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Shinka No Mi - Chapter 002
Shinka No Mi - Chapter 002
Shinka No Mi - Chapter 002
Source: h ttp://ncode.syosetu.com/n4054by/2
2. 進化の実
The Seed of Evolution
After being transported, all I've done is wander aimlessly through this forest. I've spent the better
part of an hour doing so. I had no choice but to empty my bladder in the middle of a thicket, and
even after that I still did nothing but wander aimlessly.
And now my feet were at their limit. I wasn't even wearing proper shoes, you know? I left my
outdoor shoes in my locker...! I only had my flimsy indoor shoes on me.
Besides, it's harsh for a fatty to walk in a forest for an hour. Can't I do anything about this? No,
probably not.
I was insanely famished. How much longer do I gotta walk in circles? The hunger was gnawing
at me.
After I said that I looked all around the vicinity, and I didn't even see one insect, let alone any
animals. There weren't even any nuts, berries, or mushrooms.
"Motherfuckin'...foooooooooooood!"
I kinda felt like yelling, so I did. Even so, it didn't calm me down.
"Is it food?!"
I thought aloud and hurried to the thicket.
"Graaaaaawr..."
"...OH SHIT..."
"Aroooooooo..."
What else was I supposed to do?! There's a 5m(15ft)-long gray wolf right here! Scaring the shit
out of me with its hungry eyes! It gets even scarier when I see the fangs peeking out behind its
lips!
I'm fuckin’ scared! That's why I'm prostrating myself. It kinda seems like it might forgive me...?
"Graaaawr!"
"Figures...?!"
In the end my prostration was useless, and the wolf was ready to pounce me.
Since I was already prostrated on the ground I rolled as hard as I could, and somehow dodged
the attack.
"Graaaaaw..."
The wolf seemed surprised that I was able to dodge, and cautiously kept its distance.
But it appeared that rather than looking at me as ‘prey’, it was thinking more along the lines of
‘what is this thing?’, like a curious baby who had to mouth everything.
I mean, it looks like the wolf's eyes are full of curiosity, though I have no idea why.
Yeesh, I was the one looking for food, now I'm suddenly gonna be the food...someone help me!
As if my wish was granted, I could hear a rustling from the thicket on the other side.
"Is it my savior?!"
My tension was maxxed as I turned to look behind me.
"Graaaaawr...."
"...OH SHIT..."
That was the second "OH SHIT" of the day.
This sucks so bad! Already a second encounter?! I gotta get out of here! I am so dead!
"Graaoo graw!"
"Graaaawr...Awoon!"
For some reason the other wolf was picking a fight.
"Awoowoowoo!"
"Gruaawr!"
"<Nevaaaaaaar!">
Or something like that, probably.
…...
"...Better run."
While the wolves were preoccupied with each other, I took the chance to quietly escape.
◆◇◆
"T-this sucks..."
Grumblerumble
My stomach has been yelling at me for a while now.
I somehow managed to avoid the Dead-End where I'm eaten by wolves. I've spent the last 3
days sleeping in a tree I somehow managed to climb, and hid desperately from wolves and the
like.
I can't even drink water in this situation.
I barely have the energy to move anymore, much less climb a tree.
Again today there was no sign of creatures to eat, and I aimlessly searched for nuts, berries,
and mushrooms.
"....."
My face hurt like a bitch, but I didn’t have time to care about it.
"Geh?!"
S-so hard...
I couldn't sink my teeth in at all, the ground was so hard.
"It's all...over..."
I mumbled. It was finally time for me to close my eyes.
“...mm?”
"----Eee!"
"Graaawr!"
“Eee! Ee oo ee!”
“Gya gya gya!”
“Graaoooooooo!”
“Hahahahaha!”
The wolf was distracted by the monkeys and ran right past me.
“W-what is it?”
Even though I wondered, I didn't have enough brain power to process it, I was that exhausted.
"At least...if eating it is gonna kill me, that'd be better than starvation, right?"
I unconsciously ask myself.
“Haha….”
Somehow a natural smile floated to my face
Despite all that, I managed to remain positive, probably because there were still people out
there that treated me like a human being.
It may not have been a very good life. But, the people who treated my kindly, conversed with
me, played with me, touched me even… The greatest treasure in my lousy life was that
"Friendship" that always remained a part of me.
Hino from the class next door was like that. Along with Shouta and Kenji. Even though our
classes and grade levels were different, Kannazuki-sempai and Miwa too... There were plenty of
other people in the same school that treated me normally too.
None of them treated me as something less than human. It's a possibility they just did that to
make themselves look better. But...I was still happy they treated me like a normal person.
And I got along well with my family. Though after Mom and Dad passed away, relations with my
relatives became worse over the inheritance...
So I chose to live alone and to protect my inheritance. Uncle Ichio ended up becoming my legal
guardian though.
In the end I used my parent's inheritance to do whatever I wanted, and became fat and ugly...it's
entirely my own fault.
It wasn't my life that was all that lousy, it was myself.
…………………………
…………………
………….
……..eh, tree nut?
“?!”
I was suddenly fully conscious.
“Fooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!”
I had been on the edge of Hell itself, now I was crawling across the ground for all I was worth.
I had no idea where this last burst of energy came from.
But even so, I clawed the ground while crawling forward.
My goal, the nut right in front of me.
Was it my survival instinct kicking in? I could see nothing but the foodstuff as I crawled on
without shame or care.
“ooooOOOOOO!!”
And then---my hand finally touched the nut.
“!”
I grasp the nut tightly. I seize it.
This is my food now. I won't give it to anyone else. ...Even if it was originally the weird monkey's
food.
Just to be absolutely certain, I use the "Analyze" skill on the tree nut.
[Seed of Evolution]
The Analysis could only reveal the name.
There is some information about an effect, but like the time I Analyzed Aoyama, it was all
garbled and unreadable.
But at least it didn't seem poisonous. Then there's only one course of action left for me to take.
"...Time to eat!"
With every bit of my strength, I munch on that so-called Seed of Evolution whatsit.
It looked like a light brown rugby ball, and I thought it would be hard and taste like an almond.
However----
But it's still precious food. I won't complain. I eat the whole thing.
Normally, I would have stopped eating it, but right now I devour it without a second thought.
As I was eating, I noticed something.
"...My nails...healed?"
Yes, at some point, my nails that were bent and broken had completely healed.
And even though I only ate just one Seed of Evolution, my stomach was feeling full.
And then I finally finished eating the rest.
"Aaahh...that tasted terrible!"
I rubbed my belly as I said so.
"Oookay...What'll I do now?"
If I just wander aimlessly again, it'll just be a repeat of before.
"At least I know creatures do live here. For now I should try to find where they live."
Those wolves are scary, but it could be okay to approach the strange monkeys.
Plus, I fear I'll probably die if I don't get a move on, which is the last thing I want.
I don't want to regret anything. I want to survive with my heart intact.
The first step is to get closer to the monkeys, find out their feeding grounds and secure a food
source.
I'm filled with determination to reach my goal of surviving this harsh place and getting food.
...But before that, I have some business to take care of. Since I’m about to shit myself!