The Free Method

System spotted thousands of ants under some viny plants. They looked exactly like the ants that he had eaten in the morning. They were probably from the same ant nest.

It seemed like the storm a few days earlier had not done significant damage to those ants.

System closed in so that he could see clearer with his compound eyes. The ants were dismembering a lizard's body lying in a patch of dry leaves.

The lizard had most likely drowned due to the heavy rain. Its body was slowly torn in tiny pieces and transported back to the ant nest.

A brilliant idea popped up in System's mind. He would get food for free with that method!

System had a very keen sense of observation due to his [Information Reading], but his sense of smell was nowhere near the ants.

The ants could easily spot food that was hidden in mud and leaves after the heavy rain. As long as he kept track of the ants' movements, he could snatch the food they found.

If the food was just a small piece, he could lure the ants away first and scudded away with the food. If the food was big, like the body of a lizard, System could snatch the food from the worker ants!

…

After much consideration, System executed his plan. He picked an ant on the edge of the group and leaped forward.

It was not the first time he was attacking ants, and he was very familiar with it. System realized that grasshoppers had much better reflexes compared to humans. He could even predict the next movement of the ant!

He snatched the food easily from the worker ant and kicked it away with his hind legs before quickly jumping away.

Although ants were powerful and could lift items that were multiple times heavier than themselves, they seldom did it.

The food System robbed was slightly smaller than the size of the ant, so he started eating quickly.

The meat tasted like a milk cookie. It was not bad, but its taste was a far cry from a pupa.

However, System noted that the piece he was eating increased the EXP bar two times more than a pupa!

After a few more bites, he realized the reason behind the abnormal EXP gain. He could maximize his level before his life ended if he kept eating this food.

"Could reptiles have a higher maxed level? Damn, I should have snatched some tadpoles in the morning and analyzed this hypothesis."

System ate another bite of the meat and observed the EXP bar's change. Although the EXP increase was high, he threw the food away after seeing that his [Molting Growth] was not increasing further.

System's priority was to increase his [Moulting Growth]!

He tailed after the ants and found a tiny sand hill about half a meter in height. It was the black ants' nest!

It was a huge nest and could easily hold a few hundred thousands of ants, but they might have suffered from the heavy rain a few days ago.

The ants were very busy, and System spotted some large, about 4cm long, ants. They were most likely the soldier ants guarding the nest.

These soldier ants had gigantic heads that were about half of their body. Their mandibles were so huge that System believed they could easily tear his stomach open and break his hind legs.

Not only that, but those soldier ants also had a special abdomen. System noticed that there was a stinger on them. It produced some liquid that would guide the movement of the regular worker ants.

System had no intention to fight with these huge mandibles and stingers. If he fell in the crowd of ants, System would be instakilled.

System continued to follow the ants' path and observed the movement area and range of their hunting grounds.

In a short while, System managed to snatch the body of a small tadpole.

Although the heavy rain had damaged the forest, there was plenty of food like tadpoles when the rainwater level subsided.

Normally, the tadpoles would be hidden under mud, and it was challenging for System to spot them with his eyes. Thus, snatching them from the ants was much easier.

The tadpole's taste was similar to the lizard meat. Both of them tasted like creamy cookies.

Unlike the lizard meat, the tadpole gave more logical EXP that was lower than the pupa.

Lizards were reptiles, and tadpoles were amphibians. They were very similar in terms of genetics, so the hypothesis he had just now was wrong.

System was right about the growth provided from the food being proportional to its taste. There must be something special about the lizard he had consumed previously.

System decided to focus on the food for now.

Tadpoles could not evolve like insects, but their meat was very effective in boosting his [Molting Growth]. It was even better than ants and lizards.

The natural world was really filled with many wonders.

…

System scouted around the ant nest. He found a place to rest for the night and checked on the ants to see if he could snatch more food.

System found a tree hole in a dried tree trunk not far from the nest. In the end, he passed on this location because it was too near to the nest, and ants were wandering outside the hole.

System could not find a suitable location for before the sun set, but he did manage to snatch a few more tadpoles. They would be his night snacks.

By dusk, System had made some new discoveries.

The ants had found the dead body of a 20cm scorpion hidden under the rocks. It was beneficial for System!

The scorpion was black and slightly decolorized by the rainwater. Its body was trapped between the rocks and covered in dirt.

The ants had yet to identify the scorpion fully. Dozens of them were looking around and checking on the scorpion. If it could be eaten, they would leave a scent, and thousands of ants would gather to bring the food back to the nest.

Soon, an idea popped in System's mind, and he found a way to have the scorpion all to himself.

He lured the ants away and used his [Corrosive Slime] to draw a circle around them.

The ants were trapped!