The army was approaching and Zack didn't want to meet them. However, Zack was a little unwilling to just give up on the Flower Forest. But, his mind changed within a snap when he saw even more ants appear over the horizon. It was time to skedaddle. The situation wasn't dire, but that could easily flip if he remained still.
However, where should he go? All of the possible areas were either highly dangerous or just inhospitable. With little time on his hands, Zack selected the best of the four options. The tall grass was the best bet with what little Zack knew.
The dangers were less than the other options, but nonetheless still dangerous. The difference though was Zack believed he could deal with that level of danger. With his sights set, Zack wasted no time. The ants were closing in on him and a few scouts had even gotten close.
However, the size difference between Zack and the scouts was too great. With a single slash, ants were split in two. A trail of ant corpses followed Zack as he ran to the tall grass. Slowly the flowers decreased and grass became more dominant in the surrounding flora.
The ants had stopped following him at some point. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to bring those dead ants with him to eat. But on the good side, he had reached the Tall Grass Mountains. The grass blades stood like skyscrapers next to Zack. They blocked out a lot of the sky Zack was used to in the Flower Forest.
Zack's antennae picked up a new scent. A creature was rapidly approaching. A blur came from above before it crashed right Zack stood moments ago. A large grasshopper greeted Zack, it wanted to consume. The situation eerily reminded Zack of his encounter with the jumping spider. However, this time the grasshopper was the first to initiate a sneak attack. The momentum had stunned the grasshopper in its tracks.
It was double Zack's size at 30 mm, scars adorned its body. It even had an injury on its abdomen. But, Zack wouldn't waste the opportunity it had given him. Sickles came down on the giant grasshopper, but unlike before they were precise. With dexterity unfound in his previous fight with the jumping spider, Zack ripped off a leg. A leg was vital for the grasshopper's jumping abilities.
The spikes on his forelimbs were utilized less like a catching tool and more like a saw. A regular mantis wouldn't have the kind of finesse and intelligence to pull this off, this was Zack's advantage. The grasshopper hadn't remained still, it tugged itself free and thwacked Zack into a blade of grass. The damage caused was minimal, but it was enough to remind Zack he did not have the size advantage in this fight. But he didn't need it.
Zack slipped between the grass blade stems. With his form hidden Zack snuck around the grasshopper. With a limb ripped off, killing the grasshopper was a simple endeavor. Zack leaped off a grass blade he climbed onto the grasshopper's back. Using the tried and true method of crunching their neck to bits, Zack quickly fell the giant grasshopper.
Zack wasn't able to eat any of the ants he killed during his escape, so he was ravenous. A couple of minutes passed and Zack had consumed half of the grasshopper. Zack didn't know if his ability to consume so much so quickly was normal, but it did have its benefits.
However, his meal was interpreted when another scent entered his radar. It came from the grasshopper corpse! An earthworm of great size broke through the ground. It was 15 mm in diameter, but many times more in length. Jumping away from the long worm, Zack watched as it dragged the grasshopper's remains underground. The damn worm had stolen his spoils of war!
Just as he was about to hack at the beast, it swiped at Zack. The worm's neck crashed into Zack launching him deeper into the Tall Grass Forest. The worm returned to its meal after it got rid of the pest bothering it.
Reorienting himself, Zack noticed he had landed next to multiple ticks. Zack didn't hesitate, he slaughtered them before they could react. In the end, they barely put up a fight, but he had to be a little wary of their jaws. But with his front claws that wasn't much of an issue. Praying to his kills, Zack examined the terrain.
The ground dipped slightly where he was, and Zack would've been happy to call this his new base. But the worm's appearance had left him feeling the opposite. The long beast could pop up any time and catch him unprepared if he settled down in this spot. So he continued on his search. He encountered many more creatures, slugs, snails, and even a mosquito. The mosquito was a bad omen, but Zack didn't have a choice and soldiered on.
In the end, Zack has settled with encasing himself with freshly cut tall grass. Essentially he made a cacoon base, and he didn't skimp out on padding the floors. The base was set next to a few rocks which hopefully provided some cover. Eventually, night fell and so did Zack as he fell asleep in his new base.
Days passed as he got used to his new environment. Zack had mapped out certain areas in the Tall Grass Forest as he explored. In that process, he encountered a frog in one of his expeditions. Only by freezing up in sheer terror had he managed to live that encounter. It reminded him of standing next to an elephant. However, this elephant would scoop and maul him to death for the slightest movement.
From that experience, Zack roughly guessed where the river or body of water might be. However what vexed him was that, if his guess was correct then that body of water flowed into the forest. This meant that he would likely have to deal with more of these frogs. It seemed he didn't encounter a frog in the Flower Forest by pure chance.
Either way, Zack brushed away such thoughts. A couple of weeks have passed since he arrived at the Tall Grass Forest. In that time he had molted and now he was going to molt once more. Keeping count, Zack believed this to be his fifth molt. Extracting himself from his old exoskeleton has been getting harder as he grew in size.
As night descended, Zack underwent his molting. As the sun rose, Zack awoke from his molt. He had grown to an enormous size. The base he had built had somehow felt tiny. His old carapace was rather troublesome to remove, but with enough time he got out. Before checking his status, Zack ate some dead bugs he had prepared beforehand. They were tiny compared to him now, but food was food.
---
Name: Zack Huntt
Species: Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis)
Age: 1 Month, 4 Days old
Lifespan: 1~ Year
Lifecycle: Adulthood
Size: 8.3 cm/83 mm
Prayers Collected: 64 Prayers
Biomass Collected: 99 Biomass
Abilities: None
---
Zack had finally become a fully mature mantis with this molt. He had also quadrupled in size from his last molt! What's worse, he had already experienced 1/12th of his mantis life within a month. But just as Zack ate one more bug to ease his swirl of emotions, his Biomass bumped up to 100.
---
Ding! Evolution Requirements Met!
Prerequisite: Achieve Adulthood!
Prerequisite: Collect 100 Biomass!
---
---
Ding! Evolution Booster Requirement Met!
Prerequisite: Fulfill Evolution Requirements!
Prerequisite: Collect 50 Prayers!
---
---
Ding! Evolution Options!
Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)
---
Zack waited for more options to appear, but his system gave him nothing else. He couldn't even see a description of the evolution! This system was so useless! Still, he picked the only option, it might be the only way to extend his lifespan.
---
Ding! Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) Selected!
Activate Evolution Booster?
Commence Evolution?
---
Zack mentally answered 'yes' to both before he fell unconscious. If someone were to observe Zack right now, they would see a mantis slowly compress into a perfectly spherical colorless pearl, a quarter the size of the original mantis.