Inside a dark tunnel, an ant half a foot long stood up. The ant walked to a pile of spider legs and ate them like it was candy.

‘In total, I have five eggs I can lay.’

[[SS — Queen Ant]: Eggs: (20 mana) Worker Ant: 5]

‘Status window.’

[Red Jade Queen Ant | Adam | Mana: 2/5]

[Skills: [SS — Queen Ant], [Lowest — Mana Control], [Lowest —Enhanced Venom]]

‘Hmm…’

When he woke up in this world a month ago, he only had the [SS — Queen Ant] in his arsenal. But after staring long enough at the “Mana” stat, Adam tried doing magic.

He could feel the mana inside him like they were floating strings, so he tried to control those strings.

The result was he learned mana control, which was then recorded by the “status window.”

‘It kinda looks like a game…’

The status window both amazed him and made him feel urgent. It recorded his every progress, making it easier to progress… and that was the reason why he was anxious.

‘It feels like I’m naked all the time.’

The status window gave no privacy.

‘Whatever. I need to save up for a dozen worker ant eggs first.’

He didn’t know how strong or weak the worker ants would be. He thought it was better to rely on numbers, just like countless ants did in the wild.

'To do that, I must hunt.'

Adam thought and crawled to the sealed entrance. After opening the nest entrance, Adam waved his antennae and grimaced. Though the status window didn’t record it for some reason, he could “sense” the flow of mana around his using his antennae.

When he waves them, he would gain an “image” inside his head of what the surroundings looked like. It was like he had a radar.

‘Maybe I’m the radar.’

Chuckling at the thought, Adam carefully stepped out of his nest.

He was inside a lush forest. It was full of opportunities, yet also filled with danger. After sensing the area, he counted at least five predators nearby. He couldn’t recognize any of them, meaning that they were all magic beasts.

‘But there’s a caterpillar nearby.’

And it was away from the other predators, too!

The caterpillar looked normal, at least compared to him. It was just unusually big. Despite its size, it was skillfully hiding below a plant, hanging from the underside of a leaf.

‘I wish I had a magic projectile…’

He tried creating a magic bullet before but he failed. He could freely enhance any part of his body using mana, but he had no idea how to project his mana outside his body.

‘Am I lacking a skill…? No, the status window is just a mirror.’

What I need is proper knowledge.

Thinking about this, the ant had a sudden idea.

‘Will humans mind a… uhh, half-a-foot-long ant snooping around their libraries?’

Adam paused and laughed, his mandibles opening wide to display his fearsome mouth.

‘Of course, they will!’

Shaking off the thought, Adam refocused on his target. The caterpillar was like a statue. It didn’t move, even when he was directly under it.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

‘It must be betting its life on its camouflage.’

The underside of the leaf was a dark green, and the caterpillar was of the same color. If you didn’t pay attention, you'd miss it.

‘Thankfully, I have my trusty antennae!’

Grinning from ear to ear…? Adam crawled up the stalk of the plant and opened his mandibles, aiming at the caterpillar’s head.

‘This guy is so fat!’

His eyes could glow from happiness.

CHIP—SHRRR!

When he closed his mandibles shut, the caterpillar instantly struggled and wiggled around. Adam didn’t let go and rode atop the caterpillar. His legs stubbornly gripped the stalk of the plant. That way, no other predator could snatch his prey, and the caterpillar can't escape.

‘This guy’s skin is tough!’

The worm yesterday was soft, and his mandibles easily decapitated it after a few bites. But this caterpillar’s skin was so tough that even after ten bites, not a scratch appeared.

‘I guess I should be thankful that it’s weak.’

Its tough skin was the only thing it had against predators, and it was powerless as Adam dragged it around.

‘Hey! Don’t move so much! My nest is going to crumble!’

The caterpillar wasn’t far from his founding nest so he easily dragged it inside. But now, he regretted doing so.

‘Goddamned it! Do you know how long it took for me to dig this nest? Hey, are you even listening?’

He knew the caterpillar wasn’t, but he didn’t care. He brought the caterpillar inside his nest for one reason. To keep it from running away. No, he took it inside for one more reason. To devour it.

‘I hope my stinger doesn’t snap in half…’

The caterpillar would twist into a crescent moon, and it would do so rapidly. Adam was thankful that he made his nest excessively strong. He took three days to build it, for god’s sake.

Nervous but somewhat eager, Adam dragged the caterpillar closer with his mandibles and bent his gaster.

‘Just to be safe, I’ll reinforce my stinger.’

After pouring mana into his stinger, Adam pushed it to the caterpillar’s skin.

SHRRAA!!

The caterpillar was less than pleased, and it tried to struggle more to no avail. Finally, after a while, it seemed to have lost all resistance as it stopped moving.

‘My stinger can’t pierce it!’

But Adam wasn’t happy either. When he looked at the caterpillar, he could almost see it laughing at his expense.

‘Fuck, I’ll eat you alive if that’s the case!’

‘Fuck.’

Adam cursed. He was still sour about yesterday. He thought he found an easy meal, he didn’t expect it to be a freeloader instead.

Shhr…

Inside the nest, Adam and the caterpillar shared the space. The caterpillar was lazily dozing off, while Adam was “chewing” the caterpillar… well, he wished his mandibles were sharp enough to do so.

‘FUCK! DO YOU THINK THIS IS A MASSAGE?!’

It probably felt that way for the caterpillar.

Helpless, Adam backed off and gave his sore mandibles a break. He tried everything. From overloading his mandibles with mana to making the caterpillar drink his venom. The last one may have been a little stupid, but he was out of options!

‘Sigh… both inside and outside, this guy is so tough!’

He could only salivate, but he can’t eat. The feeling was miserable.

‘I just hope he doesn’t turn into a monster or something.’

He needed to hunt. Yesterday, he ate nothing, so his mind was becoming foggy with hunger.

‘Is this the curse of magic beasts or something? If you starve, you lose your mind. Then what about the caterpillar?’

Forget turning into a monster. Maybe when I return from hunting, the caterpillar would turn into a ravenous worm.

After leaving the nest, Adam scanned the area with his antennae. The image he received from his sensing ability was nearly transparent as if they were made of glass. Adam didn’t complain. The ability itself already helped him survive in the forest for a month, alone, why should he complain?

‘There are no predators… and prey. Tsk.’

After sensing around, Adam didn't see even a single insect, let alone a magic beast. Adam had no choice but to travel further than he was used to.

He crossed several hundred feet in about 30 minutes. Only after doing so did he find his first prey… and enemy.

‘It’s a damned beetle!’

Adam sighed.

He tried to hunt them before, and he was forced to go home empty-handed.

‘Those bastards fly away at a moment’s notice.’

Pushing down the reckless desire in his mind, Adam pushed forward to search for another prey.

‘It’s not a magic beast anyway. It’s not a magic beast. You won’t get full. It’s not…’

Of course, he didn’t forget to chant repeatedly to himself.

After skipping the beetle, Adam ran at full throttle. When he stopped again, his antennae were twitching in delight!

‘A-Are those eggs?!’

The eggs were humongous!

‘They’re definitely magic beast eggs. The size alone tells that.’

Adam approached one of the eggs. As he got closer, he saw what looked like a mix between a mantis and a spider inside the egg. The monstrosity had four bulbous eyes that were coincidentally looking at him.

‘Just one egg is as big as my body… What the hell birthed these eggs?’

I can count at least a dozen!

‘Oh well, I’ll just eat a few and take one back to feed that freeloader.’

The caterpillar back at his nest was easy to bring in but impossible to get out. It clung to the walls like a leech, and even with all his might, he couldn’t get it out.

‘I don’t want it to turn savage mode all of a sudden because of anger… I just hope it eats meat.’

Even if it’s a caterpillar, it should eat meat. Right? It is a magic beast…

‘If it doesn’t, I’m digging a new nest!’

When Adam opened his mandibles to bite into the egg, his antennae twitched and he sensed something coming from above.

‘Fuck! The parent is here!’

I don’t think a parent would welcome an intruder that tried to eat their young!

Adam, who just wanted to eat: Can you, uh, wait for a few minutes? I’m taking good care of your eggs, you see.