Assimilative Evolution: Or I Was Reborn as a Jagras but I Have a Cheat Ability by Lopaka

Words: 23k+

Link: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/assimilative-evolution-or-i-was-reborn-as-a-jagras-but-i-have-a-cheat-ability.1080660/

The Start of a New Life

Consume.

Assimilate.

Evolve.

Three words and the meaning behind them etched themselves into my head, giving way to a burst of information that made sense of the situation I was in now. I died. And now I live, but not the same as I was before. I gasped deeply, taking in as much air as I could into my lungs and getting a feel of my new mouth, how the cool air traveled between the sharp teeth that could easily rip through flesh, the alien grooves on the roof of my mouth, and the scales on my lips.

I…wasn't human anymore. I don't know how to feel about that. I…I need to gather myself first and foremost. Yeah, yeah let's do that. And figure out what I am and where I am. Let's start with the most pressing issue; myself. I rolled off my back, and right off the bat I have spikes(quills?) growing out of my spine. Off to a great start…and I'm a quadruped.

Great, no more walking on two legs for this guy.

I laid on my stomach and wiggled all of my limbs and appendages, rotating and rolling my joints and testing my body. Okay, from the bottom up. I now have claws for hands with only four digits on each paw, say goodbye to thumbs(fuck!). A neck long enough to turn and look at the rest of my body, a body covered by yellow and gray-green scales, and a tail. A freaking tail. Which I proceeded to whip back and forth like an excited dog, amazed at the new limb I'd gained.

I think I know what I am, I just need some sort of reflective surface to confirm my thoughts. Now, if what I am is an indicator, it should vastly shorten the list of where I am. With all the greens of grass, trees, leaves, plants, vines and roots all around me, I just need to look up.

It was a tree. A truly massive tree. Wide as a skyscraper, tall enough to reach the clouds, and branches big enough to hold houses. It was the most wondrous piece of nature I have ever seen in my life, something that made me feel small but humbled by it.

Well, that answered that question. I'm in the Ancient Forest from the Monster Hunter franchise.

Shit.

And at this point, with all of the gathered information I have, I'm confident I was reborn as a Jagras.

Double shit.

A spike of information buried itself at the forefront of my mind. News that made me smile(which was weird to feel as a jagras) and gave me hope for my survival in this world.

I have a cheat ability.

Okay, now that I've gathered myself(after many philosophical and thought-provoking ruminations on life after death) I can plot out the beginnings of my future. I'm a jagras in the world of Monster Hunter. That's hard enough as is, like starting on the hardcore difficulty in any game, but only made easier because of my power, which I will get into later I promise, but I need to make ground rules first.

Obviously, on what actions to take when meeting the monsters and hunters of this world.

Let's start with the hunters: run. Just run. I ain't going to explain how dumb it would be to approach them. I'm sure I could get leniency because I'm a jagras, but even then I'm not chancing it. So, run away to live. Easy peasy.

Now onto the monsters, this is where things get interesting. Because of my ability, I have a chance of becoming an Elder Dragon. The apex predator; a trouncing force of nature at the top of the world. Beings that can shape the lands around them with their sheer power.

Crazy right?

I have the ability to absorb monsters and gain their attributes. Permanently. In layman's terms, the more I eat, the more powerful I get. And with the rainbow spectrum of monsters here, I have a buffet in front of me.

But I need to be smart and careful about this. As I am now, a kestodon could kill me. And even worse, I don't know the full capabilities of my power. All that I know is that if I eat a monster, I gain its power. That's it. It doesn't go into detail or say anything about the little things. Like for example, do I need to eat their entire body? Will a drop of blood suffice? Will I know how to automatically use their power when I gain it? If I eat a whole monster, will I turn into that monster fully or could I allocate its attributes to wherever I want it to be? Will I know how to fly when I inevitably gain wings or will I have to figure that out?

Stuff like that. And no answers but questions instead.

So like all plans in history, we start with a step. An easy step, a disgusting step, but necessary to survive and learn.

Let's eat a bug.