With the exoskeleton on its legs now hardened, the centipede could move briskly towards me. The air current from its movements assaulted my antennae, and my legs could feel the small vibrations from its movements. It was a strange sensation, but one I had to get used to.
Wasting no more time, I struggled back to the egg and crawled back in where I came from. Without an exoskeleton, my body was soft, almost liquid-like, allowing me to easily slip back into the hole.
Phew, that was close!
The centipede that was chasing me stuck its forcipules inside the hole. These were pincer-like front legs that they use to inject venom into their prey. Their venom is strong enough to destroy their prey's nervous system and stop their heart.
Some centipedes had venoms that were 3 times more toxic than that a rattlesnake's. Though since it was only a small insect, it couldn't produce enough venom to kill a grown human but for a newborn like me, I would be dead instantly. I had to be careful.
Getting bitten by one was often described as feeling as if molten lava was flowing through your veins.
Unable to catch me, the centipede soon left and turned its attention back to easier prey, which were my other siblings whose exoskeletons hadn't hardened yet. Peeking through the hole, I witnessed the brutal scene of the centipedes eating each other.
This really sucks. If my siblings aren't the ones to get me, then there are other predators lurking nearby. All it takes is for a bird or a frog to spot me, and it's over. It takes years for a centipede to grow enough to be able to hunt larger animals.
And when I say larger animals, I mean lizards. Never mind magic beasts.
My chances of being accepted into a guild are practically zero. Centipedes don't grow like most other animals. They have to shed their skin, making them completely vulnerable in the process until their new exoskeleton hardens.
They continue this process of molting for years until they reach adulthood. Needless to say, I didn't have years. While I toiled over my pitiful existence, my body finally hardened.
-New Skills Acquired-
[Lv. 1 Pinch: Allows you to use your forcipules to pinch your prey]
[Lv. 1 Venom: Venom that is released from your forcipules. Depending on the prey, this venom can lead to death or affect status.]
Skills?
I'm guessing different changes in my body will allow me to gain certain skills. My forcipules had now hardened allowing me to pinch prey and inject venom.
Most of my siblings had been eaten and the others had started moving away to find more food.
Using my forcipules, I created an even bigger hole in the eggshell, allowing me to exit. With god knows how many legs, movements were hard. Trying to move and control all of them at once was mentally exhausting.
I kept tripping over my own legs. While looking at the rest of my siblings going about their business, I realized that they were experiencing the same thing too. There was zero coordination between my legs. It was as if my small brain could only focus on running, so multitasking was basically impossible. This made me the perfect prey.
-New Skill Acquired-
[Lv. 1 Skitter: Allows you to move across solid surfaces.]
So it's not only when I acquire new body parts; when I use them in certain ways, I gain skills too. I'm also guessing that I can level up these skills with skill points and through natural use.
I needed to find somewhere safe, and fast. Thinking this, I turned my gaze to the sky. There was a massive structure in front of me. I could hardly make out what it was. If I had to guess, I would say it was a tree. Our eggs probably had hatched underneath one of its roots.
Suddenly, an idea began to form in my mind.
This might be the perfect place for me to hide.
I didn't like the idea of being out in the open, and staying in a tree could act as the perfect camouflage.
With my mind made up, I skittered towards the tree and stuck the points of my feet into the bark. I hardly knew how to walk, and climbing was ten times worse, but as long as I took it slow, I should be fine.
[Skitter now at level 2]
I climbed for hours and yet was not even a quarter of the way up the tree. I hadn't even passed the first branch. Not to mention, the falling leaves were a hazard! If hit by one, I could easily fall off.
While climbing the tree, I had to clear my head of all thoughts so that I could concentrate on controlling all my legs at once. But then I noticed something when my antennae rubbed against the tree. It was a strange sensation that felt almost as if I was tasting the tree.
I could feel a plethora of information flowing into my brain just from the tree coming into contact with my antennae but I tried my best not to focus on them.
Some of the information I got was about the tree itself and about animals like lizards and ants that also climbed the tree. Not only could I taste the tree, but my antennae allowed me to smell too.
These antennae were amazing. Suddenly, not having clear vision didn't seem that bad and not having any hearing did matter either since my legs and antennae were working together in harmony to pick up on even the slightest vibrations.
It was when I was finally near the first branch that I realized something.
I was in a completely vulnerable position. If a bird were to see me, I would be easy prey. Giving it some more thought, it would've been better if I had found a hollow tree and climbed it from the inside instead. Never mind, what if there was a cockroach.
Dammit, everywhere is dangerous.
[Skitter now at level 3]
After a few more hours, I was finally halfway up the tree. I decided to stop and rest on one of the branches.
Even though I was up the tree, I was still in the open. There were not enough leaves to cover my presence, so I decided to skitter to the far end of the branch where there were more leaves.
Settling into the cluster of leaves, I finally felt a sense of relief. I was ready to curl up into a ball and sleep, but then I noticed something. My vision was blurry as usual, but if I was correct in what I thought I saw, then it could change things completely.
Cautiously, I moved forward until my body finally touched something soft. It definitely wasn't a leaf. I strained my vision as much as I could to try and recognize what I was seeing, but I still couldn't see it clearly.
This prompted me to move even closer. My body was skittering over something soft, and I could feel rustling beneath my feet.
This can't be.
When the realization finally came, it felt as if something had gripped my heart.
I was inside a bird nest?!