Reincarnated as the Only Human

Aethisia PoV

I lowered myself down into a crouch and stared through the trees, catching the movement of my prey and holding back a grin as I felt that familiar rush of adrenaline begin to pump through my veins.

I don’t know how long it had been since I had been out here, in the forest spear in hand, but I do know that I had begun to long for it in a similar way that I longed for sex, just definitely not to the same degree; still, as I silently inhaled the now familiar scent of nature around myself I couldn’t help but notice that my heartbeat had quickened, thumping in my chest and letting me know I was in a situation.

That feeling of being alive and being strong was addicting, and as I prowled forwards slowly with my spear carefully avoiding each and every single branch of brush it could have smacked against, my world completely narrowed down to the prey I was stalking and nothing more, each second drawing out into a blissful eternity as I got closer to fulfilling my hunt.

The weight of my spear in my hands, the silence with which I moved, the comfort I felt as I basked in the embrace of the forest... all of it was more than welcome, and I held back a wry smile this time as I realized yet another facet of this life that was so different yet so wonderful compared to my last.

Hunting wasn’t something I was unfamiliar with, but the use of a spear and my prey being a mutated deer that was strong enough to break a thick tree in two with a single headbutt was different; instead of being up close and in danger, I had only hunted from afar with a scoped rifle, so these were different.

I had also not really had a need to hunt back then, doing it entirely because it was a unique experience and the idea of a venison stew made from something I had procured for myself was enticing; now though, I was hunting to survive in a way, and even if I could have just gone and purchased the meat myself this helped keep my skills honed and sharp for whenever they might be needed.

The warning Mother had given us about the Goddesses was one that I had put in the back of my mind recently, but the solitude of the forest pushed it to the forefront as I wondered what I needed to do to prepare for it; Mother wasn’t all powerful, and she was reaching a point where she was going to need an insane amount of protection thanks to the five new lives growing inside of her.

At the same time I had no idea how strong a Goddess was, but I just knew that we weren’t strong enough just yet, and while we had the promise of protection from a duet of mysterious beings who had decided to bless us I wasn’t someone who wanted to twiddle my thumbs and do nothing, so... what could I do..?

Stepping over the various twigs on the ground and finding a suitable spot for my foot, I stared at the red furred, silver antlered deer thing in front of me, its buff hind legs facing me while its compact and powerful arms supported it as it leaned against a tree, rubbing its sharp antlers against the bark and scraping the bark off completely.

They were like blades, while its arms ended in sharp talons that stabbed into the wood with ease as it held itself upwards, the cross between a deer and kangaroo weirding me out slightly as I crept up behind it, but that only made it all the more satisfying to stab the spear straight through its spine and kill it with a quick snap of its thick neck.

Leaving it pinned against the tree for now, I looked around and scanned my surroundings before getting to work, preparing the tree it was stuck to so that I could hang the monster upside down and bleed it.

As I worked I continued to think, relishing the mundane task and staring at the heavy, beautiful carcass I had acquired with pride, the knowledge that this monster was going to feed someone with some nutritious and tasty meat making this trip worth it.

And it would give me coin, though honestly considering I could likely find a job as a guard in the city if I so pleased that undoubtedly paid more, I didn’t really care too much about the pay in the grand scheme of things, not when I had the ability to tap into Mother for funds.

Again though, if I could do it myself I would, and as I waited for a majority of the blood to seep into the small pit beneath the monster I sighed, my mind returning to the problem at hand; the Goddesses were coming sometime ’soon’, be that a month or a year, perhaps even longer.

By then I needed to be able to protect myself, but not only myself; I needed to protect Camara, Melia, and our second child as well as Annie and Cici, and then there was everyone else.

They might have their own ’defenders’, but we were still a family at the end of the day, so we defended one another no matter what; that was something I swore to myself, and to accomplish that I needed some help.

From my System, to be exact, the passive little power generator that rested inside of my soul which was fueled by not only my love for my Mother but also my love for my family, which as cliche as it sounded was rather unbreakable and potent.

The numbers were there, like the 122 Strength stat that I had or the Level 2 Proficiency in Martial Techniques with a Level 3 Spear Proficiency tying it all together, but those things didn’t really mean much since I had nothing to base them on besides Dama, who... was still above me.

Were those good, average or what?

I had no idea, but what I did know was that if number go up then power go up!

On a real note though, the stats were there and the skills were leveling up, but how could I supercharge it all was what I really needed to figure out, and I knew I had only been looking at it from one aspect since my magic was lagging behind...

Y’know, that Lightning Magic that’s always been overpowered in all kinds of media because... it’s fucking lightning?

That’d be a good place to start probably... but it was so~ hard to stop myself from increasing my overall level by giving in to my lust and making love to all of my family or lovers, which was why I was already Level 90 with no idea where the cap was.

How strong was I..?