Black Algae

The results were disappointing.

But with Rowan's limited knowledge of entomology, he didn't even know whether bugs had that thing.

And even if they did, what good would it do?

That was putting aside whether he even had any of his own kind. Could he really have some sort of improper relationship with a bug?

Worse, in his memories, male bugs usually met gruesome ends. When he was little, he'd watched a children's show starring cats, and some of its scenes still haunted him to this day.

He shuddered and forcibly cut off the train of thought before it could go any further.

He'd always thought the little hole at the very end of his backside was an excretory opening. It had gone away along with the three tail segments that had fallen off. He hadn't expected another one to quietly grow back later. But he'd never used it, so he'd never paid it any attention.

Who knew that this time, too, the water hadn't come from it? Instead, a little hole had opened in the middle of his lower abdomen to let the water out. He still had no idea what the hole behind him was for.

Drinking water filled his stomach, but it wasn't much use otherwise. Rowan turned his attention to the black algae.

He didn't know if it was poisonous, or how resistant this insect body of his was to toxins.

Thinking of his impressive-sounding species name and title, his reckless side immediately began itching to try it.

A tiny taste should be fine, right?

He carefully moved over and scraped at the black algae twice with his Digging Leg. No strange gas appeared, nor did any unknown liquid spray out. The hairs on his jointed limbs showed no sign of corrosion, either.

He extended his mouthparts and touched the algae lightly. Nothing. Then he licked it with his little tongue and waited a while. The tip of his tongue showed no signs of going numb.

He cautiously tried a tiny bite, then waited even longer, lying still. He didn't seem to feel anything.

After gradually increasing the amount he ate and extending the waiting period in further tests, Rowan finally concluded that the black algae was edible and nontoxic. Or it was poisonous, but it had no effect on him.

The energy the plant provided still couldn't match meat, but it was far better than drinking water alone.

After eating his fill at last, Rowan climbed up out of the crevice to rest for a while. The farther down the gap he went, the smoother the rock walls became. His hooked claws weren't well suited to walking or clinging to smooth stone.

So going deeper was risky for him. If he lost his grip and fell, hitting a rock would be one thing. But if he fell straight into the underground river, he didn't even know whether he could swim. If he couldn't, he'd be in serious trouble.

Thanks to the special respiratory tubes found in most insects, and the way their systems worked, it was hard to suffocate most of them. But drowning them was easy.

Unfortunately, Rowan's body had this standard system. If he really fell into the water, who knew whether Efiash's traits would let him evolve a new system in time to deal with the problem?

Rowan's stance was clear: let whoever wanted to go take the risk. He wasn't going to try that sort of thing.

Don't go looking for trouble and you won't die. He'd already carved that into his personal rules as the number one principle.

Rowan wanted to lie low until he became powerful, then go out and have some fun. But that clearly wasn't realistic. There was food here, but it was replenished too slowly. He was still small now, but once he grew a little bigger, he'd probably spend most of the day eating.

This black algae couldn't provide him with any new gene panels. If he stayed here, he could only grow proportionally larger; he wouldn't gain any new abilities.

He also needed to learn more about this world. He couldn't just decide he was invincible and head out to have some fun, only to get hit with a ballistic missile or a disintegration spell. He needed to observe more while he was still inconspicuous.

After turning it over in his mind, Rowan thought of a compromise: he'd keep following the underground river in the direction it flowed.

Water was the source of life. He believed that if he kept going, sooner or later he'd run into other life.

It was a shame, though. Now that he was leaving, he had no idea when he'd get to avenge himself on those ants.

Of course, Rowan didn't consider himself a vengeful sort. He was just making an ordinary observation.

And so Rowan began a long journey along the underground river.

His daily routine consisted of eating, drinking, traveling, and resting, over and over. Now and then, he'd climb up a little way and search around to see if any relatives of White Grub were nearby. Unfortunately, he never found any.

He hadn't gone back to the surface for the time being. The few times he'd been up there had left a terrible impression. The first time, he'd only gotten scalded, but the next two times had nearly killed him.

The underground river gradually rose. It had originally been fifty or sixty meters below the surface, but now it was only a little over twenty meters down.

Rowan's body had grown back to the size of a fingernail.

Honestly, his growth was far slower than he'd expected.

The low rate at which he converted food into energy was one reason. Another was that most of his energy went into digging, a form of strenuous physical labor.

He also suspected that his respiratory system was a major factor limiting how large he could grow. So he urgently needed a new, more powerful respiratory system to replace it.

As time went by, Rowan lost track of how long he'd been digging. But the underground riverbed kept rising, drawing closer and closer to the surface, and the layer of rock he was in was now only a few meters underground.

The soil here was gradually increasing, while the layer of sand and gravel had grown very thin. Now and then, he could see plant roots passing through the dirt. Rowan felt that he might be able to leave the desert before long.

When the rock layer was only about a meter from the surface, the layer of sand and gravel between the rock and the surface disappeared, leaving only soil. Plant roots were more numerous and densely packed here, clearly indicating abundant surface vegetation. Unfortunately, he still hadn't found White Grub.

In the end, Rowan couldn't resist digging through the soil and going up to take a look around.

His two enormous eyes finally proved their worth. Everything around him came into sharp focus and filled his mind. His range of vision had reached nearly twenty meters. It seemed he'd been getting stronger in secret lately, too.

Clusters of unknown shrubs dotted the land. Among the dust kicked up by the wind, sand made up only a small portion.

Even though he could see plants, the place still felt somewhat barren. He couldn't find any trace of insects or animals.

It was daytime. The hot sunlight fell on Rowan, but instead of the scorching sensation he'd felt the first time, it gave him a warm, pleasant feeling. He knew his fire resistance had increased.

He carefully crawled over to the nearest shrub. Its thick, yellowish-white trunk twisted upward, sending out numerous slender branches covered in tiny green leaves.

It looked delicious.

The black algae underground had disappeared long ago. Perhaps it could only grow deep underground.

After spending two days with nothing but water in his stomach, Rowan had been preparing to find another way forward when a few scattered roots appeared before him. The sap in their roots could just about make up for his daily energy expenditure, with even a tiny bit left over.

So he stuck to his original plan and continued along the underground river. After all, in this environment, finding another way forward was risky too.

After that, roots appeared more and more often, until they were everywhere. Rowan no longer had to worry about finding food, but a new problem had arisen.