Epic of Mantis

My name is Shawe. I'm a sophomore attending Gator Tail Highschool. I had a few friends, but I never felt a connection. My mom died a little over 5 years ago, and I've hated my life ever since. My grandma, who took care of me, was a total jerk all the time, and she even tried to gaslight me into thinking that I was the rude one just because she bought me stuff. So, halfway through the school year, I decided I didn't want to deal with the stress of simply existing, and I went to the bathroom, tied my belt on the highest beam in the largest stall, and hung myself right there. My vision faded to black, and I finally felt happy.

[Congratulations, Shawe, for receiving your Epic! System Administrator ####### has granted you this system, as well as a Starter Quest! You have a message from the Administrator in your inbox. Would you like to read it?]

"Ugh. What's that ringing in my ears.. probably just my tinnitus acting up again. Where even am I? Why… why am I in a forest? What the.. umpf-"

I try to walk forward, but I stumbled over my legs. Looking at them, I freaked out pretty bad. To be fair, there were four more than I'm used to, and they were all super skinny and green. Anybody would freak out if they saw that, right? I look at my legs once again, then I look at my arms. It finally sinks in that I'm not standing in a grassy plain, I'm on a big leaf. I got reincarnated as a Praying Mantis. What bullshit

[You have a message from the System Administrator. Would you like to read it?]

Ahh. Here it is. This is standard! I got a system alongside my reincarnation! I nod my head, waiting to see what this 'Administrator' has to say to me.

[Hello my child. As you have noticed, you are no longer human. I have brought you here, as this is the most suitable path for you. You have 3 Trials you must complete if you wish to survive here. View the Quest given to you by the system.]

[Quest: Trials of #######

Trial 1: Become familiar with your new body (16%)

Trial 2: Kill your first enemy (0/1)

Trial 3: Consume all of your kill, without having it get stolen (0/1)

You have 3 Days to complete these Trials. Failure will result in punishment.]

"Oh… what the shit? Trials?? I'm not like Hercules or something, fuck you mean 'Trials?' Gods damn it all, I guess I might as well. Familiarize myself with my body, huh? I guess that means just move around until it feels natural?"

And so, I walked around for around two hours, until I could do everything like a natural. Hell, I can cut through these leaves with ease! I heard a loud ring, and the System panel showed that I had finished the First Trial.

[Trial 1 Complete. Additional: Completed within 3 hours, additional rewards granted. Would you like them now, or would you like to receive them after the Trials end? (Waiting will provide a substantially more beneficial rewards)

Time remaining: 76:36]

"Hmm.. better rewards? Alright, I'll wait. Now, I gotta make my kill! Let's a-go!"

And so I began walking. After around 30 minutes, I came across a caterpillar. It was small and green, with red circles on each little segment of its body. I prepared myself, before launching at the unsuspecting bug. Before my mantis blades made contact, it disappeared. I looked around and saw it crawling away a few inches behind me. Man, it was fast! I ran at it and swung again. This time, I cut off a few of its segments. I turn around, looking for where the little guy went. A little to my right now, I swung again, nailing it in the head. It was slower now because of its injuries, so it was much easier. Once again, the system rang.

[Trial 2 Completed. Additional: Completed within 2 Days. Completed within 1 Day. Completed within 6 Hours. Completed within 4 Hours, additional rewards granted. Would you like to take them now, or would you like to wait until the completion of the Trials?]

"I'd like to wait! Awh man, that was easy! I thought reincarnating was supposed to be hard!"

I approached the corpse of the caterpillar. It was disgusting. But, well. I needed to do it for the Trials, so…

CRUNCH!

I bit into the corpse. It was chewy. Actually, it tasted really good, like, really good. I ate the whole thing, and it tasted heavenly. Honestly, caterpillar might be my new favorite food. Wait, I didn't actually just say that, did I?

[Trial 3 completed. Congratulations! Additional: Completed within 4 hours. Time remaining: 74:56. Additional rewards will be granted. Additional rewards due to patience will now also be given.]

[I applaud you, my child. You have exceeded my expectations, and I am proud. I will give you your rewards, and I wish you well. Soon, you will experience something that I pity you deeply for. I cannot directly interfere, however you will surely overcome this challenge. Should you succeed, I will reward you with something quite special. If you do not, then you will die. I wish you well, my son. Good luck.]

"Awwh, that's so sweet Mr. Admin! Thank you, I'll ice that shit with one hand- or, blade, I guess. Haha."

[New items received: 8 Skills, 4 Items.

Skills: Steel Belly, Adaptive Exoskeleton, Silk-weaver's Thread, Sight of the Huntress, Venom Secretion, Predatory Reflexes, Colossus Breaker, Tactical Analysis.

Items: Vorpal Mantis Blades, Praying Mantle of Adaptation, Mantis Queen's Choker, Echoing Blades Add-on.]

"Huh? What are these? Can I see their descriptions or benefits or something? I mean come on, I don't know what half of these do!"

[Approved. Descriptions are as follows.

Iron Belly: Allows the user to consume any creature and receive benefits proportional to the amount consumed.

Adaptive Exoskeleton: Allows the user to control the density, strength, coverage, and other aspects of their exoskeleton, allowing them to defend from attacks, sharpen their exoskeleton, or lighten themselves to move more quickly.

Silk-weaver's Thread: Gives the user the ability to create threads, with total control of their thickness, strength, length, and stickiness. They can use these as weapons or to build structures.

Sight of the Huntress: Allows the user to see through illusions, identify magic traps or spells, along with a myriad of other abilities.

Venom Secretion: The user can secrete a toxin from their exoskeleton. This can be used to inflict damage to enemies, or to blind them. The user can control the toxicity.

Predatory Reflexes: The user can anticipate and react to environmental stimuli within milliseconds of their occurrence. This means they can easily dodge attacks or anticipate their opponents' actions.

Colossus Breaker: This skill lets the user find weak points and vulnerabilities in their enemies, allowing them to end fights with opponents without much effort. 

Tactical Analysis: Allows the user to quickly assess and analyze their surroundings, and to quickly determine the best course of action for their benefit.

Vorpal Mantis Blades: These blades are meant to attach to those present on a mantis, fusing with them. These attachments, after fusion, can be reshaped into arms, blades, clubs, or any other shape the user can imagine. They cannot, however, lose or gain mass.

Praying Mantle of Adaptation: This harness can adapt the user's genetics to allow survival in extreme weather and other biohazardous conditions.

Mantis Queen's Choker: This accessory strengthens the user, allowing for more devastating attacks, as well as strengthening their ability to latch onto an opponent.

Echoing Blades Add-on: These vents can attach to the Vorpal Mantis Blades, creating distortions in the air, which cause after-images of attacks. These can disorient opponents, and possibly cause additional damage.]

I was speechless. What the hell kind of hacks are these? There's no way I'd be challenged with these! Man, this System Administrator is really stupid! I thought he said it would be hard! However, as I finished this thought, I heard another ring.

[Approved. Future difficulty raised by 300%. Thank you for your feedback!]

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me! I'm sorry, Admin, I didn't mean it, please take it back, please, please, please!"

My yelling was to no avail. This sucked. Well, I'm getting a little hungry. I looked around at my surroundings. I was in a forest, where the trees reached far above, where I couldn't see the bottoms of their tops. To my right, there was a large mountain range, with a massive volcano in the center. To my left, there was a river flowing between the trees. I walked towards the river, and spotted many fish swimming in the cobalt water. I thought for a while, trying to find a way to get them out of there. I decided to stand over the water, waiting for one to jump out so I could gut it. After a while, one finally took the bait and leaped from the river, shortly falling to my blades. It was a strange fish, though. It has long fins and… legs? That's not normal. Oh, well. Food is food! I chowed down, and heard the familiar ding of the system.

[Skills gained!

Aquatic Scales

Amphibious Biology

Marine Body]

"Haha, nice. I got more skills! Man, that fish was delicious! I usually hate seafood, but that was better than expected."

Suddenly, I heard a snap from behind me. I turned and saw nothing. I went back to eating, but something.. something very, very dangerous was approaching me from behind. I could feel the pressure emanating from it, and it shook me to my very core. I was paralyzed by fear, and I truly felt the fear of death for the first time in my life. Or, lives, I guess.