As soon as he appeared, Kane looked around only to find a dead-end behind him, a few eggs, and three paths in front of him. He couldn't hear anything, so Kane was probably safe. However, given his recent experiences in dark places, he looked around intensely in order to find some possible enemies trying to disguise themselves amidst the scenario. However, given that he could see four intact eggs behind him, Kane concluded that he was paranoid.
"Well, let's see what we have this time…"
Kane could move his new body quite a lot, so that was a good thing. However, he didn't like very much what he saw. His body was the body of an ant, and he was red, like blood-red. That color was a bit dangerous, and it would be hard to disguise having that color. Regardless, those weren't perfect, but Kane had two arms and four legs. He didn't know much about ants, but he was pretty sure most of them only had that many limbs.
"Mmm… these look pretty sharp."
Kane analyzed his arms, and those looked sharp as hell. He got lucky; Kane reincarnated as species that already had weapons. That being said, his arms and legs were so thin that he couldn't imagine himself being able to endure many attacks.
Health: 15/15 Regen: 1.0 per hour
Mana: 15/15 Regen: 1.0 per minute
Stamina: 33/33 Regen: 1.0 per minute
Bloody Ant Lv 01 (0/100)
Strength: 08 Speed: 11
Magic: 02 Dexterity: 09
Constitution: 09 Control: 05
Hunger: 100/ 100 Thirst: 100/100
Reincarnation Points: 12
Steel Claws Lv 01 (0/100)
Damage: Strength + 1
Cost: 1,0 Mana
Dash Lv 01 (0/100)
Increases speed by one point
Cost: 1,0 Stamina per second
Bloody Bite Lv 01 (0/100)
Damage: Strength + 1 (For every ten points of damage caused, you recover one point of your health.)
Cost: 1,0 Stamina and 1,0 Mana
"Well… the statuses are higher, and there are three skills, two of them will be useful, but Bloody Bite is quite concerning."
There was no point in running away from reality. That skill would make Kane drink his target's blood and recover his health. Although that was good to increase his survivability, as a human being, that was disgusting beyond reason.
"Soon, I will definitely have to rely on that skill in order to survive… until then, I will have to do my best in order to avoid that."
Although it was good that Kane spawned somewhere relatively safe, he didn't have time to waste waiting for the other eggs to hatch. Besides, it was impossible to know if those ants would have human minds. Not only that but after his experiences as a slime, he doubted that he could trust humans that easily. If he finds another human and that human tells him that he killed two kids in self-defense, he won't trust them either.
"I will have to make do by working solo…"
Much to his surprise, Kane didn't feel weird by moving using four legs. Just like moving as a slime, it felt pretty natural having four legs now. Regardless, based on the shape of that dungeon, Kane concluded that it had been man-made. Also, considering the size of the dungeon, he was now a little more than fifty centimeters tall and eighty centimeters long.
"Good; even by walking naturally, I feel like I'm much faster than a slime."
Kane also tried to run; before anything, he needed to know the limits of his current body. Testing it against an enemy could be disastrous, so Belly took his time pushing his speed. Besides, he wanted to confirm if he could level up Dash by using stamina outside battles. In the end, he couldn't, but that didn't surprise him all that much. Fortunately, he was quite fast; just like his status showed, he could think of what seemed to be eleven meters per second. His stamina was being used quite fast, but it was only obvious that that would happen.
"Since I can obtain reincarnation potions just by staying alive, perhaps focusing on leveling up Dash might be a good idea. However, I will also need food and water, and I doubt that I can kill a monster just by tiring them out."
In the end, the system wanted to make humans fight as much as possible, and considering that the people of that world also wanted to hunt monsters like no tomorrow, Kane decided to fight as much as possible in order to grow stronger and not die again… at least for a while. Being an ant for more than a few months shouldn't be a pleasant experience either.
"Anyway, if this is a dungeon, it is a good idea to map this place. There is no paper, no mini-map, and my memory can't be relied upon… so what do I do? The chances of me dying will increase a lot if I don't make sure to memorize every single part of this place."
Maybe Kane could draw a map in stone or even on the ground, but just like many would frown while looking at an ant with a knife, a party would be formed to hunt down such an intelligent monster. Kane was pretty sure that humans were surviving using their brains, so soon, the humans of that world will hear rumors about how intelligent monsters were appearing and how troublesome and deadly they were. Kane couldn't let himself stand out, he also shouldn't let the people of that world find him, but if they do, it would be better if they treat him like an ordinary monster. That would give him plenty of chances to attack and surprise his enemies. After dying three times in just a few days, Kane felt a little less compelled to be so merciful in front of his enemies. It was only expected, given that the pain he still could remember the pain he felt when he died.
"Well, enough talking… I'm not talking, though. Anyways… I have to secure food and water, while I also have to make sure to find other creatures before they find me. The key to success is to attack first and ask later."
To avoid all kinds of problems, Kane decided to move near the walls. Although he tested and concluded that he could walk on the walls, more stamina was used to do that. Besides, he needed to leave a trail behind to avoid getting lost. So, Kane started to walk near the walls, where it was hard to find his trail. That way, if some humans were nearby, they would have a hard time finding his footsteps.