Rat life is tough

Kaden's head was a mess. He did not know what the right decision here. Had the egg already hatched? Was the creature out? Or was it still in the same vulnerable state? Was that why it had called back the beast horde?

He again started feeling a little panic when he thought about that beast horde. Was he prepared to face something like that again? Fuck it. A beast horde might just be the thing he needed! He could get more beastial forms under his belt.

Kaden let out a sigh and decided to stop obsessing over this. Besides, he first had to check just how good this shapeshifting skill was. He willed for the skill to activate and pictured the rat in his mind.

Immediately a strange sensation washed over him, followed by pain, unimaginable pain. Kaden would have collapsed from the sheer shock if not for the fact that he had suffered worse in his past life.

His skin prickled, his muscles tightened, and then his entire body compressed in on itself. His bones shrunk, his vision shifted lower, his limbs twisted as his hands and feet became small, clawed paws. A wave of dizziness hit him as his perspective tilted, the world growing massive around him.

Then, it was done.

The transformation took mere seconds, but when he blinked and looked around, he realized that everything was huge. The riverbank that had once been at his feet stretched out like a vast expanse. The trees towered above him like ancient monoliths, their roots gnarled and twisting like giant barriers.

And his body?

Small. Too small.

Kaden scurried forward instinctively, the movement strange but somehow natural. He lifted one of his tiny, clawed paws and observed it with a mixture of fascination and irritation.

He was a rat.

A fucking rat.

His whiskers twitched, his nose picking up scents far more vividly than before. The world smelled louder—every trace of water, dirt, plant, and creature around him was suddenly overwhelming. His hearing was sharper, too.

He could hear the distant rustling of insects, the subtle vibrations of something moving beneath the earth. Kaden exhaled, or at least, tried to. His small rat lungs made it feel… weird. Alright. This is useless in combat.

He looked at his reflection again and staring back at him was a tiny, scruffy-looking bilge rat. Beady black eyes, long whiskers, and a wiry tail that twitched involuntarily. His fur was dark and patchy, the kind of rat you'd expect to find lurking in the filth of an abandoned sewer.

Kaden scowled—or at least, he tried to. Instead, his snout twitched in irritation.

This is ridiculous.

The transformation was seamless, but the pain had been unexpected. He had assumed it would be smooth, a natural shift like flicking a switch, but his body had screamed in protest as if every single cell had been forcibly rewritten.

Still, the results were undeniable. He was smaller, faster, and his senses were sharper. But what about his skills? Just as he was about to whip one out, a shrill cry sounded above him.

Kaden's tiny rat head jerked up instinctively, his beady eyes catching sight of a dark shape streaking across the sky. His gut reaction screamed danger, his newfound instincts flaring up with raw, primal terror.

A hawk.

The shrill cry echoed again as the creature dived, cutting through the air with terrifying speed. Its silhouette stretched against the dimming sky, wings wide, talons extended.

"Shit!" Kaden knew he should have turned back but his first instinct was to summon a [Thorn Whip]. He willed for the skill to activate and yet nothing happened. "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Nothing.

No whip. No thorns. No mana surging through his body.

Kaden's tiny rat heart pounded as he tried again, his mind screaming for any skill, any ability—but it was useless. His mana wasn't responding.

The hawk was already plummeting. Its talons gleamed under the fading light, ready to snatch him up and rip him apart.

Move, move, move!

Kaden bolted. His small rodent body reacted instantly, faster than his human instincts could even process. His limbs were a blur as he scurried over roots, his claws digging into the dirt, pushing him forward with terrifying speed.

Damn, I'm fast!

But was he fast enough?

The hawk's shadow loomed overhead. The wind shifted as its wings sliced through the air. Kaden's instincts screamed. He zigzagged, throwing himself into a sharp left turn at the last second.

WHOOSH!

The talons missed by inches.

Kaden's whiskers twitched as the wind pressure from the near miss sent a wave of dirt flying into the air.

But the hawk wasn't done. It screeched in frustration, wheeling back around for another dive. Kaden had seconds.

No mana. No skills. Only this body.

His mind raced. Think like a rat. If he couldn't fight, he had to escape. Hide.

His sharp new senses kicked in, processing details faster than before. There—a burrow! A hollow space nestled between the gnarled roots of a tree, just small enough for a rat.