Martin remained seated on the bed, his mind churning.
He knew he needed a plan. Content with his current situation, he wouldn't allow himself to make critical errors.
Right now, he had no Paradigna Points, meaning he couldn't acquire any beings or creatures from the Paradigna Market. He had to change that.
Paradigna offered two clear paths to earn points: killing people, his area of expertise, or killing other creatures, an area where he wasn't entirely inept.
"Depending on the strength of the monster I kill, the points that I am going to earn will be more," Martin whispered to himself.
His logic was simple: the concept of living was vastly different across species.
An insect was a creature, as was a lion.
An insect wouldn't yield the same points as a lion.
This seemed clear enough.
Paradigna had also mentioned that this new world was incredibly vast, and the concept of living could manifest in many different forms.
Martin didn't fully grasp this, but he could generally guess.
It likely referred to fantastical beings: ghosts, mechanical entities, vampires, werewolves, or a myriad of other strange creatures.
After a period of contemplation, Martin closed his eyes and stood.
It was time to move, to learn about his environment before deciding who to kill – human or animal.
He pulled on a long-sleeved brown leather outfit from his closet, then layered it with a black leather jacket.
From the corner of the room, he took a small axe, hanging it at his waist.
This simple weapon could be a lifesaver in a dangerous situation.
With the axe secured, he opened the wooden door and stepped outside for the first time.
The air was clean, the weather pleasantly sunny, though a brisk wind blew, making his jacket a welcome layer.
He surveyed his surroundings.
The village was quiet, with only the occasional sound of a child's voice.
Most people were likely working in their fields or farms.
Martin realized his predicament: he lacked the memories of the young man whose body he now inhabited.
He wouldn't know anyone, and no one would know him.
His convenient excuse would be a strange illness that caused amnesia.
He began to walk, noting the village wasn't particularly large.
He counted houses as he strolled, needing to grasp the layout to decide where to begin.
His calm steps led him past two boys playing on his right, both about six years old.
He could easily deceive them, they wouldn't resist.
As this thought crossed Martin's mind, a black-haired, black-eyed boy of six yelled at the other.
"I'm telling you to give me my toy!"
Martin watched them.
After the boy's yell, a strange bloodlust, a feeling Martin knew well, emanated from him.
"How strange!" he whispered to himself.
"Hahaha, it's not like you are going to catch me."
The blonde boy taunted, and then, a white smoke engulfed him. In an instant, the boy transformed into a yellow eagle and immediately took flight.
Martin took a deep, slow breath, a shiver of excitement running through him.
The black-haired boy, too, was enveloped in white smoke. Moments later, he transformed into a somewhat scrawny black wolf with startling blood-red eyes.
Martin witnessed the entire metamorphosis.
knew, instinctively, that he likely couldn't fight the black wolf before him, even with his axe.
What surprised him even more was that the very first two children he encountered were the shape-shifters Paradigna had spoken of.
hadn't expected that, leaving him somewhat confused.
He didn't get a chance to scrutinize the yellow eagle, but he managed to examine the black wolf.
After a mere three seconds of observation, a whispering sound filled his head, and grey text materialized before his eyes, clearly visible but not obstructing his view of the surroundings.
Black Weak Wolf
W1-Black-Weak-Wolf
Strength: 0.3
Agility: 0.7
Vitality: 0.2
Intelligence: 0
Abilities:
Sprint