Reborn As A Monster

In an endless void, a myriad of souls hovered, adrift.

Enveloped by nothing but boundless darkness, they aimlessly wandered through the emptiness that separated the world we know of from...

"This one?"

Nod-

"I don't like it. Seems like quite the gamble. Are you sure?"

"A gamble, huh? I like that."

***

After an indescribable amount of time, one of those many, many souls started shining a bit brighter. Among the countless options, it had been Chosen.

'I... What is...? Where...? How long...?'

[Congratulations!]

The Chosen consciousness heard a soft and gentle voice.

[Your Soul has been Chosen.]

[You are being offered a Second Life.]

[Do you accept?]

'Huh? I can't talk... I can't see anything. A Second Life? I can't remember anything...'

Despite having lost its memories, senses, and much more, a single thing remained.

A sole desire.

'I want to live.'

[Congratulations!]

[You have acquired a new Title.]

[You have acquired the Title "System Holder".]

'Title?'

[You shall be Reborn amidst the Higher World.]

[The Higher World is a World inhabited by Monsters and Mythical Creatures.]

[Only the strong can survive.]

'Wait. Wait wait wait wait... Monsters? Mythical Creatures? What do you...? My past life didn't have any of that... That's not how my world was. I can remember at least that much...'

A short silence followed.

'Is a peaceful afterlife too much to ask?'

The System ignored the Soul's question.

[Please choose the Form you wish to take on:

1) Skeleton:

Skeletons are weak Monsters made of bones. They have no muscles, tissue, or organs, hence their low Strength, Agility, and Sense Stats. Their Endurance, on the other hand, is very high.

2) Ant:

Ants are weak scavengers. They usually feast on others' meals. Their Strength and Endurance are very low. Their Agility and Sense Stats are average.

3) Horned Hare:

Horned Hares are weak Monsters, usually seen as prey. Their horn is sharp. Their Strength is very low while their Agility, Sense, and Endurance Stats are above average.

]

'I don't even get to live as a Human? Are you serious? You want me to become a rabbit? What kind of joke is that?'

[Choose wisely.]

[Your survival greatly depends on your choice.]

'Tsk... That's it for your explanation? How am I supposed to choose? Even if I were to, the right choice would depend on where I appear. To survive, I should probably put Agility and Sense as priorities. But then I'll either be an ant or a weak rabbit. Ugh, whatever...'

[Your answer has been accepted.]

[The System shall, randomly, choose the Form you will take on.]

'Huh...? Wait... Huh? NO, I-'

The light emitted by the hovering consciousness started fading.

As if guided by something, the Chosen Soul traveled immeasurable distances.

...

Some time later, that Soul appeared above a body.

It couldn't really be called a body, as it looked more like a decrepit corpse than anything else.

A Skeleton.

With no light shining through its eyesockets, the Skeleton lay on the ground, unmoving and silent.

The shining light lowered itself onto that Skeleton and, a second later, the Skeleton's eyes lit up.

A faint blueish light.

'What is...? Where am I?'

The Skeleton raised its arm and scratched its head.

'Huh... Oh. OH! I HAVE A BODY! FINALLY!'

The Skeleton rejoiced and enthusiastically stood up.

'This feels so good. Finally, a body!'

The Skeleton lowered its gaze.

Its bony hands brushed against different parts of its body.

'Creepy... I have close to no sense of touch. Still...'

The Skeleton looked around.

'Being able to see things... Being able to touch the ground... I feel like I could cry...'

The Skeleton might have cried, had its body the ability to do so.

'So I became a Skeleton, huh? Maybe a Horned Hare would have been a better choice for survival. Anyways, I just came back from the dead, so I shouldn't be thinking about it already. Yeah. I'm alive. I'm finally-'

[You have taken the Form of a "Skeleton".]

[You currently possess three "Titles".]

[Check your "Status" for Additional Information.]

'Mm. I can't talk though. That's to be expected since I became a Skeleton... Would thinking it be enough? Umm... Status?'

[ Name: None

Species & Level : Skeleton Lv1 (0/10EXP)

Evolution Points: 0

Health Points: 20/20

Endurance Points: 150/150

Stats:

Strength: 3

Agility: 3

Sense: 3

Vigor: 2

Endurance: 15

Skill(s):

(None)

Title(s):

System Holder.

Devourer.

Evolving Monster.

]

'Aren't these Stats super low? I guess I have no reference to judge... Only Endurance is high, kind of? I guess Skeletons can't really get tired so that makes sense... Skills? What are those?'

[Skills are certain actions or moves that require a specific amount of Endurance Points to be used.]

'Alright. How do I get Skills?'

[Repeated actions can sometimes give birth to Skills.]

'Just sometimes, huh?'

[There are many other ways to obtain them.]

'How about those Titles? Devourer and Evolving Monster?'

[Those are your Unique Titles.]

[They are yours and yours only.]

[Your "Devourer" Title allows you to devour other Monsters and turn them into Energy.]

[That Energy is, then, turned into Evolution Points.]

[Your Title "Evolving Monster" allows you to use those Evolution Points to Evolve into a different Monster Species.]

[Once you Evolve, your Level will be back to 1.]

'Umm... Okay? I guess? Level, huh? Am I supposed to Level Up somehow?'

[You Level Up by acquiring a certain number of Experience Points.]

[You acquire Experience Points by defeating Monsters.]

[As a rule of thumb, the number of Experience Points required to Level Up will double with every Level Up.]

'So I have to kill Monsters and eat them to get stronger? What kind of second life was I given?'

[Monsters can be devoured even if you are not the one who defeated them.]

The Skeleton looked around.

A large and dark corridor.

'Where am I?'

[You are inside a Dungeon.]

[The Dungeon is made up of 10 Floors.]

[You are currently standing on this Dungeon's lowest Floor, the Tenth Floor.]

'Am I alone?'

[The Monsters on any given Floor are weaker than those on the Floor above.]

'So that's a no. Tsk. Since this is the lowest floor, the Monsters here are the weakest. That's a good thing. Yeah. Gotta be positive...'

The Skeleton's gaze wandered.

It stared at its bony feet for a bit, before raising them up and down, one after the other, repeatedly.

'I'm... I'm actually-'

Howl-

A familiar sound.

The Skeleton ran toward one of the corridor's walls and stuck its back to it.

'What is...? That howl... Was it from... A wolf? '

The Skeleton stared at the darkness to its left.

Seconds later, something emerged from that darkness.

'Should I fight? Can I even beat it? Probably not. I don't even have a weapon...'

A gray pelt tainted by drops of blood.

Burning eyes filled with hatred.

Sharp fangs.

'I can't beat that... I can't...'

The sound of the Beast's saliva hitting the ground echoed.

It, slowly, got closer and closer.

[ Gray Wolf: [F] Rank Monster.]

'Rank?'

[Monsters are ranked from [G] through [A].]

[Above them all, stand the Special [S] Ranked Monsters.]

'Oh. [G] Ranked are the weakest then? What's my Rank?'

[You are currently a [G] Ranked Monster.]

'...'

The Skeleton stood still, its body glued to the wall, and the Gray Wolf unknowingly walked past it.

'Didn't see me... I guess turning into a Skeleton has its benefits. No beating heart, no need to breathe... The only sounds I make are those produced when I move around...'

The Skeleton waited for the Gray Wolf to go further away, before walking in the direction that the Gray Wolf had come from.

The Skeleton walked while consciously trying to minimize the sounds its bones produced when coming into contact with the ground.

'I seriously can't remember anything about my past life. But it was nothing like this! I was human, that I remember, but the rest is... Fuzzy. I really can't...' The Skeleton thought as it walked.

After about five minutes of walking, the way split into three.

From the path on the right, sounds echoed.

While keeping itself hidden, the Skeleton peeked at the source of those sounds.

A lone creature.

It seemed to be eating something. Rather greedily and gluttonously too.

The creature's skin was greenish.

The green and ugly Monster made disgusting sounds as it chewed and swallowed pieces of its meal.

The meal in question was an unmoving Monster.

The Skeleton stared, and the scene awoke something inside him.

'Is this... Hunger? Why do I feel hungry when I don't have organs?'

The System gave no response.

'Hungry... I feel so hungry...' The Skeleton intensely stared at the feasting Monster.

It was a Goblin.

'Can I take it down? It looks small enough... Weak enough, even...'

The Goblin was about 10 steps away.

'It looks light...'

The Skeleton walked towards the Monster's back without making a sound.

Drool would have been going down its mouth, had its body the ability to do so.

A handful of seconds later, the Skeleton was standing right behind the Goblin.

'It's eating... A Gray Wolf...'

The Skeleton's feeling of hunger suddenly skyrocketed!

It couldn't resist anymore!

Before the Skeleton could realize it, it had used all its strength to grab the Goblin's head with both hands.

The green Monster shrieked, but the Skeleton gave it no mind.

The Goblin was lifted into the air.

The next second, its body was slammed onto the ground.

Once, twice, thrice.

[You have defeated one Goblin. 5 Gold Coins and 10 Experience Points earned.]

[You have leveled up!]

[1 Stat Point has been added to every Stat.]

The floating messages were ignored.

Before it'd realized it, the Skeleton had started feasting on the unmoving Monsters in front of it.

The instant parts of the Goblin's body were chewed, they disappeared.

About 45 seconds later, the Goblin's whole body had been eaten!

[You have gained 5 Evolution Points.]

'What the hell... Was that?'

The Skeleton's mind shut down once more. It turned towards the remains of the Gray Wolf.

'Disgusting. It's...'

As soon as the Skeleton started eating, all of its feelings of disgust seemed to instantly fade away.

The Goblin had already eaten part of the Gray Wolf's carcass but,

'Most of it is still intact...'

The Skeleton opened its mouth wide.

And the meal was Devoured.

[You have gained 30 Evolution Points.]

'They don't have a taste at all. Yet I still feel compelled to eat them, as if my body is ordering me to. I don't like that but it's...'

[You can check the Body Modifications available.]

The Skeleton shook its head.

Now wasn't the time to worry.

'Sure... That hunger was... I need to get stronger. I got lucky with that Gray Wolf not noticing me earlier but... Mm. Yeah. Experience Points are pretty hard to get. Eating on the other hand is... Well, I don't need to go through the fighting for that at least.'

[Available Body Modifications:

1) Strengthened Bones: 50 Evolution Points.

2) Horned Skull: 30 Evolution Points.

3) Sharp Elbows: 20 Evolution Points.

4) Strengthened Arms or Legs: 25 Evolutions Points.

]

'That's it? I've gained 35 Evolution Points... These are all pretty straightforward.'

The Skeleton started dissecting the presented option.

'The first one enhances the whole body and the second one gives me a horn which might be useful. The third one, Sharp Elbows means that my elbows will kind of become knives? That might be good. The fourth seems like a scam. If I strengthen my arms and my legs, then that would have cost me 50 Evolution Points. Meanwhile, the first option costs the same, but enhances the whole body, not just my arms and legs. Mmm... There's no reason to believe that the level of strengthening between the two options is different. Still, beggars can't be choosers. Getting stronger arms or legs might be the right move...'

The Skeleton walked deeper into the path where the Goblin had been found.

'I guess my choice will depend on how the next Monster will look like...'