Chương 5: Red Tide

After my conversation with the creature came to an end, I drifted into a slumber deeper than any I had ever known. Even so, my thoughts never truly disappeared. They lingered, sluggish and indistinct, as though I were attempting to think through an impossibly thick fog that dulled every conclusion before it could fully form. My mind returned time and again to the vision the creature had shown me. More accurately, it returned to the countless questions that vision had left unanswered.

Was that frail woman truly me in the final moments before my death, or had I merely witnessed a carefully curated performance? The creature had presented those images as truth, but neither it nor the gods had earned my trust. Gods were hardly entities that I'd consider to be synonymous with honesty, and history had taught me that those who possessed the greatest power were often the most capable of twisting the truth to suit their own purposes.

As far as I could determine, whether I knew the full truth or merely a convenient portion of it made little difference to whatever designs the gods had for me. The Creature had made it abundantly clear that further answers would only come as I continued to evolve and grow stronger. If the gods intended to manipulate me, then I would simply grow strong enough that one day they would no longer have that luxury.

When I finally awakened, the sensation that greeted me was unlike anything I had experienced since my rebirth. I felt stronger, much stronger. Every part of my body seemed filled with newfound vigor. Had I still possessed a human body, I imagined the sensation would have been comparable to waking after the most restful sleep of my life. Naturally, the System chose that moment to announce itself.

[Evolution Completed] [Your new Species is: Spinecrown Caterpillar] [Strength +4, Agility +3, Vitality +30, Mana +1] [Trait Upgraded: Kingsbane Poison >> Spinecrown Poison] [New Trait Acquired: Venomous Spines] [New Trait Acquired: Spinecrown Venom] [New Trait Acquired: Basic Mana Sense] [Skills Menu Unlocked] [New Skill Acquired: Defense Curl] It appeared I had severely underestimated just how significant an evolution truly was.

The sheer number of rewards granted by the System bordered on excessive, and for once I found myself struggling to find fault with its decisions. Initially, I had been somewhat disappointed by the modest increases to my Strength and Agility. A gain of four points in one area and three in another hardly seemed worthy of celebration. Then my gaze settled upon the increase to Vitality, which increased by a substantial thirty. The enhancement was so substantial that I could physically feel the difference.

In fact, it explained why the hollow I had chosen before evolving now felt smaller. My body had grown larger during the transformation, and the cramped confines of my hiding place left little room for doubt. Not that I was complaining of course. The new Traits were equally intriguing, though one in particular captured my attention almost instantly. Out of everything the System had granted me, it was this reward that excited me most.

[Basic Mana Sense] You gain the ability to sense the presence of mana from certain plants, objects, and small creatures. This ability does not allow you to gauge the strength or weakness of one's mana, only whether mana is present. To the untrained person, this Trait might have appeared unimpressive. It offered no direct increase in combat ability, no immediate defensive benefits, and no flashy powers. But this trait was actually very important.

During my previous life, I had learned enough about magic to understand that one did not simply wake up one morning and become an archmage. Before one could manipulate mana, one first needed to understand its presence. Basic Mana Sense represented the first step along that path. What puzzled me was why this particular evolution had granted it in the first place. Aside from this newly acquired ability, I possessed nothing remotely related to magic.

Still, I had long ago learned not to question gifts that worked in my favor. If the System wished to hand me the first building block necessary for learning magic, then I would graciously accept its generosity. The final matter requiring inspection was the newly unlocked Skills Menu. Unlike Traits, which represented innate qualities or passive abilities, Skills occupied a somewhat different category. From what I remembered, the System did not record every mundane action as a Skill.

Simply possessing the ability to jump, for example, did not automatically grant someone a Jump Skill. However, those fortunate enough to acquire such a Skill could perform the action far beyond normal limitations. Someone with a Jump Skill could leap higher than should have been physically possible. Someone with a Running Skill could move faster and longer than their body alone ought to allow. In other words, the System could transform ordinary actions into extraordinary capabilities, at the cost of mana.

Even abilities that appeared entirely physical drew upon mana. To an outside observer, a swordsman might simply swing a blade with exceptional speed or strength, yet the System would quietly be feeding mana into the process to achieve results beyond natural limitations. Which meant that my newly acquired Skill was almost certainly operating under the same principle. The question now was what exactly this Defense Curl Skill did, and whether it would prove as useful as the rest of the rewards I had received.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. [Defense Curl] The user curls up its body tightly, raising its defense and making it more resistant to physical attacks. Well, that seemed straightforward. Judging from the description, the skill likely consumed very little mana as well. Not that my current reserves were particularly impressive.

The System's generosity had extended far enough to grant me additional mana, but increasing a pitifully small number by one still left me with a rather pitifully small number. Curious whether I had overlooked anything, I examined my list of Skills again. But unfortunately, my hopes were dashed. Defense Curl appeared to be the sole Skill currently available to me. Then again, I supposed it would be unreasonable to expect the System to immediately hand me a collection of legendary abilities.

If I wanted more Skills, I would likely have to continue gaining levels and evolving. The thought inevitably brought me back to the problem of how exactly I intended to accomplish that. Technically speaking, I now possessed both poison and venom, which sounded impressive when phrased that way.

However, my venom could only be delivered through the spines now protruding from my body, and these spines didn't feel like they are particularly suited for active combat, unless one considered hurling oneself directly into danger an offensive strategy. As I shifted my body, I felt the countless spines lining my back flex slightly. A faint tingling sensation accompanied the movement, causing me to pause and wiggle experimentally. The feeling was not painful, merely unfamiliar.

It was rather like discovering an entirely new limb and realizing that one had no idea how to use it properly. I suspected it would take some time before these new additions to my body felt natural. For now, there was little point remaining hidden inside the hollow. I had already completed my evolution, and lingering in one place rarely led to opportunity. With that in mind, I crawled toward the entrance and emerged back into the forest.

The sunlight filtering through the canopy suggested it was likely late morning. More importantly, it meant I still had plenty of daylight remaining. As I slowly descended toward the forest floor, my thoughts drifted toward my newest Trait. Thus far, the ability had not revealed anything particularly remarkable. I could not immediately detect any sources of mana nearby, nor had the world suddenly transformed into a glowing landscape of magical energies.

As I contemplated the matter, an old memory resurfaced from my previous life. During my reign, I had often entertained scholars, philosophers, naturalists, and countless other intellectuals eager to share their discoveries. Most of them had been dreadfully boring, though occasionally one managed to say something worth remembering. One such scholar had spoken extensively about poisonous creatures. I distinctly remembered him explaining that certain species of caterpillar were not naturally toxic at all.

Instead, they consumed poisonous plants throughout their lives and gradually incorporated those toxins into their own bodies. A new possibility occurred to me. What if the same principle applied to mana? If poisonous plants could make ordinary creatures poisonous, then perhaps magical plants could strengthen magical creatures. If I located herbs, fruits, or other plant life infused with mana and consumed them, might I gradually increase my own mana reserves?

The idea appealed to me since my current Mana statistic was embarrassingly low. Yet if consuming mana-rich plants could improve that weakness, then I suddenly had a clear objective. More mana would likely lead to stronger abilities, and therefore, more power. By the time I reached the forest floor, I found myself feeling considerably more optimistic than before. My evolution has made me stronger, larger, and substantially more dangerous.

More importantly, it had granted me enough confidence to venture deeper into the forest than I would have previously dared. With any luck, I would discover the magical plants I was searching for. And if I did not? Well, perhaps I would find something large enough to kill instead. Traveling across the forest floor after my evolution felt noticeably different.

My larger body moved with greater ease than before, allowing me to move between roots, climb over fallen twigs, and push through fallen leaves with far less effort. I was not fast by any means, but the improvement was better than nothing. Despite my newfound size, I still felt very small. That uncomfortable reality became painfully apparent when movement caught my attention off to my left. I froze immediately.

A massive shape emerged from behind a cluster of plants, pushing aside branches with casual ease as it entered a small clearing. The creature was a boar, covered in coarse brown fur supported by thick, muscular legs. The creature's snout swept back and forth through the undergrowth, occasionally huffing as it overturned leaves and disturbed patches of soil. Each step it took sent subtle vibrations through the ground, and I found myself staring at those large hooves far more than I cared to admit.

This wasn't the first time I saw a boar in this forest, but my current position on the ground felt considerably more exposed compared to the last time. And the truly frustrating part was that I wasn't even certain the creature posed a threat to me in the conventional sense. If the boar attempted to eat me, there was a very real possibility that my poison or venom would kill it. In fact, given how my toxins had improved after evolving, I rather liked my chances.

The problem was that such a victory would be entirely meaningless if the creature crushed me first since a single careless step could flatten me. Even if my poison managed to kill the beast several seconds later, I doubted I would find much comfort in the knowledge while being converted into a stain on the ground. For now, I remained completely still while the boar continued rummaging through the undergrowth. My body was tense enough that even the slightest movement felt dangerous.

All I could do was silently hope the creature would finish whatever important boar-related business had brought it here and leave. Fortunately, fate chose not to torment me further. After a while, the boar snorted loudly, shook its head, and lumbered away through the forest. The vibrations of its footsteps gradually faded into the distance until silence once again settled over the surrounding undergrowth. Only then did I allow myself to relax somewhat.

I continued across the forest floor in search of food, or perhaps something larger upon which I could test my newfound capabilities.

"Prey" did not seem quite the correct word, considering there was little point in killing creatures I could not consume, so perhaps "victims" was more appropriate. Ideally, I needed something large enough to provide worthwhile experience without being so large that a single mistake would prove fatal. A small mammal, a lizard, or even a bird would suffice. After a while, however, I began to notice something strange.

The forest floor seemed to tremble ever so slightly, producing tiny vibrations that traveled through the soil and into my newly evolved form. The vibrations continued one after another. Before long, those faint tremors multiplied into hundreds, and then thousands. The ground beneath me was vibrating constantly now, not from a single source but from countless impacts occurring simultaneously.

The sensation reminded me of standing atop a castle wall while an army marched below, except the scale of this movement felt somehow even more overwhelming. Thousands upon thousands of tiny footsteps pounded against the ground. Fear began to grip me as I turned toward the source. The moment I saw what was approaching, every trace of confidence I had vanished. Countless red ants were approaching me. An endless tide of crimson bodies surged between roots, over stones, and around fallen branches.

The ground rippled beneath their advance, producing a faint but relentless rustling that sounded disturbingly similar to an army on the march. And as I watched the ants approach my position, I found myself wondering if I might be looking at the most dangerous enemy I had encountered so far.