Currently, the data on Bates' second attribute panel displayed:
[ gene points ] : green insect gene 4, earthworm gene 7, cricket gene 2, grasshopper gene 3
[ evolution points ] : 5
[ skill fragment ] : heal 6/10
To Bates' surprise, [ heal ] skill fragments were not only dropped by earthworms, in fact, most insects could drop them, but the probability of earthworms dropping them was much higher than most.
He was preparing to evolve for the first time. He took a deep breath and shifted his gaze to the evolution points.
A familiar voice sounded in his head:
"Enough evolution points. Do you want to begin evolution?"
"Begin evolution!" Bates responded.
"Please choose the method of evolution: main body evolution or mutation?"
In the next second, a brand new interface occupied Bates' view. It showed a total of five types of insects; ants, green insects, earthworms, crickets, and grasshoppers.
The difference was that the ant's virtual image was completely lit up. The other four insects' images weren't as bright, and there a different number of light spots on each of them.
The voice in his head sounded again:
"Evolution or mutation?"
After counting the light spots on the insects, Bates understood. 'These light spots represented the insect genes that I had already obtained. Therefore mutation meant...' Bates' train of thought faded away, as his gaze stopped on the earthworm that had the most light spots.
A message immediately appeared in his mind.
"Earthworm gene insufficient. Mutation condition not satisfied."
His gaze then shifted to the ant that had been completely lit up.
"Evolution points met. Evolution condition met. You can choose to evolve directly, or you can add genes from other species to enhance your evolution."
'So that's how it works!'
The 'main body evolution' was to strengthen the base of the mutated ant species. It would not change the species but only strengthen its attributes!
And the 'mutation' was to transform the race entirely!
'I only need ten points of other insect genes to be able to transform from an ant into another insect. What if I obtain enough legendary dragon genes? Can I choose to transform into a real legendary dragon?' Bates wondered. Legendary Dragons were terrifying existences that stood at the top of this world!
Only now did Bates truly understand the power of the devouring evolution talent!
After a long time, Bates pulled himself together and shouted, "Choose the main body evolution! Invest all the insect genes into this evolution, and strengthen the main body evolution!"
Out of the five insect races, Bates still preferred his current appearance.
Once more, with the attributes he currently has, being a predator ant was clearly more powerful and more suitable for hunting.
"Evolving will last for fifteen minutes. Please ensure the safety of the surrounding environment."
"Evolution begins..."
Along with the voice in his mind, Bates crawled into the ant nest. His vision became blurry and he lost consciousness.
After some time, Bates woke up from his deep sleep.
The first thing he felt was a powerful force coming from all over his body. It felt several times stronger than before!
Then Bates opened his attribute panel:
[ name ] : Bates
[ race ] : Overlord Ant
[ class ] : Tiny
[ level ] : Tiny
[ attributes ] : Strength 0.7, Agility 0.4, Energy 0.5, Spirit 1.2
[ talent ] : Soul Bonus (soul talent), Devour Evolution (unique talent), Adaptability (race talent)
[ skill ] : Enhanced Fangs (passive skill)
[ gene points ] : 0
[ evolution points ] : 0 (evolution points required for next evolution: 10)
[ skill fragment ] : heal 8/10
After looking at his attribute panel, Bates was extremely excited.
This time, his race had changed from a Mutated Ant to an Overlord Ant! His four attributes had increased by several times. His spirit attribute had exceeded the lowest limit of a level 1 monster, reaching 1.2. This meant that he was one step closer to becoming a level 1 monster!
Furthermore, with the help of the insect gene enhancement and evolution, the number of [ heal ] skill fragments had increased from six to eight. He only needed to kill another earthworm or a few more insects to gather all the skill fragments needed to complete this powerful skill.
Bates' current attributes made him look like a god of the ant species!
Though things were not over yet. That familiar voice sounded in his mind again.
"Ding! Your first evolution has succeeded. You have obtained a chance to draw a skill. You can choose one of the following skills as your own."
Following that, a skill option popped up.
For his first evolution, Bates had been given two skill options to chose from. This time he had the option of three skills to chose between:
[ strengthened armor: passive skill. If you choose this skill, your armor will become tougher and be able to withstand more attacks. When facing an enemy, you will have a higher chance of surviving. ]
[ sickle: passive skill. If you choose this skill, your first pair of legs will transform into the shape of a sickle and become stronger. When you face an enemy, you will have stronger attack power. ]
[ charge: active skill. After using up half of your stamina, you will be able to double your speed in an extremely short period of time. ]
All three skills were very powerful!
[ strengthened armor ] could allow him to have stronger survival abilities, and [ sickle ] could allow him to have more a destructive attack. The last skill, [ charge ], was the first active skill that had appeared. Whether it was hunting or escaping, it could be very useful.
After carefully reading through the descriptions, Bates finally chose [ enhanced armor ].
Survival came first!
The [ enhanced fangs ] skill was enough for the time being. Before becoming stronger, it was more important to improve his survival ability.
Although [ charge ] could also help towards his survival, the fact it would use up half of his stamina, combined with its extremely short usage time, made Bates feel it wasn't a very practical skill.
As Bates made his choice, a warm current appeared.
His dark and bright armor had become even tougher, and had a metallic luster that only steel possessed. His front two legs now felt stronger as they stood firmly on the ground!
After all this, Bates let out a long sigh.
After the successful evolution, Bates' body had become much larger. From 2.5cm to 5cm long! He knew it wouldn't be long until he'd have to move out of the nest. At the moment, the main tunnel could still accommodate him, but it was becoming more and more narrow.
If he evolved once or twice more, he probably wouldn't even be able to enter the ant nest.
'Perhaps, digging a cave under the ant nest would be a good idea' thought Bates.