2 No work, no eat!
"...?"
Darkness surrounded me, an endless void as far as the eye could see. I couldn't tell left from right, up from down, or even how long I had been drifting here. I couldn't move, or speak, it was almost like I didn't exist. But there was one thing that I was sure of.
"I...died."
The feeling was far too real to be a dream. The sense of panic I had felt from trying to save myself. The despair knowing there was so much I wouldn't be able to do. Like tell Elise how I felt. Damn it! Why did I have to be such a coward about my feelings?! Even if I was afraid to ask her out, the worst that could happen is her saying no right?!
Well...now that I'm thinking about it, the worst she might say is: 'I'm sorry, I only see you as a friend.' Ah. Then things would get awkward, and she might avoid me. I'd have to go to work every day and have to endure that. Or what if she quit because of me? I'd probably hang myself if that happened. Well, maybe I wouldn't go THAT far but-
"AWAKEN!"
Huh?
A thundering voice shook the void, shattering the silence. A strange pain filled the core of my being. It felt like I was being pulled forward at a hundred miles per hour. In the far distance, I could see a faint hint of light. The light came ever closer as my (soul?) raced towards it. The next thing I knew...
*GAAAAAAAASP*
Air exploded into my lungs, I crawled to my knees gasping and shielding my eyes from the sudden light with my...claws?
"Eh?"
My human hands had been replaced with small brownish-red scaly ones, each tipped with a black claw. Following them up my arm, past my shoulder, over my chest and down to my legs, my entire BODY seemed to have changed into some sort of freakish lizard. One that was only wearing a...loincloth? Ugh, it stinks...
"What's goi-AH!"
I tried to stand up, before promptly losing my balance, feeling something behind me dragging me down. Looking backward, I discovered a tail had sprouted out of my backside as well.
"Is this some sort of dream?"
Yes. Yes, it had to be a silly dream. Being crushed to death by a TV of all things and waking up as a three-foot lizard?
"A dream that I'll, ugh...wake up from, ugh...at any MOMENT!" I viciously pinched my cheeks, the tips of my claws digging into my face and drawing tears from my eyes. But no matter how much I tried to wake myself, up, I remained a lizard.
Taking in my surroundings, a lush forest surrounded me. Trees stretching on endlessly, birds chirping and a stream could be heard not far to my right. Rushing over to it, I looked at the water's reflection and saw a scaly face staring back. A face one might see on a dinosaur. Yellow baleful eyes with a slit in them stared back at me. At the top of my head were two small horns protruding from my head.
"No no no no!" I reached out to the water's surface with my claws, splashing the image. My reflection distorted for a moment, but then returned just the same.
"What's going on?! Where's my workplace?! Why am I a lizard?! I need answers goddamnit! Wha?!"
No sooner had I said this when a transparent screen materialized in front of me. Its appearance took me by surprise causing me to stumble back.
***************
STATUS
Name: Marek Antos
Species: Kobold
Level: 1/20
HP: 6/6 Strength: 2
Agility: 3 Resistance: 2
Endurance: 1 Dexterity: 2
Intelligence: 1 Wisdom: 1
Available points: 0
Element: N/A
Skills: N/A
Abilities: God tongue, Hard scales Lv. 2
***************
"What the..." Reaching out, I gingerly tapped my finger on the screen marked 'Status', affirming its existence. My name was on the screen as well as race. Going by this logic, that would mean my this screen displayed my physical and mental characteristics too.
"But what the heck is 'God Tongue'?" As I asked this, the words on the screen changed.
***************
God Tongue: Lv. Max (Passive)
The ability to talk to and understand all intelligent races. Must be granted by a god. Given out of pity.
***************
A...god? You can't be serious. Well, I mean I DID die and turn into a liz- er, Kobold. So I guess the idea of gods isn't that farfetched.
"Ah, that's right, I died. Shit..."
I died, but instead of staying dead, this god put me in a different life out of pity. That means...it's extremely unlikely they'll send me back. If this god put me in a different life instead of letting me keep my old one, they probably did so intentionally. They were also probably the thundering voice I heard in the darkness.
So where exactly do I go from here? Is this my new lot in life? To be honest, I REALLY don't want to spend the rest of my days as a scaly midget running around in a loincloth. Frankly, the thought of that is rather painful. On the other hand...a god reached out to me whose life ended prematurely, and for that, I owe them. This god must really want me to treasure my life.
"I guess...I could at least TRY living my new life." I said looking down my clawed hands. "Now what exactly am I working with?"
Raising my arms in a guard, I gave a few jabs with my fists, testing out my new speed and power. Next was jumping jacks and then running. The result?
"...Kobolds are weak."
My abilities weren't even a third of when I was still human. I stood there bent over with my claws on my knees gasping for breath. In video games, those at level one were pretty pathetic, and it seems I was no exception. Usually, the way to level up would be to kill a monster, but... with my stats, that seemed a daunting task. Not to mention I'm not keen on the idea of killing...at least not with my hands. I mean, maybe if I had a weapon or something.
Well, I suppose I'm not gonna get any answers standing around. Maybe I can find someone who can help me. Looking around once more, I couldn't tell which way I should go. Picking a random direction, I started walking. Might as well get some more information while I'm doing so.
"Status." Once more the transparent screen popped up, revealing my info. "Hard scales."
***************
Hard scales Lv. 2 (Passive)
A tough exterior composed of hardened plates that overlap in order to form a makeshift defense.
***************
"Hmm, more or less what you'd expect." I spent more of my time examining more attributes such as strength, agility, and others as I traveled but sadly couldn't get anything of actual use. It was all just basic things anyone would be able to figure out on their own. Except for one.
"Available points."
***************
The number of times physical and mental attributes can be directly increased. Once entered, points cannot be redeemed. Attributes are strengthened each level up, however, only one point is given to 'Available points' per level.
***************
"Now THIS I can work with."
How I entered my available points would probably determine my niche. Making myself physically stronger by focusing on strength. Defensive with endurance, speedy with agility, or trying to find a way to balance more than one category. But once entered, it'd be permanent. Now that I'm thinking about it, if I have HP shouldn't I have Magical Points (MP) too? Why hasn't that show up in status?
"Oi! You!"
A dry, grating voice called out to me. Whirling my head to the side, I spotted two other Kobold from the bushes. The one who called out to me looked a bit more heavyset than I. A bit of muscle to his arms and carrying a stick with a crudely carved spearhead on the end of it. He carried a scowl on his face as he spoke to me. The other one, a more lithe kobold, whose horns were shorter and had a slight curve to them. A slightly feminine face with a reserved expression accompanied him also wielding a shabby looking spear.
"Me?"
"Yes, you." the kobold growled walking up to me. "Why you stand here? What you do here alone?"
"Doing? Right now I'm not doing anything. Why do y-UGH!"
Before I could finish speaking, the heavyset kobold struck me across the face with his fist, crumpling me to the ground. Tasting blood in my mouth, I staggered to my feet, noticing my HP had dropped by one point. "You...you're gonna pay for that!" I glared at him, clenching my fists, ready to make my move, but...
Rakuta: Lv. 7
Hp: 14/14
I was forced to swallow my anger. Even at a glance, one could tell there was a BIG distinction between the two of us level-wise. If I tried to fight this guy he'd probably wreck me without even breaking a sweat.
Koro: Lv. 4
HP: 9/9
Even the skinnier one held a noticeable advantage over me as well. The one called 'Rakuta' continued. "We hunt food! You no do nothing! No work, no eat!" He jabbed a finger at me. "Since you here, you hunt too! Come!"
The bigger kobold stared at me after speaking, awaiting my response. As much I would love to tell him to go eat a dick, I get the feeling his answer would be another beating. Right now these guys think I'm one of them. If I go with these two, I might be able to head to their camp to meet other Kobold and get some answers. It's pretty likely there are more of them.
"Fine." Wiping my mouth, I went to follow them. The one who hit me merely let out a grunt of acknowledgment and turned back around. The skinnier one looked at me for a moment before following the bigger one. I guess this is where my new life as a Kobold begins...
