1 This Egg Is Fried
Tora awoke to darkness. Xeir body was curled up and it felt like a hard surface was pressed around it. Surprised, xeir first instinct was to kick against the wall, hoping to break it open. Xey continued to kick the wall until xey heard a loud crack. Xeir tiny body tumbled out from the gap in the wall and crashed into a strangely fluffy ground.
Glancing around, xey could see that xey were in what looked like a nest filled with bright red feathers that seemed to give off a slight warmth.
The nest rose high above Tora's head, and xey couldn't tell whether xey were small, or the nest was just very large. Xey staggered to their feet before realizing that xeir hands felt odd.
The fingers on each hand felt like they were melded together. Glancing back, xey could see tiny feathers and large amounts of fuzz extending along the entirety of both of xeir arms. The feathers were a light red color, almost a similar shade to the feathers lining the nest, while the fuzz was a paler shade.
"What the? Wings?" Xey turned back and forth, examining xeir new body's limbs. "Could I fly with these wings? From what I remember, birds can't fly until all of their feathers grow in. I wonder what species I am. Why was I reincarnated as a bird though?"
[System Online]
[Tutorial: To view stats, say "Status"]
"Uh... Status."
A light blue screen appeared in front of xem, words quickly appearing on it.
~[Name: {Blank}
~[Species: Phoenix-Baby
~[Level: 1
~[HP: 50/50
~[MP: 0/0
~[Strength:0
~[Constitution:0
~[Dexterity:0
~[Intelligence:0
~[Charisma:0
~[Luck:0
~[Unused Stat Points: 10
"Hmm, so is this like the RPG games or isekai animes I used to watch? Let's see... 3 points to Strength, 2 points to Constitution, 2 points to Dexterity, and 3 points to Luck. I don't know if I'll need Intelligence or Charisma just yet. Intelligence is usually for magic. I have no idea what Charisma would be for though."
~[Name: {Blank}
~[Species: Phoenix-Baby
~[Level: 1
~[HP: 100/100
~[MP: 0/0
~[Strength:3
~[Constitution:2
~[Dexterity:2
~[Intelligence:0
~[Charisma:0
~[Luck:3
~[Unused Stat Points: 0
"How do I get a name though?" Tora started to climb up the wall of the nest, hoping to see where exactly xey were. It was hard to climb without arms, but eventually, xey managed to reach the top. "What the..?"
Flames surrounded the nest, with pools of lava on the ground around it. The landscape was filled with sharp black shards that looked like obsidian. Large stone walls surrounded the entirety of the area. Xey then realized that the whole area was inside of a volcano. It was warm, but not unbearably so. Tora assumed it was because xey were a phoenix that they were able to stand the heat.
Suddenly a loud screech echoed across the valley of lava, startling xem. The little phoenix toppled off the edge of the nest.
[Passive Skill Unlocked: Falling With Style]
Tora quickly moved to stretch out xeir wings, resulting in a glide instead of a fall. Xey managed to land successfully, using xeir talons to grasp one of the obsidian outcroppings.
"What was that screech? I hope it isn't an enemy. I'm probably not strong enough to do anything to an enemy yet." Xey adjusted their hold on the rock before looking around at where they had landed. "Oh yeah! A skill was mentioned when I was falling. How do I see what skills I have? Maybe I just say Status?"
~[Name: {Blank}
~[Species: Phoenix-Baby
~[Level: 1
~[HP: 100/100
~[MP: 0/0
~[Strength:3
~[Constitution:2
~[Dexterity:2
~[Intelligence:0
~[Charisma:0
~[Luck:3
~[Unused Stat Points: 0
~[Passive Skills:
~[Fireproof
~{Immune to all fires and fire-related skills
~[Rebirth of the Phoenix
~{When HP reaches 0, will be able to be reborn without any loss of stats. Cooldown: 24hrs
~[Falling With Style
~{User can glide in the air
Passive skills now showed up on the status window. Fireproof would be a useful passive since xey were reborn in a volcano area. "Hmm, how do I level up? I guess I should go find a weak enemy or something? In the RPG games I used to play, the lowest level enemy was usually a slime. Would slimes be found in a volcano?" As if it were summoned by Tora's words, a slime that looked like it was made from the surrounding lava appeared before xem. It reminded xem of the lava lamps xey often saw as expensive prizes at arcade rooms or as mood lighting decorations.
Xey jumped towards it, aiming xeir talons at the blob.
{+30 damage}
[Lava Slime Lvl.1 defeated.]
[+10 EXP]
"That was rather easy." Xey continued to hunt down the lava slimes, quickly beginning the grind for EXP, experience points that would allow xem to level up.
~~~A couple of hours later~~~
~[Name: {Blank}
~[Species: Phoenix-Young
~[Level: 10
~[HP: 300/300
~[MP: 200/200
~[Strength:10
~[Constitution:10
~[Dexterity:15
~[Intelligence:10
~[Charisma:0
~[Luck:10
~[Unused Stat Points: 0
~[Passive Skills:
~[Fireproof, Rebirth of the Phoenix, Flight
~[Active Skills:
~[Fireball, Fire Tornado
After a few hours, Tora had reached level 10. Xeir Falling With Style skill had evolved to Flight after using it a couple of times. After putting some stat points into Intelligence, xey had gotten Mana Points(MP) and unlocked a few active skills. Both active skills involved creating and controlling fire and cost mana to use. Now that xey could fly though, xey wanted to leave the volcano to explore the rest of the world.
Xey leaped upwards, quickly flapping xeir wings to reach up to the sky. Xey loved the feeling of flight, as it reminded xem of the feeling of riding the motorbike from xeir previous life, the one xey had called Gaius.
As Tora reached the highest wall of the volcano, an updraft of hot air pushed xem upwards to clear the volcano.
A lush forest surrounded the lava-filled volcano, a cool breeze blowing the fallen leaves around. From xeir position above the forest, xey could see the many creatures that lived in the forest, from other birds to deer to wolves.