Chapter 4: Need to win.

  — When the future is uncertain, you will claim that the world has not been fair to you.

  “I'm in a complicated situation.”

  Damn it! That goddess sent me to an unknown world without even telling me how things work here.

  “Huh.”

  I sighed.

  “Complaining won’t help me at all; to get out of this situation, I must act intelligently.”

  I started to check my body; I checked the most important senses, such as kinesthesia, hearing, smell, vision, and finally, touch.

  I sighed in relief when I realized that I had reincarnated into an animal that at least had the same senses as a human. Of course, there might be more senses; I was in a fantasy world. However, despite being happy, I… felt strange about my body. Furthermore... I'm still a man.

  “...Now, I have to find out what exactly I reincarnated into.”

  I tried to find out what I had reincarnated into through repeated self-examination, but the more I tried, the more strange it became to me.

  I already expected that I wouldn't be reincarnated into a conventional body, but... sharp claws and hands covered in black fur? And a tail?

  “What the hell did I reincarnate as?!”

  I have to find a river or at least a puddle of water so I can see my reflection and find out what animal I am!!

  I looked around the cave; there are sharp rocks all over its ceiling, and it has a classic stone floor; needless to say, it looked like a regular cave, however, to the north (or south, I don't know how things work in this new world), there was green moss... a beautiful green.

  If in my world, the moss had a dead green coloration, here, it has a vivid, intense coloration; as if it were a cry for life.

  I think it's beautiful. Also, if there's moss, it means there's probably water nearby... I think.

  My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of an insect flying. I quickly turned towards the noise and was stunned when I saw a 2 meter tall cross between a midge and an ant.

  I'm in prehistoric times?! How can an insect as big as this exist?! And why does it have such a bizarre appearance?! Is it a demon??!! Did that goddess send me to hell?!

  Noise*

  The monster came towards me, and before I could make any decision, it started to glow and after a kind of colored liquid enveloped it, it threw something

  shiny at me.

  “...But what…!”

  On instinct, I jumped to the right, dodging the attack, which left a hole in the ground where I was.

  “...”

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  How… If… If a mosquito and ant mix has this level of power, how powerful are larger animals? How am I supposed to dominate a world full of monsters like this?!

  “... Once again, calm down! I need to calm down.”

  I took a deep breath.

  Even though the goddess is probably someone who only cares about entertainment, she wouldn't give me a difficult challenge right from the start. In other words, she probably reincarnated me into a strong species, and this mosquito is probably significantly weak.

  The mosquito shot again, and I dodged again, however, it started shooting several times at the same time. When it did this, I was sure that I wouldn't be able to dodge them all.

  When the shots were about to hit me, I felt a strange sensation, and a barrier of colored liquid enveloped my entire body.

  When the shots hit my barrier, they caused an explosion so big that it filled the cave with a smoke screen that lasted a few seconds.

  When the curtain disappeared, there I was, in a crater in the middle of the cave, completely unharmed.

  “Oh, it seems that goddess didn’t just give me a strange body; she gave me powers too!”

  Apparently, I also have the ability to create and control the strange liquid that the monster controls; I just need to focus on the sensation I felt when the shots were about to hit me.

  I tried to focus on the feeling, but it faded, taking my barrier with it.

  It's a little more complicated than it seems... haha.

  Noise*

  The monster advanced. I barely had time to dodge when it almost hit me in the head, and it launched another attack; tentacles made of the same liquid it had used to carry out the first attack tried to grab me.

  I used my tail to gain momentum on the cave wall and spun in the air, barely managing to dodge it. As I landed on the ground, I ran.

  “Is that goddess trying to kill me?! There’s no way to win against something like that!!”

  I have to think of a way to get out of here!

  That insect came from the south... or north... I don't know exactly, I only know that it came from the opposite direction of the moss in the cave, that is, the exit is most likely in the direction it came from.

  I ran in the opposite direction of the moss. As I ran, the mosquito shot at me, and I dodged and kept running, and this cycle of attacking and dodging continued for 2 minutes until I finally found the exit of the cave and lost the monster in the forest.

  After running for a few more minutes, I stopped upon seeing a river. Unexpectedly, I wasn’t tired at all. At the very least, my new body had good physical fitness… I guess. But that’s not relevant; what’s important is that I’ll finally be able to see what monster I’ve reincarnated into.

  I looked at my reflection in the river, and I was so surprised that my jaw literally dropped to the floor.

  “I… I was reincarnated as a capybara?! A capybara?!”

  I almost screamed; cats, dogs, tigers, wolves, humans, elves, cat girls, and even dragons, and I was reincarnated as a capybara?! Also, in what multiverse is a capybara so fast that it can escape a monster that shoots explosions and beams of light from a long distance?!

  That goddess…

  “Sigh. Well, at least it doesn’t look like I’m a normal capybara.”

  I have a long, strong tail, and I'm very tall and appear to have a humanoid body. I'm definitely not weak... at least, not too weak.

  Now that I know what I reincarnated as, I have to prioritize other things; how will I survive here? I could barely defeat a mutant ant, let alone other animals!

  Of course, it could be that that mutant ant was not part of the lower class of this world's ecosystem, but rather a strong monster, however, I cannot afford to underestimate this place; I have to be cautious, and most importantly: learn how to control that strange liquid.

  “Come on, focus.”

  I tried to focus on that feeling again, and even with difficulty, I managed to summon the liquid.

  “Hm.”

  I started to control it. Although I had a little difficulty handling it, I still managed to make it take the shape of various tools.

  First, I shaped it into a sword, and then, I made it into a spear.

  “How convenient.”

  Will I also be able to create multiple tentacles? Well, this isn't a hentai, but if I can get a human form... with the girl's consent, of course!

  *Noise.

  The sound of flying has returned. It seems that this ant is skilled at chasing other people.

  Even though I'm scared, I have to fight; I console myself with the fact that the goddess wouldn't set an impossible challenge right away, besides, the ant can fly and seems to know the forest better than I do; if I keep running away, it will be an endless chase, and on top of that, I run the risk of encountering a monster even stronger than her.

  I have to fight, and win…

  “I will fight, and win.”

  Unlike his expectations, this time, it wouldn't be like our first fight; this time it would be a rematch! And I would win.

  It's ironic, a fight and a rematch on the same day.

  I shaped the blue liquid into a sword.

  "Come!"

  The monster growled; it was as if she understood my order, and, in a gesture of rebellion, came towards me to prove who was really in charge.

  I also moved forward.