Chapter 3: Evolution

Not far away, the roar of a beast echoed through the air.

“Uooooo!”

This was definitely the cry of a mother bear.

Even I, a mere child, could tell instantly.

The mother bear was probably desperately searching for her little one.

Jjokkomi.

Were you out hunting with your mother?

It seems you weren’t running around looking for me.

It looks like you just happened to find me by chance.

Well, you couldn’t have come out of the cave without your mother’s permission.

You’re still just a child, after all.

“Grrr…”

Jjokkomi turned its gaze to the direction of the roar, looking a bit disappointed.

It probably wanted to play more.

But we’ve had plenty of playtime, haven’t we?

“Goo, goo, goo!”

Jjokkomi looked at me and said that.

I could understand it from the feeling.

It was something like, “I’ll come back. Wait here and stay calm. I love you, brother!”

Something like that.

“Goo…”

Jjokkomi licked my body and slowly turned around.

With slow movements, it trudged away in the direction of its mother’s roar.

It must have realized it can’t take me with it.

If it did, it would either be abandoned again or, worse, harmed.

Well, it’ll probably come back soon.

It promised to come back, after all.

Once hunting time arrives, it’ll definitely sneak away from its mother’s watch and run to me.

When that happens, I’ll give it a gift.

I owe it a huge favor.

Let’s see…

What would Jjokkomi like?

It probably prefers edible meat, right?

Are there any creatures nearby that I can hunt?

What, you ask what I mean?

Aren’t I immobile right now?

Heh.

Don’t talk nonsense!

I’m not just a stuffed bear anymore.

I’ve transformed into a moving stuffed bear!

【Mana absorption complete.】

It seems like it took quite some time to fully absorb the mana, probably because it was my first time accepting it into my body.

All of this was thanks to Jjokkomi

Jjokkomi had brought back a glowing stone that contained mana.

I guess it could be called Mana Stone, though I don’t know for sure.

I don’t know where it found it.

Maybe it picked it up from the street because it was shining and beautiful.

It probably wasn’t brought here with the intention of helping me.

The little one didn’t know I needed mana.

It just gave me the stone while we played together.

Anyway.

Finally, the time to use my movement skill had arrived.

It had been such a long and tedious wait.

Tch.

Forget the tears, since I’m a stuffed bear.

Let’s just use the skill right away.

【Using “Movement Lv.1” skill.】

Wiggle.

Oh!

The senses are returning!

My body is starting to move as I wish!

I wanted to cheer.

Sadly, since I’m a stuffed bear, no voice came out.

Mana has seeped into my body.

I read the flow of mana.

I’ve adapted to a body controlled by mana.

I jumped up from my seat immediately.

Boing!

I jumped high.

Clap!

I slapped my stomach twice with one arm.

Perfect.

There’s no sense of awkwardness at all.

It doesn’t feel like I’m controlling a stuffed bear.

It feels like it’s truly my own body.

I’m so moved.

Once again, I’m grateful to Jjokkomi

Without the little one Jjokkomi, I would have lived my life as a motionless stuffed bear.

Thank you, little one!

I then looked around.

Wow!

I can see everything in 360 degrees!

The feeling was even more amazing than the first time I tried VR.

I, the incarnation of this world.

For some reason, I feel incredibly confident.

Even though I can only move now, having achieved something I thought impossible makes me feel like I can do anything from now on.

Heh.

There’s nothing I fear now.

“Grrrrrr…”

【Poison Tiger Lv.70】

┗ Pw.140

┗ Rnk. Uncommon

…Oh, wow.

A green striped tiger, looking terrifying, suddenly appeared.

A flood of fear burst from within me.

I quickly became aware of the reality.

That’s right, I’m weak.

I had momentarily forgotten that I’m a pitiful stuffed bear.

Thank you, tiger.

You made me remember who I really am.

I immediately flopped back down.

My special move, pretending to be a harmless stuffed bear.

It was a strategy I had planned for survival.

After all, if I try to run away in a bear plush body, I’ll be caught for sure.

“Grrr…”

“….”

It’s fine.

It’s okay.

I don’t breathe.

I don’t have a heart.

I don’t even have a heart to beat.

As long as I don’t use my skill, I’m a perfect stuffed bear.

“Hey, little one.”

Huh? Did you just call me?

No way.

“You can’t fool me by pretending to be dead. Even if you do, I can still feel the mana flowing through your body.”

Ah, I see.

You should have told me earlier.

The plan to pretend to be dead has failed.

But still, I didn’t move.

“You’re foolishly pretending to be dead all this time. I used the translation skill, so you should have understood me.”

It’s not pretending to be dead; it’s pretending to be a stuffed bear.

Don’t talk nonsense if you don’t know.

And even if I move now, nothing will change.

How am I supposed to escape from the tiger?

Lying still is the best option here.

Please just go away, tiger.

I’m a stuffed bear, so I don’t taste good.

“Even if you have mana, I don’t hunt things that lack flavor like you… Ignoring me is a bit annoying. I was going to let you live, but…”

Suddenly! I jumped up energetically from my spot.

Hello, Mr. Tiger.

You were going to let me live?

Well, you’re such a kind tiger.

I misunderstood.

Thank you.

Bow! Bow!

I repeatedly bowed to show my gratitude.

“······What a funny little one.”

Bow!

“Alright, I’ll forgive you for ignoring me.”

Bow!

“And don’t do such shabby acting again. If it weren’t for me, someone else would’ve devoured you without hesitation.”

Bow!

“Hoho. Your appearance is ugly, but your actions are unexpectedly cute.”

Bow…!

“Now, I’ll be on my way. If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”

Bow!

The tiger continued on its way.

I stretched out my front paw and looked at its rear.

I then extended my middle claw.

Fuck!

Who are you to mock my appearance?

I’m grateful for the save, but an insult to my appearance is going too far!

“Hmm?”

The tiger turned its head.

Ah, no! I quickly withdrew my paw.

Bow! Bow! Bow!

“I felt a strange sensation, but I must have been mistaken.”

That was a close call.

Goodbye, Mr. Tiger.

Moving recklessly is dangerous.

There could be more dangerous monsters around.

I hurried back to my original spot.

I had just strayed a little, and already I encountered a dangerous monster.

Is it my bad luck?

Or is this area just a dangerous place?

Still, this place is relatively safe.

An open space revealed through dense bushes.

Beside a solitary pine tree.

I hadn’t encountered a dangerous creature here in the past 9 days.

Could it be that the mother bear, worried for my safety, left me in a secure spot?

No, that can’t be it.

If she cared for me, she wouldn’t have abandoned me in the first place.

She must have hidden me in a hard-to-find place so the Jjokkomi couldn’t find me.

Though her intentions were despicable, thanks to that, I got a safe spot easily.

I’ll stay here for a while.

After all, to see Jjokkomi again, I need to stay here.

I lay down for a moment.

Right now, I needed some mental peace.

I was too tense when I met the tiger.

The tiger was stronger than the mother bear.

Its power was 140.

Was it Uncommon rank?

Probably lower than Superior rank.

The mother bear, at level 35, had over 100 power.

To be exact, it was 105.

Let me summarize:

Normal rank gets 1 power per level, Uncommon gets 2 power per level, Superior gets 3 power per level.

The tiger was level 70.

It had 140 power, 2 power per level.

High levels are like that.

They can even be stronger than higher ranks.

But where does the tiger rank among the strongest here?

I hope it’s the strongest one.

Or at least one of the strongest.

If tigers like it are average here, I don’t think I’ll survive.

While I was thinking this, a massive shadow covered the ground.

In the high sky, a giant creature with grand wings was flying majestically.

【Gravity Dragon Lv.55】

┗ Pw.1650

┗ Rnk. Legendary

Wow. 

There’s a dragon too.

Is it allowed to fly around freely like that?

It’s lower level than the tiger, but its power is overwhelmingly higher.

Nearly 10 times higher.

Is that the power of rank?

It seems to be a level beyond what can be measured by level alone.

How high rank is that thing?

Anyway, seeing that dragon, I now understand.

There are probably many creatures stronger than the tiger.

And it made me realize again,

I’m basically no different than an insect.

No, I’m even worse than those insect-like monsters.

I didn’t give up.

Though I’m just a pitiful bear doll now, I still have hope.

I have the evolution skill.

If I use it well, maybe one day I’ll evolve into something great.

Like a dragon rising from a humble pond, as the saying goes.

Of course, I’m hoping to evolve into a being capable of breaking my limits. 

If I remain at Normal rank forever, the dream of transformation is impossible.

Anyway, let’s try evolving first.

[Ragged Bear Doll Lv.3]

┗ Pw.3

┗ Rnk. Normal

My current level is 3.

I can use the evolution skill by consuming 1 point here.

By the way, my level increased thanks to the mana stone the little one fed me.

[Evolution is possible if physical adaptation is above 30.]

Physical adaptation?

This is something new.

Is it the measure of how well I’ve adapted to my body?

[Current physical adaptation: 51, evolution possible.]

Luckily, my adaptation exceeded the evolution requirement by a fair margin.

I’m not sure how it’s measured, but as long as it’s over, it’s fine.

[Do you wish to use Evolution Lv.1?]

Yes!

[Evolving Species]

◎ Bear Doll – Normal

There was only one choice.

It was probably because the evolution skill is at level 1.

No need for hesitation.

I immediately chose Bear Doll.

[Evolution complete.]

Huh?

Suddenly, a bright light flashed from my body.

That was it.

No paralysis, no fainting, no deep sleep.

Thanks to the Helper skill, I checked myself from a third-person perspective.

I had definitely transformed into a different appearance.

From a dirty bear doll to a neat one.

The status window also updated.

[Bear Doll Lv.2]

┗ Pw.2 (+1)

┗ Rnk. Normal

Oh.

This is actually great.

Even though the level dropped, it wasn’t really a drop.

With the extra power added, my power stayed the same.

Sadly, no additional skills were gained.

I wonder if I can use the evolution skill again soon.

[Evolution possible if physical adaptation is above 30.]

Looks like I can.

[Current physical adaptation: 35, evolution possible.]

The adaptation decreased slightly,

probably because of the new form.

But the evolution conditions were still met.

[Do you wish to use Evolution Lv.1?]

Hmm.

[Evolving Species]

◎ Brown Bear Doll – Normal

Once again, brilliant light enveloped my body.