The cold bit at her bare skin, her teeth chattering as she stumbled through the sparse forest, the stream's faint ripple guiding her steps. "I'm gonna freeze before being able to test whether I'm truly immortal", she muttered, her voice a high-pitched squeak that still felt like a stranger's. Her small legs wobbled, each step a clumsy dance in this childlike body, but she pressed forward, driven by the need to move, to survive. The starlight was sharp, cutting through the thin canopy, and her crimson eyes glowed in the night as they scanned the shadows for threats. No wolves, no bandits. Yet.
Her movements were awkward, like a puppy tripping over its paws, but there was a strange grace to them, a hint of agility that didn't match her flailing. Golden Ratio Physique, the panel had said. "More like awkward kid body", she snorted, sidestepping a root. Still, she hadn't faceplanted yet, which was something.
"I can't believe how reincarnation is always so smooth and easy for isekai protagonists, how the heck do they instantly know how to move?" she said as she stumbled forward. The stream came into view, its water glinting faintly under the stars. Broad, waxy leaves, big as plates, clustered near its bank, tangled with thin vines. A lifeline. She knelt, wincing as the cold earth bit her knees, and grabbed a leaf, its surface slick under her fingers. Weaving it with a vine was a mess, her small hands fumbled, and the first vine snapped.
After a few tries, she managed a crude skirt, wrapping it around her waist, then twisted another leaf into a shawl, tying it over her shoulders. It looked like a kindergartner's art project, but it dulled the chill. "It's crude and shabby", she muttered, brushing dirt off her hands, "but better than freezing to death".
The stream was shallow, its water crystal-clear and sparkling under the starlight. She kneeled to drink, the cold water shocking her senses but grounding her. But when she saw her reflection in the still water, she froze completely.
The face staring back at her was... impossible. Silver hair caught the starlight like spun moonbeams, framing features so perfectly proportioned they seemed crafted by divine hands rather than born naturally. Her skin was porcelain-smooth, without a single blemish, while her crimson eyes held an otherworldly depth that seemed to glow with their own inner light. Every curve of her face, from the delicate arch of her eyebrows to the soft line of her jaw, was flawlessly balanced in a way that transcended mere human beauty.
She touched her cheek tentatively, watching her reflection mirror the movement. "This is ridiculous. People don't actually look like this," she muttered. In her past life, she'd seen plenty of beautiful people, but they all had something human about them, be it a slightly crooked smile, an imperfect nose, something real, even if it was just a small imperfection. But this body looked like it would be an insult to creation itself to have even the tiniest flaw. Even as a child, the perfection was unmistakable.
She shook her head, trying to process this impossible beauty, and cupped her hands to drink. As the cool water soothed her throat, movement caught her eye, a small fish darting through the stream, its scales shimmering like tiny stars. The status panel flashed in her mind, that glowing screen, calling her immortal, a cultivation prodigy. Appraisal. It had shown her own stats, hadn't it? Maybe it could tell her something about this world. She squinted at the fish, willing the ability to activate, her heart thumping with equal parts curiosity and doubt. Come on, magic screen, don't let me down.
A translucent panel shimmered into existence, its golden text glowing softly:
--
[Status Panel]
Name: Unknown
Race: Glimmerfin Fish
Age: 1 year
Lifespan: 50 years
Existence Tier: Tier 0
Divine Abilities: None
Bloodlines:Starfin (Thin-Low)
Gifts:Luminescent Scales
Talent:Beast Cultivation: 1★
Description: A small aquatic creature bestowed with shimmering scales that reflect light in beautiful patterns.
--
Her jaw dropped, a soft "No way…" escaping before she clamped a hand over her mouth, glancing at the trees. The panel was identical to hers, same layout, same golden glow, just filled with fishy details. "I was really appraising myself just now", she whispered, the realization clicking. That first panel, with her infinite lifespan and 10★talent, had been Appraisal triggered on her own body. The fish's 1★ talent made her smirk. "Guess I'm not the only one with a rating, huh... but so low? You're slacking, little guy."
Curiosity burned. If it worked on fish, what else could it do? She turned to a nearby fern, its fronds swaying gently, and focused, willing the panel to appear. Nothing. No glow, no text. Frowning, she tried a lone wildflower by the stream, its petals faintly luminescent, begging to be special. Still nothing. "Figures," she muttered, crossing her arms. "Plants aren't 'living' enough for this trick. Just people and animals, then." The limit was annoying but it still seemed really useful as she could still identify people and animals in detail. The night air was getting colder, so she gathered a few extra broad leaves, stuffing them under her makeshift shawl. Spare material never hurt.
The leaf covering took the edge off the cold, and she sat by the stream, her breathing slowing. The panic from waking in this body, struggling for her life, still lurked like a cold stone in her gut, momentarily pushed aside by the need to act. She leaned back against a smooth rock, its chill seeping through her makeshift shawl, but the leaf covering held, keeping her just warm enough to think straight.
The forest's beauty enveloped her, stars piercing the canopy like diamonds, leaves shimmering with dew, wildflowers casting faint halos of crimson and violet. It was breathtaking, like a world crafted for gods. Never in her previous life had she seen anything like it, it looked almost magical.
As her mind quieted, she closed her eyes and, almost instantly, a warmth pulsed in her chest, deeper than her heartbeat, steady and alive. What's that? Closing her eyes, she chased the sensation, like following a thread through a maze.
The air itself seemed to hum faintly, an invisible current brushing her skin, syncing with her breathing. The rock beneath her felt less cold, vibrating subtly with the same rhythm. "Is this… the forest alive or me losing it?" she muttered, half-joking but intrigued. The warmth grew, a gentle fire spreading through her core, and she felt the world shift, not visibly, but in her bones, like the forest was singing a song only she could hear.
She didn't know what it was, not yet. She remembered how mystical energies, like qi, chakra or mana were described, but what she felt was so different from how she imagined sensing those energies would feel like. It felt raw and alive, like the forest's pulse echoing in her bones and resonating with her body. The panel's claim of "10★talent" flashed in her mind, that almost absurd "transcendental" promise. But labels felt meaningless compared to the raw sensation humming in her bones. "If I'm such a genius," she mused, her voice firm despite its squeak, "maybe this is what it's for. Sensing... whatever this is."
Her heart thumped, a child's quick pulse but alive with excitement, like a spark igniting kindling. She slowly opened her eyes and then stood up, brushing dew from her knees, the leaf skirt rustling softly. She needed a safe place to rest. Her steps were steadier now, her small body adapting, moving with a grace that startled her. She frowned slightly, surprised by the newfound coordination. Is this... the Golden Ratio Physique?
The warmth in her chest hummed stronger, a steady pulse pulling her gaze. Toward a cluster of trees where the canopy thickened... nestled beneath a gnarled tree, its roots curling protectively, the air around it shimmering faintly with the same warmth humming inside her. She ducked inside the small cave entrance, heart racing, and crouched against the cave's damp wall, the stone oddly soothing against her back.
The warmth in her chest hummed stronger, a steady pulse that felt like the cave itself was alive, its faint magic calling to her. The warmth flared, her hands glowing gold, a rush of energy tingling through her. "What the-?!" she gasped, her wide eyes fixed on the shimmering glow. It pulsed in rhythm with the cave's faint hum, as if the forest's magic were flowing through her. A wave of exhaustion followed, her small body heavy, eyelids drooping. The cave's warmth enveloped her, gentle and lulling. She curled up against the wall, her breath slowing, still syncing with the magical pulse of the cave, and sleep claimed her almost instantly.