Curtain Call

The torrent formed by the gathering locusts flew in flocks above the forest, just like the images passed down through their bloodline.

Perhaps they would cross rivers and lakes, traverse mountains and valleys, and might even reach snowy highlands.

But none of that mattered anymore...

After following the locust swarm for over ten minutes, System gradually slowed down and finally landed.

The path he would take was ultimately different from that of his fellow locusts.

He watched the queen's figure from afar until it blurred from sight, then System began returning to the forest he knew.

"Since the grasshoppers have destroyed the plants around here, it looks like I'll need to find a new feeding ground again."

"What a pity. That storehouse where I kept my food will have to be abandoned."

"But it's fine. I can just find another similar storehouse. I wonder whether the queen's journey will turn out as she hopes. I hope everything goes well for her..."

Shaking off his somewhat sentimental thoughts, System shook his head and descended from above the forest.

Out of habit, System activated [Information Reading] to scout the activity around him.

He discovered several hundred ants on the ground tearing at a mouse carcass. System hopped over; this was the first time he had seen a rodent since the torrential rain.

The mouse still looked fresh and could not have been dead for long. It had evidently survived the rainstorm...

System wanted to snatch some mouse meat from the ants when a ripple of peaceful, tranquil aura drifted over from afar.

It came from the direction where the locust torrent had gathered.

Feeling that peaceful aura, so intimately close to nature, System pictured a figure in his mind—the old druid.

Along with that peculiar ripple, the ceaseless cicada cries in the forest abruptly fell silent.

System saw a blue dragonfly resting on a plant shoot nearby suddenly take flight, heading toward the source of that peaceful aura.

At the same time, the several hundred reddish-brown ants around the mouse carcass descended into confusion. They wanted to go to the source of that peaceful aura, yet they were unwilling to abandon the food they had found.

That peaceful aura held a powerful attraction for insects, more than ten times stronger even than the ripple emitted by the Grasshopper Queen.

"Is it that old druid? What is he doing?"

Hopping to the tip of a branch, System saw an extraordinarily unusual green halo appear in the distant forest through his blurry vision.

"What is that?"

After hesitating for a moment, System spread his wings and flew toward the green light.

As he drew closer, a few minutes later, the locust swarm that had already flown far away once again became clear in System's eyes.

Countless grasshoppers, along with dragonflies, cicadas, butterflies, and other flying insects, surrounded a giant green sphere of light roughly ten meters across.

The grasshoppers formed tornadoes made of streaming torrents as they flew wantonly around the sphere of light, radiating an indescribable excitement.

The grasshoppers had begun their revelry once more, and it was even more intense than it had been at noon.

Circling the green sphere of light, the grasshoppers drank in its energy. They grew even more excited, and their flight speed visibly increased.

The sphere of light held a great attraction for System as well, and he was tempted.

If he consumed the energy in that sphere of light, would he also become more agile like the grasshoppers?

System prepared to fly over and taste that green energy.

But halfway through spreading his wings and taking flight, System suddenly stopped.

He noticed the figure beneath the green sphere of light.

He saw the old druid's emotionless expression, utterly unlike the smile he had worn while saving the large bird.

In an instant, System froze.

He suddenly understood.

He understood what had felt wrong when he encountered the old druid for the second time and saw the kind-hearted old druid save the large bird.

Beneath that injured bird, there had actually been two ants that were just as grievously wounded.

While saving the bird, the old druid had chosen to ignore the injured ants.

People liked to choose cats and dogs as pets. When they saw others abusing pets, they might even regard them as scum, yet they could swat flies and mosquitoes to death without the slightest burden.

After trying to put himself in another's shoes, System suddenly understood what the old druid was doing.

In the old druid's heart, perhaps the grasshoppers were not creatures of nature worthy of affection, but a locust plague that destroyed nature!

If a druid's nature and duty were to protect the harmony of the natural world, then this druid's actions at this moment needed no further explanation.

This green sphere of light ten meters in diameter was likely something similar to the scent of grass and wood emitted by the slime.

It was a trap!!

"But they only wanted to explore this vast world!"

In System's sight, several thin, frail grasshoppers had already lost their strength and drifted down from the sky. Their wings spread wide, they did not move at all as they fell from midair like snowflakes.

Yet the other grasshoppers, utterly unaware, were still reveling...

Unwillingness, loneliness, resentment, and perhaps other emotions filled System's heart.

The way System looked at the old druid had completely changed.

[Information Reading] activated!

A blue halo seemed to flash through System's compound eyes. He searched for the Grasshopper Queen. If anyone could stop the grasshoppers from throwing their lives away now, it could only be the queen.

Yet as System searched for the queen, a figure charged at him with incredible speed and seized him tightly with her legs.

Before System could find the Grasshopper Queen, the Grasshopper Queen had found him first and captured him.

The Grasshopper Queen was incredibly fast. Even while holding System, she flew two or three times faster than System could at full speed.

She carried System away from that sphere of green light at tremendous speed...

"Don't... get close. That green light... is dangerous..."

The Grasshopper Queen sent System a mental message, her mental message brimming with worry.

"Dangerous? Could it be that you..."

The Grasshopper Queen did not respond to System's mental message. She simply kept holding him as she fled...

As the Grasshopper Queen continued flying, System felt her body spasming now and then, the spasms growing ever more frequent...

Clearly, just like the grasshoppers falling from the sky, the Grasshopper Queen had fallen into the old druid's trap.

System twisted his body with all his strength, only to find that he could not break free from the Grasshopper Queen's legs at all.

And so, as the spasms wracking the Grasshopper Queen's body grew more frequent, her speed gradually slowed after several minutes...

In the end, she could no longer maintain flight, and the two grasshoppers tumbled from the sky to the ground.

Even as they fell from the air, the queen's legs still clutched System tightly.

System twisted his body again, only to suddenly feel a strange power surging toward him from the Grasshopper Queen's body.

A tingling, pleasant sensation spread through his body. It was somewhat like the feeling of leveling up, yet completely different.

This power seemed to act upon his mind. It was a mysterious force.

Images and scenes flooded into System's mind.

The perspective of those scenes came from a small, withered-yellow grasshopper.

Unlike System, this little grasshopper's compound eyes possessed far sharper vision than his. It could even make out the subtle changes in the clouds overhead.

From escaping an ant's mandibles soon after hatching, to feeding on leaf buds and growing stronger, this little grasshopper's experiences reminded System of the cautious life he had led just after awakening.

The little grasshopper often gazed up at the clouds in the sky. It also loved leaping to the tops of trees to look out in every direction, and remained the same even after nearly losing its life to bird attacks because of it...

Scene after scene linked together. In merely a few breaths, System watched through several months of the grasshopper's life.

At the end of those images, System even saw himself—a Green-Tailed Grasshopper who always liked to wave the antennae on his head while thinking.

System could feel the emotions that welled up in the heart of the heroine in those images—the Grasshopper Queen—whenever she looked at him...

As the images transmitted by the Grasshopper Queen came to an end, the legs clutching System's body slowly loosened.

At some point, System's experience bar had reached the peak of level 10. He had also gained a special ability, Mind Transfer, along with its derived ability, [Mental Link].

Mind Transfer (6/22): A special talent bestowed upon System by Kun. The ability to communicate with all things, and to transmit a portion of special powers.

[Mental Link] (6/11): A derived ability obtained from Mind Transfer. Can connect your mind with another's, granting them the temporary ability to communicate with you.

The Grasshopper Queen's body twitched faintly. Several of her legs could no longer move. Only one half of her long antennae turned toward System, but no matter how it turned, it could not reach him.

System moved closer and touched his antennae to the queen's. He knew that this was what the Grasshopper Queen wanted.

Using his newly acquired power, [Mental Link], System connected his mind to the Grasshopper Queen's once more.

"...I never got to see... that vast world..."

The Grasshopper Queen's golden compound eyes had dimmed somewhat. Staring at the clouds in the sky, she let out a soft sigh before turning her dim gaze toward System.

"Can you help me... with one thing...?"

System immediately replied, "Yes. As long as it is something I can do."

"I know you... like eating meat. So... eat me. Take me to see it, to see it..."

A breeze passed by. The Grasshopper Queen's antennae drooped, and her body became completely still...

"You..."

System sent a message through [Mental Link], but there was no longer anyone at its other end.

For some reason, his body began to tremble faintly, and all kinds of inexplicable emotions rose unbidden from the depths of his heart.

System tried hard to stop his trembling body. Following the queen's final wish, he slowly aimed the mandibles in his mouth at her corpse—opening them, closing them, opening them again, then closing them once more, over and over...

System wanted to bring down his mandibles, only to find that he simply could not do it.

In the end, System brought down his mandibles.

He used his mandibles and legs to dig into the earth, digging without pause!

He was going to bury her body...

P.S.: This chapter is over. You may read the related side story, "System's Crystal Pendant."