Kaira had faced assassins, military robots, and even a lab explosion that killed her.
But nothing... absolutely nothing... prepared her for running in a fat, unbalanced, wobbling body that shook the ground with every step.
The moment the golden-eyed stranger lunged at her like a streak of fury, she attempted to dodge.
Attempted.
What actually happened was-
THUD.
THUD.
THUD-THUD-THUD.
Every step she took thundered like a mini-earthquake, her thighs smacking together like battle drums, her arms flailing like two untethered sails in a hurricane.
She tried to summon her lightness skill - her beloved martial art that once let her leap over four rooftops like a feather.
Instead... she floated 0.5 millimeters off the ground.
Then crashed down again.
The cave trembled.
"Oh, come ON!" she shouted, half crying, half breathless as she got to her feet. "I trained for fifteen YEARS! Why is my body rebelling?!"
The golden-eyed man was already upon her, with claws - yes, actual claws - almost extended.
Out of sheer desperation, she swung her arm wildly.
It was meant to push him away.
Instead…
PAK!
Her palm landed on the side of his neck with the density and force of a falling sandbag.
The man's eyes widened... just for a second.
Then-
BANG!
He crashed onto the cold stone floor so violently that dust exploded around them like a smoke bomb.
Kaira stood frozen.
Her hand still mid-air.
Her mouth half-open.
And brain completely malfunctioning.
"Oh. My. God."
She lowered her hand VERY slowly.
"Did I… just… kung-fu chop a superhuman into unconsciousness… with THIS body?"
Her gaze drifted to her fat, wobbling arm.
She narrowed her eyes.
"…Are you secretly hiding nuclear power?"
But panic quickly replaced any pride.
The man lay sprawled on the ground, not moving. Not even twitching.
"Hey!" She waved her chubby arm frantically. "Hey hey hey-don't you dare die! I literally just got here! I'm not going to jail in ANOTHER world!"
She rushed toward him... well, rushed for her new body.
Which meant she waddled forward like a panicked penguin.
She leaned down and nudged him with her foot.
Tap.
He didn't respond.
She nudged a little harder.
Tap… tap…
Still nothing.
She nudged harder... and her foot slipped.
She windmilled her arms, letting out an extremely undignified, "Wah-wah-waaaah-!"
And barely avoided slamming face-first onto the floor.
She managed to catch herself by grabbing the wall. Her breathing hard, face flushed, and heart hammering.
"Okay," she panted. "Okay, this is fine. I am alive. He is… hopefully alive. We are… both alive-ish."
She crouched down next to him with great difficulty... her knees popping loudly enough to echo in the cave.
With one chubby finger, she poked his cheek.
Poke.
… no reaction.
She poked again.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
Still nothing.
His cheek was warm, his breathing faint but steady.
Relief washed through her.
"Oh thank god, you are not dead," she whispered. "You can still wake up later and try to kill me. Lovely."
She sighed and pushed herself back up, groaning as her back protested.
"Wow… this body hates me."
For the first time since waking, she looked around properly.
And immediately regretted it.
Because she finally realized where she was.
"…A cave?"
Calling it a cave seemed... generous.
It was a disaster zone.
The walls were damp, spotted with mold, some parts even glistening with something she very much hoped wasn't bat pee.
The floor was uneven, cold, and littered with bones - small animal bones, large animal bones, and some things she hoped were animal bones.
A pile of unwashed hides lay in the corner, covered with stains of every possible color nature had ever produced and a few it hadn't.
A half-eaten, rotting fruit sat near the entrance, surrounded by a small army of buzzing insects.
Kaira's left eye twitched.
"This… this is where the original owner lived?" she whispered, horrified.
The only source of light was a crystal the size of half her palm, hanging from the ceiling by what looked like a vine.
It glowed softly, casting a dim light that made the cave look both eerie and depressing.
She turned slowly, taking in every filthy detail.
And then whispered the only appropriate reaction-
"…What the actual hell."
The memories she gained earlier replayed.
The original owner of this body.
The orphan who lived in the Lion Tribe.
The one who was foul-mouthed, cruel, ugly, lazy, greedy, and hated by everyone.
The one who drugged men to force them to "mate" with her.
The one whose body she was wearing.
Kaira groaned, covering her face with both hands.
"I transmigrated into a pig-demon pervert."
She wanted to cry.
Actually cry.
But she swallowed it down.
She would not be defeated by fat thighs and bad smells.
She tried to calm herself and took deep breaths, but immediately regretted it because the cave smelled like wet socks and rot.
But she forced her mind to work.
This was a primitive world.
She had seen the man's claws when he lunged. Not to mention the vines that bound him earlier.
According to the memories of the original owner, men in this world could shift into beasts.
Actual beasts.
And women?
Rare.
Precious.
Except the original owner.
She was precious in the same way a poisonous mushroom was "precious."
Kaira sighed.
She had died in a lab explosion in the modern era, only to wake up in a smelly cave, inside the body of a universally hated woman, next to a deadly beastman she accidentally knocked unconscious.
What a downgrade.
"Okay," she muttered. "I can handle this. I can-"
Out of nowhere, a loud, crisp DING echoed in her head.
Kaira froze.
"…What was that?"
DING!
A cheerful yet smug voice chimed inside her mind.
[System Binding Complete!]
Kaira blinked, and it took her a moment to register those audacious words.
"No. No no no. Nope. No system. I did NOT order a system. Return it."
The voice continued, bubbly and far too energetic for her mood.
[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully bound with the Beastworld Survival System!]
[Your trash-level reputation is currently the WORST in the Lion Tribe!]
[Your survival rate is at… 3%.]
[But don't worry! With me, you'll go from Pig-Faced Devil to Tribe's Treasure in no time!]
Kaira's mouth fell open.
She stared into the darkness with wide eyes, her mind blank once again.
The voice chimed even more brightly...
[Let's work hard together, Host! Or die~]