Chapter 2

Zack dragged the nymph's corpse with his claws. A short distance away from the bush where the egg hatched was a tree. Or what he assumed was a tree, he honestly couldn't tell as the thing was taller than his perception. Zack found a nice crevice in the roots and snuggled into it with his food. Finally, in a safe place, Zack checked his attribute panel to see what had happened.

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Name: Zack Huntt

Species: Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis)

Age: 1 Day old

Lifespan: 1~ Year

Lifecycle: Nymph

Size: 6 mm

Prayers Collected: 2 Prayers

Biomass Collected: 2 Biomass

Abilities: None

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It seemed his biomass and prayers increased. Curious, Zack tried to mentally touch the two stats.

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Ding! Insufficient Biomass Collected! Requirements For Evolution, Unfulfilled!

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Ding! Insufficient Prayers Collected!

Requirements For Boosting Evolution, Unfulfilled!

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That answered many questions, yet created possibly even more. Like what did Evolution entail exactly and how much biomass is needed? What benefits came with boosting the evolution as well? Whatever the answers were, Zack did not know as the damn panel kept repeating the same phrase no matter what he tried.

Tired and frustrated Zack decided to eat his meal before calling it a night. Or at least what he believed to be night as his sense of vision got a lot worse. However, his body was much more alert in his other senses like hearing or using his antenna to smell.

Consuming the dead nymph was disgusting, but he needed to eat. Hopefully, it won't take long to reach the requirements for evolution. Sleep overtook him, but it was light and he was to some degree alert despite being asleep.

Zack awoke, it was day. Zack guessed at some point during the night he fell asleep. A slight itchiness and tight feeling cocooned him. The exoskeleton armor on him separated as Zack wiggled. He was molting, it must've occurred at some point at night.

Excavating himself out of his old exoskeleton was a little challenging. But with a little finesse and smart thinking, it went by without issue. Zack noticed the bite wound on his shoulder had healed after the molt.

He was now 2 days old and 8 mm in size. Even after the increase in size, Zack continued to hide in between the roots. One more night passed, and all Zack did was watch the surroundings for any bugs. But Zack realized that it wasn't beneficial to wait around like this. His stomach was growing in hunger and his energy levels took a slight dip. The molting required energy and he felt it.

For the entire day, it felt like watching paint dry, but any lapse of attention could be life-threatening. Zack didn't want to face a bigger bug that would scoop him up in an instant. This boredom and terror was a ghastly combination.

Zack knew the only way to avoid that fate was to get bigger. So when the morning came he set forth for unexplored lands. The forest floor was covered in dead leaves, but to Zack, they were like giant platforms. However, he didn't dare explore the beneath the leaves.

Being so out in the open was scary, luckily he found some flowers. Flowers that were ginormous in size. It was almost like walking into a forest, except it was flowers. Zack noticed a lot of bugs about half his size attached to the stems of the flowers. They secreted a shiny liquid from their rear ends.

Zack didn't pay the unusual seen any mind, all he knew was that food had appeared. He hadn't noticed earlier but his hunger felt like his stomach could corrode itself open. Zack climbed the stem and hid on the opposite side. In a swift motion, he hooked the tip of his claws into one of the unsuspecting aphids.

Before he knew it, Zack had consumed the aphid within minutes. The biomass that accompanied his feast reminded him to pray. The sweet liquid honeydew the aphid secreted was a bonus to the entire meal, like a meal and drink combo.

Despite knowing how disturbing it was to adapt this quickly, Zack knew he needed to survive. So even if it felt like he was slowly losing his sanity, none of it mattered. He wished to survive and that is what he will do.

Refilled and revitalized Zack explored the Flower Forest as he dubbed it. He was searching for a proper spot to camp out in. A nice crevice between some rocks, a small hole in the ground, really anything that could hide his form. The stems were chock-full of aphids, most were difficult to reach. But for the few that stuck too low to the ground, Zack didn't mind supporting Darwinism.

Keeping true to his word on his search, Zack spotted an aphid who kept too close to the ground. As Zack stealthily approached the aphid, almost hugging the ground in the process. Then out of the corner of his eyes, he saw it.

An indistinct blur shot through the air at high speeds in his direction. The thing crashed into the unsuspecting aphid. The vibrations shook the earth they stood on. Finally, Zack got a good look at it.

It was a spider, a jumping spider. Roughly 10 mm in size and it was ripping apart the aphid with its mouth. The occupied arachnid finally noticed Zack. For some reason, Zack thought he saw a glimpse of intelligence in its many eyes. The two creatures stood still, and a tense standoff occurred.

They were about the same size, it didn't calm Zack's nerves. It was like staring down a wolf as if you wouldn't be terrified if you were roughly the same size. However, Zack's mind whirled in distress. The initial display of speed had him terrified. He didn't know if he could escape, or attempt to attack the beast. His indecision had inadvertently created the standoff.

The spider didn't seem to care for Zack's distress though as it approached one step at a time. Its gaze was curious, almost cute even if it didn't have a mutilated aphid in its mouth. Zack hesitantly decided he would fight but he wanted to be the first to strike.

Time slowed to a crawl as Zack anticipated the exact moment the creature was in striking range. He was going to puncture the eye and go straight for the kill. The arachnid's foot planted itself to the ground and reached another forward.

Now! Zack pushed his four legs to max power and brought both his claws down to the beast's head. By some miracle, the spider reacted in time and jumped back. But it was not enough, half its eyes were slashed. Distracted, Zack thought he saw anger pour through its remaining eyes.

Shaking his head, Zack knew he had to refocus on the fight and strike while the iron was hot. Zack dashed to the right into the blind spot he just created. The right eyes were decimated while the left remained unharmed. The spider turned when necessary never letting Zack out of its sight.

The beast raised its two front legs and screeched in an attempt of intimidation. But Zack remained undeterred, he knew he had the advantage. The spider's speed was dangerous, but Zack knew he had made the right choice. The spider would've gotten him if he had turned and tried running away.

Zack struck as the spider held its two front legs in the air. It was an opening he wouldn't miss. A sickle managed to cut a leg and the other struck the spider's body.

In a split-second decision, Zack climbed the spider back. Zack was sure most creatures couldn't defend themselves from things that get on their back, bar scorpions or such creatures. So Zack took advantage of that, and with his sickle-like claws, he embedded them into the spider's abdomen. The spider's reaction was to tumble on the floor. The unexpected action caught Zack off guard as he was lodged off.

The battle was still in his favor though, he had minimal injuries. The spider lost half its vision, had nasty cuts on its back, and lost a forelimb.

Zack was confident of winning until something crashed into him. The spider bull rushed him at speed he couldn't react. It slammed into him, and the spider jaws clamped onto his lead leg. Luckily his main weapons, his sickles weren't impeded.

Panic set in as a flux of pain shocked him. Then he could no longer feel his leg, it was chomped off. Zack didn't hesitate to retaliate with his own mandibles. The spider gave him clear access to its head. Whatever hesitation he had previously vanished like smoke in the wind. It was a battle to the death and Zack was intent on surviving.

The scuffle devolved to the ground as they tumbled against the other, unyielding in their attacks. Finally, the jumping spider went limp. From atop the beast, an injured mantis inspected his kill.

The neck to the head of the spider was mutilated beyond belief. The carapace held the head to the body, but what was in between was mush. Nothing could've save the spider from demise. With a weary body, Zack prayed to the beast. He prayed as a means of thanks to the beast. A prayer for teaching him a valuable lesson. Sometimes, retreating was not an option and so all that remained was to advance. To advance or die trying.