Sadly, the fish soup had to be postponed.
There were flowers everywhere—but not a single vegetable in sight.
Maybe following the river was the right move. Civilization almost always formed near water. It was logical. A village… maybe even a small city could thrive along a steady stream like this.
And if there was a settlement, I could finally buy vege—
“…Ah.”
Right.
I didn’t have money.
“Haaaah…”
Well, hopefully they at least had a guild. Guilds solved everything in light novels.
As for the fish?
The trusty 'roast' method was my only option.
My journey had involved more fighting than expected, and my appetite had apparently decided to catch up with me, I think... One fish and two rabbits sounded reasonable.
Reasonable.
Responsible.
Balanced.
Instead...
I ate everything.
All of it.
The fish.
All four rabbits.
Gone.
I stared at the empty cooking rack in disbelief.
“That’s… not normal.”
It was a stretch, but I was starting to suspect my digestive system had been completely replaced by the Morph skill—physically.
A real biological change.
It would explain the instincts. The reactions. The way fear had overridden thought when the dragon passed overhead.
If Morph altered traits at a genetic level…
Then digestion improving wasn’t strange at all.
Was it?
°? ?? ?? ?? ·。
After food comes cleaning.
The fish bones were too fragile to be useful, so I buried them respectfully near the riverbank.
The rabbit bones, however?
Different story.
Dense.
Sturdy.
Useful.
I gathered them together—bones from five rabbits total—and used crafting to compress them into a single compact block roughly the size of my palm.
Much easier to carry until inspiration struck.
But a new problem revealed itself.
Food.
I had burned through my supplies incredibly fast.
Physical activity was supposed to build up the appetite—but now that I think about it, my stomach hadn’t growled once since the first time I transformed.
Maybe hunger itself had changed?
Maybe my old-world instincts still thought I needed food even when my body didn’t.
That would explain why I demolished so much meat on the spot.
Or maybe I was about to crash hard later.
If prey became scarce, things could turn ugly fast.
I exhaled slowly, glancing along the river’s flow.
Yeah.
Following the water was definitely the best plan.
? Notification!
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
? Morph Skill is: acquiring traits from: Salmon...
Oh, right, the Morph skill...
What kind of abilities a fish could possibly give me?
? Salmon Traits Acquired~
? Toggleable Traits:
? Slippery Skin
?? Permanent Traits Acquired:
? Water Breathing
? Abilities:
? None
“Nice, no ridiculous mutations!"
That was actually… really good.
Slippery Skin?
Amazing.
Harder to grab. Harder to restrain.
Step one toward not being captured and sold as a slave.
“Awesome!"
Well then, time to follow the river.
No point wasting daylight doing nothing.
I turned, ready to leave—
And immediately realized I had forgotten one very important detail.
The homeowner.
What homeowner, you ask?
The one whose house I had just dismantled for crafting materials.
Initially, the creature tried to sneak up on me, but I've got bunny ears which reacted to its steps. I turned around to check who was interrupting my decision-making moment.
A freaking Giant Spider.
Huge, as the name implies. Bigger than me—though not by a lot.
(Why did that bother me so much? Was I developing a height complex?)
Its body was deep blue, so dark it nearly looked black armor. A layer of fur was revealed through cracks which clearly implied that the damned thing knew how to pack and take a punch. It was nasty, and unsettling, just enough to make me slightly reconsider my actions. Its eight legs ended in razor points, each step stabbing into the ground.
Stone cracked beneath it.
Split cleanly in half.
I activated Appraisal while slowly backing away.
Dark Spider
Level: 25
...
“…STOP.”
Level twenty-five?
That was five times higher than me.
Was there even a point reading the rest?
In no game—no game ever—you get to beat something that outclasses you this badly.
“Hell nah, I’m out!”
I kept backing away slowly as the creature inspected the shredded remains of its web.
Did I feel regret for destroying its home?
Only if it killed me.
The spider finished examining the damage.
Then it looked at me.
All eight eyes glowed red.
Two larger ones sat in the center, focused entirely on me.
Its mouth opened—ant-like mandibles lined with serrated edges capable of tearing through anything.
Including me.
Yeah.
My weapon was officially outclassed.
The spider moved.
My strategy changed instantly from retreat to run.
I turned—
Too late.
A strand shot from its mouth.
Before I could react, the thread tightened and yanked me violently into its territory.
The world spun.
A sharp limb descended.
CRUSH!
Pain exploded through my body as its leg pierced clean through flesh like a blade.
Blood splattered across the grass.
Two more limbs captured me in a bearhug, locking my body in place.
I couldn’t move.
Couldn’t fight.
My weapon was on the ground, out of reach.
"That’s it,” I breathed shakily.
“I’m a goner.”
As I was squirming for escape unsuccessfully, the creature's mandibles opened wide and bit me.
Hard.
A massive chunk vanished from my left shoulder.
"WAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHH!"
I screamed, twisting helplessly as pain exploded through my body.
"I DON'T WANNA DIE!"
My thoughts scattered, panic flooding everything at once.
"I REALLY DON'T WANNA DIEEE!"
There was a hole where my shoulder used to be. My arm hung uselessly, barely attached.
“What the—?!”
The spider chewed.
Slowly.
Wetly.
Its mouth worked like a living shredder. Flesh disappeared between grinding plates, reduced into something closer to a paste before it swallowed.
My stomach lurched.
Then the stat window flickered.
Dark Spider
Level: 26
...
“…You're fucking kidding me.”
It leveled up?
From eating me?
And it wasn’t done.
While I struggled, another bite snapped forward.
Pain flashed again.
My ear.
Gone.
One morphed ear remained; the other was reduced to torn flesh before being crushed and swallowed just like the first bite.
I shook, vision blurring.
Escape felt impossible.
The blade-like legs tightened around me, carving shallow scratches into my skin and flesh every time I struggled. I couldn’t pull free.
I couldn’t slip—
…Slip?
My thoughts froze.
“Am I stupid?”
I’d just unlocked that ability.
“Morph — Slippery Skin!"
My body became slimy, just like a fish's, and the spider’s grip failed.
I slid straight out of its hold.
It tried grabbing me again, legs snapping shut—but I slipped through every attempt like water.
One of its attempts was nearly successful, but it dropped me.
Unfortunately, headfirst.
The ground slammed into my vision, stars bursting across my eyes—but I didn’t stop moving.
Water.
I needed water.
Clutching my barely attached arm, terrified it would fall off, I staggered and dove into the river, letting the cold swallow me.
Pain dulled slightly as the current wrapped around my body.
Through blood-blurred vision, I turned back.
The spider stood at the river’s edge watching.
It didn’t enter?
Of course it didn’t!
A creature with that kind of biology would sink instantly—and if it couldn’t breathe underwater—stepping in would be suicide.
It shot webs toward me instead, most dragged away by the current.
The rest slid harmlessly off my slick skin.
I floated there, shaking.
Alive.
Safe.
For now.
But badly hurt.
And my loot…
My gear was still on shore.
I couldn’t just abandon everything.
So I stayed in the water, breathing slowly, waiting for the monster to lose interest.
? STATUS WINDOW ?
══════════════════
Name: Zephyr Diana*
Race: H?um??aN?
Sex: Female
Age: 17
══════════════════
Level: 5
XP: 7 / 16
══════════════════
System Points: 10 ??
Dice: 2 ??
══════════════════
? VITALS ?
══════════════════
HP: Don’t Die ?
MP: 50 / 50
MP?: 3 / Min
SPD: N / A
══════════════════
? TITLES & SKILLS ?
══════════════════
? Reincarnator ?≡
├ Status Window
├ Appraisal
└ Converse
══════════════════
? Extra Skills ?≡
├ Dice「D4」
└ Morph
══════════════════
? Unlocked Naturally ?≡
├ Carpenter
├ Blacksmithing
└ Accuracy Ⅰ
══════════════════
══════════════════
? KNOWLEDGE ?
══════════════════
? Arcana ?≡
├ Fireball Ⅰ 「3 MP / Cast」
├ Torch Ⅰ 「5 MP / Min」
├ Sleep ? 「6 MP / Cast」
└ Cleanse Ⅰ 「7% MP / Cast」
══════════════════
? Weaponry ?≡
├ Sword ? Swordsman
├ Spear ? Lancer
├ Knife ? Rogue
├ Scythe ? Executioner
├ Bow ? Archer
├ Claws ? Savage
├ Shield ? Tank
├ Guillotine ? Executioner
├ Kunai ? Rogue
├ Shuriken ? Archer
└ Trident ? Lancer
══════════════════
? Bestiary ?≡
├ Demonic Rabbit
├ Salmon
└ Dark Spider
══════════════════
? Culinary Grimoire ?≡
├ Roasted Demonic Rabbit
└ Roasted Salmon
══════════════════
?? MORPH ?≡
══════════════════
? Demonic Rabbit ?≡
├? Toggles
├ Rabbit ears
├ Rabbit feet
├ Rabbit tail
├ Demonic horns
├ Demonic fangs
├? Permanents
├ Jump boost +
├ Superior hearing +
├? Abilities
└ Paranoia Bite
══════════════════
? Salmon ?≡
├? Toggles
├ Slippery skin
├? Permanents
├ Water breathing
├? Abilities
└ None
══════════════════
