Cultivation Struggles of a Lowly Fox

 

He woke up, still feeling tired, but much less than before. It felt like his body was pressed by something heavy which gave him a hard time standing up, not to mention that he was no longer human and instead was trapped inside this animal body. This greatly pained him, he wanted to indulge in human desires, but if he tried to get close to any city, those guys from... from... argh!! All he knew was that he would be bad for him.

He finally managed to stand up and looked around. It was a quiet morning, with chirping sounds all around him. While he didn't particularly dislike those sounds, he was still afraid of them. After all, he was just a cub inside an absolutely humongous and extreme vast Forest. He felt like his entire body could fit on a Human male's palm with very little difficulty. This feeling made him realize that he was utterly small and it took a very long time to traverse inside this forest.

He also wasn't alone inside this forest and would be hunted by possibly anything that moves.

He could hear a sigh.

[Please check your [Items] as you were given gifts by us...]

For some peculiar reason, he could feel that the system was depressed, but didn't delve on it and opened the system.

His mind was still muddled, but he could tell that his blessings were completely outrageous, judging by their names. He also noticed, that he had that unfortunate title, but he didn't dare click on it, lest he vomited blood and die on the spot... vomit blood? Why would he vomit blood?

He clicked on the [Welcome Package].

There were 'birthday' party effects with some additional sounds. He was startled, but then he looked at it and was greatly disappointed.

[Introduction to the Mortal Realm]

He didn't expect anything extravagant from the system, but this was just downright sad. Not because of the book itself, but because...

[You need at least 100 Mind and 10 Insight to read this book]

His fragile ego suffered a heavy blow. In his previous life, he was very smart!(self proclaimed) But now the system indirectly told him that he as dumb as a brick...

He placed the book back inside the system and ignored it. He then went around the forest to find himself something to eat, since he could feel like he was very hungry.

He strolled without a goal, looking all around to find anything to eat.

He found a bird nest far away in front of him on a branch. It had a few eggs inside.

He was against hunting since he was formerly a cultured human who didn't eat raw meat, but eggs should be fine as long as he swallows them whole without chewing.

He steeled his mind and walked towards the tree cautiously. He was worried that those birds were nearby and would use him as a snack.

Fortunately for him, it didn't seem like there were any birds around, as he couldn't even hear a single bird chirp.

He stared at the obscenely huge tree and gulped, his stomach also rumbled, reminding him it was time to eat.

He used his sharp claws as climbing gear and slowly moved upwards. He was making some good progress until his body suddenly gave out. He felt powerless as exhaustion washed over him. Fortunately for him, his claws were still stuck inside the bark, not allowing him to fall.

He was confused for a moment, but soon he realized what was wrong.

[Stamina: 0/2]

He ran out of stamina while climbing. He cursed his tiny body, as it wouldn't even take that much effort to obtain those eggs if he was in his Human form- form? What form?

He hung there like a wet towel on a drying rack, waiting patiently for his stamina to recover, as he was not even able to remove his claws from the bark.

After an hour his stamina recovered by 1 and he cursed again. It would take him a whole day to get to that nest and it better be worth this hassle!

Like this, each hour, he moved slightly upwards. He almost fell a few times as he was trying to push forward, but after hanging on one paw for another hour, he didn't feel as motivated to push forward since his paw really hurt...

[HP: 1/2]

It seems like he took damage because of it. Curses!

...

He finally managed to get on the branch, exhausted and now weak, he heavily panted as he lay on the branch. The eggs were just in front of him, but he didn't have any Stamina to move his tired body. He waited another hour to recover one stamina and moved in front of the nest. There he saw 3 quite large eggs, but not so large that he couldn't swallow them.

He finished them in 3 gulps and felt satisfied, but also sad that he didn't get any kind of reward for this feat.

*CAW* *CAW*

A bird noisily screamed not far from him and he was shaken. If this was that bird's nest, he was dead! In his panic, he looked around to find a way out, but couldn't. His blood drained from his body once he heard those same noises, but much closer to him. His mind blanked and the only thing he could think of was to jump down.

His body was falling through the air, landing on a bush, but that bush wasn't sturdy and only slowed down his fall slightly.

[You have taken 1 damage.]
[HP: 0/2]

He felt like his body was no longer his, as if someone had cut off the strings that allowed him to move his body. This made him slowly fall deep inside that bush and lost consciousness.

...

He woke up. He didn't know how long he was out, but he knew he was still alive.

He also got multiple messages from the system.

[You have demonstrated an acrobatic feat beyond your capabilities!]
[System has rewarded you with Title: [Agile]]
[Would you like to acquire [Agile]?]

He stared at the text mockingly, of course, he would acquire it! He didn't know the effects, but felt like they were much more important than Classical Skills.

[You have acquired [Agile]!]
[Title: Agile]
[Give the User flat 5 Agility and 1 Agility per level.]

[You have escaped from the clutches of death and lived to tell the tale!]
[System has rewarded you with Title: [Brave]]
[Would you like to acquire [Brave]?]

'Do you even need to ask?!'

He cussed the system. He also noticed that he could move his body again.

[You have acquired [Brave]!]
[Title: Brave]
[Gives the User flat 1 Vitality, Toughness, Strength and 1 Vitality, Toughness, and Strength per level.]

[You have digested the last Egg and recovered your satiety.]
[EXP gained.]
[Level: 2 -> 3]

He felt... really springy... those Titles were a huge help to him. He would be able to traverse more easily, but there was still danger from other animals.

He also felt full and not as groggy. He spotted that the black bird was still trying to frantically find its eggs, with no success. He could see it was enraged and a chill went up his spine each time it shrieked. After all, it was 3 times his size!

He didn't dare leave the bush, he was safe for now, so he looked at his status and tapped [Blessing of the Ancestral Nine-Tailed Fox].

[Blessing of the Ancestral Nine-Tailed Fox]
[####]
[1st Effect: You can't be forced into an obedience or slavery contract under #### Cultivation unless you decide otherwise.]

He didn't quite understand the meaning of the effect clearly, but he knew slavery was bad and was happy that he could avoid that.

[Blessing of the Ancestral Phoenix]
[####]
[1st Effect: You will burn anyone who forces you into a contract. Damage depends on the User's strength and opponent's Cultivation.]

This was... vicious, but it was another barrier that his opponents had to face if they wanted to enslave him.

He nodded happily and laid back down, waiting for the crow to either calm down or leave. The latter would be much more appreciated by him.

...

He woke up, he didn't even notice he fell asleep and it was already dark again. He felt hungry and hopeless once again and squinted his eyes, surprisingly he could see things outside the bush, but not inside.

He looked around trying to find the black bird, but with no success. He breathed a sigh of relief and left the bush cautiously, always looking all around him to spot any predators. He would need more skills to survive in here and abilities to protect himself, but for now, since he was small, he was able to traverse this place relatively easily.

He made it to a bush with deliciously looking cherries. He 'plucked' a few, returning to his bush to munch on them. He wanted peace of mind, at least while eating.

He sat down, munching on the cherries, when suddenly he couldn't move his body. His cherries dripped from his mouth and he soon plopped on the ground without being able to do anything.

[You have been poisoned.]
[Current Effect: Paralysis]

He was fortunate that it wasn't lethal poison, but that also meant he couldn't eat that delicious-looking bush with so many cherries on it. He also felt really parched after eating those cherries so he will now have to find a water source.

After half an hour, the effect disappeared and he could move once again. He immediately set off to find some food, but he couldn't hear any water nearby. So it was quite tough, but once he sharpened his senses he was able to feel humid air drifting from the south.

He followed that air for half a day, avoiding predators and anything that could pose a threat to him... which was everything. He even had to avoid walnuts falling from trees since they dealt a whopping 2 damage to him! He finally regenerated to 3 HP, but now he was back down to 1!

He was crestfallen from that and had to pay much more attention to detail, exhausting him quicker.

Fortunately, he was able to find the river soon. Unfortunately, it was a rocky river, it had no bushes all around it! He couldn't hide when drinking water! He would be exposed and defenceless to predators. So he made up his mind and waited until night, it should be safer that way... He hoped.