Monsters and Mayhem(without the mayhem)

When I was deep inside the forest where I couldn't hear anything but myself. I knew that was likely not for the best. When everything was quiet, you were always all the louder. I held my breath slightly and I stopped huffing. I hadn't ran since well ever! At least not like I just had, not even in my last life.

I dumped the bag of stuff onto the ground. Using what grip I had I pulled the package that held the monster core inside. If any of the fiction I read in my past life told me anything this might be a painful process so I decided to mentally prepare myself by reading the entry for a monster core obviously! I mentally sighed as I would be doing this a lot in the future.

<Monster cores can come from many sources. Normally a monster will naturally form a core upon evolving however that is not the only source of monster cores. They can be found as a divine release, such as a reward for clearing a dungeon created by a god or by receiving one directly from a god. Some have attempted to create artificial cores for the sake of study. This is in fact the only reason why a god that isn't the monster god has given a core as a reward.>

That was informative, but it didn't tell me what a process of creating one or in my case what the hell I was supposed to do with one. I searched other entries when I found it in the Self Study entries.

<Depending on species creating a monster core can have many effects. Elves have described the process as painful. Humans often have no side effects while more already inhuman creatures described it as euphoric. Many Orcs have called this euphoria the Glory-orcing.>

I reread that last part Glory-Orcing. Was that real? Did the entry seriously include a pun? Who writes these? I mean to include that seemed wonky. The problem was it didn't describe what to do with a core. If I could scratch my head I would, which left em with only really 2 options. Or well 3, but i wasn't gonna be able to do the third.

I could either just stare and mediate in front of it which honestly sounded stupid as fuck. I know that's how its normally done in fiction, but my 2nd option felt much more realistic. So using one of the few skills I put the core into my mouth and munched down. At first I heard a crack and thought I broke a tooth.

Except to my surprised the large jaw breaker like object cracked and shrinked in my mouth until it turned into dust. It was surprisingly easy to chew actually...

I...

Woah, I stumbled slightly as everything in my vision wobbled like I had just done a hundred spins in place. I felt like a kid with an iron deficiency and no magnesium. A second later a notification pooped up, but I couldn't really read it. I tried to stare at it but suddenly it changed and I couldn't really tell what happened.

I continued to stare until eventually a crack made me jump. i turned and saw deer as it bounded off. I wobbled and fell back onto my ass. I rubbed my eyes as my vision cleared and....

And my jaw dropped as I realize I had hands! They were very round and I only had 2 fingers and a thumb, but I held my hand out and I just blinked. What the hell just happened?

I looked back at my menu and to my surprise several notification lingered even the one that apparently confirmed my selection for evolution. I shook my head in a bit of shock as i read them in order.

<Evolution selection confirmation! You have become a Tauren. A mighty beast that boasts extreme strength. On next evolution you may upgrade from your current species tree or jump to a new branch. Current branches you can jump to Minotaur. You can not jump backwards to a none monster cattle. So you have lost the species trees of the Lowland Bull, Highland Bull, Hervain Bison, and Demon Cattle.>

I scratched my chin at that as what did that mean fro the shadow calf? That was one of the species I hadn't met requirements for. I was about to read the other messages except a new one caught my attention.

<Shadow Calf species tree will be lost when the individual is no longer a calf.>

Which meant it was lost, So great i sighed and read the notifications before the newest one.

<A greater achievement has been made! You evolved before growing up! You will gain 10% more exp. Along with all stats will be increased by 5 every 3 levels! This effect stacks with other achievements.>

<You have made a lesser achievement! You became a monster in a short amount of time after learning about monsters! You can now create your own entries! If you wish to take notes on your evolution process. This is not an exclusive reward.>

<You have an insane achievement that might make a god intrigued by your existence. You have become a monster in an unethical way! By eating a monster core as a herbivore you will receive an appropriate reward. You can now eat any type of meal!>

I nearly fell back at the last achievement as it had some implications.Yes eating a core was a way to absorb it, but not as a herbivore. The reward also seemed mundane, but due to the skill munch and the entries I realized I could gain information by sticking it into my mouth! It wasn't a cheat skill that allowed me to steal anything by eating, but information was still great.

However the interesting part was the way the achievements themselves were phrased. The prefix to each achievement was one thing, but words like exclusive and stacks implied some interesting things. Which left me with the last part of a god being intrigued by my existence. I doubted one achievement would make me noticed, but...

The way the status menu worked along with theses achievements and everything it gave me a lot of information that I wasn't given through the entries. Number 1 was monsters couldn't allocate stat points unless they were likely something like wererats. I know this due to the farmers son and what I had seen before escaping. Number 2theses achievements were either really common or fairly rare. My guess is that monsters get achievements more easily due to the monster god encompassing more individuals as a whole so the whole achievement stuff was automated along with the entries.

Number 3! Despite evolutions having certain quirks or flaws a individual can overcome them through willpower or their individual ability. I had memories of a past life thus it made me smarter then the average cow. Aka I got lucky if I had become a minotaur I would likely gain stat points in intelligence or whatever amounted to smarts within the stats. The phrase of the entries made it sound like Taurens gain a more specific stat allocation while minotaurs gained a more jack of trades.

I nodded, this meant each following species would gain certain perks than others. If I had to guess the Cattle of Valhalla species tree likely had something to do with gods or skills. While becoming a holistaur it would likely allow me to allocate my stat points myself.

I grabbed the bag off the ground before placing it on my shoulder. I needed a place to hide, while also perhaps to find some fresh water to use as a mirror of sorts.