In a vast grassland lay a horned centipede. Nothing dared to go near it in spite of its long sleep except for one scorpion. The arachnid had awoken from its berserk state not long after the centipede had fallen into a deep slumber.
It wasn't quite sure of what happened, all it knew was that it had to keep watch, to make sure its savior didn't get eaten. There had been a few courageous ones wanting to take the chance to evolve, but it was always successful in chasing them away, even if it occasionally got injured.
Today marked the 6th month since that battle. The scorpion had been starving itself the entire time since it didn't want to take any chances. The centipede was too big to drag back to the cave and it wouldn't have fit anymore anyway, being 30 meters in length and 6 in width compared to its previous 9 and 2.
And that's not taking into account its legs. The scorpion had watched as the 50 slowly turned to 45, to 30, before stopping at 10. Rather than fall off, they had combined, becoming larger and more durable.
Including that, they gleamed with a sharpness like no other. Even the arachnid felt hard-pressed to go near them. The black and red carapace of the centipede twitched, catching the scorpion's attention. His antennae split into separate segments and glowed a bright red behind his head, something the scorpion had yet to notice while it moved with the fluidity of a river.
"Scree?" It called out softly in an inquiring voice. There was a quiet, inhuman groan. The centipede slowly rose up from the ground, standing with half its body off the field.
With a shake of his head, the insect roused from the groggy feeling of waking up, like the sensation of taking a nap after a long day of school or work and waking up in a dark room.
At that moment, the insectoid noticed how much smaller everything looked. 'Did I evolve again?' He wondered. He wanted to check his status board but was snapped out of his thoughts by a "thump!".
The scorpion fell on its side in relief, falling unconscious.
…
The sounds of bone being shattered and shredded were the only sounds the scorpion could hear in the lonely darkness. For some reason, it felt like it was back in the cave it was born in, trying its best to survive the harsh conditions without any real strength...before it had met its savior, the centipede.
It wasn't much bigger than it, and yet instead of eating it, the creature protected them. For a non-mutated insect, it was like a bright ray of hope had shined. As time passed, the centipede grew stronger, and as his follower, so did the scorpion.
It was happy for once in its life, and now…? It'll probably die. In the back of its head, it heard the crunching growing louder. Will its savior still think it's useful? It wanted to be useful…it wanted to return the favor…but it wouldn't be angry if it were left behind, afterall, that was the way of the world.
The strong ruled over the weak. Things like gratitude were nothing in this era. Again, the arachnid's thoughts were interrupted by the loud crunching. Slightly irritated, it used its claws to push away whatever was making the sound. "Scree," it heard a voice call out to it in the darkness.
It sounded demanding, telling it to…eat? With a sudden jerk, the scorpion awoke in the grassy plains, a spine in its mouth. Then…that noise was…? It glanced over to its savior. The centipede waved with his long, sharp limb, 4 glowing red orbs staring right at it with untamed happiness.
The arachnid flipped onto its belly, gleefully wagging its tail. The centipede didn't leave it behind! He stayed with it! That thought alone made it as joyful as a newborn trying sweets for the first time.
The centipede curled around it, nuzzling their heads together carefully. 'I thought you died!' He thought. It had only been a few hours since the scorpion had fallen unconscious. He was crying his eyes out, thinking it had died only to realize it hadn't.
Although, he felt guilty the moment he realized what was wrong, especially when he took a look at his status.
[Status:
Name: –
Age: 9 months 12 days
(NEW)Specie(s): Mutated Devourer Scolopendra Gigantea
(NEW)Quest(s): 3
Evolution Points(EP): 120.2/320
HP: 3840/3840
MP: 640/640
CON: 384
INT: 64
AGI: 240
Stat Points(SP): 34
Skill(s): Bite, Sharp Edge, Lock, Dash, Cognizance, Regeneration, Poison Spray, Defensive Curl, Sixth Sense, (NEW)Head Hunter, (NEW)Debuff Resistance, (NEW)Frenzy Resistance, (NEW)Horn Charge, (NEW)Jaw Splitter, (NEW)Ferocious Frenzy]
He had been asleep for 6 months. That was just how long the scorpion had been keeping guard for him. To have someone follow him so blindly felt nice, but it had to at least eat once in a while! How could it just starve itself the way it had!? He turned to the scorpion who was having the time of its life and he couldn't stay angry.
But there was one thing he needed to make sure of. He gestured to it to come closer, screeching. In general, what he had said was, "Eat when necessary. Priority is one's own safety."
The scorpion nodded, but he had a feeling it would still do the same exact thing. He sighed mentally, giving up. This little guy was a stubborn one. He turned back to the status board, staring at all the new skills and information. He finally knew what he was reincarnated as, the famous Amazonian centipede...fascinating. He used to be terrified of those things and now he became one...but, moving on...
...[Jaw Splitter] was as its name suggested…it let his maw split wider to fit bigger prey, similar to snakes, revealing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth in a formation akin to a leech. [Horn Charge] is an intrinsic skill that increases the sharpness and durability of his horns and at times, has a chance to grow longer. Maybe if he leveled it up enough, he can control the size of his horns?
Other than that, [Ferocious Frenzy] was the only skill he was curious about. It was the same skill that sabretooth had. He only remembered bits of the massacre he had caused such as him eating the feline alive…he felt disgusted by the thought, but his common sense and morals didn't matter in this prehistoric age. Millions of animals and insects get eaten alive.
Taking his human nature into a hunt is not something he has the courtesy of doing. The only other thing he remembered was the canine fleeing. He severely injured it, but it flew away before he could finish it. Even so, the creature's blood was enough to give him a slight mutation different than he was expecting and that was…his eyes.
It had a similar scarlet hue, but the unique thing was something called "Wolven sight". It was only a fragment so it didn't become a skill, but it allowed him to see things in slow motion, and, although it wasn't quite useful since he had [Cognizance], it gave him a wider field of vision.
And the system itself seems to have unlocked a new function, [Quests]. The 3 available were daily tasks that didn't have a penalty but would definitely benefit him. He wondered if the system can conjure up a quest randomly such as when discovering a boss like that salamander?
He felt a tap on his lower segment, causing him to look down. The scorpion held its claws up as if asking for something. The centipede shook his head in exasperation, looking through the inventory the system provided as a large spine appeared from nowhere.
The scorpion gave him a thank you screech before digging in. He really needed to do something about this…
To be continued…