章節 12: The Second Molting
編輯: Atlas Studios
Due to the puddles of rainwater, System did not encounter any ants while consuming the dragonfly's carcass.
The rain had killed many ants, but System did not think it had killed them all. It was rare for heavy rain to last for many days, but it was normal to just have one or two days of it in this forest.
The wide varieties of ants in the forest showed that they had their own ways against the storm. The complex and spacious ant nests would have some empty space for the ants to hide and reappear on the ground after the rain was over.
…
System ate faster than he expected. Two hours before the sun set, he had finished enjoying the dragonfly. He went back to the lair of dead leaves with a full stomach.
After the downpour, the forest seemed more lively. System heard many cicadas chirping.
The sun set, while the two moons and stars lit the sky.
System even heard a cricket sound. He had no idea how a cricket had survived the rain by hiding under pebbles and stones.
Perhaps now that he was an insect, System could gradually understand the meaning of the chirpings. He was sure that it was not because of the remnant of his previous life.
The cricket player expressed his joy after surviving the heavy rain while searching for a partner to mate.
The sounds that insects generated mostly served the purpose of mating other than some special cases such as fighting over territory.
System did not have any thoughts about the chirping before this, and now he was faced with a personal problem.
He was a male grasshopper. After becoming an adult insect, he would need to mate as well. Thus, after Level 8 and becoming an adult grasshopper, he would need to find a female grasshopper and mate, wouldn't he?
He needed to draw the female's attention by showing his strong body and then mate…
Such thoughts were depressing to System, given that he had a human soul within him.
What was more depressing was that his body was aroused by the thoughts of mating with another grasshopper.
…
System had a rather restless sleep and could not get the rest he needed for the night.
The next morning, System's mind was still confused. His human soul and insect instinct had been fighting throughout the night on the mating issue, and eventually, his human soul had won the battle.
However, System was not sure if he could maintain his sanity after the second molting. For now, he was only considered as a child in adolescence.
After becoming an adult grasshopper and met a grasshopper of the opposite sex, it was uncertain if he could have the same self-control anymore.
At that time, his hormones might get the better of him.
System considered eating less food and delaying the time he would become an adult grasshopper, but all of it was just temporary.
Furthermore, he needed to grow into an adult in order to survive!
System decided to molt into an adult as early as possible to increase his survival chances. Thus, he decided not to overthink about the mating issue.
…
Three days passed, but System hadn't had any luck. He hadn't found any meat other than a dozen tiny aphids.
Also, on the second day, System had faced death as a huge light-green lizard had leaped toward him from a tree branch that had been a few meters away!
Insects' compound eyes had a very short effective range, and thus System had not sensed any danger before that. He had been forced to jump into the water in order to survive.
Luckily, the fish in the water had not attacked him, while his light body had been floating on top of the water. He had managed to swim to a tree and escape.
After three days, the water flooding the ground was much lesser. There were only 30-40 centimeters of it left in the forest. Some places with higher ground had already surfaced.
After eating plenty of plants, System had reached Level 8 the day before, and his body was 5cm long now.
Although he was not yet an adult insect, his body was larger than a normal green-tailed grasshopper, whose body was only 3.5cm long.
Maybe it could be attributed to the nutritious food he had consumed, or that his [Digital Code] had increased his growth rate. Maybe his talent [Molting Growth] had a higher starting level.
After Level 8, System's [Molting Growth] reached Level 12, and only one unit remained before he could max it. System was now able to view more information about himself and got to know the green-tailed grasshopper better.
Normal grasshoppers had a body length of 3.5cm. This was one of the pieces of information he gathered. It was also very rare to have a Level 10 [Molting Growth] right from the start. Even without [Digital Code], he was considered a very special grasshopper.
…
After a whole day of eating leaves, System returned to his nest and started his second molting.
System was more familiar with the molting procedure due to the first experience. He quickly softened his exoskeleton with his instinct and started absorbing the nutrients in it. Only the outer casing was left behind.
System did not have to control the entire process. His insect instinct would do most of the work for him.
System felt a pair of wings growing on his back quickly, and a protective layer started covering the wings.
As expected, a surge ran through his bloodline, and [Molting Growth Mode] was activated.
System had a chance to boost an attribute of his body. He did not hesitate and chose his [Digital Code] again. His mind was in the sea of 0s and 1s again.
System transformed into a white ball with numerous balls made of numbers floating around him.
The ball for [Self-Information Generation] was tiny, and it was far away from him.
The ball for [Data Storage] was bigger and nearer. There were two other smaller balls around it. They were [Information Entry] and [Information Reading] and circled around [Data Storage] like satellites.
As the power of his bloodline produced by [Molting Growth] was injected to him again, the sea of numbers became vaster.
System realized that the sea of numbers started to vibrate randomly and gradually formed a planet of 0s and 1s. That planet was many times bigger than the [Self-Information Generation].
As long as they merged successfully, System would get a new ability.
However, he was not as lucky as the previous time. His bloodline power was not strong enough to hold the numbers together, bursting before they could merge successfully. At the same time, System entered a deep coma.
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