The Third Metamorphosis (Part 1)

After all the blood in System's body cooled, he lost all sensation of the outside world.

He could not see. His compound eyes seemed to have stopped working; the clear vision he had beneath the mushrooms' fluorescence a moment ago suddenly vanished, as if someone had switched off the lights.

He could not hear or smell. His antennae seemed to have stopped working; a moment ago, he had smelled the thick stench of blood in the cave and heard the breeze blowing through it, but suddenly he could no longer detect any of it.

He could not feel. He could not feel his body touching the ground, could not feel his blood flowing, could not feel his heart beating.

He had even lost his sense of temperature, gravity, and direction. He felt that his body ought to be facing upward, but then he suddenly realized he could no longer tell which way was up.

He could not even activate [Self-Information Generation], which he had once been able to use with ease.

System could only feel that his consciousness still existed, along with the slow passage of time.

"I wonder how Shawa is doing..."

System thought to himself, as though he were trapped within chaos.

Suddenly, his consciousness felt an incomparably violent tremor. The tremors came one after another in a highly regular rhythm, seeming to occur three or four times every second.

"Is this... my... heartbeat?"

As System realized this, he suddenly felt his body again.

Though he still could not perceive anything outside, his awareness of his body's interior was exceptionally clear. He could feel the blood flowing through him, and he could feel the flesh and blood of his body squirming.

System regained sensation in his body, and [Self-Information Generation] became usable once more. The information clearly displayed the words Molting Growth Mode.

His third molt had indeed begun.

Before long, a familiar rhythm once more came from the blood coursing through his body, prompting him to make a choice.

Choose—

Without any hesitation, System once again used the strengthening power produced by Molting Growth on his Numerical Code.

Just as during his previous two molts, System once again appeared in that sea of numbers.

He became a massive sphere of light again, with several numerical planets orbiting around him along fixed trajectories.

Yet unlike before he had fallen unconscious last time, System felt that the entire sea of numbers around him was somewhat different. Many numbers had gathered together irregularly, forming solid blocks of varying shapes that drifted through the numerical sea without any pattern.

System observed for a while but found no clue and saw nothing wrong, so he began guiding the power of Molting Growth to strengthen this sea of numbers.

Perhaps because this was his third molt, the strengthening power produced by this Molting Growth was extraordinarily abundant.

The enormous numerical planet that had ultimately failed to coalesce within the sea of numbers last time condensed with ease. Afterward, the giant planet steadily orbited around System.

Countless numbers surged from this enormous planet, gradually forming a brand-new satellite that orbited around it.

Feeling the power of Molting Growth gradually diminish as it strengthened the sea of numbers, System learned from the lessons of his first two molts. He actively withdrew from the numerical sea, avoiding the possibility of falling unconscious.

After leaving the numerical sea, System carefully sensed his body as it underwent molting.

His flesh slowly squirmed according to a certain pattern. The molt proceeded in an orderly fashion, and just like the previous two times, he still did not need to control it himself.

However, at this rate, his molt seemed as though it would take quite some time to finish.

System checked [Self-Information Generation] and discovered that his Numerical Code talent (3/3) had directly risen by two levels, becoming Numerical Code (5/5). Many abilities associated with Numerical Code had also improved.

He had gained an exceptionally peculiar ability, Data Compilation, along with its derived ability, [Ability Enhancement]. They were precisely the huge planet and its satellite within the sea of numbers.

Data Compilation (3/5): A special talent gained from Numerical Code and Molting Growth. Possesses the ability to compile and process data. System's unique talent.

[Ability Enhancement] (3/5): A derived ability gained from Data Compilation. An ability capable of enhancing the abilities of oneself or other targets. System's unique ability.

System did not have a particularly deep understanding of the Data Compilation talent. He felt that he could only use the barest surface of this peculiar ability.

Yet even that bare surface was extraordinarily remarkable.

Using this peculiar ability, System made slight alterations to the interface of [Self-Information Generation] and created an entirely new interface.

He could easily add small functions to it, such as recording time, measuring length and direction, a calculator, video recording, and photography.

System had not been a programmer in his previous life, nor did he seem to have ever worked with compiling programs, yet he effortlessly tinkered together a menu interface that looked the part without quite being the real thing.

And at the instant the menu interface took shape, System gained an entirely new ability.

[Information Menu] (2/5): A derived ability created by System using Data Compilation. A unique ability with functions such as measuring time and direction, calculation, photography, and more. System's unique ability.

The interface of [Information Menu] had been personally designed by System. It was somewhat like a computer desktop from his previous life, yet also somewhat like a smartphone.

As System casually tinkered with this [Information Menu], he discovered that it could also be integrated with several other abilities.

He easily integrated the three derived abilities, [Self-Information Generation], [Information Input], and [Information Reading], into [Information Menu].

And in the instant after the integration, those four abilities merged into one, forming an entirely new ability.

[Tool Menu](5/12): A special ability created by System through integrating [Information Menu]. Possesses many unique functions, such as viewing self-information, recording information, and read analysis. An ability unique to System.

System fiddled with the newly appeared [Tool Menu]. He was rather curious—if he were to enter the sea of numbers within the Numerical Code again, what form would this [Tool Menu] take?

A planet? A satellite? Or... a comet?

Continuing to manipulate the [Tool Menu], System tried integrating [Ability Enhancement], a derivative ability of Data Compilation, into it as well.

But after several attempts, System discovered that it simply could not be integrated.

Though [Ability Enhancement] was a derivative ability of Data Compilation, it was clearly a deeper kind of power. System could not comprehend it, and thus could not integrate it.

Yet although he could not understand it, System could still use the ability freely.

[Ability Enhancement] was a very peculiar ability, giving System the feeling of playing an RPG.

Through it, he could manipulate the experience bar within his body and distribute it as he pleased.

Though it could not exactly be called an experience bar. After mastering [Ability Enhancement], System realized that this experience bar capable of raising his level was actually more like a kind of potential stored within his body.

By using [Ability Enhancement], System could draw upon this potential to strengthen his various abilities.

Rather than, as before, allowing his body's instincts and Insect Adaptation to strengthen him on their own during the leveling process.

It was like a game character receiving freely assignable attribute points and skill points after leveling up—except there was only one thing he could assign: the experience bar.

Not only that, System discovered that he could even use this ability to strengthen other targets...

Unfortunately, because he had lost his perception of the outside world during metamorphosis, System could not test [Ability Enhancement] on other targets. Otherwise, he would not have minded trying to use it to strengthen the soldier ant Shawa.

"I wonder if Shawa has [Limb Regeneration]."

If Shawa possessed [Limb Regeneration] like a grasshopper's, and it could be strengthened by his [Ability Enhancement], then the disabled Shawa would be able to grow new legs even faster.

System's metamorphosis was far more prolonged than he had imagined. After letting his thoughts run wild for a while, he continued tinkering with his newly invented ability, [Tool Menu].

The more System used this ability born from Data Compilation, the more he felt he could uncover additional functions within it.

He could add all sorts of game-like functions to the [Tool Menu].

Ding! Your level has increased.

Ding! Your [Tool Menu] ability level has increased.

Ding! You have gained 58 units of experience.

Just like in a virtual game, he could add a voice notification function to his body.

Whenever he leveled up, his skill level increased, or he gained experience through eating, it would automatically sound a notification.

These voice prompts could also be switched to text messages appearing in his field of vision. He could even add a time module and direction module to his vision, displaying the time and direction.

These simple functions could remain activated continuously, consuming only a negligible amount of mental energy. System felt that he could leave them on forever without shutting them down, and they would have virtually no effect on his mind.

System found that he was increasingly remaking himself in the image of an online game.

As long as he added a health bar, a mana bar, and a minimap in the corner, he would be almost no different from an ordinary online game.

If System had possessed his current [Tool Menu] when he first awakened, there was more than a ninety-percent chance that he would have believed he had been reborn into a game world.

System continued manipulating the [Tool Menu].

After the [Tool Menu] had been integrated, System divided it into several functional modules and renamed them.

They were: My Information, Database, Read Analysis, and Useful Tools.

My Information corresponded to [Self-Information Generation], Database had the same function as [Information Input], Read Analysis was like the ability [Information Reading], while Useful Tools consisted of the various miscellaneous little abilities System had created.

System discovered that Read Analysis, the ability that displayed the outlines of nearby objects, could be modified to become more practical.

After coming up with a simple idea, System immediately set to work. Using the images stored in the Database for testing, he began modifying Read Analysis.

System had no way to strengthen its ability to analyze objects, but he quickly upgraded and optimized its function of making the outlines of nearby things emit a faint glow.

Based on the type of object being observed, System differentiated the colors of the faint glow produced by Read Analysis. Things that posed no danger were set to glow green, things with little danger glowed yellow, while highly dangerous or previously unseen things glowed red.

This way, once the [Read Analysis] function was activated, the dangers and objects in the outside environment would become much clearer in his eyes.

System continuously studied the various uses of [Tool Menu], even forgetting that his body was undergoing metamorphosis.

And it was precisely while System was studying [Tool Menu]...

System suddenly heard a buzzing roar, like a mosquito darting back and forth beside your ear while you were trying to sleep, keeping you from finding any peace.

As System searched for the source of the sound, he suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar place.

Everything around him was a vast expanse of white, as if there were nothing there at all.

Even he himself was gone. He felt as though he had become a puff of air, or perhaps a speck of dust too small for the naked eye to see.

System realized he seemed to hear a voice. Or rather than a voice, it was more like the psychic messages of his Mind Transfer, yet completely different from Mind Transfer.

It seemed this voice acted directly upon his soul.

"Could this be the voice of the world that appears during the third molt in the Molting Growth inheritance?"

"But I can't understand any of it at all?"

All of a sudden, System felt an inexplicable force arrive from the void, merging into his soul.

System felt his vision gradually darken, and soon afterward, he fell asleep...

As he stretched his body, a series of crackling sounds came from System.

By the time System awoke, his third molt had already been successfully completed.

After his third molt, System's body had grown to around twenty-five centimeters. He had grown long antennae like the Grasshopper Queen's, and an unfamiliar, intricate pattern had appeared on his green exoskeleton.

He had no idea what plant those patterns came from. They were quite peculiar, resembling the patterns on the Queen's body, yet entirely different.

System moved his body a little and cleaned away the remnants of molting left on his exoskeleton.

System suddenly discovered that his foremost two limbs had undergone a peculiar change. Near the hooked spines of his first pair of legs, a highly conspicuous round opening had appeared on each side. Something brown seemed to tremble intermittently inside those openings.

With a slight exertion of force from System, several dark-brown buds suddenly emerged from around the circular openings. Like tentacles, they continued to grow and lengthen until they reached their limit at around ten centimeters.

Three such tentacles emerged from each circular opening. They were roughly two millimeters thick, highly flexible, and could be freely controlled by System, just as humans controlled their fingers.

System easily used those tentacles to pick up an ant larva beside him, then tore off a piece of glow mushroom nearby with them and placed it in the ant larva's mouth.

Ever since being reborn as a grasshopper, System had missed the nimble fingers of a human beyond measure.

Only after losing one's fingers could one appreciate all their benefits.

There were many things he could easily accomplish as long as he had fingers, but which were difficult to do with grasshopper limbs.

Perhaps it was precisely because of his obsession with fingers that System had evolved these not-quite-fingers during his third molt.

Yet although these tentacles were as useful as fingers, they were ugly. System felt that having such tentacles appear on a grasshopper's body could not have been more awkward.

System idly manipulated the little tentacles on his limbs when, all at once, he seemed to sense something—

System shook his body and moved half a centimeter to the left inside the cave. One second later, a loose grain of dirt fell from above, dropping right beside System's head.

System suddenly recalled the voice of that mysterious world, the ability granted to him by that voice of the world, and certain information that had suddenly surfaced in his mind...