Chapter 1: Perplexity of the Situation
I physically curled up into a ball as I looked at the dozen legs attached to what seemed like the body of a pillbug, but I had mandibles.
Then I remembered something, my humanity was deleted. I internally let out a sigh— whilst uncurling myself— and looking at the screen in front of me.
----------------------------------------
[ You have gained a small amount of experience that accumulated from eating the Shell ]
[ Status is now completed! ]
[ Status can now be opened ]
----------------------------------------
Taking in the information, I clack my mandibles together. Screeching out and opening the status.
----------------------------------------
<-⟨ Stats ⟩->
Name: [N/A]
Kinfolk: [Insectiant Nymph]
Lineage: [Zenorian]
Path/Level: [N/A (Lvl 0)]
Traits:
(General Traits)
[Carapace]
(Acquired Traits)
[None]
(Negative Traits)
[None]
Stats: ( Stat Points: 0 )
[Stamina] - 2
[Vitality] - 5
[Strength] - 2
[Intellect] - 3
[Agility] - 3
Skills: ( Skill Points: 0 )
(Kinfolk Skills)
[Molting] - Tier 1
(Passive Skills)
[Curl] - Tier 1
(Active Skills)
[None]
<-⟨ Stats ⟩->
----------------------------------------
My antennae twitched while I took in more information. Some of the words felt foreign, while a single stat drew my attention.
"S- *Screech*"
It was agility, speed, or whatever terms you call it.
I looked around some more and found similar eggs, they had a dark outer appearance, and it seemed like the eggs were supposed to mimic the texture of a rock since it had a rough surface. My compound eyes scout out the dark cave area I am currently in.
I skittered around looking for an exit until I heard crunching sounds and screeches— it was my brethren— I was relieved at first, then my compound eyes metaphorically grew wide from the scene that played out.
My siblings were eating each other, it was cannibalism. But foam started to leak out of my mandibles, I was hungry as well...
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Then out of the crowd of fighting, another pillbug approached me. Was it going to fight me?
I clacked my mandibles trying to intimidate my sibling, only for it to prove useless. I screech at my sibling only for it to screech back. My sibling attacked first, trying to tackle me.
I quickly skittered away from it, only having my back slightly bruised. My sibling had a nub at the front, it seemed like he was made to have a charging move.
He kept trying to tackle me using his head, so I lured him to a wall.
*SCREECH*
The horned pillbug was getting more and more frustrated. So he charged at me at full speed, and what awaited his head was the rough and rocky surface of a cave wall.
*Crack*
His horn cracked and this was the opportunity to strike— while my horned sibling was dazed from the impact— I went to his side and used my mandibles to flip him over. He tried to resist but eventually got flipped.
I then use my mandibles to munch at his underside, the weak point. It was crunchy at first, then gooey insides burst out. It wasn't the tastiest, but it does give protein.
After savoring the body of my sibling that I defeated. I looked at the screen in front of me.
----------------------------------------
[ You have defeated a Horned-Zenorian Nymph, Experience is rewarded! ]
[ Additional Experience is rewarded for eating a defeated enemy! ]
[ Your Path is being formed! ]
[ You have leveled up! (LVL 0) -> (LVL 1) ]
[ You have gained 3 Stat points and 1 Skill point! ]
[ You have leveled up! (LVL 1) -> (LVL 2) ]
[ You have gained 3 Stat points and 1 Skill point!]
----------------------------------------
After getting the level up— My body grew a bit, it felt like my carapace tore open and a bigger me emerged from it, I think it was from my [Molting].
I then allocated the points given to me to Agility.
----------------------------------------
[ Agility stat has been increased by 6 points ]
[ Agility - 3 -> Agility - 9 ]
----------------------------------------
I felt power like no other, was it bad? I didn't know, my legs seemed to move more smoothly and I could feel the increase of efficiency of making my body more Agile.
More of my pillbug siblings engaged in battle with me while in my stupor of power and I easily dodged all of their attacks. Countering them by flipping them on their underside and munching on their belly.
Gooey guts spilled through the darkened cave floor as I swiftly fended off two more of my siblings.
I wasn't able to eat it properly though— as I began to lose speed due to my measly 2 points of stamina— so I left some of the mutilated carcasses behind while I finished off the other pillbugs or what the system likes to refer to as [Zenorians].
----------------------------------------
[ You have defeated a Zenorian Nymph, Experience is rewarded! ]
[ You have defeated a Zenorian Nymph, Experience is rewarded! ]
[ Your Path is being formed! ]
----------------------------------------
I didn't get levels this time, but my path was getting formed apparently. I didn't know what that meant exactly.
But my instincts tell me that I should increase my Intellect if I want more answers, and seeing as I didn't have stat points at that moment, I killed more of my aggressive siblings.
----------------------------------------
[ You have defeated a Zenorian Nymph, Experience is rewarded! ]
[ You have defeated a Zenorian Nymph, Experience is rewarded! ]
[ Additional Experience is rewarded from eating a defeated enemy! ]
[ Your Path is slowly opening up! ]
[ You have leveled up! (LVL 2) -> (LVL 3) ]
[ You have gained 3 Stat points and 1 Skill point! ]
----------------------------------------
After the whole fight, I was able to level up again— although it was only once— I was able to molt again and grow bigger, it seemed like molting restored my energy.
There were only 4 survivors left in the cavern, the air was humid and the gooey insides of my brethren permeated it even further. The four of us had very different features and colors.
We didn't fight each other since the four of us knew from instinct, we were the only four that had intelligence even if it was a small hint of it. Then I look at my surviving siblings.
There was a pair of my siblings to my right, it looked like they were actively working with each other, and they even looked identical. But one was a shade darker than the other, those two were also smaller though, maybe the cause of sharing experience.
Then the other [Zenorian] to the left of me was alone, it had a dark-red carapace and mandibles far sharper than mine.
Then there was me, I was larger than the twins but smaller than the red [Zenorian]— it was fine though since what I lacked in power, I compensated it for Agility.
After careful inspection between the four of us, everyone trembled after a sudden quake of the cave erupted. A part of the cavern cracked open and what seemed to be an exit looked like it had light shining through it.
Everyone was wary for a moment, but I quickly skittered away from the group and was hoping to find a safe hiding spot outside. Curious about the bigger cave, and running from the devastating and potentially traumatizing birthplace.