Day 2 of reincarnation in another world.
Life... no, a demon's life is not easy, I realized. It's more fierce than when I was human.
Getting up in the morning is a given, but even sleeping at night cannot be done easily.
Because I might get eaten while sleeping!
I actually almost got eaten once.
By a demon named Flame Cat.
A cat with flames around its head. When I was about to fall asleep, it lunged at me, and I quickly crawled away.
After that, I slept in a hollow I dug in a tree.
I'm not a woodpecker, so I felt some self-loathing while digging the tree. Well, when you want to live, what can't you do...
Anyway, the real problem isn't sleep.
It's 'food'.
I still haven't had a proper meal.
Grumble— The sound from my stomach was proof of that.
I've been continually grazing on grass since my reincarnation, but my hunger hasn't subsided. Eating spirit herbs might make it a bit better... but all the spirit herb fields I've explored in the vicinity have been occupied by Qi Condensation demons.
The strength is draining from my body, and at this rate, it seems I'll die not by being eaten by some other creature, but from starvation.
'...I wonder if there's a spirit herb field occupied by mother demons or siblings somewhere?'
For a moment, I thought I might be able to benefit from my siblings. After thinking for a while, I shook my head. Expecting familial affection from demons is too human a way of thinking.
It seems difficult to overcome the current situation with a human mindset. So... let's change the way of thinking.
If it can't be solved with a human mindset, let's try thinking like a demon!
'Plunder! Predation!'
Take and devour!
This is the demon-like way of thinking.
At least, that's how the creatures I've seen so far have been.
'But how can I defeat Qi Condensation demons?'
I had an instinctive feeling that I needed to eat 'spirit herbs' to satisfy this hunger.
It wasn't just a feeling. Recalling my knowledge of the cultivation world, cultivators... that is, those who cultivate, display skills called Cultivation Methods based on 'spiritual energy'.
In other words, the spiritual energy from spirit herbs serves as MP.
It seems impossible to display Cultivation Methods with a demon's body right away, but anyway, I thought absorbing spirit herbs might at least have effects like increasing physical abilities.
Similar to how in martial arts novels, leftover medicinal effects seep into the body after taking pills.
'Hmm....'
The reasons for eating are sufficient.
But I had no suitable method.
Eat stealthily?
High probability of getting caught and dying.
I'd be lucky if my organs don't get pillaged instead.
Find a spirit herb field with no owner?
Other creatures move by smell too, so that's impossible. If I can smell the scent, there's no way other demons can't.
Amid all this, one piece of information in the status window caught my eye.
[Supernatural Power] : Predation Evolution
'Right...! I have a supernatural power!'
Is it because I'm in a demon's body? I hadn't thought about using the supernatural power. I need to focus. To forget such an important thing!
I wanted to open the status window and look at the supernatural power in detail.
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[Predation Evolution]
Classification : Supernatural Power
Effects(3)
»Can eat anything.
»Absorbs the abilities of the consumed target.
»Can evolve based on possessed abilities when advancing realms.
※ Additional abilities will be unlocked when advancing realms.
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'Hmm, can eat anything, absorb the abilities of what I consume, evolution route is determined based on that, and additional abilities are unlocked when I advance in realm... Just from the description, it sounds good?'
I felt I needed to examine the ability in detail.
For example, in the case of 'Can eat anything', is it simply that there are no restrictions on the type of food, or that I can eat objects that would kill others if they ate them, without penalty?
While the former seems more likely than the latter, it's still uncertain.
'It would be good to test by eating a poisonous herb... but since my life is at stake, it's not easy to implement.'
This world is not a game.
I have only one life, and if I die, it's over.
Of course, there might be another life waiting as I reincarnated this time... but I can't throw away my life based on such uncertainty. Moreover, I actually like this world.
Despite having a demon's body, isn't this a cultivation world? If I just raise my realm, I can live for over hundreds of years. It's a shame there's no modern civilization. But that's a problem to think about later.
Now let's focus only on surviving.
I tried to think of it like a game.
I concretized the goal and arranged it clearly in my mind.
[Quest : Eat Spirit Herbs]
»Content : Eat spirit herbs to raise your realm and satisfy your hunger!
»Success : Realm advancement, Delete debuff (hunger)
»Failure : Death
I think it's roughly like this.
Now I need to accomplish this goal through my supernatural power 'Predation Evolution'.
I recalled the abilities of Predation Evolution.
Evolution requires realm advancement, so that's on hold for now.
The remaining two are 'Can eat anything' and 'Can absorb consumed abilities'.
What can I do with these?
Simply eating grass didn't activate it. Does that mean there are specific targets for activation?
'In the case of grass, is it because there are no particularly absorbable abilities? Or because I didn't think about using Predation Evolution?'
I'm not sure.
'I'll experiment.'
With the thought of using Predation Evolution, I grazed on nearby grass. It's hard to eat spirit herbs, but grass is plentiful around.
Crunch crunch—
[Predation Evolution is activated.]
[You have consumed 'Moonleaf Grass'.]
[Characteristic,
'Ohhh...!'
Success at once.
So I needed to have the thought of using it.
I continued to eat other grasses.
[Predation Evolution is activated.]
[You have consumed 'Featherlight Grass'.]
[Characteristic,
[Predation Evolution is activated.]
[You have consumed 'Moonleaf Grass'.]
[Characteristic,
Including the first time, I succeeded in acquiring 3 characteristics by eating a total of 20 times. Based on the statistics so far, the success rate is 15%.
'Not bad? Though it's a shame only Lightness came out...'
───────────────
[Characteristic] : Lightness (3 stars)
»Content : Your body becomes lighter. Movement speed increases.
───────────────
Overlapping characteristics merged and the stars increased. That's the 'star' in achievement. I feel like I can move more nimbly.
'The characteristic effect is good too? Movement speed increase.'
It was a satisfying option.
I continued to eat grass to raise the achievement of the characteristic.
[Characteristic,
[Characteristic,
[Characteristic,
...
...
After using Predation Evolution to eat about 93 times, I stopped eating grass.
[Characteristic] : Lightness (10 stars)
Because even after acquiring the characteristic, the achievement no longer increased. It seemed that the achievement limit was 10 stars.
I turned my head.
'Is there anything else to eat besides grass?'
Having reached the growth limit with grass, it was time to find something else. I wondered if there was something more helpful for combat.
Grumble— My stomach kept growling with hunger, but I endured. Unlike ordinary demons, I am a being with human intelligence. I won't be defeated by mere hunger...
This is a time for patience.
I endured.
I'm used to enduring.
I survived for 3 years in a tiny 3 square meters room. This level of hunger is nothing... while giving myself this auto-suggestion, I scouted for the next predation target.
Sparkle— Something entered my eyes.
'Oh, come to think of it, there's this?'
What caught my eye was none other than a 'stone'.
What characteristic comes to mind with stone?
'Hardness.'
If I eat that, wouldn't I get a [Defense Characteristic]?