in front of him.

It looked at Damien for a moment, before hopping at him. “Huwaaah!” it shouted (or somehow made the noise) as it hit his chest.

Damien, not prepared, fell over.

It started spinning around on his chest, wobbling back and forth.

Damien, reminded of Muffin, smiled. “Bluey?”

“Huwaaah!” it shouted back, stopping it's spinning.

Damien stood up and Bluey jumped off. Looking at Bluey for a moment, he thought, Uh...guess we need to train now, right? “You ready to fight something?”

Blue gave off another 'Huwah!' and hopped up and down.

“I'll take that as a yes,” Damien said, before looking around. In the distance, he thought he saw some rabbits scattered about. “Let's head that way!”

Bluey hopped next to him, managing to keep pace with Damien's brisk walk down the hill.

It's kinda cute, honestly, Damien thought as he looked at it. Bluey seemed to notice, turning it's eyes towards him as it hopped. “Huwah?”

Damien shook his head, “Nothing.” Wait, how did I know that was a question? Is that just part of my summoner powers?

Assuming that to be the case, he pulled up his status screen again as they walked. He noticed that now underneath his status was 'Bluey – Level 1'.

Clicking on it, more stats were pulled up:

 

STR – 10

VIT – 13

MAG – 14

DEX – 15

 

That's pretty cool. Actually, wait, why does Bluey have better stats than me!? He looked over at Bluey and got another 'Huwaaah!'. Turning back to his screen, he tried clicking on STR. Inside, it showed:

 

7 (base)

+3 (summoner)

 

Wait, so I'm giving it extra stats? How though? He flipped around in the menus a bit, until back at the main, he clicked on his 'Summoner – Level 1'

When he did, it opened up a new menu labeled 'Abilities'. It had a lot of blank slots, but at the top it read:

 

Stat Share - 50% of stats added to Summons

 

Oh, that's cool! But...if I'm weak, that means my summons will be weak too, then! He looked a Bluey once more, who this time didn't turn towards him. Well, I guess I'll just do my best.

As they kept walking towards the rabbits, he realized there was something a bit...off with them. Why do they have fangs? And red eyes?

Before he could comprehend, two of them started charging at them.

Bluey sped up, slamming its body down on one of the rabbits, flattening it.

Damien was so distracted at the spectacle, he didn't notice the other as it ran past it's fallen comrade, leaping at Damien.

Damien flung up his arms, and the rabbit bit down into one, hanging on as he flailed about.

“Arghhh...” Damien yelled, trying to throw the rabbit off. After a few moments, he was able to fling it against the ground. Damien, angry, tried to stomp on it, but it limply jumped away.

However, Bluey easily caught up, body-tackling the rabbit mid-jump, causing it to fly away.

As quickly as it had started, it was over. Damien fell on his butt, grasping his bleeding arm. It didn't seem to be a huge wound, but it stung. He took off one of his socks, wrapping it around the bite to try and stop the trickle of blood.

Opening his status screen, he saw a green bar at the top, which was missing a chunk. Clicking on it, it said:

 

HP: 21/24

 

I only lost three hit points? But, that hurt! I don't wanna know what more hit points lost feels like.

As he was catching his breath, he looked over at Bluey. It was dragging the rabbit corpses over to him. Piling them up in front of him, it looked at him expectantly. “Huwaaaah!”

Damien smiled, scratching it's head like he would have Muffin's. “Good job Bluey.”

Bluey gave another 'Huwaaah' and then grabbed one of the rabbits and...started munching on it.

Damien was a bit surprised. I guess it's hungry. As if on cue, his own stomach grumbled. I didn't eat anything today, even before I was whisked away. He had nothing in his pockets to attempt to butcher the rabbit (not that he knew how) and nothing to start a fire, either.

Bluey was still nibbling on the other rabbit, looking at Damien. “Uhhh, I can't eat this without cooking,” he responded, pushing the rabbit over to Bluey.

Bluey just sat there without reacting.

It probably doesn't understand me. “Humans can't eat meat like this without cooking on a fire first,” he tried to explain.

Bluey seemed to nod slightly.

Maybe it does understand?

Bluey took a few more bites of the rabbit, then started hopping away.

“Where are you going?” Damien asked, standing up.

Blue turned around, giving a short “Huwah,” then turning back around and continuing to hop away.

I guess I'll just follow for now.

 

After a couple minutes, Damien saw other slimes in the distance. While also blue like Bluey, he was able to distinguish them as the non-summons didn't have eyes.

The other slimes didn't pay much mind to Bluey, who casually smacked one down. The other slime instantly stopped moving, looking a bit flattened.

Bluey dragged it over, laying it on Damien's foot.

“What...wait, you want me to eat the slime!?” he asked incredulously after realizing Bluey's intention.

Blue hopped up and down, “Huwaaah!”

“But...is it even edible?” he asked, his stomach growling again.

Bluey stopped hopping and nibbled a bit on the side.

Even you're eating your brethren Bluey!? Well, maybe you're different than this type of slime. At least a lot smarter... Gingerly grabbing the slime, he squeezed it in his hands. It felt similar to gelatin, except it didn't fall apart in his hands, maintaining its form even as he kneaded it. Shaking his head, he then slowly brought it to his mouth. Taking a small bite, he started chewing.

Bluey let out another 'Huwaaah!' and then went to smack a couple more slimes.

Damien kept chewing. It tastes like chicken, but with the texture of fish. Honestly, with some salt, it wouldn't be too bad...

He sat down and kept munching on the slime, while Bluey brought over several stacks of slimes, stacking them like hotcakes, and then joined him in eating. He leaned over and patted Bluey's head, which it seemed to enjoy, twirling around and letting out a happy 'Huwah!' when he did.

 

After a while of eating, he realized it was starting to get dark. Wait...I need to find a town or something, right? I actually haven't even seen any humans yet. Standing up and looking around, he didn't see any sign of civilization anywhere.

Bluey seemed to notice he was concerned about something, and slid over his feet.

“What, are you worried about me? Actually...” can Bluey find anything? It understood my food issue earlier. “...Can you find any humans?”

Bluey slid off and hopped around for a bit, like it was searching.

Awesome! Bluey can find a town, and then I'll-

He was cut off as Bluey jumped into his chest.

Damien caught it, but was confused. “Yes, I'm human, but I mean other humans.”

“Huwaaah,” Bluey said, hopping down and doing circles around him.

I guess I'm the only human it can sense. Looking around, he saw a solitary tree on a hill just north of him, so he walked up to it, Bluey hopping behind him.

Sitting down and lying against it, Bluey hopped into his lap. Damien smiled as he held Bluey, who seemed extremely happy to be held. You're not Muffin, but Muffin probably couldn't kill murder-rabbits.

Petting Bluey's head, he opened up his status screen again. He noticed a flashing red icon on Bluey. Clicking on it's box, it opened a new screen:

 

Bluey leveled up

Slime – Level 2

STR – 14

VIT – 17

MAG – 14

DEX – 19

 

New abilities available for selection:

 

STR +5

DEX +5

 

Bluey already leveled!? I guess it was level one, and killed a few rabbits and slimes. Underneath the ability selection, it read in a box:

 

Let summon choose.

 

I can let Bluey choose? Uh...it's not like I'm even sure if Bluey should have more Strength or Dexterity anyway, so many it will have a preference? Damien decided to click that option.

Suddenly a small status screen appeared in front of Bluey, who stopped wobbling in Damien's lap to look at it. After a few seconds, it hopped up against the screen.

On Damien's screen, he saw that 'STR +5' was chosen, and Bluey's STR now showed as 19. Makes sense if it likes to body slam opponents. Looking at his stats, he realized MAG hadn't actually gone up at all. Clicking on it, it said:

 

0 (base)

+13 (summoner)

 

Oh, so I guess slimes don't get MAG naturally, but it still gets a bonus from me. Not sure if that will affect anything. He went back to the main screen. Wait, I'm still level 1 though!? How did my summon get a level faster than me!? Is it because I didn't do any work?

As Damien was thinking through this, Bluey had stopped wobbling in his lap, and had closed its eyes.

Damien noticed the sudden lack of movement. Guess Bluey's tired. I'm pretty tired too, actually. Closing his eyes, put his hands arms around Bluey, and tried to sleep.