Hiding underneath a stone, Adam waved his antennae, waiting for the magic beast to land.

He didn’t wait long as barely a minute later, Adam saw something appearing within his senses.

‘What…’

Through his magic sense, Adam saw what seemed to be a mantis with the abdomen of a spider and the wings of a bee. The mantis head had six bulbous eyes. Two at the front, sides, and back. Its mouth had become bigger and sharper, probably capable of cutting through his thorax in seconds!

‘Just how did that thing come to be?’

Adam was unsure of how insects crossbred here in this world, and he didn’t want to know.

The giant mantis checked its eggs, lifting a few to check the others below. Suddenly, its antennae twitched and its head snapped toward him!

‘Fuck, he sensed me!’

Adam wasn’t the only magic beast who can sense others through their antennae. He wasn’t that special.

TCHTCHTCHTCH!

The mantis opened its mouth and dashed toward Adam. The latter had no choice but to meet the mantis in the middle with his gaster flexed. As soon as they clashed, Adam tried to sting the mantis but the mantis was nimbler than him.

CLACK—!

The mantis bit down, trying to cut open his head but a faint curtain of mana halted it.

‘Shit! I’m out of mana!’

The mantis kept trying to eat his head, and his mana was not going to last. He escaped the fate of being a snack, but not for long.

‘Fuck it. Eggs can be saved up, my life is only one!’

Hesitating no more, Adam recycled the eggs he'd been saving up and felt mana filling him up. Coincidentally, the mantis held him tighter, bringing his gast nearer to its abdomen.

‘Now’s the chance…’

Aiming his stinger at the mantis’ fat abdomen, Adam poured half of his mana into his venom and the other half to keep his head from being devoured.

TCHHH!

The stinger penetrated the mantis’ abdomen easily and the mantis roared in surprise. In its eyes, the ant was just a lower being. It was already the “king” of this area, hence why it laid its eggs in the open.

Why is there suddenly an ant that can hurt it?

Enraged, the mantis used its front legs, which had become a living scythe, and hacked away at Adam’s body.

‘HISS—!’

Feeling as if a scalding handsaw were cutting him in half, Adam did his best to endure the pain. He couldn’t do anything else other than wait. The recycled mana wasn't instantaneous, but a continuous slow trickle.

‘If I die, I’m taking you with me!’

Seeing red, Adam opened his mandibles and tried to eat the mantis whilst the mantis tried to eat him.

CHICHI!

Just one bite and the mantis is already bleeding. How could it let Adam continue?

Using its scythe-like legs, the mantis swung hard at Adam’s legs, cleanly cutting one leg and breaking another.

KRRRR!!!

‘You—FUCKER!’

Adam was in a sea of pain. Vengeful, Adam used his mana to make his mandibles and stinger sharper. With the added mana, even his gaster became a pointy object that buried deep into the mantis’ abdomen.

CHAA!!!

The mantis cried out, flying high in a panic as Adam’s gaster nearly pierced its abdomen. It even forgot to chow down on Adam's head, giving the latter a chance to pour more mana into his venom. Whilst it flew, the mantis kept slicing at Adam’s back like it was a chopping board. Only a moment had passed and Adam lost another leg.

This time, the venom finally kicked in, and the mantis began to free fall.

‘Ha… fucker… bastard!’

Adam was falling too, but he clung to the mantis’ body and rode atop it. Using the mantis as a cushion, Adam landed with a crash and rolled away.

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He limped up in a daze, and Adam waved his antennae to check if it was safe. When it took longer than expected to scan the area, Adam grimaced and found one of his antennae on the ground.

‘ARGH!!’

The only good news is that there is no magic beast nearby…

Mentally sighing in relief and anguish, Adam dragged his body toward the mantis. Everything seemed hopeless for him, but he didn’t give up. He was a magic beast, and he has mana. What if he could regenerate his limbs through mana?

His body felt like it was being burned by hot metal rods when he reached the mantis’ body. His wounds were still fresh, and seeing the mantis made him boil in anger. He didn’t wait to chow down even after finding that his mandibles had been chipped.

‘Everything is a mess…’

After the battle, Adam got a clear picture of his body. He was using mana to speed up his healing so the bleeding had stopped.

‘I have one broken leg, two missing legs, a chipped pair of mandibles… my thorax is filled with deep cuts, and one of my antennae is gone… fucking hell! ARGH! DAMNED IT ALL!’

Adam wished he could flip the sky upside down, but all he could do was eat faster. That’s what he did, and before he noticed, the mantis was moved into his stomach.

‘At least my gaster is safe and sound… wait... when did my stinger snap in half? Fucking great.’

Using his remaining three legs and one broken leg, Adam dragged his body toward the mantis’ eggs. After a few steps, he stopped using the broken leg. The inner flesh of the broken leg was mush. Every time it hit the ground, electrifying pain shot up his head.

‘If I spare a single one of your child, I’ll be hateful enough to keel over and die.’

Adam swore and ravenously ate the eggs. He didn’t even bother that his gaster was ballooning at an alarming rate.

He also didn’t notice that as he ate, something inside his head was mooching off the excess energy he gained by eating. It was a faint red and blue smoke.

‘Oh, I can’t forget about the caterpillar…’

Thankfully, I’m still clear-headed.

Maybe he could maintain his calm because he experienced much worse, but it didn’t lessen his sorrow.

‘Gone are half of my legs. Gone are my sharp mandibles. Gone is my stinger. How can I hunt?’

Adam was depressed and racked his brain for answers… only to realize that the answer was in front of him all along.

‘I can lay eggs!’

‘‘I can lay eggs,’ my ass.’

[[SS — Queen Ant]: Eggs: (20 mana) Worker Ant: 1]

‘What can one ant do?!’

While the caterpillar circled around his broken body, ignoring the egg that he brought home, Adam felt as if someone cursed him. He tried to think over and over again, but he just couldn’t answer his question.

‘One ant can’t do shit!’

Adam sighed when his head creaked toward the egg he brought home.

‘No. That’s for the caterpillar.’

He shook his head. He wasn’t petty enough to steal what he just gave. As to why he cared about the freeloader?

‘It’s getting lonely… I need a companion. Something like my cat…’

And the caterpillar diligently filled up that role. Even though he didn’t know what the caterpillar would turn into, he didn’t care. Maybe it was the last embers of humanity clinging to him, but he wanted to let the caterpillar stay by his side.

Just like how his cat did.

‘Kitty… I miss you.’

‘Oddly, I’ve grown accustomed to the life of a disabled.’

His wounds had long stopped bleeding and he was in great condition aside from his missing limbs. The caterpillar seemed to sense his good mood and stopped circling around him. Instead, it dozed off in one corner of the nest.

‘I hope this gamble is worth it.’

Adam had already birthed the worker ant egg. It was as tiny as a grain of rice, but it carried all of Adam’s hope.

‘Little ant, hatch well and grow up well. Your… mother? Father? Which is it? I don’t even know anymore.’

Technically, he was now a she, but he never thought of himself as a she.

‘Let’s go with father. So what if I’m a queen ant? I’m still a man!’

Adam raised his head up, trying to stand tall only to fall to his face.

‘Fuck. I forgot about my missing front legs.’

‘It’s… been an awful week.’

First of all, he had to eat as little as he can. If he hadn’t already used up his wing muscle tissues, the week would’ve been a breeze.

And yes, he once had wings. He tore them off after landing…

‘No, I didn’t tear them off. The real red jade queen ant did.’

His consciousness awoke inside the red jade queen ant after it failed to lay an egg.

‘Boy, I can still remember how chaotic that first day was…’

KRRR!

Atop a stone that gleamed under the cold moon, an enormous ant raised her head as she cried out in hunger.

She starved for days only to realize that she was infertile and was destined to die.

KRR! KRR! KRRRRR!!!

The queen ant couldn’t accept her fate and cursed the moon.

Unlike other magic beasts, she had basic intelligence and could form proper thoughts. Given enough time, and if she was fertile, she would gain enough intelligence and knowledge to speak the human language.

Unfortunately, she would die today.

Not out of hunger but out of insanity.

Magic beasts are ravenous for a reason. Inside their bodies was a “core.”

The core feasts on mana. Magic beasts regenerate mana by resting and by eating, but the mana gained by resting was not enough to feed to the “core” so they have to eat. At least in the lower ranks of magic beasts.

Hence, the core would slowly feed off of the magic beast’s mind, and soon its body.

KRR! KRRRRR!!!

After crying out a final time, the queen ant’s antennae suddenly straightened.

Her last moment had begun… or it should’ve been if not for a red and blue smoke entering her brain through her mouth, eyes, and other appendages.

After a brief moment of silence, the queen ant fell to the floor, powerless.

‘Where… am I?’

Lost in confusion, the queen ant, now possessed by a different soul, stood up.

‘What’s… this?’

He thought as he looked at his body when all of a sudden, an unbearable sense of hunger assaulted his mind.

‘ARGH—?! So... hungry! EAT! I WANT TO EAT!’

Like a man reverting into a beast, the queen ant scrambled into the forest, his eyes locking on the very first creature he saw.

‘FOOD!’

He saw a mouse.

Opening his mandibles wide, the queen ant bolted toward the mice and bit down.

KRR—CHAK!

SQUEEEAK—!

The mice, caught off guard, clawed and gnawed at the queen ant, but the queen ant’s subconscious channeled mana into her exoskeleton to prevent further damage.

SQUEAK! SQUEAK!

[Notice: Arrived in—ERROR.]

[Notice: Not enough mana.]

[Notice: Initiating, sleep mode.]

[Notice: Please be careful, Master.]

‘SO NOISY!’

SQUEAK… squeak…

Ignoring the voice inside his mind, the ant chopped up the mouse, who stayed alive until the very last moment. Its movement slowed down to a halt after Adam bit its heart.

Even while covered in filthy blood, the ant didn’t care as he slurped the crimson juice and chowed down on the soft flesh. Sloppy sounds of an ant devouring the mouse filled the silent forest as the moon shone above it, looking down mockingly.

Adam, who was scratching his head: I feel like I’m forgetting something important…