"Kwak!" (Fuck!)
Mao had just been knocked off the great tree along with several of his other, soon-to-be dead siblings as they fell to the earth below.
Mao simply hoped that of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, he would be reborn as a deva or asura, or even a decent human, if possible …
No wait, it was the heavens that Mao was talking about, he had already been screwed over by the heavens once so who is to say that he would not be screwed over another?
Mao once again just barely successfully restrained himself from spitting a mouthful of blood at the thought of such a thing, being reborn as a shittier animal, a hungry ghost, or a soul that would be tormented for all eternity in hell, or even worse yet, nothing at all!
"Kwak!" (I can't let it end like this!) Mao would steel himself by gritting his mandibles together, totally unwilling to accept such an important fate to be left by deities who have only proven themselves either wholly incompetent, or worse yet, extremely malicious.
As Mao would resolve himself, he noticed a strange light resembling a screen, was it there before? No it couldn't have been, Mao would have noticed such an out-of-place thing amongst the chaos earlier!
Mao looked upon it in closer inspection, and he concluded that it seemed to look like something straight out of a game.
[Mao (Demonic Hatchling) (Inferior Realm)]
[Titles: Forsaken]
[Traits: Qi-Sensitive (Fire)]
[Skills: None]
'Showing me a status screen? How fucked must the gods be!' He swore once more against the heavens and taking this as a taunt to his predicament, he had been pushed into a shitty situation, and now something had appeared that made it look like it was a game?
Mao also looked at his titles and there it was! Confirmation that he was indeed forsaken by the heavens.
If Mao would ever gain enough power to surpass being an immortal and into the realm of the divine, he would find the deities responsible for this stupid tribulation and kill them and their entire families–nay, nine generations following their existence!
[New Skill Gained: Inferior Killing Intent]
[New Trait Gained: Bloodthirsty]
'Bloodthirsty?' Mao thought of a skill as quite appropriate, such a word would be the only one capable of describing his feelings in this horrible situation.
[Tutorial Quest Assigned!]
And just when Mao was about to lose his marbles, a glimmer of hope appeared.
Mao quickly took back his curses directed at the heavens, and instead being filled with joy at what he thought was a way out, how could he have been so foolish? Having eyes but cannot see Mt. Tai, he thought.
[Tutorial Quest: Survive]
[Difficulty: Very Hard, Reward: ???]
Mao could only curse the heavens once more upon being confronted with such a severe betrayal.
Truly, the gods were horrible beings, Mao had been given a tutorial quest labelled 'Very Hard' at the start, but then again it made sense, hatchlings usually were not pushed off a goddamn tree shortly after their birth.
But still–
'It is not impossible!' Mao told himself.
If the mockery in front of him was to be believed, it was a very hard situation indeed, however it was still a far cry off from 'Hopeless' or 'Impossible', and so he deluded himself into not giving up, clinging onto a chance of life.
While panicking Mao flapped his wings around as hard as he could, but to no avail as he simply flipped around the place, feeling something warm inside him bubbling as he did so.
'No, this isn't working!' Mao thought frantically, if only he had a special ability–
'!?' And suddenly his mind sprang into action, being reminded of a few of his siblings back up in the nest.
Some of them somehow had heat vision, the other super speed, and the other super strength, why was that? What made him different from them? Were they not of the same mother? He was mostly sure that he was not adopted.
Something in Mao's chest had welled up, whether or not it was his body about, it was then that he realised something, as he looked back upon his screen, essentially gaining a pseudo-enlightenment in his moment of seemingly-hopeless situation.
[Qi-Sensitive (Fire)]
'This is it!' Mao internally exclaimed, thinking that he had found the solution.
This energy inside of Mao is what was responsible for the crazy feats his siblings had done moments after birth. Genuine hope had now appeared in front of him.
They say that the heavens truly were ruthless, but leaves a slim chance of survival for those who can grasp it, and in such a case Mao could only agree as that slim chance was presented before him.
The miraculous situation rarer than a phoenix's feather and a qilin's horn had been revealed, and Mao would only have himself to blame if he at least did not try to make use of it.
"Kwaaaaak!" (I found you!) Mao screamed as he found the energy inside of him that had been building ever since he started tumbling around mid-air.
Within the very core of his being, he forced his tattered spirit to grasp the energy tight, feeling it wholly, it really was here, and with a tap it spread throughout his veins, the meridians carrying it throughout his body and giving him a refreshing feeling of undoubtful vitality!
[Congratulations, you have reached the Realm of Qi Condensation!]
[New Skill Gained: Inferior Qi Utilisation]
Mao frantically flapped his wings, as hard as he could, the warm energy collectively increasing inside his wing's meridians as he did so.
Mao felt it, his speed was decreasing, ever so slightly, but he could feel the wind being dragged past his arms, making it feel like they were about to tear off with the great altitude he found himself in.
However Mao grit his beak and simply put up with the pain.
Mao felt like his veins were about to burst but in such a situation, having the veins in your wings burst will always be preferable to simply being a puddle of gore on the ground!
[New Ability Gained: Glide (Level 1)]
*Thok!* Mao's body jolted as his little bird feet made contact with the grass down below.
He did it, he did it!
He lived! And–
"Kwaaaarghh–!!"
Mao found himself finally spitting a mouthful of blood.
[New Trait Gained: Sickly]
Mao honestly thought that a prostate exam conducted by a man made of needles would have been a more pleasant experience than what he had just undergone.
Nonetheless Mao was alive, most likely not well, but alive nonetheless.
But now what? Mao didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. His body ached all over, he was in agony as he fell to his knees, much of his questions still left unanswered.
However there was one thing clear, it was that he was stuck here, and it was with this that ended the five stages of depression, a tranquil acceptance whilst writhing on the forest floor, surrounded by blood splatters he used to call siblings.
"Fucking shit, I guess this really is happening then?" Mao said as he struggled to get up from the grass, his body still aching as he did.
Mao thought about things for a while, and eventually settled on one thought.
'I have to go forward …' Mao thought to himself, getting a sinking feeling that if he stood around any longer, he would forever be ignorant of the heights of the heavens and the depths of the seas.
[New Trait Gained: Adaptive]
'But … where to?' Mao thought, scanning the corpse–filled surroundings he found himself in.