In the empty cave, a white egg stood abruptly on the ground filled with gravel (shattered rocks) and puddles.
Suddenly, the still egg began to shake.
Crack!
A sharp claw, like a silver needle, pierced the eggshell from the inside.
Crack, crack… More limbs poked out from the egg, and when the eggshell completely shattered, a white Worm crawled out from the broken shell.
"I'm finally out! I didn't expect this eggshell to be so hard."
Neva complained inwardly. To break the eggshell, she had to repeatedly tap the same spot with her newly grown limbs for a long time, almost suffocating.
As a Worm who cared about her appearance, the first thing Neva did after breaking out of the eggshell was to see what she looked like now.
Coming to a small puddle, Neva's six eyes looked at the water's surface.
Her white exoskeleton reflected the phosphorescence of the surrounding moss. Now, Neva had grown six needle-like legs, and in front of her body, there was a pair of scythe-like forelimbs.
Her body was no longer like a Worm, uniformly thick from top to bottom.
Neva's head, body, and legs all had distinct segments. Her current appearance was neither a Worm nor a Beetle. Her body wasn't as bloated as a Beetle, nor did she have elytra. Her body structure was somewhat similar to an Ant, though her abdomen was even smaller than an Ant's.
Neva's body only had a few Worm-like features. If Worms had intelligence, they would definitely not admit that Neva was once one of their kind.
"This change is really too big, but it doesn't look like a Beetle at all. The Beetles in this world are indeed not the Beetles from my memory."
Neva was still quite satisfied with this Evolution. Most importantly, she now had "hands" and "feet"!
If these could be considered hands and feet.
She raised her scythe-like forelimbs and stretched her legs, like a child who had received a long-desired toy, her heart filled with joy.
After a while, Neva remembered to open her panel to see what changes had occurred during this Evolution.
Name: Neva
Species: Shadow-Prey Beetle
Rank: F (Low-Tier Life Form) (Data Rating: 1.6)
Evolution Value: 0.7 / 20
Occupation:
[Main Occupation]: None
[Sub Occupation]: None
Magic Energy: 6
Soul Strength: 13
Abilities: Unknown Data (??), Devour (2/10), Misfortune (2/10), Healing (2/10), Bone Armor (1/10), Extreme Speed (1/10), Agility (1/10)
Racial Trait: None
Title: None
Special Status: [Misfortune]
Evaluation: A Worm that can be easily crushed with a little force.
[Abilities gained from this Evolution: Extreme Speed, Agility, Bone Armor]
[Misfortune, Healing proficiency +1]
Ignoring the still highly sarcastic evaluation, Neva was still very happy. Now she was also a ranked Worm, even if it was only the lowest F… By asking the crystal heart, Neva learned that creatures with a data rating below 1 had no rank classification.
Creatures with a data rating between 1 and 5 were F-rank, and between 5 and 10 were E-rank. Both these tiers of Life Clan were referred to as Low-grade Life Form.
"I didn't expect to gain three new abilities in one Evolution!"
"Wait, Bone Armor?"
Isn't this an ability that can be exchanged with Evolution Value?
Neva felt cheated.
It was such a scam!
She was very glad that she hadn't impulsively exchanged Evolution Value for [Bone Armor] back then.
One must know that [Bone Armor] required a full 2 points of Evolution Value to exchange, and after Evolution, it was essentially given for free.
She didn't expect the crystal heart to only appear honest, but actually be so cunning.
A complete profiteer!
Speaking of the crystal heart, she couldn't help but mention the huge hole in her body. Even after Evolution, that hole still existed, and Neva could still see the flesh connected to the heart.
It seemed this hole couldn't be filled… Besides the newly acquired abilities, the proficiency of [Healing] and [Misfortune] also increased during Evolution.
Neva remembered that the proficiency of [Misfortune] would increase as she grew stronger. As for what effects would appear after reaching proficiency 2, and how much danger it posed, it would take time to observe.
Overall, it was still worth celebrating.
"Uh, can the heart hear me? What abilities can I exchange for now?"
Neva asked in her mind and quickly received a reply.
[Currently available abilities: Perception, Venomous Fangs, Concealment, Mana Control]
[Venomous Fangs: Acquire venom glands, making teeth mildly poisonous, requires 2 Evolution Value. (Type: Regular)]
[Concealment: Improves the individual's camouflage ability in natural environments. When activated, it changes body temperature, slows breathing, and reduces body vitality, requires 4 Evolution Value. (Type: Basic)]
[Mana Control: Enhances Perception and control of Magic Energy, a necessary prerequisite for using extraordinary abilities, requires 20 Evolution Value. (Type: Regular)]
As she expected, the number of abilities she could exchange for had increased.
Seeing these abilities, Neva fully experienced the pain of poverty.
Currently, she couldn't even exchange for [Venomous Fangs], the ability requiring the least Evolution Value.
And [Mana Control] actually required 20 Evolution Value! The same amount needed for her next Evolution!
However, from the information displayed for [Mana Control], she had no choice but to exchange for this ability. Without it, her Magic Energy would be useless. Even if she acquired extraordinary abilities that consumed Magic Energy in the future, she still wouldn't be able to use them.
Neva was full of curiosity and anticipation for Magic Energy, a mysterious energy similar to magic. After all, who doesn't dream of becoming a magician?
As she thought, the image of a chuunibyou protagonist from an anime shouting embarrassing lines and striking bizarre poses while unleashing fireballs flashed through her mind.
Neva gasped.
Terrifying!
If it was like that, it would be too socially mortifying!
A fierce hunger pulled the imaginative Neva back to reality.
Judging by the hunger pangs from her body, the Evolution must have taken a considerable amount of time. To fill her uncooperative stomach, Neva reopened the sealed cave entrance.
To seal this entrance, Neva had painstakingly worked for several hours, but opening it only took a dozen minutes.
Having "hands" indeed made things much more convenient!
...Fortunately, she soon discovered a group of wandering Gluttonous Worms.
There were six Gluttonous Worms in this group. In the past, Neva would have turned and run without any hesitation.
But times had changed. Neva leaped out from behind the rock wall, her sharp legs piercing through the head of one of the Worms.
Before the other Worms could react, Neva, with her spoils, turned and left.
Yes, left, not ran away!
The enraged Worms began to pursue, but Neva's speed was far too great for them. The slow-moving Worms could only eat her dust, and before long, Neva had shaken them off.
This was the difference between having six legs and having no legs.
If they could speak, those Worms were probably cursing Neva out!
After some time, Neva looked back and found that not a single Worm had caught up, so she slammed on the brakes to enjoy her meal.
With her current speed, it was simply a dimensionality reduction strike against these legless Worms!
She figured that even if she encountered a Glutton Worm Adult Form, she could probably escape unharmed!
Uh… never mind, a Worm shouldn't get too overconfident.
Neva used her forelimbs to cut open the Worm's flesh, putting it into her mouth piece by piece.
Her movements were stiff, slow, and clumsy, like a child who had just learned to use utensils. After all, controlling six legs plus two forelimbs was unusually difficult.
Although she had experience controlling limbs, the number had doubled, sometimes making her flustered. She had even fallen a few times while running earlier.
Her post-Evolution size was also nearly 2 times larger than a regular Worm, and her appetite naturally increased as well.
Before Evolution, Neva could eat food equivalent to her body weight, but if the standard was simply to be full, not stuffed, half a Worm was already enough.
But now, after eating this Worm, Neva felt no satiety at all.
It seemed Evolution wasn't without its drawbacks.
She could only go back and find those lovely Worms again.
With light steps, Neva bounced away, quickly disappearing into the dark cave.