"CRACK"
The rock split apart with a deep cracking sound, echoing through the quiet forest. Pieces tumbled to the ground, and dust rose into the air. The beetle—still nameless—stared at the shattered stone, his mandibles twitching in disbelief.
"...whoa...it broke?...i actually broke it?"
For a moment, he just stood there, stunned. His tackle had left a shallow crater where the boulder used to rest. The system panel flickered again in front of him.
[Tackle Lv.1 → Lv.2]
Damage: +5 | Cooldown: -2 minutes
"So it can level up!?" he thought, his excitement bubbling up. "Then that means… I can actually get stronger?"
The idea sent a thrill through him. A bug getting stronger like an RPG character? That was absurd—and yet, here it was happening. He felt a strange sense of pride; even if he was no longer human, maybe being a beetle wasn't so bad after all.
the idea was weird enough he was reincarnated in another world with a system.
"That would make a cool title for a fantasy novel" he thought as he looked at the now destroyed rock.
he had nothing else to do for the time being, so he thought of doing the system's little errand.
then came the thought to him.
"Where the hell would i even find foes to slay?".
even if he did, he wasn't sure he could win.
but then just as he thought of that
Rustle.
A sound came from behind a patch of ferns.
He froze. His antennae twitched instinctively, catching faint vibrations. Something was moving—slow, cautious, predatory. He lowered his body and crept closer, using his front horns to gently push aside the leaves.
Through his pixelated compound eyes, he saw it.
A spider.
Huge—easily the size of a dog from his new perspective, its eight eyes glinting with hunger.
"Oh great…" he muttered internally. "Of course it had to be a spider."
The panel blinked again.
[Appraisal Activated Automatically]
Target: Giant Forest Spider (Juvenile)
Tier: F+
HP: 100/100
Skills: Web Shot, Bite
Weakness: Fire
"So, it's stronger than me…" he thought, his body tensing. The spider turned its head slightly, spotting him. Its fangs clicked, and silk began to drip from its mouth.
"And of course it had to be a spider i mean what else would be the enemy of a bug" he thought the idea of having to fight a spider on day one wasn't a very appealing idea.
and on top of that it was stronger than him.
"no" he thought "if i want to survive i have to get stronger" he took his resolve.
"And if i wanted to survive i need to have to defeat this spider".
He planted his six legs firmly, his horns lowering into position.
"Alright then, bug versus bug… well, technically spiders aren't even insects."
he shook his head dismissing the thought "there is no time for biology right now".
"You want a fight? bring it on!".
The spider launched a strand of sticky silk toward him.
He dodged to the side, feeling it brush against his wing. The moment it hit the tree behind him, it hardened instantly.
this is bad he never been in a fight in his life as a human now he had to fight as a bug which hypothetically speaking was even worst.
"That would've trapped me for sure," he thought, sweating—or whatever beetles do instead of sweating.
He didn't wait for a second shot. He dashed forward, activating his skill.
[Tackle Lv.2 Activated]
He shot forward like a black bullet, his horns colliding with the spider's abdomen. A loud crunch echoed, and the spider stumbled back, screeching. A red -15 flashed above its body.
But the spider was still far from dead. It lunged, fangs first. He barely managed to block with his side horns, sparks flying as chitin scraped against chitin. His HP bar flickered slightly.
[HP: 72/80]
The two creatures wrestled, legs and horns locking, pushing for dominance. He could feel his exoskeleton straining, the spider's sticky web wrapping around his front legs.
"Come on… move, move—!"
He forced his wings open, blasting air and loosening the silk. He saw a brief opening.
"Now!"
He rammed forward again, this time under the spider's body, flipping it over. The spider let out one last shriek before collapsing, its HP bar hitting zero.
[Enemy Defeated!]
Quest Progress: 1/3
EXP Gained: 50
He stood there, panting, staring at the corpse of his first kill.
"Well, that wasn't so bad after all...".
"…That was… terrifying to say the least but not that bad," he muttered. "But kind of awesome."
The forest went quiet again. A faint breeze brushed through the trees, and sunlight filtered through the canopy, making his red-tinted exoskeleton gleam.
The system chimed again.
[New Skill Unlocked: Absorb Essence]
– Gain a small amount of stats from defeated enemies.
he then started running around full with tears of joys---if bugs can even shed tears in the first place.
Rustle.
A sound came from behind a patch of ferns.
He froze. His antennae twitched instinctively.
He blinked. "…Wait, what?"
Slowly, he turned toward the sound. The leaves parted, and what he saw next made his tiny insect heart nearly stop.
humans.
A group of them—six in total. Some clad in worn leather and metal armor, others dressed in cloaks and robes, carrying weapons that gleamed faintly under the forest light.
They stared at him with wide eyes, completely frozen. They'd seen everything — the entire fight.
both parties stared at each other.
The beetle tilted his head slightly, confused.
Why were they looking at him like that?
Then it hit him—they had seen it.
The whole fight.
From the moment he charged the spider to the final tackle that crushed it, every movement, every impact—they had watched everything.
"Ah… crap."
If they'd seen all that, then to them… he wasn't just a bug. He was something else...