Rebirth in the Gullet
I couldn't just leave behind my big-ass brides. I had a mission to live up to Premium's expectations and become a proper tentacle monster. I wasn't going to die. No matter how pathetic I ended up rolling around, I'd survive.
As time passed, just before Shiroko stormed the forest... I'd given my motherboards the order: "If you're rescued, forget everything that happened with me and go back to your normal lives." It was because if they loved me too much and rushed in as shields during a crisis, things would get messy.
"Huh? Yeah, sure, got it."
Beth scratched her head and said. ...Not as tasty as Tia.
"I can't even imagine life without you anymore, darling..."
Damn! I believed in you. Praga! I patted her commendable, Tia-rivaling big ass appreciatively.
"I'll make one last stand, so you all just keep popping out babies hard."
"Try to survive, baby daddy. Tia will be heartbroken if you don't."
"You're all Tia has."
Tia's special devotion was apparently famous even among the motherboards. I wanted to play more with gloomy big-tits Libia and blonde elf Epi too. What a shame.
Humans were both my prey and the tentacle monster's greatest enemy. I'd fight with every means at my disposal. And if that wasn't enough... if humans turned out way stronger and more airtight than I expected, no matter what I tried...
I'd revive again. In a new body.
Pervert <Tentacle Sense>
Pervert <Slippery Liquid>
...Success?
I recalled my first reincarnation. My vision was just as narrow; I had no clue what was around me. First things first: assess the situation.
Like exploring a dark cave by faint light, I focused my senses and realized... the surroundings were covered in mucosa.
What the hell is this place?
It couldn't be another tentacle monster's body. A human's? I twitched slightly and freaked out.
Eek!
The floor was a gaping hole. My body was perfectly embedded in a vertical wall. Pretty deep in, so I was safe for now, but that sparked the opposite worry.
How the hell do I get out?
Then, whoosh—a liquid poured down from above. What was this?
Beer consumed
Beer consumed
...Booze? Why's booze falling from the sky?
...No way.
I curled up and waited, and soon a greasy hunk of meat dropped from above. No doubt about it. This was a human esophagus!
My God, how tiny did my body get?
Being able to transfer my consciousness to something this small... maybe I really was immortal?
That thought didn't last. All the nutrients I'd built up must've vanished with that white flame. My nonexistent stomach churned just thinking about it. Fuck. What a waste of levels. And right before the fun really kicked in... well, I'd had plenty of fun already.
Anyway. Gotta get out of here.
This flesh scrap—my current body—had apparently been surviving by absorbing the occasional drips. But I couldn't maneuver enough to catch food. And the owner of this body was definitely a guy. If it were a woman, I'd have sucked up her fluids, leveled up, and busted out by now.
Not that I'd even try with a dude. Male fluids were useless to a tentacle monster. Made sense, given our raison d'être.
Hold up.
If this was the esophagus, I didn't need to risk climbing the walls. When he lay down to sleep, I could just slip out then, right? Genius. This was the savvy of a second-round tentacle monster.
I curled up and bided my time. The host had chugged booze like a champ, so the opportunity came quicker than expected.
Don't get spotted. Nice and easy...
Ughhh. My Tentacle Sense was fading. This wasn't like being born from Premium's embrace and gobbling everything to grow big. I was in a miraculously unstable state right now—just existing was a miracle.
After nearly getting erased by that mysterious silver-haired girl and pulling a body-swap survival... I'd transferred my consciousness to a fragment of flesh that wasn't even proper tentacle monster material. Regaining core functions like Tentacle Sense and Slippery Liquid was already a huge stroke of luck.
Everything...
I had to rebuild every part of me from zero. It'd be a rough road, but kids overcome trials to become adults. Yeah. No more relying on Mom Premium. I'd overcome this... myself!!
"Cough! Cough! Hack!"
Ugh! The esophagus shook! He'd felt discomfort from my movement and started coughing in his sleep. Massive impact! Right after yanking my barb-like body free to escape, I got bounced helplessly off the esophageal walls.
Gah!
Damn. I'd never adventured inside an esophagus before, so I didn't know... that uvula area was insanely sensitive. Trying to exit triggered a reflex cough, sending me back inside.
"Inside" meant the passage to the stomach roiling with horrific digestive juices. A death sentence for me right now. Human gastric acid was strong enough to damage their own bodies!
Normally, mucus protected the stomach lining, but without it, even they'd get damaged—holes in severe cases. Falling in there? My scant proteins would dissolve into his chow without mercy.
A tentacle monster eaten by a human? No fucking way!
"Cough! Haaack!"
Such bullshit!! I'd crawled hard, only to slide back to square one. Dangerous. He was lying down—if I met those juices now...
Wait...
The stomach was protected by mucus too. So if I secreted some, maybe I could shield myself? Crawling out in my larva-worse state seemed impossible. If dawn broke and he woke up, straight to the stomach.
...Gotta make him puke.
Inducing vomit was simplest, but there was another way. Damage the esophagus to reflux stomach acid up, then ride the flow out. The question: could this dying body secrete acid?
"Cough!"
Damn. No time. It wouldn't melt me on contact. Time to decide.
Raaaaagh!!
I tensed and roared silently. I could do it! It was a skill I'd mastered once. Even in this soup-scrap body...
Show them the tentacle monster's power!!
Pervert <Digestive Fluid>
Raaaaaaaagh!!
Secretioooooon!!!!!
"Urk!"
Big one's coming! Damaging the esophagus brought the acid surging up my back.
Hyah!!
Behold, the tentacle monster's surf! Reality: swept out like tsunami debris. But damn, it felt good. Slippery Liquid for protection!
"Kuh! Gack! Hack!"
Got it. Up to the tongue root! Cold sweat down my nonexistent spine—because a monstrously huge tongue and teeth ready to chomp loomed ahead. No telling how that thing would twitch, so tension central.
But reflux burns like hell!
"Guh! Guh!"
The woken man gaped helplessly. Escape! I thought the drop might kill me, but... trust. Even blackout drunk, folks sleep in bed!
Splat~.
Tentacle Jump!
I spun acrobatically onto the fluffy mattress.
"Ugh, it burns..."
The human voice boomed. Weak Tentacle Sense made it sound like a distorted giant. Didn't care who he was—time to move.
No way.
This mattress... was like a white desert? Instant size check. Brain knew to escape the bed, but facing an endless expanse with "Three seconds to the edge"? Mind-blowing. That was me now.
But I had to move. Risk of getting crushed under him.
Please, please...
My Tentacle Sense was too weak to detect falling debris. Just pray and crawl. Even as strength ebbed.
Ughhh...
Out of... power already? If I had even larva strength, I wouldn't die pointlessly here.
Doom arrived. Desert quaked. He'd gulped water for his throat and lay back down.
A bit more... just a bit mooooore!!
Move, body! Don't wanna get squished under hairy dude thigh!!
The merciless strike hit. Despair. White sands turned black.
Aaah.
Sorry, Tia. Couldn't keep my promise to return.
Squish.
"Mmmph."
"Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Drink in moderation... sigh."
Crushed under something heavy... but not dead? Strength surging? What? And this voice beside me... no way...
This guy's married?
"Want some honey water?"
"Nah, water helped."
"Mmm..."
Crushed near-death weak, under crushing weight... but powering up? One truth: it wasn't the man's body pinning me.
His wife's, snoring beside him.
More precisely...
A big ass.