Meebur was a tamer who raised monsters hatched from appropriately named “Monster Eggs”. He had set up nests in a wild, dangerous place using only local and indigenous materials. The mix of materials, location, food, and experiences he had planned when we hatched were intended to help me and all of the other hatchling monsters become something called a “Glade Guardian”. These were apparently very rare and required such precision that most tamers went their whole lives without hatching one of their own.
So specific were the parameters to tame them, that Meebur had left us to gather Silken Swaleseeds to give us moments after our birth. Apparently, the freshness of this food had to be so precise that he couldn’t have gotten it in advance. It was a risk to leave the nests at such a critical stage, but apparently it was a risk worth taking. I didn’t know why he wanted so many Glade Guardians, but it was clearly for a very serious reason. I had the feeling that Meebur had a deep-rooted sense of duty.
But regardless, after a tamer had provided their hatchlings with all of the experiences, food, and knowledge needed, it was then their job to get them from level 0 to level 1. Out in the wild, most monster hatchlings didn’t live till level 1. So, tamers created something to speed up the process and better ensure their safety.
Meebur placed what looked like a small berry in front of me. It was called a “newberry”. When eaten, it made a monster hatchling level up and gain their species classification. If a tamer did everything correctly, they would get the monster they had hoped for. But it was a very difficult job, and mistakes were common. In fact, many who tried to get Glade Guardians ended up with common monsters like Pincer Piranha, Tough Turtles, or Wet Woolies. The fact that Meebur was confidently working towards not just one, but thirteen of them was beyond impressive. I actually felt proud to be the hatchling of such a prolific tamer.
“Regardless of the reason, I wasn’t there to help raise you,” Meebur said to me and stared at the newberry on the table between us. “I have no idea what kind of monster you will become, or if you even want to change. I leave the decision to you, as I do for all hatchlings I raise. This newberry is a gift and what you choose to do with it is up to you.”
I looked at the berry and thought intensely about its power. It was kind of Meebur to leave the decision to me, and to impress upon me the weight of the choice.
“No matter what you decide,” he continued, “I will be by your side. I make a commitment to every monster I hatch: I will do all I can to help you grow and become the best version of yourself. I would gladly die to help my monsters. That is my pledge as a tamer.”
Meebur stood up and held his closed fist over his heart. It was a little awkward for such an imposing, massive person to be making a pledge to what was essentially a slime in the shape of a lizard.
But whether I decided to stay with Meebur or not, I saw no reason to turn down the newberry. I’d never survive long staying the way I was, and I had to admit…I was curious what I would become.
I crawled across the table and sunk my tiny teeth into the translucent, golden-hued berry. It didn’t taste like anything, but I didn’t have much time to savor it. The very next moment after I swallowed the berry, I could feel my entire body vibrate. I looked down at my scrawny, stubby limbs and they began to glow the same gold as the berry. I shut my eyes tight and felt a tinge of fear mixed with excitement. There was a jolt of pain in my head, and I wondered if it was normal to feel discomfort when leveling up. This thought and the pain faded quickly as my adrenaline kicked in. It helped me push through the final stage of the transformation. As quickly as it had started, it was over.
When I opened my eyes I was met with a message from the text box:
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Congratulations! You have leveled up. You are now Level 1.
Your species classification has been chosen. Your species is now:
Blinking the text box away, I found myself once again looking at Meebur. But I was no longer looking up at a massive, imposing figure. I was looking down at a man with a very surprised expression on his face, and who was pressed up against the wall by my new body’s brown and gold tail.
I turned my head and smacked it immediately into a wooden beam. The pain I had felt when leveling up was the top of my head being pushed against the ceiling of Meebur’s cottage. Looking around, it was difficult to tell what my new body looked like as it took up most of the space of the cottage. I was practically crushing Meebur against the wall, and as I tried to adjust to stop from hurting him, the small cottage finally gave way.
My head burst through the top of the roof, not unlike how my hatchling body had once done through the egg. Meebur was pushed through the wall. My massive tail uncoiled itself, encircling the field outside at least twice. As I gave in to the relief of not being cramped inside the cottage, I moved a bit too much and half of the building fell apart in splintered pieces around me.
I stretched my long, snake-like body out as much as it could, and my head went up above the treeline. When I looked down I saw that while Meebur was bleeding a little, he had an expression that was a perfect example of the phrase “child-like wonder”.
“I can’t believe it.” He said, completely ignoring the cottage debris that covered his body. “After all these decades, I’ve never once encountered a monster like you. You…you must be the rarest monster I have ever seen! Could you be…one of the deity monsters?”
But as Meebur spoke, I found that while I could hear him, the words felt distant. He continued to mutter to himself about what legendary monster I may have become, but nothing he said seemed to matter anymore.
Something was happening to me, and not just that I had become a snake the size of a house. Even my view of the woods was beginning to change. What had been as clear as looking through freshly cleaned binoculars now felt foggy. My eyes darted from tree to tree frantically trying to hone in on just one thing, but there was too much. Too much information, too much detail, too much for my mind to manage.
I could hear the rustling of insects in the grass as clearly as I could hear Meebur. I could see the wind blowing through tree branches all the way at the other end of the woods. I could somehow even taste the cool, flowing water of a river that must have been miles away.
But all of that paled in comparison to something else. Something far worse. A feeling that I was being watched. Or, more precisely, that I was being sensed. As I became less and less mindful of my immediate surroundings, I lost my ability to hear Meebur’s pleas to focus on his voice. Instead, I became more aware of how dangerous this world truly was. The forest, the Harrowhawk, even the masked figure that overwhelmed it, were nothing compared to what else was out there.
What kind of world is this?
Far away, beyond the woods and mountains, it felt as though a group of creatures had suddenly become aware of me. Creatures that felt like they had no place on this planet or any other. For they felt far too strong. They were nowhere to be seen, yet I could feel their presence as if they were next to me.
My new eyes became wide, turning almost completely black as I lost all control over myself. My new mouth opened wide and, as though a predator preparing to eat its prey, I drooled. But this new body’s saliva was like acid, and it rained down, scorching the remains of Meebur’s cottage. But I didn’t care. I only cared about finding these…things.
Finding them, and killing them.
As I was about to lose complete control of this new body and thrust myself out into the world, striking at the first enemy I found, Meebur jumped into view. Somehow leaping up the length of my body, he was right before my eyes. And he no longer looked like my tamer, but like an obstacle in my way.
Like prey.
“
My maw opened wide, baring venomous fangs, and I noticed the giant, golden spear Meebur was wielding. Before I could strike, he slammed the spear into the side of my head, and I crashed down into the pile of wood and splinters that was once his house.
The last thing I felt were my senses weakening, and the hatred I had towards those creatures dissipating.
And then I was unconscious.
Patreon.