There wasn't any doubt in my mind.
I was standing inside a freakin' bird nest!
Those blurry white things must be eggs. If one were in this situation, they would think that the logical choice would be to make an escape before the mama bird returns, yet I didn't move an inch.
After breaking out of an egg, hardening my exoskeleton, and climbing a tree, my body was weak. The different segments of my body were twitching wildly just looking at the eggs, and a dampness began developing in my mouth.
This was crazy. I was less than half an inch in size. To me, those eggs were like giant buildings, so why was I rushing towards them like an idiot?
Screw it! It's do or die.
Without wasting another second, I began examining the eggs meticulously. Contrary to how it seems, bird eggs are not perfectly airtight. They have thousands of microscopic pores for gas exchange. Worst-case scenario, I could use my forcipules to widen one of these pores, but first, I needed to check something.
I crawled over each of the eggs, looking closely at their structure.
Bingo!
One of them had a small crack, likely caused by a parent's clumsy landing. Things like these were fairly common among birds, but this time, it worked in my favor. Using my forcipules, I widened the small crack in the egg.
It barely budged, but it was large enough for me to slip through. Afterwards, I encountered a thin white membrane, which I easily pierced with my forcipules. Lowering my mouth towards the small hole I had just created, I began drinking the embryo inside. This was perfect since my mandibles weren't hard enough to bite anything solid yet.
[1 biomass gained]
[1 biomass gained]
The more notifications I received, the faster I drank. It felt as if my stomach was an endless pit. No matter how much I drank, I wouldn't get full.
Soon, all that remained was the yolk. Driven by hunger, I threw myself atop the golden nectar of life and began eating.
[1 biomass gained]
[1 biomass gained]
[1 biomass gained]
Within just an hour, the yolk was completely devoured, and the eggshell was now a vast empty space. It was as if I had my own mansion, with two more food sources outside waiting to be devoured. The best part is that the mother bird wouldn't even know, since the hole I made was so small it was unlikely that she would notice.
So the embryo gave me 2 biomass, and the yolk gave me three, bringing me to a total of 5.
[Congratulations! New Evolutions available!]
-Evolutions-
[Eyes: 1 biomass to improve vision by 25%]
[Antennae: 1 biomass to improve antennae sensory function by 25%]
[Brain: 1 biomass to increase brain function by 25%]
[Mandibles: 1 biomass to increase mandible hardness and sharpness]
[Ears: 2 biomass to gain a special membrane on your legs that allows you to hear (similar to that of cricket)]
[Molt: 3 biomass to molt. 2x increase in size, 100% healing of all wounds, and 1 new segment added to your body]
Looking at the evolutions now available to me, I felt a warmness settle within my chest. Previously, I was worried that it would take years for me to grow into a full-sized centipede, but if I could molt using biomass, then the time it would take would be exponentially faster.
Not only that but it will also increase my defense. With a high defense and an exoskeletal, I'll be like a freakin' tank! I won't have to worry about predators while I gain more skills and level up.
All the other evolutions were great, but by far, this one was the best!
While molting, my body would be completely vulnerable, but if I stayed inside this empty eggshell for the time being, I should be safe. After molting, I would be left with 2 biomass.
It would be wise to save them in case I needed them later, but there was something else that caught my attention…
[1 biomass spent! Congratulations, brain function has increased by 25%]
Not being able to multitask and do other basic functions manually was just too limiting. Immediately as the points were spent, I could feel a warm sensation envelop my head. The sensation was strangely addictive, but it was gone after a few seconds.
Now that I had higher brain function, I tried to walk while coordinating all 30 of my legs. Immediately, the change was evident. It was now much easier to walk, even while inside an eggshell.
I then tried to walk while focusing on different functions, like moving my forcipules. I also tried moving specific legs and moving backwards.
[Skitter now at level 4]
-New Skills Acquired-
[Lv 1 Divided Consciousness: Allows you to split consciousness in order to carry out multiple tasks at once tasks. At level 1, user has only 2 consciousnesses]
Reading through the description of my new skill, I couldn't help but feel even more excited. Splitting my mind to carry out different tasks at once would be extremely useful. I could have one consciousness focus on fighting while the other focused on movement.
And as this skill levels up, I'll only gain more consciousnesses. Gaining this new skill basically confirmed my first hypothesis: evolving my body will allow me to do more things, hence gaining skills from the things I could do.
Activating my new skill, I used one consciousness to focus on skittering about and the other to do whatever else I pleased. It worked perfectly.
Having tested out my new skill, it was now time for my second evolution.
[3 biomass spent! Congratulations, 2x increase in size, 100% healing of all wounds, and 1 new segment has been added to your body]
[Strength 1->5]
[Defense 1->3]