[Perception]

Recalling those hazy memories, System opened the database in the [Tool Menu].

He wanted to examine the image of that vast white world, as well as that unknown sound he had heard—the voice of the world.

But after carefully searching through it several times, System found no record whatsoever of the world's voice.

Just like the image the Grasshopper Queen had transmitted to him, the world's voice was something exceedingly vague.

Yet although he still knew nothing about the world's voice, some inexplicable information had appeared in his mind—

When mortal beings reached their limits, they would receive the world's bestowal and transform into magical lifeforms; when magical lifeforms reached their limits, they would transcend the mundane and become extraordinary beings...

These were sentences System had organized according to his own understanding. That was roughly what they meant.

The information that had appeared in his mind did not exist in the form of language, but as something formed from a mixture of musical notes and spiritual messages—distant and mysterious, with the feeling of listening to music.

System felt that this information was incomplete, as though much was still missing. It seemed that beyond extraordinary beings, even higher forms of life existed.

He himself should have been an existence somewhere between mortal and magical, yet the information offered no further explanation.

Though the information mentioned that those who received the world's bestowal would transform toward magical lifeforms, it did not clearly explain how that transformation occurred or what they would become afterward.

System could only sense the special energy drifting through the air more clearly now, and absorbing that free-floating energy had also become easier.

"Perhaps becoming a magical lifeform can extend my lifespan further, like the dragons, vampires, and elves in game worlds. Sadly, I still know far too little about this world."

No matter what, System had found his path forward. His next step was to strive to become a magical lifeform.

Lightly twitching his long antennae, System looked around and suddenly realized that Shawa, the soldier ant crippled by the rat's torment, was not here.

System gently swayed his antennae. In the unseen, he sensed that the soldier ant Shawa seemed to still be alive and in no immediate danger.

This unseen sense was not some random guess by System, but a special ability like the one that had just allowed him to evade the soil falling from the cave ceiling.

Just as he had obtained the peculiar ability Mind Transfer through the world's voice, System had gained another strange ability through the world's voice—Perception.

And from the talent Perception, System had acquired several powerful derivative abilities: [System's Eye], [Intuition], [Enhanced Hearing], and [Enhanced Smell].

His ability to evade the falling soil in the cave earlier and sense that Shawa was still alive both relied on his newly acquired derivative ability, [Intuition].

Perception (11/26): A unique talent bestowed upon System by an unknown force. Allows for a deeper understanding of things. System's exclusive ability.

[System's Eye] (17/30): A special ability integrated from Perception, Numerical Code, Insect Adaptation, Molting Growth, [Enhanced Vision], [Keen Vision], and [Dark Vision]. Vision is greatly enhanced. System's exclusive ability.

[Intuition] (12/21): A derivative ability gained from Perception, Insect Adaptation, and [Insect Instinct]. Possesses the unique ability to perceive changes in things without being controlled by one's own will.

[Enhanced Hearing] (11/15): A derivative ability gained from Perception. Hearing is enhanced.

[Enhanced Smell] (11/16): A derivative ability gained from Perception. Smell is enhanced.

When System had first awakened after completing his third molt, he had not noticed it.

Only now did System realize that perhaps because of [System's Eye], the cave that had previously been somewhat dim to him was now as bright as day.

His vision was incomparably clear. He could see dust particles in the air and even possessed weak X-ray vision, allowing him to see the white blood flowing through ant larvae.

System swayed the long antennae on his head and carefully sensed his body. He discovered that many of his abilities had increased to varying degrees compared to before his molt.

System opened the [Tool Menu] and carefully inspected the changes to his body after the third molt.

Race: Green-Tailed Grasshopper (Evolved Form)

Title: -

Name: System

Rank: Metamorphosis

Level: 12/

Lifespan: 1622 days

Vitality: 85%

Experience: 8%

Special Energy: 52%

Special Talents: Numerical Code (5/5), Molting Growth (13/13), Insect Adaptation (16/21), Data Storage (3/5), Mind Transfer (8/22), Data Compilation (3/5), Perception (11/26).

Derivative Abilities: [Tool Menu] (5/12), [System's Eye] (15/30), [Intuition] (12/21), [Limb Regeneration] (8/13), [Color-Changing Camouflage] (8/11), [Acid Resistance] (5/7), [Fire Resistance] (5/7), [Hunger Resistance] (8/13), [Corrosive Mucus] (12/16), [Mental Link] (8/13), [Enhanced Hearing] (11/15), [Enhanced Smell] (11/16).

Combat Power Rating: 3.

Studying the information in the [Tool Menu], System found that the lifespan he had always cared so much about had indeed increased. It was even more than a year longer than the queen's three-year lifespan. It seemed that the improvements each grasshopper gained from its third molt were not entirely the same.

Even more pronounced than after the second molt, System's third molt had not only further enhanced his physical qualities, but also increased all sorts of his abilities to varying degrees.

System looked at the dozen or so ant larvae around him and activated [Mental Link], connecting his mind to theirs.

The ant larvae sent him feelings of joy and reassurance, along with an intense hunger.

If the time recorded in the [Tool Menu] was correct, his molt had lasted a full two days.

System gently soothed the ant larvae with his mind, then used his tentacles to pluck every faintly glowing mushroom from the cave and fed them to the larvae.

Thanks to his newly acquired ability, [System's Eye], even without a trace of light, darkness was like broad daylight to him. He no longer needed those mushrooms.

As for the ant larvae and worker ants, blind as bats, they had even less use for such a feeble light source.

Yet as System fed the mushrooms to the ant larvae, he suddenly sensed some unusual, faint emotions through Mind Transfer and [Mental Link].

System flicked his antennae and carefully searched his surroundings with both eyes.

Before long, he discovered what was giving off those faint emotions.

The source was the faintly glowing mushrooms themselves. As the larvae swallowed them, the fungi that made up the mushrooms sent out weak, pained emotions as they perished.

His third molt raised System's Mind Transfer (6/22) to Mind Transfer (8/22).

With his talent level increasing, this ability had evidently gained another type of target for communication besides plants and insects—fungi.

If Mind Transfer continued to improve, he would surely be able to communicate with even more species.

After carrying the dozen or so ant larvae one by one to a nearby storeroom filled with food, System found that the passageways built earlier were now somewhat too narrow for his body. It seemed Shawa's ant construction crew would need to expand the passages of the overwintering nest later.

With several successive hops, System bounced out of the temporary nest...