Chapter 2: Playing House

I had achieved something called an achievement.

Along with it, I gained a reward.

An “Action Skill” that allowed even a teddy bear like me to move.

But…

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t even get up from where I was sitting.

Because using the Action Skill required something called mana.

This is seriously ridiculous.

Are you kidding me right now?

Then why even give me the skill in the first place?

Is this some kind of hope torture or what?

If you’re going to give me a skill that needs mana, shouldn’t you at least provide some mana too?

…Well, I didn’t think that far.

The world isn’t so kind and beautiful.

The world is naturally harsh.

Just because I have no way of obtaining mana myself, doesn’t mean the world is going to accommodate me.

I calmed down.

Let my anger cool.

Of course, dolls don’t actually get hot, but you get what I mean.

Anyway, let’s just be grateful for receiving a skill at all.

That alone is already something to be thankful for.

I should stop complaining.

It’s more productive to use that time to figure out how to get mana.

Unlike before, I didn’t sink into depression.

Because now, a faint sense of hope had started to bloom.

Okay, let’s think.

First of all, what exactly is mana?

I could kind of guess.

Probably like the magic power you see in games.

A force that lets you use magic.

A power that helps you handle specific skills.

Something along those lines.

Next.

How do I obtain mana?

As you know, I can’t move.

So from a narrow point of view, there’s no way for me to replenish it myself.

But that’s only if I think narrowly.

What if mana is an element that floats in the atmosphere?

What if it’s everywhere, even now, drifting around me?

Then maybe I wouldn’t have to do anything.

Maybe just showing the will to absorb it would be enough to replenish my mana.

Am I a genius?

I tried it right away.

Mana! Come to me!

Hnngh! Haaa! 

Be absorbed into my body! Yaaah!

****

Hmm. 

I guess that’s not it.

Looks like I can’t obtain mana like that.

I’m an idiot.

I tried thinking of another method.

And then—

An absolutely brilliant idea hit me.

Why didn’t I think of this sooner?

For some reason, this world has something called achievements.

And when you achieve something, you get rewards.

Even the Action Skill was something I got after repeatedly wishing I could move every single day.

So if I can just get achievements—

Even without moving—

I might be able to gain mana!

I desperately wished for it again, just like before.

I started chanting in my mind over and over how badly I wanted mana.

I want mana!

I really want mana!

Please give me mana!

Give me mana! Gimme! Waaah!

Ten days passed like that.

I didn’t achieve anything.

***

Day 25 of reincarnation.

Still no new achievements.

But I wasn’t discouraged.

I steadily continued wishing for mana.

Although the frequency had dropped since the beginning.

These days, I’ve started having other random thoughts.

Even now, I was thinking about something else.

Where is this place? 

That kind of thing.

I know it’s a cave.

But on a broader scale, I was wondering what kind of world this is.

It’s definitely not Earth.

After all, monsters exist here.

There’s a 100% chance this is another world.

So then, what kind of world is it?

Well, it’s clearly a fantasy world.

Not just plain fantasy, but with some game elements mixed in.

What level is human civilization at here?

Does this world even have humans?

There’s no way for me to know.

Because ever since I reincarnated, I’ve been stuck in this cave.

Why are my memories of my past life so vague?

What kind of person was I before I died?

There are things I remember, and things I don’t.

…Ugh, whatever.

Thinking about it just gives me a headache.

For now, I should just focus on my current life.

***

Day 30 of reincarnation.

Still haven’t achieved anything.

I guess just wishing for mana isn’t enough to obtain it.

But I haven’t given up.

It’s the only thing I can do, so I keep sincerely praying for mana.

And one new routine was added to my day.

Watching my brothers grow.

I didn’t really care whether those bear cubs grew or not, but observing even that helped ease the boredom.

“Grrrr!”

“Guaaah.”

My siblings growing day by day.

I gave them names so I could tell them apart easily.

The Flame Bear born at level 2 was “Woorami.”

The one born at level 1, but with the potential to someday overcome its limits, was “Jjokkomi.”

Maybe it’s because he was born level 2—

Woorami’s development was abnormally fast.

Even though he’s only 30 days old, he’s already half the size of the mother bear.

Watching Woorami grow is actually kinda fun.

Every day, he becomes noticeably bigger.

Jjokkomi is growing slower.

Of course, I mean that relatively.

Compared to Woorami, she’s way smaller, but compared to me, she’s still a huge bear.

I feel like they were similar sizes on the first day, though.

Ahhh. I want to gain mana and grow too, already.

One desperate hope stack added!

Wishing an achievement will be fulfilled someday, I kept observing my siblings’ behavior.

The differences between the two weren’t just in size.

Their personalities were complete opposites, too.

“GRRAAAHH!”

Woorami’s temperament was pure ferocity.

He inherited his mother’s vicious nature exactly.

He devoured prey with insane gusto.

“Guoo.”

On the other hand, Jjokkomi was gentle.

I’ve never even seen her roar savagely like Woorami.

From her cautious movements, it looked like she had a timid, docile personality.

Jjokkomi also had a small appetite.

Unlike Woorami who stuffed his face, she nibbled on a proper amount of food, elegantly.

Her table manners were impeccable.

Oh, and—

I recently found something out.

Woorami is male, but Jjokkomi is female.

How did I find out? 

Nothing special.

I happened to catch a glimpse of her “area,” and well, she didn’t have a penis.

I swear I didn’t look on purpose!

My field of view is always fixed, okay!?

“Guoo?”

While I was watching my siblings—

Suddenly, Jjokkomi whipped her head around.

The little one’s gaze was directed straight at me.

You’re finally looking this way?

Nice to meet you. I’m your small brother.

Though I’m a doll and have no gender, you can call me small sister as well if you prefer.

Even if I was born later, my mental age is clearly older, so brother or sister works. 

Yep.

Anyway, surprisingly, this was the first time our eyes met.

She was such a slowpoke she hadn’t even realized I was in the cave.

Woorami noticed me a long time ago.

But he only ever cast a side glance.

He never showed any interest in me.

That damned mama bear treated me like a rock.

But the little one was different.

Among all the bear family, she was the first to show interest in me.

Sneakily.

She cautiously approached me.

“Kuah?”

Was she curious?

Her steps began to quicken.

“Kuah!”

She stopped right in front of me.

Her eyes sparkled as she stared intently.

“Kuaaa!”

It was the look of a child discovering a new toy.

***

Day 40 of reincarnation.

The little one and I have grown close rapidly.

More precisely, I’ve become her beloved plush toy.

Whenever the mama bear is away,

“Kuah!”

The little one comes running to me without fail.

She plays with me like a child plays with a doll.

She never handles me roughly.

Always gentle and cautious, as if she’s afraid I’ll break.

She might nibble on me just a little, press down gently with her front paws, or try to have a conversation using incomprehensible sounds, etc.

We didn’t spend a lot of time together, because the little one never approaches me when the mama bear is around.

The reason was simple.

Not long ago, the mama bear saw her playing with me.

She yanked me away, threw me across the cave, and scolded the her with an angry face.

I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but it was probably something like, “Don’t play with that filthy thing!”

Damn that bear hag.

Trying to tear us apart like that.

The discriminatory mama bear had left the cave for a while today.

Seizing the chance, she was happily playing with me.

“Ku ku ku!”

Sometimes we even played house.

She picked up a small rock and brought it to my mouth.

“Kuah, kuah!”

She shoved the stone into my mouth.

You little brat. What if I really ate that?

I’m a doll, I can’t even digest—

Wait, maybe I can since I’m a monster?

Suddenly, she glanced around.

Then she pulled a piece of meat from her thick fur.

She must’ve hidden it away after not finishing it earlier.

“Kuah.”

Is that for me, too?

I got a little choked up.

Such emotion—she’d saved food just for me.

She really must like me a lot.

The affection in her eyes was unlike anything else.

Could she even be thinking about marrying me?

Sorry, sis, but we can’t be together.

Anyway.

The rock was a bit much, but I’ll gladly accept that meat.

“Ku uuu.”

Nom nom.

The meat went straight into her mouth.

So it was for herself.

Guess I misunderstood.

Just as I was feeling slightly disappointed,

I spotted Woorami sitting and crouching in the back.

His expression was grim.

He looked very displeased.

What now?

What’s got you making such a sour face?

Woorami suddenly turned his head away.

What’s his deal?

***

Day 41.

An incident occurred.

Was it jealousy from seeing me and Jjokkomi playing so happily yesterday?

That punk Woorami suddenly bit down hard on my arm.

As a result, I lost one of my arms.

Now I’m just a lame, one-armed teddy bear.

“Kuuaaah…”

Tears welled up in the little one’s eyes.

She picked up my torn-off arm with her mouth and desperately tried to reattach it to my body.

As if that would work.

The little one’s face turned utterly hopeless.

Then, she glared furiously at Woorami, who was lying nonchalantly in the back.

She panted heavily.

“Kuaaaah!!!”

“Gooh?”

Jjokkomi charged at Woorami.

It was the first time I saw her get angry.

Smack!

Her tiny front paw struck Woorami.

But Woorami didn’t just sit there and take it.

He swung back with a heavy paw at Jjokkomi

Thud! Smack! Smack!

For a kids’ fight, it was pretty intense.

At this rate, one of them might actually die.

Their fight went on for a while.

No, it was no longer a fight—

It had become one-sided violence.

In terms of level, power, and size—

Woorami had the upper hand in everything.

Eventually, Jjokkomi began to fall behind and was completely overpowered.

Woorami didn’t stop.

Unable to control his rage, he kept beating on Jjokkomi.

Stop it already.

You’ve already won.

She’ll really die at this rate.

I wanted to stop him.

I wanted to help the little one.

But… there was nothing I could do.

I hated how powerless I was.

Thankfully—

Just before something truly terrible happened to Jjokkomi, the mama bear returned.

She rushed in, shocked, and pulled the two apart.

Then she thoroughly scolded Woorami.

But Jjokkomi got scolded too.

Seems Woorami told her he was attacked first.

After yelling at both of them, the mama bear tended to Jjokkomi’s injuries—

Then glanced coldly at me from the side.

She must have been told I was the cause of the fight.

She looked at me like I was filth.

That stung.

I’m still your child, even if I’m a raggedy one.

And that night—

While the little one and Woorami were sound asleep, the mama bear secretly abandoned me.

Somewhere outside the cave.

***

Day 50.

A forest densely packed with massive trees.

It’s been 9 days since I was abandoned in misery.

I guess the mama bear truly didn’t see me as one of her cubs.

I thought maybe she had some attachment to me since she left me inside the cave.

Turns out she had none.

Ahh… how pathetic.

I’ve become a true orphan.

The future looked even bleaker.

Back in the cave, I at least had some hope.

I believed Jjokkomi might help me someday since she seemed to care.

But now, she’s not by my side.

I can no longer count on anyone’s help.

All I can do now is long for mana and chase after some impossible achievements.

“Kuaaa!!!”

Huh? That sounded like Jjokkomi’s voice.

Am I hearing things?

Her face was even flickering before my eyes.
.
..No, it wasn’t a flicker.

I could see her clearly—vividly.

It wasn’t a hallucination.

It was really the little one, standing right in front of me.

“Kua, kuaaa!”

Her eyes were red and teary.

She must’ve searched high and low for me all this time.

She hadn’t forgotten. 

She missed me.

She hugged my body tightly.

Just like always, her flames didn’t transfer to me.

It’s not that I’m immune—

It’s just that she has no hostility toward me, so the flames don’t burn me.

The fire used by Flame Bears is special like that.

“Kuuu!”

The little one set me down and shook her body.

Several pebbles fell out of her fur.

She picked one up.

A heartfelt reunion followed by pretend play again?

Hold on, that stone looks a little strange…

It wasn’t just any ordinary rock.

It was glowing blue.

No matter how you looked at it, it clearly wasn’t just a rock.