Episode 12: A Long-Awaited Meal & Sleep ○
Having just evolved into a Beetle, I hurried towards Green Worm-sensei, who has been taking care of me with each evolution. I needed to quickly raise my level to a certain point, or I would die if I just happened to encounter a strong monster.
When I arrived at the place where Green Worm-sensei usually gathered, I was lucky enough to find several Acid Worm-sensei waiting as well. I immediately tried out the Shining Arrow I had just learned.
I willed a light arrow to appear and shot it at one of the Green Worms. It didn’t travel at the literal speed of light, but it flew at a considerable speed and pierced the Green Worm’s head.
(I always think, magic is so convenient. It’s a shame that my mana has decreased since the Beetle type seems to focus on physical attacks, but it’s still helpful to be able to attack from a distance.)
Feeling the benefits of magic, I used Light Magic, Water Magic, and sometimes my horn to scatter the worms.
(I’m saying this after scattering them, but do these worms not evolve? There are so many of them, you’d think at least one would turn into a butterfly or a moth. I’ve never seen it happen.)
I don’t know if other monsters can evolve, or if it’s just me, since I have no way of confirming it. But if you can’t evolve without a skill, then I want to praise myself for choosing the “Evolution” skill back then.
After defeating about 20 Green Worm-sensei around Lv20 and Acid Worm-sensei around Lv25, my level had risen to 25. As expected, defeating higher-level monsters is far more efficient than photosynthesis. Still, it’s thanks to the excellent skills I inherited that I was able to reach level 25 in just half a day.
Race: Beetle (Mutant)
Name: None
Rank: E
Level: 25
HP: 142/142
MP: 36/115
Attack Power: 174
Defense Power: 170
Magic Attack Power: 114
Magic Defense Power: 113
Agility: 170
Skills:
Special Evolution
Language Comprehension
Chant Annulment
Item Box Lv11
Appraisal Lv10
Thought Acceleration Lv11
Life Detection Lv12
Magic Detection Lv12
Hostility Detection Lv10
Danger Detection Lv3
Auto HP Recovery Lv9
Mana Auto-Recovery Lv10
Light Magic Lv11
Water Magic Lv13
Space-Time Magic Lv5
Gravity Magic Lv5
Deadly Poison Generation Lv11
Paralysis Poison Generation Lv7
Sleep Poison Generation Lv7
Confusion Poison Generation Lv7
Pain Resistance Lv7
Deadly Poison Resistance Lv11
Paralysis Resistance Lv7
Sleep Resistance Lv7
Confusion Resistance Lv7
Miasma Lv7
Flight Lv3
Hardening Lv5
Titles:
Reincarnator
Skill Collector
Evolver
Giant Killer
Assassin
(Alright! My stats are good enough to hunt in the North Forest, though not as much as in the Miasma area.)
After hunting for about half a day, the sun had completely set, and I returned to my base. Just as I was about to head to the North Forest, I felt that sensation again after a long time.
(I’m… sleepy!?)
It was sleepiness. The sleepiness that I never felt as a plant was now rushing over me as if to make up for lost time since I evolved into a Beetle.
(I have to make sure I’m not attacked while I’m sleeping!)
I hurriedly dug a hole at the base of a large tree nearby and squeezed my conspicuous body into it. It was only a small comfort, but being in a hole in the dark would make it harder to find. Believing that, I fell into my first sleep in this world.
The next morning, I woke up safely without being attacked by any enemies, and I noticed an urge.
(I’m hungry…)
It seemed that sleep wasn’t the only thing that had become necessary after evolving into this body. I had also started to feel hunger.
(To think I’d realize the benefits of photosynthesis now.)
When I was a plant, I could create nutrients through photosynthesis as long as I had water and light. But now that I was an insect type, I needed to eat something.
(Since I’m basically an insect, I guess I should look for tree sap or something?)
Well, it’s less of a problem than evolving into a carnivorous animal and having to eat raw meat. But if I keep evolving like this, I can’t rule out that possibility. I need to either prepare myself or quickly learn “Fire Magic.”
While I was thinking about my future, my stomach kept getting hungrier. This must be the backlash from not eating until now.
I flew out of the nest I had dug and, following my instincts, flew around looking for a tree that smelled good.
(Hmm? That tree has a really nice smell… I think.)
After flying around for about ten minutes, I found a tree that seemed to be the one I was looking for. It had bumpy bark and somewhat pointed, jagged leaves. It looked like a Japanese oak tree from Earth. Of course, the size was different. I clung to the middle of the tree and scratched the bark with my horn. Immediately, amber-colored tree sap flowed out.
(This sap seems easy enough to eat.)
That’s when it hit me.
(Why do I have a mouth!?)
That’s right, the way I imagined a Beetle eating was by licking up sap with orange, brush-like hairs, but I had a proper mouth. There were sharp, ant-like jaws on either side, and they made a metallic clanging sound every time they opened and closed.
I was able to suck up the sap with it, so I didn’t have any trouble eating, but the fact that I was able to eat defeated monsters if necessary made me realize once again that I was not an insect, but an insect-type monster.
A 50cm silver Beetle was clinging to a Giant Tree that was about 10m in diameter. It was a surreal situation that would make children run away in terror rather than approach it with joy, but I was satisfied after filling my stomach with enough sap, and I headed back to the North Forest to level up again.
I spent another 12 days leveling up, and my current level is 39. During that time, I ate three times, and it seems that this body only needs to eat once every three days. It’s not as good as when I was a plant, but it’s a pretty fuel-efficient body.
I always eat in the same place. The giant tree that I scratched first. As my level increased, fewer things approached that tree. Is this what they call a territory?
Today, I came to the usual Giant Tree to eat for the first time in three days, but there was someone already there.
(Is that, could it be, a member of my own species!?)
In my reserved seat was a Beetle with a magnificent single horn, a simple yet sophisticated form that would stir a child’s heart, and about 50cm in length. However, its color was a reddish-brown. That must be its original color.
Moreover, it had politely scratched over the marks I had made, making an X mark. This could only be seen as a challenge to me.
I landed right above the brown Beetle and faced it.