Slimy.That was my first mental word.And, considering the circumstances, I couldn't have chosen a better one.
No "Where am I?", "What happened?", or "Am I dead?".No.My freshly rebooted brain decided that slimy was the most accurate description of the liquid hell I'd just woken up in.
I was surrounded by a warm, sticky substance — like someone had mixed soup with glue.I couldn't breathe, couldn't move properly.All I could hear was my own heartbeat — or whatever that dull thumping in my ears was — pounding in desperation.
"So this is how reincarnation starts? Inside a pot of gelatin about to boil?"
My limbs moved on instinct.The front ones were short, with tiny soft fingers, too weak to claw or push.The back ones felt different: wider, a bit firmer, made for pushing through this strange liquid.And my tail… oh, the tail had a life of its own.It swished strongly, as if it were the only muscle in my body that knew what it was doing.
"Perfect. My rear end is more competent than I am. We're off to a great start."
The heat was rising.The fluid around me felt thicker, and my lungs — or whatever I had — began screaming for air.I pushed with my hind legs, flicked my tail… nothing.Again.And again.Then, crack.
A heavenly sound.The shell broke.The warm liquid was replaced by cooler water, rushing around my body and feeling… strangely good.
It was as if my body had been waiting for this moment all along.I breathed — if you could call it that — and for the first time, oxygen flowed through my skin.It was… comfortable. Natural.
"Well… still alive. Miracle number one of the day."
The joy didn't last.I opened my eyes, and my world turned into pure light.A blinding white explosion.It felt like someone had thrown a flashbang directly into my face.I shut them tight, writhing like a worm dropped in hot oil.
"Excellent. First contact with the world: temporary blindness. Beautiful start."
I decided not to push my luck.Instead, I cautiously began exploring myself, feeling out my body.Small. Fragile. Slippery — like a creature made of wet soap.My skin felt smooth, warm, and gelatinous.My front legs trembled, and my claws… well, if those soft little bumps even counted as claws, then may the gods forgive me.The hind legs were flatter, sturdier — clearly built for swimming.And my tail, long and flexible, moved with an attitude all its own.
"I feel like a noodle with limbs."
That's when I heard it — the voice.Cold, metallic, completely out of place.
[Biological scan complete] Species: Young Ludroth (male) Age: 0 weeks Size: 0.9 m Status: Newborn / Weak / Dependent Habitat: Warm swamp
"Ludroth… young?"
The name rang a bell.Too familiar.And the moment my brain connected the dots, a chill ran down my spine — assuming I had one.
Monster Hunter.
"No… no way. Don't tell me I'm a Ludroth!"
[Additional information] Young Ludroths inhabit swampy, humid zones. They depend on adults during their early weeks. Their skin has not yet developed the signature yellow mane. Diet: small fish and crustaceans.
"Fantastic. A glorified tadpole dropped in the most dangerous ecosystem imaginable. Love that for me."
I tried moving.I kicked with my hind legs, twisted my tail, and managed to move a few meters.Not gracefully, but movement's movement.The water was warm and thick; I could feel fine mud particles swirling, clinging to my slimy skin.The swamp floor was soft, almost spongy. Every time I pushed off, a cloud of silt rose and wrapped around me like brown fog.
I drifted a bit farther and bumped into something soft.Not solid ground — more like a slimy mass, probably a plant or a rock covered in algae.I poked it with my forelegs, trying to use my fingers like hands.Big mistake.My tiny claws slipped, and I spun in the water like a confused sack of meat.
"Marvelous. Zero balance. Elegance level: drunk fish."
As I tried to recover, the voice came again:
[Automatic update] Status: Stable / Adapting to environment Body temperature: Normal Oxygenation: Satisfactory
"Well… at least I'm not dead. Guess that's a win."
A noise.No — a vibration.To my left.Something small moving through the water, creating faint ripples.Instinct screamed food!, and before I could think, I lunged.
I opened my mouth with all the fury of a newborn predator and… swallowed mud.
"…Exquisite. Swamp mud, with notes of rot and despair. Five stars."
As I wallowed in my culinary failure, the voice chimed in again:
[Automatic recommendation] Avoid deep areas until limbs strengthen. Warning: large lifeform detected nearby.
"How large are we talking? Trout-sized, or aquatic apocalypse?"
The water grew denser.The temperature dropped slightly, and the currents shifted.A wave of pressure rolled through the swamp — slow but powerful.My body sensed it before my mind did: something enormous was swimming close.
I couldn't see.Not a thing.But I could feel every movement.Every vibration.Every subtle shift in the water's flow.
It was big.Very big.The way it moved — steady, deliberate — it wasn't hunting.It was simply existing, with the confidence of something that feared nothing.
My entire body reacted: pure instinctive fear, mixed with something else… familiarity.
[Nearby entity detected] Species: Ludroth (adult) Status: Progenitor
"…Progenitor? …Mom?"
The current shifted again — gentler this time — wrapping around me like a warm wave.There was no direct contact, but the message was clear.That massive creature — apparently my mother — knew I was here.And she didn't seem angry.If anything, protective.
For the first time, the water didn't feel hostile.The swamp's warmth mixed with her presence, giving the place an odd sense of peace.
I went still, letting the current she made carry me.Her breathing pulsed through the water — deep, steady, almost hypnotic.And for the first time since breaking out of the shell, I felt something that might almost be called… safety.
"Well… maybe surviving a week won't be that impossible.As long as Mom stays around."