I chose the path of monsters, and I embraced it with confidence in my decisions. I didn't want to become a demon, plunging into darkness and destruction, as it was against my nature.

The gods seemed too distant and unreachable, and their world of righteous and majestic beings was alien to me. My kind could evolve with additional abilities.

[Randomly chosen monster path skill] 

••• 

[Taming - your gaze can pacify weak enemies, while strong ones will have doubts about you.]

The path of monsters I chose promised me evolution and additional abilities. Besides, I had the skill to conserve resources in spatial inventory.

[Greed] was a kind of title that opened an inventory for storing items. However, the most interesting and mysterious ability I acquired was the [Taming] ability.

It granted me the ability to take control of a weak animal's body. Ha! I didn't want this. I didn't intend to use this ability as my soul desired, as it could do anything.

I summoned a Gorgon to command the skill.

 [To summon this skill, I give the command <Freeze...>

 [Command accepted.]

I was surprised; this method worked, meaning I could use various commands to make things easier for me in this world.

 "I'll leave it as a last resort," —  I thought, ignoring this skill.

I turned around, licking my beak. I sorted everything out; now it was time to hunt.

I carefully surveyed the prey scattered before me. Insects were my food, and these "beautiful, edible friends" would become my plentiful dinner.

Hunger made me aggressive.  I intended to gather my feast with one beak. Armed with my beak, I set out to hunt.

Each strike was precise and lightning-fast. I grabbed insects in one swift motion and transferred them to my beak.

Worms and ladybugs fell to the ground, and I ruthlessly snatched them up one by one. My actions were swift and decisive, and soon there was a pile of fresh food before me.

Worms were a source of energy that I could use to improve my abilities and level up. Ladybugs were tasty and nutritious, and I gathered them for the future.

A soldier bug was an interesting specimen that I managed to catch. A small insect that looked harmless, but who knows what could be hidden in its magical essence?

After the hunt, I returned to my nest, where I could enjoy my food and undergo the digestion process. My hunger subsided, and I was full of energy.

Oh, right, while I was hunting in this forest, I felt like creating a small shelter in a tree. Flying was sometimes difficult. I tried to recreate a small, pleasant sleeping place.

Additionally, I found some small crystals: 

Received [Small Crystal] 8 pieces. 

I didn't use them; I threw them into my spatial inventory. Although it looked like I had a garbage bin. 

My beak opened; I simply threw these stones into where there was other space with my precious stuff.

I also discovered gyres, the currency of this world, which could come in handy later.

 [Gyre 3 pieces].

 It was a currency that could help me in many aspects of my life in this world.

I noticed that each coin was blue and shimmered with shades of dark green and blue. However, I was cautious and attentive to my spending. I didn't want to just spend the gyre on useless things.

I wanted each purchase to be important and beneficial to my development. I wanted to use my resources wisely and strategically to maximize my gains.

I also pondered about other possibilities that the gyres provided in this world. Perhaps I could use them to gather information, bribe, or trade services with other creatures.

My avian form troubled me. It had become so large that I could no longer see my feet, hindering my movements and hunting. 

Feeling heavy and uncomfortable from satiation after lunch, it also hindered my agility.

After a failed attempt to cover my beak to hide my innate crow cries, I accidentally made a funny sound resembling "Caw, caw!" However, instead of embarrassment or shame, I just laughed.

My form, though somewhat strange, also brought funny moments and impressions. However, I realized that while laughing and joking was good, I needed to focus on continuing my actions.

I turned and with great effort, stood on my feet. My stomach felt heavy and slightly hindered my movements, but I managed to get up and started moving.

I decided to venture a bit deeper into the forest, hoping to find a secluded place for rest and shelter from potential dangers, as I wouldn't be able to return to my nest.

As a crow child, I felt limited in my abilities. My mind became my best weapon. I studied the behavior of other animals and found vulnerabilities that I could exploit to my advantage.

I became a more agile and cunning hunter, using my intellect and observation skills to earn my food.

Today, fear and anxiety gripped me as a gray rat tried to catch me. My blue eyes widened, and I focused on every movement it made.

Thoughts raced through my mind, and I realized that in this situation, I had no choice but to dodge.

"I don't want to die from you," — echoed in my head as I maneuvered between branches, trying to keep a distance from the rat's agile paws.

I hid on the high branches of a tree, opened my stats to look at myself. I indeed lacked something.

Appearance: Crowling 

Level: 3/10 

Name: Kuroi 

HP: 15/15 

Energy: 20/20 

Strength: 0 Intelligence: 0 

Defense: 0 Agility: 0 

Stamina: 0 Wisdom: 0 

[Experience: 17] 

Development Path: Monster 

Titles: [Demon 1.lvl], [Greed 1.lvl] 

Your skills: [Quiet Planning 1.lvl], [Predatory Bird Flight 1.lvl] 

Learned abilities: [Crow Gesture 1.lvl], [Taming 1.lvl] 

Inventory: Small Crystals 8 pieces, Gyres 3 pieces.

"17 experience points?" 

Ah, those were the points obtained from the slain insects. I now had a question for the system I named Gorgon.

"Gorgon, my dear, where can I spend these 17 points?" 

I received a logical response from Gorgon as I listened to her while examining my stats.

"You can spend them on characteristics! Attention, none of your characteristics have been increased!"

 The beautiful, monotone voice of the Gorgon sounded. When my eyes looked at the characteristics, a plus and minus appeared next to the inscription, indicating that I could add or subtract one point from the characteristic.

"Hmm, maybe try this?" 

I thought, pressing my wing against my beak. My eyes thoughtfully tried to distribute these characteristics.

I didn't understand what they gave me, but sitting on a tree, I distributed points among some of the characteristics.

Strength: 3, Intelligence: 2, Defense: 5, Agility: 4, Stamina: 0, Wisdom: 0.

[Accept?]

"Yes, I accept this choice."

The system accepted my choice, and I watched thoughtfully as numbers appeared in my characteristics. I didn't feel anything, just points added somewhere to my stats. From what I managed to see, I became slightly more agile in jumps.

[Forest Rat]

Level: 4

HP: 20/20

Energy: 2/2

Strength: 5

Intelligence: 1

Agility: 4

Stamina: 1

Wisdom: 0

Development Path: None

Titles: [Rodent 2.Level]

Skills: [Bite 1.Level], [Tail Whip 2.Level], [Sharp Claws 3.Level].

This creature walked under the tree, unable to lift its head to see me. I sat on the tree, marveling at the stupidity of this creature.

"Does it have any skills? Can I see them?"

[Rodent] - title received only by rodents, those who damage crops, trees, and other resources. Lowers reputation.

[Bite] - deals 5 damage. Increases damage by 1 with each level. Strong teeth in close combat for rats!

[Tail Whip] - deals 3 damage. Increases damage by 1 with each level. Powerful weapon during rear attacks.

[Sharp Claws] - deals 2 damage. Increases damage by 1 with each level. Rat's claws complement its teeth.

"Ah! So, I can determine how much damage it will deal to me. Interesting feature!"

 I pressed my body against the tree, watching it run in search of some food.

"Since I can earn experience points to increase characteristics, then I need to fight it..."

I sighed heavily, realizing that I needed to go down now to kill this rat and take the experience points for myself. I spread my wings, diving down, and struck the rat with my beak, sharply rising upwards.

"Should help draw attention..." I thought, watching the rat turn towards me, observing me with wild eyes.

"Argh!" 

"Ah! That's it, it's out of control..." 

I flew higher. The rat jumped up, trying to grab me with its claws.

"Sorry, I'm not that reckless..." — I thought, observing this creature.

[Forest Rat]

[HP: 15/20]

I looked at its health and realized that the battle would be long. The rat attempted to attack, and I was stunned, watching through it as I browsed through my characteristics.

The rat clawed me, jumping from the other side of the tree.

"Oh darn!"

I began to fall down; this rat obviously, thanks to instinct, knew what it was doing. I needed to follow a simple rule: always keep an eye on the opponent.

"Oh darn, I lost a bit of my health!"

I smirked arrogantly. I liked this experience because I felt adrenaline in battle.

[Kuroi]

HP: 10/15

Energy: 13/20

"Hmm, I need to stop using my thoughts during the fight; it interferes with being like him..."

I landed beak first into the ground. The rat noticed, eagerly running down, opening its large mouth to meet me. I burst out of the ground, reaching for my head.

There was only one thing left to do - to check if my command worked.

"Freeze..."

[Taming]

As I looked at the rat, my eyes emitted a purple glow, disappearing into its gray rat eyes.

It didn't help. The rat became even more furious upon seeing my gaze and began to attack in different directions.

My skill confused it; it couldn't even hit me with its tail from such a strong rage.

"Grr-Argh!"

"Get away from me!"

I struck the rat several times with my beak from different angles. It continued to hit the trees, everything where my paws touched was subject to attack by this rodent.

The rat became even more furious; was it because I used my gaze, or it just became slightly uncontrollable.

Either way, while it, like a wild animal, tried to reach the red cloth, I just jumped over it and dealt enough damage with my beak.

The rat fell in front of my face; with its last breath, it closed its eyes, falling on its belly.

Bam!

I sighed heavily, wiping my forehead with my wing.

[You killed the forest rat 4.level]

[Received 3 experiences!]

[Level increased!]

[+5 HP], [+5 Energy.]

[Received 5 experiences!]

[Received skill: Beak Strike]

"Hooray! Level up, now I can increase my characteristics!"

I rubbed my wings like a Jew hoping to get enough benefit. And the wild laughter started ringing in my head again.

[Stamina: 5], [Wisdom: 3]

"I don't like having zeros here; let's make some numbers."

After accepting the characteristics, I noticed that I gained a skill after the battle with the rat.

I learned a new skill during the battle; this meant that battle experience could somehow affect me over time.

"I somehow like it more and more..." I pressed my wings against my chin, watching all this.

[Skill: Taming increased to level 2.]

[Skill: Beak Strike increased to level 2.]

"What?...."

My jaw dropped to the ground. These skills could increase to the second level, apparently because I often fought and used them.

"Interesting..."

I could finally lean against the tree to take a few breaths after such a battle. I was proud of myself, and I even got stronger!

"I deserve my own diploma for such hard work!"