Zulu's first course of action after defeating the Rat King was to exterminate the remaining chef rats in the outer hall — the stragglers in the original direction he had avoided.
Zulu's war with the chef rats would not end until every last one of them had been killed and consumed.
After an hour of merciless rat-slaughter, Zulu had successfully dispatched all of the chef rats inside the cave, dragging their corpses back to the den.
Inside the den, Zulu collected the rats' bodies into a pile to prepare for a big feast. All in all, there was: one Rat King, two rat concubines, and eight rat soldiers.
Looking at the mound of gray fur, Zulu could only shake his head.
'This is gonna take awhile.'
It wasn't until five hours had passed that Zulu had devoured every edible strand of meat from the chef rats' bones.
'Yet another brilliant victory for fox kind.'
When the job was finally complete, Zulu fell to the floor in fatigue and immediately fell unconscious.
--------------------------------
A familiar voice welcomed Zulu into the world of light.
[Rank 0 - Slackjaw Spider (Unborn) x5 consumed]
[2 Essence gained]
[Rank 1 - Chef Rat (Soldier) x8 consumed]
[22 Essence gained]
[Rank 2 - Chef Rat (Queen) x2 consumed]
[24 Essence gained]
[Rank 2 - Chef Rat (King) consumed]
[18 Essence gained]
Zulu sat silently for a few seconds, cherishing the fruits of his labor and the glorious notifications that were brought with them. After they ended, he thought to himself.
'Rank 0 slackjaw spiders? I didn't even know that was a rank. It seems like the rank penalty was applied here as well; However, the bonus was applied to the chef rat queens and king with great effect! Honestly, I had no clue those two rats were Rank 2. I just avoided them for the most part and let the Rat King kill them for me. Did I actually defeat two incredibly dangerous enemies without realizing? I should definitely be more wary of magical creatures from now on. That could have gone real bad, real quick if I engaged them in a fight thinking they were just normal chef rat soldiers.'
After Zulu realized his own idiocy, he called upon his status.
>—————————<
Name: Zulu [Rank 1]
Species: Spirit Fox (Newborn)
Species Specialization: Illusion Magic
Essence Value: 66
Upgrades: [Rank 1 - Night Vision, Razor Teeth]
Skills: [Rank 1 - Bite, Creep]
Spells: [Rank 1 - Olfactory Confusion]
>—————————<
'So much Essence! And my specialization appeared…'
Zulu's nonexistent face lit up at the amount of Essence he had acquired.
'I wonder…'
"Guide, can I evolve now?"
[Affirmative. Minimum Essence Value required for evolution has been met. Would you like to spend 50 Essence on your evolution?]
"Yes!" Zulu responded with enthusiasm.
[Confirmed. Applying evolution.]
However, this time, it didn't go dark.
"Did it fail?" Zulu asked worriedly.
[Negative. Evolution complete. You may chose further upgrades or reawaken immediately.]
"Cool! Nothing went wrong. I want to make further upgrades."
[Confirmed.]
"Oh yeah, can you do that from now on?"
[Please elaborate.]
"Don't immediately wake me up after every upgrade. I want to be able to look at my status afterward. I can't do that if I'm forced awake."
[Of course. My apologies.]
'Seriously, was the guide created to be this inept on purpose? Did God do it just to spite me?'
Zulu could only sigh at that thought before opening the upgrades panel.
>—————————<
>>Available Upgrades<<
-Rank 2: [Night Vision (10 E), Razor Teeth (10 E)]
-Rank 1: [Quick Feet (3 E), Sharp Claws (5 E)]
>>Available Skills<<
-Rank 2: [Bite (10 E), Creep (10 E)]
-Rank 1: [Dash (5 E), Slash (5 E)]
>>Available Spells<<
-Rank 2: [Olfactory Confusion (30 E)]
-Rank 1: [Auditory Confusion (10 E), Corporeal Illusion (Innate Ability)(15 E)]
>—————————<
'Innate ability?' Zulu thought, puzzled.
"Hey guide, how come I have to buy my species' innate ability? I thought it unlocked automatically when I'm the right rank."
[Clarification. You are not in the correct rank. Your species' innate ability doesn't unlock until you are fully mature, or in this case, Rank 3. However, you are able to bypass this rank barrier early by sacrificing Essence. It is up to you whether you chose to wait until Rank 3, or attain it early by spending Essence.]
"I see. How much Essence do I have left after evolution?"
[16.]
'Hmm, I can unlock my innate ability early or spend my remaining Essence on some upgrades. What's most beneficial to me right now? Right now, what I need is a way to get through that door, but how? [Dash], [Sharp Claws], and [Slash] sure is shit aren't going to do anything to that door; They'd make some deep cuts at most. [Auditory Confusion] sounds cool, but it's not exactly helpful either right now. [Corporeal Illusion] could be interesting if it is what I think it is.'
"Guide, could you explain to me exactly what [Corporeal Illusion] is?"
[Affirmative. [Corporeal Illusion] allows you to assume a human form for a certain amount of time depending on the amount of mana in your body. Despite the name of the spell referring to itself as an illusion, the body is quite real and can be touched and even injured. However, regardless of how material your human form may be, it remains a temporary illusion. It will disappear when your mana runs out, reverting you to your standard fox state.]
"With my current status as a Rank 2 creature, how long would that be?"
[Estimating… An hour at most, if no other spells are active.]
"Interesting. And would I still be able to preform my skills and have access to my upgrades?"
[Affirmative. The [Corporeal Illusion] spell copies the strength and abilities of its user.]
"What about weight and mass?"
[Due to the material nature of the [Corporeal Illusion] spell, your weight and mass would increase. You would not be able to retain the lightness you currently enjoy in your fox form.]
"Damn."
[However, that can be directly rectified by upgrading the rank of the spell.]
"You don't say? Yep, I'm sold."
'Especially so, because with a human body, I might be able to open that door,' Zulu thought, strengthening his desire for the spell.
"I want to buy [Corporeal Illusion]."
[Confirmed. Learning spell.]
And everything stayed the same.
"Nice job, you didn't boot me out this time."
[…]
"Also, I thought I wasn't supposed to unlock spells until Rank 3, so why can I already unlock [Auditory Confusion]? And how come beasts have to wait until then? "
[Beasts have the greatest potential for growth among living beings. In addition, their physical abilities are also the greatest. In order to offset this, beasts have the worst aptitude for magic among living beings. In addition to keeping a natural balance, beasts also struggle to cast magic due to their limited intelligence. Almost all magical beasts are unable to use magic until Rank 3 unless they have an innate ability like the chef rat. Due to your human-level intelligence, you have the option to unlock magic earlier than most beasts.]
'It really pays to be reincarnator. Stupid beasts, get on my level,' Zulu mused.
"Open status."
>—————————<
Name: Zulu [Rank 2]
Species: Spirit Fox (Adolescent)
Species Specialization: Illusion Magic
Innate Ability: [Rank 1 - Corporeal Illusion]
Essence Value: 1
Upgrades: [Rank 1 - Night Vision, Razor Teeth]
Skills: [Rank 1 - Bite, Creep]
Spells: [Rank 1 - Olfactory Confusion]
>—————————<
'Oh, I'm an adolescent now. Time for my rebellious phase!'
Then Zulu's ethereal eyes fell on his Essence Value.
'I'll never financially recover from this.'
Zulu could only sigh seeing himself go broke so quickly.
'Next up, injuries.'
Thinking so, another orange panel materialized.
>—————————<
>>Injury Report<<
-Fractured ribs x3, torn trapezius muscle
>>Ailment Report<<
-N/A
>>Death ETA<<
-N/A
>>Heal all injuries and ailments?<<
-1 Essence
>—————————<
'Good to see I'm not dying this time.'
After that thought, Zulu spent 1 Essence to heal his injuries, solidifying him as completely and utterly broke.
"You can send me back now," Zulu said, dejected.
[Confirmed.]
And everything actually went dark this time.
--------------------------------
After an unknown duration of time had passed, Zulu's eyelids steadily broke apart.
The first thing Zulu did upon awaking was inspect his new Rank 2 body. It was now over three feet in height and four and a half feet long, not including his tail.
'What an improvement! How big will I be once I reach Rank 3?' Zulu wondered.
Other than his physical size, Zulu found that all of his basic attributes increased as well. He was now stronger and faster; He had more mana and endurance; The toughness of his fur and density of his muscles both increased. He was now a true Rank 2 magical creature.
'With this body, I would've been able to take the Rat King or slackjaw spider head-on. Feels good to improve. So exciting!'
Of course, Zulu had yet to test out his most interesting addition, but he was saving that until he reached the door; He could only use it for an hour after all.
Zulu dashed out of the den, away from the mass of skeletal rat remains and into the cave. He bolted through the empty corridor with haste, eager to finally escape the stony prison that he'd called home for the last couple days.
He flew through the cave with tremendous speed, reaching the door in only ten minutes.
Standing in front of the door, Zulu stood still, panting. Running at full sprint for ten minutes straight had still winded him a little; His endurance was not unlimited.
Zulu glanced at the spot on the wall where the torch once sat. Now only an empty sconce remained.
'Ah, it feels like yesterday that I was born under the light of the almighty-torch. Well, it basically was yesterday but let's not ruin the moment, dammit.'
After a short moment of nostalgia, Zulu inspected his new spell, [Corporeal Illusion]. Of course, he did not need to memorize or practice the spell as the necessary information had already been implanted in his mind.
With a thought, Zulu activated the [Corporeal Illusion] spell. His body was entirely wrapped in white light before transforming. After a few seconds of painless mutation, Zulu's human body was revealed. Immediately after completion, he could feel his mana slowly being drained away in order to maintain the form.
Of course, Zulu was unable to inspect the entirety of his human body due to the darkness and obvious lack of a mirror, but he tried nonetheless with his [Night Vision].
'All I can tell is that I'm pale, slim, and smooth. I have hands instead of paws; Weird. I need to get used to the feeling of a human body again. I still have the ability to use it; It just feels strange now.'
After a few moments of self-examination, Zulu seemed to remember something important. His hand quickly slid downward between his thighs before freezing in place.
'Gone. It's gone! Well, hang on a second. There's actually nothing there. I'm flat! What am I, a mannequin? No wait, actually that makes sense. I never had to use the restroom in my fox form, and I don't think I even had any genitalia to begin with. Are spirit foxes a genderless species? Ahh man, how am I supposed to have fun with elven women now? Wait, maybe this is also a problem that can be rectified by upgrading the rank of the spell. Just another reason to accumulate Essence.'
Thinking that, Zulu turned to the door and pressed his hand into it with renewed vigor, yet nothing happened.
'Okay, okay. Let me put a little backbone into it. For my manhood!" Zulu inwardly declared before pushing his full human weight into the door, and yet it stubbornly remained in place.
'Maybe I'm supposed to inject mana into it?'
Thinking that, Zulu sensed the mana inside his arm before redirecting it toward the door. To his amazement, he found that manipulating the mana in his body felt quite natural, and it flowed freely in accordance with his thoughts. The stone door pulled a small amount of mana from his hand before emitting a light hum.
'It actually worked. I'm finally free! Oh, and I'm naked.'
As Zulu thought that, the crease down the middle of the stone door glowed with a brilliant blue hue before beginning to slowly break apart.
After a few seconds, the stone door completely unsealed, revealing the shocked expression of a middle-aged man on the other side.