In a dark and damp burrow, a few small white, palm-sized eggs were scattered around, possibly belonging to some small lizard or snake.
Crack crack crack
Suddenly, one of the largest eggs began to shake slightly as the life inside it struggled to emerge, causing small cracks to spread across the shell.
'Ugh… Where am I?'
'It's so tight and dark here.'
'Am I kidnapped?'
Inside that particular egg, the creature began moving even more frantically as its thoughts flowed through its mind.
Finally, after a few minutes of effort, a small crack appeared on the shell. It slowly widened as a small figure with thin sheen of fluid on its body pushed its way out.
Hiss
The figure opened its mouth as if to say something, but only a small hissing sound came out of its mouth.
'Hiss? Why can't I speak properly?'
The creature thought this as it hurriedly tried to stabilize its body, standing on 4 legs.
When it finally opened its eyes, a dark and muddy space, like the inside of a burrow, appeared before him.
'Where is this?'
The figure moved its four legs unsteadily as it tried to take a few steps forward.
'Four legs?'
Another jolt of realization struck him. Something was wrong – with his body, this place, his voice, his way of walking, and those egg-like things around him. Everything felt off.
'Did I reinc-'
Before he could process the worst possibility forming in his mind, a screen suddenly appeared in front of him.
[ Name: Ryu (reincarnated being)
Species: Green Forest Lizard (Mortal species)
Mana: 0/0
Health: 0.5/2 (newborn, extremely weak)
Skills: None
Extraordinary traits: Beloved by Luck , Robust Soul
]
Finally, looking at the blue interface floating in front of him, he became certain. He, Ryu, a 9–5 worker from Earth, had reincarnated into another world.
But he didn't have a problem with that. He had been a loner in his previous life, and his parents had already passed away, leaving him with no one except some so-called friends and relatives who were such only in name.
'But… a lizard…'
Compared to the thrill of reincarnation, or even the idea of wanting to go back, he was now more worried about his species.
While other reincarnators were born into powerful families, or at least as poor humans, it was never as bad as being born a lizard.
And the words mana and skills on the screen only confirmed that this was most likely a fantasy world. So even if he wasn't human, being some powerful beast, or even a normal large animal, would have been far better than being a small lizard.
'Sigh, let's see further for now.'
Sighing inwardly, Ryu continued checking the rest of the screen, but it was basically blank except for the extraordinary traits.
'Robust Soul probably means a stronger soul… most likely because of my reincarnation.'
'As for Beloved by Luck, does it mean… more lucky?' Ryu wondered as his gaze lingered on the trait.
Just from the word beloved, he could guess it was some kind of high-luck ability, but he had no idea how strong it actually was.
'Uh… how do I close it?'
After reading the whole status screen, he simply thought about closing it, and it vanished immediately.
'Oh.'
He let out a small sound of surprise as the screen disappeared at his thought.
'So to bring it back, I just have to think about it?'
He tried it, and the screen appeared in front of him again, confirming his theory.
'Hmm, it's basically the same.'
After another glance, he dismissed it again with a thought.
With the status screen gone, Ryu began surveying his surroundings more carefully.
But aside from the eggs lying nearby, there was nothing else here. No parent lizard.
It made sense. Most lizards abandoned their eggs after laying them, leaving survival entirely to luck. Only one among many usually survived.
For now, he just needed to rest until his body could function properly. As for food, he didn't need any yet. His stomach felt full, probably from absorbing the yolk before hatching.
Thinking that, he slowly made his way toward one of the eggs, lay down behind it, and dozed off.
.....
Many hours later,
In the same damp burrow, behind the egg, Ryu lay quietly, his small body rising and falling steadily as he breathed.
Twitch twitch
With a slight twitch, Ryu's eyes opened. He woke from sleep and stood up without any unsteady movement, feeling much lighter.
'Umm… did my body develop this fast?'
Ryu knew that most baby lizards were weak and took one or two days to fully develop. They could move before that, but slowly and clumsily.
But considering this was a fantasy world, the difference didn't surprise him anymore.
'Now… what should I do?'
Looking around the burrow and seeing nothing different from before he slept, he began to think.
And after a while, he finally decided to leave this place for now.
Not to mention the predators that would be attracted by the eggs and the burrow, even his basic need for food couldn't be fulfilled in such a small place.
'Even if going out is dangerous, it's not like it's absolutely safe here.'
Thinking this, he looked back at his sisters or brothers, who would most likely die after hatching, then continued toward the opening of the burrow.
With his small body, he had no problem reaching the entrance quickly.
In barely a quarter of a minute, he was already at the opening, where rays of light filtered in, showing that it was daytime outside.
Taking a deep breath, he crossed the threshold and stepped out of the burrow as sunlight fell across his body.
A new scenery greeted him.
Lush, dark trees surrounded the area, their canopies stretching overhead, allowing only a few rays of sunlight to reach the ground through scattered gaps in the leaves.
The constant sound of insects chirping, along with a few other faint noises, was clear to him.
And for someone like him—now barely the size of a finger—it was a unique yet dangerous world.
Hiss
He hissed instinctively as his small tongue flicked out, carrying many scents into his brain.
'Huh… it works like a snake's tongue,' Ryu thought as he recovered from the momentary surprise.
'But now… where do I go?'
He narrowed his options down to two directions – both had relatively fewer scents of other animals, and each carried a hint of something that smelled delicious, at least according to his newly formed instincts.
'Well… let's take a lucky guess.'
With that thought, he headed toward the left.
And just as he moved away, a rustling sound came from the opposite direction as a hand-sized black snake crawled out from the bushes there.
With a flick of its tongue, it picked up Ryu's scent, faint but still present even though he had already gone a little distance.
But even if Ryu wasn't far – only about 30 meters ahead, the snake didn't follow him. Its gaze shifted to the burrow where Ryu's scent was strongest.
Whether due to its hunting pattern, laziness or simply coincidence, it slithered toward the burrow instead of chasing Ryu, hoping for a easier prey.