11 Surviving the Fall
The morning sun shone from the horizon, marking the dawning of a new day. Asumi wakes up, coughing water from his stomach, washed up at the shore of the lake under the waterfall. He mused, "What the hell happened?"
He turns his head, observing the terrain. He sees white sandy soil, behind him green vegetation filled with grasses and trees.
He then told the system to display his status window, and he checked his stats.
[System: loading...]
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| STATUS WINDOW |
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| Name: Asumi Tora
| level: 3
| Experience points: 40/100
| Health: 100/100
| Hunger Level: 100/100
| Beetle Type: None
| Current Stage: Larva
| Next Evolution: pupa
|-------------------------------------|
| Abilities:
| - Basic Movement
| - Feeding
| - Danger Detection
|-------------------------------------|
| Attributes:
| - Strength: 0.9/10
| - Speed: 0.7/10
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| Free Stat Point: 0.4
```
He mused, "I leveled up. How?" Then a memory flashed in his mind, back to the moment when he fell into the lake and the system gave him 50 Exp for completing the daily quest.
Then he looked at the lake and noticed that something was getting closer. He stared at the water, musing, "Is it me, or is that black spot getting closer?"
As it approached the shores of the lake, Asumi, now able to tell what it is, mused, "Crap, it's an insect. If it wants to eat me, I'd better be prepared."
Then he activated his Danger Detection skill to know how strong it is. He saw the name "Water Beetle" colored in green, and the level was (8).
Asumi, confused, mused, "What! It says it's friendly, but how? That's not possible."
It then emerged out of the water. Asumi observed the beetle's streamlined body, smooth, shiny exoskeleton colored black and metallic blue hues, with strong, paddle-like legs for swimming and modified antennae for sensing movements in the water.
The beetle moved closer. Asumi, seeing the big size difference, had his guard up. He yelled, "Stay back!" snapping his mandibles while also keeping his distance.
The water beetle smiled, sinking its back. It then said to Asumi, "Oh, good, you are awake. I thought you'd be hungry, so I brought some food. Here is a crayfish I caught."
Asumi, surprised to see another insect talk, muttered, snapping his mandibles, "Wait, you can talk?" It replied confidently, "Of course I can talk. All beetles can."
Asumi mused, "I thought I could only talk to Gooper since the two of us were..." Then a memory flashed about what happened to Gooper. He added, bending his head down with a sad expression, "That's right. Gooper is gone, all because I wasn't strong enough."
Then he looked back up to the water beetle, still feeling cautious, and asked, "So then why are you here?" The water beetle, confused, said, "Hmm, that's an odd way to thank the one who saved your life."
Then Asumi asked, "Are you the one who saved me?" The beetle, feeling smug, said, "Sure am."
Then Asumi, tilting his face away sadly, said, "Thank you." Then he turned his back and started walking. The beetle, shocked, said, "Wait, where are you going?" grabbing the crayfish and started following him.
Asumi, at the entrance of the forest, dug under a grass weed and started eating the roots as fast as he could, musing, "I have to get stronger and fast."
The water beetle came close to the grass plant, saying, "Excuse me," but Asumi didn't pay attention and was busy feasting on the grass nutrients as fast as he could.
[System: Host has gained +2 Exp]
[System: Host has Gained +2 Exp].
Asumi mused, "Not enough, still not enough," as he chewed and swallowed, digging as fast as he could. The water beetle's antennae twitched in frustration as it yelled, "Excuse me!"
Asumi came out from under the grass weed with a relaxed but serious expression, "Look, if you want me to make it, you'll just have to give me time."
The water beetle turned its head to avoid Asumi's glare. "I know, but that's not why I'm here," Asumi asked, "Then what is it?"
The beetle pushed the crayfish close to Asumi, saying, "You can have it." Asumi's expression turned softer as he said, "Thanks."
The water beetle, looking at his face, mused, "That expression on his face, it's so sad." Then it said, "You know, you are not the only larvae I've saved."
Asumi's brain paused, then replied, "Wait, what did you say?" The beetle repeated, "I said, you know, you are not the only one I've saved."
Asumi's antennae twitched in anticipation, saying, "Wait, you saved another just like me?" The beetle replied, "Yes."
Asumi came out of the hole and moved close to the water beetle. "Really? Where is he?"
The beetle turned its head, scanning the area. "He should be under that grass. But how did you know it's a he?"
Asumi turned his face, looking at the direction the beetle pointed with its leg. "A tall plant with nice leaves," Asumi mused, "There is only one guy that goes after the plant with the most nutrients."
He walked closer to the plant, seeing the hole underneath. He put his mouth close to the hole and yelled, "Gooper..." but got no response.
Then he heard a sudden snapping sound, as if something was coming. Suddenly, an insect popped out of the hole, with a huge white exoskeleton and very small legs.
Asumi looked at the insect with his Detection skill. The name tag colored green and spelled Gooper. Asumi said, "Gooper, is that you? What happened?"
Gooper replied, "Little mouth, Gooper is Gooper," then he saw the level displayed (4). Asumi mused, "The next time I see him, he is always stronger than me. Oh well, that's just Gooper for ya."
Asumi rushed and knocked his head, muttering, "You idiot! Didn't I tell you it's suicide if we entered the water?"
Gooper replied, feeling the pain on his head, "Little mouth mad? Sorry, little mouth." Asumi, annoyed, exclaimed, "And for the love of God, it's Asumi, you bottomless bastard."
The water beetle, watching from the sidelines, looked at Asumi's face, musing, "That sadness, it's gone now. Good thing I saved him in the nick of time."
Then it interjected, "Hey, you said your name is Asumi or whatever. Are you not going to eat that crayfish?"
Asumi looked at her and replied, "Oh yeah, sorry. Slightly annoyed, the beetle replied, "Bro, no no no, I am a female."
Asumi, hitting a nerve, asked, "And your name is?" She replied, tilting her head, "I don't have a name."
Asumi, confused, asked, "What? Why?" She replied, "Names are only reserved for those who have proven themselves to their rulers."
Asumi said, "I'm confused. Could you give me more detail?" She sighed and told them to give her some space.
The two shifted, and she drew a dot, saying, "Just like the ants have their queen, the queen can then decide to give her respective generals a name using mana, but that is no easy task."
Gooper questioned, "Mana?" She said, "You'll learn more about that once you become an adult." Then she said, "Now you know why I don't have a name." Asumi, skeptical, said, "Hmm, well, in that case, can we call you Lily?"
She questioned, "Lily?" Asumi explained, "Yeah, Lily, since you saved us from the lake like a lily pad." She replied, "Lily, huh? I like it. Thanks, I'll be off now."
Then she went back into the lake. Asumi and Gooper sent their goodbyes. Asumi focused on the system, looking at the tutorial quest.
[System Tutorial Quest: Survive the Ant Attack.
Details: The Ants have marked you as the enemy of the ant race and have come to hunt you down. Survive their continuous deliberate attacks (1/2).
Reward: ?
Failure: Death]
Asumi mused, "Those ants... We got ambushed because I wasn't strong enough. Gooper almost got killed. No, not anymore. I must get stronger before the next attack. That's the only way we can survive..."
[System: the next Ant attack in: 3 Days]
