First Molt (Part 1)

The healing ability of the derived skill [Limb Regeneration] was highly effective. As System continued devouring the insect eggs, the burning pain from the ant acid clinging to his foreleg rapidly faded. In barely ten-odd minutes, his severed foreleg had stopped bleeding and formed a grayish-white scab.

With [Limb Regeneration], System was not worried that he would become a crippled grasshopper in the future. What truly concerned him was whether his severed limb would heal too slowly.

If the limb failed to heal for too long, the bloody stench wafting from the wound would undoubtedly attract countless insect hunters and plunge him into danger.

Seeing the scabbed wound, System finally set his mind at ease. He focused on eating the insect eggs while remaining alert to every movement around him.

The dark-red ant System had kicked down never returned. He did not know whether it had forgotten the way back or had carried his one-and-a-half severed legs back to the nest to report its task complete.

After continuously eating nearly twenty insect eggs, System's body gradually grew to 1.2 centimeters, and he leveled up once more.

His body grew from 1.2 centimeters to 1.6 centimeters, while the carapace and mandibles all over his body became sturdier.

However, compared to his body, the power in his bloodline did not increase as noticeably this time as it had when he rose from Level 3 to Level 4. Only Insect Adaptation (8/21) became Insect Adaptation (9/21), and he gained a derived skill: [Acid Resistance] (1/4). It was likely related to the ant acid released when the ant bit off his limb.

[Acid Resistance] (1/4): A derived ability acquired through Insect Adaptation. Passive ability. Possesses a certain degree of resistance to acidic substances.

As for Metamorphic Growth, the talent System cared about most, there was no change at all. System merely felt that his bloodline had become a little richer, nowhere near the tremendous improvement from his previous level-up.

After these recent level-ups, System had formed some conjectures about the pattern behind his body's growth.

His derived skills were basically all acquired through the talent Insect Adaptation. Excluding [Green Camouflage], [Limb Regeneration], and [Insect Instinct], which his body had originally possessed, he had gained [Dark Vision] and [Acid Resistance] in his last two level-ups.

The former was because, on the night before leveling up, he had spent the entire night staring at the dim scene beyond the cracks in the dead leaves. The latter was because his foreleg had been corroded by an ant's ant acid before he leveled up.

Clearly, the derived skills he acquired through Insect Adaptation were related to what he experienced before leveling up.

As for the growth of Metamorphic Growth and Insect Adaptation, System could not be completely certain, but it should be related to the food he ate. As long as he consumed more nutritious and diverse foods, these two abilities should improve significantly.

After a brief period of thought, driven by the intense hunger following his level-up, System continued devouring the delicious insect eggs.

Because his body had grown larger after leveling up, his eating speed increased again. In only ten minutes, he swallowed four or five insect eggs. At this rate, he would finish all of these eggs before nightfall.

However, just as he was eating the eggs and his hunger disappeared, the power of metamorphic growth from within his bloodline suddenly flooded his entire body.

The trembling blood throughout his body told him that it was time for his first metamorphosis.

System endured the urge to metamorphose and did his utmost to consume more insect eggs.

The sensations from his bloodline and the information from [Self-Information Generation] told him that after molting, his body would fall into a brief period of weakness and require a large amount of food. Therefore, System decided to build up his body's nutrient reserves as much as possible before metamorphosing, so that the process would go more smoothly.

Metamorphosis was not something where faster was necessarily better.

Yet before long, System could only leave in resignation.

The fishy stench of the insect eggs had finally drawn carnivorous creatures over once again: two blackish-brown giant ants, each a full 2.5 centimeters long.

If it had only been that dark-red little ant, System might have considered fighting it. But faced with these two enormous ants, he did not hesitate at all, immediately jumping away from the underside of the leaf.

Before the weak, he would bully them without hesitation. Before powerful enemies, he would flee without a second thought.

System became increasingly aware of the changes in his personality. Although he still retained some rationality from his human days, his way of thinking had grown closer and closer to that of an insect.

Gently shaking his insect head, System did not dwell on it and concentrated on preparing for his first metamorphosis.

As a type of insect, grasshoppers belonged to the hemimetabolous branch. Unlike butterflies, ants, flies, and dragonflies, they did not go through the three stages of larva, pupa, and adult.

After hatching from their eggs, grasshoppers did not differ greatly from adults in form. Their growth required repeated metamorphosis—in other words, molting.

It was somewhat like the shedding of a snake's skin, and also like the molting of scorpions and spiders. But insect molting brought far greater changes than that of snakes, scorpions, or spiders. After all, no snake or scorpion could alter its body structure and grow wings after shedding its skin.

After awakening, System gradually recalled more things from his previous life, including much knowledge about insects. It seemed that he had studied bugs to some extent in his past life.

System seemed to have kept many cold-blooded animals in his previous life: carnivorous insects such as mantises and katydids, arthropods like spiders and scorpions, amphibious frogs, and reptilian lizards.

In his memories, there was a blackish-brown tarantula about ten centimeters long, with a leg span close to twenty centimeters. Due to his operational mistake, he had fed it live crickets during its molt, and it had ended up being bitten to death alive by the crickets.

In this world, insect molting was basically the same as in System's previous life. Their bodies were extremely soft and fragile immediately after molting.

Thus, what System needed to do now was find a safe place to undergo metamorphosis.

The instinctive guidance from his bloodline urged System to quickly find the shady underside of a leaf and molt there.

But while that would be convenient, it would not be safe enough.

An hour later, System finally found a tree resembling a pine tree. A broad dead leaf happened to be caught in one of its forks.

The space beneath that dead leaf was the location System had sought for his metamorphosis.

The branch fork System chose stood over a meter above the ground, far from the many ant colonies below. Moreover, the tree gave off a faintly pungent odor that made System feel slightly uncomfortable. It had a mild insect-repelling effect, making it an ideal place for metamorphosis.

System quickly crawled beneath the dead leaf. After using his legs to firmly grip the plant branch, he followed the guidance of the bloodline within his body and began his first metamorphosis.

His entire epidermal exoskeleton gradually softened, and the flesh beneath began absorbing the essence within the softened exoskeleton, leaving behind only a thin layer of dregs on the outermost surface.

Beneath System's original exoskeleton, a larger exoskeleton gradually formed. At the same time, a sour, numb sensation came from his back, as though something were growing out from it.

The power from his bloodline flooded his entire body, and he naturally gained a new derived skill: [Foul-Smelling Mucus].

[Foul-Smelling Mucus] (3/7): An ability gained by grasshoppers after their first metamorphosis. It allows them to secrete a special foul-smelling liquid to escape predators.

A new organ had formed in his mouth—a gland capable of secreting foul-smelling mucus. By releasing this stinking slime, a grasshopper could gain a chance to escape from many predators.

However, compared to the natural changes brought about by metamorphosis, System's attention was focused entirely on the blood flowing through his body. His bloodline seemed to be making an inexplicable sound.

—Make your choice.