CHAPTER 4 HEART WARMING EVOLUTION
1323 Words
"HAHAHA!" He laughed heartily. "I never thought I could walk!" he added as he walked through the mud. In his previous world, frogs couldn’t walk freely even if they had two legs.
"The creatures here are truly different, even the frogs," he marveled. "They have abilities too. I wonder what other abilities this body has."
For three months, all he did was hunt for food and sleep. Fortunately, he quickly evolved, shedding his skin and growing two bumps that turned into legs. He now looked like a chicken with a tail, his skin smooth and flawless, and he was about the size of a cat but green in color.
Now, he felt confident in himself. He was confident he could run and escape if danger arose. He also had enough skill to avoid harm.
At first, he felt awkward because he was used to swimming for the past three months, but over time, he became adept at walking. It was exhilarating to experience walking again, just like when he was still human.
Now, he was practicing jumping. At first, he couldn’t lift his own weight, and even when he managed to jump, he couldn’t balance his body. After many trials and errors and a whole day of practice, he finally learned to jump and maintain his balance.
"Finally, I can jump too," he thought to himself. He remembered when he still had a tail and was just a small tadpole, always hiding to hunt for food and running away from danger. Now, with two legs, he felt more confident in escaping threats.
"Now, where should I go?" he wondered.
A dark plume of smoke caught his attention, sparking his interest. Thinking there might be people there, he headed toward it. He leaped quickly, each jump covering about a meter.
He laughed joyfully with each leap, feeling as if he had just been freed from a cage.
After a few hours of following the smoke, he arrived at a village by a stream. He explored quietly, avoiding detection by the villagers.
The village was small, taking only about an hour to explore. Children were playing in the grass, farmers were harvesting rice, and women were washing clothes by the stream.
He saw where the smoke was coming from—a large wok where a whole cow was being cooked. The cow lay on its side, roasting over a fire surrounded by large, glowing stones. People gathered around, happily waiting for the cow to cook.
"Wow, they’re cooking the whole cow," he said in amazement.
"It’s like fried chicken. I wonder what fried cow tastes like."
As he observed, a dog’s bark caught his attention. The dog, resembling a stray from his world, was barking at him.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!" The dog kept barking.
"Go away, doggie, go away," he said, but what came out of his mouth was a growl.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!" The dog continued barking.
"You won’t leave? Fine, I have no choice. Sorry, doggie." A quick flick of his tongue struck the dog. The dog yelped in pain, and soon its legs stiffened, causing it to collapse. Fang Mu realized his tongue was venomous, capable of paralyzing creatures—a discovery he made while hunting fish in the swamp.
"Caro!" A high-pitched voice called out. Raven saw a girl, about ten years old, running toward the dog. He quickly hid in the grass.
"Caro, what happened to you?" The girl was shocked to see her dog lying motionless. It whimpered weakly.
"Dad! Dad! Dad!" she shouted.
Soon, a man in his forties arrived.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Dad, look at Caro!" the girl pointed at the paralyzed dog.
The commotion drew the attention of other villagers. "What’s going on?" asked an elderly man, followed by curious onlookers.
"Dad, Caro—"
The girl’s father picked up the dog and examined it. "What happened?"
"I don’t know, Dad. He just ran off and started barking at the grass. When I got here, he suddenly collapsed."
"Will he live, Dad?" the girl asked, worried about her pet. The villagers, seeing the situation, slowly dispersed. Moments later, an elderly man in his fifties approached. He was Elder Gido, the village leader.
"Let me see, Yato," Elder Gido said.
"Here, Elder," Yato handed the dog over. After a few minutes of examination, Elder Gido spoke.
"Based on the symptoms, he’s paralyzed."
"Will he live, Elder?" the girl asked, trembling.
"Yes, Elma, he’ll live," Elder Gido smiled. "It’ll just take some time, but it’s not life-threatening. He just needs some herbs."
The girl sighed in relief.
"Maybe a snake or an insect attacked him," Elder Gido speculated.
"Probably," Yato agreed.
"Get ready, the boiled cow is almost done!" a voice echoed, catching the attention of the villagers.
"Let’s go, Elder. The boiled cow is ready," Yato invited, carrying the dog.
"You go ahead," Elder Gido said.
"Thank you, Elder Gido. We’ll go ahead."
"Eat well," Elder Gido reminded.
"Yes, Elder," Yato nodded, and they left with Elma.
"Goodbye, Elder Gido," Elma said.
Elder Gido smiled and nodded as they left. He then stared at the grass, as if searching for something or deep in thought. After a few minutes, he too walked away.
Unbeknownst to him, Raven, hiding in the grass, had overheard the entire conversation.
"That was close," Raven muttered. It would have been a big problem if the villagers had seen him. They might have killed him.
Seeing nothing else of interest in the village, he wondered, "Now, where should I go?" Before he could come up with an idea, his stomach growled.
"Ugh, it’s been over three hours since I last ate."
"Is there anything to eat here?" he thought, looking around. He explored the village again and soon spotted a coop not far away, housing hens and chicks. The coop was made of wood, with four fences forming a square, about a meter high.
He licked his lips. "I wonder what chicken tastes like," he thought. In the three months he’d been in this world, he hadn’t tasted anything other than fish.
"But I’ll wait until nightfall. It’s almost dark anyway," he decided.
When night fell, the villagers were asleep, and only the chirping of crickets and the rustling of leaves in the wind could be heard. Not far from the grass, a pair of eyes watched intently.
"It’s showtime," he said.
He leaped quickly and approached the coop. Inside, he saw ten hens sleeping with their chicks.
"Come on, baby, come to daddy."
"Target locked." He jumped onto the coop’s fence, aiming for the hens. Before they could make any noise, his tongue struck their necks, paralyzing them instantly.
The hens couldn’t even cry for help, paralyzed by Raven’s venomous tongue. The chicks chirped in alarm, but it wasn’t enough to alert the villagers. They too were struck and paralyzed.
In just a few minutes, ten hens were paralyzed.
"For the finale," he said.
He then targeted the chicks, flicking his tongue rapidly. One by one, the chicks were caught and swallowed whole.
"Hmmm," he murmured, surprised that they tasted even better than the fish he usually ate. He continued until he was full.
After a few minutes, he had eaten twenty three chicks. There were still some left, but he was too full to finish them. He had initially planned to eat the hens too, but they were as big as he was, and he was afraid of choking. Twenty-three chicks were enough to fill him up.
Feeling too full to move, he rested for a while. After half an hour, when he could move again, he walked back to his hiding spot and rested there.
"I think I’m getting used to eating live, raw creatures," he thought.
"Whatever," he shrugged. After all, he was now an animal, not a human. He didn’t dwell on it and soon fell asleep. Unbeknownst to him, his skin was beginning to shed again.
- Writer
