Ambush

This native's coloring was very similar to the rocks on the Cliff. It had been hiding in a crevice without moving, like a dead thing. Rowan had been focused on the greenery below and hadn't noticed that the rock-like object was alive.

But his field of vision was broad. Although the native was hiding very close to him, Rowan still reacted the instant it sprang into action.

His eyes were constantly evolving. Not only had his clear vision range grown from twenty meters to thirty, but his dynamic vision had also become much faster.

In an instant, the lunging creature came into sharp focus. It was a spider-like animal, enormous in size—several times larger than Rowan was now.

Its body was like a fortress, divided into two sections: the head and thorax, and a rounded abdomen. Both were covered in fine hairs. Eight black, eyeball-like eyes sat on its head in three rows: four small eyes in front, two large ones in the middle, and another two small eyes at the back.

A pair of chelicerae grew beside its mouth. They were raised now, revealing the sharp fangs they had been hiding.

It had eight thick Walking Legs, each with multiple joints that looked incredibly flexible. They were covered in fine hairs and tiny spines, with small claws at the ends.

It stretched out all eight legs and leaped, descending like a giant net from above as it tried to trap Rowan with its size.

Rowan had thought he was already enormous. In the desert above, he'd had such a size advantage over ordinary Worker Ants that fighting them was like beating up on weaklings. He hadn't expected the first creature he met in this new environment to completely dwarf him.

He didn't want to find out what would happen if that giant net caught him, nor did he want to test whether his armor could withstand those sharp fangs. Worse, his position was awkward: half his body was dangling from the cliff face, leaving him no room for any fancy evasive maneuvers.

He wasn't far above the ground, so Rowan simply released his claws and planned to jump straight down, dodging the attack in the process.

But the instant Rowan let go of the cliff, the spider had already pounced. One of its Walking Legs shot toward him like lightning as he began to fall.

Rowan reacted quickly, raising his sturdy Digging Leg in front of him.

The fine hairs on the spider's leg stood on end. Each one was a slender, sharp hook. The instant the leg touched Rowan, the hooks latched onto his Digging Leg and dragged him back. It seemed well practiced at dealing with prey that tried to jump off a cliff.

Then its fangs came in close.

"Fuck!" Rowan swore in alarm. He'd been careless. Every creature had its own survival trick, and the spider had anticipated his reaction from the start.

The hairs looked fine enough to snap with a tug, but they were incredibly strong. Rowan struggled with all his might, yet still couldn't break free.

The sharp fangs clamped down on his Digging Leg. After a brief struggle against its armor, they began to crack it under the pressure.

Then the tips of the fangs pierced through the cracks and sank into the muscle beneath. A numb sensation spread through Rowan.

Fuck! Rowan was furious and shocked. This thing was already so powerful, and it even used poison!

The situation was dire. If they kept struggling, he might not make it out alive!

At this critical moment, Rowan's eyes reddened. He summoned all his strength, brought the large tooth beside his mouth to the joint of his Digging Leg, and bit down hard, severing it.

The instant the Digging Leg came free, the spider jerked backward, and Rowan took the chance to escape its grasp. He seized that brief opening and drove all six of his remaining limbs forward. His newly acquired ability, Catapult Start, activated.

His speed instantly reached its limit. A black blur shot out of the crevice and crashed onto the ground below.

The spider leaned out, but though it had plenty of eyes—eight in all—it still seemed nearsighted. Rowan had already fallen beyond its field of vision.

At least it hadn't come away empty-handed. The spider retreated with Rowan's Digging Leg in its jaws. Moments later, the crevice fell as still as before.

Rowan landed in the grass and fought his way through the leaves. The instant he touched the ground, he stuck his rear up and started digging as fast as he could. Having lost a Digging Leg, he was slower than usual.

But he couldn't worry about anything else. Only the depths underground could make him feel safe.

The wound was still numb, and the muscle inside seemed to be starting to dissolve. The venom was seriously potent.

"Damn it, that thing played dirty! Not only did it use poison, it was the deadly kind!"

He thrust his head forward and bit off the limb that was his Digging Leg at the root, then rubbed his teeth against the dirt to keep any poison from getting into his mouth. If it entered his mouth, he couldn't exactly bite his own head off to stop it from spreading, so he'd better be careful.

He dug downward for an unknown length of time, his antennae and fine hairs working hard to sense his surroundings. He couldn't detect any living creatures nearby. Rowan hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls of dirt. He'd never expected to find himself in an emergency that required eating dirt so soon.

There was plenty of dirt, and Rowan quickly ate his fill. His consciousness slowly sank into sleep as his body began to repair its injuries. This time, he'd suffered the serious injury of losing a limb. It would probably take a while to recover.

After an unknown amount of time, Rowan woke up and checked his body. He hadn't formed a cocoon this time, but a new Digging Leg had grown.

It was several sizes smaller than the other one. Rowan held up his two Digging Legs, one large and one small. It looked a little ridiculous, and the mismatch was deeply uncomfortable to look at.

"This is going to drive my obsessive-compulsive side crazy." Rowan felt a pang of misery.

Still, he believed that with his genes, as long as he got enough nutrients, the small Digging Leg would soon grow to normal size.

Feeling hungry, he began climbing toward the surface. He'd rather eat less dirt if he could help it. Its energy conversion rate was low, and eating dirt this time had given him his first experience of taking a dump since becoming a bug. It had made him realize he could do it; his digestive system had just been so powerful before that it digested all his food.

The vegetation here was incredibly dense. Near the surface, all kinds of tangled grass roots filled the soil. Rowan bit through a few and sucked out some of their juices to replenish his moisture.

He cautiously poked his head out of the soil. A bug on a blade of grass above him suddenly sprang away with a whoosh. Though it moved incredibly fast, Rowan still got a clear look at it.

"Was that a Grasshopper?" The bug was an oily green, a little like a locust. Its hind legs were especially powerful, making it look like a jumping champion, but it didn't have a locust's wings.

Its back was covered by a layer of shell, but when it jumped, the shell split apart from the middle and opened to either side, helping it keep its balance.