Chapter 9

More than a week has passed since the incident with the frog. The frog managed to run all the way to the Tall Grass forest. Thankfully, his time in the Tall Grass forest wasn't without use. Zack had already explored a major portion of these lands. Navigation was a breeze but first, he needed to eat.

Zack quickly consumed the frog until all that remained was the undesirable parts of the beast. Zack may be a mantis, but he liked to think of himself as a civilized mantis. Eating a creature larger than himself should've been a troublesome task, but Zack had done it quite easily. Zack's special digestion applied only to dead creatures. He learned plant matter and dirt were unaffected the hard way.

Having his fill Zack began the trek back to the Flower Forest. On the way Zack stopped by the grass hut he had built during his time in the Tall Grass forest. The sun had started to set, and a small base of refuge was much better than sleeping out in the open. The familiar molting sensation appeared before Zack fell asleep. The night passed by without any significance.

Tiny sun rays filtered through the small openings of the grass roof, awakening Zack. Flakes of dried blood fell off as Zack extracted himself from his shed exoskeleton. A portion of his leg and antennae regrew. Although it was likely to completely regrow even after reaching adulthood. But evolving healed any permanent injuries, so it didn't matter much. Zack's eyes skimmed over his status panel while his antennae fluttered with joy.

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Name: Zack Huntt

Species: Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)

Age: 1 Month, 15 Days old

Lifespan: 2~ Year

Lifecycle: Nymph

Size: 71 mm

Prayers Collected: 112 Prayers

Biomass Collected: 83 Biomass

Abilities: Flowery Aroma, Mimic Flora

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70 mm or 7 cm in size, Zack was now bigger than the frog. The biomass the frog had provided was immense. Zack concluded it was the size difference. If hunting creatures smaller than himself gave less biomass then it only made sense the opposite was true. Zack had recently been feeling his current pace of growth was not enough.

But, if his guess was correct then speed-running through multiple evolutions at an insane pace might just be possible. All he needed to do was to hunt above his own size class. Easier said than done, of course. However, it was doable. Zack was going to hunt those bigger than himself.

The return back to Flower Forest was uneventful, but Zack kept his eyes out. Actively hunting bigger targets required planning as he needed to determine who to hunt. Too big and he would get himself killed. Not big enough then the risk was not worth the biomass. Since this was a hunt he didn't even need to play fairly. In fact, playing unfairly was encouraged. Zack stewed in his thoughts trying to come up with ideas.

Killing prey in their sleep might be the best possible outcome. But that was unlikely to happen. Bigger creatures that made it to adulthood usually had good survival instincts that allowed them to live for so long. They likely deal with many nightly visitors regularly. Zack crossed that idea off and tried to think of something else. The sight of a shadow and the flapping of wings caused Zack to freeze. Activating his Mimic Flora, Zack waited for the bird to pass. The silhouette of the bird shrunk until it was no longer visible.

Suddenly a burst of inspiration smacked Zack like a ton of bricks. Perhaps, Zack didn't need to be a nightly visitor. Instead, he could be an unsuspecting roommate. Zack clicked his mandibles laughing as he expanded on the devious plan. First, he needed to get back to the Flower Forest. The key for this plan to succeed was information.

Zack returned back to one of his makeshift bases in the Flower Forest and hunted a few ants to eat. The ants didn't even amass to a single point of biomass. Zack began the scouting process and his target, a bird's nest. Small birds were best since even the smallest were around 100 mm in size. Zack spent a few days scouting and collecting prayers. While the ants were a useless source of Biomass they still worked wonders for Prayers. On day 4, Zack had found a suitable target.

A small bird flew to its nest and rested after collecting some fresh grass. The bird had collected the grass to supplement the twigs and sticks in its nest. Zack had made sure to eat a lot of ants before enacting his plan. Once all was set and the bird was away, Zack climbed the tree. The bird periodically returned usually towards the end of the day. The target was a bird roughly 120 mm in size caring for a clutch of eggs. Zack could've targeted a smaller bird, but most of them had a partner, unlike this one. It did not need to be said that having to deal with one big bird was better than two birds only slightly smaller.

Zack reached the branch where the nest was and moved slowly. While his vision as a mantis hadn't failed Zack yet, he believed a bird's vision would easily outcompete his own. Zack traveled at a snail's pace and kept Mimic Flora constantly active. Once he was just beside the nest Zack relaxed, but he didn't disable Mimic Flora. The plan Zack thought up required that the bird get used to his presence. More accurately, the presence of a whitish-pink mushroom growing beside the nest. Now, he waited but not for long as the homeowner made its return known.

A small bird, big from Zack's perspective landed on a branch. It wasn't on Zack's side of the branch but on the other side of the nest. The bird hopped over to its nest and looked out for any predators. Other than a new mushroom that sprouted, it was safe. It inspected the eggs before sitting on them. The first stage of the plan is completed!

A day passed and the bird flew off to eat in the morning. Zack wondered in boredom if the saying 'Early bird gets the worm' applied to this particular bird. Zack kept his Mimic Flora ability active, but it was a little tiring. Luckily, the motionless state Zack found himself in contributed to keeping the stamina consumption to a minimum. Hours of waiting left much to be desired but Zack held on. Impatience wouldn't help anyone, especially himself.

The bird had returned as Zack grew bored out of his mind. It took Zack's all to hold back from killing the bird at that moment. All for one key reason, the bird looked spooked. It was alert and wary, constantly scanning its surroundings. The bird must've encountered a predator and escaped the jaws of death. This left Zack in a lurch. If he attacked now it was likely that the bird could react fast enough and escape. But, another day of nothing wasn't going to be fun. Zack decided to wait another day. Zack had already spent multiple days on this bird and was unwilling to leave empty-handed.

The moon rose and night occurred. True to Zack's suspicions, the bird had woken up occasionally during the night on edge. Whatever spooked it hadn't put in a half-assed effort, but that was all the worse for Zack. Zack needed the bird calm and relaxed if he wanted a decent chance of securing the kill. That night he took a risk, Zack activated Flowery Aroma and emitted the smell of one from the Flower Forest. At first, the bird looked ready to book it after smelling the unexpected aroma. But it soon calmed down and fell asleep when it noticed nothing was alarming in the area. Zack too fell asleep, hopeful that in the morning the bird would calm down.

Be it due to Zack or just time passing, the bird was noticeably less jumpy in the morning. When it left, Zack decided tonight was when it would die. Whether it was jumpy or not, he had spent too long on this bird. While it was one of the most suitable to hunt there were still other birds. Only they were bigger or had their nests in unfavorable locations.

Zack stewed in his thoughts that day as he waited for the bird's return. Soon it was already dusk and the bird had yet to return. Minutes ticked in Zack's mind until a whole hour had passed. Whatever hope Zack had left dashed away. Until the familiar flapping of wings sounded, the bird had returned. It was but in seemly good health. Zack breathed a sigh of relief feeling great that all of that time wasn't wasted for nothing.

The crescent moon hung tall in the night sky. The critters of the night were active and those of the day slept. Except for one, Zack spied on the sleeping bird from the corner of his eyes. The bird typically awoke for a minute every few hours or so. After that, it would fall asleep when it believed no predators were nearby. It was that moment when the bird believed it was safe that Zack was waiting for. He didn't need to wait for long, the bird woke. It went through the motions without change until it fell back asleep. A dozen minutes passed as Zack needed to ensure it was truly asleep before acting.

Pulling on one of his legs Zack stiffly moved into the nest. The days of stillness weren't the best for his joints but Zack continued. He was so close to finishing what was started. Zack wouldn't be stopped. Zack stood over the sleeping bird when a thought crossed his mind. He had changed.

Before all of this Zack would've never believed he would kill another creature in cold blood. To hunt and satiate his hunger Zack believed to be okay. But actively hunting another creature just to grow faster? Never in a million years. Although he did the same to the Ant Queen that was different. He had a vengeance to fulfill back then. This bird however has caused him no issues. It was so full of emotion that Zack couldn't help but sympathize with it on occasion. It was like a human, Zack stopped the flood of emotional thoughts.

Humans weren't always good. Zack remembered the great number of evil deeds Humanity had caused. Many died, so many for stupid reasons. Reasons that were often acted in the moment, driven by emotions. Why would this bird be any different? It hunted and killed to eat. If it saw Zack it wouldn't hesitate to kill him. The lessons he learned as a mantis weren't forgotten. If a creature could eat him they would at least try. This bird was no different.

Zack stabbed his sickles into the sleeping bird. The wings of the bird bled profusely as it awoke in shock. A predator had ambushed it and the bird wished to escape immediately. The bird prepared to fly, but its wings wouldn't listen. The joints and nerves of the bird's wings were too damaged, it couldn't fly. Zack capitalized on that moment of panic. Two claws latched onto the bird's neck as his mandibles sunk past its feathers. It struggled, but Zack's grasp was too strong. Its struggle slowed until it couldn't no longer, the bird had died.