Episode 7: A Swarm of Caterpillars ○
Five days have passed since I evolved into a Poison Grass. The appearance rate of animals and monsters remains low, and these five days have been nothing but a grind of leveling up and skill training. However, thanks to my evolution resetting my level to 1, leveling up has become easier. I’ve already gained three levels, reaching level 4. It still seems like a long way to go before the next evolution, though.
So, as I was diligently working on my skill training today, they suddenly appeared. I was too focused on Photosynthesis, which led to me neglecting my detection skills, and that was my downfall. By the way, my Life Detection skill is now at level 8, allowing me to detect within an 80-meter radius without consuming any mana. However, since there’s no automatic notification function, I sometimes don’t notice anything when I’m engrossed in something else, like now.
(I need to train myself to notice things even unconsciously.)
I thought, but now is not the time for that. By the time I realized it, I was already surrounded.
They wriggled, devouring the surrounding leaves, and their appearance was that of giant caterpillars. There were at least 30 of these caterpillars. This might be the biggest pinch of the century.
Species: Green Worm
Name: None
Rank: F
Level: 20
HP: 45/45
MP: 18/23
Attack Power: 38
Defense Power: 47
Magic Attack Power: 21
Magic Defense Power: 19
Agility: 27
Skills:
Sticky Thread Lv6
I checked the species name, and they were indeed caterpillars. I appraised the one in the front, and it seemed slightly weaker than an Acid Worm. However, this time, there were an abnormal number of them. My magic is suited for one-on-one combat, but I have a weakness when facing multiple opponents, as I can’t handle them all.
However, with this many of them, I’ll be eaten if I just stand here and watch. I need to reduce their numbers, even a little, to decrease the probability of being eaten.
(“Poison Edge!”)
First, I unleashed Poison Edge on the Green Worm I appraised in the front. Perhaps it was thanks to the three levels I gained over the past five days, but I managed to defeat it in one shot. However, with my current mana, I can only fire about 10 shots even at full capacity. Moreover, I was in the middle of training my magic skills until just now, so I only have about half of my mana left. Facing 30 caterpillars in this state is too much.
However, complaining won’t make the caterpillars stop. I steeled myself and decided to prioritize eliminating the caterpillars that were approaching me.
(Damn it! How many more are there!)
I defeated the ones that were approaching me in order, and there were already seven caterpillars lying around me. The reason I didn’t immediately store them in my “Item Box” was that I hoped their movements would slow down upon seeing their companions’ corpses. But that expectation was completely betrayed. Whether it’s because of their low intelligence or not, they just kept eating leaves, stepping over their companions’ corpses.
My mana was finally running out. I managed to defeat a Green Worm that was right in front of me using the mana I had just barely recovered, but I knew that two more Green Worms were right behind it. However, with my mana completely depleted, there was nothing I could do. I was helplessly bitten by the two Green Worms.
(It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!)
Why does a plant have pain receptors? I didn’t have the luxury to think about that as I writhed in agony. The two Green Worms only took one bite each, but at that moment, an unexpected sharp pain ran through my entire body.
(I’m sorry! I’m sorry! To all the plants I’ve mindlessly plucked until now, I’m so sorry!)
I never imagined that I would feel so much pain in a plant body. I’m sorry for plucking petals one by one while saying “He loves me, he loves me not” when I had a crush on someone. That was torture, wasn’t it? I don’t know if it’s just me who feels pain or if all plants feel it, but I vowed at that moment to be kinder to plants from now on.
However, the caterpillars that bit me didn’t get away unscathed either. They were writhing in agony, making a “GyoOOOOO!” sound. They were probably poisoned by eating me. Normal poison wouldn’t have had such an immediate effect, but that’s what you’d expect from a potent poison. The fact that I had the composure to think about that was probably thanks to my “Auto HP Recovery” skill.
The HP I lost when I was bitten was recovering over time. The missing parts were also gradually regenerating. “Auto HP Recovery” is a skill that is truly a lifeline for me, as I have no other means of recovering HP. I’m glad I got it.
Moreover, thankfully, the two Green Worms were writhing in agony, preventing the other Green Worms from approaching. Taking advantage of this gap, I managed to defeat two more nearby.
After that, I was bitten, the caterpillars would thrash around, and in the meantime, I would use the recovered mana to shoot “Poison Edge.” And then I would be bitten again… After enduring this cycle several times, all 30 or so Green Worms were dead before I knew it.
About half of my leaf parts were gone, but I somehow endured the pain and managed to survive. Or rather, I had gotten used to the pain from the middle, and it didn’t hurt as much anymore.
After taking a breather, I collected the Green Worm corpses. Those that were poisoned had almost no external injuries and were in good condition, but if there was poison left in their bodies, they might not be valuable as materials or food. Still, I collected them all just in case. There might be some use for them, and more importantly, leaving them there might attract other monsters.
This sense of not wanting to waste things must be a remnant of my time as a Japanese person.
Now that I’ve finished collecting the Green Worms and have settled down, let’s check my status. They were weaker than the Acid Worms, but since there were so many of them, I must have gotten a decent amount of experience points.
Species: Poison Grass
Name: None
Rank: G
Level: 24
HP: 15/43
MP: 6/92
Attack Power: 37
Defense Power: 45
Magic Attack Power: 94
Magic Defense Power: 94
Agility: 0
Skills:
Special Evolution
Language Comprehension
Chant Annulment
Item Box Lv8
Appraisal Lv6
Thought Acceleration Lv7
Life Detection Lv8
Magic Detection Lv7
Hostile Sense Lv7
Auto HP Recovery Lv5
Mana Auto-Recovery Lv7
Light Magic Lv8
Water Magic Lv9
Space-Time Magic Lv3
Gravity Magic Lv3
Photosynthesis Lv8
Poison Generation Lv6
Pain Resistance Lv2 New!
Titles:
Reincarnator
Skill Collector
Evolver
Giant Killer
Oh, wow, even though they were a bit weaker, I guess defeating 30 of them gives a decent amount of experience points. My level jumped from 4 to 24 in one go. My mana-related stats are about to reach the three-digit mark, and my Water Magic skill is just one level away from Lv10. And there’s a new skill, “Pain Resistance.” It seems to be a skill that makes me resistant to pain. That’s good. I had stopped feeling much pain from the middle of being bitten, and I honestly thought I had awakened to some strange world, but it was thanks to this skill. “Auto HP Recovery,” which was difficult to level up, has also gone up by two levels. It was worth being bitten so much. I’ve probably become even harder to kill now.
In the forest where the leaves were scattered and the smell of Green Worm fluids still lingered, I diligently resumed my skill training.