Episode 11: A Form That Stirs a Child’s Heart ○
Having tasted the terror of the Red Dragon, I made sure to stay away from the mountains and focused on leveling up in the North Forest. I frequently expanded the range of my Life Detection and Magic Detection, constantly grasping the surrounding situation, and fought cautiously even against weaker opponents. After two weeks of carefully and actively defeating monsters of equal rank, my level finally reached 50.
Race: Miasma
Name: None
Rank: B
Level: 50 Evolution Available
HP: 198/203
MP: 112/193
Attack Power: 184
Defense Power: 177
Magic Attack Power: 191
Magic Defense Power: 192
Agility: 74
Skills:
Special Evolution
Language Comprehension
Chant Annulment
Item Box Lv10
Appraisal Lv9
Thought Acceleration Lv10
Life Detection Lv11
Magic Detection Lv11
Hostility Detection Lv9
Danger Detection Lv2 New!
Auto HP Recovery Lv8
Mana Auto-Recovery Lv9
Light Magic Lv10
Water Magic Lv12
Space-Time Magic Lv4
Gravity Magic Lv4
Photosynthesis Lv10
Deadly Poison Generation Lv10
Paralysis Poison Generation Lv6
Sleep Poison Generation Lv6
Confusion Poison Generation Lv6
Pain Resistance Lv5
Deadly Poison Resistance Lv10
Paralysis Resistance Lv6
Sleep Resistance Lv6
Confusion Resistance Lv6
Miasma Lv6
Titles:
Reincarnator
Skill Collector
Evolver
Giant Killer
Assassin
Perhaps because I was fighting cautiously, I managed to acquire a wonderful skill called “Danger Detection.” And finally, the time has come. The time for evolution. I immediately checked the possible evolution paths, and…
□ Please select an evolution path:
・Worm
・Ant
・Hornet
・Spider
・Mantis
・Scorpion
・Beetle
Oh! Am I finally escaping from being a plant?! However, judging by their names, these all seem to be early-stage insects. If my current form is the final evolution of the plant type, could it be that evolving would make me considerably weaker?
Two weeks after vowing to become stronger, I never imagined that evolving could potentially make me drastically weaker. However, there’s no option to not evolve here. While becoming stronger and surviving is certainly one of my goals, this body is definitely not suitable for a slow life. I’ve also started to miss people, and this body isn’t suitable for searching for other Reincarnators either.
Besides, even if I become temporarily weaker, since it’s called evolution, I should become stronger than a Miasma if I reach the final evolution of the insect type. With my current experience in combat and the ability to inherit skills, I should be able to manage without too much danger if I fight cautiously.
I’ve become a bit timid, but there’s no choice but to evolve. The only thing left is to decide what to evolve into…
Worm… The well-known caterpillar. Spits threads from its mouth. Might be able to spit other things after evolving.
Ant… An ant. Characterized by its hard exoskeleton and large mandibles. Also skilled at digging holes and making nests.
Hornet… A wasp. Can fly freely and attack enemies with its giant stinger.
Spider… An eight-legged spider. Shoots threads from its rear to ensnare opponents. Actually not an insect.
Mantis… A praying mantis. An assassin of the forest with two giant scythes.
Scorpion… A scorpion. Has large pincers on its hands and a powerful venomous stinger at the tip of its tail.
Beetle… A beetle. Has a giant horn and armor-like carapace. A cool appearance that stirs a child’s heart.
I read the descriptions, but this time, I’ll go with my gut feeling… no, let’s be honest, I’ll decide based on my preference. Because I’ve always liked them.
As I focused on my desired evolution, my body was enveloped in light. I felt my body shrinking rapidly, and as the light subsided, I had completed my evolution. What stood there was—a giant single horn, a simple yet refined and beautiful form, a metallic-looking exoskeleton, and a silver-shining beetle about 50cm in length. …Huh? Silver? Why silver instead of brown? I had imagined an Earth beetle in terms of color and shape, so I tilted my head at the sight of my brightly shining silver body.
Well, what’s done is done. I’ll just accept that it’s cool in its own way and move on to checking my status.
Race: Beetle (Mutant)
Name: None
Rank: E
Level: 1
HP: 70/70
MP: 67/67
Attack Power: 102
Defense Power: 98
Magic Attack Power: 66
Magic Defense Power: 65
Agility: 98
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 New!
Hardening Lv5 New!
Titles:
Reincarnator
Skill Collector
Evolver
Giant Killer
Assassin
As expected, my stats and rank have dropped significantly. However, it seems I’ve inherited all my skills except for Photosynthesis, and I’ve gained “Flight” and “Hardening.” Light Magic has also surpassed 10 at some point, and I seem to have learned the 4th tier spell “Shining Arrow.” I’ll check these new skills later. First, I need to level up and raise my stats even a little.
Then, I suddenly noticed. Several glowing red eyes surrounding me.
(I messed up! This is still the North Forest! I should have gone back to the south side where the monsters are weaker to evolve!)
Where did the “cautiously” I vowed two weeks ago go…?
Evolving in the north side where monsters of the same rank as Miasma exist was such a careless thing to do. But no matter how much I lament, it’s too late. Now I have to think about how to overcome this crisis.
(Or rather, before thinking, I need to escape!)
I used the Flight skill for the first time and tried to escape. While nearly crashing into trees multiple times due to my unfamiliarity with the controls, I desperately flew south. It seems four Dark Wolves are chasing me from behind. Without looking back, I randomly fired Poison Bullets while flying in a zigzag pattern. As I did, I gradually got the hang of flying. Perhaps because I was flying for my life, I was improving quickly. In any case, once I could fly well, I was set. Combined with my relatively high agility, I managed to shake off the black wolves in about two hours.
Having successfully shaken off the Dark Wolves, I carefully made my way back to my base, hiding my conspicuous silver body as much as possible. Fully utilizing my Life Detection and Magic Detection, which had expanded their range as my level increased, I managed to escape the North Forest and return to my base in about five days. I knew that the period immediately after evolution was dangerous. I need to be more careful so that I don’t carelessly lose my life.
After reaffirming my resolve to live in this world, I checked my stats and skills again at my base and started planning how to level up.
End of Chapter 1