?????°???°?????

  After some time, Merlin finally returned to the spot we were in. Without wasting any time, I told her everything that had happened and explained my new skill. I also asked how to use it.

  “[No idea]” was the response I got.

  She didn’t know. Well, I guessed I couldn’t expect her to know everything, right...?

  “But, you have one, don’t you?” I asked, still hopeful.

  “[Yes, but that doesn’t mean all skills work the same. Mine is always active. Like I said, it gives me details about everything I see.]”

  “I see. But one of mine is called [Appraisal]. Any chance it’s similar to your [Enlightened]?”

  “[Well, maybe. But my skill to receive information is just one part of [Enlightened]. Hey, why don’t you try giving it a command?]”

  "What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

  “[Just imagine the name of the skill you want to use. The more you know about it, the easier it’ll be to activate. Try to imagine what it does just by the name.]”

  A command? That sounded weird, but since I was about to figure out how to use my skill through trial and error anyway, I didn’t have many options.

  “Appraisal... Appraise Merlin.”

  “[Me?!]” the crown on her head sprouted spikes from the shock.

  ? Name: Merlin

  Species: Medium Spirit

  Age: 21

  Threat Class: (B) ?

  “Oh! It worked!” I said, excited.

  I could see the information like a screen in my mind, but it felt more like an image projected directly into my brain. It wasn’t literally floating in front of me, more like when the Voice had spoken to me earlier.

  “[Hey, what does it say?]” Merlin asked, curious.

  “Out of what I didn’t already know… just your age and threat class.”

  “[Oh no, my secret’s out!]” a crying emoji popped into her speech bubble.

  It felt satisfying knowing my skill worked, but I still wanted to test it a bit more. So, I decided to appraise myself.

  ? Name: Victor

  Species: Metamorph

  Age: 2 days

  Threat Class: (A) ?

  ‘It only gives basic information. I’m a Class (A) monster… which means I’m strong, right?’

  I was trying to stay calm on the outside, but deep down, I was thrilled. That was so cool.

  “Looks like it works. I’m only two days old.”

  “[Then your body is brand new. It’s like you were reborn, maybe something like reincarnation?]”

  “But if that were the case, shouldn’t I be a baby? My body is well-developed for someone two days old. Besides… I didn’t die, Merlin.”

  “[Let me see. Metamorph offspring aren’t necessarily dependent on their kin. When they’re born, they separate from their progenitor to live on their own. Metamorphs only clone themselves once in a certain cycle, creating a new life. I can’t figure out what exactly happened to you, but you’re a Metamorph offspring.]”

  She was literally reading from a book. Her skill should’ve been called “Wikipedia,” not [Enlightened].

  So, my parent must’ve cloned themselves and I was born, then left alone. Nothing to be done, wild animals just do what they’re designed to do.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “But what about my appearance? I mean, I can’t seem to use my Metamorph abilities to make myself look more masculine.”

  “[Ah, about that. Metamorphs are born from pure mana. Remember how I said monsters generate and handle mana better than humans? Metamorphs are among the best at it, since they’re born from mana itself, no physical reproduction involved. Those are called “original Metamorphs.” They can freely change their appearance. But a Metamorph born from an original retains a fixed appearance based on their progenitor at the moment of birth. They can’t alter their looks too much.]”

  “So my progenitor might’ve been an original, and looked like this at the time. Damn! I wanted to be all buff, but now I’m stuck like this forever!”

  I joked, though I honestly didn’t mind my appearance much. I was actually starting to accept it pretty well.

  “[Don’t be so down. You’re kind of cute. Could be worse. Metamorphs are savage and violent creatures that attack anything they see as a threat. Your progenitor wasn’t bad-looking. Imagine if you’d ended up as some big hairy guy with fur in humanly impossible places!]”

  ‘Please protect me, whoever’s up there. I’m thankful for being a decent-looking Metamorph.’

  I had the idea of meeting other Metamorphs someday, but yeah, no thanks. If I ever see one, I’ll probably be traumatized. He’d try to eat me, wouldn’t he? Yep. I decided to shelve that idea. For now, I just want to learn more about my ability.

  “So I’ll have to be asexual, huh…”

  “[I’m not sure about that. I believe you might be able to change your appearance a bit as you grow older. Right now, your natural abilities are still developing. Maybe with time, you’ll be able to “reshape” yourself a little better.]”

  “Oh! I get it! So that’s how it works. What a relief!”

  I did like the way I looked, so I figured I’d stay like this. Of course, I might add some masculine traits later — just to feel a bit more comfortable.

  “As for my skill, that was just [Appraisal]. There are still four more.”

  “[So it’s a phased skill. The Voice listed them in order, right? Try using them in that order. Here, do something with this fruit I found,]”

  A fruit that looked like a regular apple floated toward me.

  "Defragmentation."

  The apple turned into small glowing fragments, like shards of glass floating in the air. After that, I said "Absorption," and the fragments were drawn into my hand. When I used [Appraisal], it didn’t show details about the apple, but a message appeared: “Process complete.” Finally, "Application." Nothing seemed to happen — I just felt like I’d eaten something delicious.

  “[What happened?]” Merlin asked, intrigued.

  “I think… I ate it. It was really good, by the way.”

  “[So your skill just eats things. Maybe that’s not the proper way to use it?]”

  “I’m not sure. A message said my body is now producing vitamins A, B, and C, and a few other proteins as well.”

  “[It applied the apple’s nutrients to your body! That's incredible! How do you feel?]”

  “Healthy?”

  “[Nice!]”

  A new discovery: if I use [Skillful King], I’ll never have to chew again. That saved me from having to eat piece by piece. Doesn’t sound all that powerful, but hey — it’s useful! No more chewing!

  °??──────??°

  Night fell quickly, and this would likely be our last day in the forest. With nothing nearby, we decided to sleep out in the open, in a wide field that didn’t offer many options. The sky was dotted with stars, and the full moon bathed the landscape in silver light.

  While Merlin floated beside me, lost in thought, I curled up on the damp ground and tried to settle in for the night. The evening breeze brought a refreshing chill, but it was starting to get cold.

  A few hours passed, and soon it was morning. But something felt off. My senses were uneasy. I tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position, when suddenly, I smelled something strange.

  ‘Wait, what is that smell? Something’s burning… Wait, I’m burning!’

  Panic rushed through me as I realized my leg was being scorched by a blast of fire. A fire lizard, with gleaming scales and blazing eyes, had crept up silently and was attacking.

  I jumped up in a panic, shouting as I looked for a lake or any water source to put out the flames. With no luck, I decided to take a riskier approach.

  “Defragmentation!”

  Surprisingly, the flames shattered into glass-like shards in the air. I then absorbed the shards, feeling energy flow into my body as the ability did the rest.

  ? [Fire Manipulation] acquired. Class (C) ability. ?

  ‘What?! I gained another ability — already? Oh, so you do that too…’

  With a mix of excitement and curiosity, I tried to use my new power. A burst of flame shot from my hand, hitting the fire lizard directly. But the attack wasn’t very effective, it was a fire creature, after all. Still, the ground around us started to burn.

  Suddenly, an explosion rang through the clearing. The lizard was torn to pieces, and blood sprayed in every direction, staining the ground red.

  “[Such a racket this early.]” Merlin floated over to me, her speech bubble showing an annoyed emoji.

  “Merlin, did you do that?”

  “[Oh? Yeah. I reversed its blood flow using my [Psychic Order]; it was kind of my innate skill.]”

  “That’s amazing! Can you do that to anyone?” I asked, in awe… and slightly terrified.

  “[No. People nowadays use mana to protect themselves, so my thoughts can’t reach them. But it works on any unprotected creature, so it's fine.]”

  “You’re terrifying…”

  “[Ha! Don’t be afraid, I’m not the type to go around killing everything in sight.]”

  “Good to know... Are you sure you’re just class (B)?”

  "[Don’t let those letters fool you. There’s a huge difference between threat classes. Believe it or not, a class (B) monster is still very powerful.]"

  “If you say so, I’ll believe it…”

  “[Come on, I think we can reach Cirgo today,]” she said cheerfully.

  “Right, let’s go” I crossed my arms, trying to warm myself. 'It feels colder today… I need a jacket... Maybe Cirgo is close.'

  Our probably-last day in the forest began with a sense of optimism. I felt confident — after all, we still had plenty of food...

  'Wait, where’s the food?'

  Looking around, I realized our food stash had turned to charcoal. It must’ve been that damned fire lizard...

  “... I hate fire spitters…” I muttered, accepting the reality with a sigh of defeat.

  My nose twitched involuntarily, and I felt tiny shivers on my face. The air was growing supernaturally cold…

  ‘I think it’s going to rain again…’ With that thought, we began our final walk toward the closest city: Cirgo.

  ?????°???°?????