~Day 1~

Oh. I seem to be alive. Which means, I really was reincarnated. As much as I'm happy to be alive, I'm having a hard time celebrating. I can't seem to move my body, like at all. In fact, I can't even see anything.

My body is definitely here, it has a presence and I can feel it's formed, my eyes are here, my mouth is here, my legs are here and my arms... Aren't. Oh dear, it would appear that I have no arms. Oh God's why can't I feel my arms?!

No, no. I shouldn't start panicking, panicking isn't going to help anyone, especially not me. There are a few explanations as to why I cannot feel my arms. The first explanation and the most obvious is that I don't have any arms. Which would be a major upset for me. The second and possibly more terrifying one is that I am still forming inside of my mother's womb.

To be honest I would prefer option A to B, as much as having no arms would suck, remembering every second of your time in the womb through to birth is surely something no human brain should remember.

Wait. Human brain? Oh Gods, what if I don't have a human brain at all, what if I'm a monster? A monster with no arms, that is currently blind and cannot move. It seems more logical than the other possibility, but I've never heard of such a thing in any reincarnation tale I've read before.

So could that mean I'm unique? Even if that's the case, why does that make me happy, am I stupid? If I could sigh right now I would, I have to know what I am and I would prefer to know sooner than later. Oh, Gods just let me be born already, I'll go mad if I have to stay like this much longer.

~Day 2~

Today is my second day of being conscious, and by luck, it was also the day I was born. How do I know? Well, it was a bit of surprise really, all of sudden with no prior warning I just sprouted upwards with a woosh. It was an odd way of being born, and definitely not a human way. My vision was blurry, but I could just about make out two figures.

It was when they began to come in to focus that my mind began to race. Hold on, no. Really? That explained why I don't have any arms. My parents don't. After all, since when has a giant living Mushroom needed arms? That's right, not only was I was born as a monster, but I was born as one of the weakest, a Mushman. Harmless two to three-foot tall little mushroom creatures with stubs for feet and a constantly sunny disposition.

My parents leaped with joy making adorable squeaking sounds as I took my first look at my surroundings. I was born in a forest, which would make me a Forest Mushman. The most common, but luckily not the weakest of the Mushmen, that unfortunate title belongs to the Plains Mushmen. Still, to be reborn a Mushman, I wonder if I did something to upset the Gods. Even if I don't get picked off within my first few days of being alive, Mushmen have remarkably short life spans. The Forest Mushman often living no more than five years.

Well, it could have been worse I suppose, I could have been born into some species that eat their young. The Mushmen are an oddly affectionate species, the parents will care for their children until they die if possible. Then the children will just carry on the cycle blissfully unaware of the world around them.

"Squeeeak?" I refocused my gaze upon my parents. The smaller of the two made a curious sound with a tilt of its head. I don't think most Mushmen spend this long just sitting still and staring at their surroundings. My parents were probably a little confused. It was odd, but I felt a sort of inbuilt affection for these two, perhaps this is what makes Mushmen so social and loving? Since I didn't want to make the two of them worry I gave them the sweetest smile my little body could muster.

They bounded up and down joyously, it only made my smile grow. There was something irreplaceably heartwarming about a joyous Mushman. On top of their small bodies, cute stumpy legs, and adorable squeak, Mushmen had large black sparkling eyes. They're a species designed to make you feel fuzzy. On top of that, there was something about being kin with these two that made them even better.

After struggling to help me out of the hole I was spawned in; which took over an hour, the smaller Mushman that I decided to dub my mother started to feed me in a way that made the human inside me feel ill. She would rip moss of a nearby tree and force feed me it mouth to mouth. I won't deny that it was tasty, probably thanks to my genetic build, but the way it was fed just made me feel all kinds of wrong.

I had barely been awake for a few hours when I started yawning. A cute little yap escaped my lips as my entire little body stretched. Yes, I didn't do anything, but I am a baby so I think I'll excuse myself. Before I fell asleep I decided I wanted to keep a sort of mental diary, one that I would hopefully write out one day. A diary of my life being reincarnated as a Monster.

It's still odd to think about, I'm alive again and now I'm a completely different species. I feel as though I should be a bit more terrified, or at least shocked, but for some reason, I seem to be taking it well. Another yawn escaped my tiny lips. There's something quite pleasant about being a Mushman though.

~Day 3~

After being softly nudged awake by the cheek of a certain cute mother of mine I slowly opened my eyes, my mother then turned to face something opposite us. I looked past her to see my other parent dubbed 'father' standing on the other side of the small clearing we seemed to be calling home. He stood there with an eager expression. Hold on, learning how to walk on my second day of being alive. That seems a little ridiculous. I mean sure most wild animals are born with the ability to walk, but I'm an animal with the brain of a human. We're not fast learners. I guess it does make sense though, Mushmen are often nomadic as staying on the move is the safest way to keep away from predators. Even so, I was hoping we'd stay at our little home a bit longer before I had to walk.

I let out an internal sigh. Well, I guess I best give it a go at least. My body began in a sitting position as my father propped me up last night so I could be fed properly, even so how to stand up is beyond me. I tried to lurch my body forward to get on my feet and as if by instinct that's exactly how I ended up. Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought after all? I seemed to be standing without even breaking a sweat.

Ouch, at least that's what I thought. After taking my first step I fell flat on my face. Stubs are hard to control. As my face was buried in the dirt I could hear my mother and father making a variety of panicked squeaks. It's alright, I have a soft face.

I managed to stand back up with a lot of wobbling and propping against a nearby tree. Alright, let's try this again. One step forward, slowly, carefully... And I fell flat on my face again. As I made a dissatisfied squeak I could hear another round of my parents worry. I let out another internal sigh, this was clearly going to be a long day.

~Day 4~

Finally, it took one and a half days, but finally, we were off. That's right after an embarrassing amount of attempts, a long nights sleep and my first skill gain [Pain Resistance lvl 1] I was finally able to walk over to my father. Thus after finally mastering it earlier today, we left my birthplace behind and began wandering.

Still, getting my first skill made me think of something, can I see my stats? All beings of this world are blessed with stats, they give boosts to the abilities and skills that the owner already has. However, only those with the intelligence of a human or above can actually see their own stats. As far as I know, some of the weakest monsters don't even know when they've leveled up. Since I know I got a new skill, I guess that means I can see my stats right? Let's give this a go if I concentrate hard then...

[Name: N/A]

[Age: 3 Days]

[Species: Forest Mushling, Mushman]

[Height: 1'-5"]

[Sex: Female]

[Title: N/A]

{Level: 1]

[Health 6/6]

[Mana: 1/1]

[Stamina: 12/13]

[Hunger: 10/13]

[Attack: 4]

[Defence: 12]

[Magic Attack: 1]

[Magic Defence: 3]

[Skills:[Pain Resistance lvl 1] [Night vision lvl 2] [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 2}] [tough stomach lvl 1]]

Well let's start from the top, I do not have a name, well that's obvious I don't think Mushmen have the mental capacity to name their young, maybe I could get named by some adventurers or something? Although, I doubt anyone would show any interest in a Mushman as insignificant as me. What else? My level is to be expected as well as my race, although the name Mushling is adorable. The only thing really surprising there would be my sex. Mushmen don't have a gender, so how am I female? Is it because that's what I was in my previous life? How unusual.

My health, mana, stamina, and hunger are, well to put it simply, pathetic, but when you don't expect anything to begin with it's not too much of a shock. Same with my natural attack and defenses, although oddly enough my physical defense seems quite high. Still less than a human baby, but much higher than any of my other stats.

I think, looking at my skills I can see why [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 2}]. A unique skill centered around my head by the looks of it. Does that mean my high defense sits exclusively in my head? It's hard to believe that I was born with a unique skill though, they're called that for a reason. It's a skill only I and possibly a few others possess.

I have quite a few other skills, although I think [Night vision lvl 2] and [Tough Stomach] are both skills Mushmen are born with. They're well known for having good vision in dark and being able to eat almost anything, so it makes sense. Finally, there's Pain Resistance, which was a very lucky bonus from falling flat on my face so many times.

So summing it up in simple terms. I'm incredibly weak, I have a lot of stats that could help me out greatly, but let's just say I'm not going to be looking for any fights. Honestly, if I were born a human again, how strong I am wouldn't even cross my mind, but being born a monster? Even one as weak as a Mushman it's a thought at the front of my mind.

"Squeak?" I suddenly snapped back to reality. Several trees ahead of me my parents stood waiting for me. It seems as though I stopped whilst lost in thought. I need to learn to pay attention.

I picked up my pace and waddled with all the speed my stumps could muster to catch up to my parents before we carried on walking. They looked concerned but squeaked onwards regardless.

Finally, after traveling all day I had the most satisfying meal of ground moss for dinner, which I'm sure was in no small part thanks to how hungry I was. Then as the stars came out I fell asleep to sleep nestled between my two pillow-like parents.

~Day 5~

It was going to be another full day of walking. I don't really mind it for now, but I hope at least something changes. I'm surprised we haven't been attacked yet. I mean, we've passed plenty of Monsters, but most didn't even seem to acknowledge our existence.

I should consider myself quite fortunate to be born a Mushman. It would seem that on top of being a sought-after pet for village children, we're also largely ignored by the other monsters. I am a little worried about being caught and being turned into a pet though, what if they just take me? Not only will my parents be childless, I'll be parentless. Although, being caught as a pet wouldn't be as bad as being caught by a tamer. Mushmen are one of the easiest to catch monsters for aspiring monster tamers.

The reason for that is their evolutions, most don't ever evolve in the wild, but when tamed and frankly forced to go against their nature they have one of the widest evolutionary trees, being able to eventually evolve in to pretty much any Nature based race, Tree Imps, Treants, Dryads, Forest Druids and many more. Although it's not confirmed some scholars believe their range is wider than the common Goblin.

So if I ever decided to get into fighting, I guess I have that going for me? I just don't want to be caught by a tamer, the idea of being forced to fight makes me shudder. I think I'm safe though, tamers are incredibly rare and I doubt any would come this deep into a forest. However deep we are.

I don't know why I'm thinking about all this anyway, I'm never going to be able to evolve through leveling. I'm a Mushling, what exactly am I going to be able to kill. Besides, I will evolve to a Mushman purely through aging eventually. Although, my lifespan would still only be about five years. hmm...

I don't think I really have any choice, I want to live beyond five years. I'm going to have to level myself up eventually. Sure a normal Mushman wouldn't stand a chance against anything, but I'm a Mushman with a brain... Metaphorically speaking.

Still, thinking about all this only makes me more irritated. Why reincarnate me at all if you're going to turn me into one of the weakest monsters? If I was meant for something great or meant to do something special, surely something more powerful would have been smarter? Like a Giant Eagle, or even just a Grey Wolf.

I let out a sigh that just came out as an adorable squeal. I never thought being a Mushman could be so stressful. I guess that's why my people are usually so dumb. So they can remain happy and ignorant of the unfair world about them.

After waddling for a few more hours we arrived at a sloped bank leading to a small, slow stream. The moonlight was warm, the moss was delicious and the eventual slumber between my parents was relaxing.