Getting Grub

Watching the tiny, hairy critters move around near the puddle, Roy's stomach began to growl. His sense of hunger finally returning after he had calmed himself down, he slowly reached for what looked like a roly-poly rolled up near his feet.

'Seems I can finally move a bit easier than before, but I still feel super weak.' Roy thought to himself as he picked up the roly-poly and inspected it.

[Pill Bug]

Lv. 1

Notes: A common terrestrial isopod

'Huh, guess it really is just a roly-poly. How the heck did the exact same creature evolve on two completely separate worlds though?' Pondered Roy as he quickly tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

'Faster I get it down the less I have to think about it. But I doubt a single one is gonna fill me up, so I might as well eat all the ones in my tiny arm's reach...'

With that, Roy ate a total of 20 that were near enough to him. As he was lost in thought about everything that has happened to him, a sudden notification caught his attention.

[Pill Bug killed]

[1 EXP Received]

...

[Enough Experience has been accrued]

[Level up 1->2]

[Pill Bug killed]

[1 EXP Received]

...

'Wow, so even bugs can give me experience to level up huh?'

Staring at his system panel wondrously, he decided to open up his stats panel and check what's changed.

Status

Name(s): Roy Palmer

Species: Infant (Lesser) Orc Lv. 2/10

EXP: (10/20)

Job(s): none

{Available Jobs}

none

Stats:

HP: 2

Str: 2

Agi: 1

Int: 1

MP: 0

Skill(s):

[Mental Fortitude Lv. 2]

Unique Abilities:

[Other World Reincarnation Tutorial] [Aptitude]

'Sweet! I can see my experience needed now huh? I can even feel that I got a bit stronger too, though twice the strength of trash is still trash.'

"Buhihi"

As Roy finished his self deprecation session, he closed the window and attempted to get a sip of water from the ever-so-slightly salty puddle.

'Ahh... I can finally move my arms without wearing myself out to the point of exhaustion now!'

*Slurp*

'Hopefully I won't get sick drinking this stagnant water, but it's not like I have much of a choice right now. I think I'll rest a bit more before I try to move and find a safe place to call home, at least until I can walk.' Deciding on his action plan, Roy looked around the area he was in to try and see if there was any holes in the giant trees around him he could use for shelter.

After searching for a while and coming up empty, he decided on a direction and started to crawl.

Finally after a few hours of searching (most of which was spent resting from exhaustion) he discovered a cluster of roots sticking out of the ground, forming a hollow area underneath.

'That's perfect! Safe from the elements and hopefully predators...' Roy secretly prayed as he moved his sore and tired body under his new home. laying on the soft dirt inside, his eyes gradually closed and he drifted into a deep sleep.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Mom, please don't go... I need you!" Roy cried in desperation, looking at his dying mother, who was hooked up to a bunch of machines he had no idea the use of nor did he care.

"Oh sweetie... you don't need me, *cough* *cough* you have grown into a wonderful young man. I am so proud of you." Roy's sickly mother forced her raspy words out of her dry throat, hoping to let her son know how proud she was of him.

*cough* *cough*

"I love you so much Roy, I'm sure your father would be so jealous of me getting all these extra years with you haha*cough*haah." His mother joked, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

Tears running down Roy's face as he stared at his mother, he forced a smile back while joking back, "I bet, I would be jealous if I were him as well! Missing out on raising such a kick-ass son haha..."

The two smiled to each other one last time as Roy's mother slowly closed her eyes. The EKG on the side flat-lining as Roy whispered, "I'll miss you mom, and I love you."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Roy quickly woke up, covered in sweat. As he sat up he started to calm down while frowning, wiping the tears streaming down his face.

'I always have to relive that damn memory when I get stressed out...'

As Roy looked up between the roots he saw that it was early morning. He decided to get some breakfast and look for a stable water source near his new home.

Digging a bit in the dirt bed under the root dome, he found some more small bugs and popped them in his mouth. Once he ate 10 of them he stopped and waited for them to die from his stomach acid so he could level up. Around an hour later all the bugs had been digested and he had successfully leveled up.

'So my strength and health have increased one point each level huh? I guess not gaining intelligence and agility fits an orc pretty well.'

"Buhihi" Roy chuckled at his situation once again.

Slowly getting on all fours he began to crawl out of his home as he started to search the area for a moving water source he could safely drink from. Around noon he pulled his tired body close to a stream with a satisfied look on his face.

"BUHIHI" 'SUCCESS!' Roy laughed as he dipped his hand into the water and finally took a sip. Soon a cool and refreshing sensation hit the back of his throat as he lay down satisfied, deciding to take an afternoon nap.

'Hopefully I can have a pleasant dream this time...' He sighed as he drifted off in the cool shade of a boulder.