Hello there.
I hope you enjoy this story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Re: Monster.
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{Day 0}
I knew not what I was, nor where I was...
{Recalibrating Body...}
It felt strange, as though I was being pulled apart. As though I was water, I felt pieces of myself become pulled from my body. Slowly, more and more of my body was severed from my control, until only what was possibly my head remained. As even that began to separate, my vision faded.
{Body has been recalibrated. Good luck to you Gamer.}
{Day 1}
I drifted aimlessly wherever I was, my only company being this strange box in front of me.
{Name} ? ? ?
[Sex] Genderless
[Race] Mana Cluster
[Age] ? ? Day
[Stats]
-HP: ?
-MP: ?
-Str: ?
-End: ?
-Agi: ?
-Mag: ?
-Int: ?
-Luk: ?
-LV: ?
-EXP: ?/?
[Skills]
-None
What was a -Mana Cluster-? Actually, what was mana in the first place?
...
I drifted for some time, unable to grasp at the time, yet knowing that the day had not passed...
Perhaps, I would one day learn of what led to my circumstance.
{Day 2}
I felt a stir, a shiver passing through my...body?
{Congratulations! You have reached the designated level to Rank-Up!}
{You can now Rank-Up into Impling}
{You will begin evolving momentarily...}
I was only able to barely read this before feeling a surge spread through my body. As if on instinct, I felt myself somehow curling up. Unable to move, I could only soundlessly moan as waves of energy surged through my body. As this happened, I felt as though my body was beginning to change.
...
The energy faded, filtering out of my body as I felt myself uncurl itself. When I did, I saw that strange box reappear, drastically changed.
{Name} Nameless
[Sex] Male
[Race] Impling
[Age] 2 Day
[Stats]
-HP: 5
-MP: 0
-Str: 1
-End: 1
-Agi: 2
-Mag: 2
-Int: 1
-Luk: 1
-Lv: 1/5
-EXP: 0/3
[Skills]
-Sense:
I was an... Impling?
It also says I am nameless... Does this explain why I can't remember anything about myself? I felt around, realizing that I could no longer see, as well as that I no longer drifted. As I felt around, I subconsciously felt the presence of others, all-permeating some sort of wave that felt familiar to me. Nudging around, my hand, possessing only two fingers and a thumb, landed on, skin. I almost flinched from the skin, only to calm down when the being next to me felt familiar.
I felt others touch me, some hands being thinner than mine, as we moved about.
...
After what felt like hours, I felt something shifts in my body. Stilling, my boy began to groan.
{Congratulations! Your body has matured.}
{2/3 Maturity achieved.}
{You have learned a new skill.}
[Mana-Synthesis] Absorbs the ambient mana in the air, converting it into energy, fueling the body.
-Rank: Max
-Absorbs 2 MP, converting them into 1 EXP. Can be used once every 30 minutes.
Almost as though I was on auto-pilot, I felt my new appendage, a mouth, open up, allowing for something to course into my mouth.
...
After possibly an hour, I felt something inside stir.
{Congratulations! Your body has reached full maturity.}
{3/3 Maturity achieved.}
{You have learned a new skill.}
[Night Vision] Perfect clarity in the darkness.
-Perfect vision even in pitch darkness.
Proof of my maturity was revealed, as I realized I could see once more. Glancing around, I realized I was surrounded by a mass of flesh, only a few, like me with eyes. Upon locating another who stared at me, I held my hand up, waving. To my pleasant surprise, they waved back. Slowly wading through the mass of fellow Implings, the two of us slowly inched closer, taking a few moments to absorb a bit of mana every so often. When we finally reached each other, a couple hours later, I tilted my head, examining their appearance, who appeared feminine.
Unlike myself, the feminine Impling had a pair of minuscule mounds forming on their chest. Similarly, the two of us both possessed three-digit limbs, naked pink flesh, and though I'm certain we share the same eye color, red eyes. Turning, the feminine Impling moved away, glancing back, shifting their head, as though saying to follow. I complied.
...
As we waded through the mass of flesh, we were soon joined by more and more Implings, each eventually following the feminine Impling. I wouldn't know why, but I felt slightly compelled to simply follow their head, so I did. I suspect the others felt the same towards this Impling. Perhaps this one would Rank-Up into a being of power, though whether or not it worked as such, I once more wouldn't know.
While following, I heard something resonate in my mind. I suspect the same occurred with the others for each and every one of them froze, glancing forward with a focused expression. I did the same when the strange box appeared.
{Alert! You have achieved one of two requirements for next Evolution.}
{Requirements}
-Impling reaches Age of 3 Days. In-Progress.
-Impling reaches Level of 5. Achieved.
When I finished reading the message, it closed itself, finding everyone giving each other curious stares. It seems, everyone shared the same message. If so, then that meant, we would Rank-Up to the next form, when the next day arrived. With this thought, I followed after the others, who had begun to do so when the lead feminine Impling did. Since we had achieved the maximum level needed to advance, we didn't waste time absorbing any more mana. Instead, we began to scale the walls surrounding us.
As we did, I looked down, finding other matured Implings wading through the mass, climbing up after us when they did. Reaching a stable surface, everyone that had matured began to settle on the rocks.
...
More and more Implings joined us as the day went on.
Soon, the mass of flesh below began to shrink, as more and more Implings matured. By the time the mass had been reduced to a scattering of immature Implings, the walls that surrounded us was covered to the brim with matured Implings.
As I lingered, gripping my perch, I felt a tug in my mind.
{Alert! You have achieved two of two requirements for next Evolution.}
{Congratulations! You have reached the designated level to Rank-Up!}
{You have completed the secret requirement; "Mature In Less Than 12 Hours" & "Be One of The First One-Hundred".}
{You can now Rank-Up into Lesser Imp-Variant}
{You will now undergo evolution.}
Feeling a pull on my mind, I gripped my head, curling up, groaning as my skin began to bubble. Nearby, many other Implings began doing the same. As the pull grew stronger, I felt a sort of relief. What relief it was for, I wouldn't know as my skin expanded into a sort of sac, gray energy flowing within. I blacked out afterward.
{Day 3}
When the next day arrived, I found I had changed drastically. Holding up my still three-digit hands, I felt three new appendages on my spine. Glancing back, I marveled at the leathery wings that had sprouted from my shoulder blades, somewhat connected to my spine, which seems to have extended outwards a bit, as I stared at the long, thin whip-like tail that belonged to me. It also seems by looking around and feeling my forehead, I have grown a pair of horns, is the length of probably five inches. My skin has also changed from pink to gray, my stomach showing that I had also grown a bit of muscle...
Perhaps this was a side effect of what I read. It seems I had evolved into a -Lesser Imp-Variant-.
{Name} Nameless
{Sex} Male
{Race} Lesser Imp-Greater
{Age} 3 Day
{Stats}
[HP] 15
[MP] 10
[STR] 2
[END] 2
[AGI] 3
[MAG] 3
[INT] 2
[LUK] 2
[LV] 1/20
[EXP] 0/20
{Skills}
[Night Vision] Perfect clarity in the darkness.
-Perfect vision even in pitch darkness.
[Imp Language] The language of the Imps.
[Goblin Language] The language of The Goblins.
[Flight] Soar through the air.
{Spells}
[Imp Fire] Conjure and pepper the target with a small ball of fire.
-Requires 1 MP.
-Has a slight chance of burning target.
Glancing about, I noticed that several dozen other Lesser Imps possessed the same physique as my own. Some had even surrounded a unique-looking feminine Lesser Imp. This Imp was probably the same Impling that had become our leader prior to our evolution. The Lesser Imp, now truly feminine-looking, seemed to be the leader. While not possessing the same physique as I and others did, her horns were slightly larger, and the mounds on her chest have grown a bit. She had also begun to grow a bit of what seemed to be hair, on the tip of her tail.
Making my way over to the crowd, any of the regular Lesser Imps parted, allowing me space to move. Noticing my presence, the leader nodded in my direction before looking up. Doing the same, I noticed how, with our evolution, the ceiling has revealed more walls, leading upwards towards a crack. Hearing movement, I looked back down, finding our leader to begin to climb upwards. Without hesitation, I followed, but using my wings instead, in order to become used to them. As I slowly ascended, our leader soon adopted my movement, flying higher much faster than I could. We all followed her. Glancing down, my eyes widened as I watched as thousands of Lesser Imps surged after our leader.
Flapping my wings, I flew after her, pumping my wings when I began to lag behind the others. As we neared the crack, I thought I saw a shadow pass, as I heard a noise. I then realized it wasn't just us Imps in the area, as we had remained silent when our leader had done. Reaching the crack, I also realized it was bigger than I thought it was. When our leader slipped through the crack, I heard shouting, my eyes narrowing instantly. Glancing to my side, the other Imps had done the same. Without thought, we all surged through the hole, us Variants first.
()()()
Benthal POV
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During the great purge enacted onto the Kuuderun Great Forest, millions of members of our branch had fallen, many alongside our goblin cousins who had tried to fend off the war initiated by the humans. He would have to be satisfied, however, that he managed to kill off one of the human generals before he could eliminate the rest of their branch, now a mere group. His once proud branch of over three million had been reduced to only himself, a Greater incubus, three Lesser Succubus, and seven Arch Imps.
Sighing, he picked up his bounty, a few Horn Rabbits, before pausing. Glancing down at one of the few hatcheries that managed to survive from the attack, his eyes widened when he saw activity. With the great loss, he had thought that the lack of mana in the air would leave the mana clusters within, dormant, further setting the group back. Grinning at the activity within the hatchery, he continued his walk back, a slight hop in his step.
...
When he had revealed news of the active hatchery, his group had grown ecstatic. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't gleeful as well. With luck, perhaps a hundred or so Lesser Imps would join them, thus bolstering their numbers. And so, checking the hatchery every-so-often, him and what remained of the once proud branch began to periodically check on the hatchery.
Finally, after three days of constant surveillance, one of the Lesser Succubus squealed with delight. Running back to the hatchery, his eyes widened at the sight of a lone Lesser Imp, a single tuft of hair growing on the tip of its tail. It was being bearhugged by the Lesser Succubus. The other two were trying to pry the Imp free of their sister's grip but froze. As one, the two stared at the hatchery, eyes beginning to sparkle. He turned to do the same, expression turning gleeful as he watched dozens of Lesser Imp-Greater variants appear. His expression soon turned to joy as he watched as literally hundreds of Lesser Imps burst out of the hatchery, swarming around the ceiling, releasing confused and curious chirps.
Finally releasing herself as he found, the Lesser Imp with the tuft of hair pulled herself out of the shocked Lesser Succubus's grip and released a chirp. Without hesitation, one of the Lesser Imp-Greater variants flew down, landing onto its legs as it turned silent. At this point, he had gone into a mini-coma at the vast number of new Imps that had joined their family.
()()()
Nameless Imp POV
()()()
Bursting from the crack, I had to stop myself, lest I impact against a ceiling. Twisting around, I began to flap my wings, searching for our leader. As I did, I heard a chirp. Curious, I glanced down, finding our leader looking up at us. Without pause, I flew down to her, landing on my feet, as I nodded to her. After a few moments, more and more variants did the same, until the entire Imp swarm had calmed down, landing on various parts of the wall, forming a perch.
Looking around, I found what seemed to be seven older and more powerful Imps, giving us various pleased expressions, three females with the body of some sort of humanoid, and the legs of an...equine? Goat? Like us, the trio possessed a pair of horns, though theirs came from the side of their heads, and they possessed what seemed to be fur, covering the entirety of their lower body, and parts of their chests. Speaking of which, the trio were giving us these strange expressions. They seemed to be gleeful about something... Also, why did they feel so familiar?
{Day 4}
I learned that the female humanoids were known as Lesser Succubus, or Succubi, and were part of the generation born before us, thus being former Imps. Apparently, Succubi possessed the body of a race known as a human, and the legs of a beast known as a goat. The seven imps that had surrounded us were known as Arch-Imps, also part of the generation before us. The lone man before us was the leader and the sole Incubus, a Greater incubus to be exact. Supposedly, he was around two centuries old, except he looked more of possibly thirty years...
Regardless of this, as the day went by, we Lesser Imps were given a somewhat long lecture on the history of our branch, now a tribe. Four years ago, our tribe had once numbered in the millions, only for that number to plummet drastically when three human kingdoms fought against each other, the forest, the Kuuderun Great Forest becoming collateral. As the forest was our home, everyone had sought the humans, seeking to drive them out of the forest. We had succeeded, alongside the help of our cousins, the goblins, yet we suffered for it, heavily. What was once millions of Greater imps, Succubi & Incubi, Arch Imps, and even Fiends, we had been reduced to the three Lesser Succubi, seven Arch Imps, and himself, the sole Greater Incubus.
With the birth of our generation, however, plans to rebuild our once grand branch has begun. First, we would be going through some lessons so that we may survive against the wilds, before honing ourselves in battle, as it was the fastest way to evolution. To be honest, we hadn't really been convinced, nor motivated, if it wasn't for our leader, who had become determined.
Though we hadn't decided, nor speak of it, we Lesser Imp-Greater's had already been determined as her followers/bodyguards. If she was going to train and fight, we would do the same. Seeing our reactions, slowly, hundreds by hundreds, the minds of the Lesser Imps changed, shifting from unmotivated, to motivate.
{Day 5}
As Lesser Imps, we had been granted access to a spell, exclusive to Imps only.
It was spell known as -Imp Fire-, a spell that called forth a small orb of fire, which hovered above the palm used to conjure the fire. For the first half of the day, we were instructed by one of the Succubi, Lea as she was called, on how to properly summon the flame. Once that was accomplished, she then had us throw them onto a nearby wall. Since our fireballs could only deal a slight amount of burning, it didn't harm the wall at all, only the smidgens of burnt markings revealing our efforts. Seeing our disheartened expressions, she had been quick to reassure us on that as we grew older and more powerful, our fireballs would do the same.
With renewed vigor, we continued, stopping only when we ran out of mana.
...
The second half of the day was used to perfect our flying. With skies as our only limit, we were treated to the freedom of true flight, the feeling of the wind flowing past me as I burst through the air. Ascending, descending, I did rolls in the air as I enjoyed my time in the air, grinning as I did. All around me, Lesser Imps and the Greater Variants were all doing the same. Guiding us were the seven Arch Imps who were giving us easy grins as they outflew us with ease.
The only one who managed to keep up with the Arch Imps was our leader, now dubbed Clo. Many of us had also been named, mine being known as Rukku. As we flew through the air, I saw a strange sight. tiny green figures hunted rabbits with horns. Gaining the attention of one of the Arch Imps, I gestured down at the figures. Grinning, they spoke of the figures being our cousins, the Goblins.
They spoke of how we would encounter them, be it by my own or with the others, though they recommended I did so when I evolved first. I nodded.
{Day 6}
In order to gain experience and evolve, we were all separated into groups of hundreds, bringing us to a total of thirty-seven groups.
It was surprising to see just how many Lesser Imps there was in total. For every group, a Lesser Imp-Greater was assigned to it, meaning every hundred Lesser Imp group, had one of our Greater variants mixed in. When we had been all sent out, I watched with narrowed surprise when we all briefly froze, before resuming our flight. It seems, we all indeed share the same box.
{Alert! An Expedition has been formed!}
[Name] First Hunt!
[Description] The time has come for all Lesser Imps to go out and accumulate experience. Ensure you remain out of range to your target(s), and you will guarantee your success and maximize your survival.
[Leader] Clo: Lesser Imp-Greater
[Personel] 3714
-Lesser Imp-Greater: 36
-Lesser Imp: 3677
[Target]
-Horn Rabbit (34) +4 EXP
-Armored Tanuki (13) +6 EXP
My belief was only heightened when I saw everyone in the newly established expedition stare at each other, watching everyone's, surprised expression, myself included. With the newfound knowledge that everyone possessed this strange ability, I somehow felt both at ease, and perhaps a bit gleeful. Knowing that I wasn't the only one to possess this ability was somewhat relieving. Staring ahead, I watched as our leader, Clo stare ahead. To mine and everyone's combined surprised, a massive red arrow pointed downwards onto a part of the forest.
{A Marker has been planted. A large abundance of the Target(s) have been sighted.}
As if a signal has been sounded, we all converged as one unto the marker. What a sight it was, literal thousands of Lesser Imps raining down from the skies. Once we were in close proximity of the target(s), we idly acknowledged the presence of a pair of goblins, one carrying a club, the other a horn, before we released our fireballs onto the Horn Rabbits. Hundreds of fireballs bombarded the rabbits, the first wave cutting off any escape for the rabbits, and the second to wear down their resistance. When they began to slow down, a few of us landed and began to cut them down with their claws.
When the Horn Rabbits died, four in all, a ping was heard.
{4 of 34 Horn Rabbits slain. 12 EXP earned to killers. 9 EXP is shared with the rest of the Expedition.}
As this message appeared before us, we quickly ascended into the air, the message then closes itself. I tried to find a moment to think, yet was unable to as another marker was placed, another ping being heard.
{A Marker has been planted. A large abundance of the Target(s) have been sighted.}
...
...
When we returned, I had gained a total of one-hundred and eighty experience, increasing my level to ten, halfway towards reaching max level and evolving.
{Day 7}
It rained today, so we opted to practice and hone our skills indoors.
As we were Imps, we didn't really require meat for survival as we fed on the ambient mana in the air to live. We could still eat them for enjoyment, I found as the meat also possessed leftover magic from whatever beast it originated from. As I chewed on a piece of such meat, I began arranging the items in my hands. I decided that since the weather outside would make it virtually impossible to fly, I thought I'd try my hands at crafting.
It was here, I discovered my first problem; Besides my thumb, I possessed only two fingers. This made it extremely difficult, yet not impossible to achieve what I sought to make. After what was probably the most painstaking hour, I finally created something.
{Congratulations! You have successfully created Crude Spear. The new recipe will be recorded into Recipes.}
When I heard the ping, my eyes blinked in surprise when I saw everyone from my generation freeze in place. Turning towards my direction, they stared at the piece of sharpened rock, attached to a wooden stick, with vines wrapped around it, keeping them together. As though in a trance, hundreds of Lesser Imps suddenly began to gather branches, others sharpening rocks, which was used to gather vines.
Once three great piles of the three materials were gathered, many a more -Crude Spears- were created. The Incubus, Benthal came over, curious about what exactly we were doing, only to watch on amused as we crafted the spears. When we had finished, we still had a small pile of vines left. Amassing the spears, I thought of using them in tomorrows hunt, only to wonder. How exactly were we to carry them?
{Day 8}
We found a way.
Using some pieces of tree bark, we attached it with some vines, and slung it over ourselves, allowing us to carry a maximum of two spears. Those who didn't possess these slings gripped their spears with both hands. I was one of the latter. As we flew through the air, we looked around for some Horn Rabbits and Armored Tanuki to kill. We didn't have a quest this time, so we were just out hunting. It was today that I learned something about Imps. We had heightened senses, our vision being three times as far, and every other sense twice as much.
Soaring through the skies, we came across a strange sight. It was a snake, except its scales were feathers. As it slithered through the air, we struck, impaling it with our spears. We obviously retrieved our spears, some of the free Imps carrying its corpse back to the cave that was our home. It was located atop a small mountain, hidden away by natural boulders.
... It seems, that we share the experience earned by slaying that snake, for I gained eight experience. Looking ahead, I watched as our leader, Clo impales a Horn Rabbit, having stopped flying entirely, allowing her body to descend like a...rock in the air. Stopping herself before she smashed into the ground, her spear had impaled the horn itself, the spear breaking in the process. Pulling the corpse, she slowly ascended back into the air. Meeting her halfway, I grabbed the corpse, handing her my spear. Giving me a thankful nod, she returned to the hunt, as I returned back to the cave.
...
I leveled up today.
{Day 9}
It rained today.
As we had done the last time it rained, we crafted. Grabbing a couple of the spears, we began to refine them by trimming the shaft, making it smooth, and sharpening the stone. We also took the time to apply some paste, allowing it to stay attached much more efficiently. The paste was made of a mixture of mud and stone. The process to make it was strange, yet it was something I figure we would appreciate.
When we finished refining the spear, I heard a ping.
{Alert! The recipe; Crude Spear has transformed into Shoddy Spear.}
We also turned the makeshift sling into a more safer one, mostly by attaching more vines and reinforcing the ones already attached, by braiding it. When we ran out of materials, I went to go and find more materials. As I did, I ended up flying past Benthal's room. Curious when I heard a series of thumping, I peered inside, only to find Benthal, and the three Succubi all nude. Two of the Succubi were hugging the Incubus' arms as he thrust his lower torso forward, eliciting a cry of glee from the third Succubus, Lea. I tilted my head, chirping in confusion.
Hearing my chirp, they paused momentarily, staring at my direction. Seeing my confused expression, Benthal just gave me a humored expression before shooing me away. I complied, exiting the room. As I did, I caught the scent of something musky...
... I wonder where I can find some more vines...
()()()()()()
Done.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
The remake has finally been written. As shown, Rukku has been reborn as an Imp. As stated in the other story, Rukku has been reborn, but as shown in a cameo, Rou and Co. will still make an appearance, just not for a while. Onto other news, I shall explain a few things;
Clo: Clo has been reborn as an Imp, but not just any Imp, but a Lesser Imp-Leader. This type of Lesser Imp is rarer than the Lesser Imp-Greater as it possesses the capability of evolving into a unique type of Greater Imp. Her role in this story will become more significant in the story, especially when everyone evolves, as they will be capable of speech.
Appearances:
{Impling} A small one-foot hunched humanoid, possessing three-digit claws, naked pink flesh, and a pair of red eyes.
{Lesser Imp} A three-feet humanoid with a somewhat hunched figure. Its skin turns gray, and its spine stretches outwards slightly, as well as a pair of five-inch horns growing from its forehead. Growing from its shoulder-blades are a pair of leathery wings, and thin tail forming downwards. Possesses two variants;
-Greater: A Lesser Imp with a much more defined body.
-Leader: Possesses the same physique as a Greater, except they also possess a tuft of hair on the tip of their tail.
{Arch Imp} A four-feet Imp with defined muscles, four-digit claws, six-inch horns, and longer wings.
{Lesser Succubus} A young teenaged human woman, with the lower body of a goat, fur covering her genitals. A pair of horns grows from the sides of her head. If desired, the fur on their legs can cover their breasts as well.
{Greater Incubus} A young human man, with the lower body of a bull. A single sprout from his forehead curved upwards.
Everyone from Clo & Rukku's generation possesses the Gamer ability. Do you know why?
Unlike their cousins, the goblins, the Imps are capable of evolving multiple times, through their unique evolution system, as each tier possesses thtree ranks; Lesser, Greater & Arch. Imps are also capable of evolving mid-battle or dying when the requirements have been met.
Also, should Rou keep his Absorption ability, or should he go without?