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XIAO ?????? POV:
I'd given up on waiting for some system to come and grant me some overpowered skills and stuff. Three damned days later and I still had to rely on hunting using my own hands,and not some overpowered skills or something.
This reincarnation thing was way harder than I originally thought. Don't take all those regression manga for the real thing,I guess...
Either that or my luck is just ass.
Still,it wasn't like I was left totally for dead. My kitsune side gave me the physical advantages I needed,and the 'elf' bloodline basically made me a walking encyclopedia for basic plant life.
(What? You expected me to use 'Shai' or whatever? Yeah,dream on. It's elf.)
Still,I needed to find some sort of civilization fast. The forest was alright,but I was sure it wouldn't stay that way for long,and I was(technically) still five,so I was sure I could get killed by nearly everything in that word,no matter my race advantages.
It had been close to three weeks since I first arrived at this...new world,and I was sure that there had to be something in that run down place I'd first woken up in that I might have missed. Hopefully,something useful.
I ran back in the direction I'd originally taken when I was dragging the woman's corpse and only slowed down when I finally got to that clearing from my first day in this new world.
The fires had died down and all that was left was the destroyed structure. I couldn't even recognize what it really was back then,and with its current state being nothing more than a weak foundation and some very destroyed walls,me trying to find out what it was would be me asking for a headache.
I looked through the rubble and whatever was left of the place. I mean,if I didn't have some cool system,then I'd obviously have some sort of cool weapon or artefact. It'd be borderline unfair if I didn't get something from that place.
I was honestly about to give up until I saw something red close to the area where the woman's body originally was.
'Finally! Something useful.'
Well,I wasn't really sure it was useful,but my idiotic self was really hoping it was. Maybe it was because of all those burnt rabbit meat skewers I'd made before.
It was a sort of pendant with a red jewel that had a sort of red flame inscription on it. Out of curiosity,I wore it and waited for some sort of cool ability to trigger on its own,but all I got was a cool accessory with a red glow.
'My luck is ass'
I was seriously considering just throwing the thing into the river next to my cave or something,but I decided against that. There was a chance it belonged into my 'mom',and if it did,I figured it would be better to honour it instead. Personally,I didn't feel like getting chased by ghosts on day one.
I looked through the place some more and saw something that looked like a sort of sword hilt or something. Despite my small body,I was able to grab it quite easily. I examined it and tried swinging it a bit. Not like a sword came out, but it was alright.
Then I heard something move in the trees behind me.
My senses instantly went into alert mode. I turned quickly and put myself in a position where I wasn't blocked by any rubble. My situation wasn't exactly favourable-a small body,no real power,and I doubted basic Japanese kenjutsu would work on a threat that could probably use magic...
The thing was huge,easily 3 metres tall. It's body was covered in green scales,it's four legs having massive claws at their ends. It's body was more serpentine in nature,and it's jaws had teeth that looked like they were really craving some reincarnate blood.
'Just my luck'
I tried to slowly back away as it examined me. The gaze from it's sapphire eyes looked like they were looking into my very soul. The red glow on my pendant intensified. Not really good for my current situation. I turned quickly to examine a possible escape route,but the moment I turned,it was right there.
'Shit!'
I tried to dodge it's claw strike,just barely getting out of its range before it swung it's tail,hitting me hard in my torso and slamming me against a tree on the other side of the place. It felt like all the wind was knocked out of me,and my lower abdomen was already starting to bleed.
I struggled to stand as it rushed at me, its jaws wide open as it neared.
'Am I really about to die on the start of my second life?'
The thought made me feel hopeless. I'd died without any real accomplishments in my past life,and I was about to die on my second before I even got to fully explore it. The only meaningful thing I'd done was bury a damned corpse.
Then that hopelessness slowly turned to anger.
I was about to die a second time,before I even did anything...
The red glow on the pendant intensified and my grip on my swordless hilt tightened. If this thing was going to kill me,I wasn't going to make it easy for the damned beast.
I sidestepped to the right as it's jaws crushed the tree behind me,running behind it and jumping over the tail sweep as I grabbed onto the tail's edge. It swung its tail wildly,trying to shake me off but I held firm.
'I was promised some cool power,now would be a great time for them to tick...'
I let go just as it swung one more time,throwing me back before I landed a few metres from it. Almost instinctively,I gripped the pendant tightly with me free left hand. It was hot,really hot,but I wasn't really hurt by it.
'Just work,damn it!'
In an instant,my arm was covered in a large plume of bright orange fire. I punched the thing,actually sending it flying as I placed my forearm on the hilt I was holding in my right. Instantly,a large column of fire engulfed the whole thing before it started to gradually grow larger,the grass around me burning up entirely as the beast tried to come at me again.
I didn't let it move for more than 3 seconds. I brought the whole thing down on its body. The impact was way larger than I expected,instantly turning it to dust as a huge explosion shot up into the sky in a perfect,straight line.
After a few seconds,it was done. I looked at the result and I was just amazed. Though it hadn't gone very far,a huge crater had formed on the ground,and a lot of the area infront of me was nothing but embers and charred ground.
...I FINALLY DID IT!
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BESTIARY:
Dracanae.
Type:serpentine.
Main perks:Fast,agile,physically enhanced,durable scales.
Danger level:B to high A.
More info:All fire-baser attacks have been proven to be completely ineffective against this type of monster. Recommended to fight with a party unless one is level A-9 or higher.