[You have died.] [Would you like to try again?]
[YES][Also YES][Please, for the love of god, YES]
Cold.
That's the first thing I feel.
Well, no, scratch that. The first thing I feel is compression, like I've been crammed inside a vacuum-sealed lunch bag and someone's trying to eat me through the plastic. The second thing I feel is cold.
The third thing I feel is pain.
"Oh my god I'm being born."
And no, I don't mean that metaphorically. I mean that literally. I'm squished in a pile of wet, squirmy creatures, screaming like the world's most cursed bagpipe, and the taste in my mouth is fur and blood and milk and–
Wait.
Milk?!
No no no no no—
I scramble, or try to. Limbs flail. My eyes aren't open yet. My nose is doing overtime. I smell… wolves? Wolves. Actual. Literal. Wolves. And I am one of them.
There's a distinct pop in my brain like someone unplugging a flash drive without ejecting it properly, and then—
"SURVIVAL INSTINCTS MAXIMUM v0.1 (Beta)"
[Warning: System designed for apex predators. Species: Newborn Wolf Pup. Compatibility: 0%.][Risk of immediate death due to system shock: 87%.][Do you wish to proceed?]
[ ] No[x] Yes[ ] I don't like those odds but screw it
I blink for the first time in this life. Vision: garbage. Motor function: hot trash. Dignity: extinct.
But memory? Oh, baby, memory is online.
My name was—uh.
Hold on.
Nope. Gone. Great. Thanks, reincarnation package.
I was definitely human once. Earth. Office job. Coffee addiction. Probably depression. But now I'm here, and "here" is a disgusting wolf den in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by equally gross siblings. One of them farts and sneezes on me at the same time.
"I'm gonna kill him first," I decide, eyes still half-blind.
[STATISTICS UNLOCKED]
Species: Common Wolf Pup (Neonate)
Age: 0 days
Level: 1
HP: 2/2
MP: 0
STR: 1
DEX: 1
INT: 1
LUCK: -3
Status: Blind, Helpless, Moist
"MOIST?!" I internally shriek. "Why is that a status?!"
[You are moist.][You don't have hands. Stop trying to check your reflection.]
A huge shape moves above me. I freeze.
It's Mama Wolf. Eight feet of fur, muscle, and maternal murder energy. Her eyes are yellow fire. Her teeth look like white daggers forged to keep idiots like me alive just long enough to be traumatized.
She glares down at me like she knows I'm the reincarnated soul of a taxpaying adult man who once failed basic accounting.
I do what any rational being would do: I burp and pass out.
[AUTO-SAVE COMPLETE] [DAY 1: COMPLETE]
[Achievements Unlocked:]
Reborn
Didn't Die Instantly
Got Sneezed On
Accidentally Bit Own Tail
Day 2.
I wake up being stepped on. Again.
Sibling #3 is walking over me like I'm just terrain. I try to growl. It comes out as a wet gurgle. They growl back and pee a little. We're equals now.
"Okay," I think, "First objective: dominance. Second objective: grow up before something eats me. Third objective: bite the moon."
[Your goals are noted. However, evolution is currently disabled.][Also, you are still moist.]
"Shut UP," I snap at the System voice.
It does not shut up.
[TUTORIAL BEGIN]
Welcome, User!This is SURVIVAL INSTINCTS MAXIMUM v0.1 (Beta), your all-in-one evolution and trauma-tracking tool!This System rewards players for surviving situations they absolutely shouldn't.Think you're a little guy with no hope? WRONG.You are the little guy who bites back.
[WARNING: You have no magic. No perks. No plot armor.][Your greatest asset: reckless adaptation.]
Would you like to enable Hardcore Evolution Mode?
[ ] No[ ] Are you crazy?[x] I'm already moist. Let's do it.
Mama leaves the den to hunt. The temperature drops. The siblings cuddle for warmth, but I'm exiled because I bit one of their ears earlier. Worth it.
I crawl to the entrance of the den. It's storming outside—wind like knives, distant howls in the dark, things that definitely don't want to play fetch.
But I have a plan.
Okay, no I don't. But I have instincts.
I crawl outside.
[You have left the Safe Zone.]
[Random Encounter Chance: 42%][Cold Exposure: 5 DMG/hour][You are still moist.]
I shiver and snarl and wish I had hands again. Or pants. God, I miss pants.
Then I hear it.
Rustle.
Too big to be a squirrel. Too small to be Mama.
I whirl—okay, flop—and see it: a snake.
Oh. Oh no.
[ENCOUNTER: VENOMFANG HATCHLING]
Threat Level: ModerateEstimated Survival Chance: 12%Suggested Action: Cry and hope it gets bored
"Absolutely not."
I lunge.
And by "lunge," I mean "trip forward with the force of a drunken raccoon."
I miss.
It hisses, lunges back. I feel the fangs pierce my leg.
Poison. Hot and fast. My blood feels like it's boiling. My vision cracks like a broken screen.
[HP: 2 → 1 → 0.5] [WARNING: LETHAL TOXIN DETECTED]
Would you like to enable "Emergency Genetic Override"?
[x] YES[x] YES[x] YES[x] OH MY GOD YES
Suddenly everything slows.
The snake's heartbeat echoes in my ears. I can see the cells in its flesh. I can feel what makes it venomous.
The System kicks in. Hard.
[Analyzing...][Adapting digestive code...][You have learned: Minor Toxin Resistance][You are now immune to Venomfang Hatchling poison.][Skill: "Instinctive Counter-Adaptation" unlocked.]
The world snaps back into speed.
I bite the snake's throat and rip.
It dies.
I collapse.
[LEVEL UP!!]
HP restoredBase stats increasedEvolution options unlocked (Pending growth)You are no longer moist (for now)
I drag the snake corpse back to the den like a gremlin with a Costco turkey.
My siblings look at me different now. They don't come near my meat. They don't come near me.
Even Mama pauses when she returns. She sniffs the corpse, then looks at me.
She doesn't growl.
She nods.
Just once.
Recognition.
For the first time in two lives… I feel seen.
I lick the blood off my face.
I don't smile.
But I do think:"Let's do that again."