8 Levels of Competence

Upon seeing the firelight approaching from a distance, System immediately jumped to the back of the tree for cover.

Insects had flexible and very responsive bodies.

Unfortunately, System was slightly off his hiding position and was hit by that creature's emanating heatwave. Half of his antenna was somewhat discolored and burned.

Luckily, other than his fragile antenna, the rest of System's body was not significantly harmed even after receiving a certain amount of heat.

A creature that looked like a boar galloped at full speed while exuding firelight. After a while, four or five green-skinned creatures that resembled goblins appeared behind the boar.

These green-skinned monsters shouted and chased after the boar before quickly disappearing into the dense forest.

The wild fire-emitting boar and goblin-like creatures undoubtedly indicated to System that the world he was in was magical, like the worlds depicted in novels or games in his previous life.

'Fantasy world?'

System sighed but did not overthink. There was no obvious difference between the grasshoppers, no matter which world he was in. Compared to these powerful creatures that could use magical powers, System was more afraid of the common birds and lizards that could eat him at any time.

System rubbed the somewhat-discolored antenna on top of his head. The heat had hurt it and it had suffered quite a lot of damage. Although it could still move around, it had almost lost its original function, and it would probably take some time for his body to repair it.

With only one antenna left, System's balance was a bit off, and it was hard for him to stay steady when jumping. If the spurs on his limbs were not secure enough, he would probably fall to the ground during the jump.

…

The ground was damp in the dense forest, and the fire-releasing wild boar did not cause a forest fire.

The burning flames were soon extinguished, leaving scorched odors wafting through the dense forest.

Dozens of butterfly pupae that had been hit by the heatwave were still intact, and only a few wriggled around a few times due to the disturbance. It seemed that the insulation of the cocoons was very good.

System looked helplessly at those pupae and shook his head as he currently could not do much about them.

Fortunately, because of the wild boar's sudden appearance, System found a new source of food.

He activated [Information Reading] and jumped toward the path where the wild boar was heading. There was a high probability of some unlucky worm's carcass appearing on this scorched path.

As System had expected, after jumping for a few meters, he spotted a green katydid that had tumbled to the ground with its limbs twitching constantly.

This katydid's antennae were charred, and half of its body had become yellow due to the burns.

Katydids were similar in appearance to grasshoppers, but they were larger and had sharper mandibles in their mouths that made them a typical omnivorous insect.

The katydid in front of System was seven to eight centimeters in size, which was about four times the size of his body. If the katydid had not already been dead or seriously injured, System would definitely have run as far away as possible.

System found a good angle and bit into the delicate joint of the katydid's head!

The katydid scratched using its limbs, as its body still had some consciousness left. However. these moving limbs did not touch System's body.

It was not long before System bit off the katydid's head, declaring its death.

System ate it with ease. If the katydid had only been temporarily knocked out from the heat, he would have been the food due to its counterattack.

System slashed through the katydid's soft abdomen with his mandibles and greedily sucked on its flesh and blood. He discovered dozens of small, oval-shaped eggs flowing out of its belly.

It would probably have started laying eggs a few days later if the wild boar had not trampled it.

The katydid meat tasted as great as rich cheese.

The small eggs tasted good too, like banana cream pudding, but helped his physical growth slightly less compared to katydid meat.

System looked at the data from [Self-Information Generation] and estimated that by eating about 1/3 of that katydid, he would reach Level 6.

The katydid meat was so nutritious that System's abdomen bulged up after just ten minutes of eating it. Obviously, it was challenging for him to digest this nutritious meal quickly.

System could only jump around the katydid's body so that he could speed up his digestion.

After nearly two hours, he ate nearly 1/3 of the katydid's carcass. His abdomen had bulged to an incredible size, like a grasshopper about to lay its eggs.

At that point, System's EXP also reached the maximum again, and he subsequently advanced to Level 6.

As a sore, tingly sensation appeared, System's abdominal food was quickly digested and absorbed. His nearly 2.5-centimeter body started growing again and reached 3.2 centimeters, and the wing buds on his back extended further.

This time, System's [Molting Growth] was not upgraded, but he could feel the growth of his body's bloodline strength. As long as he continued to eat nutritious food, [Molting Growth]'s rank would definitely increase.

Meanwhile, System's [Insect Adaptability] increased again.

[Insect Adaptability] (9/21) → [Insect Adaptability] (11/21)

System felt the [Insect Adaptability]'s power in his bloodline become more active and send a mysterious image to his mind.

In that image, he became a strange green-tailed grasshopper and followed tens of millions of other locusts as they leaped over mountains, lakes, and even a cold glacial world and lava-covered mountains…

In the images that came from his bloodline, System saw a myriad of gorgeous, colorful worlds.

He even had an urge to fly with those locusts.

When System regained consciousness due to the image brought about by [Insect Adaptability], all of his derived abilities gained through [Insect Adaptability] were enhanced.

[Insect Instinct] (2/5) → [Insect Instinct] (3/5)

[Limb Regeneration] (2/11) → [Limb Regeneration] (4/11);

[Dark Vision] (2/5) → [Dark Vision] (3/5)

[Acid Resistance] (1/4) → [Acid Resistance] (2/4)

His antenna had already recovered, and he had acquired a brand new derived skill called [Fire Resistance] (2/7).

…

[Fire Resistance] (2/7): Acquired by [Insect Adaptability]. Passive ability. Possesses tolerance to fire and heat.

…

The changes that occurred when [Insect Adaptability] reached Level 11 were similar to those of [Molting Growth] reaching Level 11. They both made System feel the inheritance message of his bloodline.

System surmised that he would enter a whole new level after his ability level reached 11. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for him to undergo such a huge change.

At the same time, when his [Insect Adaptability] reached Level 11, it would become difficult to advance further, which was why his [Molting Growth]'s growth was slow.

System did not find detailed information on [Self-Information Generation], so he speculated that its level was too low to analyze higher levels of power.

After a brief moment of thought, System continued to devour the katydid's body.

As his mandibles hardened again, his chewing speed increased by nearly a third.

By eating these cartilages, his mandibles and exoskeleton would also become harder. After leveling up again, System would be able to eat sturdier food, such as the exoskeleton of a katydid's head and chest.

However, without giving System too much time to devour, a dozen or so dark brown ants appeared not far from him. System had not even eaten half of the katydid's carcass.

The ants were like hyenas that specialized in snatching food from leopards. As soon as the fishy smell of their prey's carcasses appeared, they would quickly appear and snatch them up without reason.

System could only hop away.

Leopards could carry their prey on the trees to hide from the hyenas, but he had no way of dealing with these ants…