Novice Reincarnator

Fire truly was the difference between the uncivilized beasts outside and a civilized fox such as myself. Imagine eating your food raw when you could be roasting the food instead. Why, I would dare to say that everyone else in this dungeon was missing out on one of the joys of life by not cooking their food. 

The most beautiful fire in the world burned in the firepit. A Broken Antler Deer roasted above it, filling the space outside my home with a wonderful scent. Normally, such a smell would attract countless predators to my location in search of a new meal, but that was where mankind’s greatest invention came into play.

My [Fox Fire] was the same as the Six-tailed Red Fox. No monster dared to venture close to me as long as my fire continued to burn. Unfortunately, I could only maintain my [Fox Fire] for a few hours each day. I had no choice but to hide in my burrow when my fire ran out.

I was by no means a master cook, but I had become rather adept at roasting wild game. In a dungeon with little in the way of entertainment, satisfying my [Gluttony] became my favorite pastime.

Well, it was either I satisfied my [Gluttony] or I satisfied my lust. One would make me stronger and happy while the other one would leave me feeling empty and lonely. There was nothing wrong with a little solo play, but my time as Ash made me equate such indulgences as running away from reality.

Cecilia and Byleth were far away from me. Even if I yearned for their warmth, the truth was that I would need to leave this dungeon before I could see and touch them again. Deceiving myself with delusional fantasies would only weaken my resolve to escape.

“...Hugging Cecilia and engaging in some skinship with Byleth. Sounds good. I’ll add it to the list.”

I muttered a ridiculous idea to myself. In order to keep my motivation in escaping from this dungeon strong, I started a mental list of things I wanted to do when I got out.

Days had passed since my first hunt and I had settled into something of a routine. Each day,  I went out and hunted. My level steadily rose and my belly thanked me for my efforts. In the afternoons, I would either nap or practice manipulating my [Fox Fire]. At night, I quietly refined my ki and quietly went over my list of things to do when I escaped this dungeon.

The delicious smell of roasted deer meat brought me back to my senses. I let my [Fox Fire] fade away and prepared my modest meal with a side of poisonous fruit and vegetables. I wasn’t completely immune to all poisons, but [Gluttony] and [Health] took care of the weak poisons that fell into my stomach.

I sank my fangs into my meal. A delicious, savory taste filled my mouth and my whole body cried out in joy.

“Mmm!”

As I thought, it was a waste of time to indulge in lust when I could be enjoying food like this instead. There was a deep sense of satisfaction at eating the prey I had hunted that I had never found in any of my meals in the past. I couldn’t help but want to share this feeling with my close ones.

“Should I hunt a monster with Cecilia and Byleth and then cook it together with them? I can’t compare to Master Chef Ralph, but I’m sure he will be happy to give me some tips. Okay. I’ll add it.”

That sounded like a lot of fun. I needed to practice a lot more if I was going to cook with them as I had never seen either of them cook. Cecilia was a Legendary talent with her own dedicated Master Chef. Byleth was a princess too. Perhaps they had never touched a cooking utensil in their life. The thought of seeing a new side of them filled me with excitement for the future.

My joyful smile lasted until the last of my meal fell into my stomach. I wasn’t feeling full thanks to [Gluttony]. A choice far heavier than any meal hung over my head.

“Detailed Status.”

Name: Fang

Gender: Female

Race: 1 Tailed Fox Beastman

Class: Adept

Level: 20/20

Personal Skills (5/5): [Ash Demon Princess], [Fox Fire II], [Presence Concealment II], [Disguise II], [Ki III]

Racial Skills: [Instinct II], [Agility II]

Class Skills: [Adept], [Growth II]

Option to reincarnate or ascend is available.

All of the monsters in this dungeon had a high level. It was easy for me to reach level 20 with [Growth II], even if I was only preying on the bottom of the food chain. I should have been happy to reach my max level. With my new race, [Fox Fire II], and [Ki III], I was stronger than I had ever been before.

There was just one problem. I was still far too weak. I would die the moment I encountered the wolf pack from the first day. The Six-tailed Red Fox was even further out of reach. Everything was fine and dandy while I was below max level, but now I was faced with a choice that would shape the rest of my life.

Should I reincarnate, ascend, or do nothing?

I couldn’t decide. It was incredibly risky to reset my level to 1. Not only would I return to being in my weakest state, I was also not guaranteed to face a weakling in my first encounter.

It wasn’t even safe for me when I was level 20. Returning to level 1 was like seeking death. Even so, reincarnating into a different race would instantly overturn my situation. If I reincarnated as Ash or as any other race that used mana, then I would instantly be able to summon my contracted monsters from my shadow.

The Six-tailed Red Fox was strong, but I would like to see how it fared against my Crystalline Colossus. Choosing to reincarnate was gambling with my life.

Another option was to ascend. If I ascended, my level cap would instantly rise to 40 and I would gain two extra skill slots. There was just one problem.

I would be stuck living as Fang, the Fox Beastman, for the rest of my life. That was to say, I would be stuck as a girl.

My eyes fell on my body. I had poor excuses for feminine curves when compared to Ash, but the curves were there. Additionally, the symbol of my time as a man was gone. Strangely, the sense of loss that welled up from its absence was nothing more than a faint echo of when I first reincarnated as Ash.

Indecision split my mind into two warring factions. My strong desire to return to Cecilia and Byleth’s side spurred the conflict to new heights.

“Argh, there is no right answer.”

Reincarnating was too risky and ascending was out of the question. I wanted my decision to spend the rest of my life as a boy or a girl to be something I chose of my own free will rather than something forced upon me.

That meant I was stuck at level 20, looking for other ways to gain strength. Like I did the day before, I distracted myself from my inner turmoil by giving into my instincts and looking for more delicious prey to hunt.

The life of a beast was much simpler than the life of a person. I could let go of all of my worries and simply focus on the here and now. I had grown familiar with the nearby woods during my hunts.

I moved through the forest with ease and searched for prey using my enhanced senses of hearing and smell. My mind was already dreaming of the next meal destined to fill my belly. The wind caressed against my bare skin and the leaves rustled. The quiet sounds of nature were all around me.

A weight landed on my shoulder and a moment later, white hot agony was shooting through my body.

“Urk, What!?”

I shouted in surprise. My eyes fell on the purple, scaly body of a Forked Tongue Viper biting into my shoulder. [Fox Fire] flared to life and cut the monster in two, but it was too late. The viper had already injected its poison into my body.

“Antidote. I need an antidote.”

I panicked and patted around my waist for the antidote I usually kept in my waist pouch. My hands touched nothing but my bare skin. I was naked. The antidote I carried around was burnt to ashes when I encountered the Six-tailed Red Fox.

Blood drained from my face and weakness pervaded my body. [Health] struggled to fight off the poison, but it was losing. Forked Tongue Vipers were so dangerous because of their poison and their tendency to launch surprise attacks.

A bout of dizziness hit me and I realized the situation had turned for the worst. I gave up on being discreet and rushed towards my little fox den. A sudden wave of weakness hit me and I crashed into the ground.

“Ughh…”

My vision swam and I wanted to hurl. I tried to stand up on two legs and failed. I managed to run on four legs and made it into my shelter. I collapsed against the dirt floor of my makeshift room just as chills began to wrack my body.

I was dying. I opened up my status the moment I realized that. This wasn’t how I wanted it to go, but life had a way of taking the decision out of my hands. I selected the reincarnate option and my vision went pure white.