[You have leveled up!]
I stared at the message while munching on the ant in my mouth.
It looked a bit different from the others. No wonder it gave so much EXP.
After easily dispatching the ant that had ambushed me from behind, I looked at the cowering swarm.
Was the ant I just ate their leader or something?
Their movements had become erratic.
Before, they had moved like a coordinated unit, but now they seemed to have lost all control.
Some fled, while others charged forward recklessly.
This was a good situation for us. Their forces were scattered, and now they attacked as if they had no intelligence whatsoever. I could see them getting tangled up, hindering each other's movements.
The spider was fighting surprisingly well.
She shot out her web to immobilize them, then danced over them with her long legs, slaughtering the ants.
I could practically hear the EXP racking up from here.
Siding with that spider was definitely the right call.
I wasn't just standing by, either.
While quickly dealing with the grunts, I targeted the stronger ones that occasionally appeared.
[Acacia Fire Ant LV6]
Level 6.
It was the strongest one after the leader I'd just dealt with.
It was even bigger than the last one, about twice the size of a normal ant.
I readied my stance and charged toward it.
Fwip-fwip-fwip.
The ants around it scattered in an instant.
It was a movement I hadn't seen before.
That one could command a portion of these ants.
Judging by the number of ants it controlled, it seemed to be something of a squad leader.
Taking this one out first was the right move.
Whoosh.
I swung my tail.
SMACK!
The fire ant was sent flying helplessly.
Unlike the others, it didn't die from a single hit.
But this should be enough to take it out of the fight.
I leaped again to finish it off.
And at that moment, the scattered ants swarmed me all at once.
A pretty clever move, but it wouldn't work on me.
I spun my body, shredding the ants that rushed me.
It might have been different if they were like that leader who could take a hit, but there was no way small fry like these could stop me.
Chomp!
I felt a sharp sting.
The large fire ant's jaws had clamped down on my leg.
Tsk.
That hurts more than I thought.
I brought my tail down and ended its life.
[Green Gecko LV7]
HP: 22/27
MP: 10/12
This much was bearable.
I turned my head toward the next target.
And in that instant, I felt something was wrong.
My body wouldn't move as I wanted.
[Status Effect: Paralysis]
Paralysis? Does having a high level give it skills like that?
It was just a brief graze, but I was still paralyzed.
The effect probably won't last long.
But in a chaotic battle like this, even a brief moment could be fatal.
The ants swarmed me as if they'd been waiting for this.
Chomp!
Crunch!
I could feel my HP dropping in an instant.
But I didn't give up.
Because the spider had noticed my predicament.
Fwip!
White threads rained down.
[You have acquired 「Paralysis Resistance LV1」.]
I even got a new skill at the perfect time.
It was resistance, not immunity, but this was enough.
I could move my body now.
I slaughtered the nearest ant untouched by the web with my claws.
It wasn't easy. I got my right leg bitten in the process.
Crunch!
With my large mouth, I bit down on the head of the ant chewing on my leg.
Its head popped off.
I munched on the head.
Even caught in the web, they didn't lose their fighting spirit.
Even though they were enemies, their tenacity was incredible.
Even now, a few ants were trying to leap at my back.
[You have leveled up!]
But what they aimed for was just my afterimage.
I quickly shed my skin and subdued all the incoming ants.
"Gegegek!"
You must feel cheated. I was on the verge of death, and now I'm perfectly fine.
[Green Gecko LV8]
HP: 29/29
MP: 14/14
Sucks to be you. Should've been born a gecko.
'Sprint!'
I dashed through the demoralized ants at incredible speed.
I imagine the sound effect would be something like BOOM-BOOM-CRASH.
My Sprint skill leveled up a lot, reaching Level 5 at some point.
Now, the wind pressure alone was enough to knock the ants over.
Thump, thump.
The ants went flying.
I leaped at the airborne ants and unleashed a merciless assault.
Thwack-thwack-thwack.
The ants separated into head, thorax, and abdomen, falling to the ground in pieces.
There were still a lot of them left.
But the performance I'd just put on was enough to make even those mindlessly charging ants hesitate.
A lizard on the brink of death suddenly recovered, launched ants into the air, and those ants fell to the ground, precisely cut into three pieces.
If I were an ant, I would've run.
Slurp.
I licked the ant remains off my mouth with my tongue.
Partly to replenish my energy, and partly to crush the enemy's morale.
There were still many of them left.
However, it was safe to say the outcome was all but decided.
All that remained was a massacre.
It was the start of a double EXP event.
*
[Green Gecko LV9]
HP: 21/31
MP: 5/15
It was all over.
Nephila and I made eye contact.
That terrifying face looked quite reassuring.
"Gegek."
She seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she lowered her head slightly.
"Kieeng."
She twisted her two front legs together.
What's that supposed to mean?
It was the kind of gesture you were better off not understanding.
I started cleaning up the corpses of the fallen ants.
Most of the enemies had fallen to the ground, but a fair number of carcasses remained on this branch. I opened my mouth wide and began chewing up the ants.
The slightly tangy taste was memorable.
[The level of 「Acid Resistance LV3」 has increased.]
I wonder if eating poisonous creatures raises my poison resistance.
I'll have to test that out later if I get the chance.
While picking up and eating the ants, I glanced at the spider.
Fortunately, she didn't seem interested in the dead ants.
She was stroking something round in a corner of her nest.
Did she lay an egg?
…Is that what spider eggs look like?
It looks kind of strange.
I focused my eyes.
[Mid-Low Grade Inner Core]
….
An Inner Core?
The kind of Inner Core you see in martial arts novels?
The kind that spiritual beasts are said to possess?
A perfect sphere.
It looked just like the Inner Cores I knew about.
What in the world is this place?
There are dinosaurs, and now a spider has an Inner Core.
Am I in some kind of martial arts novel with dinosaurs?
I watched the spider, entertaining such absurd thoughts.
And at that moment, a sharp pain shot through my eyes.
A flood of information suddenly appeared.
[Acacia Fire Ant General LV8]
[Acacia Fire Ant Soldier LV7]
[Acacia Fire Ant Soldier LV5]
[Acacia Fire Ant Soldier LV5]
Time seemed to slow down.
Their movements looked incredibly slow.
The ants that had been hiding among the leaves all attacked the spider at once.
She was almost out of stamina. Even for her, an ambush by ants of that level would be dangerous. Moreover, she was completely defenseless while holding the Inner Core.
'Sprint.'
It was too late to deal with the ants.
There was only one thing I could do.
Push the spider out of the way.
"Hioong?"
I threw my body forward and shoved the spider.
Thanks to that, the ants' attacks missed their mark.
With nowhere else to go, their sharp jaws all converged on one target.
CRUNCH!
It hurt like hell.
[Status Effect: Paralysis]
My body wouldn't move.
[The level of 「Paralysis Resistance LV1」 has increased!]
This was no time to celebrate.
Crunch.
They were relentless.
They tore my flesh with their jaws and injected formic acid inside.
"Geeeek!"
[Status Effect: Poisoned]
One thing after another.
You damn persistent ants.
"Kieeek!"
The spider, having grasped the situation, quickly rushed over and dealt with the surrounding ants.
[Green Gecko LV9]
HP: 14/31
MP: 3/14
[Paralysis] [Poisoned]
Even so, their attacks didn't stop.
They kept chewing on my hide, pouring more acid into the wounds.
Haaa...
I let out a ragged breath.
This is dangerous.
There was only one way to get out of this situation.
Level up and shed my skin.
With this many ants, I should be able to level up just by eating them.
Nephila Jurassica stomped on the ant that was biting me.
CRUNCH!
The ant general's hard exoskeleton shattered. Was she angry about the ambush? Nephila attacked it relentlessly.
Yeah. Good job, spider.
Mince it up nicely so I can eat it easily.
As I cheered on the spider's merciless assault, I slowly started to feel my senses returning. The paralysis was wearing off.
My eyes met with the fallen ant general's.
It wasn't dead yet. If I ran over, finished it off, and ate it, I could definitely level up.
And at that moment, it spread its wings.
Ants have wings?
That's completely broken.
Wait, if it's spreading its wings now...
Bzzzz.
It vanished without a trace.
My plan had hit a snag.
The biggest chunk of EXP had escaped.
I have to level up with the remaining corpses.
I immediately ran over and started stuffing the dead ants into my mouth.
They tasted awful, but that wasn't something I could afford to care about right now.
[Green Gecko LV9]
HP: 6/31
MP: 3/14
[Poisoned]
[HP is low!]
I know that already.
My HP was dropping faster than I thought.
I ate all the ants, but I didn't level up.
Nephila Jurassica was nowhere to be seen.
What the hell was I hoping to gain by helping that spider?
…If I'd known this would happen, I would've just snatched the Inner Core and run.
So this is how I die, as a lizard.
My vision is blurring.
*
I felt dazed.
It felt like I was dreaming.
Right, this must be my life flashing before my eyes.
I quietly closed my eyes.
…I can close my eyes?
But I'm a lizard?
I snapped my closed eyes wide open.
What I saw was a completely white space and a familiar message window.
[You have leveled up!]
[Green Gecko LV10(+)]
HP: 33/33
MP: 15/15
I leveled up.
How did this happen?
And what does that symbol next to my level mean?
[You have reached the maximum level.]
Maximum level?
Yeah, I'm not an idiot. I know what that means.
What was important was what it was the maximum level of.
My maximum level, or the Green Gecko's maximum level.
If it's the former, it means I've reached my growth limit.
[A spiritual energy envelops your body.]
But if it's the latter, it means I can grow even more.
[Evolution is possible!]
Evolution.
What a magnificent word.
[Would you like to evolve?]
Yes!
__________________________
[Green Gecko] can evolve into:
1. [Bearded Dragon]
2. [Pygmy Chameleon]
3. [Armadillo Armored Lizard]
__________________________
I mulled over the choices one by one.
No matter how hard I stared, no additional explanations appeared.
It was a situation where I had to decide based on my own knowledge or intuition.
First, the Bearded Dragon.
I hope there aren't any stupid lizards out there who would be tempted just because it has the cool word 'dragon' in its name.
As if a gecko could evolve into a dragon.
A Bearded Dragon is just a normal lizard.
I skipped the first one and looked at the second choice.
Pygmy Chameleon.
It's a chameleon.
Right, the reptile that changes its body color to camouflage itself.
I like the ability itself. I could just hang from a tree somewhere and wait comfortably for prey. But I didn't like the modifier in front of it.
Isn't the Pygmy Chameleon the smallest chameleon in the world?
Getting even smaller than I am now was out of the question.
The ability is decent, but this one's out too.
Armadillo Armored Lizard.
I don't know this species well. But I can guess its characteristics just from the name.
Armadillo, and armor.
A name that couldn't be anything but tough.
If I had to choose one of the three, I'd obviously pick the Armadillo Armored Lizard.
…It's a little disappointing, but you can't expect to hit the jackpot on the first try.
[「Sprint」 skill confirmed.]
Just before I made my choice, a new message arrived.
[You have met the conditions for a special evolution!]
Special evolution?
If you had something like that, you should've shown it to me from the start!
__________________________
[Green Gecko] can evolve into:
1. [Bearded Dragon]
2. [Pygmy Chameleon]
3. [Armadillo Armored Lizard]
4. [Green Basilisk] (「Sprint LV7」)
__________________________
A Basilisk?
The Basilisk I'm thinking of?
The one that shoots petrification rays from its eyes?
Is it really okay for me to evolve into something like that?