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It had been a whole week since this fever started, and it was only getting worse. I had been living a pretty normal, slow life—working at the mini-market near home, living with my parents, enjoying video games and Japanese media.
I can't believe this fever has lasted so long! If I go to the doctor, it'll eat up all my gaming money. Ugh. It's not like I'm going to die from it… God, this headache is killing me. I can barely think, let alone play anything. Sigh. I guess I'll just sleep. I'm exhausted anyway.
That night, I had a strange dream. I was floating in a vast, motionless ocean, the water perfectly still. When I tried to check if I was okay, I realized I was nothing more than a glowing, formless lump. Soon, a soothing voice called out to me, telling me to come closer, to keep moving forward. As I drifted toward the voice, it grew louder and louder. Then, without warning, unbearable pain exploded through my entire lump of a body.
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[Day 1]
When I finally woke up, everything was black. I couldn't feel my arms, my legs, or even my mouth.
I can't move? What's going on? I can't feel anything—my arms, my legs, my head… There's only my mind… my thoughts… Did I… Did I die?
I struggled with all my might, trying to move even a single inch. Finally, something shifted—a limb behind me. The more I moved, the louder the cracking sounds became, as if I were breaking out of a shell.
I CAN DO IT!!! MOVE! RAAAAAA!
Light flooded in. An overwhelming amount of light bathed my face, and I could finally open my eyes. Whatever had been holding me crumbled away, and I fell to the ground.
Aaah, I'm so tired… Where am I? What is this? Giant leaves? Massive rocks? Trees the size of skyscrapers… Why is everything in this forest so huge?
And then I realized just how screwed I was. My body was segmented, covered in long, fatty, green skin with small purple patterns. Tiny, almost transparent hairs coated the top. I had no arms—just stubby little legs on the bottom. I couldn't see my face, but I already knew what I had become.
A caterpillar.
How could this even happen? Why? Is this a dream? Please let it be a dream… Oh god, but I felt pain when I fell, didn't I? That means this is real… That means I really am a caterpillar now… Why me? WAIT! Does that mean I died from a fever? There's no way! It was just a fever! Who dies from a fever?! …If I really died, does that mean I was reincarnated? Is this one of those "reincarnated into another world" stories, but they ran out of cool bodies so they just tossed my soul into whatever was nearby? Thanks a lot, Mysterious Voice, you jerk.
Suddenly, I felt starving. I started eating anything close—leaves, even rocks.
These rocks taste awful and bitter… Why can I eat them and still be fine? I can grind them to dust in my mouth. This caterpillar is a monster!
After a while, I finally felt full and began to examine my surroundings.
Hmm, it would be funny if there was some kind of status screen that appeared when you think STATUS! or something…
[Name: None]
[Class: None]
[Race: Common Forest Caterpillar]
[Level: 1/10] [XP: 0/100] [Status: Full]
[HP: 6/6] [MP: 0/0] [Stamina: 100/100]
[Strength: 1]
[Defence: 2]
[Magic: 0]
[Resistance: 0]
[Speed: 1]
[Charisma: -1]
[Luck: -2]
[Skills:]
[Trash Belly] [Forest Caterpillar Weak Body] [Blessing of #########]
[Iron Teeth] [Weak Bite] [Caterpillar Basic Regeneration]
Eeeh?! It actually worked! But these stats are complete garbage! And these skills are trash too! Wait—minus two luck? Minus one charisma?! Are you calling me ugly?! YOU JERKS! Sigh…
After calming down, I studied the forest more closely. It was vast and dark, the trees dark gray, almost pitch black, with enormous dark-green leaves. Colorful mushrooms grew at the base of every trunk. A bee floated nearby, but it hadn't noticed me yet.
Is it because of my minus one charisma?
「HEY! Mister Bee! Please! You're the first living thing I've met in this world! Want to be friends?」
As if offended by my wriggling, the bee paused, then shot straight at my head, stinger aimed right at my beautiful caterpillar face.
「Gueeeh! Please stop! Don't get angry! We're civilized bugs! Fellow brothers! Don't tell me you're a tsundere?!」
Taking my words as an insult, the bee grew even angrier and accelerated. Then a sharp, burning pain exploded across my face.
「UUUAAAGH! Get out! Get out! It hurts! Please stop! It hurts so much!」
The stinger was stuck. I thrashed wildly. The bee struggled to pull free, only driving it deeper.
「I want to live! I want to live! You bastard! Take this! ORAAA! WEAK BITE! NOM!」
My jaws clamped onto its stupid bee face.
HAHAHA! That's what you get, you punk!
The bee flailed in agony, stinger still lodged in my face.
「BBZZZZ」
「TAKE THIS! NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!」
「BBBZZZZZ!!!」
After eating half its head, the bee finally stopped moving. A loud ding echoed in my mind.
[You've gained: 124 XP]
[You've gained: 1 level]
[You've obtained a new title: First Kill in This New World]
[Your HP has recovered]
Huh? So that's how it works… Uuuaagh…? I healed when I leveled up? Then why does it still hurt like hell? Ah! I need to pull this stinger out, or the healing was pointless!
I raised my tiny legs, gripped the stinger, and pulled with everything I had. The pain was excruciating, but I paused, breathed, and kept going. Finally, it came free.
It's out! I did it! Ugh…
[HP: 3/8]
OH GOD, I ALMOST DIED! If I hadn't leveled up after killing it, I'd be gone! Completely dead! Before even seeing what this world has to offer! Sigh.
After resting, I ate what remained of the bee—even the stinger. It tasted awful, but my stomach handled it fine.
Is it because of Trash Belly? Does that mean I can eat almost anything? That's… oddly convenient for such a pathetic existence.
Feeling a bit better, I began dragging myself around, lost in thought.
So, to recap: I died on Earth from a fever, had a weird dream about floating in a huge ocean with a voice calling me… I bet that jerk is the one who reincarnated me! This is all his fault! Probably some bored god toying with my poor soul for fun!
Suddenly, a loud bang sounded in front of me.
Guaaah! W-What is that?! A giant foot?!
I scurried behind a rock for safety. Peeking out, I saw a humanoid creature with gray skin, a bald head, and massive fangs jutting from its lower jaw. Muscular and wearing only a loincloth, it carried a large stick.
A troll? But don't they turn to stone in daylight? Oh right—this forest is dark even during the day.
Jealousy filled my tiny heart.
Trolls get to walk around like they own the place? Even a troll would have been a better reincarnation than a caterpillar… This is unfair!
The troll sniffed the air for a while, then wandered off.
One day, when I'm strong enough, I'm going to beat you up for scaring me like that! Mark my words, troll!
After that, I dragged myself around, eating rocks and plants until I was full, then curled up in a small hole near a tree to sleep.
[Day 2]
When I woke up, reality hit me again. Yesterday wasn't a dream. I was still a caterpillar.
Sigh. I guess I just have to accept it and focus on surviving… Something inside keeps telling me to get stronger no matter what. Monster instincts? Weird.
With slightly higher spirits, I began exploring the forest. After an hour of crawling, I didn't feel tired at all, and my mind felt strangely clear.
There's a clear path here with almost no rocks or plants blocking it. Probably a trail trolls use. To the west is a huge river—I'll call it West River. To the east are massive rocky mountains—East Rocky Mountains it is. Okay, where should I go? I'm getting hungry again. Rocks and plants barely restore stamina… What now?
Lost in thought, I remembered a novel I loved back on Earth about someone reincarnated as a goblin who started by hunting monsters for food.
Maybe hunting is the way to go. But what can a caterpillar even hunt? That bee was a miracle! I'm not fighting another bee! Eh?
I didn't notice the shadow falling over me until it was too late. A gigantic bird—black and blue feathers, yellow curved beak, black beady eyes—stared down at me hungrily.
I nearly shat myself. I dragged my body as fast as possible, but the bird was faster.
No way no way no way! How was I so careless? This thing could swallow me whole! I didn't even last two days! Are you kidding me, Mysterious Voice?! YOU JERK!!!
「Squaaark!」
As if telling me to stay still and accept my fate, the bird screeched.
OHHH! A hole! Right there! My savior!
I raced toward the small hole. The beak nearly got me, but I squeezed inside just in time. The bird, however, wasn't giving up. It jammed its beak deep into the hole, trying to scoop me out.
Haah… Close one… HAHA! Keep trying, you feathered idiot! You'll never fit in here!
「Squaaark! Squaaark!」
Finally, the bird gave up and flew away.
At least I'm safe in this little—
A massive, ugly spider appeared right behind me. Eight black-and-yellow legs, eight pitch-black eyes, and terrifying fangs.
Sigh… Why is the universe messing with me like this…
I tried to flee, but my body wouldn't move. My stamina was gone.
[HP: 7/8 Stamina: 2/100]
No way! It drained while I was running?! This system is bullshit! Am I really going to die here just because some numbers say I can't move? DON'T SCREW WITH ME!
「Screeechh!」
The spider lunged for the kill.
Then a loud bang shook the hole from above.
「Squaaark!」
That damn bird again?! You've got to be kidding! Should I feel flattered or horrified?!
Just before the spider's fangs reached me, the bird smashed the top of the hole, exposing everything. It glanced between the spider and me, decided the spider looked tastier, grabbed it with its beak, and flew off.
Watching the spider's misfortune, I couldn't help but laugh.
「Goodbye, Mister Spider! Hahahaha!」
「Screeechh...!」
Once things calmed down, I dragged myself deeper into the ruined hole and found the spider's nest—full of eggs wrapped in sticky threads and a few dried bug carcasses.
Finders keepers!
I devoured the dry carcasses first. They tasted terrible and barely restored stamina, but they were better than nothing.
Now for the main course!
I bit through the threads with Weak Bite and swallowed the eggs whole. They tasted like garbage juice—don't ask how I know what that tastes like.
Crunchy on the outside, juicy on the inside… but not in a good way. I'd kill for some fried meat right now. And beer. Sigh. Maybe one day, if I get strong enough to lead intelligent beings, I can recreate those foods.
I even ate the threads. They were dry, sticky, and got stuck in my throat, but they restored a surprising amount of stamina.
Gueeh. Why does eating here feel more like torture than relief?
[You've gained: 86 XP]
[You've obtained a new title: Trash Eater]
[You've learned the following skills]
[Steel Belly]
[Weak Thread Creation]
[Spider's Eight Eyes]
I almost spat out the thread in my mouth.
What?! I learned skills from eating this crap?! Are you serious?
I remembered characters from novels and anime who grew stronger by consuming enemies.
So this is my cheat skill? But it feels heavily nerfed—eating the bee gave me nothing. Maybe I need a large quantity of the same thing? Or was the bee just too weak? Sigh… At least there's one good thing in this messed-up world. I even got XP for no reason!
Swallowing the last thread, I recalled the awful taste of the eggs.
Maybe the eggs count as living beings, so they gave XP? That's messed up. OH! Almost forgot my new title—Trash Eater! And Steel Belly? Probably from all the junk I ate. Maybe one day I'll be able to eat fire! Haha!
Tired of talking to myself, I played with my new thread skill and made a messy little bed. Creating thread cost stamina—about 5 per 10 cm. Just the bed took 15 stamina, almost half of what I'd regained.
What a rip-off. Stamina management is going to be a pain.
Before sleeping, I tested Spider's Eight Eyes. It cost 10 stamina and temporarily gave me eight spider eyes, greatly improving my vision.
Could be useful later, but too expensive to spam right now… All right. Time to sleep!
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