Anaxa let out a small sigh upon browsing the text on the information panel, his head hurting a bit.
"How long has it been since I came to this earth? Weeks? Months? Years? Dammit, this lizard brain of mine is so bad at remembering things. I am even starting to forget myself."
For now, Anaxa could only remember he used to study at a university, but what subject or in what year or even in which country that was, he was not sure. Neither was he exactly sure when he had migrated, it might have been when he was just a hatchling or possibly later.
"My memories are all so hazy. I still remember many tidbits out of instinct, but if I try to dig deeper or find the origin of that knowledge, all I see is fog, like I am in a Silent Hill movie. That is why at first I thought all this was a bad dream… a hallucination that I would eventually wake up from."
"I once even daydreamed about how I would joke to my friends about it after I woke up, laughing about the time I dreamed of turning into a lizard and running along the forest floor looking for bugs and worms to eat. But now… I can't seem to recall any of their faces. I can't even remember my parents."
"Sigh… it seems this indeed is my reality. The hunger pangs I get are surely no mere dreams. Sometimes it makes me feel like my stomach is literally going to eat me alive! And I am too much of a coward to let that happen and see what happens next. I already died once, and it was…"
Anaxa trailed off in his mind without finishing, his body involuntarily shivering.
He might have forgotten a lot of things but one that was clearly fresh in his mind like the back of his hand was the brutal pain he had felt during his time of death.
He did not exactly remember how he died- he only remembered being hit by something heavy on the head and then blanking out, so perhaps it was Truck-kun, but whatever or whoever it was, the pain he felt as his soul left the body was something he could never forget.
It felt like wet cotton being dragged through metal spikes. It was so painful that Anaxa was certain no torture on earth could even come close to a billionth of that.
Just the mere remembrance of it made Ananxa have traumatic flashbacks.
And in this case, his weak memory did not help. He only forgot the exact details of the incident thus saving his mind from outright collapse, but he could never erase that raw, primordial fear imprinted in his soul.
Anaxa thus vowed to never die again… he did not want to be touched by the angel of death again…no matter what.
This was also the primary reason why Anaxa did not dare blame his system too much, even though this was indeed the main culprit that brought him to this place after he died, and put him into the body of a small lizard- so base and low in status.
Even if he became a tiny animal slithering around the damp, wet, rotting foliage and eating the lowest animals in the food chain, a creature so neglected his previous self perhaps would not even consider his life had any worth…at the end of it all, living was still infinitely better than death.
Anaxa turned to take a second look at the screen before him with these thoughts, reading the information again and thoughtfully reexamining the important parts.
"Hmmm.. it is written that my primary objective is to grow. And my side objective is to survive the 'red moon' that is due in a week. Hmm…. there is no doubt a connection between the two. I will definitely need to grow to survive whatever the 'red moon' is."
Anaxa's eyes at this point trailed down to the second part of the text, where the actual method of how to grow was further elucidated.
Scanning it, he mused, "This bonus task- it was not there before today. This is also my first time seeing the reward punishment feature. Indeed, just as the task tip said, I have the chance to evolve by gaining 'Exp'."
"The only sticking point is the punishment. Increase my hunger even more? If that happens, I will surely die! Why does a bonus objective have such a grave punishment? Isn't the very term bonus meant to be something you get rewarded if you do, but there is no loss if you do not?"
"Now that I think about it, why does the side quest have no reward? Does it mean I will not get any reward for completing it? Darn system… you.."
"Ding! Host's reward will be his life and my continued service."
Anaxa was just about to curse the system when suddenly the mechanical voice chimed out inside his mind, the answer laced with a touch of sarcasm.
The reveal momentarily stunned the man because he did not think the system was sentient and could read his mind.
"You can speak!" So forgetting everything else, he cried out in shock and joy, "System! Tell me why did you bring me here? What is my goal? What do you want from me? Why turn me into a lizard?"
"...." However much to Anaxa's immense disappointment, the system stayed mute.
"System! I know you can hear me, system! Tell me! Why am I here?" So the man tried again, this time raising his voice much higher.
The burning in his heart was getting hotter and hotter.
"....." Still, there was no answer.
"Damn it.. Don't play dumb with me!" And Anaxa finally lost his temper here.
After all, he had been brought to this unknown world against his will, without any warning or explanation and then put in such a low and difficult position.
While the main culprit behind it all was right in front of him, but pretending to be deaf and dumb.
How could he not get angry?
So clenching sharp, razor like teeth, he now began to actually threaten the blue curtain of light inside his mind, "Do you believe I will continue to obey you like some puppet? Answer me. Tell me why I am here? Or else I will…"
'Host is free to do as he wishes.'
Anaxa's short tirade was abruptly cut off by this short sentence that appeared at the bottom of the screen glowing menacingly in bright red. It was like the system was daring him to actually do it.
"....." It was Anaxa's time to be tongue tied now.
What could he do? The system had called his bluff and… he lost. Clearly the 'red moon' event had something to do with his life and failing it quite explicitly meant death.
'Damn it! I forgot it can read my mind.' Anaxa cursed, falling silent.
And he stayed in that state for quite some time, unable to think of a reasonable response.
'Grhhhhhh…' until his stomach began to rumble.
It was then he truly began to appreciate his position.
"Okay, system! I agree that you hold all the cards right now." So he changed his tune completely around, making his voice much softer and mellow, "I admit I owe my life to you. And whatever your goals, I will try to fulfill them to the best of my ability. But, at least give me some incentive that I can hold onto!"
"....." The system stayed silent despite the begging tone.
Or so it seemed.
As just as Anaxa was about to turn his head away angry and dejected, the same blood red text suddenly appeared before him,
"What is it you want?"
"A loan!" The man instantly blurted out, having already thought of the answer beforehand. He chimed with the swiftest speed,
"That bonus task of hunting a prey with 0.01 spirit within 5 days... that is clearly impossible for me. I saw those numbers on some of the animals around and they are clearly far above my capability right now. They belong to roosters, birds and giant snakes. So given you went through all the trouble of bringing me here…can you give me some special ability? That can be my reward for the mission and I will repay you later, even with a bit of interest."
"Ding!"
No sooner had Anaxa asked, a brand new panel opened in front of him.
Current attribute list:
Level: 2
Biomass: 500/500 (micro-units) (once biomass is full, host can evolve)
Skill Points: 1 (rewarded by the system after the evolution, used to activate and upgrade skills)
Body length: 4 cm
Tail length- 6 cm
Tail width- 2 mm
Health: 0.1
Defense: 0.05
Stamina: 0.2
Agility: 0.5
Spirit: 1
Strength: 0.5
Skill: None
Karma- 0 (Your existence has no impact on the world)
Choice of skill (1 skill point)-
1. Stone Skin
2. Chameleon Camouflage
3. Dextrous Tail
4. Swift Swimming