I wake up in a familiar situation. Surrounded by pressure from all sides. And darkness, can’t forget darkness.
Another egg then. Oh well, I know how to deal with this.
I begin to push against the walls until I get out. Something gives and I’m no longer under pressure. Though I’m still not 100 percent sure I got out.
Why? Well, it would seem like whatever I turned into is blind. Again. Goddamn it.
I’ll just have to wait until my status is active again. Which shouldn’t take too long, based on my previous experience.
Before that I might as well see what my instincts have to say. Which is basically just one thing: move.
And so, I move. It may have taken me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the direction I was supposed to go, but whatever.
As I’m crawling, I realize I’m not on the ground. No, I’m climbing on a wall of some kind. And in fact, I appear to be heading for the roof of this place.
Huh, not many places in nature that have roofs. Actually, I can think of only one, caves. So, I’m some kind of cave creature?
And I really should have noticed this sooner, but my movement method is… strange. As a caterpillar I at least had those little nubs that helped me walk. But now? Not even those. I seem to just be a tube.
Ah, I appear to have reached my destination. I’m just about to start the next step of whatever process I’m in the middle of, when the long-awaited notification appears.
> CONGRATULATIONS!
>
> You’ve reached sufficient maturity and are now considered and independent actor of your creature type: Glow Worm!
>
> Your base physical stats are 1!
>
> As a glow worm you gain:
> >> The glow worm ability Metamorphosis, Silk Production!
> >> The glow worm trait Bioluminescence!
>
> Metamorphosis merged into Metamorphosis!
>
> Metamorphosis reaches level 2!
A Glow Worm? Is that a thing? I think I vaguely remember something like that, but it could just as well be a fantasy creature. Sure sounds like it.
> Your innate trait, Past Life Holdover, activated! Select an ability to keep permanently!
…
Is it- is it actually letting me pick? Even though I only really have one option? Huh. I would have expected something like this to not mistake the already innate Metamorphosis as a valid target. Unless, by picking it again, I’d gain something special.
Similarly, to how it automatically went up a level just now. Argh, a dilemma. My one weakness.
It’s also technically possible that my trait is eligible even though it says pick an ability. But that just seems stupid to have such a basic mistake is something that governs basically all life.
Then again, I could just, not pick. See how long I can hold off on it. Maybe if I gain a skill in the meantime, I’d also be able to select that. Or, I could wait to metamorphose again and see if that gives me better options.
Yeah, I’ll do that. Maybe at worst it’ll select randomly and I’m okay with that. It’s not as if I have a great selection here.
Alright, I’ll do that. Hopefully it works.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
But now, onto more pressing issues. What does a glowworm actually do? I can see I have Silk Production as a new ability. Presumably something to do with that.
Activating the ability just produces a long and wet string. I can’t shape it or anything. So, not the spider strategy then.
Playing around with the one thread I have; I can’t figure out what I’m supposed to do with it. It is my hunger that swoops in to save the day.
Just like when I was a caterpillar and didn’t know what to do, my hunger activates some deep instinct buried in glow worms that tells them what to do. Before I know it, I’m attaching my silk strand to the ceiling, letting it hang, and start producing another one.
Alright, not sure what the purpose of that is, but I can do that.
After about 10 minutes I have another one ready. I attach it a little bit off to the side of the first one, so that they don’t tangle. Which is apparently not enough of them. I begin producing more and more.
It takes me a while to make enough. In the end, I end up with 30 of these long, wet, and thin lines of silk hanging from the ceiling. And none of them intercept with each other.
Yeah, I have no idea what this was supposed to accomplish. Worst of all, I have no idea what to do next. The glow worm instincts have just gone quiet since I completed my silk array.
And when I try to leave, they almost literally scream at me to remain in place. So, I can’t even go and explore without apparently disturbing whatever it is I have here.
So, it’s time for the only thing I can do. While stationary, blind, and without limbs. Meditate.
I may have lost the skill, but not the memories of it. Hopefully that means I can gain it quicker this time. And actually level it this time around. I want to know what a non-level one meditation skill does for me.
I stay completely still and just try to let time pass. To just observe time from the sidelines.
> You gained the meditation skill!
Suddenly, I feel a tug. Huh, what? I’m confused for a bit. Wasn’t I just meditating? Oh, I seem to have gained the skill. But the tug?
There it is again. It’s coming from… the thread?
Indeed, it would seem like something indeed got caught in my strands of silk. So, I am going for the spider strategy!
But before that, I’ll have to check on my first ever prey. Letting my instincts do they heavy lifting again, I slither down one of my silk lines (wow, I’m light!) until I reach the struggling critter caught in my web. If you can call one thread a web.
Anyway, I can’t actually tell what it is (since I’m blind), but my glow worm instincts don’t seem to have a problem with that. I begin to chew a tunnel through my victim.
Yes. Through the still alive creature. I really hope there aren’t any human sized glow worms.
> You killed a level 0 Moth. You gained minimal experience.
Oh god. This is… I don’t know how to feel about this. I, I think I’ll have to digest this.
…
Pun definitely not intended. I’m not that morbid.
But damn, not only was that my first kill, it happened because I was eating something alive. Eugh, this is so fucked up.
Just, just focus on the positives. I finally have a way to gain experience. Yay. It is only minimal though, whatever that means.
Is it an absolute value? Or is it minimal in proportion to how much I need to reach the next level? Or maybe proportional to something else? Damn it, why can’t this System be more transparent with its calculations.
You know what, screw this all. I’m just going to meditate until my emotions get sorted out. Besides, it seems like that’s what glow worms are supposed to do anyway.
------------------------------------
On a different world, inside an ancient looking tower, an old wizard was ordering his apprentices around.
“Terithrow, be careful with that inscription! Emenderty, mix some more GrukGrob juice into that ointment! Spirmarvily, get over here!” he constantly shouted into the spacious room.
He was an old wizard, not just by normal standards, but also by wizard standards. In fact, he may very well have been the oldest tralagix in existence at the time.
That did not stop him from being extremely active though. Almost aggressively active.
“Yes, Grand Archwizard Lord Magus?” the skittish Spirmarvilly asked.
“Is everything proceeding to plan?” the old wizard said.
“Um,” Spirmarvilly looked around, “yes? Grand Archwizard Lord Magus,” luckily, Spirmarvily quickly remembered to add the honorific.
“Wrong!” shouted the old wizard, “Nothing’s going according to plan, gods damnit! The best time to have had the ritual prepared was yesterday, but since we’ve only gotten word earlier today, today will do. And everybody is doing sloppy work! You’re not supposed to strive for perfection, you’re supposed to be perfection!”
Spirmarvilly, along with every other apprentice who overheard him, cringed back a bit. And that was with them being used to such a verbal onslaught.
Despite it, one brave, or perhaps foolish, apprentice asked a question, “E-excuse me, Grand Archwizard Lord Magus, but exactly what kind of ritual are we preparing?”
“Haven’t you heard! A new species-collective emerged! We must locate them immediately, unless the others get to them first!” the wizard shouted, his voice that of a crazed man.
------------------------------------
> You killed a level 0 Moth. You gained minimal experience.
>
> You reached level 1!
Oh, finally! It’s been ages!
Now then, show me what goodies I get from a level up.